scholarly journals The Mathematics (and Metaphysics) of Identical Twins

2020 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 278-291
Author(s):  
Richard Playford
Keyword(s):  
Identical Twins ◽  
The Other ◽  
Traditional Model ◽  
Human Being ◽  
New Model ◽  
Monozygotic Twinning ◽  
Early Embryos ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Over Time

The metaphysics of early embryos is a hotly debated topic in contemporary bioethics and metaphysics. Many contemporary Aristotelians believe that a human being is present from the moment of conception. At the same time, certain findings in modern embryology about the formation of identical twins challenge this belief. It becomes much harder when these theories are taken into account to understand the continued identity over time of the embryo(s) given the twinning process. In this article, I will consider the philosophical implications of two models of monozygotic twinning within an Aristotelian metaphysical schema one of which is the standard, or traditional, model. The other of which is a new model recently put forward by Herranz. For the sake of completeness, I will also consider the philosophical implications of chimeras for the Aristotelian position. I will explain how Aristotelians can understand the process of twinning while holding on to their belief that a human being is present from the moment of conception. Summary: I will argue that a human being is present from the moment of conception. I will argue for this on Aristotelian grounds, and I will then defend this claim from criticisms based on a number of findings in modern embryology.

scholarly journals Monocular vision is intrinsically unstable: a side-effect of binocular homeostasis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Reynaud ◽  
Kévin Blaize ◽  
Frédéric Chavane ◽  
Robert F. Hess
Keyword(s):  
Monocular Deprivation ◽  
Monocular Vision ◽  
Human Vision ◽  
The Other ◽  
Contrast Threshold ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Inhibitory Circuits ◽  
Contrast Gain ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Over Time

AbstractIt is now accepted that short-term deprivation of one eye in adults results in not only a post-deprivation strengthening of the vision in the previously deprived eye but also a deterioration in the vision of the previously non-patched eye. Such monocular deprivation of 1-2 hours induces changes that last approximately 30-90 minutes. There is some support for this neuroplastic effect being the consequence of a change in the contrast gain within the binocular circuity. What is not known is when these changes in gain are initiated. One possibility is that they are initiated only once the patch is removed. The other possibility is that they are the result of a slow build up from the moment the patch is first applied.In this study, we measure monocular contrast detection thresholds of the non-deprived eye over time during the deprivation of the other eye. We show that contrast threshold increases over time during the deprivation of the other eye. This observation suggest that the patching effect is mediated by a slow build up over the deprivation period: reducing the vision of the non-deprived eye and enhancing the vision of the deprived eye reflecting reciprocal changes in sensitivity. These results highlight a hitherto unknown feature of human vision, namely that monocular vision per se is intrinsically unstable which is a consequence of the reciprocal inhibitory circuits that homeostatically regulate binocular vision. This questions a whole corpus of studies of visual function that rely on the assumption that monocular vision is intrinsically stable.

scholarly journals Verhulst Model of Interval Grey Number Based on Information Decomposing and Model Combination

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Zeng ◽  
Chuan Li ◽  
Guo Chen ◽  
Wang Zhang
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Traditional Model ◽  
Model Combination ◽  
New Model ◽  
Simulation Performance ◽  
Grey Verhulst Model ◽  
Verhulst Model ◽  
S Curve ◽  
Grey Number ◽  
Development Tendency

Grey Verhulst models are often employed to simulate the development tendency with the characteristic of saturated process of S curve. However, the uncertainty of interval grey numbers will be increased since the boundaries of interval grey number are extended by the Axiom of nondecreasing grey degree in the existing Verhulst modeling method. In this paper, the interval grey number is divided into two real number parts, that is, “white” and “grey” parts. Then the “white” and “grey” parts are simulated and forecasted by building the grey Verhulst model and DGM (1, 1) model, respectively. To some degree, this method resolves the issue of amplifying the range of interval grey number. Finally, an example is used to compare the simulation performance between the new model and the traditional model, and the results show that the new model is superior to the other model.

