Preregistration has been proposed as a useful method for making a publicly verifiable distinction between confirmatory hypothesis tests, which involve planned tests of ante hoc hypotheses, and exploratory hypothesis tests, which involve unplanned tests of post hoc hypotheses. This distinction is thought to be important because it has been proposed that confirmatory hypothesis tests provide more compelling results (less uncertain, less tentative, less open to bias) than exploratory hypothesis tests. In this article, we challenge this proposition and argue that there (...) are several advantages of exploratory hypothesis tests that can make their results more compelling than those of confirmatory hypothesis tests. We also consider some potential disadvantages of exploratory hypothesis tests and conclude that their advantages can outweigh the disadvantages. We conclude that exploratory hypothesis tests avoid researcher commitment and researcher prophecy biases, reduce the probability of data fraud, are more appropriate in the context of unplanned deviations, facilitate inference to the best explanation, and allow peer reviewers to make additional contributions at the data analysis stage. In contrast, confirmatory hypothesis tests may lead to an inappropriate level of confidence in research conclusions, less appropriate analyses in the context of unplanned deviations, and greater bias and errors in theoretical inferences. (shrink)

The presbytery pavement of Novara Cathedral in Piedmont, which dates from the early twelfth century, includes the symbols of the four Evangelists on either side of where the altar once stood. The fourteenth-century ordinal for the cathedral indicates that these symbols were used as markers for participants in the prebaptismal ceremony known as the aurium apertio, in particular during the reading of the initial passages of the Gospels . This rare mention of the liturgical use of images in a figurative (...) floor mosaic challenges our preconceptions of what it might have meant to stand on an image and poses the question whether the pavement could have been designed with such a use in mind. However, several factors complicate the matter. Most important is the substantial gap in time between the laying of the floor and the writing of the manuscript, which means that the liturgical custom might equally have responded to the design of the floor. Secondly, there is the position of Novara as a suffragan diocese within the archdiocese of Milan, when the traditio evangeliorum was not part of the Milanese rite. Thirdly, there is the location of the symbols on the presbytery pavement, where they may not have been visible to the laity, although a central aspect of the rite is the explanation of the Evangelist symbols to the baptismal candidates. Taking these points into consideration, this article attempts to elucidate the relationship between pavement and ceremony. It traces the place of the traditio evangeliorum within the history of prebaptismal liturgy and considers the significance of the rite for those who took part in it, before examining the audience and function of both the readings of the Gospel initia and the mosaic symbols themselves. (shrink)

We focus on two issues: (1) an unusual, counterintuitive prediction that quantum probability (QP) theory appears to make regarding multiple sequential judgments, and (2) the extent to which QP is an appropriate and comprehensive benchmark for assessing judgment. These issues highlight how QP theory can fall prey to the same problems of arbitrariness that Pothos & Busemeyer (P&B) discuss as plaguing other models.

This commentary argues against the indictment of current experimental practices such as piecemeal testing, and the proposed integrated experiment design (IED) approach, which we see as yet another attempt at automating scientific thinking. We identify a number of undesirable features of IED that lead us to believe that its broad application will hinder scientific progress.

Robin Donkin was an exceptional scholar in the field of historical geography, particularly concerning Latin America and the domestication of plants and animals globally. His early research was on the effect of the Cistercians on medieval landscape, and he held posts at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Brimingham. Donkin then lectured in Latin American geography at the University of Cambridge. He was a Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge and was elected as a Fellow of the (...) British Academy in 1985. Obituary by Alan R. H. Baker FBA. (shrink)

The idea of a canonical transformation emerged in 1837 in the course of Carl Jacobi's researches in analytical dynamics. To understand Jacobi's moment of discovery it is necessary to examine some background, especially the work of Joseph Lagrange and Siméon Poisson on the variation of arbitrary constants as well as some of the dynamical discoveries of William Rowan Hamilton. Significant figures following Jacobi in the middle of the century were Adolphe Desboves and William Donkin, while the delayed posthumous publication (...) in 1866 of Jacobi's full dynamical corpus was a critical event. François Tisserand's doctoral dissertation of 1868 was devoted primarily to lunar and planetary theory but placed Hamilton–Jacobi mathematical methods at the forefront of the investigation. Henri Poincaré's writings on celestial mechanics in the period 1890–1910 succeeded in making canonical transformations a fundamental part of the dynamical theory. Poincaré offered a mathematical vision of the subject that differed from Jacobi's and would become influential in subsequent research. Two prominent researchers around 1900 were Carl Charlier and Edmund Whittaker, and their books included chapters devoted explicitly to transformation theory. In the first three decades of the twentieth century Hamilton–Jacobi theory in general and canonical transformations in particular would be embraced by a range of researchers in astronomy, physics and mathematics. (shrink)

Critical study of of the addresses of Sir Muhammad Iqbal, 1877-1938 from philosophical and religious point of view.

