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What\u27s A(t) Stake? On Stakes, Encroachers, Knowledge
No full textAccording to subject-sensitive invariantism (SSI), whether S knows that p depends not only on the subject\u27s epistemic position (the presence of a true belief, sufficient warrant, etc.) but also on non-epistemic factors present in the subject\u27s situation; such factors are seen as “encroaching” on the subject\u27s epistemic standing. Not the only such non-epistemic factor but the most prominent one consists in the subject\u27s practical stakes. Stakes-based SSI holds that two subjects can be in the same epistemic position with respect to some proposition but with different stakes for the two subjects so that one of them might know the proposition while the other might fail to know it. It is remarkable that the notion of stakes has not been discussed much in great detail at all so far. This paper takes a closer look at this notion and proposes a detailed, new analysis. It turns out that there is more than one kind of stakes, namely event-stakes, knowledge-stakes and action-stakes. I discuss several issues that even plausible notions of stakes raise and propose solutions
Above All Things Human: Bestimmung In Salomo Friedlaender’s Kant For Children
No full textKant’s commitment to universalism has been called into question since increasing attention has been paid to his work on race in the last 20 years. This worry can easily be applied to Kant’s work on education: when Kant describes education as allowing humanity to fulfill its Bestimmung (vocation), scholars might reasonably conclude that such a claim only applies to certain racial groups. Yet Salomo Friedlaender claims that if Kant’s moral theory is taught to children, “Every person is valued according to her morality and no longer, as in our crude days, according to ‘race’ or national and religious affiliation” (18). This interpretation of Kant might strike some contemporary Kant scholars as naïvely optimistic, but neo-Kantians were well aware of Kant’s racial claims. By examining how neo-Kantians read Kant’s work on race, I argue that Friedlaender’s interpretation provides a way of reading an unracialized Bestimmung in the pedagogy
Current Small-Scale CMB Constraints To Axionlike Early Dark Energy
No full textThe south pole telescope (SPT) SPT-3G 2018 cosmic microwave background (CMB) data set (temperature and polarization) is used to place constraints on an axionlike model of early dark energy (EDE). These data do not favor axionlike EDE and place an upper limit on the maximum fraction of the total energy density EDE \u3c 0.172 (at the 95% confidence level, C.L.). This is in contrast with Atacama Cosmology telescope’s (ACT) fourth data release (DR4) which gives EDE = 0.150 +0.050/-0.078. When combining CMB measurements with measurements of the baryon acoustic oscillations and luminosity distance to type Ia supernovae, we show that the tension with the S₀ ES measurement of the Hubble parameter goes up from 2.6 with to 2.9 with +SPT−3G 2018. The additional inclusion of ACT DR4 data leads to a reduction of the tension to 1.6, but the discrepancy between ACT DR4 and +SPT−3G 2018 casts some doubt on the statistical consistency of this joint analysis. The importance of improved measurements of the CMB at both intermediate and small scales (in particular, the shape of the damping tail) as well as the interplay between temperature and polarization measurements in constraining EDE are discussed. Upcoming ground-based measurements of the CMB will play a crucial role in determining whether EDE remains a viable model to address the Hubble tension
The Iron Dice: Fatalism And War
No full textLeaders in international relations often exhibit fatalism, or the belief that events are guided by forces beyond their control. In some cases, fatalism may reflect reality, or be rhetoric to boost support. But there is also an important psychological explanation: fatalism can help leaders avoid responsibility for costly outcomes and protect their self-image. Fatalism is more likely: (1) in regard to bad outcomes versus good outcomes; (2) when war is seen as imminent versus far-off; and (3) in nondemocratic regimes versus democratic regimes. The concept of fatalism is central to philosophy, religion, medicine, sociology, and psychology, but has been neglected by scholars in international relations. Fatalism may be an important cause of war, especially when combined with a perceived window of opportunity. This research contributes to democratic peace theory by helping explain the lack of war between representative regimes. If elected leaders are less prone to extreme fatalism about war, democracies may have more room to maneuver in a crisis. I use case studies of the origins of World War I and World War II to probe the argument
How Much Does The IMF Care About Inequality? Dynamics Of Fragmented Institutional Change And Mission-Consistent Adaptation
No full textEmploying text data analysis on over 6,500 International Monetary Fund (IMF) documents from different operational units of the organization, this chapter first finds that the IMF’s approach to inequality has changed over the past two decades, but in a manner that is uneven across the different constituent parts of the organization. This evidence lends further support to the notion of IMF and IO “fragmented change” developed by Kaya and Reay (2019). Second, the chapter finds that while inequality now is more prominent in the IMF’s policy advice, it matters only insofar as inequality is related to core macroeconomic issues—institutional change has occurred in a “mission-consistent” manner. Thus, the IMF has more focus on inequality in institutional thinking but less in institutional output
\u3cem\u3eU.S. v. Texas\u3c/em\u3e On State Challenges To Immigration Enforcement Priorities
No full textRecent migration across the southern U.S. border has generated a number of federal court challenges by states to executive branch policies. In U.S. v. Texas, states challenged Guidelines issued by the Department of Homeland Security that laid out arrest and deportation priorities, contending that DHS was required by the Immigration and Nationality Act to detain and deport inadmissible migrants with criminal records. The Court held that states did not have standing to challenge the DHS Guidelines and that, with limited resources, the executive branch had the authority to establish enforcement priorities. Restriction of state standing in this case may have implications for states seeking standing in arenas beyond immigration
The Role Of Social Norms, Intergroup Contact, And Ingroup Favoritism In Weight Stigma
No full textAlthough average body size in the U.S. has increased in recent decades, stigma directed at individuals with higher weight has not diminished. In this study, we explored this phenomenon by investigating the relationship between people’s perceived social norms regarding higher weight and their reported levels of weight bias (i.e., anti-fat attitudes). Our predictions for perceived social norms drew on the concepts of intergroup contact and ingroup favoritism, which were also probed in this study. We hypothesized that both greater descriptive norms and more favorable injunctive norms regarding higher weight would be associated with lower reported weight bias. Individuals’ quantity and quality of social contact with people with higher weight were also predicted to be associated with lower weight bias. Finally, we predicted that individuals who perceived themselves as heavier would display ingroup favoritism (i.e., report less weight bias). Participants (N = 272) from the United States completed a set of online questionnaires about their perceived social norms, social contact with people with higher weight, and explicit weight bias. We found support for each of these pre-registered predictions (ps \u3c 0.03), and post hoc analyses revealed that quality, but not quantity, of social contact with individuals with higher weight was an important predictor of lower weight bias. Together, these findings provide insight into the social psychology of weight bias and help to lay a theoretical foundation for future efforts to reduce weight stigma