Conflicts of interest can lead experts to give biased and corrupt advice. Although disclosure is often proposed as a potential solution to these problems, we show that it can have perverse effects. First, people generally do not discount advice from biased advisors as much as they should, even when advisors’ conflicts of interest are disclosed. Second, disclosure can increase the bias in advice because it leads advisors to feel morally licensed and strategically encouraged to exaggerate their advice even further. As (...) a result, disclosure may fail to solve the problems created by conflicts of interest and may sometimes even make matters worse. (shrink)

Peter van Inwagen's influential Direct Argument (DA) for the incompatibility of moral responsibility and causal determinism makes use of an inference rule he calls "Rule B." Michael McKenna has argued that van Inwagen's defense of this rule is dialectically inappropriate because it is based entirely on alleged “confirming” cases that are not of the right kind to justify the use of Rule B in DA. Here I argue that McKenna’s objection is on the right track but more must be said (...) if we are to see why. To fill in the gaps I consider a recent attempt by Ira M. Schnall and David Widerker to defend DA against McKenna’s objection. I argue that neither prong of their attack is successful against a variation on McKenna’s basic argument. In the course of responding to Schnall and Widerker’s objections to McKenna, I identify what is, as I argue, the real reason DA fails in its purpose to shift the burden of proof. (shrink)

Before a fair, indeterministic coin is tossed, Lucky, who is causally isolated from the coin-tossing mechanism, declines to bet on heads. The coin lands heads. The consensus is that the following counterfactual is true: (M:) If Lucky had bet heads, he would have won the bet. It is also widely believed that to rule (M) true, any plausible semantics for counterfactuals must invoke causal independence. But if that’s so, the hope of giving a reductive analysis of causation in terms of (...) counterfactuals is undermined. Here I argue that there is compelling reason to question the assumption that (M) is true. (shrink)

High-spin states in the odd-odd N = Z nucleus Co-54 have been investigated by the fusion-evaporation reaction Si-28(S-32,1 alpha 1p1n)Co-54. Gamma-ray information gathered with the Ge detector array Gammasphere was correlated with evaporated particles detected in the charged particle detector system Microball and a 1 pi neutron detector array. A significantly extended excitation scheme of Co-54 is presented, which includes a candidate for the isospin T = 1, 6(+) state of the 1f(7/2)(-2) multiplet. The results are compared to large-scale shell-model (...) calculations in the fp shell. Effective interactions with and without isospin-breaking terms have been used to probe isospin symmetry and isospin mixing. A quest for deformed high-spin rotational cascades proved negative. This feature is discussed by means of cranking calculations. (shrink)

Two rotational bands have been identified and characterized in the proton-magic N = Z + 1 nucleus Ni-57. These bands complete the systematics of well-and superdeformed rotational bands in the light nickel isotopes starting from doubly magic Ni-56 to Ni-60. High-spin states in Ni-57 have been produced in the fusion-evaporation reaction Si-28(S-32, 2p1n)Ni-57 and studied with the gamma-ray detection array GAMMASPHERE operated in conjunction with detectors for evaporated light charged particles and neutrons. The features of the rotational bands in Ni-57 (...) are compared to those of neighbouring isotopes and interpreted by means of configuration-dependent cranked Nilsson-Strutinsky calculations. The two observed high-spin bands are considered signature partners and assigned to configurations with one 1g(9/2) proton and one 1g(9/2) neutron, resulting in an unambiguous understanding of the energetically favoured signature alpha = -1/2 band but a somewhat less satisfactory description of the signature alpha = +1/2 band. (shrink)

This comprehensive Gandhi reader provides an essential new reference for scholars and students of his life and thought. It is the only text available that presents Gandhi's own writings, including excerpts from three of his books—An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Satyagraha in South Africa, Hind Swaraj —a major pamphlet, Constructive Programme: Its Meaning and Place, and many journal articles and letters, along with a biographical sketch of his life in historical context and recent essays by highly (...) regarded scholars. (shrink)

Fünfundzwanzig arabische Geschäftsdokumente aus dem Rotmeer-Hafen al-Quṣayr al-Qadīm [P.QuseirArab. II]. By Andreas Kaplony. Islamic History and Civilization, vol. 109. Leiden: Brill, 2014. Pp. vii + 208, illus. $120, €93.

