Is love when you don’t give a name to things’ identity? The Passion According to G.H., like much of Clarice Lispector’s writing, hovers on the razor-thin and fragile edge between description and the ineffable, between existence and nonexistence, between the world and its disappearance, between losing and finding oneself. It is no wonder, then, that a plethora of contradictions explode from the very first lines of the narrative that passionately wishes to share an obscure experience, of which the narrator (...) herself is not certain—“I am not sure I even believe in what happened to me,” she says (p. 3)1—and which she is unable to organize into clearly delineated forms or molds, without losing its singularly .. (shrink)

We analyse the extent of possible computations following Hogarth ([2004]) conducted in Malament–Hogarth (MH) spacetimes, and Etesi and Németi ([2002]) in the special subclass containing rotating Kerr black holes. Hogarth ([1994]) had shown that any arithmetic statement could be resolved in a suitable MH spacetime. Etesi and Németi ([2002]) had shown that some relations on natural numbers that are neither universal nor co-universal, can be decided in Kerr spacetimes, and had asked specifically as to the extent of computational limits there. (...) The purpose of this note is to address this question, and further show that MH spacetimes can compute far beyond the arithmetic: effectively Borel statements (so hyperarithmetic in second-order number theory, or the structure of analysis) can likewise be resolved: Theorem A. If H is any hyperarithmetic predicate on integers, then there is an MH spacetime in which any query ? n H ? can be computed. In one sense this is best possible, as there is an upper bound to computational ability in any spacetime, which is thus a universal constant of that spacetime. Theorem C. Assuming the (modest and standard) requirement that spacetime manifolds be paracompact and Hausdorff, for any spacetime there will be a countable ordinal upper bound, , on the complexity of questions in the Borel hierarchy computable in it. Introduction 1.1 History and preliminaries Hyperarithmetic Computations in MH Spacetimes 2.1 Generalising SADn regions 2.2 The complexity of questions decidable in Kerr spacetimes An Upper Bound on Computational Complexity for Each Spacetime CiteULike Connotea Del.icio.us What's this? (shrink)

Most commonly, the scientific realism debate is seen as dividing those who do and do not think that the striking empirical and practical successes of at least our best scientific theories indicate with high probability that those theories are ‘approximately true’. But I want to suggest that this characterization of the debate has far outlived its usefulness. Not only does it obscure the central differences between two profoundly different types of contemporary scientific realist, but even more importantly it serves to (...) disguise the most substantial points of actual disagreement between these two kinds of realists and those who instead think the historical record of scientific inquiry itself reveals that such realism is untenable in either form. (shrink)

Reply in Book Symposium on James Ladyman, Don Ross: 'Everything must go: metaphysics naturalized', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.

This paper suggests that a consideration of health care practice is a necessary step in gaining insight into the appropriate composition of an ethics course for students in the health care professional. Health care practice, if it responds to the needs of society, is dynamic in nature. In the current climate of change in the health service, the author sug gests that the nursing profession needs to become more proactive in analysing and attempting to determine the future shape of nursing. (...) To protect patient care the nursing profession needs to have its eyes open to the ethical dimensions of changes in role and practice. The author argues that, in attempting to ensure that the education to which nursing students are exposed is of relevance, it is necessary to introduce an element of the ideal into the ethics component of their professional education. From early on in their profes sional development students should be aware of the scope and standards of practice, and the type of role enactment to which the profession requires them to aspire. (shrink)

table ronde du Centre national de la recherche scientifique, Paris, 27-29 mars 1979. Huygens et la France (Paris, Vrin, 1981, p. 99-114) CHRISTIAAN HUYGENS VU PAR LEIBNIZ par Albert HEINEKAMP (*) (Leibniz-Archiv, Hannover) Les ...

This work considers the future of driving in terms of both its short- and long-term horizons. It conjectures that human-controlled driving will follow in the footsteps of a wide swath of other, now either residual or abandoned human occupations. Pursuits that have preceded it into oblivion. In this way, driving will dwindle down into only a few niche locales wherein enthusiasts will still persist, much in the way that steam train hobbyists now continue their own aspirational inclinations. Of course, the (...) value of any such prognostication is in direct proportion to the degree that information is conveyed, and prospective uncertainty reduced. In more colloquial terms: the devil is in the details of these coming transitions. It is anticipated that we will see a progressive transformation of the composition of on-road traffic that will be registered most immediately in the realm of professional transportation in which the imperative for optimization exceeds that in virtually all other user segments. The transition from manual control to full automation will be more punctate than gradualist in is evolutionary development. As performance optimization slowly exhausts the commercial sector, it will progressively transition more into the discretionary realm by dint of simple technology transfer alone. The hedonic dimension of everyday driving will be dispersed and pursued by progressively fewer individuals. The traveling window of generational expectation will soon mean that human driving will be largely ‘forgotten,’ as each sequential generation matures without this, still presently common, experience. Indications of this stage of progress are beginning to... (shrink)

Objective: The objectives of this study are to understand the current functions, structure and operation of hospital ethics committees (HECs) in Shanghai and to facilitate their improvement. Methods: (1) A questionnaire survey, (2) interviews with secretaries and (3) on-site document reviews of HECs in Shanghai were used in the study, which surveyed 33 hospitals. Results: In Shanghai, 57.56% of the surveyed hospitals established HECs from 1998 to 2005. Most HECs used bioethical review of research involving human subjects as well as (...) bioethical review or consultation regarding medical care services and administrative decision- making. Of the surveyed HECs, 14.3% did not provide any formal bioethical training to the HECs’ members and many HECs had no standard operating procedures. Some HECs had no clear definition of what was “conflict of interest” that should be considered by the HECs, while 44.4% of the HECs did not perform continuing review. Discussion: After the issues of related national regulations, more and more hospitals established HECs in Shanghai, but the functions of HECs need to be further developed and formal training on bioethics should be provided to HEC members. To assure the independence and good performance of HECs, the conflict of interest procedure, the standard operating procedures and bioethical review should be improved. Conclusion: HECs in Shanghai had developed in the preceding 10 years and they played great roles in protecting the rights and welfare of human subjects and patients; some areas need improvement. (shrink)

