In the latest edition of their popular overview text, Erickson and Murphy continue to provide a comprehensive, affordable, and accessible introduction to anthropological theory from antiquity to the present.

The T/t locus was a major focus of study by mouse geneticists during the 20th century. In the 70s, as the study of cell surface antigens controlling transplantation antigens was taking off, several laboratories hypothesized that alleles of this locus would control cell surface antigens important for embryonic development. One such antigen, the embryonal carcinoma F9 antigen was said to be an example. Other antigens were described on sperm and embryos that were said to be controlled by alleles at the (...) T/t complex. These findings were later found to be false. The history of the findings and their refutation is described. (shrink)

Our understanding of the sense of taste is largely based on research designed and interpreted in terms of the traditional four tastes: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter, and now a few more. This concept of basic tastes has no rational definition to test, and thus it has not been tested. As a demonstration, a preliminary attempt to test one common but arbitrary psychophysical definition of basic tastes is included in this article; that the basic tastes are unique in being able (...) to account for other tastes. This definition was falsified in that other stimuli do about as well as the basic words and stimuli. To the extent that this finding might show analogies with other studies of receptor, neural, and psychophysical phenomena, the validity of the century-long literature of the science of taste based on a few is called into question. The possible origins, meaning, and influence of this concept are discussed. Tests of the model with control studies are suggested in all areas of taste related to basic tastes. As a stronger alternative to the basic tradition, the advantages of the across-fiber pattern model are discussed; it is based on a rational data-based hypothesis, and has survived attempts at falsification. Such has found broad acceptance in many neural systems. (shrink)

Amid efforts to limit “divisive concepts” in educational settings, this article investigates the obstruction of a civic-focused early childhood curriculum. Joy Dangora Erickson and Winston Thompson analyze the challenges faced by a resourceful kindergarten teacher striving to uphold curriculum goals despite constraints imposed by the state legislature. Through an empirically informed exploration of political and pedagogical factors, this conceptual analysis elucidates the moral complexities of risks, costs, and outcomes as educators navigate non-ideal political conditions. By doing so, the authors (...) provide valuable insights to scholars and practitioners, suggesting productive avenues for future research on these and related dilemmas of practice. (shrink)

I argue that the notion of human rights is a flawed notion of relatively recent historical origin, growing primarily out of Enlightenment concerns to separate human beings from their metaphysical and communal heritage. I critique liberal, secular individualism as an abstract perspective that fails to comprehend those fundamental family relations out of which genuine human life emerges and within which it must remain if it is to be perceptive, grounded, and concrete. Finally, I argue that the most important relations humans (...) sustain to each other are internal, not external to them and that the bonding found through empathy is more insightful in decision making than the analytic connections engendered through human reason. (shrink)

In Human Presence Erickson offers a thoughtful study of some fundamental features of human nature central to a theoretical and therapeutic understanding of human existence. Though the language employed is largely philosophical, interfaces with psychoanalysis and religion are made in order to stimulate dialogue that reaches beyond the traditional boundaries of discipline. It is toward more such dialogue that Human Presence serves as preparation. The author provides a probing contrast between traditional psychoanalysis and existential conceptions of time consciousness and (...) he articulates the issues involved in experience or lived time in their centrality to human self-understanding. The author suggests how both conceptions, the existential and the psychoanalytic, enlarge yet limit awareness and insight. In a revealing way, Human Presence raises deep and unavoidable issues regarding the human in us all. Stephen A. Erickson is Professor of Philosophy, Pomona College and Claremont Graduate School, and is a guest faculty member of the Southern California Psychoanalytic Institute. (shrink)

In this book, Erickson analyzes of how the politics of fear operate, To outline one possible response to the intentionally paralyzing logic of fear.