This is the first book to offer the best essays, articles, and speeches on ethics and intelligence that demonstrate the complex moral dilemmas in intelligence collection, analysis, and operations. Some are recently declassified and never before published, and all are written by authors whose backgrounds are as varied as their insights, including Robert M. Gates, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; John P. Langan, the Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Professor of Catholic Social Thought at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown (...) University; and Loch K. Johnson, Regents Professor of Political Science at the University of Georgia and recipient of the Owens Award for contributions to the understanding of U.S. intelligence activities. Creating the foundation for the study of ethics and intelligence by filling in the gap between warfare and philosophy, this is a valuable collection of literature for building an ethical code that is not dependent on any specific agency, department, or country. (shrink)

This book examines cultural recognition and the struggle for identity in America's schools. In particular, the contributing authors focus on the recognition and misrecognition as antagonistic cultural forces that work to shape, and at times distort identity.

In its comprehensive overview of Alain Locke's pragmatist philosophy this book captures the radical implications of Locke's approach within pragmatism, the critical temper embedded in Locke's works, the central role of power and empowerment of the oppressed and the concept of broad democracy Locke employed.

Inhaltsverzeichnis Sektion 7: Neukantianismus Jean-François Goubet: Paul Natorps Fichte-Rezeption in der »Praktischen Philosophie« von 1925 Geert Edel: Zum Fichte-Bild im Marburger Neukantianismus Frank Witzleben: Fichtes Subjektbegriff im Neukantianismus Sebastian Ullrich: Interpersonalität und Objektivität. Fichtes Spuren in Ernst Cassirers Grundlegung seiner »Philosophie der symbolischen Formen« Sektion 8: Hegelianismus und Spätidealismus Rainer Adolphi: Eine nicht eingestandene Auseinandersetzung. Über das implizite Verhältnis von späterem Fichte und Schelling Liu Zhe: Fichte¿s Practical Self-Consciousness and Hegel¿s Speculation. A Fundamental Dialogue in the Differenz-Schrift (1801) Jürgen Stahl: (...) Junghegelianische ¿Tatphilosophie¿ in ihrem Verhältnis zu Fichte Virginia López-Domínguez: Fichte und der anthropologische Materialismus Ludwig Feuerbachs Sektion 9.1: Phänomenologie: Husserl, Sartre Manuel Jiménez-Redondo: Husserls Begriff der transzendentalen Reduktion aus der Sicht der Philosophie des späten Fichte Jakub Kloc-Konkołowicz : Das Ich und der Andere. Intersubjektivität in der Philosophie Johann Gottlieb Fichtes und in der Phänomenologie Edmund Husserls Hans Georg von Manz: Die praktische Erfahrung des Anderen und die Funktion der Vergemeinschaftung bei Fichte und Husserl Quentin Landenne: Spekulative Ableitung und/oder phänomenologische Beschreibung der Geschichtlichkeit? Fichtes und Husserls transzendentale Geschichtsphilosophie Vadim Murskiy: Fichte und Husserl als Wissenschaftslehrer und Phänomenologen Cristiana Senigaglia: Intersubjektivität und Freiheit bei Fichte und Sartre Sektion 9.2: Phänomenologie: Heidegger, Jaspers, Levinas Markus Gabriel: Endlichkeit und absolutes Ich ¿ Heideggers Fichtekritik M. Jorge de Carvalho: Heideggers Auseinandersetzung mit Fichtes drei Grundsätzen der Wissenschaftslehre ¿ die Frage nach der Endlichkeit Christoph Binkelmann: Seinssuche. Fichte ¿ Heidegger ¿ Fichte Helmut Girndt: Georg Simmel und Johann Gottlieb Fichte zu Kants kategorischem Imperativ Ives Radrizzani: Das Selbst, der Andere und die Grenze bei Fichte und Levinas M. A. Pushkareva: J. G. Fichte als Begründer der Phänomenologie Franco Gilli: Fichtesche Anklänge im Denken Karl Jaspers. Versuch einer hermeneutischen Lektüre. (shrink)