L'ouvrage de I. Finkelstein et N.A. Silberman, intitulé Bible and Archeology et traduit en français sous le titre La Bible dévoilée, vise un large public. Il fait connaître les conclusions des recherches et découvertes récentes en matière d'archéologie et constate les désaccords fréquents entre l'histoire selon la Bible et l'histoire selon l'archéologie. La présente note reconnaît la valeur de l'information archéologique de l'ouvrage, tout en rappelant que bien des points demeurent discutés ; elle regrette cependant de n'y trouver ni une (...) véritable réflexion sur l'historiographie et ni une information exégétique équilibrée. L'archéologie ne doit pas davantage prouver que la Bible a dit vrai que l'inverse, mais elle peut aider à comprendre ce qu'elle dit. (shrink)

Under today's conditions, when the Soviet Union is successfully engaged in the comprehensive construction of a communist society, and the prospect of uniform advancement toward communism seems possible for the socialist countries, the theoretical problems relating to the transition from socialism to communism acquire major importance. In our day, problems of scientific communism are resolved in practice, in the creative activity of tens and hundreds of millions of people. The success of the construction of communism depends to a very large (...) degree upon the correct theoretical solution of these problems. (shrink)

The author considers the notion that the doctor is the sole arbiter of what happens to a defective neonate; how this is a logical confusion of scientific assessment with value judgment. The utilitarian concept found in a democracy is taken to be the superior source of ethics which ought to guide doctors. Finally, the logical conclusion is claimed to be that legislation alone will effectively enunciate society's standards.

Bioethics has become a field of new challenges for Ibero-America and the Caribbean. A seeming uniformity in the region hides a rich heterogeneous society. A brief survey of bioethical developments in different Ibero- American countries is provided as well as the bioethical problems and approaches peculiar to the region. Some of the unique features of bioethics in this region, it is suggested, could infuse new life into the U.S. and European bioethics discussion. Finally, a bibliography of Ibero-American bioethics literature is (...) provided for North American and European readers. (shrink)

SummaryThe Gricean maxims of conversation are regulated by a supermaxim which determines what is relevant or not for a particular conversation. This maxim, involving a pragmatical knowledge, imposes specific restrictions on conversational strategy. It is called the “maxim of conversation topology” because it fixes the topos of a conversation.RésuméDans cet article nous démontrons que les maximes de la conversation, établies par H.P. Grice, sont dominées par une supermaxime qui détermine ce qui est pertinent et ce qui n'est pas pertinent pour (...) une certaine conversation. Cette maxime, qui implique une connaissance ?on;ordre pragmatique, impose des restrictions spécifiques sur la stratégie de conversation. Cette supermaxime, axiomatiquement premiére, est appelée ici la maxime de la topologie de la conversation, puisque c'est elle qui fixe le topos?on;une conversation.ZusammenfassungDie Maximen, die Grice für die Durchführung einer Konversation aufstellt, werden ihrerseits durch eine Obermaxime geregelt, die bestimmt, was für eine gegebene Konversation relevant ist oder nicht. Die Maxime involviert pralctisches Wissen und legt der angewendeten Strategie spezifi‐sche Einschränkungen auf. Sie wird die Maxime der Konversationstopologie genannt, weil sie den Topos einer Konversation festlegt. (shrink)

The role of emotions in ethics is often taken by philosophers and others as antithetical to rationality. On the most basic level (in undergraduate philosophy exams and elsewhere), stating an opinion in the form "I feel that p" can be a way of sidestepping the demand for reasons. But emotions can sometimes also be seen as supplying reasons for moral judgment to the extent that they involve evaluations--and a way of communicating them across different moral perspectives.

Th e con fusion a nd b arren ness o f psycho logy is no t to be e xplain ed b y calling it a “yo ung science”; its state is not comparable with that of physics, for instance, in its beginnings. (Rather with that of certain branches of mathematics. Set theory.) For in psychology there are experimental methods and conceptual confusion. (As in the oth er case, con cep tual co nfusion and m ethod s of pro of.) (...) The existence of the experimental method makes us think we have the means of solving the problems that trouble us; though problem and method pass one another by. (PI p. 232). (shrink)

The relation of the conformal group to various earlier proposed relativistic quantum mechanical dynamical groups (and other related groups) is studied in the framework of projective geometry, by explicitly constructing the contractions of the six-dimensional coordinate transformations. Five-dimensional realizations are then derived. An attempt is made to improve our physical insight through geometry.

Marxist thinking can offer a critical understanding of education in an international context. Jones tackles these issues from a variety of angles and perspectives, taking advantage of recent theoretical innovations in Marxist analysis as well as the personal experiences of educational practitioners with Marxist commitments. With a specific focus on pedagogical practices as cultural practices, this book combines detailed case studies of local situations with broad, critical overviews of global development and challenges.

This article analyses the conception of virtue and vice in early modern Europe. It explains that there were two movements in conceptions of virtue during this period. The first is the Cartesian tradition wherein virtue is intimately related to the control of the passions and the other is the continuation of this theme in Britain in a more aesthetic version. This article describes how the concepts of virtue and vice were softened by an awakening interest in the social emotions and (...) in the relationship between moral goodness and happiness. (shrink)