The Descriptive-Normative Dichotomy and the So Called Naturalistic Fallacy

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edgar Morscher

AbstractInvestigating the genesis and justification of norms in a theoretical way requires a clear-cut distinction between normative and descriptive discourse. From a philosophical perspective, the descriptive-normative dichotomy can itself be understood either in a descriptive (or ‘reportive’) or in an normative (or ‘stipulative’) way. In the first case such a dichotomy is understood as the factual border between descriptive and normative discourse in a given language; exploring this border is a hermeneutic enterprise. In the other case it is understood as a boundary between descriptive and normative discourse to be implanted in a language which is developed in order to fit certain purposes, in particular theoretical purposes; this implanting procedure is a matter of regimentation. In this paper I will deal shortly with the first question of hermeneutics and then in more detail with the second question of regimentation. In the final part of the paper I will distinguish different types of naturalistic fallacies resulting from disregarding descriptive-normative dichotomies.

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 681-693
Author(s):  
Ariel Furstenberg

AbstractThis article proposes to narrow the gap between the space of reasons and the space of causes. By articulating the standard phenomenology of reasons and causes, we investigate the cases in which the clear-cut divide between reasons and causes starts to break down. Thus, substituting the simple picture of the relationship between the space of reasons and the space of causes with an inverted and complex one, in which reasons can have a causal-like phenomenology and causes can have a reason-like phenomenology. This is attained by focusing on “swift reasoned actions” on the one hand, and on “causal noisy brain mechanisms” on the other hand. In the final part of the article, I show how an analogous move, that of narrowing the gap between one’s normative framework and the space of reasons, can be seen as an extension of narrowing the gap between the space of causes and the space of reasons.


2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (S271) ◽  
pp. 127-134
Author(s):  
P. Repetto ◽  
M. Rosado ◽  
R. Gabbasov ◽  
I. Fuentes-Carrera

AbstractIn this study we present scanning Fabry-Perot Hα observations of the isolated interacting galaxy pair NGC 5278/79. We derived velocity fields, various kinematic parameters and rotation curves for both galaxies. These kinematical results together with the fact that dust lanes have been detected in both galaxies, as well as the analysis of surface brightness profiles along the minor axis, allowed us to determine univocally that both components of the interacting pair are trailing spirals. We have also estimated the mass of NGC 5278 fitting its rotation curve with a disk-halo component. We have tested three different types of halo (pseudo-isothermal, Hernquist and Navarro Frenk White) and we have obtained that the rotation curve can be fitted either with a pseudo-isothermal, an Hernquist halo or a Navarro Frenk White halo component, although in the first case the amount of dark matter required is about ten times smaller than for the other two halo distributions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-47
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Squires

Modernism is usually defined historically as the composite movement at the beginning of the twentieth century which led to a radical break with what had gone before in literature and the other arts. Given the problems of the continuing use of the concept to cover subsequent writing, this essay proposes an alternative, philosophical perspective which explores the impact of rationalism (what we bring to the world) on the prevailing empiricism (what we take from the world) of modern poetry, which leads to a concern with consciousness rather than experience. This in turn involves a re-conceptualisation of the lyric or narrative I, of language itself as a phenomenon, and of other poetic themes such as nature, culture, history, and art. Against the background of the dominant empiricism of modern Irish poetry as presented in Crotty's anthology, the essay explores these ideas in terms of a small number of poets who may be considered modernist in various ways. This does not rule out modernist elements in some other poets and the initial distinction between a poetics of experience and one of consciousness is better seen as a multi-dimensional spectrum that requires further, more detailed analysis than is possible here.