Book Information Greek Thought: A Guide to Classical Knowledge. By Jacques Bruschwig and Geoffrey, E. R. Lloyd. MA, Belnap Press. Cambridge. 2000. Pp. xv + 1024. Hardback, US$49.00.

Galavotti begins her book by stressing the centrality of probability to a whole range of philosophical problems. She writes 1: "Probability invests all branches of philosophical investigation, from epistemology to moral and political philosophy, and impinges upon major controversies, like that between determinism and indeterminism, or between free will and moral obligation, and problems such as: ‘What degree of certainty can human knowledge attain?’ ‘What is the relationship between probability and certainty?’" She then explains that her book will focus on (...) the interpretation of the notion of probability. Chapter 1 contains some general remarks about the notion of probability, and Chapter 2 presents a brief introduction to the formal calculus of probability. Then in the next five chapters Galavotti presents in turn the five main interpretations of probability, namely the classical, frequency, propensity, logical, and subjective.Galavotti's approach to the material is historical. She traces, through extensive quotations from, and discussions of, the principal authors, the development of each of the interpretations. In many cases, she deals with early advocates of the position who are often omitted, such as De Morgan, Boole, and Jevons in the case of the logical interpretation, and Donkin in the case of the subjective interpretation. At the same time, the story is often brought right up to the present with discussions of recent authors such as Richard Jeffrey and Patrick Suppes in the case of the subjective interpretation. Galavotti's book is an excellent advertisement for the virtues of …. (shrink)

Frege’s _Basic Law V_ is inconsistent. The reason often given is that it posits the existence of an injection from the larger collection of first-order concepts to the smaller collection of objects. This article explains what is right and what is wrong with this diagnosis.

The Central American country of Guatemala committed itself to democratic values and processes in its election of December, 1985. Guatemala, like most other Central American countries, has been through the dictator-constitution-election revolving door many times. For almsot half a century, Guatemala has been afflicted with coups, general-presidents and dictator-presidents. Again, in 1985, Guatemala created a new constitution with provision for democratic presidential elections monitored and declared "democratic" by a score of other nations. The new president, Vinicio Cerezo, and his Minister (...) of Education, Eduardo Meyer Maldonado, emphasized that the elementary school, the only formal educational institution attended by the majority of Guatemalans, must provide those learning experiences required to develop, to nourish and to sustain democracy in Guatemala. (shrink)

Comparative study of the Mimamsa philosophy of Kumārila Bhaṭṭa and Prabhākaramiśra, 7th century philosophers.

At least for those who uphold the rationality of morality, ethics and practical reason are not two distinct topics: an ethically sound agent is one whose practical reason functions as it should. Take, for instance, the greatest historical figures. Aristotle claimed that no virtue of character can exist without practical wisdom—the excellence of practical, deliberative reason. And Kant thought that the categorical imperative, the ultimate moral principle that governs a good will, was at the same time the fundamental principlof practical (...) reasoning because the will simply ispractical reason. Even before any philosophical theory of the connection between acting well and the exercise of a rational power is in view, our moral practices strongly suggest that there is one. For we take it for granted that, in an important range of cases, when an agent fails to act as she should, something has gone awry with the agent and not just with her acts, and, furthermore, that the agent herself may be held responsible for this. In calling an agent who acts unethically "irrational," we are saying these two things. (shrink)

The use of with the future indicative is admittedly rare in post-Homeric Greek. In the passages concerned many deny the usage completely and either omit the particle or resort to emendation, or dismiss the construction as a mere ana-colouthon. In an instructive article in the Classical Quarterly, xl , Moorhouse argues in favour of retaining many of the readings, and it is only his interpretation that is in question here. His main thesis is that in Homeric Greek, where the usage (...) is common enough, κ or with the future means either ‘in that case’ or ‘probably’ . The latter usage, however, he regards as sometimes assuming a tone of dogmatic certainty , and this ‘emphatic future’ came to be the regular and literal meaning of the later idiom, without any irony being involved. (shrink)

The key stakeholders of the Finnish engineering education collaborated during 2006–09 to reform the system of education, to face the challenges of the changing business environment and to create a national strategy for the Finnish engineering education. The work process was carried out using participatory work methods. Impacts of sustainable development (SD) on engineering education were analysed in one of the subprojects. In addition to participatory workshops, the core part of the work on SD consisted of a research with more (...) than 60 interviews and an extensive literature survey. This paper discusses the results of the research and the work process of the Collaboration Group in the subproject of SD. It is suggested that enhancing systematic dialogue among key stakeholders using participatory work methods is crucial in increasing motivation and commitment in incorporating SD in engineering education. Development of the context of learning is essential for improving skills of engineering graduates in some of the key abilities related to SD: systemic- and life-cycle thinking, ethical understanding, collaborative learning and critical reflection skills. This requires changing of the educational paradigm from teacher-centred to learner-centred applying problem- and project-oriented active learning methods. (shrink)