Only Imagine

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Stock
Keyword(s):  
David Lewis ◽  
Strong Argument ◽  
Fictional Truth

This book begins with a detailed description and defence of a controversial theory of fictional content (or ‘fictional truth’) known as ‘extreme intentionalism’. On this view, roughly, the fictional content of a particular text is equivalent to exactly what the author of the text intended the reader to imagine. The book situates this theory in relation to its competitors including hypothetical intentionalism, value-maximizing theory, and the influential anti-intentionalism view of David Lewis—and puts forward a strong argument for its superiority, despite its many detractors. In the second half of the book, some consequences of extreme intentionalism are explored as they affect questions such as: the relation of fiction to testimony and belief; whether there are any limits to what we can imagine, and what explains those limits; what is the nature of fiction; to what extent imagination resembles belief; and to what extent the imagination can contribute to the provision of counterfactual and modal knowledge.

Intentionalist Strategies of Interpretation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Stock
Keyword(s):  
David Lewis ◽  
Authorial Intention ◽  
Gregory Currie ◽  
Ordinary Case ◽  
Unreliable Narration ◽  
Fictional Truth

This chapter addresses the complaint that extreme intentionalism standardly forces the reader who engages in interpretation to posit private, or hidden, authorial intentions, for which she has little or no evidence. It is first argued that there are no automatic strategies of interpretation of fictional content: at every stage, whether or not a given interpretative strategy is to be appropriately applied depends on the presence of relevant authorial intention as a sanction. (This section includes a discussion, and rejection, of the views of David Lewis and Gregory Currie about fictional truth; a discussion of the relevance of genre to fictional content; and a consideration of the issue of unreliable narration for an intentionalist view.) The foregoing material on strategies of interpretation is then used to show that it is false to think of the extreme intentionalist as being committed to ‘hidden’ or ‘secret’ meanings in the ordinary case.

Fictional truth

2021 ◽  
pp. 88-106
Author(s):  
Nils Franzén
Keyword(s):  
Inference Rule ◽  
David Lewis ◽  
Reality Principle ◽  
Fictional Truth

A well-known theory about under which circumstances a statement is true in a fiction is the Reality Principle (RP), which originates in the work of David Lewis: “(RP) Where p1…pn are the primary fictional truths of a fiction F, it is true in F that q iff the following holds: were p1…pn the case, q would have been the case” (Walton 1990, 44). RP has been subjected to a number of counterexamples, up to a point where, in the words of Stacie Friend (2017, 33), “it is widely recognized that the Reality Principle […] cannot be a universal inference rule for implied story-truths”. This chapter argues that the strength of these counterexamples is widely overestimated, and that they do not, on closer scrutiny, constitute reasons for rejecting RP.

Influence of nascent polypeptide positive charges on translation dynamics

2020 ◽  
Vol 477 (15) ◽  
pp. 2921-2934
Author(s):  
Rodrigo D. Requião ◽  
Géssica C. Barros ◽  
Tatiana Domitrovic ◽  
Fernando L. Palhano
Keyword(s):  
Mrna Decay ◽  
Translation Termination ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Translation Efficiency ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Strong Argument ◽  
Translation Arrest ◽  
Exit Tunnel ◽  
Positively Charged

Protein segments with a high concentration of positively charged amino acid residues are often used in reporter constructs designed to activate ribosomal mRNA/protein decay pathways, such as those involving nonstop mRNA decay (NSD), no-go mRNA decay (NGD) and the ribosome quality control (RQC) complex. It has been proposed that the electrostatic interaction of the positively charged nascent peptide with the negatively charged ribosomal exit tunnel leads to translation arrest. When stalled long enough, the translation process is terminated with the degradation of the transcript and an incomplete protein. Although early experiments made a strong argument for this mechanism, other features associated with positively charged reporters, such as codon bias and mRNA and protein structure, have emerged as potent inducers of ribosome stalling. We carefully reviewed the published data on the protein and mRNA expression of artificial constructs with diverse compositions as assessed in different organisms. We concluded that, although polybasic sequences generally lead to lower translation efficiency, it appears that an aggravating factor, such as a nonoptimal codon composition, is necessary to cause translation termination events.

Whole New People of the Book

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 24-27
Author(s):  
Aaron Ricker
Keyword(s):  
David Lewis ◽  
Harvard University

A. David Lewis and Martin Lund, eds. 'Muslim Superheroes: Comics, Islam, and Representation'. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2017. 264 pp., 15 illustrations. $24.95, paper.

