Using fMRI, we investigated how right temporal lobe gliomas affecting the posterior superior temporal sulcus alter neural processing observed during speech perception and production tasks. Behavioural language testing showed that three pre-operative neurosurgical patients with grade 2, grade 3 or grade 4 tumours had the same pattern of mild language impairment in the domains of object naming and written word comprehension. When matching heard words for semantic relatedness (a speech perception task), these patients showed under-activation in the tumour infiltrated right (...) superior temporal lobe compared to 61 neurotypical participants and 16 patients with tumours that preserved the right postero-superior temporal lobe, with enhanced activation within the (tumour-free) contralateral left superior temporal lobe. In contrast, when correctly naming objects (a speech production task), the patients with right postero-superior temporal lobe tumours showed higher activation than both control groups in the same right postero-superior temporal lobe region that was under-activated during auditory semantic matching. The task dependent pattern of under-activation during the auditory speech task and over-activation during object naming was also observed in eight stroke patients with right hemisphere infarcts that affected the right postero-superior temporal lobe compared to eight stroke patients with right hemisphere infarcts that spared it. These task-specific and site-specific cross-pathology effects highlight the importance of the right temporal lobe for language processing and motivate further study of how right temporal lobe tumours affect language performance and neural reorganisation. These findings may have important implications for surgical management of these patients, as knowledge of the regions showing functional reorganisation may help to avoid their inadvertent damage during neurosurgery. (shrink)

David Lewis's modal realism claims that nothing can exist in more than one world or time, and that statements about how something would have been are to be analysed in terms of its counterpart. I first explain why the counterpart relation depends on de re modal statements in an intensional language, so that intuitive properties of similarity relations cannot be used to show that the counterpart relation is not an equivalence relation. I then look at test sentences in (the intensional) (...) natural language, and show that none of them provide compelling evidence that a counterpart semantics is needed. (shrink)

In this paper we examine the case of Tay, the Microsoft AI chatbot that was launched in March, 2016. After less than 24 hours, Microsoft shut down the experiment because the chatbot was generating tweets that were judged to be inappropriate since they included racist, sexist, and anti-Semitic language. We contend that the case of Tay illustrates a problem with the very nature of learning software that interacts directly with the public, and the developer's role and responsibility associated with it. (...) We make the case that when LS interacts directly with people or indirectly via social media, the developer has additional ethical responsibilities beyond those of standard software. There is an additional burden of care. (shrink)

Truth of x (independently of any description of x) that it is f. A property f which holds of x but is not per se of x is said to hold per accidens of x. The essence of an individual is the sum of its per se properties. We can formulate the following: doctrine a: concrete individuals do not have essences though abstract entities do. Doctrine b: concrete individuals have essences but they do not individuate, whereas abstract entities have essences (...) which do individuate. Assumption i: we shall say that a thing exists insofar as it has an essence. Assumption ii: we shall say that we know a thing when we know what its per se properties are. We argue that plato held doctrine a and aristotle doctrine b (with assumptions i and ii). (edited). (shrink)

In a number of publications A.N. Prior considered the use of what he called ‘metric tense logic’. This is a tense logic in which the past and future operators P and F have an index representing a temporal distance, so that Pnα means that α was true n -much ago, and Fn α means that α will be true n -much hence. The paper investigates the use of metric predicate tense logic in formalising phenomena ormally treated by such devices as (...) multiple indexing or quantification over times. (shrink)

George Greenough was one of the influential group of early nineteenth-century English geologists who rejected both Hutton's and Werner's attempts to propound all-embracing geological theories, and followed a deliberately empirical approach. He travelled through Scotland in 1805, studying geological phenomena in the light of both the Plutonist and the Neptunist theories, and generally concluded that neither was entirely satisfactory as an explanation of the observable facts. He was also the first to suggest that the ‘Parallel Roads’ of Glen Roy were (...) the successive beach-levels of a former lake: this theory was later attacked by Darwin but ultimately vindicated by Agassiz's glacial theory. The more important geological passages from Greenough's MS. journal of the tour are reproduced and discussed in this paper. They illustrate some of the scientific problems that were involved in accepting either Hutton's or Werner's theory entire. (shrink)

To many who develop and use free software, the GNU General Public License represents an embodiment of the meaning of free software. In this paper we examine the definition and meaning of free software in the context of three events surrounding the GNU General Public License. We use a case involving the GPU software project to establish the importance of Freedom 0 in the meaning of free software. We analyze version 3 of the GNU General Public License and conclude that (...) although a credible case can be made that the added restrictions are consistent with the definition of free software, the case requires subtle arguments. Strong arguments against the added restrictions are less subtle, and may therefore be more convincing to many users and developers. We also analyze the Affero General Public License and conclude that it is inconsistent with the definition of free software. (shrink)

