An Evaluation of William James’ Pragmatic Concept of Truth

This article focuses on an evaluation of William James’ pragmatic concept of truth. Pragmatism is one of the contemporary schools of thought or movements in philosophy. It emphasizes the practical aspects of ideas or theories. Among the basic issues in pragmatism is the issue of truth. The basic questions are: What is pragmatism? How does William James conceive truth in his pragmatic theory? Is truth objective or relative? Is truth static or ever-changing? Is there any relationship between truth and practical consequences of things? Is truth intrinsic or extrinsic to an idea? These and other related issues are the major focus of this article. William James, in his pragmatism, approaches truth from the perspective of its practical consequence, and argues that truth ‘happens’ to an idea. The researcher argues that though William James’ pragmatic concept of truth is associated with some problems, he has made outstanding contributions to scholarship by bringing out the practical implications of truth, and extricating it from rationalistic tendency as well as dogmatism.

First prosecution of a Dutch doctor since the Euthanasia Act of 2002: what does the verdict mean?

On 11 September 2019, the verdict was read in the first prosecution of a doctor for euthanasia since the Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act of 2002 was installed in the Netherlands. The case concerned euthanasia on the basis of an advance euthanasia directive (AED) for a patient with severe dementia. In this paper we describe the review process for euthanasia cases in the Netherlands. Then we describe the case in detail, the judgement of the Regional Review Committees for Termination of Life on Request and Euthanasia (RTE) and the judgement of the medical disciplinary court. Both the review committees and the disciplinary court came to the conclusion there were concerns with this case, which mainly hinged on the wording of the AED. They also addressed the lack of communication with the patient, the absence of oral confirmation of the wish to die and the fact that the euthanasia was performed without the patient being aware of this. However, the doctor was acquitted by the criminal court as the court found she had in fact met all due care criteria laid down in the act. We then describe what this judgement means for euthanasia in the Netherlands. It clarifies the power and reach of AEDs, it allows taking conversations with physicians and the testimony of the family into account when interpreting the AED. However, as a practical consequence the prosecution of this physician has led to fear among doctors about prosecution after euthanasia.

Macro-Level and Micro-Level Chances

This chapter discusses conceptual problems that may arise if we think of the Best System as giving us two (potentially) different chances for the same macroscopic event: one that arises by mathematical entailment out of chancy microphysics, and a second one that is in the system because it supervenes directly on the pattern of events at the macro level. Given the pragmatic approach of HOC, such dual-chance-value situations could exist, though there are formidable conceptual difficulties about how to derive probabilities for macroscopic event-types from micro-level chance laws. It is argued that if such dual-value situations exist in the Best System, one would have reason to apply PP to the macro-level chance rules, but not to the micro-derived chances. The discussion reveals a heretofore hidden limitation of both HOCs themselves, and the validity of the arguments from chapter 4 justifying PP. But the limitation is of no practical consequence.

Between ‘Conservation’ and ‘Development’: The Construction of ‘Protected Nature’ and the Environmental Disenfranchisement of Indigenous Communities

Conservation and development discourses are the two main frameworks in which global debates on how to relate to nature occur. These discourses are considered as opposed; while conservation discourses argue for the maintenance of nature in its pristine state, development discourses seek to justify re-engineering spaces to give place to cities, monocultures and roads. However, both discourses have one practical consequence in common: the environmental disfranchisement of Indigenous communities. This article uses the case of the Ecuadorian Yasuní Park to show how the implementation of both conservation and development discourses ultimately disempower Indigenous communities. We use media reports and governmental statements to document the Yasuní case. A critical analysis of the dynamics behind this and other cases allows us to expose the misleading messages, the ironic consequences and the false motives involved in some conservation projects.

Between Concept and Plan

How does a design concept become a detailed plan? During the initial stages of design, sketching predominates. Architects draw, relating creative freedom to a representational technology that is understood to lack specific practical consequence.5 This imaginative process aims to move away from existing realities toward a “design concept.” In later stages of design, by contrast, architects aim to make their drawings consequential. The process of “detailing” is a way of anticipating the reality of the concept. It is oriented to give substance and specificity to what exists abstractly. At this stage, architects must understand and resolve a range of more practical considerations, including those of planning, construction, and cost....

Nominal and contemptuous damages and declarations

Many torts are actionable only on proof of damage. But torts actionable per se, as well as breach of contract, are actionable without proof of damage. One consequence is that even though the court is satisfied that the claimant has not suffered any damage, it is still entitled to damages for the defendant’s breach of contract or tort actionable per se. Such damages are termed nominal and they comprise a trivial sum of money, usually about £2–£10. Nominal damages are therefore in no sense compensatory and must be distinguished from a small sum of compensatory damages. Their function is merely to declare that the defendant has committed a wrong against the claimant and hence that the claimant’s rights have been infringed. Given that the remedy of a declaration is specifically designed to serve this purpose, nominal damages are superfluous and could happily be abolished. This is particularly so since what was previously an important practical consequence of an award of nominal damages has been removed by Devlin J’s decision in Anglo-Cyprian Trade Agencies v Paphos Wine Industries Ltd that a claimant awarded nominal damages should not necessarily be regarded as a successful claimant for the purposes of costs.

