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107758.885558
Angelic visitations in our world are at best rare, and at worst they never occur at all. Not so in Neil Fisk’s world. There, angelic visitations are common – and often deadly. Neil lost his wife to such a visitation, and he’s hated God ever since. The problem with this hatred is that Neil is quite sure his wife is in heaven, as he saw her soul ascending and has never seen her walking around in hell during the frequent glimpses the living are given of the underworld. Since Neil thinks he cannot willingly become devout, he must rely on a divine glitch; those who are caught in heaven’s light during an angelic visitation involuntarily become devout, and thus go to heaven. Luckily for Neil, he drives into a beam of heaven’s light, loses his sight, and becomes devout. Unluckily for Neil, God sends him to hell anyway.
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110864.885763
The article summarizes the present state of research into the conceptual foundations of the periodic table. We give a brief historical account of the development of the periodic table and periodic system, including the impact of modern physics due to the discoveries of Moseley, Bohr, modern quantum mechanics etc. The role of the periodic table in the debate over the reduction of chemistry is discussed, including the attempts to derive the Madelung rule from first principles. Other current debates concern the concept of an “element” and its dual role as simple substance and elementary substance and the question of whether elements and groups of elements constitute natural kinds. The second of these issues bears on the question of further debates concerning the placement of certain elements like H, He, La and Ac in the periodic table.
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371025.885783
[Editor’s Note: The following new entry by Mark Wrathall replaces the
former entry
on this topic by the previous author.]
Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) is a central figure in the
development of twentieth-century European Philosophy. His magnum
opus, Being and Time (1927), and his many essays and
lectures, profoundly influenced subsequent movements in European
philosophy, including Hannah Arendt’s political philosophy,
Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism, Simone de Beauvoir’s
feminism, Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of perception,
Hans-Georg Gadamer’s hermeneutics, Jacques Derrida’s
deconstruction, Michel Foucault’s post-structuralism, Gilles
Deleuze’s metaphysics, the Frankfurt School, and critical
theorists like Theodor Adorno, Herbert Marcuse, Jürgen Habermas,
and Georg Lukács.
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430985.885795
laying down a program for this study. It is written for everyone who is curious about the world of symbols that surrounds us, in particular researchers and students in philosophy, history, cognitive science, and mathematics education. The main characteristics of mathematical notations are introduced and discussed in relation to the intended subject matter, the language in which the notations are verbalized, the cognitive resources needed for learning and understanding them, the tasks that they are used for, their material basis, and the historical context in which they are situated. Specific criteria for the design and assessment of notations are discussed, as well as ontological, epistemological, and methodological questions that arise from the study of mathematical notations and of their use in mathematical practice.
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549971.885811
This paper is a contribution to a symposium on Herman Cappelen’s 2023 book The Concept of Democracy: An Essay on Conceptual Amelioration and Abandonment. In that book, Cappelen develops a theory of abandonment—a theory of why and how to completely stop using particular linguistic expressions—and then uses that theory to argue for the general abandonment of the words “democracy” and “democratic”. In this paper, I critically discuss Cappelen’s arguments for the abandonment of “democracy” and “democratic” in political theory specifically.
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572147.885822
There is no doubt that a theory that is unified has a certain appeal. Scientific practice in fundamental physics relies heavily on it. But is a unified theory more likely to be empirically adequate than a non-unified theory? Myrvold has pointed out that, on a Bayesian account, only a specific form of unification, which he calls mutual information unification, can have confirmatory value. In this paper, we argue that Myrvold’s analysis suffers from an overly narrow understanding of what counts as evidence. If one frames evidence in a way that includes observations beyond the theory’s intended domain, one finds a much richer and more interesting perspective on the connection between unification and theory confirmation. By adopting this strategy, we give a Bayesian account of unification that (i) goes beyond mutual information unification to include other cases of unification, and (ii) gives a crucial role to the element of surprise in the discovery of a unified theory. We illustrate the explanatory strength of this account with some cases from fundamental physics and other disciplines.
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572167.885834
Although the electron density can be calculated with the formal resources of quantum mechanics, in physics it does not play the leading role that the quantum state does. In contrast, the concept of electron density is central in quantum chemistry, in any of its different approaches: the Hartree-Fock Method, the Density Functional Theory, and the Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules.
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572251.885844
The article examines the question of priority and simultaneous discovery in the context of the discovery of the periodic system. It is argued that rather than being anomalous, simultaneous discovery is the rule. Moreover, I argue that the discovery of the periodic system by at least six authors in over a period of 7 years represents one of the best examples of a multiple discovery. This notion is supported by a new view of the evolutionary development of science through a mechanism that is dubbed Sci-Gaia by analogy with Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis.
