Review of \u3ci\u3eThe Philosophy of the Western\u3c/i\u3e edited by Jennifer L. McMahon and B. Steve Csaki

The topic of this collection immediately raises a number of questions. In what sense do artworks have, or express, a philosophy ? If they can be said to imply or assert propositional claims, why not just make the claims and argue for them? Do the films just serve as examples of philosophical ideas? (The majority of these essays seem to take this approach.) If so, how important is it that the examples are artworks? Would complex and imaginative thought experiments do? Are commercial Hollywood films and television shows artworks at all, and if so, in what sense? Is an artwork a better artwork if it is in some sense philosophically sophisticated

Verdades e mentiras na obra inicial de Nietzsche

O presente artigo toma como diretriz uma pergunta fundamental: o que significa ver a filosofia do ponto de vista de uma vida afirmável e sustentável? Com base nessa pergunta, examina-se a natureza da alternativa filosófica proposta por Nietzsche ao ascetismo entranhado no âmago da filosofia ocidental, a autoridade com que esta alternativa é enunciada, bem como a relação existente entre a referida alternativa e o ascetismo por ela radicalmente criticado

The Affirmation of Life: Nietzsche On Overcoming Nihilism, de Bernard Reginster

Não se aplica

¿Lo mío y lo tuyo? El estado kantiano

Kant dice que es un deber salir del estado de naturaleza, para entrar en un estado civil: un deber de derecho (Rechtspflicht), no un deber de virtud. El artículo discute el argumento que él da para apoyar este punto de vista, así como el debate contemporáneo sobre la relación entre este deber de derecho y el imperativo categórico. De la discusión emerge una visión del estado kantiano que desafía la explicación convencional: en lugar de un estado diseñado para proteger derechos de propiedad individuales preexistentes, los derechos de propiedad se consideran como resultado de la misma constitución del estado.Kant says there is a duty to exit the state of nature and enter into a civil state: a duty of right (Rechtspflicht), not a duty of virtue. The article examines the argument he provides in support of this view, as well as contemporary discussion of the relationship between this duty of right and the categorical imperative. From this analysis emerges a distinctive view of the Kantian state that challenges the conventional account: rather than defining the state as a protector of preexisting individual property rights, property rights are seen as stemming from the constitution of the state

Evaluation of seals and lubricants used on the Long Duration Exposure Facility

This report described results from testing and analysis of seals and lubricants subsequent to the 69-month low-earth-orbit (LEO) exposure on the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). Results show that if the materials were shielded from exposure to LDEF's external environment, the 69-month exposure to LEO resulted in minimal changes to material properties. However, if the materials were exposed to LDEF's exterior environments (atomic oxygen, solar radiation, meteoroids, and/or space debris), a variety of events occurred, ranging from no material change, to changes in properties, to significant erosion of the material

Exploring Adaptation and Fidelity in Parenting Program Implementation: Implications for Practice With Families

The vast majority of evidence-based programs (EBPs) for parenting are manualized and, as evaluated in research settings, have been implemented with a high degree of fidelity. In the real world, providers make changes to evidence-based programs they deliver, including combining programs and modifying materials to meet client needs. Additional research on adaptation of EBPs delivered in natural settings is needed to understand the nature of and reasons for adaptation in program delivery. Moore, Bumbarger, & Cooper (2013) proposed a taxonomy for categorizing adaptations based on fit, timing, and valence. In order to examine the utility of this taxonomy, a qualitative study was conducted with parenting education practitioners to better understand the adaptation options and motivations facing practitioners. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with program coordinators from three community providers in a Southeastern U.S. state. Interviews were followed by an in-person focus groups with program coordinators and participants. Questions were adapted from Moore et al. to explore fit, timing, and valence. A new dimension, autonomy, was added to explore the degree to which the provider can freely make changes to the program or is constrained by external ecological influences. Qualitative responses were coded by two members of the research team across the four domains. Internal validity was assessed by a third team member coding a sample of the team’s coding for comparison. Implications for use of the Moore et al. taxonomy in natural settings are discussed, including implications for community providers in multicultural settings and who are facing real-world external pressures

How to do realistic political theory (and why you might want to)

