We discuss the case against Factorism, which is the standard assumption in quantum mechanics that the labels of the $$\otimes$$ ⊗ -factor Hilbert-spaces in direct-product Hilbert-spaces of composite physical systems of similar particles refer to particles, either directly or descriptively. We distinguish different versions of Factorism and argue for their truth or falsehood. In particular, by introducing the concepts of snapshot Hilbert-space and Schrödinger-movie, we demonstrate that there are Hilbert-spaces and $$\otimes$$ ⊗ -factorisations where the labels do refer, even descriptively, (...) to similar particles, which renders them probabilistically absolutely discernible. (shrink)

The first clinical ethics committees in Norway were established in 1996. This started as an initiative from hospital clinicians, the Norwegian Medical Association, and health authorities and politicians. Norwegian hospitals are, by and large, publicly funded through taxation, and all inpatient treatment is free of charge. Today, all the 23 hospital trusts have established at least one committee. Center for Medical Ethics , University of Oslo, receives an annual amount of US$335,000 from the Ministry of Health and Care Services to (...) coordinate the committees and to facilitate competency building for committee members. (shrink)

This article is a translation into english of a lecture given by paneth in 1931. The content of the work is described by the section titles: (1) the need for epistemological clarification of the fundamental concepts of chemistry, (2) the concept of substance in chemistry, (3) the epistemological standpoint of the ancient atomists, (4) the epistemological position of the concept of element introduced by lavoisier, (5) the double meaning of the chemical concept of element: 'basic substance' and 'simple substance', And (...) (6) the double meaning of other chemical concepts. Sections (4)-(6) are published in the following number of this journal. (staff). (shrink)

In his 2009 PSA Recent Ph.D. Award winning contribution to the bi-annual PSA Conference at Pittsburgh in 2008, C. Wu ̈thrich mounted an argument against struc- turalism about space-time in the context of the General Theory of Relativity, to the effect that structuralists cannot discern space-time points. An “abysmal embarrass- ment” for the structuralist, Wu ̈thrich judged. Wu ̈thrich’s characterisation of space-time structuralism is however incorrect. We demonstrate how, on the basis of a correct char- acterisation of space-time structuralism, it (...) is possible to discern space-time points in the GTR-structures under consideration. Thus Wu ̈thrich’s argument crumbles. (shrink)

On the History of Modern Philosophy is a key transitional text in the history of European philosophy. In it, F. W. J. Schelling surveys philosophy from Descartes to German Idealism and shows why the Idealist project is ultimately doomed to failure. The lectures trace the path of philosophy from Descartes through Spinoza, Leibniz, Kant, Fichte, Jacobi, to Hegel and Schelling's own work. The extensive critiques of Hegel prefigure many of the arguments to be found in Feuerbach, Kierkegaard, Marx, Nietzsche, Heidegger, (...) and Derrida. This is the first English translation of On the History of Modern Philosophy. In his introduction Andrew Bowie sets the work in the context of Schelling's career and clarifies its philosophical issues. The translation will be of special interest to philosophers, intellectual historians, literary theorists, and theologians. (shrink)

Reviewed Works:G. Priest, R. Routley, Graham Priest, Richard Routley, Jean Norman, First Historical Introduction. A Preliminary History of Paraconsistent and Dialethic Approaches.Ayda I. Arruda, Aspects of the Historical Development of Paraconsistent Logic.G. Priest, R. Routley, Systems of Paraconsistent Logic.G. Priest, R. Routley, Applications of Paraconsistent Logic.G. Priest, R. Routley, The Philosophical Significance and Inevitability of Paraconsistency.

This is a book about the philosophy of Henri Bergson which shows how relevant Bergson is to much contemporary philosophy. The book takes as its point of departure Bergson's insistence on precision in philosophy. It then discusses a variety of topics including laughter, the nature of time as experienced, how intelligence and language should be construed as a pragmatic product of evolution, and the antinomies of reason represented by magic and religion. This is not just another exposition of Bergson's work. (...) It offers an account of why Bergson commanded such a massive reading public in his own day and why he deserves to be read now. Written in a terse and clear style, this book will prove appealing to teachers and students of philosophy, cognitive science, psychology, religious studies and literature. (shrink)