Chater & Loewenstein (C&L) ignore the long history by which social scientists have developed more nuanced and ultimately more helpful ways to understand the relationship between persons and situations. This tradition is reflected and advanced in a large literature on “wise” social–psychological or mindset interventions, which C&L do not discuss yet mischaracterize.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Introduction: Conflicting Interest in Medicine: Stories by Physicians on How Financing Affects Their WorkJames M. DuBois, Symposium EditorPhysicians frequently enter into special relationships that establish personal financial interests that could conflict with their patients’ best interests. Examples include receiving gifts from drug companies, sharing a patent on a medical device, or accepting funding from industry to conduct a drug study. In recent years, such “conflicts of interests” in medicine (...) have received growing attention from medical associations (Association of American Medical Colleges, 2008, 2010), policy bodies (Institute of Medicine, 2009), industry (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, 2008), journalists (Caputo, 2009; Nguyen, Ornstein, & Weber, 2010), and even Congress, which included in the 2010 Patient Protection Affordable Care Act a Physician Payment Sunshine provision requiring industry to report a wide variety of ties to physicians. All of these efforts appear motivated by a similar assumption: Gifts and financially beneficial relationships can unconsciously motivate physicians to prioritize their own or industry’s interests over patients’ interests when providing care, conducting medical research, or educating physicians (American Association of Medical Colleges, 2008; Dana & Loewenstein, 2003).The call for stories produced for this narrative symposium provided the following request:We are interested in hearing about positive and negative experiences associated with a variety of financial relationships. The stories should give readers a sense of what it is like to be a physician in the midst of complex relationships to industry, physician practices, and third–party payers—relationships that go beyond ordinary reimbursement for care or research expenses.Obtaining stories proved more challenging than anticipated for reasons related to our theme. Precisely because access to physicians is considered valuable, it is highly restricted. Listservs and blogs that serve physicians typically prohibit postings from anyone except physician members, and even they are sometimes not allowed to post messages freely. While at least one listserv circulated our call to members (at the request of a member), others rejected our request, and one blog offered to post our call as a 1–month ad for $20,000. This contrasts radically with the relatively easy access we have had to other groups, including mental health consumers and living organ donors, who have broad grass root communication systems, and bioethicists, who have several listservs and blogs that readily share news about relevant scholarly opportunities.The collection of stories obtained resulted from extensive personal networking and a small amount of arm twisting. The collection was not what we expected to obtain, but is in many ways even more interesting. One story (Hodges) explicitly addresses the impact that pharmaceutical representatives can have on prescribing patterns—the classic, voluntary, conflicted relationship, insofar as sales reps are [End Page 65] welcomed in facilities, often bearing free samples, free lunches, and glossy articles on their products, all in the hopes of influencing prescribing patterns. But most stories do not fit the typical mold found in discussions of conflicts of interest. Among those expressing concerns about the impact of financial factors on medical practice, one focuses on the insufficient management of bias within the Food and Drug Administration (Perlmutter); three focus on the bias that is introduced through our current fee–for–service reimbursement system (Mikulec, Nagaldine, and Zientek)—of these, two illustrate ways that third parties seek to manipulate physician practices to maximize profits; one notes how any kind of clinical trial—whether government or industry sponsored—may affect patient care decisions (Cruz); while two argue that worries over industry sponsorship of research are disproportionate (Bierut and Sofair), and two address widespread concerns about industry sponsorship of educational activities, with one illustrating how bias might be reduced (Seitz & Diao), and another illustrating the potential harms of prohibiting educational sponsorship (Peppin).To be clear, all of these narratives are responsive to our call for stories that “describe positive and negative experiences associated with a variety of financial relationships.” Yet they are not classic conflict of interest stories; rather, they represent the conflicting interests that concern physicians today—conflicts that are often intrinsic to our current healthcare and research systems rather than special relationships courted by physicians.While making no pretense of representativeness or comprehensiveness, these stories provide fertile ground for reflection, as seen in our... (shrink)