Righteousness of God

The purpose of this article is to provide insight to what extent our conceptualization of the dikaiosyne theou shapes our way of understanding ourselves as Christians being the Body of Christ and living holy lives. Strongly influenced by the epistle to the Romans, we perceive holiness as being in right relation to God and righteousness being a practical consequence of this relationship. Holiness as the inner nature of God brings fruits of His righteousness, which is God’s saving activity. However, in the light of Christ and his sacrificial death and resurrection, relational, and eschatological perspectives of the dikaiosyne theou concept become crucial. This concept stands at the heart of Paul’s gospel and anticipates several layers of meaning, primarily God’s redeeming and saving activity, but also covenantal faithfulness and restorative justice brought by God and made available for all. Wider perspective is provided through the faithfulness of Jesus and his obedience to the Father in fulfilling salvific purposes. For us, it means a transformational and relational way of living in an eschatological perspective. Christian ethics are deeply grounded in the concept of dikaiosyne theou, and Christian conduct represents its practical and necessary expression. People living in genuine Christian community are marked by the righteousness of God expressed as agape and progressively transformed by the presence and involvement of his Holy Spirit. Such people involve themselves in a continuous process of discovering new opportunities to affirm God’s righteousness. Thus, the Christian community of faith needs to be inclusive in its nature.

PHILOSOPHICAL BASIS OF EDUCATION PERSPECTIVE PHILOSOPHY OF PRAGMATISME AND IMPLICATIONS IN LEARNING METHOD

<p align="center"><em>The writing of this article aims to reveal the philosophical basis of education according to the philosophy of pragmatism. </em><em>It also reveals the influence of pragmatism in educational thinking, especially in the method of learning. Pragmatism as one of the educational concepts born in America, provides solutions to educational problems that in their view can not be solved traditional philosophy. Pragmatism tries to reconstruct more practical and down-to-earth educational practices, not long-winded in the metaphysical discussion of things. n practice, pragmatism emphasizes that the foundation of education is experience. Knowledge gained by humans comes from experience, not from innate talent. Truth in the view of pragmatism is a practical consequence. Education in schools according to pragmatism is a place for learners to gain experience as well as experience gained outside school. Education according to pragmatism should also take into account changes in society, because that is where students will return. Learning given to learners does not emphasize systematic teaching materials, but experiences and ways to process them. Problem solving and democracy are the main principles in learning according to pragmatism. By relying on problem solving and democratic, learners will be able to capture and process and formulate the results of his experience well.</em></p>

Homology modeling in a dynamical world

A key concept in template-based modeling is the high correlation between sequence and structural divergence, with the practical consequence that homologous proteins that are similar at the sequence level will also be similar at the structural level. However, conformational diversity of the native state will reduce the correlation between structural and sequence divergence, because structural variation can appear without sequence diversity.In this work, we explore the impact that conformational diversity has on the relationship between structural and sequence divergence. We find that the extent of conformational diversity can be as high as the maximum structural divergence among families. Also, as expected, conformational diversity impairs the well-established correlation between sequence and structural divergence, which is nosier than previously suggested. However, we found that this noise can be resolved using a priori information coming from the structure-function relationship. We show that protein families with low conformational diversity show a well-correlated relationship between sequence and structural divergence, which is severely reduced in proteins with larger conformational diversity. This lack of correlation could impair Template-based modelling (TMB) results in highly dynamical proteins. Finally, we also find that the presence of order/disorder can provide useful beforehand information for better TBM performance.Author summaryTemplate-based modelling (TBM) is the most reliable and fastest approach to obtain protein structural models. TBM relies in the high correlation between sequence and structural divergence, with the practical consequence that proteins that are similar at the sequence level will also be similar at the structural level, allowing in this way the selection of the better template to obtain the 3D model of the target sequence. However, protein native state could be described by a collection of conformers in equilibrium where their structural differences are called conformational diversity.In this work, we explore the impact that conformational diversity has on the relationship between structural and sequence divergence. We firstly found that the extent of conformational diversity can be as high as the maximum structural differences reached by families differing in their sequences. In these proteins with higher conformational diversity levels, the well-established correlation between sequence and structural divergence is nosier than previously suggested due to the presence of structural change without sequence variation. This lack of correlation could impair TBM results due to the uncertainty in the correct template selection. Finally, we also found that the presence of order/disorder can provide useful beforehand information for better TBM performance.

What Exactly Did You Claim?

Philosophers should express their ideas clearly. They should do this in any field of specialization, but especially when they address issues of practical consequence, as they do in bioethics. This article dissects a recent and much-debated contribution to philosophical bioethics by Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva, examines how exactly it fails to meet the requirement of clarity, and maps a way forward by outlining the ways in which philosophical argumentation could validly and soundly proceed in bioethics.