We sometimes seek expert guidance when we don’t know what to think or do about a problem. In challenging cases concerning medical ethics, we may seek a clinical ethics consultation for guidance. The assumption is that the bioethicist, as an expert on ethical issues, has knowledge and skills that can help us better think about the problem and improve our understanding of what to do regarding the issue.The widespread practice of ethics consultations raises these questions and more:What would it take (...) to be a moral expert?Is anyone a moral expert, and if so, how could a non-expert identify one?Is it in any way problematic to accept and follow the advice of a moral expert as opposed to coming to moral conclusions on your own?What should we think and do when moral experts disagree about a practical ethical issue?In what follows, we address these theoretical and practical questions about moral expertise. (shrink)

A new philosophical analysis is provided of the notorious Sleeping Beauty Problem. It is argued that the correct solution is one-third, but not in the way previous philosophers have typically meant this. A modified version of the Problem demonstrates that neither self-locating information nor amnesia is relevant to the core Problem, which is simply to evaluate the conditional chance of heads given an undated Monday-or-Tuesday awakening. Previous commentators have failed to appreciate the significance of the information that Beauty gains upon (...) waking, and which is relevant to the conditional chance of heads: de re acquaintance with the awakening itself and the non-locating knowledge that it is an experimental awakening. David Lewis and company are committed to several unjustifiable and unacceptable probability assessments. Previous commentators have in effect confused the information that Beauty undergoes this particular experimental awakening for the information that she undergoes some experimental awakening or other. Lewis in particular thereby illegitimately tips the scales both in favor of heads and in favor of Monday. The Sleeping Beauty Problem is equivalent to a ball-in-urn word problem in elementary probability theory. (shrink)

In this paper, we employ bibliometric analysis to empirically analyse the research on social entrepreneurship published between 1996 and 2017. By employing methods of citation analysis, document co-citation analysis, and social network analysis, we analyse 1296 papers containing 74,237 cited references and uncover the structure, or intellectual base, of research on social entrepreneurship. We identify nine distinct clusters of social entrepreneurship research that depict the intellectual structure of the field. The results provide an overall perspective of the social entrepreneurship field, (...) identifying its influential works and analysing scholarly communication between these works. The results further aid in clarifying the overall centrality features of the social entrepreneurship research network. We also examine the integration of ethics into social entrepreneurship literature. We conclude with a discussion on the structure and evolution of the social entrepreneurship field. (shrink)

The “somewhat vague, intuitive” notion from computability theory of an effective procedure (method) or algorithm can be fairly precisely defined even if it is not sufficiently formal and precise to belong to mathematics proper (in a narrow sense)—and even if (as many have asserted) for that reason the Church–Turing thesis is unprovable. It is proved logically that the class of effective procedures is not decidable, i.e., that no effective procedure is possible for ascertaining whether a given procedure is effective. This (...) undecidability result is proved directly from the notion itself of an effective procedure, without reliance on any (partly) mathematical lemma, conjecture, or thesis invoking recursiveness or Turing-computability. In fact, there is no reliance on anything very mathematical. The proof does not even appeal to a precise definition of ‘effective procedure’. Instead, it relies solely and entirely on a basic grasp of the intuitive notion of an effective procedure. Though the result that effectiveness is undecidable is not surprising, it is also not without significance. It has the consequence, for example, that the solution to a decision problem, if it is to be complete, must be accompanied by a separate argument that the proposed ascertainment procedure invariably terminates with the correct verdict. (shrink)