The first chapters of Michalos’ book give an account of the controversy between Karl Popper and Rudolph Carnap following the former’s critique of Carnap in "Degree of Confirmation". Michalos very compactly summarizes the controversy and argues: 1) that Popper was mistaken when he tried to show that Carnap always identified the quantitative degree of confirmation with the acceptability of scientific theories; 2) that Popper is mistaken in accusing Carnap of confusing classificatory, comparative, and quantitative concepts; 3) that a conflict (...) between Popper and Carnap, apparently over the problem of unrestricted universals, was in fact over the everyday practical use of such universal sentences; 4) that Popper’s critique of Carnap’s theorem for the singular predictive inference is incorrect because Popper construes the theorem with respect to two different kinds of evidential statements. The final chapters of the book deal with some additional issues that have developed out of the central controversy. One chapter consists largely in a reply to Imre Lakatos in further defense of Carnap. A second presents a critique of the Hintikka-Hilpinen acceptance rule. The last chapter is a comparison of cost—benefit versus utility acceptance rules in which Michalos claims to show the superiority of the former. In general, the book is an attempt to defend an inductive logic against the criticisms offered by Popperian deductive methodologists. A great deal of this material already appeared in various forms. The book is useful insofar as it collects material in one place and provides references to the important contributions to the controversy. Unfortunately, the book is cramped, explicitly discussing only some of the narrow issues found in the journal literature, and some sections are so compact as to be incomprehensible without extensive knowledge of the source material. Michalos might have given himself wider scope so that he could develop the implications of these limited problems for the broader issues of the philosophy of science.—K. M. (shrink)

One of the most interesting and difficult tasks of contemporary theological reflection is the elaboration of a verifiable theology. The subject is as old as theology itself, and the contemporaries of Schleiermacher, like Hegel and Schelling, devoted immense industry and ingenuity to a speculative study of the history of religions. Yet the idealist's philosophical approach could not satisfy Schleiermacher whose very point of departure is the autonomous category of the religious. His peculiar approach to the different positive religions, their necessity (...) as well as their facticity, is the central theme of Welker's book. In a way, we are given a restatement of Schleiermacher's fundamental views on religion and religions. The treatment of the history of religion is only a corollary of these more general issues. The book is concluded with a rich and interesting chapter comparing Schleiermacher with Rudolph Otto.--M. J. V. (shrink)

In the recent past, several papers have pointed to the possibility that tumour removal generates a permissive environment in which tumour growth is potentiated. This phenomenon has been coined “perioperative tumour growth” and whilst it represents a departure in terms of our attitude to the surgical process, this concept was first hinted at by Paget1Sir James Paget (1814–1899) was a surgeon and physiologist who is widely held (along with Rudolph Virchow) to be the father of the science of pathology. (...) Paget described Paget's disease of the nipple as well as Paget's disease of bone. himself. Despite this, the time interval immediately before and after cancer surgery (i.e. the perioperative period) remains an underutilised interval during which chemotherapeutic regimens are rarely implemented. Herein, we present a summarised review of the literature that supports the concept that tumour removal may potentiate the growth of residual neoplastic disease. We also outline current knowledge regarding underlying mechanisms and in this manner highlight potential therapeutic entry points. Finally, we emphasise the urgent need for trials of agents that could protect patients against the harmful host–tumour interactions that may occur during the perioperative period. BioEssays 28: 433–437, 2006. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Ever since the publication of the third edition of Rudolph Kittel’s Biblia Hebraica (BHK3) to the present gradual production of the Biblia Hebraica Quinta (BHQ) so-called editiones criticae minores of the Hebrew Bible are diplomatic editions. The Codex Leningradensis, dating from 1008/9 CE, is used as the base text, and the Biblia Hebraica text editors note significant variants in other Hebrew manuscripts and/or the ancient versions in eclectic fashion in a text-critical apparatus. The Hebrew University Bible Project (HUPB) also (...) publishes a diplomatic text based on the Codex Aleppo but with a more detailed text-critical apparatus. The Hebrew Bible: A Critical Editio n (HBCE) follows a different route, traditionally more familiar in the production of critical editions of the Septuagint and New Testament, namely to publish an eclectic edition. The text editors produce a theoretical, reconstructed text of what they regard as the ‘correct’ reading after careful consideration and weighing of variants in all available textual witnesses. I argue that critical editions of the Hebrew at the disposal of Hebrew Bible scholars, whether based on a diplomatic or eclectic text, have two inherent weaknesses, namely eclecticism and lack of context. Taken together, these shortcomings might be classified as subjectivism. I propose at least considering the alternative of a synoptic text-critical approach beyond the diplomatic-eclectic dichotomy. Contribution: This research critically reviews the current diplomatic/eclectic approaches in the production of scholarly Hebrew Bibles and proposes at least considering a third alternative, namely a synoptic approach. (shrink)