Two of the most fundamental questions about language are these: what are languages?; and, what is it to know a given language? Many philosophers who have reflected on these questions have presented answers that attribute a central role to conventions. In one of its boldest forms such a view runs as follows. Languages are either social entities constituted by networks of social conventions or abstract objects where when a particular community speaks a given language they do so in virtue of (...) the conventions operative within that community. Consequently, for an individual to know a given language is for them to be party to the relevant conventions. Call this view conventionalism. In this article my aim is to evaluate conventionalism. I will argue that although there are linguistic conventions and that they do play an important role in language development and communication conventionalism should be rejected in favour of a more psychologistically orientated position. (shrink)

Pufendorf's chief contribution to political thought is to be found in his dedicated effort to defend the modern state as a fundamental feature of humankind's moral development, and thus to reconcile the artificiality of civil association with its moral necessity. By exploring the state's moral character, Pufendorf helped move political discourse beyond a focus on the practical need for civil association and towards a search for a modern theory of political legitimacy, i.e., a theory that is both compelling enough to (...) demonstrate the moral legitimacy of political authority regardless of one's religious beliefs or moral convictions, and precise enough to permit insight into the nature and limits of this authority. (shrink)

In this paper I argue that the most prominent and familiar features of Wittgenstein’s rule following considerations generate a powerful argument for the thesis that most of our concepts are innate, an argument that echoes a Chomskyan poverty of the stimulus argument. This argument has a significance over and above what it tells us about Wittgenstein’s implicit commitments. For, it puts considerable pressure on widely held contemporary views of concept learning, such as the view that we learn concepts by constructing (...) prototypes. This should lead us to abandon our general default hostility to concept nativism and be much more sceptical of claims made on behalf of learning theories. (shrink)

Psychological essentialism is a prominent view within contemporary developmental psychology and cognitive science according to which children have an innate commitment to essentialism. If this view is correct then a commitment to essentialism is an important aspect of human nature rather than a culturally specific commitment peculiar to those who have received a specific philosophical or scientific education. In this article my concern is to explore the philosophical significance of psychological essentialism with respect to the relationship between the content of (...) our concepts and thoughts and the nature of the extra-cranial world. I will argue that, despite first appearances, psychological essentialism undermines a form of externalism that has become commonplace in the philosophy of mind and language. (shrink)

In this paper my concern is to evaluate a particular answer to the question of how we acquire mastery of the syntax of our first language. According to this answer children learn syntax by means of scientific investigation. Alison Gopnik has recently championed this idea as an extension of what she calls the ‘theory theory’, a well established approach to cognitive development in developntental psychology. I will argue against this extension of the theory theory. The general thrust of my objection (...) is that at the point at which children are acquiring knowledge of syntax they are not in a position to engage in far-reaching scientific investigation. Or, if they are, there are no mechanisms in place to ensure that their scientific investigations will generate a common body of knowledge so making linguistic convergence a mystery. That this is so is a product of two salient features of scientific confirmation. I will conclude that my objections to the theory theory put pressure on learning theories in general. (shrink)

In this article I will evaluate the popular view that we acquire most of our concepts by means of learning. I will do this through an examination of Jerry Fodor’s dissenting views and those of some of his most persistent and significant critics. Although I will be critical of Fodor’s central claim that it is impossible to learn a concept, I will ultimately conclude that we should be more sceptical than is normal about the power of learning when it comes (...) to concept acquisition, particularly with respect to natural kind concepts. Central to my argument for this conclusion will be an examination of the bearings of psychological essentialism on concept acquisition. (shrink)

In this reply to Paul Simmons, it is argued that while biblical scripture should be understood as the Christian's first and final authority, it is appropriate to draw on other writings as sources for moral reflection. Responsible biblical interpretation and theological reflection must include careful historical analysis. It is inaccurate and anachronistic to read into early Jewish and Christian thinkers a position much like the reigning secular philosophical-legal position on abortion, where fetal non-personhood and individual freedom results in abortion without (...) legal constraints. Careful scholarship reveals that a theological community-based Christian ethic, which develops from first century reflections and biblical canonical authority, prohibits direct abortion as an option for the Christian community. (shrink)