What is Christian about Christian bioethics? And is an authentically Christian bioethics a practical possibility in the world in which we find ourselves? In my essay I argue that personhood and the personal are so fundamental to the Christian understanding of our humanity that body, soul, and spirit are probably best understood as the components of a triune (as opposed to dual) aspect theory of personhood. To confess to a Christian bioethics is to admit that Christians cannot pretend fully to (...) understand either cures or their meaning. However effective and “knowledge-based” contemporary medical interventions are, a Christian must humbly and honestly confess a lack of complete knowledge on both levels. At the same time, a Christian bioethicist must express a total personal commitment to Christian Faith. (shrink)

The usual suspects Content Type Journal Article DOI 10.1007/s11016-010-9453-9 Authors Mark Erickson, School of Applied Social Science, University of Brighton, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9PH UK Journal Metascience Online ISSN 1467-9981 Print ISSN 0815-0796.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:American Journal of Philology 123.4 (2002) 601-622 [Access article in PDF] Falling Masts, Rising Masters:The Ethnography of Virtue in Caesar's Account of the Veneti Brice Erickson [Appendix]CAESAR'S ACCOUNT OF THE REVOLT of the Veneti and neighboring tribes along the northwest coast of Gaul (BGall. 3.8-15) contains a clear assertion of Rome's superiority in virtus over her foes. While the account of the Veneti has sparked considerable debate over (...) Caesar's political motivations and Venetic topography, 1 the passage's literary themes merit study in their own right. This paper examines the respective roles of technology and virtus in Caesar's presentation of the Venetic defeat. The first section establishes that Caesar conceived of the sea battle fought against the Veneti as a contest about virtus. The next section argues that the technology of enemy boat design detailed in an ethnographic passage is represented by Caesar as a source of Venetic strength in place of true fighting spirit. This naval ethnography, dismissed by several commentators as an afterthought awkwardly inserted into the text, 2 is, on the contrary, the cornerstone of a sophisticated exposition on the theme of native technological strength failing to compensate for a lack of virtus. Caesar's presentation of the final defeat of the Veneti at sea, the subject of the third section, exposes native weakness in a remarkable scene wherein falling masts and sudden calm metaphorically cast enemy failure within a gendered opposition of hard and soft. [End Page 601] The Presentation of the Sea Battle as a Contest about VirtusAt the beginning of the account, the Veneti prove to be formidable adversaries despite their apparent reluctance to face the Romans in battle. The unusual position of their strongholds, on the tips of spits or promontories, shelters the Veneti from sea-borne attack. As Caesar points out, the violent swelling of the tide (aestus) characteristic of these northern regions and the presence of dangerous shoals make approaching the headlands by sea difficult (3.12.2-3). A further Roman disadvantage is their inadequate knowledge of the region's shoals, ports, and islands where the fighting will have to be waged. 3 Even when the Romans manage to besiege enemy positions, the Veneti's possession of a superior fleet allows them to abandon compromised strongholds and fortify new ones. Faced with an enemy skilled at tactical retreat, the Romans must delay a decisive resolution of the campaign until they finish assembling a fleet of their own. 4The Veneti stand in contrast to other tribes Caesar has fought, at least among those described in any detail. They lack the fighting virtues of masculine fortitude and courage in battle. Caesar ascribes Venetic power to three factors: a great number of ships, control over ports and trade with Britain, and a combination of knowledge (scientia) and experience (usus) in naval matters. 5 He credits the Veneti with being a coastal power, respected by their neighbors and preeminent in auctoritas. 6 This term is commonly paired with other words that reflect the courage of the Gauls, such as fortissimus, acerrimus, or occasionally even virtus. But Caesar's entire account of the Veneti is noticeably lacking in any explicit description of enemy fighting spirit. 7 In contrast, the Bellovaci at Bellum [End Page 602] Gallicum 2.4.5 are said to reign over their neighbors (inter eos) both in auctoritas and virtus. The term virtus itself covers a wide range of meanings. At its core are the concepts of masculine fortitude and courageous action. 8 Caesar describes another Gallic tribe, the Senones, in similar terms: civitas in primis firma et magnae inter Gallos auctoritatis (BGall. 5.54.2), where firma is paired with auctoritas.Fortis and acer occasionally serve as crude adjectival equivalents of virtus, as evidenced by an example at Bellum Gallicum 5.43.4, in which Caesar equates virtus with fighting in a manner acerrime fortissimeque in the case of Roman legionaries. A distinction exists between these terms and audacia and ferox, which convey the... (shrink)

The United States Food and Drug Administration's recent approval of the commercial use of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) as a treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) will be discussed within the context of the existing USA regulatory framework. The purpose will be to illustrate the current lack of regulation and oversight of the DBS market, which has resulted in the violation of basic ethical norms. The discussion will focus on: 1) the lack of available evidence on procedural safety and efficacy, (...) 2) the numerous conflicts of interest held by research investigators, and 3) the ambiguity of both aforementioned categories due to an inherent lack of transparency in the research. It is argued that in order to address these issues, ethical analyses of DBS for psychiatric disorders must include the role of the industry forces that have become the primary impetus for this research. As such, DBS for OCD serves as an important case example in studies of neurotechnology and innovative surgery. (shrink)