Oxycéphalie chez trois paires de jumeaux univitellins, associée dans un des cas à une cutis frontis gyrata

1952 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Franceschetti ◽  
D. Klein
Keyword(s):  
Monozygotic Twins ◽  
Identical Twins ◽  
The Other ◽  
Recessive Inheritance ◽  
The Third ◽  
First Case ◽  
Unstable Gene ◽  
Concomitant Strabismus ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Cas A

Description of 3 cases of identical twins affected by concordant oxycephaly. In the first case, one of the twins had a son who was likewise afflicted by a typical scaphocephaly. In the second case, both children showed also a convergent concomitant strabismus, which was latent in one and manifest in the other, and moreover a concordant ptosis. In the third case, the oxycephaly was associated with cutis frontis gyrata homologous in both twins.A confrontation of the cases of oxycephaly in identical twins based on the literature and our personal cases, shows clearly a majority in favour of concordance : 25 concordant pairs as compared to 10 discordant ones; the fraternal twins (7-8 cases) are all discordant as regards oxycephaly. The cases of discordant oxycephaly in monozygotic twins must therefore be interpreted as the result of an unstable gene of feeble penetrance. The conclusion of the genotypic origin of oxycephaly is corroborated by some pedigrees showing a transmission through 2 or more generations. Two reported cases with consanguinity of the parents suggest likewise the possibility of recessive inheritance.The association of oxycephaly with cutis frontis gyrata, as observed in our third case, having not yet been described, we cannot for the moment decide whether this combination is due to chance or whether there exists a pathogenic correlation between both anomalies.

scholarly journals The Role of Time in the Theory of Narrative Identity in the Philosophy of Paul Ricoeur

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 483-494
Author(s):  
Michał Kumorek
Keyword(s):  
Personal Identity ◽  
Narrative Identity ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Being ◽  
The Core ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
New Models ◽  
Changes Over Time ◽  
Over Time

Time has a very important function in considering the identity of a person. It is the factor that brings identity into question. The core of the problem is the question of whether the person is the same as he or she was at another time. The problem of personal identity was one of the most important issues in Paul Ricoeurs philosophy. He considers this problem in the context of time and notes that traditional models of identity as sameness and as selfhood have been entangled in various aporias. He, therefore, proposes two new models of identity that are related in different ways to temporality: character and promise. Character is a model that changes over time through the acquisition or loss of various traits. The promise, on the other hand, is a model that resists the pressure of time attempts to keep a given word. In this way, these two different models create the framework for Ricoeur's concept of narrative identity. In this concept, time enables the development of action in a story. It allows the action to turn around, but it also allows the human being to look at the story of his or her life. Character and promise are models that allow the human being to look at his or her life as a certain temporal entity that is constantly threatened by unforeseen accidents and events but also constantly absorbs them and, through to time, gives the possibility of retrospection leading to synthesis. This synthesis allows us to look at a single life as a whole, belonging to the same person endowed with the character and challenge of keeping a promise.

How nonce borrowings become loanwords

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shana Poplack
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
The Other ◽  
Grammatical Structure ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Speech Corpora ◽  
The Moment ◽  
First Time ◽  
And Diffusion ◽  
Over Time

Making use of a unique series of speech corpora collected between the 1940s and 2007, this chapter traces for the first time the diachronic trajectory of nonce forms in bilingual production over a real-time period of 61 years and nearly a century and a half in apparent time. It tests and refutes two standard assumptions about nonce borrowings: (1) they increase in frequency and diffusion, and (2) they originate as code-switches and are gradually converted to loanwords. Results show that nonce forms generally do not go on to become established loanwords: few persist, let alone increase over time. Based on several diagnostics, analysis of the linguistic trajectory of those that diffuse and increase in frequency shows that they are not integrated gradually; instead they assume recipient-language grammatical structure abruptly. Code-switches are not converted into borrowings; the decision to code-switch or borrow is made at the moment the other-language item is accessed.

Grandiose and Vulnerable Narcissistic States in Interpersonal Situations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Edershile ◽  
Aidan G.C. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Daily Life ◽  
The Other ◽  
Interpersonal Theory ◽  
Dynamic Processes ◽  
Large Sample ◽  
Empirical Perspective ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Interpersonal Situations ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Over Time

