Ramseyan humility is the thesis that we cannot know which properties realize the roles specified by the laws of completed physics. Lewis seems to offer a sceptical argument for this conclusion. Humean fundamental properties can be permuted as to their causal roles and distribution throughout spacetime, yielding alternative possible worlds with the same fundamental structure as actuality, but at which the totality of available evidence is the same. On the assumption that empirical knowledge requires evidence, we cannot know which of (...) these worlds is actual. However, Lewis also appeals to a range of familiar semantic principles when framing his argument, which leads some authors to suppose that he can also plausibly be interpreted as offering a purely semantic argument for humility in addition. In this paper I grant that these arguments are Lewisian, but argue that Lewis is also committed to a theory of mind that licenses a purely metaphysical argument for humility based on the idea that mental properties supervene on fundamental structure. Given that knowing which x is the F requires knowing that a is the F, the supposition that we could come to know which properties actually occupy the fundamental roles entails differences in mental properties between worlds with the same fundamental structure, violating supervenience. Humility follows right away, without any further epistemic or semantic principles. This argument is immune to almost every way of rebutting the sceptical and semantic arguments; conversely, almost every way of rebutting the metaphysical argument tells equally against the others. (shrink)

¿Puede Tomás de Aquino, pensador del siglo XIII, decirnos algo a nuestra realidad política latinoamericana actual? Un texto entre dos contextos es el pretexto para generar una reflexión en torno al derecho a la rebelión, desde la perspectiva de la no-violencia y el derecho a la desobediencia civil. Un camino desde la justicia y el buen gobierno en el Aquinate, seguido del bien común político y las virtudes políticas en el Angélico para desembocar en el derecho a la rebelión, es (...) la ruta que se traza para esta exposición. Una lectura desde la propuesta exegética hermenéutica del Dr. René Padilla, es decir, una comprensión intuitiva, una comprensión gramático-histórica y una comprensión contextualizadora son el cómo y modo del presente trabajo. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:NEWMAN'S PSYCHOLOGICAL DISCOVERY: THE ILLATIVE SENSE (V. Continued) 15. The Universals. A long and vehement dispute once raged about the reality of universals. Are they only mental creations, forged by the human brain, without any reality outside them, or have they some independent existence apart from their mental reality? Anyhow, there was an apparent contradiction between die universal character of our ideas and the individual character of concrete things. (...) The Scholastics solved this problem by drawing clear distinctions. An idea is an abstraction; as soon as it becomes applicable to a number of objects or things in the same sense, it is a universal idea. The "direct universal" (universale directum seu metaphysicum) as such has no existence apart from our minds, because an existing thing is always bound up with concrete, determining, individualizing notes, and it is these very circumstances or accidents which are ignored by the mind as it strips the thing of its individual characteristics. When the mind reflects on this "direct universal," i.e., on the abstract essence of the thing, it sees that this is to be found in many more things and that it is identical in all those things, and in this way the "reflex or logical universal" is formed (universale reflexum seu logicum). This same essence or quiddity is not really different from the thing itself, but the mind makes abstraction of all accidents, and this foundation makes it possible to apply this idea in die same sense to all other beings of the same kind, whether they are actually existing or not. In other words the universal as a universal has only reality in the mind but it has a foundation or a ground in the thing itself. Newman was not so well acquainted with Scholasticism that he knew and mastered the solution of the problem. As a matter of fact he approached it from quite another angle. Hence when scholastically trained minds read some of his statements on universals, they may feel shocked. They sound very curious, they seem incon418 DR. ZENO, O.F.M. CAP.419 sistent with each other, they apparenüy imply a negation of the objective reality of universals. This makes it necessary to compare the texts and to explain his meaning. a. Newman Inconsistent. We should never lose sight of the fact that Newman had no intention at all to enter the province of philosophy in the restricted sense of the word. "I am only contemplating the mind as it moves in fact, by whatever hidden mechanism,"1 that is what could be put as a heading to every page of the Grammar of Assent. And when he virtually deals with metaphysics, he wants us to consider his statements as hypotheses, or as propositions stated only by the way, and in this department he always wishes "to speak under correction." This explains how he could refer to the universale metaphy sicum and the universale directum in a very correct way without realizing he was teaching Scholastic doctrine. As far as I know, it is Professor Walgrave who has first drawn attention to this fact,2 when he dealt with Newman's alleged conceptualism. Newman states that "even one act of cruelty, ingratitude, generosity or justice reveals to us at once intensive the immutable distinction between those qualities and their contraries; that is, in that particular instance and pro bac vice."3 The same holds for the opposites: right and wrong, true and false, just and unjust, beautiful and deformed.4 In one experience, therefore, he sees a thing as an immutable, absolute quiddity, which objectively and in the same sense belongs to all possible things of the same kind, although the mind does not yet explicidy confirm this universal applicability. The contemplated quality remains limited to the particular case; but in its absoluteness it is stripped of all individual, changeable and concrete characteristics. This is the metaphysical universal of the Scholastics. But Newman also mentions the logical universal when he says: "As we form our notion of whiteness from the actual sight of snow, a lily or a cloud, so, after experiencing the sentiment of approbation which arises in us on the sight of certain... (shrink)

