Egypt in the Roman and Late Antique World

Following a short section summarizing the interpretative contributions of the book as a whole, this chapter takes a wider perspective, drawing on the material studied in the preceding chapters to first compare Egypt to the wider Roman world, and, second, examine the transition from the Roman to late antique period and beyond in Egypt. First, the overall contribution of the book is emphasized: a new interpretation which takes a social archaeology approach to everyday life. The point is also made that the work is grounded in a careful re-evaluation of object dating, and informed by neglected archive information. In addition to providing a secure foundation for the book, this fundamental research provides an important resource for future studies. Next, evidence for both similarities and differences to wider Roman culture is presented, and the multiple ways in which Roman-style material culture may have functioned within the social context of Egypt are examined. Finally, the relationship between the objects studied and wider social changes is investigated; the transition from the Roman to the late antique period, and beyond. This includes a consideration of the impact of Christianity, and wider evidence, through dress objects, of shared culture across the Byzantine Christian world, as well as evidence of economic change at the end of the Byzantine period in Egypt. Some aspects of continuity and change into the early Islamic period, as reflected through the material studied, are also briefly considered.

Are People-Centered Intelligences Psychometrically Distinct from Thing-Centered Intelligences? A Meta-Analysis

The Cattell–Horn–Carroll (CHC) or three-stratum model of intelligence envisions human intelligence as a hierarchy. General intelligence (g) is situated at the top, under which are a group of broad intelligences such as verbal, visuospatial processing, and quantitative knowledge that pertain to more specific areas of reasoning. Some broad intelligences are people-centered, including personal, emotional, and social intelligences; others concern reasoning about things more generally, such as visuospatial and quantitative knowledge. In the present research, we conducted a meta-analysis of 87 studies, including 2322 effect sizes, to examine the average correlation between people-to-people intelligences relative to the average correlation between people-to-thing-centered intelligences (and similar comparisons). Results clearly support the psychometric distinction between people-centered and thing-centered mental abilities. Coupled with evidence for incremental predictions from people-centered intelligences, our findings provide a secure foundation for continued research focused on people-centered mental abilities.

A new methodological tool to study the memorability of supernatural concepts

We introduce the first set of normed stimuli designed to resolve methodological and theoretical issues that have muddled the interpretation of results on the memorability of supernatural concepts (e.g., ghosts, souls, spirits), an important line of research in the Cognitive Science of Religion (Barrett, 2000). We focus here on Boyer’s (1994, 2000, 2001) pioneering Minimally Counterintuitive (MCI) hypothesis according to which supernatural concepts tap a special memory-enhancing mechanism linked to violations of default intuitive inferences. Empirical tests of the MCI account have given rise to a vexed picture that renders meaningful interpretation difficult. The lack of a common standard of comparison among different studies, coupled with the presence of uncontrolled variables independently known to affect memorability, lie at the heart of these problems. We show that our new stimuli offer the hope of resolving these issues thereby establishing a more secure foundation for the study of the memorability of supernatural concepts.

James Sterba’s New Argument from Evil

This article addresses the main argument in James Sterba’s book, an argument which claims that the existence of a good God is logically incompatible with the evil in the world. I claim to show that his main premise, MEPRI, is implausible and is not a secure foundation for such an argument.

Marching on the Capital: Hume's Experimental Science of Man as a Conquest for Occupied Territory

In this paper I set out what I call a ‘conquest’ conception of Hume's experimental science of man. It is notable, I claim, that Hume regards what he calls the ‘capital’ of the sciences – ‘the science of MAN’ – as occupied territory, and that he views his ‘direct’ method of approach upon the science of human nature as a ‘conquest’. I expand upon such statements by leveraging the comparison that Hume draws between experimental moral philosophy and the experimental tradition in natural philosophy inaugurated by Francis Bacon. Overall, I suggest that Hume's decision to ground his science of human nature upon experience and observation is as much about overthrowing the epistemic authority of speculative dogmas as it is about establishing a secure foundation for his system of the sciences, and I contend that Hume's application of his hypotheses to animals is central to this conception of his philosophical project in the Treatise.

