Suppositional Reasoning and Perceptual Justification

James Van Cleve raises some objections to my attempt to solve the bootstrapping problem for what I call “basic justification theories.” I argue that given 1 the inference rules endorsed by basic justification theorists, we are a priori (propositionally) justified in believing that perception is reliable. This blocks the bootstrapping result

Rationality and Truth

The traditional view in epistemology is that we must distinguish between being rational and being right (that is also, by the way, the traditional view about practical rationality). In his paper in this volume, Williamson proposes an alternative view according to which only beliefs that amount to knowledge are rational (and, thus, no false belief is rational). It is healthy to challenge tradition, in philosophy as much as elsewhere. But, in this instance, we think that tradition has it right. In this paper we defend our version of the traditional view and argue against Williamson’s alternative

Equivalence of two mathematical forms for the bound angular momentum of the electromagnetic field

It is shown that the mathematical form, obtained in a recent paper, for the angular momentum of the electromagnetic field in the vicinity of electric charge is equivalent to another form obtained previously by Cohen-Tannoudji, Dupont-Roc and Gilbert. In this version of the paper an improved derivation is given.Comment: 4 pages pdf, simpler derivatio

The Porter Hypothesis at 20: Can Environmental Regulation Enhance Innovation and Competitiveness?

Twenty years ago, Harvard Business School economist and strategy professor Michael Porter stood conventional wisdom about the impact of environmental regulation on business on its head by declaring that well designed regulation could actually enhance competitiveness. The traditional view of environmental regulation held by virtually all economists until that time was that requiring firms to reduce an externality like pollution necessarily restricted their options and thus by definition reduced their profits. After all, if there are profitable opportunities to reduce pollution, profit maximizing firms would already be taking advantage of those opportunities. Over the past 20 years, much has been written about what has since become known simply as the Porter Hypothesis (“PH”). Yet, even today, there is conflicting evidence, alternative theories that might explain the PH, and oftentimes a misunderstanding of what the PH does and does not say. This paper provides an overview of the key theoretical and empirical insights on the PH to date, draw policy implications from these insights, and sketches out major research themes going forward.

Investigating the structure of the autism-spectrum quotient using Mokken scaling

Traits similar to those shown in autism spectrum condition (ASC) are apparent in relatives of individuals with ASC, and in the general population without necessarily meeting diagnostic criteria for an ASC. We assess whether the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), a self-report measure, has hierarchical properties using Mokken scaling. Hierarchical scales allow the presence of a latent trait to be identified by discovering whether and how many specific items form an ordered array along it. Data were collected from 2 groups: (1) people with ASC (n = 449: 240 males, 209 females, M age 35.4 years, SD = 12.8) and (2) university students (n = 943: 465 males, 475 females, M age = 23.0 years, SD = 8.4). A single Mokken scale was obtained in the data from university students and 3 scales were obtained in the data from people with ASC. The scales all showed moderate Mokken scaling properties with the single scale obtained from university students showing weak invariant item ordering and 2 of the scales from people with ASC showing weak invariant item ordering. The AQ formed reliable Mokken scales. There was a large overlap between the scale from the university student sample and the sample with ASC, with the first scale, relating to social interaction, being almost identical. The present study confirms the utility of the AQ as a single instrument that can dimensionalize autistic traits in both university student and clinical samples of ASC, and confirms that items of the AQ are consistently ordered relative to one another

What If and So What in Northwest Canada : Could Climate Change Make a Difference to the Future of the Mackenzie Basin?