Six essays loosely organized around varieties of interpretation and the cultural and social situations that elicit interpretation. The first essay, "Interpretation and Its Occasions," treats the nature of interpretation and its relation to the world of external reality; the pervasiveness of interpretation, even in the sciences, in contemporary intellectual life; and the necessity of interpretation in our pluralistic world. In "Style as Interpretation," Mazzeo views style, broadly defined, not so much as an esthetic matter, but as a reflection of the (...) ways people view reality. "New Wine in Old Bottles: Reflections on Historicity and the Problem of Allegory" and "The Platonic Debate over Myth, Truth, and Virtue" are "case histories" of interpretations designed to "save the texts" of the Bible and classical literature, when interpreters have recurrently found elements of these texts repugnant to their moral or philosophical ideas. "Interpretation, Humanistic Culture, and Cultural Change" draws parallels between biological and cultural evolution and focuses on the role of interpretation as a mediator between old meanings and new, between stability and innovation in a culture. In his final essay, "Myth and Science in the Theology of Rudolph Bultmann," Mazzeo discusses "the most ambitious and instructive interpretive effort of our time," Bultmann’s efforts to demythologize the Bible. (shrink)

Hz. Peygamberin vefatıyla birlikte, hilâfet tartışması başta olmak üzere ashap birçok problemle karşı karşıya kalmış, sorunlar çözülmüş gibi görünse de bu dönem, sonradan ortaya çıkacak olan mezhep ve fırkaların oluşum sürecini tetiklemiştir. Hilâfetin ilk otuz yılında yaşanan olumsuz hadiselere, Emevî devletinin kurucusu Muâviye (ö. 60/680)’nin izlediği siyaset anlayışından kaynaklanan bazı olumsuzluklar da eklenince ümmet arasında fırkalaşma dönemi başlamıştır. Önce bazı Emevî sonra da bazı Abbasî halifelerinin yanlış uygulamalarına şahit olan Ebû Hanîfe (ö. 150/767), çözüm odaklı görüşleriyle ümmetin bu ihtilaf dönemine (...) damga vurmuştur. O, aklî bilgiyi önceleyen ve nassların açıklanmasında kullanan düşünürlerin başında gelmektedir. Onun itikadî eserleriyle İslâm düşüncesine kazandırdığı yenilikçi yaklaşım özellikle de akaide dair ilk metin kabul edilen el-Âlim ve’l-müte‘allim’deki görüşleri, eleştiri oklarının kendisine yönelmesine sebep olmuş, onu hadis taraftarlarının galiz ithamlarının hedefi yapmıştır. Ehl-i Rey’in lideri ve Mürcie’nin iman akîdesinin destekçisi olmasının da bu eleştirilerde payı büyük olmuştur. Ayrıca onu kendilerinden sayan Mu‘tezile’ye eleştiriler yöneltmesi; Mu‘tezile mensuplarınca onun herhangi bir itikadî eseri olmadığı iddialarını dillendirmesine sebep olmuştur. Diğer taraftan Zehebî, el-Âlim ve’l-müte‘allim’in Ebû Hanîfe’ye değil, Ebû Mukātil es-Semerkāndî’ye nispet edildiğini söylemiştir. Bu görüş F. Kern, J. Schacht, W. Madelung ve U. Rudolph gibi bazı müsteşrikler tarafından kabul görmüş ve Ebû Hanîfe’ye nispet edilen itikad eserlerinin otantik olup olmadığı tartışmalarını beraberinde getirmiştir. Özellikle Schacht tarafından bazı varsayımlar yapılarak, el-Âlim ve’l-müte‘allim’in Ebû Hanîfe’ye aidiyeti reddedilmiştir. Hatta Schacht bu eseri ilk dönemin Mürcie kaynaklarından biri kabul ederek, Ebû Hanîfe’ye ait olmayışının en büyük delili saymıştır. Ancak Âlimlerin çoğunluğuna göre el-Âlim ve’l-müte‘allim ve kendisine nispet edilen diğer eserlerindeki itikadî görüşler Ebû Hanîfe’ye aittir. Bu kanaatin oluşmasında etkili olan en büyük faktör, Hanefî-Mâtürîdî ekolünün mimarlarından olan Mâtürîdî (ö. 333/944) olmuştur. O, el-Âlim ve’l-müte‘allim’in râvilerinden birisi olduğu gibi, Te’vîlât’ında bu eseri Ebû Hanîfe’ye nispet etmiş ve eserden nakillerde bulunmuştur. Onun Kitâbü’t-Tevhîd’deki büyük günahlara dair görüşleri de el-Âlim ve’l-müte‘allim’de bu konuda yer verilen görüşlere benzemektedir. Bu araştırmada; el-Âlim ve’l-müte‘allim’in rivayet zincirinde bulunan ve eserin Semerkant’ta yayılışına katkı sunan âlimler hakkında kısaca bilgiler verilmiştir. Eserin içeriğini oluşturan itikadî münakaşalardan; imanın mahiyeti, iman-amel ayrılığı, imanda eşitlik, din-şeriat ayrımı, büyük günah ve ircâ meseleleri o günün güncel konularıdır. Bu başlıklar üzerinden, eserin Mâtürîdî üzerindeki önemli izleri de tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Hanefî-Mâtürîdî düşüncenin itikadî nüvesini teşkil eden bu eserin, günümüze kadar geçirdiği sürecin değerlendirilerek kaynak kritiğinin yapılmış olması, araştırmayı benzerlerinden ayırmaktadır. (shrink)