The similarity of documents in a large database of published Fractals articles was examined for redundancy. Three different text matching techniques were used on publisheds to identify redundancy candidates, and predictions were verified by reading full text versions of the redundancy candidate articles. A small fraction of the total articles in the database was judged to be redundant. This was viewed as a lower limit, because it excluded cases where the concepts remained the same, but the text was altered substantially.Far (...) more pervasive than redundant publications were publications that did not violate the letter of redundancy but rather violated the spirit of redundancy. There appeared to be widespread publication maximization strategies. Studies that resulted in one comprehensive paper decades ago now result in multiple papers that focus on one major problem, but are differentiated by parameter ranges, or other stratifying variables. This ‘paper inflation’ is due in large part to the increasing use of metrics (publications, patents, citations, etc) to evaluate research performance, and the researchers’ motivation to maximize the metrics. (shrink)

The present study focuses on Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to study the relationship between teachers’ behavioral intention to use a data projector and some other variables and highlighting the extent to which the TAM is applicable. A random sample consisting of 6480 teachers was randomly selected for the study. For data collection, the author used a questionnaire, which was derived from relevant literature. The employment of Data Show Projectors in teaching Mathematics is influenced by a variety of factors, (...) which chiefly include what is known as computer anxiety (abbreviated as CA). The study shows that CA has a negative effect on PE. Moreover, results of the study also show that there is a positive correlation between actual use (abbreviated as AU) and intention to use (abbreviated as IU). However, results show that perceived usefulness (abbreviated as PU) is not significantly correlated with IU. This means that teachers are more interested in how easy the use of projectors is to them, as opposed to the extent to which it is useful in their work. The study proposes an expansion of the TAM model that takes into consideration the contexts of AU, IU, PU, PE, and CA. Findings show that the proposed TAM model expansion shows positive correlations with AU, IU, PU, PE, and CA. The expanded model shows success in achieving the research objectives. The present study is a contribution to the research efforts for supporting the adoption of projectors in mathematics classes. (shrink)

A few weeks ago I received a copy of the PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES, containing a review of my book John Henry Newman, Our Way to Certitude, written by Fr. Boekraad. It was very unfavourable so that anybody reading it is sure to make up his mind never to buy the book.

In the Netherlands religion on the one hand and mental health care on the other, have grown apart in the process of secularisation. Nowadays however one can witness a growing need amongst counselors and psychotherapists to be educated in the field of religion, meaning giving and world views (Van der Lans, Pieper, Van Uden, 1993; Raaijmakers, 1994). That religion is back in the focus of attention can also be concluded from the fact that in the latest version of the diagnostic (...) bible, the DSM IV, a separate code (code: V 62.89) has been included for religious or spiritual problems (Lukoff, Lu, Turner, 1992). The case study of a patient with an obsessive-compulsive disorder, which we will present is meant as a contribution to this educational process. We will show how important it is to look at the religious frame of reference of a patient and how this can be handled in the psychotherapeutic treatment. The case will be put within the theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism (Mead, 1934). (shrink)

This paper presents the results of an empirical study among two groups of psychotherapists in the Netherlands. One group works in a mental health institution based on religious principles (the Gliagg), and the other group in a general mental health institution (the Riagg). The investigation starts with an overview of the religious background and religious practices of the therapists. Some equations with the average Dutch citizen are made. The next part of the study deals with the perception by psychotherapists of (...) religious issues connected with psycho-social problems. How often in their opinion is there a relation and what kind of relation is at issue? The third part of the study considers the way in which psychotherapists treat these religious issues. Do they attend to them and what kind of (religious) interventions are used? Special attention is given to the question of whether there are contacts with the clergy. We conclude that religion should be given a more pronounced place in general mental health care and that Riagg psychotherapists, in particular, should become better equipped to deal with religious issues. (shrink)

