Two Crises for the Proof Paradigm in the Enlightenment

In Chapter 2, the author critically discusses the epistemologies of David Hume and Immanuel Kant. The author distinguishes the skeptical Hume from the naturalist Hume. The author presents the skeptical Hume’s philosophy as a response to what he calls Berkeley’s puzzle. He argues that Hume’s skeptical arguments are self-refuting and self-undermining and that Hume’s analysis of cause is an example of an explanation-impairing framework substitution. Hume’s solution to his skeptical arguments was a new kind of epistemology, a naturalistic epistemology. The author presents Kant’s epistemology as a response to the state of rationalist metaphysics at the time of Kant’s first Critique. Kant’s epistemology was similar to Hume’s in one important respect. Just as Hume had psychologized the idea of causal necessity, Kant psychologized the idea of metaphysical necessity. The author argues that both solutions were a form of relativism. This chapter primarily serves to motivate a search for a non-skeptical, non-relativist, non-Platonist theory of epistemic rationality.

“Like an overly large fantasy”

Audiences at Iganz Schuppanzigh’s 1820s quartet concerts in Vienna would have expected a string quartet to be a weighty, four-movement work with an emphasis on a sonata form, thematische Arbeit (motivic working) between parts, and an overall tonal plan based on one or two primary key areas. Beethoven no doubt had such connoisseur listeners in mind with this work, but was pushing far beyond that traditional idea of the string quartet. Op. 131 is full of all sorts of different kinds of writing. The chapter explores the quartet in terms of fantasia, a word found frequently in connection with Op. 131, starting with a discussion of the free fantasia as a work exhibiting apparently chaotic musings over a highly logical ground plan. As Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach pointed out in his influential discussion of the subject, there is method in the seeming madness of the free fantasia, especially as regards harmonic links. The chapter considers the entire work as a fantasia, exploring the clever linkage of seemingly disparate ideas within and between movements. The fantasia form might seem the opposite of the formalized string quartet genre as it was starting to be understood by Beethoven’s time, but in one important respect it was not. The free fantasia was a work for the connoisseur: as Carl Friedrich Michaelis noted in his article on music and humor of 1807, the free fantasia, in particular, reveals to the connoisseur listener the soul (or inventive repository) of the composer.

The Projectability Challenge to Moral Naturalism

The Projectability Challenge states that a metaethical view must explain how ordinary agents can, on the basis of moral experience and reflection, accurately and justifiably apply moral concepts to novel situations. In this paper, we argue for two primary claims. First, paradigm nonnaturalism can satisfactorily answer the projectability challenge. Second, it is unclear whether there is a version of moral naturalism that can satisfactorily answer the challenge. The conclusion we draw is that there is an important respect in which nonnaturalism holds an advantage over its most prominent naturalist rivals. The conclusion is interesting if only because it is widely assumed that naturalism has an easier time handling thorny problems in moral epistemology. We argue that there is at least one such problem of which this assumption is not true.

The Evolution of French Opera Repertories in Provincial Theaters

Which operas did people most often watch in France—all over France, that is—in 1780, 1820, 1860, and 1890? How did provincial theaters compare with those in Paris, where the great majority of operas originated? This chapter aims to correct the unduly narrow focus on Paris traditionally followed in histories of French opera. The chapter shows how old, indeed canonic, repertories were created in Paris, which then were performed in such cities as Rouen, Bordeaux, and Lyon. It traces how repertories emerged, focusing variously on works by Gluck, Rossini, Meyerbeer, Donizetti, Verdi, and Wagner. The most important respect in which provincial theaters differed from those in Paris was the close intermingling in a single theater of pieces in different genres—opéra comique, grand opéra, and opérette. This chapter is paired with Yannick Simon’s “The mingling of opera genres: Canonic opera at the Théâtre des Arts in Rouen, 1882–1897.”

Introduction

The chapter introduces a discussion about what the term 'a real man' means to interlocutors, opening up a wider consideration of hegemonic masculinity and Chinese masculinities. The study diverges from the classic interpretation of Raewyn Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity in one important respect. The term is usually associated with negative, toxic, sexist, oppressive male values and behaviours, but the version of hegemonic masculinity that has developed in China is identified as having an ethos that is exhibited in the social and family lives of men in diverse settings. The chapter also describes the research methodology and characteristics of the fieldwork site.