In recent years, a number of realist thinkers have charged much contemporary political theory with being idealistic and moralistic. While the basic features of the realist counter-movement are reasonably well understood, realism is still considered a critical, primarily negative creed which fails to offer a positive, alternative way of thinking normatively about politics. Aiming to counteract this general perception, in this article I draw on Bernard Williams’s claims about how to construct a politically coherent conception of liberty from the non-political value of freedom. I do this because Williams’s argument provides an illuminating example of the distinctive nature of realist political thinking and its attractions. I argue that Williams’s account of realist political thinking challenges the orthodox moralist claim that normative political arguments must be guided by an ideal ethical theory. I then spell out the repercussions Williams’s claims about the significance of political opposition and non-moralised accounts of motivation have for our understanding of the role and purpose of political theory. I conclude by defending the realist claim that action-guiding political theory should accordingly take certain features of our politics as given, most centrally the reality of political opposition and the passions and experiences that motivate them. On this reading political realism offers a viable way of thinking about political values which cannot be understood in terms of the categories of intellectual separation – ideal/nonideal or fact-insensitive/fact-sensitive – that have marked political theory in recent years

From Scepticism to Liberalism? Bernard Williams, the Foundations of Liberalism and Political Realism.

Bernard Williams was an ethical sceptic, but he was also a proponent of liberalism. To what extent can one finally be both? This article explores this question through a particular emphasis on Williams, but seeks to draw wider lessons regarding what ethical scepticism should and should not amount to. It shows how ethical scepticism can be reconciled with a commitment to what Williams, following Judith Shklar, called ‘the liberalism of fear’, which is revealed as an ecumenical outlook for different stripes of ethical sceptic. The article concludes by drawing some lessons for the recent ‘realist’ turn in political theory.Research for this article was undertaken while I was the recipient of an Arts and Humanities Research Council PhD studentship at the University of Cambridge, and was later supported by the Cambridge Faculty of History’s Prince Consort and Thirlwall fund

Demonstration of an off-axis parabolic receiver for near-range retrieval of lidar ozone profiles

During the 2017 Ozone Water Land Environmental Transition Study (OWLETS), the Langley mobile ozone lidar system utilized a new small diameter receiver to improve the retrieval of near-surface signals from 0.1 to 1&thinsp;km in altitude. This new receiver utilizes a single 90&thinsp;∘ fiber-coupled, off-axis parabolic mirror resulting in a compact form that is easy to align. The single reflective surface offers the opportunity to easily expand its use to multiple wavelengths for additional measurement channels such as visible wavelength aerosol measurements. Detailed results compare the performance of the receiver to both ozonesonde and in situ measurements from a UAV platform, validating the performance of the near-surface ozone retrievals. Absolute O3 differences averaged 7&thinsp;% between lidar and ozonesonde data from 0.1 to 1.0&thinsp;km and yielded a 2.3&thinsp;% high bias in the lidar data, well within the uncertainty of the sonde measurements. Conversely, lidar O3 measurements from 0.1 to 0.2&thinsp;km averaged 10.5&thinsp;% lower than coincident UAV O3. A more detailed study under more stable atmospheric conditions would be necessary to resolve the residual instrument differences reported in this work. Nevertheless, this unique added capability is a significant improvement allowing for near-surface observation of ozone.</p

Inhibiting ERK Activation with CI-1040 Leads to Compensatory Upregulation of Alternate MAPKs and Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 following Subtotal Nephrectomy with No Impact on Kidney Fibrosis

Extracellular-signal regulated kinase (ERK) activation by MEK plays a key role in many of the cellular processes that underlie progressive kidney fibrosis including cell proliferation, apoptosis and transforming growth factor β1-mediated epithelial to mesenchymal transition. We therefore assessed the therapeutic impact of ERK1/2 inhibition using a MEK inhibitor in the rat 5/6 subtotal nephrectomy (SNx) model of kidney fibrosis. There was a twentyfold upregulation in phospho-ERK1/2 expression in the kidney after SNx in Male Wistar rats. Rats undergoing SNx became hypertensive, proteinuric and developed progressive kidney failure with reduced creatinine clearance. Treatment with the MEK inhibitor, CI-1040 abolished phospho- ERK1/2 expression in kidney tissue and prevented phospho-ERK1/2 expression in peripheral lymphocytes during the entire course of therapy. CI-1040 had no impact on creatinine clearance, proteinuria, glomerular and tubular fibrosis, and α-smooth muscle actin expression. However, inhibition of ERK1/2 activation led to significant compensatory upregulation of the MAP kinases, p38 and JNK in kidney tissue. CI-1040 also increased the expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), a key inhibitor of plasmin-dependent matrix metalloproteinases. Thus inhibition of ERK1/2 activation has no therapeutic effect on kidney fibrosis in SNx possibly due to increased compensatory activation of the p38 and JNK signalling pathways with subsequent upregulation of PAI-1