Logic and Interpretation: Syllogistic Reconstructions in Simplicius’ Commentary on Aristotle’s Physics

In this article I explain three puzzling features of Simplicius’ use of syllogistic reconstructions in his commentary on Aristotle’s Physics: (1) Why does he reconstruct Aristotle’s non-argumentative remarks? (2) Why does he identify the syllogistic figure of an argument but does not explicitly present its reconstruction? (3) Why in certain lemmata does he present several reconstructions of the same argument? Addressing these questions, I argue that these puzzling features are an expression of Simplicius’ assumption that formal reasoning underlies Aristotle’s prose, hence they reflect his attempt to capture as faithfully as possible Aristotle’s actual mode of reasoning. I show further that, as a consequence of this seemingly descriptive use of syllogistic reconstructions, logic serves Simplicius not only as an expository and clarificatory tool of certain interpretations or philosophical views, but also motivates and shapes his exegetical stances and approach.

Commuters’ Assessment of Public Transport as a “Reasonable” Option in Montreal, QC

Retaining and increasing public transport ridership is a centerpiece of many strategies to address both the climate crisis and public health challenges. Understanding how and why commuters choose or reject public transport as a viable option or actual mode is, thus, central to policymakers’ efforts. This study makes use of a detailed travel-behavior survey conducted at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, to answer two key questions: 1) What factors influence travelers’ perception of public transport as a reasonable commuting option? and 2) From among those travelers that do consider public transport to be reasonable, what factors influence their final decision to use it? One important finding is that there is sometimes a disconnect between the factors that influence a person’s initial assessment of reasonableness and subsequent mode choice. For example, car owners were paradoxically more likely to consider public transport a reasonable option but significantly less likely to use it. More generally, another important finding of this study is that there may be a sizeable contingent of travelers who consider public transport to be a reasonable or viable option but nonetheless decline to use it. These travelers may be easier to convert to public transport than those who do not already consider it a reasoanble option, making it important for policymakers to understand their motivations. Ultimately, public transport agencies may be able to use this type of information to develop policies better targeted at bolstering ridership.

Alienated nature of human essence as the main content of the civilization crisis

The crisis state of the modern capitalist, global, ‘liquid’, neoliberal, etc. society (i.e. modern civilization) can be expressed in various aspects: economic, geopolitical, ecological, social-class, etc. However, all these aspects are only external manifestations, phenomena of a more fundamental problem — the crisis of human essence or, more specifically, its alienated nature. There are various approaches to understanding the human and its essence in modern philosophical literature. In this article, the author considers one of the versions of the Marxist representation of this subject, according to which the essence of the human is manifested in the mode of its existence, i.e. self-development through the transformation of all forms of matter. This method of the human’s production of its own life can be expressed in the form of a hierarchical structure of its essential attributes or forces. Such a plan of human essence is an abstract scheme that is modified in accordance with the concrete historical conditions of human existence, filling it with new content each time. Since the emergence of private property, classes and the state, the model of social development has been such that society as a whole develops due to the degradation of its individual members. This reaches its climax today, when the alienation of human from its generic essence, from its actual mode of existence turns it into a partial and one-dimensional. This process is understood by the authors as a crisis one since, apparently, it reveals a certain limit beyond which there takes place either the transition to a new model, where the development of each is a condition for the development of all, or — stagnation and destruction of the entire system.

Correction: A novel and actual mode for study of soil degradation and transportation of difenoconazole in a mango field

Correction for ‘A novel and actual mode for study of soil degradation and transportation of difenoconazole in a mango field’ by Fangfang Zhao et al., RSC Adv., 2018, 8, 8671–8677.

Postpartum urinary tract infection by mode of delivery: a Danish nationwide cohort study

ObjectivesTo examine the association between postpartum urinary tract infection and intended mode of delivery as well as actual mode of delivery.DesignRetrospective cohort study.Setting and participantsAll live births in Denmark between 2004 and 2010 (n=450 856). Births were classified by intended caesarean delivery (n=45 053) or intended vaginal delivery (n=405 803), and by actual mode of delivery: spontaneous vaginal delivery, operative vaginal delivery, emergency or planned caesarean delivery in labour or prelabour.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary outcome measure was postpartum urinary tract infection (n=16 295) within 30 days post partum, defined as either a diagnosis of urinary tract infection in the National Patient Registry or redemption of urinary tract infection-specific antibiotics recorded in the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics.ResultsWe found that 4.6% of women with intended caesarean delivery and 3.5% of women with intended vaginal delivery were treated for postpartum urinary tract infection.Women with intended caesarean delivery had a significantly increased risk of postpartum urinary tract infection compared with women with intended vaginal delivery (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.27 to 1.40), after adjustment for age at delivery, smoking, body mass index, educational level, gestational diabetes mellitus, infection during pregnancy, birth weight, preterm delivery, preterm prelabour rupture of membranes, pre-eclampsia, parity and previous caesarean delivery (adjusted OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.17 to 1.46).Using actual mode of delivery as exposure, all types of operative delivery had an equally increased risk of postpartum urinary tract infection compared with spontaneous vaginal delivery.ConclusionsCompared with intended vaginal delivery, intended caesarean delivery was significantly associated with a higher risk of postpartum urinary tract infection. Future studies should focus on reducing routine catheterisation prior to operative vaginal delivery as well as improving procedures related to catheterisation.

A novel and actual mode for study of soil degradation and transportation of difenoconazole in a mango field

Actual data for assessing the potential threat from the environmental behaviors of the difenoconazole to the ecosystem in mango field could be provided by the novel experimental design.