Clinicians have noted that narcissistic individuals fluctuate over time in their levels of grandiosity and vulnerability. However, these fluctuations remain poorly understood from an empirical perspective. Interpersonal theory asserts that interpersonal situations are central to the expression of personality and psychopathology, and therefore are a key context in which to understand state narcissism’s dynamic processes. The present study is the first to examine state narcissism assessed during interpersonal situations. Specifically, perceptions of others’ warmth and dominance, momentary grandiosity and vulnerability, and one’s own warm and dominant behavior were assessed across situations in daily life in a large sample (person N=286; occasion N=6,837). Results revealed that more grandiose individuals perceived others as colder and behaved in a more dominant and cold fashion, on average. But in the moment, relatively higher grandiosity was associated with perceiving others as warmer and more submissive and resulted in more dominant and warm behavior. On the other hand, trait vulnerability was associated with perceptions of coldness and cold behavior, and these effects were only amplified in momentary spikes of vulnerability. This study provides much needed insight into the contexts that contribute to fluctuations in grandiosity and vulnerability.

scholarly journals Lacking limit: Desire and the absurd

2019 ◽  
pp. 125-136
Author(s):  
Xymena Synak
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Human Being ◽  
The World ◽  
Primary Separation ◽  
The Moment

The article attempts to analyze the existential idea of the innate conflict between me, a human being, and the world, set in the psychoanalytical context of the primary separation between me — a tragic emptiness — and the other who is introduced to me in the form of the m(O)ther’s womb. (O) — from the French l’autre (the other) — literally marks the object-cause of my desire, l’objet a that escapes me radically (Latin radix meaning root), at the moment of me being born and separated from the mother. In this context, the radical separation made present in the primordial cut of the (O) is the very secret of both death and language.

Emotional Impact Feedback Changes How We Remember Negative Autobiographical Experiences

2010 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 354-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie K. T. Takarangi ◽  
Deryn Strange
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
The Other ◽  
Personal Perspective ◽  
Emotional Impact ◽  
Potential Mechanism ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
Negative Memory ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Negative Memories ◽  
Over Time

When people are told that their negative memories are worse than other people’s, do they later remember those events differently? We asked participants to recall a recent negative memory then, 24 h later, we gave some participants feedback about the emotional impact of their event – stating it was more or less negative compared to other people’s experiences. One week later, participants recalled the event again. We predicted that if feedback affected how participants remembered their negative experiences, their ratings of the memory’s characteristics should change over time. That is, when participants are told that their negative event is extremely negative, their memories should be more vivid, recollected strongly, and remembered from a personal perspective, compared to participants in the other conditions. Our results provide support for this hypothesis. We suggest that external feedback might be a potential mechanism in the relationship between negative memories and psychological well-being.

The Final ‘Thank You’

Derrida Today ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-36
Author(s):  
Grant Farred
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Jacques Derrida ◽  
Political Transition ◽  
The Other ◽  
World Cup ◽  
The Core ◽  
Nelson Mandela ◽  
Black President ◽  
The Moment

‘The Final “Thank You”’ uses the work of Jacques Derrida and Friedrich Nietzsche to think the occasion of the 1995 rugby World Cup, hosted by the newly democratic South Africa. This paper deploys Nietzsche's Zarathustra to critique how a figure such as Nelson Mandela is understood as a ‘Superman’ or an ‘Overhuman’ in the moment of political transition. The philosophical focus of the paper, however, turns on the ‘thank yous’ exchanged by the white South African rugby captain, François Pienaar, and the black president at the event of the Springbok victory. It is the value, and the proximity and negation, of the ‘thank yous’ – the relation of one to the other – that constitutes the core of the article. 1

Macaronics as What Eludes Translation

Paragraph ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-230
Author(s):  
Haun Saussy
Keyword(s):  
Print Culture ◽  
The Other ◽  
Digital Code ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
The Moment

‘Translation’ is one of our all-purpose metaphors for almost any kind of mediation or connection: we ask of a principle how it ‘translates’ into practice, we announce initiatives to ‘translate’ the genome into predictions, and so forth. But the metaphor of translation — of the discovery of equivalents and their mutual substitution — so attracts our attention that we forget the other kinds of inter-linguistic contact, such as transcription, mimicry, borrowing or calque. In a curious echo of the macaronic writings of the era of the dawn of print, the twentieth century's avant-garde, already foreseeing the end of print culture, experimented with hybrid languages. Their untranslatability under the usual definitions of ‘translation’ suggests a revival of this avant-garde practice, as the mainstream aesthetic of the moment invests in ‘convergence’ and the subsumption of all media into digital code.

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