Symmetric Dependence

Author(s):  
Elizabeth Barnes

Metaphysical orthodoxy maintains that the relation of ontological dependence is irreflexive, asymmetric, and transitive. The goal of this paper is to challenge that orthodoxy by arguing that ontological dependence should be understood as non-symmetric, rather than asymmetric. A series of cases across a wide range of ontological commitments are presented, and it is argued that each case should be understood as one in which the relation of dependence holds symmetrically. If these arguments work, however, they provide reasons to be skeptical of the way in which contemporary discussions typically lump dependence together with relations such as grounding and in virtue of, which arguably need to be understood as asymmetric. If the asymmetry of dependence is relinquished, interesting things follow for what can be said about metaphysical explanation—particularly for the prospects of explanatory holism.

Author(s):  
Greg Anderson

The book proposes a new paradigm of historical practice. It questions the way we conventionally historicize the experiences of non-modern peoples, western and non-western, and makes a case for an alternative. It shows how our standard analytical devices impose modern, dualist metaphysical conditions upon all non-modern realities, thereby authorizing us to align those realities with our own modern ontological commitments, fundamentally altering their contents in the process. The net result is a practice that homogenizes the past’s many different ways of being human. To produce histories that are more ethically defensible, more philosophically robust, and more historically meaningful, we need to take an ontological turn in our practice. We need to cultivate a non-dualist historicism that will allow us to analyse each past reality on its own ontological terms, as a more or less autonomous world unto itself. The work is divided into three parts. To highlight the limitations of conventional historicist analysis and the need for an alternative, Part One (chapters 1-5) critically scrutinizes our standard modern accounts of the politeia (“way of life”) of classical Athens, the book’s primary case study. Part Two (chapters 6-9) draws on a wide range of historical, ethnographic, and theoretical literatures to frame ethical and philosophical mandates for the proposed ontological turn. To illustrate the historical benefits of this alternative paradigm, Part Three (chapters 10-16) then shows how it allows us to produce an entirely new and more meaningful account of the Athenian politeia. The book is expressly written to be accessible to a non-specialist, cross-disciplinary readership.


Author(s):  
Richard Reilly

The focus of this chapter is Schopenhauer’s On The Basis of Morality (1841). His distinctive views are that compassion marks one’s being as spontaneously motivated to relieve another’s suffering as one’s own and that this requires a metaphysical explanation for how one identifies with another. The author defends these views and shows in some detail how they mirror the Mahayana account of compassion in Shantideva’s The Way of the Bodhisattva. Next, the author outlines Schopenhauer’s case for compassion being the sole basis of moral value and defends this claim against the Kantian view that acting beneficently cannot (rationally) override so-called perfect duties to others. Finally, the author explores how Buddha Shakyamuni’s teachings cohere with Schopenhauer’s account of suffering and how mystical consciousness, as represented in Mahayana Buddhism’s “Middle Way,” coheres with Schopenhauer’s asceticism—the “denial of the will”—as the path to overcoming suffering.


Author(s):  
Francisco González ◽  
Pierangelo Masarati ◽  
Javier Cuadrado ◽  
Miguel A. Naya

Formulating the dynamics equations of a mechanical system following a multibody dynamics approach often leads to a set of highly nonlinear differential-algebraic equations (DAEs). While this form of the equations of motion is suitable for a wide range of practical applications, in some cases it is necessary to have access to the linearized system dynamics. This is the case when stability and modal analyses are to be carried out; the definition of plant and system models for certain control algorithms and state estimators also requires a linear expression of the dynamics. A number of methods for the linearization of multibody dynamics can be found in the literature. They differ in both the approach that they follow to handle the equations of motion and the way in which they deliver their results, which in turn are determined by the selection of the generalized coordinates used to describe the mechanical system. This selection is closely related to the way in which the kinematic constraints of the system are treated. Three major approaches can be distinguished and used to categorize most of the linearization methods published so far. In this work, we demonstrate the properties of each approach in the linearization of systems in static equilibrium, illustrating them with the study of two representative examples.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-205
Author(s):  
Andrés Saab ◽  
Eleonora Orlando

