Intention, Belief, and Instrumental Rationality

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Bratman
Keyword(s):  
Instrumental Rationality ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
False Beliefs ◽  
David Velleman ◽  
John Broome ◽  
Gilbert Harman

This essay continues my critique of the cognitivist view that the norms on intention of instrumental rationality and consistency are, at bottom, norms of theoretical rationality on one’s beliefs. It critically examines the cognitivist views of Gilbert Harman, J. David Velleman, Kieran Setiya, and John Broome. The essay sketches a proposed alternative to such cognitivism: the practical commitment view of instrumental rationality. The essay explores the challenge posed for cognitivism by the possibility of false beliefs about one’s own intentions; and the essay also explores the idea that, while belief aims at truth, intention aims at coordinated, effective control of action.

Intention, Belief, Practical, Theoretical

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Bratman
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Reactive Attitudes ◽  
False Beliefs ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
David Velleman ◽  
Gilbert Harman

This essay argues against an approach—one I call cognitivism—that tries to understand synchronic plan rationality as, at bottom a matter of theoretical rationality of belief. This approach is taken by, among others, Gilbert Harman, J. David Velleman, and R. Jay Wallace. I explain several problems for such cognitivism: there are problems posed by the possibility of false beliefs about what one intends; and there are problems posed by the need to distinguish intended means from expected side effects. In response to a challenge from Velleman, I sketch an alternative approach, one that sees these planning norms as fundamentally practical norms and that notes a parallel with Peter Strawson’s treatment of the framework of reactive attitudes.

scholarly journals Two Approaches to Instrumental Rationality and Belief Consistency

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Brunero
Keyword(s):  
Structural Similarity ◽  
Instrumental Rationality ◽  
Rational Requirements ◽  
Instrumental Reasoning ◽  
Rational Requirement ◽  
John Broome

R. Jay Wallace argues that the normativity of instrumental rationality can be traced to the independent rational requirement to hold consistent beliefs. I present three objections to this view. John Broome argues that there is a structural similarity between the rational requirements of instrumental rationality and belief consistency. Since he does not reduce the former to the latter, his view can avoid the objections to Wallace’s view. However, we should not think Broome’s account explains the whole of instrumental rationality since agents with consistent intentions can still fail in their instrumental reasoning. This consideration makes Broome’s approach vulnerable to a line of criticism that both he and Wallace present against Christine Korsgaard’s conception of instrumental rationality.

Rationalization and self-sabotage

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason D'Cruz
Keyword(s):  
Instrumental Rationality

Abstract In making the case that “rationalization is rational,” Cushman downplays its signature liability: Rationalization exposes a person to the hazard of delusion and self-sabotage. In paradigm cases, rationalization undermines instrumental rationality by introducing inaccuracies into the representational map required for planning and effective agency.

Studies on the Fungal Pathogen of Dutch Elm Disease

1981 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 400-401
Author(s):  
H.M. Mazzone ◽  
G. Wray ◽  
R. Zerillo
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Pathogen ◽  
Fungal Growth ◽  
Polymyxin B ◽  
The United States ◽  
Dutch Elm Disease ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Sabouraud Agar ◽  
Total Inhibition ◽  
Zones Of Inhibition ◽  
Control Plate

The fungal pathogen of the Dutch elm disease (DED), Ceratocystis ulmi (Buisman) C. Moreau, has eluded effective control since its introduction in the United States more than sixty years ago. Our studies on DED include establishing biological control agents against C. ulmi. In this report we describe the inhibitory action of the antibiotic polymyxin B on the causal agent of DED.In screening a number of antibiotics against C. ulmi, we observed that filter paper discs containing 300 units (U) of polymyxin B (Difco Laboratories) per disc, produced zones of inhibition to the fungus grown on potato dextrose agar or Sabouraud agar plates (100mm x 15mm), Fig. 1a. Total inhibition of fungal growth on a plate occurred when agar overlays containing fungus and antibiotic (polymyxin B sulfate, ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) were poured on the underlying agar growth medium. The agar overlays consisted of the following: 4.5 ml of 0.7% agar, 0.5 ml of fungus (control plate); 4.0 ml of 0.7% agar, 0.5 ml of fungus, 0.5 ml of polymyxin B sulfate (77,700 U). Fig. 1, b and c, compares a control plate and polymyxin plate after seven days.

Ultrastructural analysis of “Sensory” surface nerve endings and “putative” neurotransmitter sites in Schistosoma mansoni Miracidia

1989 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 962-963
Author(s):  
Betty Ruth Jones ◽  
Steve Chi-Tang Pan
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Schistosoma Mansoni ◽  
Snail Host ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Rational Approach ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social And Economic Development ◽  
Basic Biology

INTRODUCTION: Schistosomiasis has been described as “one of the most devastating diseases of mankind, second only to malaria in its deleterious effects on the social and economic development of populations in many warm areas of the world.” The disease is worldwide and is probably spreading faster and becoming more intense than the overall research efforts designed to provide the basis for countering it. Moreover, there are indications that the development of water resources and the demands for increasing cultivation and food in developing countries may prevent adequate control of the disease and thus the number of infections are increasing.Our knowledge of the basic biology of the parasites causing the disease is far from adequate. Such knowledge is essential if we are to develop a rational approach to the effective control of human schistosomiasis. The miracidium is the first infective stage in the complex life cycle of schistosomes. The future of the entire life cycle depends on the capacity and ability of this organism to locate and enter a suitable snail host for further development, Little is known about the nervous system of the miracidium of Schistosoma mansoni and of other trematodes. Studies indicate that miracidia contain a well developed and complex nervous system that may aid the larvae in locating and entering a susceptible snail host (Wilson, 1970; Brooker, 1972; Chernin, 1974; Pan, 1980; Mehlhorn, 1988; and Jones, 1987-1988).

