31544 research outputs found
Sort by
Reinventing the Mirror: Reconciling Guyer’s and Allison’s Interpretations of Kant’s Second Analogy
Get PDFThis paper concerns two interpretations of Kant’s second Analogy in the Critique of Pure Reason. On the one hand, Paul Guyer argues that the goal of the second Analogy is to provide grounds for the confirmation of beliefs about causal relations. Henry Allison, on the other hand, argues that the principle of the second Analogy is a condition of the possibility of experiencing succession, whether subjective or objective. Their starkly different views on the aims and coherence of Kant’s overall system clearly influence their interpretive differences in the specific context of the second Analogy. The exegetical investigation required to evaluate each point of divergence between them is beyond the scope of this paper. Instead, as regards the second Analogy in particular, I focus on one point where Guyer’s position has been misrepresented. Allison characterizes Guyer as equating objective validity with empirical truth. I show that Guyer is equating objective validity with justification, or a claim to knowledge, rather than knowledge itself. Therefore, Allison has misinterpreted Guyer’s interpretation of Kant in this regard
Mimesis and Ritual: Girardian Critique of the Social Contract
Get PDFThe social contract has become the dominant basis for political society, yet political theology is still prevalent in many countries. Rene Girard’s theory of human nature as involving mimesis and ritual offers a more sufficient account for this continuity than that of the social contract theorists. This paper will demonstrate how the views of human nature and the formation of society given by Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau not only failed to account for our religious and ritualistic aspects, but provided a basis for the evolution of the social contract into a pragmatic contract. Originally it was conceived as predicated upon natural rights; but the pragmatic use creates arbitrary rights agreed upon by a society. When considered in light of humanity’s imitative and rivalistic tendencies, this poses a serious worry. Girard’s theory provides the understanding that society isn’t only predicated upon agreement, but also upon imitation, religion, and ritual
Frank Jackson’s Knowledge Argument: On Qualia, Physical Information, and the Supposed Falsity of Physicalism
Get PDFIn “Epiphenomenal Qualia” Frank Jackson argues against Physicalism (the thesis that all correct information is physical information) and for the existence of qualia on the grounds that all of the physical information possible cannot explain the qualitative feel of experience (qualia). In “The Knowledge Argument for Qualia” Jackson partakes in a thought experiment using the examples of “Fred” and “Mary” to show that having all of the physical information about color; including all of the information about physical history, physiology, behavior, light waves, and the physical sciences fails to provide the information of what it is like for Fred and Mary to experience (see) color. Given that all of the physical information cannot provide all of the information available, Jackson concludes that Physicalism is false and that qualia exist, for some information is not physical. I argue against Jackson on the grounds that he assumes that physical information must be publicly accessible and that the experience of color (privately accessible information) cannot be physical information. Moreover, I argue that all information is contextually dependent upon one’s physical environment and physiological functions, thus it is possible that conscious experience is a kind of physical information and that Physicalism is true
Sellars’ Paradox and Language Games
Get PDFIn “Some Reflections on Language Games,” Wilfrid Sellars contemplates whether there is a genuine paradox in learning a first language. It seems that we must know a metalanguage in order to learn a first language, and a meta-metalanguage in order to learn a metalanguage, and so on, because we cannot learn the linguistic expression of a thing without grasping its matching concept. The idea of language as a language game paves the way to a solution to this paradox by presenting an account of pre-conceptual base-level language acquisition
Contextualism and the “Actual Meaning” of Words
Get PDFIn his book, Skepticism: A Case For Ignorance, Peter Unger gives an ordinary language account of skepticism that goes past the traditional dream argument and onto a new frontier, by claiming that the way we use certain words in our everyday language may not be what those words actually mean. This involves a thorough examination of the way we use words in our everyday conversations, namely those that we do not have in a philosophical arena. Unger Uses this method in order to examine how we know things, and if we can ever say that we know anything for certain. In this paper I will be focusing on Unger’s claim that words and sentences have an “actual meaning” outside of the ways we use them in our everyday lives, and will compare it to DeRose’s account of contextualism in order to refute Unger’s account of knowledge
A Case for Dispositional Innatism