Part II Substantive Aspects, Ch.6 The Responsibilities to Protect Cultural Heritage and Prevent Cultural Genocide

This chapter assesses the concept of a State’s limited responsibility to protect persons against atrocities (R2P). Though still quite new, R2P is already respected and modestly operational as a political principle or, arguably, as soft law. It is importantly related to the international crime of genocide, as acknowledged, for example, by the title and mission of the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect. The chapter then looks at the applicability of R2P to cultural heritage, introducing the concepts of cultural genocide and cultural cleansing against a background of armed conflict. With reference to R2P, the intentional mass destruction of cultural material already has been accepted under international law as evidence of atrocity crimes against persons. Somewhat paradoxically, however, although cultural genocide has become prominent in international discourse as a threat to fundamental human rights and global order, it lacks a secure foundation in international law.

Hierarchically defining Internet of Things security: From CIA to CACA

With the rapid development of Internet of Things technology (e.g. wireless sensor networks), security has become a global issue. Confidentiality, integrity, and availability (known as the CIA triangle) is widely used to define and model information security. However, this CIA triangle is insufficient to address rapidly changing security requirements. In this article, we divide information systems into four layers: physical layer, operational layer, data layer, and content layers (PODC). Corresponding, hierarchy of information security is proposed. Furthermore, we define the basic security properties for each layer and show that the four properties (i.e. confidentiality, availability, controllability, and authentication, called CACA) are minimally complete and independent for information security. Based on PODC and CACA, a new definition of information security is proposed, which acts as a secure foundation for information systems.

Rethinking the Role of Experts and Expertise in Behavioural Public Policy

Nudge and behavioural public policy tools have won support from governments across the world for improving the effectiveness of public interventions. Yet nudge still attracts strong criticisms for promoting paternalism and manipulation as legitimate government actions. To move beyond this divide, this paper offers a comprehensive reorientation, which is necessary because the intellectual foundations of the policy are at fault. A more secure foundation can be achieved by expanding the cognitive scope of behavioural policy, and ensuring that it does not rely on the narrow assumption that intuitive reasoning is flawed and that expert advice is always preferable. This shift in the cognitive range of nudge moves behavioural policy toward citizen reflection and initiative, pointing away from expert-led interventions. It amounts to more than incremental advances in nudge practice. As a result, nudge can escape the charge of not respecting individual autonomy. What we call 'nudge plus' would link more closely with other types of governmental intervention that embrace citizen involvement.

Nietzsche’s Meta-Axiology

Chapter 7 considers the status of the underlying values by which Nietzsche celebrates the flourishing of culture and rates certain kinds of lives highly. Does he regard this simply as his idiosyncratic preference, or does he take it to stand on a more secure foundation? The interpretation offered cuts against the grain of much of the best recent scholarship on Nietzsche, which sees him as doubtful that any values, including his own, might have privileged standing. For this reason, the approach taken in this chapter is primarily negative in character: it tries to undermine the basis for thinking that Nietzsche pulls the rug out from under his perfectionistic value commitments. The arguments for blanket value skepticism that have been attributed to Nietzsche, arguments that would undermine the pretensions of any values to enjoy meta-axiological privilege, are simply not anchored in decisive textual evidence.

Spectralism

Spectralism is a tendency in contemporary art music that takes the material attributes of sound as the point of departure for composition. Originating in France and Romania in the 1970s, partly in reaction to the perceived hegemony of serialism and other high modernist styles, since the 1980s the influence of spectral ideas and techniques has spread across Europe, Asia, and North and South America. Its most prominent representatives are Gérard Grisey (1946–98), Tristan Murail (1947--), and Horatiu Radulescu (1942–2008). In France, spectralism grew out of the work conducted by the circle of composers associated with the new music ensemble l’Itinéraire, founded in 1973 by Murail and Roger Tessier. Although the "spectral" moniker was not applied to the music of Grisey, Murail, or other members of this group until 1979, when composer Hugues Dufourt coined the term for a radio program outlining their compositional philosophy, many of the basic precepts of the spectral aesthetic had already taken shape by the mid-1970s. Foremost among these was the call to return to sound. Exploring the psychoacoustic properties of sound, it was argued, would provide a more secure foundation for musical communication, pointing a way beyond the abstractions of serial technique. This renewed attention to the materiality of sound led to a heightened appreciation for the interdependence of its constituent parameters (frequency, duration, intensity, timbre), which stood in contrast to their dissociation in serial theory and practice.