Iterated reflection principles over full disquotational truth

Iterated reflection principles have been employed extensively to unfold epistemic commitments that are incurred by accepting a mathematical theory. Recently this has been applied to theories of truth. The idea is to start with a collection of Tarski-biconditionals and arrive by finitely iterated reflection at strong compositional truth theories. In the context of classical logic it is incoherent to adopt an initial truth theory in which A and 'A is true' are inter-derivable. In this article we show how in the context of a weaker logic, which we call Basic De Morgan Logic, we can coherently start with such a fully disquotational truth theory and arrive at a strong compositional truth theory by applying a natural uniform reflection principle a finite number of times

Introduction:Post-Truth?

This paper introduces the Special Issue on 'post-truth'. The contributions to this special issue try between them to strike a right balance. To establish how new ‘post-truthism’ really is – or isn’t. To seek a point of reflection on whatever is new in our current socio-political straits. And to consider seriously how philosophy can help. Whether by wondering about the extent to which reason, or truth, may rightly, if one follows Wittgenstein, be viewed in certain respects as a constraint upon thought or opinion. Or indeed by wondering whether we still have a long way to go in approaching truth at all

On Some Arguments for Epistemic Value Pluralism

Epistemic Value Monism is the view that there is only one kind of thing of basic, final epistemic value. Perhaps the most plausible version of Epistemic Value Monism is Truth Value Monism, the view that only true beliefs are of basic, final epistemic value. Several authors—notably Jonathan Kvanvig and Michael DePaul—have criticized Truth Value Monism by appealing to the epistemic value of things other than knowledge. Such arguments, if successful, would establish Epistemic Value Pluralism is true and Epistemic Value Monism is false. This paper critically examines those arguments, finding them wanting. However, I develop an argument for Epistemic Value Pluralism that succeeds which turns on general reflection on the nature of value

Media Literacy: Using a Game to Prompt Self-Reflection on Political Truth Biases

In this paper we examine how games can both capture player biases around truthfulness and facilitate self-reflection on such patterns of biases as a pedagogical approach to media literacy. Our focus is on the study of a game called Fibber, conducted with 344 participants online. The gameplay entails guessing whether statements made by presidential candidates are mostly factual and receiving aggregate feedback on their judgment patterns and potential truth biases. Specifically we sought to answer the questions: 1) how can the game prompt self-reflection in players, 2) what player characteristics are linked to self-reported acts of self-reflection and biases, and 3) how can the study inform future designs of media literacy and self-reflection games? Our results suggest that efforts to promote self-reflection in truth biases – a useful media literacy technique – may be facilitated through aggregation of in-game decisions that can serve as en end-of-game self-reflection prompt. Furthermore, self-reflection on potential political truth biases may be supported by specific in-game behaviors and player characteristics such as gender and political orientation. Future work includes a more experimental comparison of specific game mechanics and qualitative data to better understand the self-reflection process and possible subsequent changes in behavior as a result of self-reported acts of self-reflection.

Use of remote sensing in agriculture

Remote sensing studies in Virginia and Chesapeake Bay areas to investigate soil and plant conditions via remote sensing technology are reported ant the results given. Remote sensing techniques and interactions are also discussed. Specific studies on the effects of soil moisture and organic matter on energy reflection of extensively occurring Sassafras soils are discussed. Greenhouse and field studies investigating the effects of chlorophyll content of Irish potatoes on infrared reflection are presented. Selected ground truth and environmental monitoring data are shown in summary form. Practical demonstrations of remote sensing technology in agriculture are depicted and future use areas are delineated

Hegel’s Phenomenology and the Question of Semantic Pragmatism

This paper criticizes the assumptions behind Robert Brandom’s reading of Hegel’s Phenomenology, contending that Hegel’s concern with the rational structure of experience, his valorization of reflection over ordinary experience and his idea of the necessit y of progress in knowledge cannot be accommodated within the framework of semantic pragmatism. The central contentions are that Brandom’s pragmatism never comes to terms with Hegel’s idea of truth as a result, leading to a historicist distortion, and also that Brandom’s failure to deal with Hegel’s distinction between natural consciousness and the phenomenological observer collapses Hegel’s phenomenology into a philosophy restricted to the level of natural consciousness