Mood and force in defeasible arguments

Argumentation schemes bring artificial intelligence into day to day conversation. Interpreting the force of an utterance, be it an assertion, command, or question, remains a task for achieving this goal. But it is not an easy task. An interpretation of force depends on a speaker’s use of words for a hearer at the moment of utterance. Ascribing force relies on grammatical mood, though not in a straightforward or regular way. We face a dilemma: on one hand, deciding force requires an understanding of the speaker’s words; on the other hand, word meaning may shift given the force in which the words are spoken. A precise theory of how mood and force relate helps us handle this dilemma, which, if met, expands the use of argumentation schemes in language processing. Yet, as our analysis shows, force is an inconstant variable, one that contributes to a scheme’s defeasibility. We propose using critical questions to help us decide the force of utterances.

Hope’s Place in Our Lives

This chapter explores the nature of hope. It argues that hope is a way of seeing in a favorable light the possibility that an outcome one desires and believes to be possible obtains. This understanding of hope is similar to many competing accounts of the nature of hope in the philosophical literature. Setting the debate about which precise theory of hope is correct aside, the significance of human difference to experiences of hope and our relative power to affect the world is explored. A feminist perspective on hope reveals that oppression is a threat to hope. Attending to the power dynamics that shape how we hope, this chapter illustrates the ways in which people and institutions in positions of power use hope to further their ends. It then traces the relationship between the hope we place in others, normative expectation, and trust.

Of States and Monsters: Negotiating the Self and the Other in Early Indian States

It is a well-known principle in philosophy that to define the self, cultures have traditionally relied on defining their other. However, defining the ‘self’ and the ‘other’ in a complex ethno-linguistic milieu such as South Asia has traditionally not been very easy. Earlier research by Romila Thapar (1971) and Aloka Parasher-Sen (1978) have demonstrated how a variety of ancient texts have used the category of mleccha in Sanskrit or malikkha in Pali to refer to the ‘other’ as recognized vis-a-vis the ‘Hindu’ self. However, not only do Thapar and Parasher-Sen both highlight the inconsistencies in the use of the term, they also fail at locating a precise theory of ‘othering’ employed in ancient India. This paper, uses a variety of Sanskrit sources in formulating a ‘theory of othering’ that can be effectively demonstrated to have been operative as evident from the Mahabharata and in Mauryan India. Finally, it also offers insights into the nature of inclusion operative in this paradigm of othering and explains this using the case study of Bhima’s marriage to Hidimba in the Mahabharata.

Mechanical Buckling Analysis of Functionally Graded Plates Using an Accurate Shear Deformation Theory

In this present study, we are interested in the use of a precise theory of shear deformation for the buckling analysis of plates with functional gradation simply supported such as the refined theory of plates with four variables, several parameters of comparison have been used, dimensional and non-dimensional, the displacement field is compatible with this study, the non-use of shear correction factors is satisfied, the choice of material is very precise in such a way are variable according to the thickness of the plate and on the other hand to make comparison with other researcher and confirms that this study gives precise results and converges, the transverse shear stresses vary through the thickness, the results found is also studied and discussed.

History and quantitative conflict research: A case for limiting the historical scope of our theoretical arguments

This essay examines the relationship between history and the quantitative study of international conflict. The usual distinction between these two pursuits does not hold up to close scrutiny. In fact, both research communities are in the business of using theory to explain social processes that occur within historical bounds. Making these historical bounds explicit is an appropriate response to the nature of our subject matter. Doing so also has some important advantages, including more precise theory, higher quality data, better model specification, and the potential to help explain important historical events.