1970 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Vikram Patel

hetan Bhagat is one of the most influential fiction writers of contemporary Indian English literature. Postmodern subjects like youth aspirations, love, sex, marriage, urban middle class sensibilities, and issues related to corruption, politics, education and their impact on the contemporary Indian society are recurrently reflected thematic concerns in his fictions. In all his fictions, he has mostly depicted the contemporary urban social milieu of Indian society. Though the fictions of Chetan Bhagat are romantic in nature, contemporary Indian society and its major issues are the chief of the concerns of all his fictions. He has focused on the contemporary issues of middle class family in his fictional works. All of the chief protagonists of his works are sensitive youth and they do not compromise with the prevalent situations of society. Most of the characters are like caricatures that represent one or the other vice or virtue of the contemporary Indian society. The author has a mastery to convince the reader about the prevalent condition of society so that one can easily reproduce in mind, a clear cut image of contemporary Indian society. The present article is a sincere endeavor to present the detailed literary analysis of the select fictions of Chetan Bhagat keeping in mind how the contemporary Indian society has been replicated in the fictions.


Author(s):  
Daniel Martin Feige

Der Beitrag widmet sich der Frage historischer Folgeverhältnisse in der Kunst. Gegenüber dem Gedanken, dass es ein ursprüngliches Werk in der Reihe von Werken gibt, das späteren Werken seinen Sinn gibt, schlägt der Text vor, das Verhältnis umgekehrt zu denken: Im Lichte späterer Werke wird der Sinn früherer Werke neu ausgehandelt. Dazu geht der Text in drei Schritten vor. Im ersten Teil formuliert er unter der Überschrift ›Form‹ in kritischer Abgrenzung zu Danto und Eco mit Adorno den Gedanken, dass Kunstwerke eigensinnig konstituierte Gegenstände sind. Die im Gedanken der Neuverhandlung früherer Werke im Lichte späterer Werke vorausgesetzte Unbestimmtheit des Sinns von Kunstwerken wird im zweiten Teil unter dem Schlagwort ›Zeitlichkeit‹ anhand des Paradigmas der Improvisation erörtert. Der dritte und letzte Teil wendet diese improvisatorische Logik unter dem Label ›Neuaushandlung‹ dann dezidiert auf das Verhältnis von Vorbild und Nachbild an. The article proposes a new understanding of historical succession in the realm of art. In contrast to the idea that there is an original work in the series of works that gives meaning to the works that come later, the text proposes to think it exactly the other way round: in the light of later works, the meanings of earlier works are renegotiated. The text proceeds in three steps to develop this idea. Under the heading ›Form‹ it develops in the first part a critical reading of Danto’s and Eco’s notion of the constitution of the artworks and argues with Adorno that each powerful work develops its own language. In the second part, the vagueness of the meaning of works of art presupposed in the idea of renegotiating earlier works in the light of later works is discussed under the term ›Temporality‹ in terms of the logic of improvisation. The third and final part uses this improvisational logic under the label ›Renegotiation‹ to understand the relationship between model and afterimage in the realm of art.


Author(s):  
Anna Varnayeva

Coordinative constructions are traditionally opposed to subordinative constructions. However, this opposition comes down to denial of dependence in coordinative constructions. Thereby the parity of these two constructions does not come to light: subordinative construction can be described without coordinative one. This situation is not improved by detection of a coordinative triangle in all coordinative constructions. The article shows a new approach in the study of coordinative constructions: a coordinative construction is a system; there are not only specific relations – a coordinative triangle, – but also specific elements. Novelty of the study consists in the address to extralinguistic facts, viz. a mathematical concept of a set and its elements. There are a lot of similarities between them. A set in mathematics includes generalizing elements and the composed row in coordinative constructions; in the first case the set is not partitioned, in the second case it is partitioned. In mathematics equivalent components in coordinative constructions correspond to the set elements. A characteristic property in mathematics is homogeneity in coordinative constructions and etc. It is firstly demonstrated, that coordinative and subordinative constructions are correlative and the study of one construction is impossible without the study of the other one. Their parity is shown in coordinative constructions with elements of one set, in subordinative ones with elements of different sets. Cf.: roses and tulips –red roses. In the coordinatiму construction elements of one set are called: «flowers »; in the subordinative construction there are elements of different sets: «flowers » and «colors». It should be noted that the mathematical concept of a set relates to so called logical aspect in linguistics or thinking about reality.