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630055.885856
I would like to begin this review by stating that this is an absolutely wonderful book that is full of gems about the elements and the periodic table. In my own 2007 book on the periodic table I concluded that we should perhaps think of the variety of tables that have appeared as spanning a spectrum running from the most abstract and ‘perfect’ tables such as Janet’s left-step table representation, to the unruly tables that emphasize the uniqueness of elements. To illustrate the latter category, I featured an image of Rayner-Canham’s table that is also the table shown on the front cover of his new book now under review. Rayner Canham’s book is all about the individuality of elements and how so many of the commonly held trends in the periodic table are far more complicated than we normally acknowledge.
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745409.885867
A speculative exploration of the distinction between a relational formal ontology and a classical formal ontology for modelling phenomena in nature that exhibit relationally-mediated wholism, such as phenomena from quantum physics and biosemiotics. Whereas a classical formal ontology is based on mathematical objects and classes, a relational formal ontology is based on mathematical signs and categories. A relational formal ontology involves nodal networks (systems of constrained iterative processes) that are dynamically sustained through signalling. The nodal networks are hierarchically ordered and exhibit characteristics of deep learning. Clarifying the distinction between classical and relational formal ontologies may help to clarify the role of interpretative context in physics (eg. the role of the observer in quantum theory).
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745436.885878
The anthropic principle suggests that the universe’s fundamental constants are precisely fine-tuned to allow for life. However, by incorporating a dynamic physical perspective of nature, such as the multiscale thermodynamic principle known as Principium Luxuriæ, it is found that fundamental constants and forces of the universe may evolve over time in a non-Euclidean universe. If the universe has this geometry, it would have profound implications, which are discussed in this paper. For example, that the conditions conducive to life are not static and finely tuned but rather transient, undermining the need for a fine-tuned universe. Given that multiscale thermodynamics requires external forces, it’s plausible that the universe’s expansion could be linked to the existence of other phenomena such as other universes acting as external forces, each with their own evolving laws of physics. This suggests that life might be a transient and coincidental occurrence across multiple universes, if they exist. Additionally, the ever-evolving physical laws limit our ability to fully comprehend the universe at any given time. As we inevitably overlook certain aspects of reality, physical systems cannot be fully explained by the sum of their parts. Consequently, emergent phenomena like consciousness could not be studied from a self-referential perspective, as there will always be elements beyond our understanding.
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745555.885889
Prior research has unveiled a pathologization effect where individuals perceived as having bad moral character are more likely to have their conditions labeled as diseases and are less often considered healthy compared to those viewed as having a good moral character. Moreover, these individuals are perceived as less unlucky in their affliction and more deserving of it. This study explores the broader impacts of moral character on such judgments, hypothesizing that these effects reach deeper and extend to both negative and positive moral evaluations. The pathologization effect also raises concerns about potential discrimination and the overmedicalization of normal health variations, so we also examine whether providing more detailed descriptions of conditions mitigates the influence of judgments of moral character. The methodology and broader implications of our findings are discussed, emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of how moral judgments might influence patient care.
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793524.885899
Questions about our knowledge of other minds have occupied far less philosophical attention than have questions about our knowledge of the material world. The major reason for this is the underlying assumption that the resources we should appeal to in explaining such knowledge are the same as those we appeal to in explaining our knowledge of the material world, namely observation and inference. Given this, accounting for our knowledge of other minds is not of much additional interest, epistemologically speaking. There can be debates about the kinds of inference required, and, indeed about whether perception on its own suffices for knowledge, but there is nothing fundamentally different here from debates and claims about our knowledge of the material world. Hence, it warrants only a page or two, or, at most, a chapter, in general treatises about our knowledge of the ‘external’ world. Call this the Nothing Special Claim.
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860831.885909
This paper introduces a digital method for analyzing propositional logical equivalences. It transforms the theorem-proof method from the complex statement-derivation method to a simple number-comparison method. By applying the digital calculation method and the expression-number lookup table, we can quickly and directly discover and prove logical equivalences based on the identical numbers, no additional operations are needed. This approach demonstrates significant advantages over the conventional methods in terms of simplicity and efficiency.