This article is a commentary on O’Donohue’s2019 37-point critique of the American Psychological Association Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct ([Ethics Code] 2017). In this brief paper, we respond to the article by addressing our most important disagreements with O’Donohue’s arguments as well as areas of agreement. While we disagree with many of O’Donohue’s points, we also view his critique as being important and timely given that the 2018 APA Ethics Task Force is currently exploring potential revisions to (...) the Code. (shrink)

Logical abductivism is the method which purports to use Inference to the Best Explantion (IBE) to determine the best logical theory. The present essay argues that this is not the case, since the method fails to meet the criteria requisite for the fruitful application of IBE. This occurs due to an intrinsic difficulty in choosing the appropriate evidence and theoretical virtues which guide theory revision in logic: one’s previous conception of logic influences both these choices. Logical abductivism fails, moreover, to (...) select the best logical theory, exactly because a lack of agreement on theory and virtues for Logic. Rather than direct comparison between two options, a more suitable approach to theory revision in logic is piecemeal, because this method neither assumes nor needs a neutral ground from which to start revising theories. (shrink)

Recent approaches to the epistemology of logic, under the title of “anti-exceptionalism about logic”, explicitly adopt what is asserted to be the method of theory choice and the correct account of explanation in the sciences. Without embracing such a doctrine, but still keeping within a broad anti-exceptional trend, the current discussion proposes a contextual theory of explanation in logic, based on Bas van Fraassen’s framework of why-questions, which neither claims that logic is a science, nor relies on the metaphysical assumption (...) of a validity-phenomenon to give account of the methodology of logic. (shrink)

The eukaryotic cytoskeleton appears to have evolved from ancestral precursors related to prokaryotic FtsZ and MreB. FtsZ and MreB show 40–50% sequence identity across different bacterial and archaeal species. Here I suggest that this represents the limit of divergence that is consistent with maintaining their functions for cytokinesis and cell shape. Previous analyses have noted that tubulin and actin are highly conserved across eukaryotic species, but so divergent from their prokaryotic relatives as to be hardly recognizable from sequence comparisons. One (...) suggestion for this extreme divergence of tubulin and actin is that it occurred as they evolved very different functions from FtsZ and MreB. I will present new arguments favoring this suggestion, and speculate on pathways. Moreover, the extreme conservation of tubulin and actin across eukaryotic species is not due to an intrinsic lack of variability, but is attributed to their acquisition of elaborate mechanisms for assembly dynamics and their interactions with multiple motor and binding proteins. A new structure‐based sequence alignment identifies amino acids that are conserved from FtsZ to tubulins. The highly conserved amino acids are not those forming the subunit core or protofilament interface, but those involved in binding and hydrolysis of GTP. BioEssays 29:668–677, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Casuistry, or case-based reasoning, should be used in environmental ethics. Casuistry came to prominence during the transition from medieval to modern, when historical circumstances challenged settled moral perspectives. Similarly, environmental ethics arose in response to real-life dilemmas that also challenged existing moral theories. Casuistry’s focus on cases means that it can resolve individual environmental dilemmas without needing to solve every other problem (theoretical or practical) in the field. It is a “taxonomic” form of moral reasoning that operates by analogy to (...) paradigm cases, appeals to authorities in the field, and application of moral rules of thumb. Analogy to just-war reasoning and medical ethics and appeal to ecological reasoning yields four basic principles for environmental casuistry, justice, prudence, diversity, and a presumption toward preservation, and provides guidance in selecting paradigms and sources of authority within the field of environmental ethics. (shrink)

The book addresses key questions of what science is and how it is carried out, what the relationship between science and society is, how science is represented ...