2008 ◽  
Vol 59 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugenia Pantru ◽  
Gheorghit Jinescu ◽  
Rozalia R�dulescu ◽  
Antoneta Filcenco Olteanu ◽  
Cosmin Jinescu

This paper presents an intensive procedure used for the decontamination of the soils, which were radioactively contaminated by uranium, due to the occurrence of some antropic accidents, in order to limit the area�s pollution. The procedure used for the chemical decontamination of the polluted soils was the washing one and the decontamination degree is comparatively presented depending on the ultrasounds� presence and absence. The lab testes were performed on five types of soils , which were characterized from the granulometric, structural and chemical composition viewpoint, all these aspects represent the main factors, which determine the applied decontamination procedure�s limits and performances correlated with its utilization costs. The decontamination procedure�s kinetics for each type of soils was analyzed, using successively three different types of reagents (water, 0.1 M sulphuric acid solution and chloro-sodic solution � 100 g/L sodium chloride + 10 g/L sodium carbonate in water) for a solid to liquid ratio of 1:2, during 2 h, at a temperature of 20oC in a mechanic stirring system respectively in ultrasounds field. It was observed that the decontamination degree increases with up to 15-20% in case of the ultrasound field utilization comparing to the first case.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Davide Vittori

Abstract Scholars have long debated whether populism harms or improves the quality of democracy. This article contributes to this debate by focusing on the impact of populist parties in government. In particular, it inquires: (1) whether populists in government are more likely than non-populists to negatively affect the quality of democracies; (2) whether the role of populists in government matters; and (3) which type of populism is expected to negatively affect the quality of liberal-democratic regimes. The results find strong evidence that the role of populists in government affects several qualities of democracy. While robust, the findings related to (2) are less clear-cut than those pertaining to (1). Finally, regardless of their role in government, different types of populism have different impacts on the qualities of democracy. The results show that exclusionary populist parties in government tend to have more of a negative impact than other forms of populism.


Author(s):  
Hyeck Soo Son ◽  
Jung Min Lee ◽  
Ramin Khoramnia ◽  
Chul Young Choi

Abstract Purpose To analyse and compare the surface topography and roughness of three different types of diffractive multifocal IOLs. Methods Using scanning electron microscope (SEM, Inspect F, 5.0 KV, maximum magnification up to 20,000) and atomic force microscope (AFM, Park Systems, XE-100, non-contact, area profile comparison, 10 × 10 µm, 40 × 40 µm), the surface quality of the following diffractive IOLs was studied: the AcrySof IQ PanOptix (Alcon, USA), the AT LARA 829MP (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Germany), and Tecnis Symfony (Johnson&Johnson Vision, USA). The measurements were made over three representative areas (central non-diffractive optic, central diffractive optic, and diffractive step) of each IOL. Roughness profile in terms of mean arithmetic roughness (Ra) and root-mean-squared roughness (Rq) values were obtained and compared statistically. Results In SEM examination, all IOLs showed a smooth optical surface without any irregularities at low magnification. At higher magnification, Tecnis Symfony showed unique highly regular, concentric, and lineate structures in the diffractive optic area which could not be seen in the other studied diffractive IOLs. The differences in the measured Ra and Rq values of the Tecnis Symfony were statistically significant compared to the other models (p < 0.05). Conclusion Various different topographical traits were observed in three diffractive multifocal IOLs. The Ra values of all studied IOLs were within an acceptable range. Tecnis Symfony showed statistically significant higher surface Ra values at both central diffractive optic and diffractive step areas. Furthermore, compared to its counterparts, Tecnis Symfony demonstrated highly ordered, concentric pattern in its diffractive surfaces.


2020 ◽  
pp. 174387212098228
Author(s):  
Stephen Riley

Drawing upon Kant’s analysis of the role of intuitions in our orientation towards knowledge, this paper analyses four points of departure in thinking about dignity: self, other, time and space. Each reveals a core area of normative discourse – authenticity in the self, respect for the other, progress through time and authority as the government of space – along with related grounds of resistance to dignity. The paper concludes with a discussion of the methodological challenge presented by our different dignitarian intuitions, in particular the role of universality in testing and cohering our intuitions.


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