Do People’s Motives Influence Their Susceptibility to Imagination Inflation?

2010 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie J. Sharman ◽  
Samantha Calacouris
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Source Monitoring ◽  
False Beliefs ◽  
Explicit Motives ◽  
Imagination Inflation ◽  
Motivational Model ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
Implicit And Explicit ◽  
Affiliation Motives

People are motivated to remember past autobiographical experiences related to their current goals; we investigated whether people are also motivated to remember false past experiences related to those goals. In Session 1, we measured subjects’ implicit and explicit achievement and affiliation motives. Subjects then rated their confidence about, and memory for, childhood events containing achievement and affiliation themes. Two weeks later in Session 2, subjects received a “computer-generated profile” based on their Session 1 ratings. This profile suggested that one false achievement event and one false affiliation event had happened in childhood. After imagining and describing the suggested false events, subjects made confidence and memory ratings a second time. For achievement events, subjects’ explicit motives predicted their false beliefs and memories. The results are explained using source monitoring and a motivational model of autobiographical memory.

Dream interpretation and false beliefs.

1999 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuliana A. L. Mazzoni ◽  
Pasquale Lombardo ◽  
Stefano Malvagia ◽  
Elizabeth F. Loftus
Keyword(s):  
Dream Interpretation ◽  
False Beliefs

Development and Application of Quality Control System for Highway Subgrade Construction

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Detection Method ◽  
System Development ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Construction Process ◽  
Development Mode ◽  
The Road ◽  
Whole Process

The compaction quality of the subgrade is directly related to the service life of the road. Effective control of the subgrade construction process is the key to ensuring the compaction quality of the subgrade. Therefore, real-time, comprehensive, rapid and accurate prediction of construction compaction quality through informatization detection method is an important guarantee for speeding up construction progress and ensuring subgrade compaction quality. Based on the function of the system, this paper puts forward the principle of system development and the development mode used in system development, and displays the development system in real-time to achieve the whole process control of subgrade construction quality.

Endocrine Treatment of Breast Cancer: Current Perspectives, Future Directions

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (03) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tazia Irfan ◽  
Mainul Haque ◽  
Sayeeda Rahman ◽  
Russell Kabir ◽  
Nuzhat Rahman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Estrogen Receptor ◽  
Endocrine Therapy ◽  
Ovarian Function ◽  
Premenopausal Women ◽  
New Drugs ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Endocrine Treatment ◽  
Estrogen Production ◽  
Hormone Sensitive

Breast cancer remains one of the major causes of death in women, and endocrine treatment is currently one of the mainstay of treatment in patients with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. Endocrine therapy either slows down or stops the growth of hormone-sensitive tumors by blocking the body’s capability to yield hormones or by interfering with hormone action. In this paper, we intended to review various approaches of endocrine treatments for breast cancer highlighting successes and limitations. There are three settings where endocrine treatment of breast cancer can be used: neoadjuvant, adjuvant, or metastatic. Several strategies have also been developed to treat hormone-sensitive breast cancer which include ovarian ablation, blocking estrogen production, and stopping estrogen effects. Selective estrogen-receptor modulators (SERMs) (e.g. tamoxifen and raloxifene), aromatase inhibitors (AIs) (e.g. anastrozole, letrozole and exemestane), gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRH) (e.g. goserelin), and selective estrogen receptor downregulators (SERDs) (e.g. fulvestrant) are currently used drugs to treat breast cancer. Tamoxifen is probably the first targeted therapy widely used in breast cancer treatment which is considered to be very effective as first line endocrine treatment in previously untreated patients and also can be used after other endocrine therapy and chemotherapy. AIs inhibit the action of enzyme aromatase which ultimately decrease the production of estrogen to stimulate the growth of ER+ breast cancer cells. GnRH agonists suppress ovarian function, inducing artificial menopause in premenopausal women. Endocrine treatments are cheap, well-tolerated and have a fixed single daily dose for all ages, heights and weights of patients. Endocrine treatments are not nearly as toxic as chemotherapy and frequent hospitalization can be avoided. New drugs in preliminary trials demonstrated the potential for improvement of the efficacy of endocrine therapy including overcoming resistance. However, the overall goals for breast cancer including endocrine therapy should focus on effective control of cancer, design personalized medical therapeutic approach, increase survival time and quality of life, and improve supportive and palliative care for end-stage disease.

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