scholarly journals The Bayesian stance: Equations for ‘as-if’ sensorimotor agency

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon McGregor
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Models ◽  
Theoretical Language ◽  
Bayesian Decision ◽  
Physical Sciences ◽  
Rational Decision Making ◽  
Causal Boundary ◽  
Physical Variables ◽  
Formal Relations ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Do So

The verb ‘to do’ plays a vital part in our understanding of the world, and it goes hand-in-hand with words such as active, action and agent. But the physical sciences describe only mechanical happenings, not acts. Their theoretical language is, in essence, a strict mathematical formalism applied to the description of variables (usually quantitative ones) that can – at least in principle – be measured by mechanical instruments. In such a language, what is the definition of an agent? Of an act? In contrast to previous approaches, which attempt to discriminate between agent and non-agent systems, we pursue a more Dennettian approach that attempts only to characterise the explanatory logic of intentional (agentive) interpretations of a physical system; we wish to do so purely in terms of the formal relations that hold between variables in a dynamical system or stochastic process. Our approach is straightforward: we use Pearl’s causal formalism to identify physical variables at the causal boundary between ‘agent’ and ‘environment’, and identify these with variables in Bayesian decision theory; this provides a rigorous bridge between mathematical models of physics and mathematical models of rational decision-making.

scholarly journals Neonatal Hypoglycaemia: A Never-Ending Story?

Neonatology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Nestor E. Vain ◽  
Florencia Chiarelli
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Neonatal Period ◽  
Newborn Infants ◽  
Neonatal Hypoglycaemia ◽  
Rational Decision Making ◽  
Weak Evidence ◽  
Universal Approach ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Therapeutic Alternatives ◽  
Current Guidelines

Neonatal hypoglycaemia is a common metabolic disorder presenting in the first days of life and one potentially preventable cause of brain injury. However, a universal approach to diagnosis and management is still lacking. The rapid decrease in blood glucose (BG) after birth triggers homeostatic mechanisms. Most episodes of hypoglycaemia are asymptomatic, and symptoms, when they occur, are nonspecific. Therefore, neonatologists are presented with the challenge of identifying infants at risk who might benefit from a rapid and effective therapy while sparing others unnecessary sampling and overtreatment. There is much controversy regarding the definition of hypoglycaemia, and one level does not fit all infants since postnatal age and clinical situations trigger different accepted thresholds for therapy. The concentration and duration of BG which cause neurological damage are unclear. Recognizing which newborn infants are at risk of hypoglycaemia and establishing protocols for treatment are essential to avoid possible deleterious effects on neurodevelopment. Early breastfeeding may reduce the risk of hypoglycaemia, but in some cases, the amount of breast milk available immediately after birth is insufficient or non-existent. In these situations, other therapeutic alternatives such as oral dextrose gel may lower the risk for NICU admissions. Current guidelines continue to be based on expert opinion and weak evidence. However, malpractice litigation related to neurodevelopmental disorders is frequent in children who suffered hypoglycaemia in the neonatal period even if they had other important factors contributing to the poor outcome. This review is aimed to help the practicing paediatricians and neonatologists to comprehend neonatal hypoglycaemia from physiology to therapy, hoping it will result in a rational decision-making process in an area not sufficiently supported by evidence.

scholarly journals Accountability as a Virtue

2021 ◽  
pp. 095394682110097
Author(s):  
Andrew Torrance
Keyword(s):  
Definition Of ◽  
Do So

This opening article will offer a brief introduction to what it means to understand accountability as a virtue. To do so, I first propose a definition of the condition of accountability, which I go on to distinguish from responsibility. Based on this definition, I then present an account of the corresponding virtue of accountability.

scholarly journals Indistinguishability and Negative Probabilities

Entropy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 829
Author(s):  
J. Acacio de Barros ◽  
Federico Holik
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Systems ◽  
Quantum Contextuality ◽  
No Signaling ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Do So

In this paper, we examined the connection between quantum systems’ indistinguishability and signed (or negative) probabilities. We do so by first introducing a measure-theoretic definition of signed probabilities inspired by research in quantum contextuality. We then argue that ontological indistinguishability leads to the no-signaling condition and negative probabilities.

New code for the protection of civilian population and property during armed conflict

1980 ◽  
Vol 20 (219) ◽  
pp. 287-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ionel Gloşcă
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Civilian Population ◽  
State Activity ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Do So

One of the principles underlying international law applicable in armed conflicts is that no act of war is permitted against the civilian population, consisting, by definition, of persons who take no part in the hostilities.Until the holocaust of 1939–45, international law gave practically no real protection to the civilian population in the event of war, and was not even intended to do so since up to that time war was considered to be a State activity from which civilians remained aloof. There were, nonetheless, general principles and rules in various international treaties which, in one way or another, related also to the civilian population.

