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Critical Reflections on Intentions and Linguistic Communication
Get PDFThis paper has the following structure: first, Paul Grice’s original account of non-natural meaning (in “Meaning”) is critically discussed; second, Stephen Neale’s analysis (in “Paul Grice and the Philosophy of Language”) is critically discussed; third, Kent Bach and Robert Harnish’s analysis of linguistic communication is critically discussed; lastly, due to considerations detailed in the previous section, doubts are raised about the viability of intentional based semantics. In discussing Neale and Bach and Harnish, two novel counter-examples are employed to show their analyses to be inadequate
Kant’s Rational Morality and the Mentally Impaired: The Quest for a Universal Moral Account
Get PDFKantian deontology makes at least three central claims: (1) All humans are ends in themselves, (2) All humans have moral obligations, and (3) Morality (the categorical imperative) is a rational endeavor. However, the universal claims of Kantian deontology become suspect when we consider the mentally impaired who, in some cases, cannot meet the rationality requirements implicit in the categorical imperative. In this paper, I argue that Kantian deontology cannot account for the entirety of the human population lest it exclude the mentally impaired as either non-moral agents or sub-human entities. I then suggest that by adopting the paradigm of virtue ethics, we can sufficiently avoid this problem and account for the dignity and moral agency of the mentally impaired. Finally, I consider one objection to this moral picture and respond
Designing and Evaluating the Quality and Cost-effectiveness of Saturated Sediment Permeameters
Get PDFMany simulations require accurate measurements of saturated hydraulic conductivity, a sediment property that governs the speed at which water flows through sediments relative to head differences. The goal of our project is to design and build an inexpensive permeameter capable of producing accurate hydraulic conductivity values. We tested four permeameters; a standard research grade constant-head permeameter, a falling-head permeameter modeled off of an in situ stream method, a constant-head permeameter made out of 4” PVC pipe, and a similar constant-head permeameter made out of 2” PVC pipe. Our custom-built constant-head permeameters both utilized a U-shaped design, two tubes which form a manometer, and multiple output overflows. Despite significant differences in design, method, and cost, we found that all four of the permeameters yielded relatively consistent mean hydraulic conductivities with low standard deviations (0.004-0.019). We also compared the attributes: price, weight, and number of parts. Our conclusion is that because the average K-value and standard deviation of each design is within reason, the best choice depends on the practitioner’s situation and intention.Faculty Sponsor: Susa H. Stonedah
Semiotic Exograms: Extending the Mind Fully
Get PDFThis essay is an analysis and expanded defense of John Sutton’s essay “Exograms and Interdisciplinarity: History, the Extended Mind, and the Civilizing Process.” The first section of the essay surveys the extended mind literature, following the first and second waves of the Extended Mind theory. The second section explains Sutton’s exograms as external representations of internal thought. This section also details his argument that exograms extend the mind because, historically, exograms play a role in the internal functioning of a mind. The third section defends Sutton’s argument from objections against their place in mental processes, namely memory. The fourth section argues against the objection that the mind cannot be extended beyond the brain, by appealing to a computational view of functionalism. The conclusions drawn from the third and fourth sections are that the mind, through language, extends with culture and that, even in cognitive science, it is fruitful to study the mind extended as such
The Relationship Between Attention, Dyslexia, and Convergence Insufficiency
Get PDFDyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are two distinct conditions belonging to the same class of frequently and comorbidly diagnosed childhood and adolescent developmental disorders. Further complicating treatment and diagnoses is convergence insufficiency, a visual disorder, with symptoms that can appear similar to dyslexia’s diagnostic criteria. ADHD and dyslexia have a worldwide prevalence of 5-12% each among the school-age population and 4-10% of young adults. As many as 1 million U.S. ADHD diagnoses are situational with undocumented, pre-existing conditions (e.g., convergence insufficiency, dyslexia). Convergence insufficiency, characterized by an inability to converge the eyes smoothly as a focal object moves from distance to near, affects 2-8% of the worldwide population. Given the number of people worldwide who may be diagnosed, misdiagnosed, or undiagnosed by these three disorders, it is of value to explore the intersectionality of these conditions among college-aged students. This project investigated the relationship between self-reported scores on a standard ADHD measure, as well as ADHD diagnoses, dyslexia, and convergence insufficiency using optometric and neuropsychological assessments. We found ADHD diagnosis and its self-reported symptoms were significantly correlated with total scores on the Adult Reading History Questionnaire, dyslexia diagnoses, and the Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey. All three self-report assessments and near visual acuity significantly correlated; indicating that as visual acuity improves, total assessment scores decrease. These combined results highlight a distinct and important relationship between vision, attention, and reading and support a more holistic assessment in the identification, diagnosis, intervention, and treatment of cognitive problems pertaining to reading and learning.Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Heide Islan