Toward a theory of n-tuples of individuals and concepts as surrogates for Russellian singular propositions and singular concepts. Alonzo Church proposed a powerful and elegant theory of sequences of functions and their arguments as singular-concept surrogates. Church’s account accords with his Alternative (0), the strictest of his three competing criteria for strict synonymy. The currently popular objection to strict criteria like (0) on the basis of the Russell-Myhill paradox is here rebutted. As Church recognized, Russell-Myhill is not a problem specifically (...) for Alternative (0). Rather it is a disproof of unrestricted concept comprehension. Unrestricted comprehension is also inconsistent with facts about sets of properties. It is demonstrated furthermore that the principal rival conception of propositions--propositions conceived as classes of possible worlds--is subject to a fatal philosophical collapse: It follows on that conception, given that each of us is fallible, that everyone believes everything. Although it is far superior to its principal rival conception, Church’s proposed theory is vulnerable under (0) to a version of Russell’s notorious Gray’s /Elegy/ objection. Some amendments to Church’s proposal are proffered that address Russell’s objection, including an amendment first proposed in the present author’s /Frege’s Puzzle/ (1986). Church’s response (personal correspondence) is considered. (shrink)

Journal of Human Values, Volume 28, Issue 3, Page 181-199, September 2022. The study addresses the challenging crisis of sustainable consumption. It explores the philosophy of Samkhya, which is based on nature and spirit, also found in Vedantic knowledge, and synthesizes it with the knowledge of spiritual well-being found in modern literature to conceptualize the roles of the direct, mediating and moderated mediation relationships of different Vedantic personality types, spiritual well-being and family structure with consciousness for sustainable consumption and its (...) three dimensions of environment, society and economy. Based on the conceptualized roles, different models have been proposed. (shrink)

To counter the imbalance in vaccine distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic, Albertsen and more recently Germaniet alhave suggested a new system of taxation coined as ‘VaxTax’ that would force higher-income countries to fund the access of low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to new vaccines in times of pandemic. I will argue that this idea faces numerous challenges of ethical, sociopolitical and economical nature that may hinder any effort to solve the numerous health challenges that LMICs face. I argue that while (...) it is an interesting idea, it is neither sufficient nor will it ever be easily implemented because of socioeconomic or practical reasons. (shrink)

Alonzo Church famously provided three principal competing criteria for “strict synonymy,” i.e., sameness of semantic content. These are his Alternatives (0), (1), and (2)—numbered in order of increasing course-grainedness of content. On Alternative (2), expressions are deemed strictly synonymous iff they are logically equivalent. This criterion seems hopeless as an account of the objects of propositional attitude. On Alternative (1), expressions are deemed synonymous iff they are λ-convertible. Alternative (1) also evidently conflicts with discourse about the attitudes. On Alternative (0), (...) expressions are deemed strictly synonymous iff they are “synonymously isomorphic” in Church’s sense. On Alternative (0), semantic content is so fine-grained that not even “Romeo loves Juliet” and “Juliet is loved by Romeo” qualify as strictly synonymous. A fourth alternative, here called “Alternative (3),” deems expressions strictly synonymous iff they are co-intensional, i.e., they have the same semantic extension with respect to the same possible worlds. This criterion’s notion of content is even more course grained than that of Alternative (2). Several objections to Alternative (3) are considered. (This article is contained within the author’s more definitive essay, “Singular Concepts”.). (shrink)

This is a non-technical version of "The Decision Problem for Effective Procedures." The “somewhat vague, intuitive” notion from computability theory of an effective procedure (method) or algorithm can be fairly precisely defined, even if it does not have a purely mathematical definition—and even if (as many have asserted) for that reason, the Church–Turing thesis (that the effectively calculable functions on natural numbers are exactly the general recursive functions), cannot be proved. However, it is logically provable from the notion of an (...) effective procedure--without reliance on any (partially) mathematical thesis or conjecture concerning effective procedures, such as the Church–Turing thesis--that the class of effective procedures is undecidable, i.e., that no effective procedure is possible for ascertaining whether a given procedure is effective. The proof does not appeal to a precise definition of ‘effective procedure’. Instead, it relies solely and entirely on a basic grasp of the intuitive notion of such a procedure. Though this undecidability result itself is not surprising, it is also not without significance. It has the consequence, for example, that the solution to a decision problem, if it is to be complete, must be accompanied by a separate argument that the proposed ascertainment procedure is, in fact, a decision procedure, i.e., effective—for example, that it invariably terminates with the correct verdict. (shrink)