The highly sophisticated techniques of modern engineering are normally conceived of in practical terms. Corresponding to the instrumental function of technology, they are designed to direct the forces of nature according to human purposes. Yet, as soon as the realm of mere skills is exceeded, the intended useful results can only be achieved through planned and preconceived action processes involving the deliberately considered application of well designed tools and devices. This is to say that in all complex cases theoretical reasoning (...) becomes an indispensable means to accomplish the pragmatic technological aims. Hence the abstracting from the actual concrete function of technology opens the way to concentrate attention on the general conceptual framework involved. If this approach is adopted the relevant knowledge and the procedures applied clearly exhibit a logic of their own. This point of view leads to a methodological and even an epistemological analysis of the theoretical structure and the specific methods of procedure characteristic of modern technology. Investigations of this kind, that can be described as belonging to an ana lytical philosophy of technology, form the topic of this anthology. The type of research in question here is closely akin to that of the philosophy of science. But it is an astonishing fact that the commonly accepted and carefully investigated philosophy of science has not yet found its counterpart in an established philosophy of technology. (shrink)

Tradition in either of its two senses—the act of handing on , and what is handed on—is a particular instance of a law of human existence that men live in dependence on one another and by the processes of giving and receiving. So a sociologist can write, ‘If we are able to speak of real tradition, we must find the past spontaneously taken into account as the meaning of the present, without any discontinuity of social time, and without any consideration (...) of the past as irrelevant’ . ‘If democracy’, wrote Chesterton, ‘means that I give a man a vote even though he is my chauffeur, tradition means that I give a man a vote even though he is my great-great-grandfather’. What is handed on, however, is not existence of a purely biological kind, to remain always what it has been or to change very slowly over a space of aeons. Except in primitive tribes even tradition is not simply passed on as something static and timeless, and it is received by men who, though themselves in time, are not totally time-bound or restricted by what they receive. They believe themselves to be capable of significant action which is more than the repetition and reproduction of what has gone before. They are able to grasp a span of time and to call it history; they believe themselves to have a history, and they write history. (shrink)

Reviewed by F. PATRAS, Laboratoire J.-A. Dieudonné, Université Côte d'Azur and CNRS, Nice, France. [email protected] those who are interested in Husserl’s philosophy of mathematics and its links w...

Der Beschreibung der zeitlichen Entwicklung lebender Systeme kann eine reine Differentialanalyse nicht genügen. In solchen Fällen muss man sich an Stelle der gewöhnlichen Differentialgleichungen der integraldifferentiellen, bezw. der Integralgleichungen bedienen. Zur leichteren Veranschaulichung der mathematischen Darstellung betrachtet Verfasser zuerst diejenigen Systeme, deren innerer Zustand sich durch ein einziges Parameterc bestimmen lässt. Die zeitliche Entwicklung eines leblosen Systems dieser Klasse werde durch die Differentialgleichung $$\frac{{dc}}{{dt}} = kf...$$ dargestellt, wot=Zeit, undk eine Funktion der äusseren Parameterα, Β, γ. ist. Im Falle eines jeden (...) Systems sind die äusseren Parameterα, Β, γ. charakteristische individuelle Funktionen der Zeit. Misst manc am. Zeitpunktt, so lässt sich die Zukunft des Systems vermittelst der Gleichung berechnen, wenn die zukünftigen Werte der äusseren Parameter gegeben sind. Solche Systeme nennt Verfasser nicht-historische Systeme. Im Falle der lebenden Systeme werde die zeitliche Entwicklung durch die Integral-differentialgleichung $$\frac{{dc}}{{dt}} = k_1 f_1 + \mathop \smallint \limits_{t - \lambda }^t k_2 f_2 dt........$$ dargestellt, wof 1 undf 2 Funktionen des Zustandsparametersc, undk 1 undk 2 Funktionen der äusseren Parameter sind. Das Zeitintegral erstreckt sich auf das vergangene Zeitintervalt-λ →t, woλ einen positiven endlichen konstanten Wert besitzt. Diese Systeme nennt Verfasser historische Systeme. Setzt manH für das darin enthaltene Integralglied, so verwandelt sich die Gleichung in: $$\frac{{dc}}{{dt}} = k_1 f_1 + H..........$$ Misst man nunc am Zeitpunktt, so kann man in diesem Fall die Zukunft des Systems ohne Kenntnis des historischen GliedsH nicht berechnen. Das Vorkommen des historischen IntegralgliedsH nennt Verfasser Chronoholismus. Man kann deshalb die historischen Systeme auch chronoholistische Systeme nennen. Die biologische Interpretation dieser Betrachtungsweise wird vom Verfasser diskutiert, und die Gleichung auf Systeme mit erblichen Eigenschaften ausgedehnt. Es werden zuletzt Systeme mit vielen Zustandsparametern in gewissen einfachen Fällen kurz behandelt. L'analyse différentielle ne suffit pas, selon l'avis de de l'auteur, pour la description de l'évolution des systèmes vivants au cours des temps. Il faut utiliser dans ces cas les équations intégro-différentielles ou intégrales. Pour faciliter le traÎtement mathématique, on peut considérer d'abord les systèmes dont l'état intérieur est défini par un seul paramètrec. L'évolution d'un système inanimé de cette classe se laisse décrire par l'équation différentielle $$\frac{{dc}}{{dt}} = k f,...........$$ oùt=temps, etk est une fonction déterminée des paramètres extérieurs α,Β, γ. Si l'on connaÎtc à un temps donnét, l'état du système à un temps futurt′ se laisse prévoir au moyen de l'équation, quand les valeurs des paramètres extérieurs dans l'intervallet → t∼' sont fixées. L'auteur appelle les systèmes de cette classe des systèmes non-historiques. Pour les systèmes vivants, il faut se servir, selon l'avis de l'auteur, des équations intégro-différentielles. Pour les systèmes définis par un seul paramètrec, on peut se servir, par exemple, de l'équation $$\frac{{dc}}{{dt}} = k_1 f_1 + \mathop \smallint \limits_{t - \lambda }^t k_2 f_2 dt........$$ où k1 et k2 sont des fonctions déterminées des paramètres extérieurs. L'intégrale s'étend sur l'intervallet-λ→ t où λ est positif et constant. En indiquant le terme intégral par le symboleH, on peut écrire $$\frac{{dc}}{{dt}} = k_1 f_1 + H..........$$ La connaissance de c à un temps donnét ne laisse pas prévoir l'état du système à un temps futurt′ sans connaissance du terme historiqueH, quand mÊme les paramètres α, Β, γ,..., seraient des fonctions déterminées du temps dans l'intervallet→t′. L'auteur appelle l'existence du terme intégral historiqueH le chronoholisme. On peut appeler les systèmes de cette classe des systèmes historiques ou chronoholistiques. L'interprétation biologique de cette faÇon de traÎter les systèmes vivants est discutée par l'auteur, qui étend l'équation pour le faire représenter aussi les propriétés héréditaires des Êtres vivants. Quelques cas de systèmes dont l'état intérieur est défini par plusieurs paramètres et plusieurs phases sont traités brièvement. (shrink)

