2,267 research outputs found
The Metaphysics of Free Will: A Critique of Free Won’t as Double Prevention
No full textThe problem of free will is deeply linked with the causal relevance of mental events. The caus-al exclusion argumentclaims that, in order to be causally relevant, mental events must be identical to phys-ical events. However, Gibb has recently criticized it,suggesting that mental events are causally relevant as double preventers. For Gibb, mental events enable physical effects to take place by preventing other men-tal events from preventing a behaviour to take place. The role of mental double preventers is hence simi-lar to what Libet names free won’t, namely the ability toveto an action initiated unconsciously by the brain. In this paper I will propose an argument against Gibb’s account, the causal irrelevance argument, showing that Gibb’s proposal doesnot overcome the objection of systematic overdetermination of causal relevance, because mental double preventers systematically overdetermine physical double preventers, and therefore mental events are causally irrelevant
Aeroacoustics of Transonic Shock-Boundary Layer Interactions
No full textThe interaction of a spatially developing supersonic turbulent boundary layer with a normal shock wave is analyzed by means of direct numerical simulation of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. At the selected flow conditions, corresponding to a mild shock, no mean flow separation is observed. However, the flow is strongly unsteady, and inter- mittent regions of flow reversal are found near the wall, while large vortical structures are observed away from it. Such structures are mainly responsible for the amplification of noise and turbulence across the interaction zone. The intense acoustic loads occurring in the interaction zone are found to be strictly related to the Reynolds shear stress distribu- tion. The analysis of the pressure energy spectra shows a behavior consistent with that observed in incompressible boundary layers in adverse pressure gradient. In particular, a power-law scaling is recovered: at low frequencies the spectra scale as St0.4, while at high frequencies they decay as St-5. The results show that the interacting shock primarily acts as a low-pass filter for the turbulence spectra. © 2007 by Sergio Pirozzoli and Francesco Grasso
Eupholus bhaskarai Grasso 2020, sp. nov.
No full textEupholus bhaskarai sp. nov. (Plate 1: A-B; Figs. 1-4, 9, 11) Holotype (male): [Indonesia], Irian Jaya, Jayapura province, Klaisu, South Gresi, V.2019 local collector, in MGC. Paratypes (5 males, 4 females (one female marked as “allotype”)): same date and location as holotype, in KPC, MGC and STMI. Diagnosis: An Eupholus species with a large, vertical stripe that starts by pronotum and ends at 2/3 of the elytra. Sometimes the stripe appears just visible, because of this, is easy to confuse Eupholus bhaskarai sp. nov. with Eupholus loriae (Gestro, 1902). Description: total length 19.92 mm; pronotum+elytron 14.82 mm. Head dorsal surface covered with green and light blue metallic oval scales, sometimes milky except for glabrous areas located between and laterally behind the eyes. Distance between the eyes 2.12 mm. Rostrum width at the base 1.68 mm, 3.50 mm height, maximum width in front of antennal insertion. Dorsal area densely covered with suboval light green and light blue scales, interspersed with subrecumbent setiform scales; medially with low glabrous costa. Antennal scrobe complete in not dilated pterigo. Apex of the rostrum with suberect yellowish colored setae. Epistome heart-shaped with no ridges and with elongated scales posteriorly, glabrous anteriorly. Antenna with funicle+club 7.43 mm; scape and funicle densely covered with suboval green and light blue scales mixed with witish setae. Funicle slender and elongate. Scape retracted ends at 1/3 of the eye. Funicles covered with whitish setae. Club dark brown. Pronotum base 4.81 mm, 3.68 mm height; characterized in the dorsal part by wide black glabrous median depression, more deep in median area. Two lateral glabrous stripes give way for two subequal areas covered by subrotund light blue and green scales. Scutellum glabrous and almost covered by elytra. Elytron distance between the humeri 6,30 mm, 11,14 mm height. Humeri callosity with rectangular projection; a glabrous ridge continue behind humeral callus to 1/3 of elytron. Almost completely absent apical calluses. Median longitudinal and glabra stripe, large at base and thinner towards the scutellum, likely to connect itself with the one wich starts at base of the pronotum; elytron densely covered with light blue-green circular scales, strial punctures deeply impressed and quite large, with subrotund shape. Thoracic venter densely squamose with green and light blue, round to lanceolate and recumbent scales. Posteriorly, area between forecoxae process glabrous. Legs evenly covered by green light blue round scales on femora and tibiae, scales become blue-violet and interspersed with setae, elongated and lying on the tarsi. Genitalia. Aedeagus (Figs. 1-2) with subparallel sides until apical orifice, then in quite straight line converging to rounded apex. In lateral view somewhat of weakly swollen and quite truncate. Endophallus with symmetrical transfer apparatus as in picture 3. Tegmen with two thin and elongated paramers, barely rounded at apex (Fig. 4). Differential diagnosis: as mentioned E. bhaskarai sp. nov looks relationed to E. loriae (Gestro, 1902) from which often differs by the presence of the large glabrous median and longitudinal stripe on the elytra. A larger and deeper strial punctures, a glabrous elytral suture only up to 2/3 of elytra (E. loriae has all glabrous elytra suture) and a different genitalia as in figs. 1-4 and 5-8 with illustrated tegmen by both species as in figs. 4, 8 make possible to confirm validity of E. bhaskarai sp. nov. It is often possible to observe a glabrous transversal band in apical calluses for E. bhaskarai (as in plate 1: B) and could be easy to think it is barely hinted in apical calluses of E. loriae but this feature is never showed and as Gestro writes for this last species, both the glabrous stripes laterally on pronotum are dispersed with points which has reddish setae inside; instead E. bhaskarai has easy to see black setae in the same place. Distribution: the new species is known from [Indonesia], Irian Jaya, Jayapura province, Klaisu, South Gresi. Etymology: this species is named in honor of Edy Bhaskara (East Java, Indonesia) who helped the author to recognize the new species.Published as part of Grasso, Matteo, 2020, A New Species Of Eupholus Boisduval (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae) From West New Guinea, pp. 1-10 in Munis Entomology & Zoology 15 (1) on pages 3-4, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.376193