Abstract In this paper, we further elaborate on a syntactic ambiguity between slurs and epithets first noticed in Orlando, Eleonora & Andrés Saab. 2020b. A stereotype semantics for syntactically ambiguous slurs. Analytic Philosophy 61(2). 101–129. Here, we discuss in detail the large theoretical implications of such an ambiguity both for the proper analysis of binominal constructions in Spanish (e.g., el idiota de Juan) and for the way in which it is advisable to model the expressive content slurs and certain epithets (those deriving from slurs) have. As for the first aspect, we contend that mainstream approaches in terms of predicate inversion for binominal constructions cannot account for why slurs lose their predicative import when occurring as epithets in binominal environments. In consequence, we propose a new analysis for epithets both in simple occurrences and in binominal constructions. This analysis derives the above-mentioned ambiguity as a type of structural ambiguity, according to which certain slurs can occur in predicative and in non-predicative positions. When they occur as predicates, they have a mixed semantics (McCready, Eric. 2010. Varieties of conventional implicatures. Semantics & Pragmatics 3. 1–57) reflected both in the truth-conditional and the expressive dimensions, but when they occur as epithets, the truth-conditional dimension is lost and only the expressive content survives. As for the second aspect, we defend a stereotype semantics, according to which stereotypes are modeled as Kratzerian modal bases (i.e., set of propositions) in virtue of which stigmatizing theories of human groups are reflected in a parallel, expressive dimension of meaning. This way of modeling some kinds of expressive contents explains how different slurs and epithets manage to communicate different theories about particular human groups, which are the target of derogation.


1993 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-9
Author(s):  
Heinz Riesenhuber

Thea purpose of science funding policy is to pave the way into new territory without knowing the final outcome to be expected. This needs the input of a wide range of scientific advice in response to well defined questions. There must be a serious intention to listen and if possible act on such advice.


1966 ◽  
Vol 112 (486) ◽  
pp. 471-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saul H. Rosenthal ◽  
Gerald L. Klerman

As currently used, the diagnosis of depression includes a wide range of clinical phenomena. This has not always been the case. Near the end of the 19th century, when the term depression began to evolve the meanings that it has today it was applied primarily to psychotics. The formulations of Freud in Mourning and Melancholia (1917), and of Kraepelin in Manic Depressive Insanity (1921) were based upon observations of patients who were both depressed and psychotic. In their work the contrast was between psychotic depression (or “melancholia”) on one hand, and normal sadness on the other. In the succeeding half-century, however, as psychiatry has extended its boundaries, increasing attention has been focused on non-psychotic depressions, often called “neurotic” or “reactive.” As these “neurotic” or “reactive” depressions reached public attention, a debate began over the way in which the depressive population should be described and the extent to which it should be subdivided. Critical and often sarcastic written battles were fought between the separatists and the unifiers during the 1920's and 1930's. These debates have been informatively chronicled by Partridge (1949). We have found it useful to divide these theorists into unifiers, dualists, and pluralists.


Author(s):  
E. V. Mikhailovskaia ◽  
O. V. Sapunova

The article outlines the way the English system of punctuation marks is presented in contemporary ELT research and practice. The following types of sources are considered and analyzed in the article: grammar books for teaching English as the first, second or foreign language; reference books and web-sites aimed at preparing students for IELTS and TOEFL; books belonging to the genre known as popular science; purely scientific works on punctuation in general and the semicolon in particular. The main goals of the research are to reveal the central tendencies in teaching English punctuation on the example of the so-called weighty stops of vertical segmentation, namely the semicolon, and to see whether they manage to present a certain norm of using the stop. Thus, the present paper focuses on the semicolon one of the most controversial stops in the system, which has been proved to function both at the syntactic and stylistic levels. It is shown that a formal / grammatical approach is the most common way to treat punctuation in ELT literature; however, it does not take into account stylistic and prosodic peculiarities of the stops and thus fails to show the whole spectrum of its usage, as well as its phonetic and stylistic potential. Consequently, such an approach should not be applied to English one of the languages exhibiting a semantic-stylistic type of punctuation. It is proposed that the approach to be used in teaching English punctuation most effectively is pragmalinguistics, since it exploits a wide range of methods and means of analyzing a text, and also considers and highlights all the aspects of using the stops (their syntactic function, stylistic capacities and prosodic characteristics). Moreover, the article poses the question that the current methodology of the approach has to be further developed.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (12) ◽  
pp. 1-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Roderick ◽  
Hugh Rayner ◽  
Sarah Tonkin-Crine ◽  
Ikumi Okamoto ◽  
Caroline Eyles ◽  
...  