Get PDFIn An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, John Locke argues against the claim that there are innate ideas. His arguments consisted in the denial of universal assent, the incoherency of innate ideas, and the formation of principles by inductive means. In this paper, I attempt to show why these arguments do not work in showing that there are no innate ideas and also propose and defend Gottfried Leibniz’s model of dispositional innatism — the claim that we are born with at least innate dispositions or tendencies to have particular beliefs. I use the ordinary conception of memories as a proper analogy for how innate ideas can exist in a mind even without the agent being aware of them, as well as how those ideas may vary in degree of innateness in the context of being dispositions. I then end by defending the claim that we are innately disposed to believe in a mind-independent world, despite there being prima facie contrary evidence from Jean Piaget’s stages of development in his work on child psychology. Consequentially, this will allow for further exploration into what innate dispositions, in general, would entail in the development of minds and belief-forming for human beings
Strenuous Exercise Increases the Risk of Oxidative Stress in Ironman Triathlon Participants
Get PDFRegular physical activity has been linked to greater overall health. Literature review and studies have also defined regular physical activity as a reducer of life-threatening illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. However, long increments of strenuous exercise can produce oxidative stress and muscle fatigue in the human body. The increase in oxygen consumption during strenuous exercise leads to elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS). Cells continuously produce free radicals and reactive oxygen species as part of metabolic processes in the body. These free radicals are neutralized by an antioxidant defense system in the body consisting of enzymes, such as catalase, and non-enzymatic antioxidants. An Ironman Triathlon consists of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.2-mile (42.2 km) run, raced in that order and without a break. It is widely considered by athletes to be one of the most demanding sporting events in the world. It is hypothesized that a physically challenging event such as the Ironman Triathlon can be linked to elevated cortisol levels, increased occurrence of DNA damage, elevated concentrations of ROS, and consequently increased oxidative stress in humans. In order to derive conclusive results regarding the hypothesis, groups containing athletes who completed the full Ironman race, the half Ironman race, and a control group of moderately active individuals were established and individuals were required to report Garmin Smartwatch health and wellness data. The half Ironman consists of a 1.2-mile (1.93 km) swim, a 56-mile (90.12 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run, raced in that order and without a break. Several protocols were then applied to derive data necessary to complete the research. After the participants were selected, their saliva was collected in a non-invasive fashion and was used in the Elisa Saliva Kit to determine cortisol concentration. The saliva samples were also utilized to perform DNA and RNA extraction; and the resulting products were analyzed for quantity and quality of the DNA and RNA. Real time PCR allows scientists to monitor PCR while it is occuring. In this technique, luminescence is produced by reporter molecules as the PCR products increase with every cycle. To determine ROS concentration, the ROS-Glo assay, which provides a light signal that is proportional to the ROS in a given sample, was utilized. An additional marker of oxidative stress is 8-oxo-2-deoxyguanosine(8-oxo-dG). The OxiSelect™ Oxidative DNA Damage ELISA uses antibody and antigen interactions to report the concentration of 8-oxo-dG in a sample. Furthermore, the results indicate an increase in enzymatic indicators of elevated ROS, elevated cortisol levels, and disruption of sleep in the participating athletes after the race. In conclusion, the athletes who completed the full Ironman triathlon experienced increased amounts of oxidative stress than their less active counterparts in the control group, as was denoted by the elevated cortisol levels, increased 8-oxo-dG concentrations, and increased ROS concentrations.Such a rigorous event negatively impacted participants and caused oxidative stress.Faculty Sponsor: Noelle Cutte
Sympathia Aesthetica: On the Possible Significance of Intersubjective Cognitive Uniformity in the Critical-era Philosophy of Immanuel Kant
Get PDFTracking Subtle Differences in Selective Conditions Across Microenvironments as Reflected in the Lithic Assemblages at The Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit Site (45PI408) and the Buck Lake Site (45PI438), Mount Rainier National Park
No full textTwo open-air residential basecamp sites at Mount Rainier, the Buck Lake site and the Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit site, are analyzed and compared using a protocol designed to identify variation in stone tool manufacture and use. This research employs a model rooted in evolutionary archaeology theory. The model uses the variables of cost and performance to measure lithic variation, which is often subtle, across space and time. Selective conditions differ over time at the two sites’ locations and appear to drive lithic variation in the archaeological record. The Buck Lake and Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit sites share many similarities, likely due to the constraints upon stone tool manufacture and use related to the harsh upland environment. There is also variation between the sites, which is likely due to differing selective conditions such as microenvironments, situation in the landscape, proximity to tool stone sources, differences in floral and faunal communities and the availability and abundance of associated resources
