Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Anna L. Peterson
Keyword(s):  
Social Ethics ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Religious Ethics ◽  
Moral Theories ◽  
Key Terms

This chapter provides an introduction to the main themes and arguments of the book. It briefly explains the lack of attention to practice in many influential religious and philosophical moral theories, including Kantian and certain Christian models, due to their focus on interior mental states as the source of value. The chapter introduces some key themes in the book’s challenge to this idealist approach and points to some of the alternative traditions, such as pragmatism, Marxism, and religious pacifism, which provide alternative understandings of the role of practice in ethics. The chapter also defines the book’s key terms, including practice, and explains the contributions of social ethics as a subfield within religious ethics. Finally, the chapter provides an overview of the book’s organization.

Putting the Madhyamaka Trick in Context: A Contextualist Reading of Huntington’s Interpretation of Madhyamaka

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-124
Author(s):  
Michael Dorfman
Keyword(s):  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Correspondence Theory ◽  
The Body ◽  
Rational Analysis ◽  
At Command ◽  
Rational Argumentation ◽  
Logical Fallacies ◽  
Key Terms

In a series of works published over a period of twenty five years, C.W. Huntington, Jr. has developed a provocative and radical reading of Madhyamaka (particularly Early Indian Madhyamaka) inspired by ‘the insights of post- Wittgensteinian pragmatism and deconstruction’ (1993, 9). This article examines the body of Huntington’s work through the filter of his seminal 2007 publication, ‘The Nature of the M?dhyamika Trick’, a polemic aimed at a quartet of other recent commentators on Madhyamaka (Robinson, Hayes, Tillemans and Garfield) who attempt ‘to read N?g?rjuna through the lens of modern symbolic logic’ (2007, 103), a project which is the ‘end result of a long and complex scholastic enterprise … [which] can be traced backwards from contemporary academic discourse to fifteenth century Tibet, and from there into India’ (2007, 111) and which Huntington sees as distorting the Madhyamaka project which was not aimed at ‘command[ing] assent to a set of rationally grounded doctrines, tenets, or true conclusions’ (2007, 129). This article begins by explicating some disparate strands found in Huntington’s work, which I connect under a radicalized notion of ‘context’. These strands consist of a contextualist/pragmatic theory of truth (as opposed to a correspondence theory of truth), a contextualist epistemology (as opposed to one relying on foundationalist epistemic warrants), and a contextualist ontology where entities are viewed as necessarily relational (as opposed to possessing a context-independent essence.) I then use these linked theories to find fault with Huntington’s own readings of Candrak?rti and N?g?rjuna, arguing that Huntington misreads the semantic context of certain key terms (tarka, d???i, pak?a and pratijñ?) and fails to follow the implications of N?g?rjuna and Candrak?rti’s reliance on the role of the pram??as in constituting conventional reality. Thus, I find that Huntington’s imputation of a rejection of logic and rational argumentation to N?g?rjuna and Candrak?rti is unwarranted. Finally, I offer alternate readings of the four contemporary commentators selected by Huntington, using the conceptual apparatus developed earlier to dismiss Robinson’s and Hayes’s view of N?g?rjuna as a charlatan relying on logical fallacies, and to find common ground between Huntington’s project and the view of N?g?rjuna developed by Tillemans and Garfield as a thinker committed using reason to reach, through rational analysis, ‘the limits of thought.’

Aboutness

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Yablo
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Library Science ◽  
Philosophical Methodology ◽  
Major Advance ◽  
Truth Conditions ◽  
Ways Of Being ◽  
Made In

Aboutness has been studied from any number of angles. Brentano made it the defining feature of the mental. Phenomenologists try to pin down the aboutness features of particular mental states. Materialists sometimes claim to have grounded aboutness in natural regularities. Attempts have even been made, in library science and information theory, to operationalize the notion. However, it has played no real role in philosophical semantics, which is surprising. This is the first book to examine through a philosophical lens the role of subject matter in meaning. A long-standing tradition sees meaning as truth conditions, to be specified by listing the scenarios in which a sentence is true. Nothing is said about the principle of selection—about what in a scenario gets it onto the list. Subject matter is the missing link here. A sentence is true because of how matters stand where its subject matter is concerned. This book maintains that this is not just a feature of subject matter, but its essence. One indicates what a sentence is about by mapping out logical space according to its changing ways of being true or false. The notion of content that results—directed content—is brought to bear on a range of philosophical topics, including ontology, verisimilitude, knowledge, loose talk, assertive content, and philosophical methodology. The book represents a major advance in semantics and the philosophy of language.