The Empirical Case for Folk Indexical Moral Relativism

Recent empirical work on folk moral objectivism has attempted to examine the extent to which folk morality presumes that moral judgments are objectively true or false. Some researchers report findings that they take to indicate folk commitment to objectivism (Nichols & Folds-Bennett, 2003; Wainryb et al., 2004; Goodwin & Darley, 2008, 2010, 2012), while others report findings that may reveal a more variable commitment to objectivism (Sarkissian, et al., 2011; Wright, Grandjean, & McWhite, 2013; Wright, McWhite, & Grandjean, 2014; Beebe, 2014; Beebe et al., 2015; Beebe & Sackris, 2016; Wright, 2018). However, the various probes that have been used to examine folk moral objectivism almost always fail to be good direct measures of objectivism. Some critics (Beebe, 2015; Pölzler, 2017, 2018) have suggested that the problems with existing probes are serious enough that they should be viewed as largely incapable of shedding any light on folk metaethical commitments. Building upon the work of Justin Khoo and Joshua Knobe (2018), I argue that many of the existing probes can be seen as good measures of the extent to which people think that the truth of one moral judgment excludes the possibility that a judgment made by a disagreeing party is also true and that the best explanation of the findings obtained using these measures is significant folk support for indexical moral relativism—the view that the content of moral judgments is context-sensitive. If my thesis is correct, most contemporary moral philosophers are deeply mistaken about the metaethical contours of folk morality in one very important respect.

ESSAY REVIEW Disappointing “documentary” about Loch Ness Monsters (“Nessies”) (Can good documentaries be made about such subjects?)

“About the show:Professor Neil Gemmell uses cutting-edge environmental DNA science to unravel the mystery of the Loch Ness monster. Neil’s high-tech monster hunt opens a new chapter in the search for Nessie as he puts the leading theories to the ultimate scientific test.” [i]This description misleads in every important respect. The mystery is not unraveled; the leading theory is not even mentioned, and Gemmell’s reason for embarking on this project — namely, to spread awareness of the potential benefits that can accrue from research on environmental DNA (eDNA) — is not well served, because there is no useful explanation of what eDNA science does, what it can and cannot accomplish, and why [ii]. That lack is all the sadder because the results in this case with respect to Nessies are not only incomplete, they are inconclusive and probably even wrong in an important respect.[i] https://www.travelchannel.com/shows/loch-ness-monster-new-evidence[ii] That eDNA work is not easy or infallible is pointed out in a comment on Roland Watson’s informative and reliable blog: “as with any tests that involve biologicals, there are error rates. And eDNA is not immune to these errors. . . . eDNA testing is also affected by seasonal changes — of how creatures operate in their environment, as well as the quality of the effluent at different times of the year, and so on. . . . [F]or eDNA testing to detect creatures properly there would have to be such testing throughout Loch Ness on a quarterly basis over probably at least two years, and probably have close to 350 to 450 sampling points — and doing this at least at five or six different consistent depths. I think that Roland correctly pointed out that nothing was taken way down deep, and there probably should have been. Also, eDNA actually lasts much, much longer in soils than in water. So taking samples off the Loch bottom might be a fruitful endeavor.” Indeed, there are several clues indicating that Nessies spend most of their time down deep, possibly in the two basins known to be deeper than 200 m (Shine & Martin 1988).

General use coordination in Japanese and Japanese Sign Language

Davidson (2013) shows that in American Sign Language (ASL), conjunction and disjunction can be expressed by the same general use coordinator (cf. mary drink tea coord coffee ‘Mary drank tea and coffee; Mary drank tea or coffee.’). To derive these two meanings, she proposes an alternative semantic analysis whereby the two interpretations arise through universal or existential quantification over a set of alternatives licensed by (non-)linguistic cues, such as contexts and prosodic or lexical material. This paper provides supportive evidence for Davidson’s analysis from two other languages, Japanese and Japanese Sign Language. These languages are shown to employ general use coordination similar to that in ASL, but the general use coordinators in the three languages differ in one important respect: the locality of lexical elements that induce a disjunctive meaning. It is suggested that this cross-linguistic variation can be attributed to language-specific properties that concern the Q-particle discussed in Uegaki (2014, 2018).

8. How modern genetics is testing traditional confidentiality

Medical ethics is under challenge from developments in medical science and technology, raising new ethical questions or old questions in new ways. The work of genetics clinics worldwide is forcing us to re-think the traditional ways in which we think about medical confidentiality. A genetic test from one person can provide information about a relative. ‘How modern genetics is testing traditional confidentiality’ considers the foundations of medical confidentiality and the fundamental reasons why maintaining medical confidentiality is important: respect for patient autonomy; to keep an implied promise; and to bring about the best consequences. It also discusses two models of confidentiality: the personal account model and the joint account model.

“Together we rise”: Collaboration and contestation as narrative drivers of the Women’s March

The Women’s March is arguably the most important counter-narrative to Trump’s post-truth regime, but does it also present a leadership alternative to his populist and authoritarian style? And is this alternative necessarily better than currently dominant social formations? In this paper, we argue that the Women’s March is partially configured by similar forces of affective circulation as those governing pro-Trump narratives, but that it is different and better in one important respect. The narratives of the Women's March are driven by both collaboration and contestation, meaning its circulation is both centripetal and centrifugal. We substantiate this claim through a close reading of the narration of the Women’s March – from its inception until its first anniversary. Here, we focus particularly on the development from a moment of resistance to a political movement, arguing that this process offers a prototype for conceptualizing a new form of “rebel” or social movement leadership. Hence, the Women’s March not only offers a different and better alternative to the leadership of Trump but also an opportunity for promoting and refining leadership theory in the post-heroic vein.