scholarly journals Is addiction a myth? Donald Davidson’s solution to the problem of akrasia says not*

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Heather ◽  
Gabriel Segal
Keyword(s):  
Drug Research ◽  
Causal Attribution ◽  
Intentional Action ◽  
The Self ◽  
Philosophical Problem ◽  
Intentional Actions ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Will ◽  
Akratic Action ◽  
Do So

Heather, N., & Segal, G. (2015). Is addiction a myth? Donald Davidson’s solution to the problem of akrasia says not*. The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 4(1), 77-83. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v4i1.195An obvious problem for the concept of addiction is its portrayal as involving involuntary behavior in the face of the addict’s intentional actions. This has led some writers to call addiction a myth and to describe the self-labeling of persons as addicts as an illustration of causal attribution. We argue that this position is seriously mistaken. We propose that it is possible to construct a meaningful concept of addiction without assuming it involves completely involuntary behavior and to do so within the language of agents engaging in intentional action. One way of doing so arises from the work of Donald Davidson (1917-2003), particularly his essay "How is weakness of the will possible?" (Davidson, 1969). Davidson proposes a solution to the classic philosophical problem (called the problem of akrasia or incontinence) of how it is logically possible for someone to perform an action against her better judgement, and his solution is relevant to an understanding of addiction (i.e., addiction is a class of akratic action). Thus, Davidson’s solution to this philosophical problem is also an answer to the question of how it is possible to understand addiction without assuming it entails completely involuntary behavior. At the same time, Davidson’s conclusion at the end of his essay—that the akrates cannot give a reason for preferring incontinent over continent action—suggests what addicts mean when they say they feel compelled to behave the way they do.

scholarly journals Reconciling Practical Knowledge with Self-Deception

Mind ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 128 (512) ◽  
pp. 1205-1225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Marcus
Keyword(s):  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Intentional Action ◽  
The Self ◽  
Correct Description ◽  
Knowing That ◽  
Do So

Abstract Is it impossible for a person to do something intentionally without knowing that she is doing it? The phenomenon of self-deceived agency might seem to show otherwise. Here the agent is not (at least in a straightforward sense) lying, yet disavows a correct description of her intentional action. This disavowal might seem expressive of ignorance. However, I show that the self-deceived agent does know what she's doing. I argue that we should understand the factors that explain self-deception as masking rather than negating the practical knowledge characteristic of intentional action. This masking takes roughly the following form: when we are deceiving ourselves about what we are intentionally doing, we don't think about our action because it's painful to do so.

A PRODUÇÃO DE PROVAS NA ARBITRAGEM BRASILEIRA

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 139
Author(s):  
Feliciano Alcides Dias ◽  
Natacha Juli Georg
Keyword(s):  
Civil Procedure ◽  
Judicial Process ◽  
Procedural Law ◽  
Arbitration Process ◽  
Deductive Method ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Will ◽  
Real Truth ◽  
Bibliographic Collection ◽  
Do So