The general context of this paper is the locality problem in quantum theory. In a recent issue of this journal, Redei (1991) offered a proof of the proposition that algebraic Lorentz-covariant quantum field theory is past stochastic Einstein local. We show that Redei's proof is either spurious or circular, and that it contains two deductive fallacies. Furthermore, we prove that the mentioned theory meets the stronger condition of stochastic Haag locality.

Diagnostic errors are more frequently a result of the clinician's failure to combine medical knowledge adequately than of data inaccuracy. Diagnostic reasoning studies are valuable to understand and improve diagnostic reasoning. However, most diagnostic reasoning studies are characterized by some limitations which make these studies seem more simple than diagnostic reasoning in real life situations actually is. These limitations are connected both to the failure to acknowledge components of knowledge used in clinical practice as well as to acknowledge the physician-patient (...) relationship's influence on clinical knowledge and on the reasoning process itself. In addition the modes of reasoning described in these studies frequently is oversimplified. In this paper three simplistic and competing models of diagnostic reasoning are analyzed and criticized, followed by an evaluation of two alternative models proposing a combined view. (shrink)

Exploring the connection between Bentham and Byron forged by the Greek struggle for independence, this book focuses on the activities of the London Greek Committee, supposedly founded by disciples of Jeremy Bentham, which mounted the expedition on which Lord Byron ultimately met his death in Greece. Rosen's penetrating study provides a new assessment of British philhellenism and examines for the first time the relationship between Bentham's theory of constitutional government and the emerging liberalism of the 1820s. Breaking new ground in (...) the history of political ideas and culture in the early nineteenth century, Rosen advances striking new interpretations based on recently published texts and manuscript sources of the development of constitutional theory from Locke and Montesquieu, the conflicting strands of liberalism in the 1820s, and the response in Britain to strong claims for national self-determination in the Mediterranean basin. He sets out to distinguish between Bentham's theory and the ideological context against which it is usually interpreted. (shrink)

With the increased rate of the Turkish medical brain drain (MDB) in recent years, there is a need for more comprehensive studies to elucidate its vague migratory factors. The aim of this paper is to try to narrow that gap by analyzing present impacts of the MDB in Turkey and to evaluate if these aspects were driven by professional ethical values, and if so, what ethical principles they were based on. In-depth interviews were conducted with 19 doctors from various backgrounds, (...) followed by a thematic analysis. The MDB in Turkey demonstrated a multifactorial structure, with prominent push factors that are intertwined at macro-meso-micro levels. The effort to maintain the principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, and protecting professional autonomy were the most important in the context of professional ethics. Only deep-rooted regulations might ensure the prevention of the MDB in Turkey and the prospect of doctors returning in the future. Conclusively, the recent criticisms the MDB has been garnering may inspire improvements in deteriorating human and health rights in Turkey. (shrink)