The Inconceivable Popularity of Conceivability Arguments

Famous examples of conceivability arguments include (i) Descartes’ argument for mind-body dualism, (ii) Kripke's ‘modal argument’ against psychophysical identity theory, (iii) Chalmers’ ‘zombie argument’ against materialism, and (iv) modal versions of the ontological argument for theism. In this paper, we show that for any such conceivability argument, C, there is a corresponding ‘mirror argument’, M. M is deductively valid and has a conclusion that contradicts C's conclusion. Hence, a proponent of C—henceforth, a ‘conceivabilist’—can be warranted in holding that C's premises are conjointly true only if she can find fault with one of M's premises. But M's premises are modelled on a pair of C's premises. The same reasoning that supports the latter supports the former. For this reason, a conceivabilist can repudiate M's premises only on pain of severely undermining C's premises. We conclude on this basis that all conceivability arguments, including each of (i)–(iv), are fallacious

Adrenocortical carcinoma in patients with MEN1: a kindred report and review of the literature

Objective: Up to 40% of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) patients may have adrenal cortical tumors. However, adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is rare. The clinical manifestations, prevalence, inheritance and prognosis of ACC associated with MEN1 remain unclear. Here we report the clinical manifestations and prevalence of ACC in patients with MEN1. Design and methods: A retrospective analysis of ACC associated with MEN1 patients at a single tertiary care center from December 2001 to June 2017. Genetic analysis of MEN1 and other ACC associated genes, loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of MEN1 locus, immunohistochemistry staining of menin, P53 and β-catenin in ACC tissue were performed. Results: Two related patients had ACC associated with MEN1. The father had ENSAT stage IV tumor with excessive production of cortisol; the daughter had nonfunctional ENSAT stage I tumor. Both patients carried novel germline heterozygous mutation (c.400_401insC) of MEN1. The wild-type MEN1 allele was lost in the resected ACC tissue from the daughter with no menin staining. The ACC tissue had nuclear β-catenin staining, with heterozygous CTNNB1 mutation of 357del24 and P53 staining in only 20% cells. Conclusions: ACC associated with MEN1 is rare and may occur in familial aggregates

Mirroring and Indeterminacy : towards indeterminate mind-brain identity.

In this dissertation I offer my objections to three famous arguments concerning the mindbody problem. The first argument is Saul Kripke’s (1980) modal argument against psychophysical identity theory. Kripke argues that if pain is identical to C-fibre firing then this identity must be necessary. However he points out that the identity is, if true, also a posteriori, and he argues that this alleged a posteriori identity cannot be accounted for in the way that scientific a posteriori identities are accounted for. He concludes on this basis that pain cannot be identical to C-fibre firing, and, more generally, that alleged psychophysical identities are false. The second argument is David Chalmers’ (1996) ‘zombie’ argument against materialism. Chalmers argues that zombies are conceivable, that the conceivability of zombies entails the possibility of zombies, and that the possibility of zombies is inconsistent with the truth of materialism. He concludes that materialism is false. I show that these arguments both share the same logical form—a form distinctive of what I call a ‘conceivability argument’. I show that for any such conceivability argument, C, there is a corresponding ‘mirror argument’ that is deductively valid and has a conclusion contradicting C’s conclusion. I show that a proponent of C can challenge the premises of the mirror argument only at the cost of undermining C’s premises. I conclude on this basis that conceivability arguments are fallacious in general, and, more particularly, that both Kripke’s modal argument and Chalmers’ zombie argument are unsound. This critique of these two arguments constitutes the first part of the dissertation. The second part is devoted to Hillary Putnam’s (1967) multiple realisability argument against identity theory. Putnam argues that if human pain is a neural firing pattern in the brain, then octopus pain will likewise be identical to some physical state of the octopus— say, an excitation pattern in the jelly-ish tissue of the octopus brain. But while human pain and octopus pain feel alike, neural firing and jelly excitation are not alike. It follows from standard logic that human pain is not identical to neural firing patterns. In reply, I attempt to reconcile identity theory with multiple realisability by advocating a semantics in which identity statements involving vague terms such as ‘pain’ are indeterminate. I develop a non-classical axiomatic theory of indeterminate identity relations, which implies that indeterminate identities are non-transitive. I also show that the principle of the transitivity of identity is a vital inference rule in Putnam’s argument. If my analysis is correct then Putnam’s argument is invalid

The Prevalence of Insomnia, Its Sociodemographic and Clinical Correlates, and Treatment in Rural and Urban Regions of Beijing, China: A General Population-Based Survey

Study Objectives To determine the prevalence of insomnia, its sociodemographic and clinical correlates, and treatment patterns in Chinese people. Design A total of 5,926 subjects were randomly selected in the urban and rural areas of Beijing and interviewed using standardized assessment tools. Basic sociodemographic and clinical data were also collected. Setting Urban and rural regions of Beijing municipality, China. Patients or Participants Adult residents older than 15 years. Interventions N/A. Measurements and Results The prevalence of at least one type of insomnia was 9.2%; the rates of difficulty initiating sleep (DIS), difficulty maintaining sleep (DMS), and early morning awakening (EMA) were 7.0%, 8.0%, and 4.9%, respectively. Increased age (age >44 and 24 years in the urban and rural samples, respectively), female sex, married, divorced, separated, or widowed marital status; having a major medical condition; and suffering from a psychiatric disorder were risk factors for all types of insomnia in both the urban and rural samples. A low level of education (primary school or illiteracy) was significantly associated with a higher likelihood of all types of insomnia in the urban sample. Current smokers and current drinkers were less likely to report any type of insomnia in the rural sample. Unemployment was associated with DMS in the urban sample, while it was associated with DIS and DMS in the rural sample. Only 5.4% of the participants with any type of insomnia reported their symptoms to medical practitioners. In contrast, nearly one-third of the subjects with insomnia reported taking benzodiazepines as sleep-enhancing drugs. Conclusions Nationwide epidemiologic surveys are needed to further explore the prevalence of insomnia in China. The low percentage of subjects treated for insomnia indicates a major public health problem that should be addressed. Strict controls on use of benzodiazepines are warranted.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000261429300006&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Clinical NeurologyNeurosciencesSCI(E)41ARTICLE121655-16623