The author contends that the view of creation most basic to leibniz's thought is that of emanation accomplished by means of an act of divine self-Limitation. To establish his thesis he argues that this theory is most consistent with leibniz's definitions of essence, Existence, Power, Perfection, And related concepts, And that given these definitions another possible interpretation of leibniz's understanding of creation is irremediably contradictory. The author closes with summary remarks on leibniz's concept of limitation, The relation between possible worlds (...) and the actual world, And the relationship between God and the world. (staff). (shrink)

There has always been great interest in animal models of human genetic disease, and mice provide the largest number of examples. A mutation in the homologous gene in mice does not always lead to the same phenotype as is found in man, however. Recent studies made it apparent that one mutation can have markedly different phenotypes when placed on different genetic backgrounds. This variation is due to different alleles at modifying loci in various inbred strains. Thus, if one wishes to (...) obtain the optimal mouse model for a human disease, one needs to choose the correct genetic background as well as the correct mutation. (shrink)

A recent logical anti-exceptionalist trend proposes that logical theories are revisable in the same manner as scientific theories, either on grounds of the method of theory selection or on what counts as evidence for this revision. Given this approximation of logic and science, the present essay analyzes the commitments of both these varieties and argues that, as it currently stands, this kind of anti-exceptionalism is committed to scientific realism, that is, to realism about some unobservable entities evoked in logical theories. (...) The essay argues that anti-exceptionalism cannot be separated into metaphysical and epistemological varieties, and proposed rather to label anti-exceptionalists views either broadly in terms of theory revision, or narrowly in terms of logic’s affinity with science. (shrink)

This paper proposes that living Seleucid kings were recognized as divine by the royal court before the reign of Antiochus III despite lacking an established centralized ruler cult like their fellow kings, the Ptolemies. Owing to the nature of the surviving evidence, we are forced to rely heavily on numismatics to construct a view of Seleucid royal ideology. Regrettably, it seems that up until now much of the numismatic evidence for the divinity of living Seleucid rulers has not been fully (...) considered. I argue that the evidence from silver coinage produced in the name of the Seleucid kings presents a version of the official image of the reigning king and that images which portray the king as divine reflect central acceptance of the king's divinity. This is clear from the epithets on the coinage of Antiochus IV and his successors, but I will argue that the same principle holds for all earlier Seleucid kings. Thus coinage with divine images of Seleucid kings provided one of the mechanisms through which the royal court transmitted the divine nature of the kings to the population. As we will see, in the case of Antiochus Hierax, local considerations also influenced the numismatic representation of the king. This blurring of boundaries between the local veneration of the king, which has long been accepted as normal civic practice in the Greek city-states and in non-Greek temples, and the royal images of the divine king calls into question the strict division between civic and centralized ruler cults. The reflection of local cults within royal ideology can be seen as a manifestation of a negotiating model of Seleucid power that relied heavily on a dialogue with a wide range of interested groups. This article argues that the inconsistencies in the development of an iconography of divine kingship before the reign of Antiochus IV is a manifestation of the same phenomenon. (shrink)

Resenha do livro de Giovanna Borradori. A filosofia americana: conversações com Quine, Davidson, Putnam, Nozick, Danto, Rorty, Cavell, MacIntyre e Kuhn . Traduçáo de Álvaro Lorencini. Sáo Paulo: Editora UNESP, 2003, 223 páginas.

Neste artigo revisa-se a literatura sobre paradoxos matemático-físicos gregos antigos. Trata-se de paradoxo de números irracionais, o dilema de Democritus, a antinomia de mudança, bem como os seguintes paradoxos de Zenon: a dicotomia, o Aquiles, os blocos móveis, o argumento contra a pluralidade, o dilema e a semente de painço.

The argument of this paper develops in four stages. In the first I expose two fundamental and at the same time highly problematical questions which serve as points of departure for Cassirer’s philosophy of symbolic forms. In the second stage I set forth an answer which serves to unite the two questions and reveal their interpenetration. This answer assumes the form of an explication of the fundamental structure of experience. The third stage serves as a justification of this procedure by (...) showing why the answer takes the form it does. This is accomplished by uncovering the basic ontological dimension presupposed in the answer and elaborating its development. The fourth and final stage is a repetition of the initial question in the light of this uncovering, and is done with a view toward recasting the answer in a more fundamental way. I think this outline will become clear in its intent, and will be seen to be in a peculiar way inevitable as the argument proceeds. (shrink)

Resenha do livro de: CARDIM, Leandro Neves Corpo . Col. Filosofia Frente & Verso. Sáo Paulo: Globo, 2009. 177 p.

Dictionary of Paradox is a fascinating reference work for scholars, students, and the general public. It describes those paradoxes that are either especially interesting today or that have a continuing interest from the historical point of view.