BackgroundConservative kidney management (CKM) is recognised as an alternative to dialysis for a significant number of older adults with multimorbid stage 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD5). However, little is known about the way CKM is delivered or how it is perceived.AimTo determine the practice patterns for the CKM of older patients with CKD5, to inform service development and future research.Objectives(1) To describe the differences between renal units in the extent and nature of CKM, (2) to explore how decisions are made about treatment options for older patients with CKD5, (3) to explore clinicians’ willingness to randomise patients with CKD5 to CKM versus dialysis, (4) to describe the interface between renal units and primary care in managing CKD5 and (5) to identify the resources involved and potential costs of CKM.MethodsMixed-methods study. Interviews with 42 patients aged > 75 years with CKD5 and 60 renal unit staff in a purposive sample of nine UK renal units. Interviews informed the design of a survey to assess CKM practice, sent to all 71 UK units. Nineteen general practitioners (GPs) were interviewed concerning the referral of CKD patients to secondary care. We sought laboratory data on new CKD5 patients aged > 75 years to link with the nine renal units’ records to assess referral patterns.ResultsSixty-seven of 71 renal units completed the survey. Although terminology varied, there was general acceptance of the role of CKM. Only 52% of units were able to quantify the number of CKM patients. A wide range reflected varied interpretation of the designation ‘CKM’ by both staff and patients. It is used to characterise a future treatment option as well as non-dialysis care for end-stage kidney failure (i.e. a disease state equivalent to being on dialysis). The number of patients in the latter group on CKM was relatively small (median 8, interquartile range 4.5–22). Patients’ expectations of CKM and dialysis were strongly influenced by renal staff. In a minority of units, CKM was not discussed. When discussed, often only limited information about illness progression was provided. Staff wanted more research into the relative benefits of CKM versus dialysis. There was almost universal support for an observational methodology and a quarter would definitely be willing to participate in a randomised clinical trial, indicating that clinicians placed value on high-quality evidence to inform decision-making. Linked data indicated that most CKD5 patients were known to renal units. GPs expressed a need for guidance on when to refer older multimorbid patients with CKD5 to nephrology care. There was large variation in the scale and model of CKM delivery. In most, the CKM service was integrated within the service for all non-renal replacement therapy CKD5 patients. A few units provided dedicated CKM clinics and some had dedicated, modest funding for CKM.ConclusionsConservative kidney management is accepted across UK renal units but there is much variation in the way it is described and delivered. For best practice, and for CKM to be developed and systematised across all renal units in the UK, we recommend (1) a standard definition and terminology for CKM, (2) research to measure the relative benefits of CKM and dialysis and (3) development of evidence-based staff training and patient education interventions.FundingThe National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-307
Author(s):  
Radojle Radetic ◽  
Marijana Pavlov-Kagadejev ◽  
Darko Brodic ◽  
Nikola Milivojevic

The paper presents the real instrument functional characteristics and describes the way of practical solutions of its performance improvement. It presents the design process of the instrument made for resistance measuring. In order to achieve desired objectives, a great number of experiments have been carried out during the development. Basically, the comparison method has been applied. At first, it was intended for the small resistor measuring as a single range unit. Later, the device has been improved and upgraded for a wide range resistance measuring. Finally, some of the difficulties have been detected and explained as well. The paper contains solutions developed and applied for their overcoming.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 191-211
Author(s):  
Hero Abdulrahman Mustafa ◽  
Idrees Abdulla Mustafa

Style and stylistics are two critical terms, that they exceed Kurdish modern criticism in the spread of researching modern critical literature of people and modern Kurdish literature. Style is a wide range of using language, stylistics is a researchable science and it is the detail of the styles.           Modern linguistics that (Bale) invented, paves the way for the emergence of this modern science for studying style, how modern linguistics studies (speech) and likewise stylistics studies styles of speech. This research sheds light on these two terms.


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