scholarly journals Introduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 3-23
Author(s):  
Nuel Belnap ◽  
Thomas MÜller ◽  
Tomasz Placek
Keyword(s):  
Possible Worlds ◽  
Philosophical Literature ◽  
Modal Metaphysics ◽  
Spatio Temporal

This introductory chapter explains the aim of the book: the analysis of real possibilities as anchored in a spatio-temporal world that is rudimentarily relativistic. It contrasts real possibilities to other possibilities discussed in the philosophical literature. It explains how branching is related to the possible worlds framework made popular, e.g., by David Lewis’s works. It offers philosophical comments on crucial notions and assumptions of BST, such as events, histories, and temporal directedness. It ends up with some hints about how the BST project is situated in modal metaphysics, touching themes such as the concept of actuality or the distinction between possibilities as “alternatives to” vs. “alternatives for”.

How to Understand Perceptual Learning

2019 ◽  
pp. 3-37
Author(s):  
Kevin Connolly
Keyword(s):  
Perceptual Learning ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Cognitive Penetration ◽  
Perceptual Development ◽  
Philosophical Literature ◽  
Long Term Changes ◽  
Christopher Peacocke ◽  
Perceptual Systems

This introductory chapter explains perceptual learning as long-term changes in perception that are the result of practice or experience. It distinguishes perceptual learning from other nearby concepts, including perceptual development and cognitive penetration. It then delineates different kinds of perceptual learning. For instance, some kinds of perceptual learning involve changes in how one attends, while other cases involve a learned ability to differentiate two properties, or to perceive two properties as unified. The chapter uses this taxonomy to distinguish different cases of perceptual learning in the philosophical literature, including by contemporary philosophers such as Susanna Siegel, Christopher Peacocke, and Charles Siewert. Finally, it outlines the function of perceptual learning. Perceptual learning serves to offload onto our quick perceptual systems what would be a slower and more cognitively taxing task were it to be done in a controlled, deliberate manner. The upshot is that this frees up cognitive resources for other tasks.

Introduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Emar Maier ◽  
Andreas Stokke
Keyword(s):  
Possible Worlds ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Impossible Worlds ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
Fictional Characters ◽  
Interdisciplinary Work ◽  
Everyday Lives ◽  
Human Capacity

Fiction is the ultimate application of the human capacity for displacement—thinking and talking about things beyond the here and now. Fictional characters may live in very remote possible or even impossible worlds. Yet our engagement with fictional stories and characters seems effortless and permeates every aspect of our everyday lives. How is this possible? How does fictional talk relate to assertions about the here and now, or indeed to modal talk about other possible worlds? What is the relation between fiction and mental states like belief and imagination? How does a sequence of fictional statements become a story? What are fictional characters? How do narrators manage to give us access to their characters’ innermost thoughts and desires? This introductory chapter traces the development of various strands of research on these questions within linguistics, narratology, and philosophy in order to lay a foundation for the cutting-edge interdisciplinary work in this volume.

Editor’s Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Sinclair
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Possible Worlds ◽  
Statistical Approach ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Contemporary Philosophy ◽  
Greek Philosophy ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Modal Metaphysics ◽  
Ancient Greek Philosophy ◽  
History Of

This chapter introduces the historical approach of the volume in the context of modal doctrines in contemporary philosophy, and offers a broad survey of the history of modal metaphysics. It discusses how a statistical approach to modality in ancient Greek philosophy was overtaken by a notion of possible worlds admitting unrealized possibilities, a notion that would receive its clearest expression in the philosophy of Leibniz. I discuss how Leibniz’s ideas form the historical background to twentieth-century possible worlds theories of modality, and how those theories have been challenged recently by more Aristotelian approaches. The chapter summarizes and contextualizes the following chapters of the book.

scholarly journals A (hopefully) comprehensive solution to the Newcomb's problem

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitri Lasserre
Keyword(s):  
Possible Worlds ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Other ◽  
Philosophical Literature ◽  
Newcomb’S Problem ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One

Abstract The Newcomb's problem has been discussed in the philosophical literature for more than fifty years. So far quarrels mainly oppose causalism on the one hand, and evidentialism on the other hand. This paper wants to explain why causalists are right from a certain point of view, and why they should one-box --- instead of keeping two-boxing. The Newcomb's problem can be thought in terms of possible worlds. I assume here that this problem does not happen in our world, but it occurs in a world where causality and rationality obey different rules. But, in any cases, when the predictor is reliable, the player must one-box.