The role and relationship of mindreading and social attunement in HRI – position statements of interdisciplinary researchers. Workshop HRI'20

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Wykowska ◽  
Jairo Pérez-Osorio ◽  
Stefan Kopp
Keyword(s):  
Mental States ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Artificial Agents ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

This booklet is a collection of the position statements accepted for the HRI’20 conference workshop “Social Cognition for HRI: Exploring the relationship between mindreading and social attunement in human-robot interaction” (Wykowska, Perez-Osorio & Kopp, 2020). Unfortunately, due to the rapid unfolding of the novel coronavirus at the beginning of the present year, the conference and consequently our workshop, were canceled. On the light of these events, we decided to put together the positions statements accepted for the workshop. The contributions collected in these pages highlight the role of attribution of mental states to artificial agents in human-robot interaction, and precisely the quality and presence of social attunement mechanisms that are known to make human interaction smooth, efficient, and robust. These papers also accentuate the importance of the multidisciplinary approach to advance the understanding of the factors and the consequences of social interactions with artificial agents.

A Review on Ethnobotanical, Phytochemical, Pharmacological and Traditional Aspects of Indigenous Indian Herb Trachyspermum ammi (L)

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 172-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikita Saraswat ◽  
Neetu Sachan ◽  
Phool Chandra
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Constituents ◽  
Collective Data ◽  
Trachyspermum Ammi ◽  
Present Information ◽  
Gastrointestinal Problems ◽  
Vedic Literature ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
Phytochemical Studies ◽  
Near Future

Introduction and Ethnopharmacological relevance: In the Indian Vedic literature, Charakasamhita and Sushritasamhita, the Ajwain is known as Bhootika and in the charaksamhita commentaries, it is termed as Yavanika. The medicinal role of Ajwain fruit is claimed to be very important in the treatment of many ailments in humans. The plant Trachyspermum ammi Linn. is a grassy, aromatic annual plant, which falls in the family Umbelliferae. This plant is grown in India, Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, etc. for its medicinal benefits. Tribals of India use it for the treatment of diarrhea, arthritis, colic and gastrointestinal problems. In the traditional preparations, Indian Vaidya guru’s (Ayurveda Guru’s), the ajwain extract is used as “Admoda Arka”. The Ayurveda doctors, hakims and Vaidya gurus recommend ajwain for treating headaches, cold, flu and even during painful menstrual periods. Aim of the Study: The review paper has compiled the researches conducted on Trachyspermum ammi, which will help in presenting a collective data of the authentic researches conducted on the plant worldwide. It will also present information about the phytoconstituents which can be useful for building up new researches in near future. Materials and Methods: This paper has been prepared by collecting all the information available on the following platforms and the papers were searched from 1975 to 2019. The databases and electronic journals were well searched including Wiley, Springer link, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Pubmed. The key terms used for the search were Ajwain, C. copticum, Trachyspermum ammi and other synonyms of the plant. The search was also done by the names of chemical constituents present in the plant and the pharmacological effect of the plant. Results: The multiple uses of T. ammi are due to the active constituents present in it. As per the phytochemical studies on the fruits of T. ammi, the presence of various phytoconstituents has been found such as saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, fixed oils, thymenes, cumenes, tannins, amino acids, p-cymene, c-terpinene, steroids, etc. Conclusions: This paper is focused on presenting a detailed review on the literature, pharmacological properties, physicochemical studies and the newest researches on the plant. In this paper, we have also compiled the traditional uses of the herb used by Indian peopleon recommendations from their Hakims, Vaidya and use of the herbs by many tribes all across India and Pakistan.

Minimal Event-Causal Libertarianism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Evan Franklin
Keyword(s):  
Free Action ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Human Action

This chapter explains the differences between agency reductionism and nonreductionism, explains the varieties of libertarianism, and sets out the main contours of minimal event-causal libertarianism, highlighting just how minimal this theory is. Crucial to understanding how minimal event-causal libertarianism differs from other event-causal libertarian theories is understanding the location and role of indeterminism in human action, the kinds of mental states essential to causing free action, the nature of nondeterministic causation, and how the theory is constructed from compatibilist accounts. The chapter argues that libertarians must face up to both the problem of luck and the problem of enhanced control when determining the best theoretical location of indeterminism.

Parentheticalism and (Ir)rational Agency

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Henning
Keyword(s):  
Mental States ◽  
Rational Agency ◽  
Willingness To Use

This chapter considers various cases of irrationality (such as akrasia, weakness in executive commitments, doxastic incontinence, etc.), all of which involve a break between an agent’s considered judgment and her effective mental states. It is shown that parentheticalism can solve puzzles that these phenomena typically raise. The discussion leads into a deeper grasp of the rationale behind parenthetical and non-parenthetical uses of verbs like “believe” and “want”: They are associated with aspects of rational agency that normally coincide but can come apart. In the latter cases, our willingness to use verbs like “believe” and “want” is conflicted in a way that confirms parentheticalism. Finally, I suggest that parentheticalism can help us understand the role of the agent in rational agency and solve the Missing Agent Problem.