Toxæmia in the Etiology of Mental Disease. a Discussion opened

1902 ◽  
Vol 48 (202) ◽  
pp. 434-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. S. Clouston
Keyword(s):  
Nerve Cell ◽  
General Trend ◽  
Mental Disease ◽  
The Other ◽  
British Association ◽  
Younger Men ◽  
Full Knowledge ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Do So

Dr. Clouston said that when he suggested toxæmia to the secretary as a suitable subject for a discussion at this meeting he had not intended to be the first speaker, because his object was to bring out more fully the views of the younger members who had recently committed themselves so strongly to the toxæmic and bacterial etiology of insanity, and so to get light thrown on some of the difficulties which he and others had felt in applying this theory to many of their cases in practice. It was not that he did not believe in the toxic theory as explaining the onset of many cases, or that he under-rated its importance, but that he could not see how it applied so universally or generally as some of the modern pathological school were now inclined to insist on. He knew that it was difficult for those of the older psychological and clinical school to approach the subject with that full knowledge of recent bacteriological and pathological doctrine which the younger men possessed, or to breathe that all-pervading pathological atmosphere which they seemed to inhale. He desired to conduct this discussion in an absolutely non-controversial and purely scientific spirit. To do so he thought it best to put his facts, objections, and difficulties in a series of propositions which could be answered and explained by the other side. He thought it important to define toxæmia, but should be willing to accept Dr. Ford Robertson's definition of toxines, viz., “Substances which are taken up by the (cortical nerve) cell and then disorder its metabolism.” He took the following extracts from his address at the Cheltenham meeting of the British Association (1) as representing Dr. Ford Robertson's views and the general trend of much investigation and hypothesis on the Continent.

scholarly journals O novo paradigma da decisão a partir do art. 20 da LINDB: análise do dispositivo segundo as teorias de Richard Posner e Neil MacCormick

2019 ◽  
Vol 278 (3) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Francisco Sérgio Maia Alves
Keyword(s):  
Legal Practice ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
The Law ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Do So

<p>The new paradigm of decision based on art. 20 of the LINDB: analysis of the text according to the theories of Richard Posner and Neil MacCormick</p><p> </p><p>O presente trabalho visa analisar o art. 20 da Lei de Introdução às Normas do Direito Brasileiro (LINDB), introduzido pela Lei nº 13.655/2018. Para tanto, será mostrado como os valores jurídicos foram excluídos e novamente reintroduzidos na prática jurídica e como essa reintrodução gerou preocupações quanto ao aumento da discricionariedade da aplicação do direito. O artigo apresentará as teorias pragmática e consequencialista, segundo a doutrina de dois de seus principais expoentes, Richard Posner e Neil MacCormick. No afã de cumprir o objetivo central do artigo, serão delimitados os conceitos de valores jurídicos abstratos e consequências práticas da decisão, no contexto do art. 20 da LINDB, e, por fim, definido o espaço de aplicação do dispositivo.</p><p> </p><p>This work aims to analyze art. 20 of the Law of Introduction to the Rules of Brazilian Law (LINDB), or Law No. 13.655/2018. To do so, it will be shown how legal values were excluded and reintroduced in legal practice and how this reintroduction raised concerns regarding the increase of discretion in the application of the law. The article will present pragmatic and consequentialist theories, in line with the doctrine of two of its main exponents, Richard Posner and Neil MacCormick. In order to meet the key objective of the article, the concepts of abstract legal values and practical consequences of the decision will be described in the context of art. 20 of the LINDB, concluding with a definition of the area in which the law is applied.</p>

scholarly journals Categories as Mathematical Models

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David I. Spivak
Keyword(s):  
Dynamical Systems ◽  
Mathematical Modelling ◽  
Mathematical Models ◽  
Category Theory ◽  
Vector Spaces ◽  
Mathematical Objects ◽  
Working Definition ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Categorical Models ◽  
Definition Of

Category theory is presented as a mathematical modelling framework that highlights the relationships between objects, rather than the objects in themselves. A working definition of model is given, and several examples of mathematical objects, such as vector spaces, groups, and dynamical systems, are considered as categorical models.

The Later Work of Gabriel García Márquez

2021 ◽  
pp. 557-573
Author(s):  
Nicholas Birns
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
Magical Realism ◽  
Gabriel Garcia Marquez ◽  
Spanish America ◽  
Personal Memory ◽  
Late Work ◽  
Moral Transformation ◽  
Drug Cartels ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Do So

If the Bolívar novel embodies the collective memory of a region in a manner spare yet ingenious, the novelist’s other major late work tends toward personal memory. In Of Love and Other Demons, García Márquez comes as close to magical realism as in any work since the short stories and One Hundred Years of Solitude and reaffirms the multiracial and Caribbean character of the author’s own definition of Spanish America. In News of a Kidnapping, García Márquez ventures onto the territory of drug cartels and violence, which became the preoccupation of the next generation of Colombian writers, relating this material from the deadpan, appalled stance that is as characteristic of his viewpoint as the mesmeric incantations so commonly associated with him. In Memories of My Melancholy Whores, a late in life moral transformation redeems a lifetime of iniquity and testifies to the strangeness of the new territory of extreme old age, in a sense as unexplored a country as Macondo once was. In Living to Tell the Tale, García Márquez reflects upon the first half of his own life. Unlike in the case of Bolívar, García Márquez did not get to tell the ending of the story, leaving later writers and readers to do so in their own minds, as the great master had done for the General.

Caretaker or liberator?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allyn Fives
Keyword(s):  
Clear Distinction ◽  
Moral Conflicts ◽  
General Account ◽  
Role Of Parents ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Do So

Are parents caretakers or liberators? Is the role of parents to act in a paternalistic fashion so as to take care of their children or is it instead to set their children free? In this chapter, I argue that those who defend the caretaker thesis do so on the basis of assumptions characteristic of the liberal view on paternalism. It is assumed that paternalism entails interfering with another’s liberty, that it does not involve moral conflicts, and that it is justified treatment of those who lack the qualities of an agent. In addition, no clear distinction is made between children who lack the qualities of an agent and children who are merely incompetent. What is more, the same assumptions underlie the liberation thesis. Indeed, both the caretaker thesis and the liberation thesis are questionable because they operate with a definition of paternalism that is highly problematic. I also want to make one further argument here. Namely, even an adequate conceptualisation of paternalism is insufficient as a general account of parental power, as there are non-paternalistic forms of parental power as well.

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