Saving Moral Realism: Against Blackburn\u27s Projectivism

In the argumentative dialectic between moral realists and non-cognitivist moral antirealists each side in the debate is typically thought to enjoy a different prima facie advantage over its rival. Moral realism gains plausibility from its truth-conditional semantics because it can explain the meaning of moral judgments on the same basis as ordinary propositions. However, many moral philosophers doubt moral realism because the theory is committed to the existence of moral properties, which are, in J. L. Mackie\u27s term, queer. Moral antirealism denies that these moral properties exist, and this is a principal reason why many moral philosophers endorse the theory. However, if moral terms like good , immoral , or right do not refer to anything, then the meanings of the moral judgments in which they appear cannot be explained with truth-conditional semantics; moral antirealists who wish to preserve moral practice need to develop a semantics that can accommodate it. The general perception of the dialectic is that moral realists have the upper hand in semantics, but a disadvantage in metaphysics, and vice versa for moral antirealists. This essay challenges this assumption. Simon Blackburn\u27s quasi-realism is one of the principal examples of non-cognitivism, a form of moral antirealism that tries to develop an alternative account of moral semantics in which the function of a moral proposition is not to express belief but attitude. Quasi-realism is Blackburn\u27s research program of developing a semantics for moral discourse that is consistent with projectivism, the metaphysics of his metaethical theory. After situating Blackburn\u27s project within the history of twentieth century metaethics, this essay reviews Blackburn\u27s quasi-realist semantics and criticizes it. This essay then aims to extend the metaethical dialectic by developing and critiquing an account of Blackburn\u27s projectivism. This essay interprets projectivism as an explanation of moral awareness that aims to explain the realist phenomenology of that experience when realist explanations of it fail. After developing an account of the mechanism of projectivism, this essay argues that a metaethical theory feature projectivism as its metaphysical element contrasts negatively with moral realism in several ways: e.g., if it postulates new mental states and more events to account for moral awareness, then its ontological economy is less certain; it does not solve a metaphysical problem, supervenience, that moral realism cannot; it is incompatible with desirable features of moral practice; it undermines Blackburn\u27s rejection of error theory. This essay then concludes that when assessing the dialectic between moral realism and non-cognitivist moral antirealism, it is inappropriate to presume a metaphysical advantage for the latter on the basis of the mere denial of the existence of moral properties. This suggests that non-cognitivist moral antirealists need to supplement their theories with more robust metaphysical research programs

Human Nature, Cosmic Evolution and Modernity in Hölderlin

The German Romantic Friedrich Houml;lderlin developed a unique perspective on the relationship between humankind and the rest of nature. He believed that humanity has a positive role to play in cosmic evolution, and that modernity is the crucial stage in fulfilling this role. In this paper I will be arguing for a reinterpretation of his ideas regarding the position of humankind in cosmic evolution, and for an application of these ideas to the lsquo;environmental crisisrsquo; of modernity. This reinterpretation is significant because it entails an inversion of the conventional notion of causality in the lsquo;environmental crisisrsquo;; instead of humans lsquo;harmingrsquo; nature, in the reinterpretation it is nature that causes human suffering

The Poets of Myanmar

Since this field is required for the submission to continue, I am including the same biography as in previous screen: Biography Paul Cummins’ Poems have appeared in numerous publications including The New Republic, Poetry LA, Whole Notes, Exquisite Corpse, Coracle, Black Buzzard Review, Rattle, Cooweescoowee, Cloudbank, Rockhurst Review, South Loop Review, Absoloose and Perfume River. Also he has won several poetry prizes and has appeared in many anthologies. In addition, Cummins is an educator, writer and social entrepreneur. From Stanford (B.A.) to Harvard (M.A.T.) to USC (Ph.D.) to classroom teaching 1960-71, he went on to the founding and co-founding of six schools — including private schools such as Crossroads School and TREE Academy, plus Camino Nuevo Public Charter School. From the creation of educational outreach programs such as P.S. Arts and The Coalition for Engaged Education to all his groundbreaking and innovative ventures, Cummins has been a champion for quality education, especially for at-risk, foster and incarcerated youth. His publications include an autobiography, Confessions of a Headmaster, three other books on education, two children’s books, four collections of essays, a biography of a holocaust survivor, Dachau Song, and three volumes of poetry

Quantum dot-labelled polymer beads by suspension polymerisation

CdSe quantum dots with polymerisable ligands have been incorporated into polystyrene beads, via a suspension polymerisation reaction, as a first step towards the optical encoding of solid supports for application in solid phase organic chemistry

Belimumab : a technological advance for systemic lupus erythematosus patients? Report of a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: To undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate clinical effectiveness of belimumab for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and antinuclear and/or anti-double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) autoantibodies. Methods: We searched eight electronic databases and reference lists for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of belimumab against placebo or best supportive care. Quality assessment and random effects meta-analysis were undertaken. Design: A meta-analysis of RCTs. Participants: 2133 SLE patients. Primary and secondary outcome measures: SLE Responder Index (SRI) at week 52. Results: Three double-blind placebo-controlled RCTs (L02, BLISS-52 BLISS-76) investigated 2133 SLE patients. BLISS-52 and BLISS-76 trials recruited patients with antinuclear and/or anti-dsDNA autoantibodies and demonstrated belimumab effectiveness for the SRI at week 52. Ethnicity and geographical location of participants varied considerably between BLISS trials. Although tests for statistical heterogeneity were negative, BLISS-52 results were systematically more favourable for all measured outcomes. Meta-analysis of pooled 52-week SRI BLISS results showed benefit for belimumab (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.27 to 2.09). By week 76, the primary SRI outcome in BLISS-76 was not statistically significant (OR 1.31, 95% CI 0.919 to 1.855)

Agricultural resource priorities and recommendations for the Avon River Basin Natural Resource Management Strategy

This report for the Avon Natural Resource Management Strategy provides an assessment of the current status of land resources throughout the Avon River Basin in Western Australia. It identifies the sub-regions and landscape components of the area and the land resource assets. The greatest threats are salinity, soil acidification, subsurface compaction, waterlogging, water and wind erosion, and biosecurity