14065 research outputs found
Sort by
Animal medicine
Get PDFThe range of animal practices potentially classified as medical varies widely both functionally and mechanistically, and there is no agreed upon definition of medicine that can help determine which cases ought to count as such. In this paper, we argue that all available definitions are fatally flawed and defend our own characterisation of medicine, which incorporates both functional and mechanistic constraints. We apply our definition to the available evidence and determine which animal behaviours show a mere difference of degree with paradigmatic medical practices—and should thus be seen as medicine proper—and which should be excluded from this nomenclature
The singular status of spacetime singularities in quantum gravity
Get PDFSpacetime singularities are expected to disappear in quantum gravity. Singularity resolution prima facie supports the view that spacetime singularities are mathematical pathologies of general relativity. However, this conclusion might be premature. Spacetime singularities are more accurately understood as global properties of spacetime, rather than things. Therefore, if spacetime emerges in quantum gravity – as it is often claimed – then so may its singular structure. Although this proposal is intriguing, the attempt to uphold that spacetime singularities may be emergent fails. I provide three arguments in support of this claim, drawing upon different views on spacetime emergence
Naturalistic Metaphysics and the Parity Thesis: Why Scientific Realism Doesn’t Lead to Realism about Metaphysics
Get PDFIn recent work, Nina Emery has defended the view that, in the context of naturalistic metaphysics, one should maintain the same epistemic attitude towards science and metaphysics. That is, naturalists who are scientific realists ought to be realists about metaphysics as well; and naturalists who are antirealists about science should also be antirealists about metaphysics. We call this the ‘parity thesis’. This paper suggests that the parity thesis is widely, albeit often implicitly, accepted among naturalistically inclined philosophers, and essentially for reasons similar to Emery’s. Then, reasons are provided for resisting Emery’s specific inference from scientific realism to realism about metaphysics. The resulting picture is a more nuanced view of the relationship between science and metaphysics within the naturalistic setting than the one which is currently most popular
The True Tragedy of Artificial Intelligence
Get PDFThe paper explores the “true tragedy” of artificial intelligence (AI), which occurs not as a futuristic apocalyptic scenario but as a modern crisis that impacts many areas of human activity, although we will focus on labor, economics, environment, and health. Thus, we examine how AI’s rapid deployment exacerbates inequality, environmental degradation, and healthcare issues. Labor inequities manifest through the proliferation of “microjobs,” and labor rights violations, while automation displaces millions of jobs globally. Environmentally, AI systems demand vast energy and water resources, intensifying their environmental footprint and water scarcity. Health concerns emerge from social media addiction and misinformation, undermining mental well-being and social decision-making responses. To address these tragedies, we suggest shifting from AI opposition toward AI containment, a term Suleyman (2023) used to emphasize regulation, corporate accountability, and international collaboration. Therefore, we propose actionable frameworks for sustainable human-centered AI development to secure future advancements and the integrity of current societal systems
On coordinate-based and coordinate-free approaches to Newtonian gravitation on Maxwellian spacetime
Get PDFI discuss and clarify the relationship between the recent wave of 'intrinsic' coordinate-free approaches to Maxwell gravitation and the coordinate-based discussions of Saunders (2013) and Wallace (2020)
Segmenting Ontology
Get PDFOntological universalism is widespread, but this paper argues that the validity of many ontological
claims is bounded, and thus that segmented (though not fragmented) ontologies may represent the
world more accurately. To be more specific, it criticizes the work of Karen Barad, and of James
Ladyman and Don Ross. Both draw ontological conclusions from interpretations of quantum
mechanics and then attempt to universalize the reach of those conclusions. By contrast, the paper
adapts a loosely Bhaskarian critical realism to develop a segmented ontology. This identifies two
boundaries between three related but also substantially different ontological segments. At the
boundary between the quantum and material segments, quantum particles can become entangled
with larger systems in ways that provide determinate relative locations for material objects. This
enables the emergence of causal powers that depend on determinate spatial relations between the
parts of material objects. At the boundary between the material and social segments, mental
properties provide the possibility of human agents forming intentional relations and thus enable the
emergence of social causal powers. Regardless of the merits of this particular ontological scheme, I
argue that segmented ontologies are likely to fit better with the causal structure of our universe
Disentangling scientific realism from anti-exceptionalism
Get PDFScientific realism is, currently, one of the most well-entrenched background assumptions of some relevant versions of anti-exceptionalism about logic. We argue that this is a sort of sociological contingency rather than a metaphilosophical necessity. Drawing parallels with the metaphysics of science (as applied to quantum foundations), we try to bring the realist assumptions of anti-exceptionalism to light, to demotivate the necessary connection between realism and anti-exceptionalism, briefly exploring the possibility of adopting antirealism as the background default view of science instead
Book Review - Maria M. Sojka: A Heated Debate: Meta-Theoretical Studies on Current Climate Research and Public Understanding of Science.
Get PDFCompositional Understanding in Signaling Games
Get PDFReceivers in standard signaling game models struggle with learning compositional information. Even when the signalers send compositional messages, the receivers do not interpret them compositionally. When information from one message component is lost or forgotten, the information from other components is also erased. In this paper I construct signaling game models in which genuine compositional understanding evolves. I present two new models: a minimalist receiver who only learns from the atomic messages of a signal, and a generalist receiver who learns from all of the available information. These models are in many ways simpler than previous alternatives, and allow the receivers to learn from the atomic components of messages
Einstein's Electron and Local Branching: Unitarity Does not Require Many-Worlds
Get PDFWe revisit Einstein’s 1927 thought experiment on electron diffraction, using a single-electron source and an opaque hemispheric detector array, now achievable with modern sensors (~0.1 ns). In this fully enclosed system, where no signals escape the hemisphere, we provide a direct empirical comparison of the Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI) and the Branched Hilbert Subspace Interpretation (BHSI). Both maintain unitarity without invoking wavefunction collapse, as in the Copenhagen Interpretation (CI), but differ ontologically: MWI proposes irreversible global branching into parallel worlds, while BHSI describes local, potentially reversible branching into decohered subspaces. In this setup, all quantum events (branching, engagement, disengagement, and relocation) occur entirely within the local system, and the Born rule, naturally emerging through branch weights, can be observed in detector statistics. To explore branching dynamics more thoroughly, we suggest an enhanced dual-layer experimental setup with an inner transparent detector. Because the electron’s transit time between layers (~0.12 ns) is shorter than the average response times of the inner sensors (~1 ns), this allows a crucial test of measurement timing and potential anomalies (“delayed” or “uncommitted” choice?). Our analysis challenges the notion that unitarity necessitates parallel worlds, instead advocating for a simpler view: local, unitary branching without collapse or global splitting