Conceptualizing and Measuring Affective and Cognitive Empathy

2020 ◽  
pp. 8-30
Author(s):  
Ross Buck ◽  
Zhan Xu
Keyword(s):  
Mental States ◽  
Cognitive Empathy ◽  
Emotional Empathy ◽  
Symbolic Communication ◽  
Current State ◽  
Communication Processes ◽  
Neuroscience Research ◽  
Emotion Displays ◽  
Central Nervous Systems

Individual differences in the ability to recognize emotion displays relate strongly to emotional intelligence, and emotional and social competence. However, there is a difference between the ability to judge the emotions of another person (i.e., emotional empathy) and the ability to take the perspective of another person, including making accurate appraisals, attributions, and inferences about the mental states of others (i.e., cognitive empathy). In this chapter, we review the concept of emotional empathy and the current state of the field, including emerging and converging evidence from neuroscience research that emotional and cognitive empathy involve doubly dissociable brain systems. We also discuss emerging literature on the physiological mechanisms underlying empathy in the peripheral and central nervous systems. We then distinguish spontaneous and symbolic communication processes to show how cognitive empathy emerges from emotional empathy during development. Development starts with the prelinguistic mutual contingent responsiveness of infant and caregiver yielding “raw” primary intersubjectivity, then secondary and tertiary intersubjectivity advances with increasing social experience, and finally cognitive empathic abilities expand in perspective taking and Theory of Mind (ToM) skills. We then present an Affect-Reason-Involvement (ARI) model to guide the conceptualization and measurement of emotional and cognitive empathy. We consider emotion correlation scores as a flexible and valid approach to empathy measurement, with implications for understanding the role of discrete emotions in decision making. Finally, we apply this reasoning to recent studies of the role of emotion and empathy in bullying.

scholarly journals Gut Microbiota and Acute Diverticulitis: Role of Probiotics in Management of This Delicate Pathophysiological Balance

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 298
Author(s):  
Andrea Piccioni ◽  
Laura Franza ◽  
Mattia Brigida ◽  
Christian Zanza ◽  
Enrico Torelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Diverticular Disease ◽  
Acute Diverticulitis ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Mucosal Inflammation ◽  
Abdominal Symptoms ◽  
Pubmed Database ◽  
Anti Inflammatory ◽  
Key Terms

How can the knowledge of probiotics and their mechanisms of action be translated into clinical practice when treating patients with diverticular disease and acute diverticulitis? Changes in microbiota composition have been observed in patients who were developing acute diverticulitis, with a reduction of taxa with anti-inflammatory activity, such as Clostridium cluster IV, Lactobacilli and Bacteroides. Recent observations supported that a dysbiosis characterised by decreased presence of anti-inflammatory bacterial species might be linked to mucosal inflammation, and a vicious cycle results from a mucosal inflammation driving dysbiosis at the same time. An alteration in gut microbiota can lead to an altered activation of nerve fibres, and subsequent neuronal and muscular dysfunction, thus favoring abdominal symptoms’ development. The possible role of dysbiosis and mucosal inflammation in leading to dysmotility is linked, in turn, to bacterial translocation from the lumen of the diverticulum to perivisceral area. There, a possible activation of Toll-like receptors has been described, with a subsequent inflammatory reaction at the level of the perivisceral tissues. Being aware that bacterial colonisation of diverticula is involved in the pathogenesis of acute diverticulitis, the rationale for the potential role of probiotics in the treatment of this disease becomes clearer. For this review, articles were identified using the electronic PubMed database through a comprehensive search conducted by combining key terms such as “gut microbiota”, “probiotics and gut disease”, “probiotics and acute diverticulitis”, “probiotics and diverticular disease”, “probiotics mechanism of action”. However, the amount of data present on this matter is not sufficient to draw robust conclusions on the efficacy of probiotics for symptoms’ management in diverticular disease.

scholarly journals Activity in the brain’s valuation and mentalizing networks is associated with propagation of online recommendations

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa C. Baek ◽  
Matthew Brook O’Donnell ◽  
Christin Scholz ◽  
Rui Pei ◽  
Javier O. Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Prior Work ◽  
Opinion Change ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Mentalizing System

AbstractWord of mouth recommendations influence a wide range of choices and behaviors. What takes place in the mind of recommendation receivers that determines whether they will be successfully influenced? Prior work suggests that brain systems implicated in assessing the value of stimuli (i.e., subjective valuation) and understanding others’ mental states (i.e., mentalizing) play key roles. The current study used neuroimaging and natural language classifiers to extend these findings in a naturalistic context and tested the extent to which the two systems work together or independently in responding to social influence. First, we show that in response to text-based social media recommendations, activity in both the brain’s valuation system and mentalizing system was associated with greater likelihood of opinion change. Second, participants were more likely to update their opinions in response to negative, compared to positive, recommendations, with activity in the mentalizing system scaling with the negativity of the recommendations. Third, decreased functional connectivity between valuation and mentalizing systems was associated with opinion change. Results highlight the role of brain regions involved in mentalizing and positive valuation in recommendation propagation, and further show that mentalizing may be particularly key in processing negative recommendations, whereas the valuation system is relevant in evaluating both positive and negative recommendations.

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