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become nearly ubiquitous in modern society, from components of mobile applications to medical support systems, and everything in between. In societally impactful systems imbued with AI, there has been increasing concern related to opaque AI, that is, artificial intelligence where it is unclear how or why certain decisions are reached. This has led to a recent boom in research on “explainable AI” (XAI), or approaches to making AI more explainable and understandable to human users. In the (...) military domain, numerous bodies have argued that autonomous and AI-enabled weapon systems ought not incorporate unexplainable AI, with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United States Department of Defense both explicitly including explainability as a relevant factor in the development and use of such systems. In this article, I present a cautiously critical assessment of this view, arguing that explainability will be irrelevant for many current and near-future autonomous systems in the military (which do not incorporate any AI), that it will be trivially incorporated into most military systems which do possess AI (as these generally possess simpler AI systems), and that for those systems with genuinely opaque AI, explainability will prove to be of more limited value than one might imagine. In particular, I argue that explainability, while indeed a virtue in design, is a virtue aimed primarily at designers and troubleshooters of AI-enabled systems, but is far less relevant for users and handlers actually deploying these systems. I further argue that human–machine teaming is a far more important element of responsibly using AI for military purposes, adding that explainability may undermine efforts to improve human–machine teamings by creating a prima facie sense that the AI, due to its explainability, may be utilized with little (or less) potential for mistakes. I conclude by clarifying that the arguments are not against XAI in the military, but are instead intended as a caution against over-inflating the value of XAI in this domain, or ignoring the limitations and potential pitfalls of this approach. (shrink)

German translation of Nathan Salmon, "The Crux of Frege's Puzzle".

German translation of Nathan Salmon, "How to Become a Millian Heir".

Eine geradezu mythologische Narration des Okzidents besagt, dass der Mensch mit der europäischen Aufklärung begonnen habe, sein Schicksal nicht mehr übergeordneten Instanzen zu überlassen, sondern es im mutigen Vertrauen auf die eigenen Potenzen in die eigene Hand zu nehmen. Mal abgesehen davon, dass dieser Topos vom selbstbestimmten Menschen die Mythologien und Heldenepen zahlreicher, auch nichteuropäischer Kulturen prägt, scheint an der neuzeitlichen europäischen Narration doch zumindest auffällig, ihr Ideal von Selbstwerdung wie auch gesellschaftlicher und individueller Vervollkommnung an die Vorstellung stetigen Fortschritts (...) zu binden. Am Beispiel einiger zentraler hinduistischer Vorstellungen werde ich aus einer kulturpsychologischen Perspektive zu skizzieren versuchen, dass individuelle Perfektionierung auch in kosmologischen Vorstellungen als möglich gedacht werden kann, in denen stetige Auflösung und Zerstörung als Prinzip alles Seins betont werden. Abschließend werden einige knappe Überlegungen dazu angestellt, wie derartige Vorstellungen dazu beitragen können, bestimmte Aspekte gegenwärtiger Gesellschaft und Politik umfassender zu analysieren.Sri Krishna:Ich bin der Tod, der Zerstörer von Welten.[...] Ich bin die Zeit, die Verschwenderin von Völkern. Ich mache den Augenblick reif für ihren Zerfall.Arjuna:Feuergesichtiger, du hauchst die Welten zu Asche. [...] Die furchtbaren Hauer all deiner Münder knirschen. [...] In deinem grausamen Rachen liegen sie alle, auch die Krieger, ihre Häupter zertrümmert.(Verse aus der Bhagavadgita, Kap. 11). (shrink)

Taking psychology and its attempt to deal scientifically with the meaning of culture as an example, this article outlines the meaning of various historiographic narratives of disciplinary self-perception with regard to tensions between the natural and cultural sciences. The thesis postulates that these self-images are of psychological, especially cultural-psychological, importance. Only a psychology that includes aspects of the cultural sciences is able to deal with this vital aspect of the broader field.