The Problem of Evil and Replies to Some Important Responses

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 105-131
Author(s):  
Bruce Russell
Keyword(s):  
Problem Of Evil ◽  
Existence Of God ◽  
Strong Argument ◽  
Parallel Argument ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Problem Of Evil ◽  
Argument From Evil

I begin by distinguishing four different versions of the argument from evil that start from four different moral premises that in various ways link the existence of God to the absence of suffering. The version of the argument from evil that I defend starts from the premise that if God exists, he would not allow excessive, unnecessary suffering. The argument continues by denying the consequent of this conditional to conclude that God does not exist. I defend the argument against Skeptical Theists who say we are in no position to judge that there is excessive, unnecessary suffering by arguing that this defense has absurd consequences. It allows Young Earthers to construct a parallel argument that concludes that we are in no position to judge that God did not create the earth recently. In the last section I consider whether theists can turn the argument from evil on its head by arguing that God exists. I first criticize Alvin Plantinga’s theory of warrant that one might try to use to argue for God’s existence. I then criticize Richard Swinburne’s Bayesian argument to the same conclusion. I conclude that my version of the argument from evil is a strong argument against the existence of God and that several important responses to it do not defeat it.

A FUNDAMENTAL STUDY ON CARBON STORAGE BY ZOSTERA MARINA IN ISE BAY, JAPAN

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideki Kokubu ◽  
Hideki Kokubu
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Zostera Marina ◽  
Standing Stock ◽  
Coastal Ecosystems ◽  
Blue Carbon ◽  
Mangrove Forests ◽  
Fundamental Study ◽  
Strong Argument ◽  
Ise Bay

Blue Carbon, which is carbon captured by marine organisms, has recently come into focus as an important factor for climate change initiatives. This carbon is stored in vegetated coastal ecosystems, specifically mangrove forests, seagrass beds and salt marshes. The recognition of the C sequestration value of vegetated coastal ecosystems provides a strong argument for their protection and restoration. Therefore, it is necessary to improve scientific understanding of the mechanisms that stock control C in these ecosystems. However, the contribution of Blue Carbon sequestration to atmospheric CO2 in shallow waters is as yet unclear, since investigations and analysis technology are ongoing. In this study, Blue Carbon sinks by Zostera marina were evaluated in artificial (Gotenba) and natural (Matsunase) Zostera beds in Ise Bay, Japan. 12-hour continuous in situ photosynthesis and oxygen consumption measurements were performed in both areas by using chambers in light and dark conditions. The production and dead amount of Zostera marina shoots were estimated by standing stock measurements every month. It is estimated that the amount of carbon storage as Blue Carbon was 237g-C/m2/year and 197g-C/m2/year in the artificial and natural Zostera marina beds, respectively. These results indicated that Zostera marina plays a role towards sinking Blue Carbon.

David Lewis Meets John Bell

1992 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Butterfield
Keyword(s):  
David Lewis

Participatory budgeting and government efficiency: evidence from municipal governments in South Korea

2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232199120
Author(s):  
Sun-Moon Jung
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Fiscal Sustainability ◽  
Efficiency Improvement ◽  
Participatory Budgeting ◽  
Strong Argument ◽  
Municipal Governments ◽  
Administrative Efficiency ◽  
Participatory Institutions ◽  
Improvement Effect ◽  
Government Efficiency

The current study evaluates the role of a democratic institution—participatory budgeting—in improving government efficiency. Participatory institutions aim to enhance governance, information sharing, and the responsiveness of political agents to citizens, leading to fiscal accountability and efficiency. Drawing from a database of 221 municipal governments in South Korea around a mandatory participatory budgeting adoption period, we find that participatory budgeting adoptions are followed by improvement in multiple dimensions of government efficiency. In particular, municipal governments experience statistically significant improvements in their fiscal sustainability and administrative efficiency. In additional analysis, we find that the efficiency improvements are more pronounced in the presence of strong mayoral leadership. Overall findings suggest that participatory budgeting programs contribute to fiscal health and administrative efficiency, above and beyond their role in securing fiscal democracy. Points for practitioners The current study suggests that participatory budget systems not only contribute to quality in democracy (as prior studies have found), but also improve fiscal efficiency and accountability by serving as a bottom-up governance mechanism. We document that introductions of participatory budgeting programs are followed by statistically significant improvements in fiscal sustainability and administrative efficiency. The results also indicate that the efficiency-improvement effect differs across municipalities, depending on their political environments. Overall, this study provides a strong argument for the participatory budgeting system by empirically supporting its efficiency-improvement effect.

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