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863052.886026
Flannery O’Connor’s stories are, by her own account, “preoccupied with the grotesque.” The reason, some argue, is that the grotesque is fascinating to the southern imagination. And indeed her grotesques have many southern precedents, most notably those of William Faulkner, whose novel The Sound and the Fury is famously narrated in part by an idiot. …
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976094.886042
Guiding principles are central to theory development in physics, especially when there is only limited empirical input available. Here I propose an approach to such principles looking at their heuristic role. I suggest a distinction between two modes of employing scientific principles. Principles of nature make descriptive claims about objects of inquiry, and principles of epistemic action give directives for further research. If a principle is employed as a guiding principle, then its use integrates both modes of employment: guiding principles imply descriptive claims, and they provide directives for further research. By discussing the correspondence principle and the naturalness principle as examples, I explore the consequences for understanding and evaluating current guiding principles in physics. Like principles of nature, guiding principles are evaluated regarding their descriptive implications about the research object. Like principles of epistemic action, guiding principles are evaluated regarding their ability to respond to context-specific needs of the epistemic agent.
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990520.886052
In Trump's Second Inaugural, he had this to say:
The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons. …
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1018794.886062
This paper introduces the Global Philosophy symposium on Giuseppe Primiero’s book On the Foundations of Computing (2020). The collection gathers commentaries and responses of the author with the aim of engaging with some open questions in the philosophy of computer science. Firstly, this paper introduces the central themes addressed in Primiero’s book; secondly, it highlights some of the main critiques from commentators in order to, finally, pinpoint some conceptual challenges indicating future directions for the philosophy of computer science.
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1018870.886076
This chapter explores the historical origins of the concept of ‘physicalism’ coined by Otto Neurath in the early 1930s. Neurath conceived physicalism as a methodological principle aimed at facilitating interdisciplinary communication and unification of the sciences, rather than as a metaphysical thesis about the nature of reality. His anti-metaphysical physicalism was rooted in Marxist ideals, seeking a common ‘thing-language’ to support collective deliberation and social progress. Neurath’s view differs markedly from how physicalism later came to serve as an ontological position. By examining Neurath’s relatively alien sociopolitical context, the chapter disentangles the various threads of physicalism’s origins – its ideological commitments, institutional incentives, and philosophical tenets. This historical analysis allows a nuanced understanding of what contemporary physicalism could and should entail, distinguishing its diverse motivations from Neurath’s anti-metaphysical, Marxist-inspired vision of intellectual work in service of social engineering and reform.
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1033785.886087
In recent years, big claims have been made about geometric knowledge, its universality, and its roots in core cognition. Particularly relevant in this respect are contributions by Spelke and collaborators, as well as the celebrated but disputed results of Dehaene and collaborators concerning knowledge of geometry in the Amazonian group of the Mundurukú. There is little doubt that Ancient geometry takes advantage of the cognitive abilities of human agents in a most noteworthy way, by relying on very robust perceptive, manipulative and conceptual abilities, which furthermore were carefully regimented so as to maximize agreement and eliminate sources of error (Ferreirós, 2016,141). But, unlike other aspects of mathematical cognition like the natural numbers, on which there is substantial agreement among experts, the highly interesting topic of geometry and its cognitive roots is not yet sufficiently clear.
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1033808.886096
This paper defends a conceptualistic version of structuralism as the most convincing way of elaborating a philosophical understanding of structuralism in line with the classical tradition. The argument begins with a revision of the tradition of “conceptual mathematics”, incarnated in key figures of the period 1850 to 1940 like Riemann, Dedekind, Hilbert or Noether, showing how it led to a structuralist methodology. Then the tension between the ‘presuppositionless’ approach of those authors, and the platonism of some recent versions of philosophical structuralism, is presented. In order to resolve this tension, we argue for the idea of ‘logical objects’ as a form of minimalist realism, again in the tradition of classical authors including Peirce and Cassirer, and we introduce the basic tenets of conceptual
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1033831.886106
A down-to-earth admission of abstract objects can be based on detailed explanation of where the objectivity of mathematics comes from, and how a ‘thin’ notion of object emerges from objective mathematical discourse or practices. We offer a sketch of arguments concerning both points, as a basis for critical scrutiny of the idea that mathematical and social objects are essentially of the same kind—which is criticized. Some authors have proposed that mathematical entities are indeed institutional objects, a product of our collective imposition of function onto reality (the phrase comes from Searle) and of surrogation or hypostasis. Yet there are significant disanalogies between the typical social objects and mathemata, on which basis I argue that one should make a clear distinction between both. The comparison of mathematical with social objects helps understanding how non-physical objects can figure prominently in our explanations of reality. Yet mathematical objects have a different kind of cognitive grounding, and the more elementary of them emerge under relatively very simple sociocultural conditions. The differences are also reflected in the wide scope of use of mathematical concepts, and the much higher degree of variation found among social objects. On the basis of all of these features, I defend the thesis that one can significantly distinguish degrees of objectivity, and I use the distinction to articulate a graded ontology where one can locate the different kinds of mathematical and social objects.
