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Wittgenstein and Frege on Negation and Denial
Full text linkFrege maintains that there are not two distinct acts, assertion and denial; rather, denying p is one and the same as asserting not-p. Wittgenstein appears not to recognise this identity in Frege, attributing to him the contrary view that a proposition may have one of two verbs, "is true" or "is false". This paper explains Wittgenstein’s attribution as a consequence of Frege’s treatment of content as theoretically prior to the act of judgment. Where content is prior to judgment, the denial of p—what is rejected in asserting p—is distinct from the assertion of not-p. Wittgenstein’s own embrace of Frege’s identity is then considered, an embrace explained in part by his repudiation of Frege’s theoretical order
The Habitual Horizon:: Ramsey on Cognition and Forecasts
Full text linkAt the end of Frank Ramsey’s “General Propositions and Causality” ([1929b] 1990), he offers an enigmatic footnote that briefly describes his philosophy of science as a “forecasting theory”. What he means by this and by a “forecast” is unclear. However, elsewhere in his unpublished notes, he uses the term sporadically. An examination of those notes reveals the skeleton of a behavioral theory of mind. Ramsey held that all actions are at root driven by the sum total of a person’s dispositions or habits. These habits operate in an unconscious process that produces psychological expectations about the realization of desires. When those expectations are frustrated, the violation is registered consciously to the individual as a proposition, and the offending habit is identified. Humans can then regulate and change those habits by the conscious application of logic through deliberation. The applicable logic is Ramsey’s decision theory, which aims to make beliefs probabilistically coherent by adopting the laws and chances that signify the habits people might use for guiding behavior. The outcome of this deliberation is to refashion psychological expectations as mathematical expectations on laws and chances. These mathematical expectations are forecasts, and a forecasting theory of science takes scientific theories to provide forecasts
What is ‘Western Philosophy’? : Lessons from the Case of ‘Analytic Philosophy’
Full text linkRecent discussions in the history of analytic philosophy have targeted questions about the concept of ‘Analytic Philosophy’ itself. Scholars, such as Glock (2008) and Preston (2004), have argued that ‘Analytic Philosophy’ cannot plausibly be characterised in terms of necessary and sufficient conditions and that other, more pragmatic, approaches must be taken instead. In this paper, we argue that similar questions that have recently emerged about the status of ‘Western Philosophy’ can be informed by these debates in the history of analytic philosophy. Some recent scholars, most notably Platzky Miller (2023) and Cantor (2022), have argued that the concept of ‘Western philosophy’ should be abandoned altogether, due to its incoherence and the role it plays in upholding and perpetuating various exclusionary mechanisms and politically dubious aims. The aim of this paper is to apply the lessons learnt from similar discussions about ‘Analytic Philosophy’ and to build on Platzky Miller’s and Cantor’s innovative proposals. We argue that the term should not be abandoned altogether and that continuing to use it is required for combating exclusions in the history of philosophy
Precarious Associational Power : Reflections on the Power Resources of Employers’ Associations Illustrated by the Example of the German Metal and Electrical Industry
Full text linkThis article examines the transformation of employers’ associations in the German metal and electrical industry from the perspective of the power resources approach. It argues that, as a result of changing economic conditions and the decline of trade union countervailing power, the institutional power resources of employers’ associations have been relativised, which in turn has led to a reassessment of employers’ associations by capital. Employers’ associations have responded by extending exclusive services to their members. Using the power resources approach, the article makes a concrete determination of the relationship between companies and employers’ associations. In doing so, the article contributes to a better understanding of the function, role and development of employers’ associations. At the same time, it contributes to the debate on the further development of the power resources approach and its extension to the analysis of employers’ power
Students priming students for success: Students as partners in development of pre-lecture resources for introductory genetics
Full text linkIntroductory science courses can be a struggle for instructors and students not only because of the challenging nature of the material, but also due to differences in the background knowledge of students. Provision of pre-lecture resources reviewing or introducing key concepts is recommended to support diverse students. In this paper, we describe the iterative design, implementation, and assessment of pre-lecture PRIMERs in a large, introductory genetics course. The development of PRIMERs was conceived, driven, and performed by a student-staff team. Data over 2 years demonstrate that most students considered that PRIMERs supported their learning of the lecture material. Student comments revealed that they found the summaries and practice problems useful, and that they used PRIMERs both as lecture preparation and examination review resources. These results suggest that the students-as-partners model is an effective way to create and refine course resources
Students as partners for effective change: Bring students into the center of decision making
Full text linkMy journey as a student partner began in the summer of 2020, amidst overwhelming COVID-19 hysteria and an opportunity to explore a new kind of online learning. I was doing research with a professor of mine and invited to a workshop about Pedagogical Partners with Alison Cook-Sather. When I learned how impactful my work could be as a student partner, I was hooked. For many years, I had felt as though students were not listened to, heard, or respected. I wanted students to be able to play an active role in their own learning. My freshman year, I became an undergraduate teaching assistant (UTA). The experience truly changed my college experience - I mended my troubled relationship with school and learning and came to love it.
Now, in my final year of college, I’ve been a UTA every semester since my freshman year. I’ve done research on the number of UTAs across the country and on campus at Syracuse University (SU). At SU, UTAs were few and far between, just about 10% of classes had one. The most common answer as to why UTAs weren’t used was that there was no money to pay them, so I created my own class that gave students 3 credits to be a UTA and partnered up with two close faculty mentors of mine to teach it. We reflected, dished out advice, and made important bonds with faculty and each other. After one very successful semester, we combined with the Partnership for Inclusive Education (PIE) Program through the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence to merge the UTA program with a student consultant program. This semester, I am enjoying the best of both worlds as a UTA as well as a lead student consultant. Over the course of my college career, I have learned what a true partnership means, experienced the two-way learning it provides, and worked to make courses more inclusive, understanding, and student-centered. I’ve fought hard to put students in decision-making roles and mentored countless students into fantastic student partners that have changed campus for the better
The Student-to-staff partnership experience in a university-based humanitarian organization
Full text linkMy journey of student-faculty partnership is one that I did not anticipate joining when I signed up for the International Students Overcoming War (ISOW) Scholarship Initiative. ISOW is part student-club, part humanitarian organization that provides students the opportunities to hone their leadership skills as they administer the operations of the scholarship program. The partnerships between students, staff, and Faculty create (experiential) learning for all that enhances personal and professional development in this community. Over the course of four years, with progressive leadership responsibilities ranging from Secretary to a full-time contract position, I have been able to experience partnership from the student and staff perspective. In this essay I share the key lessons I have learned about partnership as I moved through these roles and experienced the challenges of self-reflection, holding multiple identities, and moving on
Strengthening a peer mentorship program for accelerated nursing students: Development of a quality improvement pilot project
Full text linkIn nursing education, peer mentorship programs aim to develop students’ clinical skills, encourage socialization within the program, and improve academic outcomes. This quality improvement project used the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle to improve an existing student mentorship program within an accelerated nursing program in Ontario. Through a needs assessment, two areas for improvement were identified: (a) increased focus on accelerated students’ social and academic needs and (b) evaluation of the mentor-mentee interface. As the first round of changes was implemented, qualitative feedback was obtained to facilitate future improvements. Findings from this project included identifying the benefits of adopting students as partners in quality improvement and generating successful improvement strategies that cater towards peer mentorship programs for accelerated undergraduate nursing students