Diagreement, Internalism and Genuine Assertions of PPTs

The problem of lost disagreement is seen as a problem for contextualists when it comes to providing an account of predicates of personal taste (further referred to as PPTs). If Mary says, “The chili is tasty� and John says “The chili is not tasty� we would take there to be a disagreement between them. However, if what Mary means is “The chili is tasty [for Mary]� and what John means is “The chili is not tasty [for John]� then it seems like the disagreement between them simply vanishes. Peter Lasersohn argues that the problem of lost disagreement causes intractable problems for contextualists who appeal to speaker indexicalism or group indexicalism in explaining how PPTs function. Contra Lasersohn, Michael Glanzberg believes that contextualists are able to provide an account of PPTs that is able to skirt around the problem of lost disagreement. However, a problem remains for Glanzberg in that the only disagreement his account allows for arises in cases where both speakers are not making genuine assertions of PPTs. In order to show where Glanzberg’s account goes wrong, I use the work of R.M. Hare to motivate an account of the nature of genuine assertions of PPTs that is based on motivational judgment internalism. After arguing why we should accept such an account of genuine assertions of PPTs, I then go on to show why Glanzberg’s account does not give us disagreement in cases involving them. Viewed in such a way, we find that Glanzberg has not given us a contextualist account that can overcome the challenge posed by Lasersohn

Conductive Polymeric Fillers in Polyethylene for the Preparation of Novel Conductive Plastics

Polyethylene (PE) has become an essential material in industry, primarily due to its exceptional durability and versatility. These useful properties have sparked further innovations of PE in the hopes of addressing increasingly complex issues. Current limitations on PE include an inability to transport charge in any capacity, therefore the development electrically conductive plastic blends are of great interests. To address these limitations, the use of conjugated polymers as conductive fillers in thermoplastics has been investigated due to their low cost, synthetic ease and versatility, and excellent electrical properties when doped. Doping is defined as the controlled addition of impurities to a material in order to increase its conductivity. This method is widely used on inorganic compounds such as silicon to build current electronics and has recently been extended to organic polymers such as poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT). Through the addition of the p-type dopant 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4TCNQ) to a solution of P3HT, the conductivity of conjugated polymers can be increased by several orders of magnitude, which is necessary to maintain charge transport when blending with insulators such as polyethylene. Our design uses doped P3HT and DPP-based polymers blended with linear polyethylene to create a plastic material capable of dissipating charge. This presentation will cover our strategy for blending and doping conjugated polymers, material characterization, and applications

Insight Into Project Insight: A Textual Analysis of Captain America: The Winter Soldier

This paper employs textual analysis to critically examine how the film Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) represents post-9/11 surveillance technologies and techniques in light of the Edward Snowden revelations regarding data collection and analytics, the role of digital technologies in surveillance, and the sacrifice of democratic rights. It does this by employing David Lyon’s book Surveillance After Snowden (2015) to highlight core narrative points and scenic elements of the film that depict how surveillance is framed exclusively in terms of governmental surveillance practices, specifically drawing connections between the NSA and S.H.I.E.L.D. Focusing on narrative aspects of the film such as character motivations, and technical aspects such as pre-emptive analytics, data doubles and digital technologies, this project examines how Captain America: The Winter Soldier frames surveillance in terms such as freedom versus fear, the suspension of the presumption of innocence, set against the development of a ubiquitous and ambient digital surveillance infrastructure. This paper examines how the film mispresents the accuracy of pre-emptive analytics, excludes the role of corporate social media, and glosses over the dangers of digital surveillance to a democratic society by framing the central concern of digital surveillance as who is controlling “the switch.

The Psychedelic Dasein: Modelling the Effects of Psilocybin with Heidegger’s Phenomenology

This paper argues that the mystical experience induced by psilocybin (understood through the tradition of Heideggerian phenomenology) modulates the attuned understanding of oneself, the world, and how the individual relates to the world. This kind of particular experience is not accessible to the individual through ordinary consciousness, therefore psilocybin may give us access to a new kind of understanding. This understanding may offer a solution to the empirical deficiencies surrounding the short-term and long-term effects of psilocybin, such as how a meagre two to three high doses have yielded unprecedented results in the treatment of tobacco addiction, and in the treatment of depression and anxiety in terminally ill patients. The consensus in the literature suggests that it is not solely the molecular and physiological mechanisms responsible for the results. In addition to the physiological mechanisms, a mystical experience associated with it must be present, without which the long-term effects are not catalyzed. Scientific explanations are limited in explaining the relationship between attuned understanding, the individual, and the world, but conversely, phenomenology does, hence why it may be a better method of analysis. The argument made posits that the mystical experience enables one to reconstitute oneself at an ontological level shows that the work of Heidegger should be applied to ameliorate the empirical deficiency as a potential tentative framework for understanding its broader phenomenal mode of action. The primary reason for this is that Heidegger’s work describes an analogous mechanism concerning modes of attunement which may shift our totality of relevance and the context of our understanding and the meaning of the contents of our lives. This paper concludes that Heidegger’s phenomenology can offer a new explanation of how psilocybin works at the phenomenal level

Focus on Great Lakes Water Quality (ISSN 0711-0855): vol.9 iss.2

E. Richmond Olson (Canadian . Commissioner) spoke about the differences between this meeting and those of the past, and outlined the reasons for change. This meeting represents a radical departure in format from earlier ones, both in location and format. A conversational discussion is proposed rather than simply presenting the reports of the Boards, as in earlier meetings. Here also, copies of the (1983) reports were sent for your consideration in advance of this meeting

