Physicalism

This chapter considers potential applications of grounding to the formulation of physicalism. I begin with an overview of competing conceptions of the physical and of physicalism. I then consider whether grounding physicalism overcomes well-known and seemingly fatal problems with supervenience physicalism. I conclude that while grounding physicalism improves upon supervenience physicalism in certain respects, it arguably falls victim to some of the same difficulties

Naturalisms

The word ‘naturalism’ has a bewildering array of uses in philosophy. Roughly speaking, it connotes pro-scientific attitudes and approaches. This article introduces the subject of naturalism by sketching a history of pro-scientific attitudes and approaches in philosophy, from their origins in the early modern period through to the present day. It then distinguishes a number of distinct families of naturalism: metaphysical, logico-linguistic, epistemological, and methodological. The resulting taxonomy encompasses a plurality of loosely related views rather than a number of variations on a single clear and unified theme

Resolving Quine's Confict: A Neo-Quinean View of the Rational Revisability of Logic

There is an apparent conflict in Quine’s work between, on the one hand, his clear commitment to the rational revisability of logic and, on the other, his principle of charitable translation and ‘change of logic, change of subject’ argument. I argue that the apparent conflict is mostly resolved under close exegesis, but that the translation argument normatively rules out collaborative revision and allows only revision by individuals. However, I articulate a Neo-Quinean view that preserves the rational acceptability of collaborative revision. On that view, everything is rationally revisable in some manner or other — it’s just that the logical principles that laypersons find (actually or potentially) obvious and tacitly use to govern their everyday inferences can’t be rationally revised quickly and all at once. Since, in Quine’s view, what most people find obvious resists change, rational changes to laymen’s logic must be gradual

Electronic Health Records and Immunization Information Systems Interoperability: Measuring Impact on Immunization Outcomes

INTRODUCTION: Immunization is an intervention proven to reduce morbidity and mortality for several infectious diseases, yet coverage remains less than optimal, especially among minorities and the poor. Challenges to adequate coverage are associated with access and consolidated immunization documentation to support clinical immunization decision making. Efforts to improve access and service delivery include Community Guide recommended interventions, the Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program, and electronic data exchange between provider electronic health records (EHR) and state and city immunization information systems (IIS). AIM: The purpose of this study is to 1) determine if EHR-IIS interoperability improves immunization outcomes and 2) identify how EHR-IIS interoperability may improve the capacity to support activities to increase appropriate immunization. METHODS: Data reported by state IIS for immunization provider sites both prior to and after the establishment of or the improvement of an existing EHR-IIS interface were analyzed to examine changes in 1) the mean difference in the proportion of 19 to 35 month old children at these sites who were up-to-date for age-appropriate immunizations, and 2) the mean difference in completion of key demographic and vaccine-related fields for 4m to 6 year-old children associated with enhanced sites in the IIS. RESULTS: Statistical analysis yielded evidence of a positive change in the mean difference in the proportion of children aged 4m to 6 years with key demographic and vaccine data in IIS. A statistically significant change in the mean difference of up-to-date status in 19 to 35 month olds was not detected. DISCUSSION: Evidence suggests that EHR-IIS interoperability can improve the capacity of IIS in targeting of immunization services to underserved populations and support accountability for the VFC program. Implementation of EHR-IIS interfaces must be performed thoughtfully and support accountability and with an understanding of the impact of the interface on IIS data used to support immunization program activities. Immunization outcomes for children at provider sites engaging in electronic data exchange with IIS should continue to be monitored. Additional analysis must be done to identify the interoperability factors that are positively and negatively associated with improved immunization outcomes

Scientifically Responsible Metaphysics: A Program for the Naturalization of Metaphysics

There has been much recent work calling for the naturalization of metaphysics, including most famously James Ladyman and Don Ross’ polemic, Every Thing Must Go. But much work remains to adequately articulate and motivate the call to naturalize metaphysics. My dissertation contributes to that work. Its central questions are: What relationship should metaphysics have to current science? Must good metaphysics be responsive to current science, and if so, how? Why should metaphysics be naturalized and what should its naturalization consist in? I argue, first, that for that for epistemic purposes, as opposed to heuristic or pragmatic purposes, theories should be robustly constrained and adequately warranted. The negative portion of the dissertation attacks what I call free range metaphysics — metaphysics, the content of which is constrained not by science, but only by logical, aesthetic, and psychological demands, such as the demands for consistency, simplicity, intuitive plausibility, and explanatory power. I argue that, individually and jointly, the constraints on the content of free range metaphysics are insufficiently robust and their satisfaction fails to secure sufficient epistemic warrant. Therefore, free range metaphysics cannot claim to produce justified theories of reality. The positive portion of the dissertation prescribes scientifically responsible metaphysics — metaphysics conscientiously engaged with the theories and practices of the current sciences. I argue that scientifically responsible metaphysics is better constrained and supported than free range metaphysics and therefore can better claim to justify metaphysical theories. Finally, I consider potential problem cases — cases in which some metaphysical topic is not obviously apt for being made scientifically responsible — including modal metaphysics and grounding. I resolve the problem cases by showing how the topics can be made scientifically responsible. First, I articulate a methodology for scientifically responsible modal metaphysics that takes current science as an evidence-base for the justification of modal claims and as a model of good modal reasoning. Second, I synthesize a list of fruitful uses of science for grounding theorists, including among other things: to help in the identification of putative grounding relata, to show correlations among them, to demonstrate their non-identity, to provide a stock of explanatory patterns, to identify candidate essential properties, and to motivate agnosticism about particular grounding theses where scientific support is lacking. Having resolved the problem cases, I conclude that the prospects for making metaphysics scientifically responsible are bright

Can Arabidopsis thaliana Seeds Survive Exposure to Extreme Cold?

Amanda Scott, Bryant Brown, John Solomon's poster about Arabidopsis thaliana seeds and there ability to survive exposure to extreme cold

Lunchtime Practices and Problem Behaviors Among Multiethnic Urban Youth

Research has begun to show associations between adolescents\u27 mealtime practices and their engagement in problem behaviors. Few studies have addressed this longitudinally and/or examined lunchtime practices during the school day. This study tests for associations between urban multiethnic middle school students\u27 (N = 1498) lunchtime practices in the sixth grade and their engagement in problem behaviors by eighth grade. Positive associations were found between not eating lunch at school in the sixth grade and increased drug use and delinquency by eighth grade. Eating lunch outside of school was found to be significantly associated with smoking and marijuana use only. Gender differences in associations between lunchtime practices and problem behaviors were suggested. Implications for school policy and prevention efforts are discusse

Grounding Interventionism: Conceptual and Epistemological Challenges

Philosophers have recently highlighted substantial affinities between causation and grounding, which has inclined some to import the conceptual and formal resources of causal interventionism into the metaphysics of grounding. The prospect of grounding interventionism raises two important questions: exactly what are grounding interventions, and why should we think they enable knowledge of grounding? This paper will approach these questions by examining how causal interventionists have addressed (or might address) analogous questions and then comparing the available options for grounding interventionism. I argue that grounding interventions must be understood in worldly terms, as adding something to or deleting something from the roster of entities, or making some fact obtain or fail to obtain. I consider three bases for counterfactual assessment: imagination, structural equation models, and background theory. I conclude that grounding interventionism requires firmer epistemological foundations, without which the interventionist's epistemology of grounding is incomplete and ineffectually rationalist