In this study, we employed a combination of bibliometric analysis and a structured review approach to examine the social entrepreneurship (SE) research. Our bibliometric analysis involved 2517 articles containing 155,846 references and we analyzed the data in three time periods: 1990–2009, 2010–2014, and 2015–2020 to detect longitudinal trends. This analysis helped us to identify the intellectual foundation of each period and the evolution of the intellectual structure of SE research. We specifically identified 13, 9, and 11 clusters that constituted the (...) philosophical foundations of SE research for the periods 1990–2009, 2010–2014, and 2015–2020 respectively. A longitudinal comparison of three periods helped us to trace the evolution of the intellectual structure of SE research. Further, the structured review, involving 106 recent influential articles, enabled us to identify 10 recent dominant themes of SE research. Building on our bibliometric and structured review approach, we developed an organizing framework for guiding future SE research across six dimensions: ethics, individual, community, collaborative, organizational, and contextual. (shrink)

Frequency selective surface -based intelligent spatial filters are capturing the eyes of the researchers by offering a dynamic behavior when exposed to the electromagnetic radiations. In this manuscript, a concept of creating complementary structures which stems from Babinet’s principle is illustrated. A hybrid complementary pair of FSS comprising double square loop FSS and double square slot FSS on either side of the dielectric substrate is proposed. DSLFSS offers band-pass behavior and can be placed as a superstrate, whereas DSSFSS behaves as (...) a band-stop intelligent spatial filter that blocks the radiations falling on it, thus making them applicable for use as a substrate. The technique utilized for analyzing DSLFSS and DSSFSS structures is based on the equivalent circuit modeling and transmission line methodology. The CPFSS structure offers the design simplicity, hence, suitable for placing them with the printed patch antenna radiators in wireless networking devices operating in sub-6 GHz 5G spectrum. DSLFSS offers band-pass behavior ranging from 2.99 to 5.56 GHz, whereas DSSFSS offers band-stop behavior ranging from 2.85 to 5.42 GHz covering all n77, n78, and n79 bands of FR1 spectrum of sub-6 GHz 5G range. The passband and the stopband offered by the two structures of CPFSS geometry are stable to oblique angles of incidence and the proposed design also offers polarization-independent behavior. The thickness of the dielectric region existing within the pair of designed structures is critical for the location of the passbands and the stopbands. The impact of the overall thickness of the dielectric substrate on the passbands and stopbands is also reported in this article. (shrink)

This article argues that two words in line 8.612 of the Aeneid, promissa and perfecta, have been transposed since the poem's composition, and that the restoration of their correct order yields a preferable sense. This corruption would have happened at an early stage in the poem's transmission, but there is some reason to believe that Servius’ comment on the verse reflects its original state.

Following Lyotard's death in 1998, this book provides an exploration of the recurrent theme of education in his work. It brings to a wider audience the significance of a body of thought about education that is subtle, profound and still largely unexplored. This book also makes an important contribution to contemporary debates on postmodernism and education.

Current discussions of hermeneutical injustice, I argue, poorly characterise the cognitive state of victims by failing to account for the communicative success that victims have when they describe their experience to other similarly situated persons. I argue that victims, especially when they suffer moral wrongs that are yet unnamed, are able (1) to grasp certain salient aspects of the wrong they experience and (2) to cultivate the ability to identify instances of the wrong in virtue of moral emotions. By moral (...) emotions I mean emotions like indignation that reflect an agent’s ethical commitments and bear on her ethical assessments. Further, I argue that victims can impart their partial understanding of the wrong they suffer to others who are not similarly situated by eliciting moral emotions such as pity that are tied to broad notions of justice and fairness. (shrink)