Global climate change, also known as global warming, is one of the most challenging elements of global environmental change. It atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse gases" continue to increase, global mean air temperatures are expected to rise 1.5 to 4.5 C within the next several decades. High-latitude regions are projected to experience above-average increases. What effects would such a warming have in the Canadian Arctic? In a recently completed study of the Mackenzie Basin in northwestern Canada, regional stakeholders provided their responses to the "what if?" scenario of climate change in their region. This scenario includes more frequent landslides due to permafrost thaw, lower minimum annual river and lake levels, more forest fires, and lower yields from softwoods. These impacts could offset potential benefits from a longer growing and ice-free season. Regional stakeholders, including provincial and territorial governments, aboriginal organizations and the private sector, felt confident about their abilities to adapt, so long as climate change would be predictable and gradual. Some potential impacts, however, could be very significant for renewable resources and aboriginal communities, and some stakeholders spoke of intervention into national and international policy arenas to raise awareness of the Mackenzie Basin.Le changement climatique mondial, qu'on appelle aussi «réchauffement de la planète», est l'un des aspects du changement de l'environnement planétaire qui présente le plus de défis. Si les concentrations atmosphériques en gaz carbonique et autres «gaz à effet de serre» continuent d'augmenter, les températures moyennes globales de l'air devraient s'élever de 1,5 à 4,5 °C au cours des prochaines décennies. Quelles seront les répercussions d'un tel réchauffement sur l'Arctique canadien? Dans une étude récemment achevée, portant sur le bassin du Mackenzie situé dans le nord-ouest du Canada, les parties concernées ont fourni leurs réponses au scénario d'anticipation du changement climatique dans leur région. Ce scénario comprend une augmentation de la fréquence des glissements de terrain dus au dégel du pergélisol, une baisse des niveaux minimaux de l'année des lacs et cours d'eau, une augmentation des incendies de forêt, et une baisse du rendement des résineux. Ces retombées pourraient neutraliser les bénéfices potentiels d'une plus longue saison de croissance et d'inter-glaciel. Les intervenants régionaux, y compris les gouvernements provinciaux et territoriaux, les organismes autochtones et le secteur privé, se sont dit confiants quant à leurs capacités d'adaptation, pour autant que le changement climatique soit prévisible et graduel. Certaines répercussions potentielles pourraient cependant avoir une importance majeure pour les ressources renouvelables et les collectivités autochtones. Des intervenants souhaitaient même une intervention au niveau de la politique nationale et internationale afin de sensibiliser l'opinion à l'extérieur du bassin du Mackenzie

The Porter Hypothesis at 20: can Environmental Regulation Enhance Innovation and Competitiveness?

Twenty years ago, Harvard Business School economist and strategy professor Michael Porter stood conventional wisdom about the impact of environmental regulation on business on its head by declaring that well designed regulation could actually enhance competitiveness. The traditional view of environmental regulation held by virtually all economists until that time was that requiring firms to reduce an externality like pollution necessarily restricted their options and thus by definition reduced their profits. After all, if there are profitable opportunities to reduce pollution, profit maximizing firms would already be taking advantage of those opportunities. Over the past 20 years, much has been written about what has since become known simply as the Porter Hypothesis (“PH”). Yet, even today, there is conflicting evidence, alternative theories that might explain the PH, and oftentimes a misunderstanding of what the PH does and does not say. This paper provides an overview of the key theoretical and empirical insights on the PH to date, draw policy implications from these insights, and sketches out major research themes going forward.Porter Hypothesis, environmental policy, innovation, performance.

Holocene-Neogene volcanism in northeastern Australia: chronology and eruption history

Quaternary and late Neogene volcanism is widespread in northeastern Australia, producing at least 397 eruptions covering more than 20,000 km2, including at least 20 flows over 50 km long. Despite this abundance of young volcanism, before this study numerous eruptions had tentative ages or were undated, and the area requires a comprehensive evaluation of eruption patterns through time. To help address these issues we applied multi-collector ARGUS-V 40Ar/39Ar geochronology to determine the age of four of the younger extensive flows: Undara (160 km long, 189 ± 4/4 ka; 2σ, with full analytical/external uncertainties), Murronga (40 km long, 153 ± 5/5 ka), Toomba (120 km long, 21 ± 3/3 ka), and Kinrara (55 km long, 7 ± 2/2 ka). Verbal traditions of the Gugu Badhun Aboriginal people contain features that may potentially describe the eruption of Kinrara. If the traditions do record this eruption, they would have been passed down for 230 ± 70 generations – a period of time exceeding the earliest written historical records. To further examine north Queensland volcanism through time we compiled a database of 337 ages, including 179 previously unpublished K-Ar and radiocarbon results. The compiled ages demonstrate that volcanic activity has occurred without major time breaks since at least 9 Ma. The greatest frequency of eruptions occurred in the last 2 Ma, with an average recurrence interval of <10–22 ka between eruptions. Activity was at times likely more frequent than these calculations indicate, as the geochronologic dataset is incomplete, with undated eruptions, and intraplate volcanism is often episodic. The duration, frequency, and youthfulness of activity indicate that north Queensland volcanism should be considered as potentially still active, and there are now two confirmed areas of Holocene volcanism in eastern Australia – one at each end of the continent. More broadly, our data provides another example of 40Ar/39Ar geochronology applied to Holocene and latest Pleistocene mafic eruptions, further demonstrating that this method has the ability to examine eruptions and hazards at the youngest volcanoes on Earth

Williamson on Gettier Cases and Epistemic Logic

Timothy Williamson has fruitfully exploited formal resources to shed considerable light on the nature of knowledge. In the paper under examination, Williamson turns his attention to Gettier cases, showing how they can be motivated formally. At the same time, he disparages the kind of justification he thinks gives rise to these cases. He favors instead his own notion of justification for which Gettier cases cannot arise. We take issue both with his disparagement of the kind of justification that figures in Gettier cases and the specifics of the formal motivation