Trapped in Toxic Exposure: Mitigation Masking and the Emotional Geography of Residential Proximity to Expanding Industry
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to introduce a citizen’s stakeholder perspective into research on environmental regulation and offending. The business operations of a steel recycling plant located in a residential neighborhood was analyzed to identify how their mitigation efforts have been used to justify continued business expansion, mask other aspects of environmental offending, and block citizen efforts to become stakeholders in the governance process. The concept of “mitigation masking” was introduced to reveal victim blaming governance processes. We surveyed the residence using the retrospective pre-then-post design in a two-block radius surrounding HI&M (N=17). We collected a convenience sample of public comment cards (n = 79) on two different occasions. This study adds to research on environmental offending by introducing a citizen narrative into the literature on environmental regulation and offending and exploring how mitigation masking pollutes citizen human agency.Faculty Sponsor: Sherrie M. Steine
Critical Remarks on an Interpretation of Reid on Perceptual Apprehension
Get PDFI argue that Thomas Reid’s theory of perception can be defended against the charges of inconsistency levied against it by Nicholas Wolterstorff. The challenge to be met is roughly that of showing how the Reidian account of perception can avoid being hampered by a descriptive theory of mental reference for perceptual states. First, I will review Reid’s theory of perception and Wolterstorff’s objections to it. Wolterstorff maintains that Reid is committed to an account of perceptual reference according to which mental representations are conceptual intermediaries between the perceiver and the objects of perception. I hope in section III to show that the theory attributed to Reid is unworkable. In the remainder of the paper I will argue that Reid need not be committed to any such view. In sections V through IX, I will sketch an alternative account of perceptual reference that is immediate in the required sense and that can be incorporated into a Reidian account of perception. My proposal will depend crucially on David Kaplan’s account of demonstratives and on mobilizing Kaplan’s semantics for application to the case of perceptual content
“She had snatched their trophy”: “Lanval,” “Beowulf,” and the Weaver-cum-Warrior
Get PDFHow was masculinity defined, and for whom, in medieval English epic? Employing Marie de France’s “Lanval” and the anonymous “Beowulf ” as example cases, when examining the social role of gender rather than focus on sexuality as defined by genitalia, these poems flip the script. Wherein titular male-identifying characters swap social responsibilities with female-identifying foils; Beowulf and Lanval become “weaving” humans, while Lanval\u27s lover and Grendel’s Mother take on the “weaponed” roles in order to protect the material existence of their communities. By examining these exchanges, as well as characters that embody the gender role that is expected of them, I argue that early medieval English epic consistently presented a vision of society where a critical part of maintaining healthy communities necessitated the inversion of gender roles.Faculty Sponsor: Elizabeth E. Tavare
Ecological site distribution of sand fly species of Mokolo, an endemic focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis in northern Cameroon
No full textLeishmaniasis is a vector borne disease present in two major clinical forms (cutaneous and visceral) in the northern part of Cameroon. The disease is classified as a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization and thus, requires more attention. The aim of this study was to correlate the previously established composition and abundance of sand fly fauna with the putative vector status and the ecological behavior in the Mokolo cutaneous leishmaniasis focus to propose fighting strategies integrating vectors control. Over a 12-month period light traps were used for sand flies’ collection in urban, peri-urban and sylvatic environment found in Mokolo, an endemic focus of leishmanisis in northern Cameroon, microscope and taxonomic keys were used for their identification. Nineteen (19) species were identified belonging to the genera Sergentomyia, and Phlebotomus. The influence of human population density on sand fly\u27s species density and composition was assessed trough the evaluation of ecological distribution of sand flies in Mokolo. It came out that, Se. coronula and Se. thomsoni mandarai are strictly wild species and Ph. duboscqi, a domestic species. The other species are generalists.The number of Se. antennata and Se. adami decreases with the increase of the density of human population while Se. distincta, Se. vorax and Ph. duboscqi increase with the density of human population in the study site. Based on its previous reports in the Leishmania transmission in West Africa, Ph. duboscqi should still be considered as the main suspected vector in Mokolo. Ph. duboscqi, Se. distincta, Se. affinis ssp. vorax and Se. schwetzi are highly represented around human dwellings
Roger Buss
No full textRoger Buss Basketball Player 1962https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/john_foster_photos/4132/thumbnail.jp