<p class="resumo">Esta pesquisa tem a finalidade de analisar a produção de provas no processo arbitral, de acordo com as disposições do Código de Processo Civil brasileiro, a partir da escolha pelas partes na instituição da arbitragem. Para tanto, a produção das provas cíveis é abordada, através do método dedutivo e acervo bibliográfico, na legislação processual brasileira para posterior compreensão do cabimento destas perante o juízo arbitral, cuja busca pela verdade real passa a ter maior concretude diante da vontade das partes. Em comparação com o processo judicial, investiga-se a celeridade do procedimento probatório e as implicações na produção das provas cíveis perante a arbitragem brasileira e o funcionamento do processo arbitral. Verifica-se a possibilidade de que testemunhas técnicas imitam opinião sobre determinado assunto, baseado nos conhecimentos técnicos especializados antes da audiência de instrução no juízo arbitral, com a finalidade de reduzir o tempo, os custos do processo e também afastar eventuais surpresas no julgamento do conflito.</p><p class="resumo"><strong>Palavras-chave: </strong>Arbitragem. Produção de Provas. Código de Processo Civil. Resolução dos Conflitos.</p><h3>THE PRODUCTION OF EVIDENCE IN BRAZILIAN ARBITRATION</h3><div><p class="abstractCxSpFirst"><strong>Abstract: </strong>This research has the purpose of analyzing the production of evidence in the arbitration process, in accordance with the provisions of the Brazilian Civil Procedure Code, based on the choice by the parties in the arbitration institution. In order to do so, the production of civil evidence is approached, through the deductive method and bibliographic collection, in the Brazilian procedural law for later understanding of the arbitration court's jurisdiction, whose search for the real truth becomes more concrete in the face of the will of the parties. In comparison with the judicial process, the speed of the probative procedure and the implications in the production of the civil evidence before the Brazilian arbitration and the operation of the arbitration process are investigated. There is a possibility that technical witnesses imitate an opinion on a particular matter, based on specialized technical knowledge prior to the arbitration hearing, in order to reduce the time, costs of the process and also to avoid any surprises in the trial of the conflict.</p><p class="abstractCxSpLast"><strong>Keywords: </strong>Arbitration. Production of Evidence. Code of Civil Procedure. Conflict Resolution.</p></div>

scholarly journals Dissecting the neurofunctional bases of intentional action

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (28) ◽  
pp. 7440-7445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Zapparoli ◽  
Silvia Seghezzi ◽  
Paola Scifo ◽  
Alberto Zerbi ◽  
Giuseppe Banfi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Supplementary Motor Area ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Intentional Action ◽  
The Self ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Intentional Actions ◽  
Two Sides ◽  
Decision Cost

Here we challenge and present evidence that expands the what, when, and whether anatomical model of intentional action, which states that internally driven decisions about the content and timing of our actions and about whether to act at all depend on separable neural systems, anatomically segregated along the medial wall of the frontal lobe. In our fMRI event-related paradigm, subjects acted following conditional cues or following their intentions. The content of the actions, their timing, or their very occurrence were the variables investigated, together with the modulating factor of intentionality. Besides a shared activation of the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) for all components and the SMA proper for the when component, we found specific activations beyond the mesial prefrontal wall involving the parietal cortex for the what component or subcortical gray structures for the when component. Moreover, we found behavioral, functional, anatomical, and brain connectivity evidence that the self-driven decisions on whether to act require a higher interhemispheric cooperation: This was indexed by a specific activation of the corpus callosum whereby the less the callosal activation, the greater was the decision cost at the time of the action in the whether trials. Furthermore, tractography confirmed that the fibers passing through the callosal focus of activation connect the two sides of the frontal lobes involved in intentional trials. This is evidence of non-unitary neural foundations for the processes involved in intentional actions with the pre-SMA/ACC operating as an intentional hub. These findings may guide the exploration of specific instances of disturbed intentionality.

scholarly journals “The Problem from Hell”: Examining the Role of Peace and Conflict Studies for Genocide Intervention and Prevention

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Cormier ◽  
Peter Karari ◽  
Alka Kumar ◽  
Robin Neustaeter ◽  
Jodi Read ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Conflict Studies ◽  
Peace And Conflict Studies ◽  
Peace And Conflict ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Will ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Do So

Genocide is one of the most challenging problems of our age. In her book, “A Problem from Hell:” America and the Age of Genocide, Samantha Power (2002) argues that the United States, while in a position to intervene in genocide, has lacked the will to do so, and therefore it is incumbent on the U.S. citizenry to pressure their government to act. This article reviews how the topic of genocide raises questions along the fault lines of the field of Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS). In this article, a framework is provided to examine genocide and responses to it. This includes a review of a multiplicity of factors that (a) facilitate genocide, (b) constrain action in the face of it, and (c) facilitate intervention. In this analysis, further consideration is given to the location of the actor either within the region of the conflict or external to it. Our goal is to situate the study of genocide in the PACS field and promote to the articulation of possibilities for intervention by individuals, organizations, and policymakers.