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1033852.886116
In this chapter I shall revisit the proposal made in Mathematical Knowledge and the Interplay of Practices (2016) for the analysis of practices in terms of an intricate spiderweb which extends from ‘technical’ (pre- or non-mathematical) practices to high-level mathematical ones, also including links to scientific practices of modeling, data control, etcetera. In order to offer a refreshed perspective on the topic, we shall (i) reconsider and refine my working definition of what a mathematical practice is, (ii) analyze the relations and differences between mathematical practices and other kinds of cultural practices, e.g. those studied in ethnomathematics, and (iii) consider a particular case, the web of practices and theory related with the central concept of function, which has articulated a large portion of the mathematics developed in the last 300 years.
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1074672.886126
Good news for once! A faster Quantum Fourier Transform
In my last post, I tried to nudge the arc of history back onto the narrow path of reasoned dialogue, walking the mile-high tightrope between shrill, unsupported accusation and naïve moral blindness. …
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1317498.886136
This week represents the convergence of so many plotlines that, if it were the season finale of some streaming show, I’d feel like the writers had too many balls in the air. For the benefit of the tiny part of the world that cares what I think, I offer the following comments. …
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1430082.886145
“From the Archives” is a new blog series that will share some of my favorite posts, lightly revised and updated, from my 18 years of archives at philosophyetc.net. I’ll kick things off with my undergraduate honours thesis on “Modal Rationalism”, which I think remains a neat general introduction to some core issues in metaphysics, modal epistemology, and the philosophy of language. …
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1437548.886154
Tatiana Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa was an important physicist, mathematician, and educator in 20th century Europe. While some of her work has recently undergone reevaluation, little has been said regarding her groundbreaking work on dimensional analysis. This, in part, reflects an unfortunate dismissal of her interventions in such foundational debates by her contemporaries. In spite of this, her work on the generalized theory of homogeneous equations provides a mathematically sound foundation for dimensional analysis and has found some appreciation and development. It remains to provide a historical account of Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa’s use of the theory of homogeneous functions to ground (and limit) dimensional analysis. We take as a central focus Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa’s contributions to a debate on the foundations of dimensional analysis started by physicist Richard Tolman in 1914. I go on to suggest an interpretation of the more thoroughgoing intervention Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa makes in 1926 based on this earlier context, especially her limited rehabilitation of a “theory of similitude” in contradistinction to dimensional analysis. It is shown that Ehrenfest-Afanassjewa has made foundational contributions to the mathematical foundations and methodology of dimensional analysis, our conception of the relation between constants and laws, and our understanding of the quantitative nature of physics, which remain of value.
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1566199.886163
I'm not that interested in pragmatism per se. My interest in William James is because of his radical empiricism, not really his pragmatism. But I do want to clarify some things here. I want to explain what pragmatism is (namely a method), and show how even though James and Peirce agree about the method of pragmatism, the understanding diverges significantly. …
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1610498.886172
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries.
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1668203.886184
The relative virtues of 8- and 18-column periodic tables are discussed, followed by a brief mention of a 32-column table. Next, the left-step periodic table, as first introduced by Janet, is presented, as are the various attractive features of this representation. The advantages include what is termed here as the regularization of atomic number triads and a better rationalization of first-member anomalies. The distinction between simple substance and element is also explained as is the significance of this issue to the left-step table. Finally, I respond to some recent criticisms of previous work that I have published on atomic number triads of elements. It is becoming increasingly acknowledged that the discovery of the periodic table took place at the hands of at least six individuals working independently in different parts of the world (Scerri, A Tale of Seven Scientists, Oxford University Press, New York, 2016). In the intervening 150 or so years since the most well known of these tables were published, by Dmitri Mendeleev, at least 1000 periodic systems have appeared either in print form (Van Spronsen, The Periodic System of Chemical Elements. A History of the First Hundred Years, Elsevier, New York, 1969; Mazurs, Graphic Representations of the Periodic System during One Hundred Years, University Alabama Press, Alabama, 1974) or more recently on the Internet (Leach, https:// www. meta- synth esis. com/ webbo ok/ 35_ pt/ pt_ datab ase. php).