For J. Brown the essential feature of thought experiments is that they mobilize our intuition; the way they teach positive lessons to cognizers is by means of the intuition mobilized. The paper presents a problem for Brown with the help of a famous TE as counterexample. It argues that Berkeley’s master argument is a philosophical thought experiment that lacks a feature typical of platonic thought experiments -- intuitive grasp. If Berkeley’s argument is a thought experiment,as I’ve attempted to show, then (...) we have a counterexample to Brown’s view that thought experiments are not arguments. (shrink)

The paper concentrates on issues of intentionality subdivided into four particular sub-issues. First, is there an intentional object of depression and of states like depression? Second, according to the strong intentionalist view defended by T. Crane, what it is like to be in a mental state is fixed by the mental state’s mode and its content; but mode is not sufficiently well-defined in his analysis. Third, how can the intentionalist explain phenomenological richness of conscious mental states? Crane appeals to non-conceptual (...) content. But in order to have such and such a content, e.g. such and such a pain, one has to recognize it on some later occasion, i.e. to be able to discriminate pains. But, discrimination brings us to concepts. It turns out that non-conceptual content is in fact just a non-linguistic or not yet lexicalized concept. Namely, in order to be re-identifiable, a pain must have a determinate and recognizable sharpness, continuity, and intensity. These are traditionally properties of a pain quale. A quale is also recognizable, it explains richness of experience, and it does not require language capability. The question is what is it that quale and non-conceptual content do not share? What sets one apart from the other? Fourth, what is the relation between the intentional object and content? (shrink)

The paper discusses Rey’s projectivism. It offers an argument against it and in favor of the reliability of introspection. In short, if it is fallible, then at least sometimes it has to be veridical. Therefore, introspection can’t be systematically deceptive. But then, some introspective beliefs are true and at least some phenomenal conscious states exist.

The paper concentrates on issues of intentionality subdivided into four particular sub-issues. First, is there an intentional object of depression and of states like depression? Second, according to the strong intentionalist view defended by T. Crane, what it is like to be in a mental state is fixed by the mental state’s mode and its content; but mode is not sufficiently well-defined in his analysis. Third, how can the intentionalist explain phenomenological richness of conscious mental states? Crane appeals to non-conceptual (...) content. But in order to have such and such a content, e.g. such and such a pain, one has to recognize it on some later occasion, i.e. to be able to discriminate pains. But, discrimination brings us to concepts. It turns out that non-conceptual content is in fact just a non-linguistic or not yet lexicalized concept. Namely, in order to be re-identifiable, a pain must have a determinate and recognizable sharpness, continuity, and intensity. These are traditionally properties of a pain quale. A quale is also recognizable, it explains richness of experience, and it does not require language capability. The question is what is it that quale and non-conceptual content do not share? What sets one apart from the other? Fourth, what is the relation between the intentional object and content? (shrink)

I reply to a number of papers (published in Croatian Journal of Philosophy 7 [2007], 29-92 and in this issue) that stem from a conference in Rijeka on thought experinlents. These are papers by Ana Butković, Dave Davies, Boris Grozdanoff, Dunja Jutronić, Nenad Miščević, Ksenija Puškarić, and Irina Starikova. Their criticisms of my views are diverse, but one theme, perhaps inevitably, dominates the criticisms: the unworkability of my Platonism. I try to defend this and to adequately answer other criticisms, (...) as well. (shrink)

To assess the prevalence of plagiarism in manuscripts submitted for publication in the Croatian Medical Journal (CMJ). All manuscripts submitted in 2009–2010 were analyzed using plagiarism detection software: eTBLAST , CrossCheck, and WCopyfind . Plagiarism was suspected in manuscripts with more than 10% of the text derived from other sources. These manuscripts were checked against the Déjà vu database and manually verified by investigators. Of 754 submitted manuscripts, 105 (14%) were identified by the software as suspicious of plagiarism. Manual verification (...) confirmed that 85 (11%) manuscripts were plagiarized: 63 (8%) were true plagiarism and 22 (3%) were self-plagiarism. Plagiarized manuscripts were mostly submitted from China (21%), Croatia (14%), and Turkey (19%). There was no significant difference in the text similarity rate between plagiarized and self-plagiarized manuscripts (25% [95% CI 22–27%] vs. 28% [95% CI 20–33%]; U = 645.50; P = 0.634). Differences in text similarity rate were found between various sections of self-plagiarized manuscripts (H = 12.65, P = 0.013). The plagiarism rate in the Materials and Methods (61% (95% CI 41–68%) was higher than in the Results (23% [95% CI 17–36%], U = 33.50; P = 0.009) or Discussion (25.5 [95% CI 15–35%]; U = 57.50; P < 0.001) sections. Three authors were identified in the Déjà vu database. Plagiarism detection software combined with manual verification may be used to detect plagiarized manuscripts and prevent their publication. The prevalence of plagiarized manuscripts submitted to the CMJ , a journal dedicated to promoting research integrity, was 11% in the 2-year period 2009–2010. (shrink)