Power of Darkness: Narrative and Biographical Reflexivity in A Series of Unfortunate Events

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-212
Author(s):  
ELIZABETH BULLEN
Keyword(s):  
The Self ◽  
Risk Society ◽  
Project Risk ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
The World ◽  
The Face ◽  
High Earning ◽  
Textual Culture ◽  
Children’S Exposure ◽  
Central Claim

This paper investigates the high-earning children's series, A Series of Unfortunate Events, in relation to the skills young people require to survive and thrive in what Ulrich Beck calls risk society. Children's textual culture has been traditionally informed by assumptions about childhood happiness and the need to reassure young readers that the world is safe. The genre is consequently vexed by adult anxiety about children's exposure to certain kinds of knowledge. This paper discusses the implications of the representation of adversity in the Lemony Snicket series via its subversions of the conventions of children's fiction and metafictional strategies. Its central claim is that the self-consciousness or self-reflexivity of A Series of Unfortunate Events} models one of the forms of reflexivity children need to be resilient in the face of adversity and to empower them to undertake the biographical project risk society requires of them.

The Relationship between Seeker and Spiritual Guide as portrayed in contemporary Western Sufi Autobiographies

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-332
Author(s):  
Kate Zebiri
Keyword(s):  
Life Writing ◽  
New Age ◽  
The Self ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
Religious Authority ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Continuity And Discontinuity

This article aims to explore the Shaykh-mur?d (disciple) or teacher-pupil relationship as portrayed in Western Sufi life writing in recent decades, observing elements of continuity and discontinuity with classical Sufism. Additionally, it traces the influence on the texts of certain developments in religiosity in contemporary Western societies, especially New Age understandings of religious authority. Studying these works will provide an insight into the diversity of expressions of contemporary Sufism, while shedding light on a phenomenon which seems to fly in the face of contemporary social and religious trends which deemphasize external authority and promote the authority of the self or individual autonomy.

Challenging Gender Hierarchies in Narratives of the Nation: Representations of Women in Zintgraff and the Battle of Mankon and Hard Choice

Imbizo ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Epongse Nkealah ◽  
Olutoba Gboyega Oluwasuji
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Gender Differentiation ◽  
Hard Choice ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Gender Hierarchies ◽  
The Face ◽  
The One ◽  
Representations Of Women ◽  
Do So

Ideas of nationalisms as masculine projects dominate literary texts by African male writers. The texts mirror the ways in which gender differentiation sanctions nationalist discourses and in turn how nationalist discourses reinforce gender hierarchies. This article draws on theoretical insights from the work of Anne McClintock and Elleke Boehmer to analyse two plays: Zintgraff and the Battle of Mankon by Bole Butake and Gilbert Doho and Hard Choice by Sunnie Ododo. The article argues that women are represented in these two plays as having an ambiguous relationship to nationalism. On the one hand, women are seen actively changing the face of politics in their societies, but on the other hand, the means by which they do so reduces them to stereotypes of their gender.

Nihilistic Thinking as the Self-Will of the Mind and the Projects of Its Overcoming

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (10) ◽  
pp. 74-87
Author(s):  
Irina N. Sidorenko
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
The Self ◽  
Spatial Perspective ◽  
The World ◽  
The Will ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Radical Transformation

 The author analyzes the conceptions of ontological nihilism in the works of S. Kierkegaard, F. Nietzsche, M. Heidegger, E. Jünger. On the basis of this analysis, violence is defined as a manifestation of nihilism, of the “will to nothingness” and hypertrophy of the self-will of man. The article demonstrates the importance of the problem of nihilism. The nihilistic thinking of modern man is expressed in the attitude toward a radical transformation of the world from the position of his “absolute” righteousness. The paradox of the current situation is that there is the reverse side of this transformative activity, when there is only the appearance of action and the dilution of responsibility. Confidence in the rightness of own views and beliefs increases the risk of the violent imposition of own vision of reality. Historical and philosophical reconstruction of the conceptions of nihilism allowed to reveal the following projects of its comprehension and resolution: (1) the project of “positing of values,” which consists in the transformation of the evaluation, which is understood as another perspective of positing values, leading to the affirmation of being; (2) the project of overcoming nihilism from the space of temporality, carried out through the resoluteness to accept the historicity of own existence; (3) the project of overcoming nihilism as the oblivion of being from the spatial perspective of the “line,” allowing to realize the “glimpse” of being. The author concludes that it is impossible to solve the problem of violence and its various forms of its manifestation without overcoming “ontological nihilism.” Significant role in solving the problem of ontological violence is assigned to philosophy as a critical and responsible form of thinking, which is capable to help a person to bear the burden of the world, to provide meanings and affirm being, as well as to unite people and resist the fundamentalist claims of exclusivity and rightness.

