General Argument against Ethical Naturalism

Ethical naturalists argue that normative properties are, in some sense, nothing over and above natural properties. Some philosophers think that all forms of naturalism must fail. They present, what Jonathan Dancy calls, ‘Blockbuster arguments’, which they think rule out every kind of naturalism. In this thesis I argue that these arguments do not succeed. In the first two chapters, I argue that both analytic and synthetic naturalists have good responses to G.E. Moore’s open question argument. Derek Parfit, as well as other non-naturalists, have presented a number of supposedly separate arguments against naturalism which are not meant to rely on any considerations about meaning; I argue against these in chapters 3 and 4. Non-cognitivists argue that all descriptivist theories like naturalism fail to explain the necessary connection between normative judgements and motivation. I argue, in an oblique way, that the kind of motivational internalism needed to ground this argument is not a threat to naturalism in chapter 5. In chapter 6, I turn to what I take to be more serious problems for naturalists arising from Terry Horgan and Mark Timmons’ Moral Twin Earth thought experiments. I argue first that tackling these thought experiments is a problem that all major metaethical theories share. The fact that everyone needs to address these problems makes more palatable the responses I then go on to develop. First, I argue that we might be able to accommodate these cases if we accept that people can disagree even if the semantic content of their utterances are not logically inconsistent. Second, I argue that we can debunk the intuitions that Moral Twin Earth cases are supposed to pump. I end by summarising what I have argued in the thesis

Valve recession: From experiment to predictive model

Increasing demands on engine performance and cost reductions have meant that advances made in materials and production technology are often outpaced This frequently results in wear problems occurring with engine components. Few models exist for predicting wear, and consequently each wear problem has to be investigated, the cause isolated and remedial action taken. The objective of this work was to carry out experimental studies to investigate valve and seat insert wear mechanisms and use the test results to develop a recession prediction tool to assess the potential for valve recession and solve problems that occur more quickly. Experimental apparatus has been developed that is capable of providing a valid simulation of the wear of diesel automotive inlet valves and seats. Test methodologies developed have isolated the effects of impact and sliding. A semi-empirical wear model for predicting valve recession has been developed based on data gathered during the bench testing. A software program, RECESS, was developed to run the model. Model predictions are compared with engine dynamometer tests and bench tests. The model can be used to give a quantitative prediction of the valve recession to be expected with a particular material pair or a qualitative assessment of how parameters need to be altered in order to reduce recession. The valve recession model can be integrated into an industrial environment in order to help reduce costs and timescales involved in solving valve/seat wear problems

Camera-based software in rehabilitation/therapy intervention

Use of an affordable, easily adaptable, ‘non-specific camera-based software’ that is rarely used in the field of rehabilitation is reported in a study with 91 participants over the duration of six workshop sessions. ‘Non-specific camera-based software’ refers to software that is not dependent on specific hardware. Adaptable means that human tracking and created artefact interaction in the camera field of view is relatively easily changed as one desires via a user-friendly GUI. The significance of having both available for contemporary intervention is argued. Conclusions are that the mature, robust, and accessible software EyeCon is a potent and significant user-friendly tool in the field of rehabilitation/therapy and warrants wider exploration.Peer Reviewe