This collection of essays examines the ways in which disputes and controversies about the application of scientific knowledge are resolved. Four concrete examples of public controversy are considered in detail: the efficacy of Laetrile, the classification of homosexuality as a disease, the setting of safety standards in the workplace, and the utility of nuclear energy as a source of power. The essays in this volume show that debates about these cases are not confined to matters of empirical fact. Rather, as (...) is seen with most scientific and technical controversies, they focus on and are structured by complex ethical, economic, and political interests. Drs. Engelhardt and Caplan have brought together a distinguished group of scholars from the sciences and humanities, who sketch a theory of scientific controversy and attempt to provide recommendations about the ways in which both scientists and the public ought to seek more informed resolutions of highly contentious issues in science and technology. Scientific Controversies is offered as a contribution to the better understanding of the roles of both science and nonscientific interests in disputes and controversies pertaining to science and technology. (shrink)

In this thorough compendium, nineteen accomplished scholars explore, in some manner the values they find inherent in the world, their nature, and revelence through the thought of Frederick FerrZ. These essays, informed by the insights of FerrZ and coming from manifold perspectives—ethics, philosophy, theology, and environmental studies, advance an ambitious challenge to current intellectual and scholarly fashions.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and understand how specific advancements in the area of marketing and organisation affect the overall firm performance (FP) given that there are diverse ways in which innovation boosts up corporate revenues, marketing innovation (MI), leadership innovation (LI), organizational innovation (OI), process innovation(PI), and customer engagement innovation (CEI) as the independent variables in the framework with FPbeing the dependent variable, through the collection of surveyed data from 150 firms across different industries and subsequent (...) analysis using SPSS 25. Descriptive analysis pointed out that OI was equally high with a mean of 4.2 indicating is prominent role. Multiple regression analysis identified CEI having the largest positive effect on FP (B= 0.35,p = 0.000). ANOVA result showed that PI contributed the most significant variance in the FP (F=7.89,p = 0.008). The study provides understanding on how different types of innovations create corporate success and highlights the key innovation of CEI for enhancing the FP. (shrink)

This study analyzes the elements that influence visitor contentment at cultural events by developing and testing several hypotheses. This framework considers visitor contentment as the dependent variable (DV) with independent variables (IVs) including program content, event logistics, social atmosphere, facilities, customer service, and accessibility. A survey of 270 visitors was conducted to evaluate these variables and their impact on visitor contentment. Statistical analysis was evaluated using SPSS 25. ANOVA, multiple linear regression, and chi-square tests were among the statistical techniques used (...) to assess the effects and associations of each factor. Chi-Square test results show that all hypotheses have substantial relationships (p-values < 0.05) and that each independent variable has a significant effect on visitor contentment. ANOVA supports the results that program content (F=7.45,p<0.001), facilities (F=8.20,p<0.001), and other factors significantly impact visitor contentment. According to multiple linear regression analysis, program content (coefficient=0.421,p<0.001) and facilities (coefficient=0.512,p<0.001) have the greatest impact on visitor contentment, followed by event logistics (coefficient=0.308,p=0.003), customer service (coefficient=0.189,p=0.028), accessibility (coefficient=0.294,p=0.002), and social atmosphere (coefficient=0.267,p=0.001). These results emphasize the significance of every element in improving visitor contentment, with facilities and program content being especially important. (shrink)

Culture is vital in preserving history and continuity of traditions, and that is why cultural practices should be protected and supported. It is important to understand young people's participation in these activities first because they are the key to sustaining the efforts in the future. This study examines the impact of young people's involvement in cultural heritage (CH) through four key variables, knowledge (KNW), engagement in activities (EIA), interest in participation (IIP), and impact perception (IP). The data were administered through (...) a structured questionnaire, which was distributed among 300 students from schools and colleges. Several statistical tests were conducted such as reliability tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Chi-Square tests, and descriptive analysis using SPSS version 20. The results of the reliabilities of the scales showed that KNW and IIP are very reliable and EIA and IP are comparatively slightly less reliable. The outcome of the ANOVA revealed differences in the variables with a notable F-value signifying variability in responses. Results of chi-square tests showed that KNW and IIP were significant at p < 0.05 while EIA and IP were not significant. The mean score for all the variables was determined using descriptive statistics, and results showed that IIP had the highest mean score meaning that youths were willing to participate in cultural heritage activities. The study also identifies KNW and IIP as key elements that affect youth engagement in the preservation of cultural heritage. It indicates or rather underlines the possibility of harnessing this, interest to improve further on cultural heritage programs. (shrink)