Job the True Sage

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Legaspi
Keyword(s):  
Book Of Job ◽  
Divine Justice ◽  
The Will ◽  
Do So

In the book of Job, wisdom is contested. In the speeches of the friends, wisdom is a program based on a pious alignment with divine justice as manifest in the sacred, social, and cosmic orders. In the figure of Job, the reader is invited to reconsider the nature of piety on which this understanding of wisdom is based. Job raises the possibility that piety is a form of integrity that yields a different relation to order. Accordingly, piety does not consist in a knowledge of order that leads to a prosperous life but rather in the determination to hold one’s place within the order, to remain true to the inner dictates of one’s pious life. To do so is to inhabit an order in which the strange inexplicability of this determination is coordinated to the strangeness of the cosmos itself and to the will of an inscrutable God.

Evaluation of the Modified Naranjo Criteria for Assessing Causal Attribution of Clinical Outcome to Homeopathic Intervention as Presented in Case Reports

Homeopathy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 109 (04) ◽  
pp. 191-197
Author(s):  
Chetna Deep Lamba ◽  
Vishwa Kumar Gupta ◽  
Robbert van Haselen ◽  
Lex Rutten ◽  
Nidhi Mahajan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Outcome ◽  
Causal Relationship ◽  
Clinical Case ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Causal Attribution ◽  
Case Reports ◽  
Face Validity ◽  
Rater Agreement ◽  
The Face ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract Objectives The objective of this study was to establish the reliability and content validity of the “Modified Naranjo Criteria for Homeopathy—Causal Attribution Inventory” as a tool for attributing a causal relationship between the homeopathic intervention and outcome in clinical case reports. Methods Purposive sampling was adopted for the selection of information-rich case reports using pre-defined criteria. Eligible case reports had to fulfil a minimum of nine items of the CARE Clinical Case Reporting Guideline checklist and a minimum of three of the homeopathic HOM-CASE CARE extension items. The Modified Naranjo Criteria for Homeopathy Inventory consists of 10 domains. Inter-rater agreement in the scoring of these domains was determined by calculating the percentage agreement and kappa (κ) values. A κ greater than 0.4, indicating fair agreement between raters, in conjunction with the absence of concerns regarding the face validity, was taken to indicate the validity of a given domain. Each domain was assessed by four raters for the selected case reports. Results Sixty case reports met the inclusion criteria. Inter-rater agreement/concordance per domain was “perfect” for domains 1 (100%, κ = 1.00) and 2 (100%, κ = 1.00); “almost perfect” for domain 8 (97.5%, κ = 0.86); “substantial” for domains 3 (96.7%, κ = 0.80) and 5 (91.1%, κ = 0.70); “moderate” for domains 4 (83.3%, κ = 0.60), 7 (67.8%, κ = 0.46) and 9 (99.2%, κ = 0.50); and “fair” for domain 10 (56.1%, κ = 0.38). For domains 6A (46.7%, κ = 0.03) and 6B (50.3%, κ = 0.18), there was “slight agreement” only. Thus, the validity of the Modified Naranjo Criteria for Homeopathy tool was established for each of its domains, except for the two that pertain to direction of cure (domains 6A and 6B). Conclusion The Modified Naranjo Criteria for Homeopathy—Causal Attribution Inventory was identified as a valid tool for assessing the likelihood of a causal relationship between a homeopathic intervention and clinical outcome. Improved wordings for several criteria have been proposed for the assessment tool, under the new acronym “MONARCH”. Further assessment of two MONARCH domains is required.

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