Classical mechanics is presented so as to render the new formulation valid for an arbitrary temporal variable, as opposed to Newton’s Absolute Time only. Newton’s theory then becomes formally identical (in a precise sense) to relativity, albeit in a three-dimensional manifold. (The ultimate difference between the two dynamics is traced to the existence of the relativistic ‘mass-shell’ condition.) A classical Lagrangian is provided for our formulation of the equations of motion and it is related to one of the known forms (...) of the corresponding relativistic Lagrangian, which is the analogue of the Polyakov Lagrangian of string theory. (shrink)

Study of concept of Brahman in Upanishads with special reference to the philosophy of Śāṇḍilya.

В книге на материале психолингвистических экспериментов рассматриваются этические взгляды современных русских и японцев, причем этика русских прослеживается в динамике: на рубежах начала 1990-х гг. и начала XXI века.

In Tullock contests in which the common value of the prize is uncertain and the elasticity of the marginal cost of effort is increasing, the effect of changes of players’ information on the equilibrium efforts and payoffs is unambiguous: if information is symmetric, then expected effort decreases as players become better informed; in two-player contests, the expected effort of a player with information advantage is less than that of his opponent. Sharper results arise when the cost of effort is linear: (...) Under symmetric information, expected effort and payoff are invariant to changes in the players’ information. In two-player contests, both players exert the same expected effort regardless of their information, although expected effort is smaller when one player has information advantage than when both players have the same information. Interestingly, the expected payoff of a player with information advantage is larger than that of his opponent, even though he wins the prize less frequently. (shrink)

Traditional explanations of multistable visual phenomena (e.g. ambiguous figures, perceptual rivalry) suggest that the basis for spontaneous reversals in perception lies in antagonistic connectivity within the visual system. In this review, we suggest an alternative, albeit speculative. explanation for visual multistability - that spontaneous alternations reflect responses to active, programmed events initiated by brain areas that integrate sensory and non-sensory information to coordinate a diversity of behaviors. Much evidence suggests that perceptual reversals are themselves more closely related to the expression (...) of a behavior than to passive sensory responses: (1) they are initiated spontaneously, often voluntarily, and are influenced by subjective variables such as attention and mood; (2) the alternation process is greatly facilitated with practice and compromised by lesions in non- visual cortical areas; (3) the alternation process has temporal dynamics similar to those of spontaneously initiated behaviors; (4) functional imaging reveals that brain areas associated with a variety of cognitive behaviors are specifically activated when vision becomes unstable. In this scheme, reorganizations of activity throughout the visual cortex, concurrent with perceptual reversals, are initiated by higher, largely non- sensory brain centers. Such direct intervention In the processing of the sensory input by brain structures associated with planning and motor programming might serve an important role in perceptual organization, particularly in aspects related to selective attention. (shrink)

Signals to the brain from the flows of energy around the body, varied primarily by declining amounts of food energy in the stomach, can explain the pattern of meals in the laboratory rat, the differences between dark and light phases, and the development of obesity ion the rat wioth VMH lesions but normal sating.

Revisiting African philosophy’s classic questions, D. A. Masolo advances understandings of what it means to be human—whether of African or other origin. Masolo reframes indigenous knowledge as diversity: How are we to understand the place and structure of consciousness? How does the everyday color the world we know? Where are the boundaries between self and other, universal and particular, and individual and community? From here, he takes a dramatic turn toward Africa’s current political situation and considers why individual rights and (...) freedoms have not been recognized, respected, demanded, or enforced. Masolo offers solutions for containing socially destructive conduct and antisocial tendencies by engaging community. His unique thinking about community and the role of the individual extends African philosophy in new, global directions. (shrink)