In order to resolve the cosmological constant problem, the notion of reference frame is re-examined at the quantum level. By using a quantum non-linear sigma model (Q-NLSM), a theory of quantum spacetime reference frame is proposed. The underlying mathematical structure is a new geometry endowed with intrinsic second central moment (variance) or even higher moments of its coordinates, which generalizes the classical Riemannian geometry based on only first moment (mean) of its coordinates. The second central moment of the coordinates directly (...) modifies the quadratic form distance which is the foundation of the Riemannian geometry. At semi-classical level, the second central moment introduces a flow which continuously deforms the Riemannian geometry driven by its classical Ricci curvature, which is known as the Ricci flow. A generalized equivalence principle of quantum version is also proposed to interpret the new geometry endowed with at least second moment. As a consequence, the spacetime is stabilized against quantum fluctuation, and the cosmological constant problem is resolved within the framework. With an isotropic positive curvature initial condition, the long flow time solution of the Ricci flow exists, the accelerating expansion universe at cosmic scale is an observable effect of the spacetime deformation of the normalized Ricci flow. A deceleration parameter − 0.67 consistent with measurement is obtained by using the reduced volume method introduced by Perelman. Effective theory of gravity within the framework is also discussed. (shrink)

One of the most important achievements of the Internationale Hegel-Vereinigung over the past twenty years has been the way in which it has managed to meet the needs of both the specialist and the general public. In the normal course of events it organizes symposia on research subjects. Every two years it gets a group of experts to pool information and exchange views within a relatively narrow field of inquiry, a comparatively neglected topic which looks as though it might benefit (...) from being brought into the limelight. In order to maintain its international character, it is the general rule that these meetings should take place outside Germany, that they should be hosted by one or other of the countries from which the Society draws its members. It is often the case that they are sponsored by the respective Academy of Sciences or Ministry of Culture. Those invited to take part in them can, therefore, be pretty certain that they are being co-opted into a well co-ordinated program. They also know that their papers will be appearing in a series widely recognized as a trendsetter in continental Hegel studies, in an undertaking which already includes such influential publications as Gadamer’s edition of the Urbino Lectures, Well’s edition of the Lille papers on Objective Spirit, the Zwettl papers on the Jena Period, and the proceedings of the Amersfoort meeting on the Philosophy of Nature. (shrink)

A study of the structural perfection of icosahedral quasicrystalline grains of various alloys and Al-Cu-Fe), grown by different slow solidification techniques was performed using high-resolution diffraction, including recording rocking curves combined with X-ray topography and phase contrast radiography, at a third-generation synchrotron radiation source . For Al-Pd-Mn, additional coherent diffraction and diffuse scattering measurements were also carried out. After evaluating the potentialities of the techniques used, in the light of the criteria defined for crystals, it is shown that the structural (...) perfection of icosahedral quasicrystals is quite comparable with that of metallic crystals but is considerably influenced by either uniform phason strains which can destroy the quasiperiodic long-range order, or by long-wavelength phason fluctuations leading to diffuse scattering. The structural perfection was also found to be extremely variable across the as-grown quasicrystalline grains and to be dependent on the presence and characteristics of inhomogeneities often included in the quasicrystalline matrix. Regarding the grains that we used, it has been impossible to distinguish a clear influence of either the type of alloy or the growth method. It has, however, been noticed that Al-Pd-Mn and Al-Cu-Fe grains appeared less defective than Zn-Mg-RE grains and that the microstructure of these latter grains looks like that of crystals grown by the same technique. Annealing and mechanical polishing effects have also been analysed in the case of Al-Pd-Mn grains. It appeared that annealing improves the quasicrystalline lattice perfection by lowering phason strains insofar as no precipitates are nucleated. Mechanical polishing can introduce defects, located at the external surfaces, having the shape of bands. (shrink)

This long-awaited book replaces Hughes and Cresswell's two classic studies of modal logic: _An Introduction to Modal Logic_ and _A Companion to Modal Logic_. _A New Introduction to Modal Logic_ is an entirely new work, completely re-written by the authors. They have incorporated all the new developments that have taken place since 1968 in both modal propositional logic and modal predicate logic, without sacrificing tha clarity of exposition and approachability that were essential features of their earlier works. The book takes (...) readers from the most basic systems of modal propositional logic right up to systems of modal predicate with identity. It covers both technical developments such as completeness and incompleteness, and finite and infinite models, and their philosophical applications, especially in the area of modal predicate logic. (shrink)

Expressions in a language, whether words, phrases, or sentences, have meanings. So it seems reasonable to suppose that there are meanings that expressions have. Of course, it is fashionable in some philosophical circles to deny this.

First published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.