The nature of contemporary issues facing our society and the research being conducted to deal with them clearly crosses the boundaries of traditional academic disciplines. Hence, it is suggested that school education should provide students with trans-disciplinary learning experiences in which students learn to use knowledge from various academic disciplines in an integrated format within the context of specific real-life issues. Trans-disciplinary approaches hold the promise of helping students see real-life issues in an organic rather than fragmented manner and be (...) able to apply knowledge to deal with them in an organic manner. A majority of the contemporary issues facing our society relate to the environment. Hence, environmental issues can serve as excellent organizers for designing trans-disciplinary instructional units. Arguments in favor of organizing trans-disciplinary instruction around contemporary environmental issues and an approach for doing so are presented in this article. (shrink)

The aim of this article was to discuss the modeling and control method of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle. In the process of modeling, mechanism modeling and experimental testing are combined, especially the motor and propeller are modeled in detail. Through the understanding of the body structure and flight principle of the quadrotor UAV, the Newton–Euler method is used to analyze the dynamics of the quadrotor UAV, and the mathematical model of the UAV is established under the small angle rotation. Process (...) identifier is used to control it. First, the attitude angle of the model is controlled by PID, and based on this, the speed in each direction is controlled by PID. Then, the PID control of the four rotor aircraft with the center of gravity offset is simulated by MATLAB. The results show that the pitch angle and roll angle can be controlled by 5 degrees together without center of gravity deviation, and the PID can effectively control the control quantity and achieve the desired effect in a short time. Classical BP algorithm, classical GA-BP algorithm, and improved GA-BP algorithm were trained, respectively, with a total of 150 sets of training data, training function uses Levenberg-Marquardt, and performance function uses mean squared error. In the background of the same noise, the improved GA-BP algorithm has the highest detection rate, classical GA-BP algorithm is the second, and classical BP algorithm is the worst. The simulation results show that the PID control law can effectively control the attitude angle and speed of the rotor UAV in the case of center of gravity deviation. (shrink)

What are we going to do about ChatGPT? Some philosophical reflections and arguments in general opposition to students using ChatGPT.

This book introduces readers to the many arguments and controversies concerning abortion. While it argues for ethical and legal positions on the issues, it focuses on how to think about the issues, not just what to think about them. It is an ideal resource to improve your understanding of what people think, why they think that and whether their (and your) arguments are good or bad, and why. It's ideal for classroom use, discussion groups, organizational learning, and personal reading. -/- (...) From the Preface -/- To many people, abortion is an issue for which discussions and debates are frustrating and fruitless: it seems like no progress will ever be made towards any understanding, much less resolution or even compromise. -/- Judgments like these, however, are premature because some basic techniques from critical thinking, such as carefully defining words and testing definitions, stating the full structure of arguments so each step of the reasoning can be examined, and comparing the strengths and weaknesses of different explanations can help us make progress towards these goals. -/- When emotions run high, we sometimes need to step back and use a passion for calm, cool, critical thinking. This helps us better understand the positions and arguments of people who see things differently from us, as well as our own positions and arguments. And we can use critical thinking skills help to try to figure out which positions are best, in terms of being supported by good arguments: after all, we might have much to learn from other people, sometimes that our own views should change, for the better. -/- Here we use basic critical thinking skills to argue that abortion is typically not morally wrong. We begin with less morally-controversial claims: adults, children and babies are wrong to kill and wrong to kill, fundamentally, because they, we, are conscious, aware and have feelings. We argue that since early fetuses entirely lack these characteristics, they are not inherently wrong to kill and so most abortions are not morally wrong, since most abortions are done early in pregnancy, before consciousness and feeling develop in the fetus. -/- Furthermore, since the right to life is not the right to someone else’s body, fetuses might not have the right to the pregnant woman’s body—which she has the right to—and so she has the right to not allow the fetus use of her body. This further justifies abortion, at least, until technology allows for the removal of fetuses to other wombs. Since morally permissible actions should be legal, abortions should be legal: it is an injustice to criminalizing actions that are not wrong. -/- In the course of arguing for these claims, we: 1. discuss how to best define abortion; 2. dismiss many common “question-begging” arguments that merely assume their conclusions, instead of giving genuine reasons for them; 3. refute some often-heard “everyday arguments” about abortion, on all sides; explain why the most influential philosophical arguments against abortion are unsuccessful; 4. provide some positive arguments that at least early abortions are not wrong; 5. briefly discuss the ethics and legality of later abortions, and more. -/- This essay is not a “how to win an argument” piece or a tract or any kind of apologetics. It is not designed to help anyone “win” debates: everybody “wins” on this issue when we calmly and respectfully engage arguments with care, charity, honesty and humility. This book is merely a reasoned, systematic introduction to the issues that we hope models these skills and virtues. Its discussion should not be taken as absolute “proof” of anything: much more needs to be understood and carefully discussed—always. (shrink)

