Anti-Individualism and Rationality

Paul Boghossian has argued that externalist descriptions of mental content are unfit for assessments of rationality. An individual, he suggests, can comport with the principles of logic and rationality if and only if she is able to introspectively recognize the content of her thoughts and beliefs without relying on empirical evidence. Jessica Brown argues, first, that Boghossian¿s notion of rationality is unrealistic and incompatible with modern experimental data, and second, that his principles of transparency of mental content are unreasonable and, ultimately, self-defeating. In defending Boghossian¿s notion of rationality, and subsequently his transparency principles, this paper attempts to respond to Brown¿s arguments by distinguishing between two notions of rationality (weak and strong) and between two aspects of mental content (psychological and social). Acknowledging the weak notion of rationality will preserve the ordinary conception of typical subjects as rational beings, while introducing the distinction between psychological content and social content resolves the contradiction between the principles of transparency in Mates case circumstances

Lies, damned lies, and statistics: An empirical investigation of the concept of lying

Abstract There are many philosophical questions surrounding the notion of lying. Is it ever morally acceptable to lie? Can we acquire knowledge from people who might be lying to us? In order to answer these questions, however, we must first answer the question of what, exactly, constitutes the concept of lying. This paper examines three predominate definitions, as well as some cases-bald-faced lies and lies told with warrant-defeating provisions tacked on-that, arguably, pose problems for some of these definitions. Importantly, theorists working on this topic fundamentally disagree about whether these cases are genuine instances of lying and, thus, serve as counter-examples to the definitions on offer. To settle these disputes, we elicited judgments about the proposed counter-examples from ordinary language users unfettered by theoretical bias. We discuss the results of these experiments and the relevance of the data on the philosophical debate about the definition of lying, as well as some implications for further research on the topic. We suggest that the definition offered by Don Fallis (2009) most closely captures the notion of lying utilized by everyday speakers of English. Finally, we offer some further considerations on the moral implications of our investigation into the concept of lying

Sulfur and Nitrogen Mustard Carbonate Analogues

Sulfur and nitrogen half-mustard compounds lose their aggressive properties when the chlorine atom is replaced by a carbonate moiety. The anchimeric effect of the novel mustard carbonate analogues is investigated. The reaction follows first-order kinetics, does not need any base, and occurs with OH, NH and acidic CH nucleophiles. Most of these molecules are unexplored and might provide a novel strategy for the preparation of compounds previously not easily accessible

Synthesis of a [2]Catenane around a Ru(diimine)32+ Scaffold by Ring-Closing Metathesis of Olefins

The synthesis of a ruthenium[2]catenane is described. One ring includes two 1,10-phenanthroline moieties, the other a bipyridinic unit. The interlocking ring system was formed by using a double ring closing metathesis reaction. Under irradiation, a rapid and selective decoordination of the bipyridinic fragment was observed, leading to a new catenane in which the metal is only coordinated to the bis-phenanthroline moiety

Atomic-scale combination of germanium-zinc nanofibers for structural and electrochemical evolution

Alloys are recently receiving considerable attention in the community of rechargeable batteries as possible alternatives to carbonaceous negative electrodes; however, challenges remain for the practical utilization of these materials. Herein, we report the synthesis of germanium-zinc alloy nanofibers through electrospinning and a subsequent calcination step. Evidenced by in situ transmission electron microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy characterizations, this one-dimensional design possesses unique structures. Both germanium and zinc atoms are homogenously distributed allowing for outstanding electronic conductivity and high available capacity for lithium storage. The as-prepared materials present high rate capability (capacity of similar to 50% at 20 C compared to that at 0.2 C-rate) and cycle retention (73% at 3.0 C-rate) with a retaining capacity of 546 mAh g(-1) even after 1000 cycles. When assembled in a full cell, high energy density can be maintained during 400 cycles, which indicates that the current material has the potential to be used in a large-scale energy storage system

Dynamic Mechanically Interlocked Dendrimers: Amplification in Dendritic Dynamic Combinatorial Libraries

In the context of constructing nonclassical mechanically interlocked dendrimers by employing a convergent templation procedure, the “clipping” thermodynamic approach has been explored to introduce sterically bulky Fre´chet-type dendrons with successive generations [G0] to [G3] onto a trivalent ammonium ion core using a seven-component self-assembly via imine bond formation. Four generations of mechanically interlocked dendrimers up to a molecular weight over 8800 Da were synthesized in a one-pot reaction by simply mixing the seven components together. The dendrimers form in excellent yield (>90%). The mechanically interlocked core of the [G0]-[G2] dendrimers can be modified and transformed into kinetically stable dendrimers by reduction of the imine bonds with borane-tetrahydrofuran complex. Moreover, the dynamic nature of the thermodynamically controlled self-assembly process is employed to obtain three dynamic combinatorial libraries of dendrimers by the treatment of the dendrons [G0]-[G3] with the complementary components in one pot. The inherent modularity of the overall process should allow for the rapid and straightforward access to many other analogues of mechanically interlocked systems for which either the branched core or the dendritic periphery can be modified to suit the needs of any potential application of these molecules

Brain\u2013Computer Interface-Based Adaptive Automation to Prevent Out-Of-The-Loop Phenomenon in Air Traffic Controllers Dealing With Highly Automated Systems

Increasing the level of automation in air traffic management is seen as a measure to increase the performance of the service to satisfy the predicted future demand. This is expected to result in new roles for the human operator: he will mainly monitor highly automated systems and seldom intervene. Therefore, air traffic controllers (ATCos) would often work in a supervisory or control mode rather than in a direct operating mode. However, it has been demonstrated how human operators in such a role are affected by human performance issues, known as Out-Of-The-Loop (OOTL) phenomenon, consisting in lack of attention, loss of situational awareness and de-skilling. A countermeasure to this phenomenon has been identified in the adaptive automation (AA), i.e., a system able to allocate the operative tasks to the machine or to the operator depending on their needs. In this context, psychophysiological measures have been highlighted as powerful tool to provide a reliable, unobtrusive and real-time assessment of the ATCo's mental state to be used as control logic for AA-based systems. In this paper, it is presented the so-called "Vigilance and Attention Controller", a system based on electroencephalography (EEG) and eye-tracking (ET) techniques, aimed to assess in real time the vigilance level of an ATCo dealing with a highly automated human-machine interface and to use this measure to adapt the level of automation of the interface itself. The system has been tested on 14 professional ATCos performing two highly realistic scenarios, one with the system disabled and one with the system enabled. The results confirmed that (i) long high automated tasks induce vigilance decreasing and OOTL-related phenomena; (ii) EEG measures are sensitive to these kinds of mental impairments; and (iii) AA was able to counteract this negative effect by keeping the ATCo more involved within the operative task. The results were confirmed by EEG and ET measures as well as by performance and subjective ones, providing a clear example of potential applications and related benefits of AA

Template-Directed Synthesis of Mechanically Interlocked Molecular Bundles Using Dynamic Covalent Chemistry

Mixing the dipyrido[24]crown-8 derivatives carrying one or two formyl group(s) on the 4 position(s) of their pyridine ring(s) with a 3-fold symmetrical trisammonium ion template in a 3:1 ratio in CD3NO2 results in the formation of thermodynamically stable [4]pseudorotaxanes which, upon addition of a 1,3,5 trisaminobenzene cap, form mechanically interlocked molecular bundles with one and two caps, respectively, by virtue of dynamic imine bond formation