scholarly journals Phenomenology, Aesthetics, and Worldbuilding in Murasaki’s The Tale of Genji and Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-17
Author(s):  
Farid Mohammadi
Keyword(s):  
Possible Worlds ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Husserlian Phenomenology ◽  
Lord Of The Rings ◽  
Tale Of Genji ◽  
Physical Environments ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Shed Light

In this paper, I examine the theoretical aspects of worldbuilding in Murasaki’s and Tolkien’s imagined worlds and accentuate the role of aesthetic landscape creation through which spatio-temporal layers are negotiated. As a starting point, I refer to Thomas Ryba’s Husserl, Fantasy and Possible Worlds (1990), where he evaluates the believability of secondary worlds via Husserlian phenomenology. To shed light on Ryba’s statement that authors must be “adept at describing the qualities of characters and the world in which they live” (232) through the lens of engagement, I contend that critically acclaimed imagined worlds such as Heian Japan in The Tale of Genji (c.1000 A.D.) and Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955) demonstrate two fundamental qualities: the physical environments possess aesthetic qualities and the emotional experience of the place is integrated into the fabric of worldbuilding, generating an aura of believability.

E3 ubiquitin ligases

2005 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 15-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen C. Ardley ◽  
Philip A. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Direct Role ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Substrate Protein ◽  
Protein Ubiquitination ◽  
C Terminus ◽  
Full Complement ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Eukaryotic Organisms

The selectivity of the ubiquitin–26 S proteasome system (UPS) for a particular substrate protein relies on the interaction between a ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2, of which a cell contains relatively few) and a ubiquitin–protein ligase (E3, of which there are possibly hundreds). Post-translational modifications of the protein substrate, such as phosphorylation or hydroxylation, are often required prior to its selection. In this way, the precise spatio-temporal targeting and degradation of a given substrate can be achieved. The E3s are a large, diverse group of proteins, characterized by one of several defining motifs. These include a HECT (homologous to E6-associated protein C-terminus), RING (really interesting new gene) or U-box (a modified RING motif without the full complement of Zn2+-binding ligands) domain. Whereas HECT E3s have a direct role in catalysis during ubiquitination, RING and U-box E3s facilitate protein ubiquitination. These latter two E3 types act as adaptor-like molecules. They bring an E2 and a substrate into sufficiently close proximity to promote the substrate's ubiquitination. Although many RING-type E3s, such as MDM2 (murine double minute clone 2 oncoprotein) and c-Cbl, can apparently act alone, others are found as components of much larger multi-protein complexes, such as the anaphase-promoting complex. Taken together, these multifaceted properties and interactions enable E3s to provide a powerful, and specific, mechanism for protein clearance within all cells of eukaryotic organisms. The importance of E3s is highlighted by the number of normal cellular processes they regulate, and the number of diseases associated with their loss of function or inappropriate targeting.

Elucidating cyclic AMP signaling in subcellular domains with optogenetic tools and fluorescent biosensors

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1733-1747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Klausen ◽  
Fabian Kaiser ◽  
Birthe Stüven ◽  
Jan N. Hansen ◽  
Dagmar Wachten
Keyword(s):  
Cyclic Amp ◽  
Adenosine Monophosphate ◽  
Adenylyl Cyclases ◽  
Temporal Precision ◽  
Fluorescent Biosensors ◽  
Subcellular Domains ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Hydrolysis Of ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Cyclic Amp Signaling

The second messenger 3′,5′-cyclic nucleoside adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) plays a key role in signal transduction across prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Cyclic AMP signaling is compartmentalized into microdomains to fulfil specific functions. To define the function of cAMP within these microdomains, signaling needs to be analyzed with spatio-temporal precision. To this end, optogenetic approaches and genetically encoded fluorescent biosensors are particularly well suited. Synthesis and hydrolysis of cAMP can be directly manipulated by photoactivated adenylyl cyclases (PACs) and light-regulated phosphodiesterases (PDEs), respectively. In addition, many biosensors have been designed to spatially and temporarily resolve cAMP dynamics in the cell. This review provides an overview about optogenetic tools and biosensors to shed light on the subcellular organization of cAMP signaling.

Combining the Best of Two Possible Worlds

1991 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 1057-1058
Author(s):  
Marvin R. Goldfried ◽  
Douglas A. Vakoch
Keyword(s):  
Possible Worlds
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