A “cognitivist” objection to Russellian monism's solution to the hard problem of consciousness
No full textTwenty years after Chalmers' (1996) famous formulation, the hard problem of consciousness is still central in the philosophical debate. Besides the skepticism on its validity, a new non physicalist solution is gaining consensus, the socalled Russellian monism (Chalmers 2013; Alter e Nagasawa 2015). In this paper I will focus on its most common form, panpsychist Russellian monism. First, I will present the main tenets of Russellian monism and its (alleged) solution to the hard problem and to the problem of mental causation. Then I will discuss the shortcomings, especially concerning the categoricity of phenomenal properties and its central assumption: panpsychism. In particular, I will raise a «cognitivist» objection, claiming that panpsychist Russellian monism violates the psychophysical principles of «structural coherence» and «organizational invariance» that Chalmers (1996; 2007) considers necessary for every naturalistic theory of consciousness. Finally, I will claim that panpsychist Russellian monism represents a solution to the hard problem, but ultimately fails in providing an explanation for human beings' conscious experience, since neglects all the cognitive aspects that are so deeply intertwined with phenomenal experience in human beings
The phenomenology of dreaming: a multi-theoretical approach. Merging Predictive Processing and Integrated Information Theory.
No full textDespite the advancements in the study of sleep, many doubts still remain with regard to the phenomenal aspects of dreaming. Sleep mentation seems to lack a solid evolutionary explanation and we have no precise mapping of the phenomenal aspects of dreaming onto the neural activity of the sleeping brain.
In order to address these issues, we propose to adopt Predictive Processing (PP), an emerging theoretical framework for cognitive science that aims to unify perception, action and cognition under a single mechanism (Clark 2013, in press; Hohwy 2013). The core idea is that brains are predictive machines with a hierarchical structure, continuously in the business of predicting their own sensory inputs. Applied to the study of dreaming (Hobson & Friston 2012, Hobson, Hong & Friston 2014), PP highlights the continuity and the differences of dreaming with other waking mental states, grounding them on the very same cognitive architecture. However, PP doesn't precisely account for the phenomenological aspects and how we come to experience anything in the first place (the “hard problem” of consciousness).
We argue that if a second theory proves to be efficient in explaining the phenomenal aspect of dreaming, then PP could be integrated with it for a more comprehensive explanation of cognition. Our theory of choice is Integrated Information Theory (IIT) (Tononi 2012, Oizumi, Albantakis & Tononi 2014). According to IIT the quantity of consciousness of a system is equal to the amount of integrated information generated by its elements, while the quality of experience is defined in relation to maximally irreducible conceptual structures (MICS), i.e. constellation of concepts in the “qualia space”. Phenomenal consciousness is hence defined on the basis of the informational relationships generated by the system's repertoire of internal states, which characterizes conscious experience in both the waking and dreaming state.
After the introduction on PP, IIT and the specific issues surrounding dreaming, we procede to explain how PP and IIT can be merged in order to explain the cognitive mechanism behind the emergence of dream phenomenology, focusing on the conceptual similarity between the two theories' vocabularies. Finally, we illustrate a few critical points and some implications of a more general merging of the theories
Eupholus Boisduval
No full textKey to species of Eupholus Boisduval with longitudinal stripe that starts from pronotum and follows to elytral suture in addition to two sidebands on pronotum that end at ½ elytra 1. Rostrum with a glabrous median line forming two barely hinted longitudinal subcylindrical protuberances, elytron without lateral carina ……………………..…… 2 -. Rostrum with a glabrous median ridge, elytron with lateral carina …………….… 4 2(1). Pronotum with two not glabrous but violet blue lateral stripes …………………… ………….………….……………..……………….…….……………… E. detanii Limoges & Porion -. Pronotum with two glabrous lateral stripes …..…...…………...……….………………… 3 3(2’). Elytra with elongated shape, no lateral carina and two glabrous lateral stripes which end around ½ elytra …..……………..……..………………. E. faisali Grasso 4(1’). Lateral glabrous stripes on pronotum with scattened points and reddish setae inside ……..……………………..………….…………………………………. E. loriae Gestro -. Lateral glabrous stripes on pronotum with small points and black setae inside … …………………..……………….………………………………………….……. E. bhaskarai sp. nov.Published as part of Grasso, Matteo, 2020, A New Species Of Eupholus Boisduval (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae) From West New Guinea, pp. 1-10 in Munis Entomology & Zoology 15 (1) on page 3, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.376193
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