55,851 research outputs found
Singular Thought: The Division of Explanatory Labor
A tacit assumption in the literature devoted to singular thought is that singular thought constitutes a unitary phenomenon, and so a correct account of it must encompass all instances. In this essay, I argue against such a unitary account. The superficial feature of singularity might result from ver y different deep-level phenomena. Following Taylor (2010) and Crane (2013), I distinguish between the referential fitness and the referential success of a thought. I argue that facts responsible for referential fitness (e.g., mental files or individual concepts), as well as facts responsible for referential success (e.g., acquaintance conditions on referential success), are relevant in explaining the data pertaining to a theory of singular thought. What makes this approach particularly attractive is that there are good independent reasons to introduce both kinds of facts in theorizing about thought
Towards a theory of singular thought about abstract mathematical objects
This essay uses a mental files theory of singular thoughtâa theory saying that singular thought about and reference to a particular object requires possession of a mental store of information taken to be about that objectâto explain how we could have such thoughts about abstract mathematical objects. After showing why we should want an explanation of this I argue that none of three main contemporary mental files theories of singular thoughtâacquaintance theory, semantic instrumentalism, and semantic cognitivismâcan give it. I argue for two claims intended to advance our understanding of singular thought about mathematical abstracta. First, that the conditions for possession of a file for an abstract mathematical object are the same as the conditions for possessing a file for an object perceived in the pastânamely, that the agent retains information about the object. Thus insofar as we are able to have memory-based files for objects perceived in the past, we ought to be able to have files for abstract mathematical objects too. Second, at least one recently articulated condition on a fileâs being a device for singular thoughtâthat it be capable of surviving a certain kind of change in the information it containsâcan be satisfied by files for abstract mathematical objects
Sensorimotor theory and the problems of consciousness
The sensorimotor theory is an influential account of perception and phenomenal qualities that builds, in an empirically supported way, on the basic claim that conscious experience is best construed as an attribute of the whole embodied agent's skill-driven interactions with the environment. This paper, in addition to situating the theory as a response to certain well-known problems of consciousness, develops a sensorimotor account of why we are perceptually conscious rather than not
Unique Information and Secret Key Agreement
The partial information decomposition (PID) is a promising framework for
decomposing a joint random variable into the amount of influence each source
variable Xi has on a target variable Y, relative to the other sources. For two
sources, influence breaks down into the information that both X0 and X1
redundantly share with Y, what X0 uniquely shares with Y, what X1 uniquely
shares with Y, and finally what X0 and X1 synergistically share with Y.
Unfortunately, considerable disagreement has arisen as to how these four
components should be quantified. Drawing from cryptography, we consider the
secret key agreement rate as an operational method of quantifying unique
informations. Secret key agreement rate comes in several forms, depending upon
which parties are permitted to communicate. We demonstrate that three of these
four forms are inconsistent with the PID. The remaining form implies certain
interpretations as to the PID's meaning---interpretations not present in PID's
definition but that, we argue, need to be explicit. These reveal an
inconsistency between third-order connected information, two-way secret key
agreement rate, and synergy. Similar difficulties arise with a popular PID
measure in light the results here as well as from a maximum entropy viewpoint.
We close by reviewing the challenges facing the PID.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 4 tables;
http://csc.ucdavis.edu/~cmg/compmech/pubs/pid_skar.htm. arXiv admin note:
text overlap with arXiv:1808.0860
Macro-reasoning and cognitive gaps: understanding post-Soviet Russiansâ communication styles.
Russians and Westerners access, process and communicate information in
different ways. Whilst Westerners favour detailed analysis of subject matter, Russians
tend to focus on certain components that are, in their view, significant. This
disparity makes it difficult to achieve constructive dialogues between Western and
Russian stakeholders contributing to cross-cultural communication problems. The
author claims that the difference in the ways Russians and Westerners negotiate
information is a significant cultural difference between Russia and West rather than
an irritating (and in principle amenable) lack of analytical skills on the Russian partnersâ
part. Understanding the reasons behind the Russian-specific approaches to
dealing with information would be a positive step towards a more effective cross-cultural communication, important in business situations and essential in diplomacy
Five dimensions in the communication of design intent
Industries which utilize Computer Aided Design, (CAD), are in a similar situation to the film industry, where the use of Computer Graphics, (CG), has reached such a level of reality that audiences often do not spot where CG has been used. This has resulted in a general attitude among critics of: âCG is what you expect in a film, but what we often lack is a decent plotâ. Over a similar period, CAD software has become a powerful tool with proficient users, whilst the marketplace for such services now takes such facilities for granted. The âwow factorâ has faded. The special effects used in films has contributed to this dulling of presentation impact, which leads us to question where we stand in relation to a competitive edge, with the realization that: âCAD is what you expect from a firm, but what we often lack is clear intent.â The questioning of competitive edge draws us into some complex issues, concerning the reduction of compromise for design intent, where priorities fight for first place. There is no disputing the importance of time to market, yet the time compression technologies may no longer be providing a sufficient cutting edge. Even if new technologies facilitate even shorter lead-times we will always face the threat of a time management trap and potential loss of design quality. As a high-risk strategy for competitive advantage, contractual agreements for specified short lead-time deliveries, in some cases with penalty clauses written in, have established an expectation among the client base. Such a strategy leads us to effectively burn our bridges, in sacrificing margins for schedule 3 slippage and error compensation, leaving us nowhere to go but back. With such a lean approach to product development we have to improve our focus on the plot and its intent for design quality. The more investment we make at the front end, to enable the decision making process, the more likely we are to avoid pain at the back-end. Presently, decisions are made on a resource of available quality and quantity of data, using a perspective which is based on the experience, tacit knowledge and intuition of those involved. Whilst intuition is a good starting point or fall-back, as with tacit knowledge, it often proves difficult to substantiate. Background experience is the most valuable asset here but proves ineffectual when faced with low quality data, either through ambiguity, error or lack of substance. The improvement of quality standards require that we look closely at the production and presentation of data in the context of decision making and establish a process by which quality decisions can be made quickly and efficiently. This paper focuses on the process of communication between designers and their colleagues and clients, concerning the presentation of CAD models, from a cognitive perspective. It first establishes a context for individual differences in the management of auditory and visual information for decision making. This is followed by a discussion of five approaches to the communication of design intent and concludes with a checklist, to aid selection of an effective approach to communication
An Analysis of the Antinomic Structure of the Relation of Being in Husserl and Its Political Implication
Antinomy basically as an inherent structural tension from within the reason between
rational willing toward the unconditioned and rational thinking necessarily conditioned
by the rule of understanding plays a negative role in and for Kantâs system to critically
compass reason in limiting itself within the possibility of real experience. In Husserl,
under the banner of one all-encompassing reason, antinomy takes a modified form
of an ontological incommensurability between two essentially separable regions of
being, i.e., between the ideal and the real; such ontological antinomy now takes up the
place of an apriori condition for the possibility of meaning for Husserl. Representing a
peculiar hierarchical ontological relation through which a lawful power flows, Husserlian
antinomy plays an essentially affirmative-political function. In this paper, I will analyze
the constructive antinomic structure of phenomenological being relation in contrast to
Kantian restrictive antinomy and discuss its political implication
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