Dysregulated Sphingolipid Expression in Diabetic Myopathy

N/ABackground: Features of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) include impaired skeletal muscle regenerative capacity and accumulation of muscle lipids; however, the influence of lipids remains unknown in regenerating skeletal muscle with T1DM. This study assessed the lipid response in regenerating skeletal muscle following injury. Methods: Wild-type (WT) and T1DM (Akita) mice (n=5) received cardiotoxin (CTX) injections into the left tibialis anterior which were harvested at 5-days post-injury, cryosectioned, and stained to visualize lipids. To determine sphingolipid and enzyme concentrations, WT (n=22) and Akita (n=21) mice received CTX injections into the left quadriceps and gastrocnemius-plantaris-soleus complex which were harvested at 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-days post-injury (n=4-6). Sphingolipids and enzyme levels were analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and Western Blotting, respectively. Results: Akita mice displayed increased lipid deposition in injured muscle as compared to uninjured muscle and both conditions of WT muscle. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) was elevated in injured muscle as compared to uninjured muscle at 5 days post-injury; however, this response was blunted in Akita muscle. Sphingosine lyase (SL) expression was elevated in Akita injured muscle with no changes in sphingosine kinase or ERK1/2 expression. Ceramide-1-phosphate (C1P) was elevated in Akita muscle at 5 days post-injury; however, no differences were detected for ceramide kinase (CerK). Conclusion: These data indicate that at early time points, skeletal muscle regeneration is impaired in T1DM due to accelerated S1P breakdown and accumulation of C1P. The increase in C1P, despite the absence of CerK, change suggests an alternate pathway of ceramide phosphorylation in regenerating muscle

Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine

We posed the research question: can the physical connection, developed through the method of contact, strengthen the psychological relationship between two actors

Refuting the Sharing Economy: An Examination of Mainstream and Critical Perspectives

This Major Research Paper analyzes dominant corporate narratives of the sharing economy, as well as offers a critical perspective to the key tenants of this new economic model. The study focuses on answering the following question: To what extent does the municipal government of Toronto’s Sharing Economy webpage provide a favourable representation of the sharing economy, one that aligns closely with the dominant corporate narrative? With a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of The City of Toronto’s Sharing Economy webpage found within the Policy, Research, Public Consultation and Events section of their website, this research aims to obtain an in-depth understanding of the extent to which the dominant corporate narrative is embedded within this municipal government’s portrayal of the sharing economy

Unorthodox Orthodoxy: Why There is no ‘Right’ Way to do Religion

Critical Reflections Submission 2018 “Unorthodox Orthodoxy: Why There is no ‘Right’ Way to do Religion� By: Ashley Ruby, B.A. (Religious Studies) Candidate: Master of Philosophy (Humanities) – Memorial University of Newfoundland An integral branch of philosophy is that of philosophical theology, a branch both heavily contributed to, and hotly contested by philosophers and clergy for millennia. Many religious leaders have exclaimed that the use of philosophical thinking in theology leads to corrupt beliefs and practices while others, such as Augustine have argued that a via-media approach to theology and philosophy can be both useful non-heretical. These arguments themselves have continued for thousands of years, the philosophical side demanding logic while the religious side demanding faith, proclaiming that applying logic to an illogical God would lead to chaos, encourage doubt, and bring about unorthodoxy en masse. The term “orthodoxy,� in Christian theology, refers to “right� or “correct� belief. By this definition, we can assume that a Christian who considers themselves to be orthodox is one who believes, unwaveringly, in the set of beliefs articulated for them by their church or other governing religious body. Orthodoxy and orthopraxy are sometimes convoluted into one, with the former referring solely to belief while the latter defines physical practices such as prayer and ritual. For the purposes of this argument, this paper will focus on orthodoxy alone. The idea that one belief pertaining to an untouchable, un-seeable, long-silent God can be labelled as “right� while another wrong is widely held, despite the fact that both scripture and doctrine are scribed by mortal hands. This concept of orthodoxy permeates history to the point that Jesus himself was executed on charges of radical unorthodoxy (blasphemy and sedition). Though a far-reaching and ancient concept, this paper aims to argue that the concept of orthodoxy, of dictated right and wrong beliefs, is completely non-existent. This research supports its claim using methods of philosophical theology as well as the lack of scriptural support for many Christian rituals and practices (such as the Holy Rosary), lack of coherence among books, verses, authors, and translations of the Holy Bible, and the fact that God himself has had no say in any of these matters to begin with with the last instance of God directly and verbally interacting with a human occurring in the Old Testament. This paper will attempt to make orthodoxy, as a term to be applied universally, obsolete, and instead solidify the true essence of orthodoxy, which is in reality a personal and unique pattern of belief for each and every human being. In short, orthodoxy is not something that can be spelled out by one person to be obeyed by all persons, but something that exists only between the individual and God, and that individual, unwritten, doctrine that God has inscribed on the heart of each person is different, for Christians and non-Christians alike. God is universal and yet personal. As such, the concept of orthodoxy is abstract and impossible to define in a universal sense. The concept simply does not exist. Key Words Theology Philosophical theology Orthodoxy Biblical studies Source criticism Augustine Justin Marty