This article examines popular discourses of women's sexuality in 1920s England and argues that sex manuals like Marie Stopes's Married Life and sex novels like E.M. Hull's The Sheik, despite their adherence to status quo values, were liberating for women through their affirmation of women's sexual subjectivity. Stopes's enormously popular book contributed strongly to a new understanding of women's sexual drives as natural and autonomous. The changing attitudes were reflected in the numbers of postwar women who actively participated in the (...) creation and consumption of popular sex-novels and films, exercising both economic and sexual freedoms at once. This article focusses on the film version of The Sheik, which experienced great success as part of this growing leisure market catering specifically to women's desire, and in particular on the figure of Rudolph Valentino as a “woman-made” man. The film's “crossed” representations of sexuality (the emancipated “flapper” and the effeminate yet virile “sheik”) challenged traditional notions of femininity and masculinity, and in doing so, were liberating for women consumers at the same time that they threatened the sexual identities of men. (shrink)

"Homage to Rudolph Carnap."--Hempel, C. G. Rudolf Carnap, logical empiricist.--Wedberg, A. How Carnap built the world in 1928.--Eberle, R. A construction of quality classes improved upon the Aufbau.--Carnap, R. Observation language and theoretical language.--Kaplan, D. Significance and analyticity: a comment of some recent proposals of Carnap.--Wójcicki, R. The factual content of empirical theories.--Williams, P. M. On the conservative extensions of semantical systems: a contribution to the problem of analyticity.--Winnie, J. A. Theoretical analyticity.--Wedberg, A. Decision and belief in science.--Bohnert, H. (...) G. Carnap's logicism.--Hintikka, J. Carnap's heritage in logical semantics.--Partee, B. H. The semantics of belief-sentences.--Kasher, A. Pragmatic representations and language-games.--Carnap, R. Notes on probability and induction.--Jeffrey, R. C. Carnap's inductive logic.--Hilpinen, R. Carnap's new system of inductive logic.--Kuipers, T. A. F. A generalization of Carnap's inductive logic. Essler, W. K. Hintikka versus Carnap.--Hintikka, J. Carnap and Essler versus inductive generalization.--Shimony, A. Carnap on entropy, introduction to "Two essays on entropy" by Rudolf Carnap. (shrink)

Bioethics in a Liberal Societ By Max Charlesworth, Cambridge University Press, 1993. Pp. 172. ISBN 0?521?44952?9. £9.95 pbk. The Logical Universe: The Real Universe By Noel Curran Avebury, 1994. Pp. 158. ISBN 1?85628?863?3. £32.50. Beyond Postmodern Politics: Lyotard, Rorty, Foucault By Honi Fern Haber Routledge, 1994. Pp.viii + 160. ISBN 0?415?90823?X. $15.95. Baudrillard's Bestiary: Baudrillard and Culture By Mike Gane Routledge, 1991, Pp. 184. ISBN 0?415?06307?8. £10.99 pbk. Truth, Fiction and Literature: A Philosophical Perspective By Peter Lamarque and Stein Haugom (...) Olsen Clarendon Press, 1994. Pp. 456. ISBN 0?19?824082?1. £45.00. Milton and the Drama of History: Historical Vision, Iconoclasm, and the Literary Imagination By David Loewenstein Cambridge University Press, 1990. Pp. x + 197. ISBN 0?521?37253?4. £25.00. Philosophy and Knowledge: A Commentary on Plato's Theaetetus Ronald M. Polansky Associated University Presses, 1992. Pp. 260. ISBN 0?8387?5215?2. £29.95. Heidegger and French Philosophy: Humanism, Antihumanism and Being By Tom Rockmore Routledge, 1995. Pp. xx + 250. ISBN 0?415?11181?1. £14.99 pbk. Living Poetically: Kierkegaard's Existential Aesthetics By Sylvia Walsh The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1994. Pp. 294. ISBN 0?271?01328?1. (shrink)

Introduction George Loewenstein, Daniel Read, and Roy F. Baumeister P _L sychology and economics have a classic love-hate relationship. ...