The aim of this study was to assess nurses’ and physicians’ ethical dilemmas in clinical practice. Nurses and physicians of the Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka were surveyed (N = 364). A questionnaire was used to identify recent ethical dilemma, primary ethical issue in the situation, satisfaction with the resolution, perceived usefulness of help, and usage of clinical ethics consultations in practice. Recent ethical dilemmas include professional conduct for nurses (8%), and near-the-end-of-life decisions for physicians (27%). The main ethical issue is (...) limiting life-sustaining therapy (nurses 15%, physicians 24%) and euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (nurses 16%, physicians 9%). The types of help available are similar for nurses and physicians: obtaining complete information about the patient (37% vs. 50%) and clarifying ethical issues (31% vs. 39%). Nurses and physicians experience similar ethical dilemmas in clinical practice. The usage of clinical ethics consultations is low. It is recommended that the individual and team consultations should be introduced in Croatian clinical ethics consultations services. (shrink)

The pointwise ergodic theorem is nonconstructive. In this paper, we examine origins of this non-constructivity, and determine the logical strength of the theorem and of the auxiliary statements used to prove it. We discuss properties of integrable functions and of measure preserving transformations and give three proofs of the theorem, though mostly focusing on the one derived from the mean ergodic theorem. All the proofs can be carried out in ACA₀; moreover, the pointwise ergodic theorem is equivalent to (ACA) over (...) the base theory RCA₀. (shrink)

Glavni je cilj ovoga rada usporediti što se o farizejima može doznati iz izvanbiblijskih izvora, s onime što se može doznati iz naracije u Mk 1,21-3,35, s ciljem da se postavi povijesni temelj za Markov izvještaj. Prvi dio prikazuje povijesno dostupnu građu sa zaključkom da je ambivalentna, dok se u drugom dijelu prikazuje razvoj konflikta između Isusa i farizeja, koji na kraju osvjetljuje povijesne činjenice prema zaključku da je Markov opis farizeja povijesno plauzibilan te time Markovo evanđelje može doprinijeti povijesnoj (...) diskusiji o farizejima. Rad je stoga podijeljen na dva glavna dijela. Prvi, povijesni dio, bavi se pokušajem rekonstrukcije odnosa Isusa i farizeja na temelju povijesti, a drugi, egzegetski, na temelju naracijske kritike razgrađuje povijest i kerigmu. The main purpose of this paper is to compare the facts about the Pharisees that we learn from extra-biblical sources against the facts we learn from the narrative in Mk 1:21-3:35, with the purpose of setting a historical foundation for Mark’s account. In the first section we show the available historical accounts and we conclude it to be ambivalent, while in the second section we portray the developing conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees, which in turn sheds light on historical facts in line with the conclusion that Mark’s description of the Pharisees is historically plausible, and that because of this Mark’s Gospel can be used for its contribution to the historical discussion about the Pharisees. The paper is divided into two sections. The first, historical, section deals with the attempt to reconstruct the relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees based on historical data, and the second, exegetic section, uses narrative criticism to develop the history and the kerygma. (shrink)

This chapter presents findings on a study of neuropsychological aspects of visual hallucinations with a focus on hallucinations in Parkinson's disease. The results of the study suggest that VHs in PD are a complex multifactor effect of different risk factors, primarily the dysfunctions of the visual system and the system that regulates rapid eye movement sleep and arousal. The study reported here also investigated whether the same risk factors are implicated in proneness to VHs as they are in VHs in (...) PD. The results suggest that the predisposition to VHs in the healthy young population is a multifactor effect of strikingly similar risk factors to those found in PD. However, in addition to the dysfunctions of the visual and arousal system, proneness to hallucinations in the normal population is also predicted by a specific personality profile. (shrink)

The political significance of Mitteleuropa has grown in that much of it is now within the EU. Mitteleuropa is a discourse; it is not just a semantic term or a label to refer to a geopolitical region in which power and culture are interwined. Although people may identify with it, it is not primarily a term of identity but a cultural mode of interpretation. It can be called, along with other concepts of Europe, a conflicting field of interpretation. The concept (...) reflects a civilizational context based on imperial models of modernity and cosmopolitan cultural resonances. Europe is an ongoing cultural battleground and the idea of Mitteleuropa is a reminder of a shift to the margins and the emergence of a multiperspectival Europe along with new notions of geopolitical space and historical-time consciousness. (shrink)