The justification and rationality of this paper is to present some fundamental principles, theories, and concepts that we believe moulds the nucleus of a good artificial intelligence (AI) society. The morally accepted significance and utilitarian concerns that stems from the inception and realisation of an AI’s structural foundation are displayed in this study. This paper scrutinises the structural foundation, fundamentals, and cardinal righteous remonstrations, as well as the gaps in mechanisms towards novel prospects and perils in determining resilient fundamentals, accountability, (...) and AI’s convoluted and responsible implications. We outline a number of salient and practical benefits, in which to place moral norms within the mise en scène of AI, to delineate the rudimentary ethical dilemmas and decorous directions within the realms of AI. (shrink)

If the laws of nature are metaphysically necessary, then it appears that miracles are metaphysically impossible. Yet Locke accepts both Essentialism, which takes the laws to be metaphysically necessary, and the possibility of miracles. I argue that the apparent conflict here can be resolved if the laws are by themselves insufficient for guaranteeing the outcome of a particular event. This suggests that, on Locke’s view, the laws of nature entail how an object would behave absent divine intervention. While other views (...) of laws also make miracles counterfactually dependent on God’s will, I show how this view is consistent with the Essentialist commitment to the view that the laws are metaphysically necessary. Further, I argue Locke’s view is a relatively attractive version of Essentialism, in part, because it allows for the possibility of miracles. (shrink)

Discussions of political obligation and political authority have long focused on the idea that the commands of genuine authorities constitute content-independent reasons. Despite its centrality in these debates, the notion of content-independence is unclear and controversial, with some claiming that it is incoherent, useless, or increasingly irrelevant. I clarify content-independence by focusing on how reasons can depend on features of their source or container. I then solve the long-standing puzzle of whether the fact that laws can constitute content-independent reasons is (...) consistent with the fact that some laws must fail to bind due to their egregiously unjust content. Finally I defend my understanding of content-independence against challenges and show why it retains a place of special importance for questions about the law and political obligation. Content-independence highlights that it is some feature of the law or law-making process in general that is supposed to generate moral obligations for citizens, not the merits of particular laws. (shrink)

The aim of this chapter is to explain why Locke thinks religious belief requires evidence and, on his view, what evidence there is for religious belief. I will explain and defend Locke’s view that revelation can provide evidence for religious beliefs so long as there is evidence that God revealed it. Further, I will show how he takes the historical evidence of the miracles of Jesus as justification for belief in Christianity.

Hume famously argues that the laws of nature provide us with decisive reason to believe that any testimony of a miracle is false. In this paper, I argue that the laws of nature, as such, give us no reason at all to believe that the testimony of a miracle is false. I first argue that Hume’s proof is unsuccessful if we assume the Humean view of laws, and then I argue that Hume’s proof is unsuccessful even if we assume the (...) governing view of laws. I conclude that regardless of which kind of view we adopt, the fact that a miracle is a violation of the laws of nature does not give us any reason to believe it did not happen. (shrink)