1000 time-travelers travel back in time, each with the intention of killing their own infant-self. If there is no branching time, then on pain of bringing about a logical contradiction, all must fail. But this seems inexplicable: what is to ensure that the time-travelers are stopped? For a time, this inexplicability objection was thought to provide evidence that there is something incoherent about the possibility of backwards time travel in a universe without branching time. There is now near-consensus, however, that (...) the objection has no bite: there is nothing inexplicable about the mass failure. Lewis, Sider and Ismael independently argue that since it is built into the description of the class of cases considered that the time-travelers must fail – and so we consider only unsuccessful attempts – there is no mystery. Smith argues that the absence of possible worlds at which auto-infanticide is committed suffices as a complete explanation for the failures. And Baron and Colyvan maintain that available causal and logical explanations jointly account for everything that needs accounting for. I argue that these are wrong. There is remaining, problematic inexplicability. For backwards time travel not to lead to logical contradiction, something would need to do logic’s bidding, after all. (shrink)

ABSTRACT The apparent consistency of Sobel sequences famously motivated David Lewis to defend a variably strict conditional semantics for counterfactuals. If Sophie had gone to the parade, she would have seen Pedro. If Sophie had gone to the parade and had been stuck behind someone tall, she would not have seen Pedro. But if the order of the counterfactuals in a Sobel sequence is reversed—in the example, if is asserted prior to —the second counterfactual asserted no longer rings true. This (...) is the Heim sequence problem. That the order of assertion makes this difference is surprising on the variably strict account. Some argue that this is reason to reject the Lewis-Stalnaker semantics outright. Others argue that the problem motivates a contextualist rendering of counterfactuals. Still others maintain that the explanation for the phenomenon is merely pragmatic. I argue that none of these is right, and I defend a novel way to understand the phenomenon. My proposal avoids the problems faced by the alternative analyses and enjoys independent support. There is, however, a difficulty for my view: it entails that many ordinarily accepted counterfactuals are not true. I argue that this cost is acceptable. (shrink)

George Loewenstein is one of the pioneers of the rapidly growing field of behavioral economics. For over twenty years he has been working at the intersection of economics and psychology and is one of the few people of whom it can be said that their work is equally respected and well known within both disciplines. This book brings together a selection of his papers focusing on what he calls "exotic preferences"-- the disparate motives that drive human behavior. Anoriginal introduction (...) outlines Loewenstein's general approach to research, and there are short introductions to each paper outlining briefly when, how and why they came to be written, providing a fascinating and vivid insight into the process of intellectual creativity. (shrink)

Using research into learning from sequences of examples, we generate predictions about what cultural products become widely distributed in the social marketplace of ideas. We investigate what we term the Repetition‐Break plot structure: the use of repetition among obviously similar items to establish a pattern, and then a final contrasting item that breaks with the pattern to generate surprise. Two corpus studies show that this structure arises in about a third of folktales and story jokes. An experiment shows that jokes (...) with this structure are more interesting than those without the initial repetition. Thus, we document evidence for how a cognitive factor influences the cultural products that are selected in the marketplace of ideas. (shrink)

Just as knowledge contextualism offers a way out of knowledge skepticism in the face of powerful skeptical arguments, counterfactual contextualism purports to answer the many compelling arguments for the skeptical thesis that most ordinary counterfactuals of the form ‘if A had happened, C would have happened’, are false. In this article I review a few of the arguments for counterfactual skepticism, before surveying the various types of contextualist responses. I then discuss some of the recent objections to counterfactual contextualism, with (...) an eye toward weighing contextualism's costs with the costs of accepting skepticism. I conclude by remarking on some of the implications that skepticism and contextualism each has for many disputes in metaphysics. (shrink)