A Nanomechanical Analysis of Deformation Characteristics of 6H-SiC Using an Indenter and Abrasives in Different Fixed Methods

The super-precise theory for machining single crystal SiC substrates with abrasives needs to be improved for its chemical stability, extremely hard and brittle. A Berkovich indenter was used to carry out a systematic static stiffness indentation experiments on single crystal 6H-SiC substrates, and then these substrates were machined by utilizing fixed, free, and semi-fixed abrasives, and the nanomechanical characteristics and material removal mechanisms using abrasives in different fixed methods were analyzed theoretically. The results indicated that the hardness of C faces and Si faces of single crystal 6H-SiC under 500 mN load were 38.596 Gpa and 36.246 Gpa respectively, and their elastic moduli were 563.019 Gpa and 524.839 Gpa, respectively. Moreover, the theoretical critical loads for the plastic transition and brittle fracture of C face of single crystal 6H-SiC were 1.941 mN and 366.8 mN, while those of Si face were 1.77 mN and 488.67 mN, respectively. The 6H-SiC materials were removed by pure brittle rolling under three-body friction with free abrasives, and the process parameters determined the material removal modes of 6H-SiC substrates by grinding with fixed abrasives, nevertheless, the materials were removed under full elastic-plastic deformation in cluster magnetorheological finishing with semi-fixed abrasives.

Testing the \(f(R)\)-theory of Gravity

A procedure of testing the \(f(R)\)-theory of gravity is discussed. The latter is an extension of the general theory of relativity (GR). In order this extended theory (in some variant) to be really confirmed as a more precise theory it must be tested. To do that we first have to solve an equation generalizing Einstein's equation in the GR. However, solving this generalized Einstein's equation is often very hard, even it is impossible in general to find an exact solution. It is why the perturbation method for solving this equation is used. In a recent work \cite{Ky:2018fer} a perturbation method was applied to the $f(R)$-theory of gravity in a central gravitational field which is a good approximation in many circumstances. There, perturbative solutions were found for a general form and some special forms of \(f(R)\). These solutions may allow us to test an \(f(R)\)-theory of gravity by calculating some quantities which can be verified later by the experiment (observation). In \cite{Ky:2018fer} an illustration was made on the case \(f(R)=R+\lambda R^2\). For this case, in the present article, the orbital precession of S2 orbiting around Sgr A* is calculated in a higher-order of approximation. The $f(R)$-theory of gravity should be also tested for other variants of $f(R)$ not considered yet in \cite{Ky:2018fer}. Here, several representative variants are considered and in each case the orbital precession is calculated for the Sun--Mercury- and the Sgr A*--S2 gravitational systems so that it can be compared with the value observed by a (future) experiment. Following the same method of \cite{Ky:2018fer} a light bending angle for an $f(R)$ model in a central gravitational field can be also calculated and it could be a useful exercise.

Arms Buildups and the Use of Military Force

The empirical literature on arms buildups and the use of interstate military force has advanced considerably over the last half century. Research has largely confirmed that a relationship exists between arms buildups and the subsequent use of force, although it is historically contingent. The relationship seems to have existed in some earlier historical periods but has not been a feature of international politics since 1945. Broader work such as the steps-to-war model brings understanding to such variation by demonstrating how arms races are interrelated with other causes of conflict, such as territorial disputes and alliances. Still, many important dimensions of the arms race–conflict connection remain to be explored. Differences between qualitative and quantitative arms races, for example, have not received sufficient empirical scrutiny. Precise theory also needs to be developed on direct and indirect relationships between arms races and conflict, and such theory requires empirical investigation.

Internally focalized narration from a linguistic point of view

Most definitions of the narratological notion of internal focalization are cast in terms of what the text represents, namely some character and her point of view. In being thus couched in representational terms, definitions of internal focalization do not mention any linguistic surface properties of the respective text. In this paper, we search for a way to specify the relation between linguistic surface properties and internal focalization. We start by giving a standard narratological account of internal focalization that is fully couched in representational terms. In the next section, we develop a brief but precise theory of linguistic perspective that operates on the text surface. This theory and our linguistic take on internal focalization then rest on the idea of shifted indexical expressions. Our account makes a clear empirical prediction in claiming that the interpretation of an internally focalized sentence will contain variables which will all be bound by the perspective holder. We thus conclude that internal focalization implies linguistic perspective in the sense that the focal character is always the linguistic perspective holder. Hence, our account states a necessary condition for internal focalization in linguistic terms.