Moral Reasoning Performance Determines Epistemic Peerdom

We offer a friendly criticism of May's fantastic book on moral reasoning: It is overly charitable to the argument that moral disagreement undermines moral knowledge. To highlight the role that reasoning quality plays in moral judgments, we review literature that he did not mention showing that individual differences in intelligence and cognitive reflection explain much of moral disagreement. The burden is on skeptics of moral knowledge to show that moral disagreement arises from non-rational origins.

Moral reasoning performance determines epistemic peerdom

We offer a friendly criticism of May's fantastic book on moral reasoning: It is overly charitable to the argument that moral disagreement undermines moral knowledge. To highlight the role that reasoning quality plays in moral judgments, we review literature that he did not mention showing that individual differences in intelligence and cognitive reflection explain much of moral disagreement. The burden is on skeptics of moral knowledge to show that moral disagreement arises from non-rational origins.

Gilbert Meilaender and the Tragedy of Biological Individualism

This article provides a friendly criticism of Meilaender’s positions on the beginning of life and decision making at the end of life. It is argued that his version of the self is narrowly physicalist and individualist with no room for the essentially social and psychological parts of identity or selfhood. That in turn leads to his rigoristic or tutioristic judgments on end of life care.

Anti-Petrarchism in the Decameron’s Proem and Introduction

Similarities of purpose between the Proem of the Decameron and the opening sonnet of the Rerum vulgarium fragmenta have been noticed by several scholars. Students of Boccaccio and Petrarch are also becoming increasingly aware that the former was willing to criticize his friend, as he did when Petrarch chose to accept Visconti patronage in Milan, the great enemy of Florence.The Proem of the Decameron, however, has not hitherto elicited comment as a text where such friendly criticism, at least of Petrarch’s poetic persona in the RVF, might be found. The present essay suggests that Boccaccio’s famous address in the Proem to fearful, lovesick and housebound women pertains as much to that Petrarcan persona as it does to those vaghe donne. Although it refers to and engages with the important debate on Boccaccio’s attitudes towards real women, the essay explores the possibility that the Decameron’s Proem slyly hints (in a way that is reinforced by the story collection’s Introduction) that the Canzoniere reveals a male poet who is himself “unmanned” by his excessive lovesickness and pursuit of solitude.

Reflections On “Citizenship, Inc.”

Although I share many of the doubts about corporate citizenship of Néron and Norman, I join in their constructive project both by offering friendly criticism and by suggesting that their approach be extended further than they carry it. I argue first that rather than attempting to reform the language of corporate citizenship, we support its use where the effects are positive; second, that we concentrate on the fifth of their candidates for assessment; and third, that we extend the discussion to consider what it means to be a good global citizen, and whether that is compatible with being a good citizen of a particular state.

Memoirs: The Structure of the Somatic Chromosomes of Alstroemeria and Bomarea

1. Investigations have been made on the chromatin throughout mitosis in Alstroemeria and Bomarea, and an attempt has been made to interpret the observations. 2. Anaphase chromosomes contain single or double spirals and often chromomeres. The spiral chromonemata are held to arise from the chromomeres. 3. The resting reticulum is formed partly from the remains of the spirals, partly from the telophasic anastomoses between adjacent chromosomes. The chromomeres form the net-knots. 4. The spiral chromosomes seen in early prophase are not regarded as homologous with the anaphase chromonema. It is not certain that all the chromosomes of a nucleus assume the spiral form during prophase. 5. The paired chromatids arise during prophase by the connecting up of adjacent daughter chromomeres into two strips of chromatin. The chromosomes do not split longitudinally at any stage. 6. Connexions between the sister chromatids are regarded as remnants of the chromonema of the previous anaphase. In this respect the interpretation agrees with Martens theory of bilateral repartition. 7. Chromomeres appear in prophase as the chromatids emerge from the spiral stage. They cease to be visible in late prophase as the chromatids thicken and become densely chromatic. 8. Prolonged destaining of the early metaphase chromosomes shows that the chromomeres are still present. Each has divided to form two daughter chromomeres. Between the chromomeres on opposite sides of the chromatid appear connexions, the new chromonema. This investigation was begun at Birkbeck College, University of London, while I was the recipient of a maintenance grant from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. My thanks are due to the Trustees of the Dixon Fund for the loan of a suitable microscope; to the Directors of the Eoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Chelsea Physic Garden, and the University Botanic Garden, Cambridge, for material; and especially to Professor Dame Helen Gwynne-Vaughan, under whose direction the work was carried out and who has encouraged me with friendly criticism and advice.

I. Fired gunpowder. Note on the existence of potassium hyposulphite in the solid residue of fired gunpowder

In our second memoir on fired gunpowder we have discussed in detail that part of M. Berthelot’s friendly criticism of our first memoir which relates to the potassium hyposulphite found by us, in variable proportions, in our analyses of the solid products obtained by the explosion of gunpowder in the manner described. While pointing out that we had taken every precaution in our power to guard against the production of hyposulphite, by atmospheric action upon the potassium sulphide, during the removal of the hard masses of solid products from the explosion vessel, and had effectually excluded air from them, when once they were removed until they were submitted to analysis, we admitted the impossibility of guarding against the accidental formation of some hyposulphite during the process of removal, especially in some instances in which the structure of the residue had certainly been favourable to atmospheric action, and in which a more or less considerable development of heat had afforded indications of the occurrence of oxidation. We contended, however, that the method of analysis, and the precautions adopted by us in carrying it out, precluded the possibility of accidental formation of hyposulphite at this stage of our investigations. With respect to the precautions, we could, and still do, speak with perfect confidence; and we certainly have believed ourselves fully justified in being equally confident with respect to the process adopted by us for the determination of the proportions of sulphide and hyposulphite, inasmuch as we accepted and used in its integrity the method published in 1857 by Bunsen and Schischkoff in their classical memoir on the products of explosion of gunpowder, and adopted since that time by several other investigators who have made the explosion of gunpowder the subject of study, and whose results are referred to in our first memoir.