Animal Consciousness

This chapter addresses the extent to which nonhuman animals are conscious. Most important perhaps is what criteria should be used in making such a determination

Cotard syndrome, self-awareness, and I-concepts

Various psychopathologies of self-awareness, such as somatoparaphrenia and thought insertion in schizophrenia, might seem to threaten the viability of the higher-order thought (HOT) theory of consciousness since it requires a HOT about one’s own mental state to accompany every conscious state. The HOT theory of consciousness says that what makes a mental state a conscious mental state is that there is a HOT to the effect that “I am in mental state M.” I have argued in previous work that a HOT theorist can adequately respond to this concern with respect to somatoparaphrenia and thought insertion. There is also Cotard syndrome which is a rare neuropsychiatric disorder in which people hold the delusional belief that they are dead, do not exist, or have lost their blood or internal organs. In this paper, I argue that HOT theory has nothing to fear from it either and can consistently account for what happens in such unusual cases. I analyze Cotard syndrome in light of my previous discussion of somatoparaphrenia and thought insertion, and argue that HOT theory can provide a somewhat analogous account without the worry of inconsistency. It is crucial to recognize that there are multiple “self-concepts” and levels of HOTs which can help to provide a more nuanced explanation. With regard to the connection between consciousness and self-consciousness, it is proposed that Cotard patients are indeed capable of having some “I-thoughts” about their bodies and mental states

Unconscious higher-order thoughts (HOTs) as pre-reflective self-awareness?

Rowlands argues that many nonhuman animals are “persons,” contrary to the prevailing orthodoxy which rests on a mistaken conception of the kind of self-awareness relevant to personhood. He argues that self-awareness bifurcates into two importantly different forms — reflective self-awareness and pre-reflective self-awareness — and that many animals can have the latter, which is sufficient for personhood. I agree that there is good reason to think that many animals can have pre-reflective self-awareness, but I think Rowlands is mistaken about its nature. His account runs the risk of leading to an infinite regress objection, and his notion of pre-reflective self-awareness actually sounds more like reflective self-awareness. If Rowlands treats pre-reflective self-awareness as itself conscious, then it is less likely that animals can have even this form of self-awareness

Preliminary testing using Mokken scaling of an Italian translation of the Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia (EdFED-I) scale

© 2015 Elsevier Inc. Purpose: To study the psychometric properties of an Italian version of the Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia (EdFED-I) Scale. Background: The EdFED Scale is the only validated instrument that measures difficulty with feeding in older people with dementia. The original English version of the EdFED had three factors measuring: behavioral aspects of feeding difficulty (obstinacy/passivity); indicators of feeding difficulty; and nursing interventions. Methods: Participants affected by dementia and living in nursing homes (n = 210) were selected. Data collectors were trained to observe the residents' eating problems and their food intake. The data were analyzed using Mokken scaling and Pearson's correlation. Results: The Italian version of the EdFED Scale formed a Mokken scale which correlated in the expected direction with measures of residents' weight, Body Mass Index, time taken to eat, Mini Mental State Examination score and Barthel Index according to the unmet needs model of Cohen-Mansfield. Conclusions: The EdFED-I shows reasonable psychometric properties and can be used for the assessment of feeding difficulty in Italian samples of older people with dementia. However, further work with larger samples is required to test the utility of the whole range of items and the necessity of their inclusion in the EdFED-I

Il Governo del Sistema Integrato Città-Trasporti-Energia

[English]:Theories about the origins and developments of modern cities seem to agree, without exception, to a point: the city is the place of maximum concentration of exchange. Activities, in fact, are located into urban and metropolitan agglomerations to minimize the resources needed to meet the growing need for relationships and exchanges with other activities. In recent years, the concentration and specialization of these activities have led to an extraordinary increase in intensity and quality of exchange needs, with the obvious consequence of congestion in most metropolitan areas with predictable consequences on the sustainability of urban areas, on the quality of life of its inhabitants and on the energy consumption associated with the growing demand for mobility. As a result, in recent years, several authors have argued for greater integration between urban planning policies, mobility management and energy efficiency. In this context, this volume aims to provide a contribution in this direction and presents the results of a research project aimed at the development of an integrated city-mobility-energy governance model. In particular, the first part of this work give an overview of the complex relationships between mobility, energy consumption and built environment through a meta-analysis of the recent literature. Specifically, in this section, the two main sources of energy consumption in urban areas (energy consumption in the residential sector and energy consumption of transport) are considered. These sectors represent, according to the latest estimates, respectively 32% and 35% of the final energy consumption. The section introduces several characteristics of the built environment such as density, functional mix or accessibility and described as such factors affect energy consumption in the transport and residential sectors. Understanding these relationships is of crucial importance for the development of a coordinated mix of actions aimed at reducing energy consumption in urban areas. Subsequently, the main models present in the literature for estimating residential energy consumption and urban transport energy consumption are presented, paying particular attention to the strengths and weaknesses of each model, the complexity and the related technical and operational aspects related to the implementation of such models. In the second part of this work, the focus is on the techniques for the representation and classification of energy consumption in urban areas through an application to the case study of Naples. Particularly, this section places particular emphasis on the new opportunities offered by the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and by the increasing availability of new data sources. The work integrates the use of "traditional" data sources such as census surveys, new data sources (in particular open and large data) with spatial analyzes developed ad hoc to provide exhaustive knowledge of energy consumption patterns within the city of Naples. The proposed methodology is validated by comparing the results obtained with the previously available data for the study area and by the implementation of spatial statistical analyzes in a GIS environment. The proposed methodology is a useful tool for public decision-makers and policy makers aimed at defining integrated government strategies for the reducing and optimizing of public and private energy consumption. In particular, the methodology described in this work is useful for classifying and representing energy consumption on an urban scale, for the identification of critical areas in terms of consumption, and for ex post evaluation of interventions on the urban system. Finally, the last part of the paper proposes an analysis of the tools, actions and best practices for reducing energy consumption in urban areas. Particularly, in this chapter the most important mobility planning tools are presented, describing for each of them the main objectives, contents and modes of implementation. Two new governance tools for territorial transformations, the Municipal Energy Action Plan and the Sustainable Energy Action Plan are also introduced, which define the energy policies of the Communes, aimed at achieving targets for the reduction of climate change emissions, efficiently energy and use of renewable energy sources. Subsequently, a reasoned synthesis of the actions that individual municipalities can put in place to contain energy consumption in the transport sector is presented. These actions are organized in the form of guidelines and action policies, where action policies represent operational specification of the first. Finally, the last part of the chapter presents some case studies of urban mobility interventions aimed at energy saving in some Italian and European cities. These are particularly relevant cases, examples of mobility capable, on the one hand, of optimizing the use and development of energy resources through traditional fuel economy savings and incentives for the use of renewable energy sources and, on the other hand, to meet the new needs of transporting people and goods safely and efficiently./ [Italiano]: Le teorie sulla nascita e lo sviluppo della città moderna sembrano concordare, senza eccezioni, su un punto: la città è il luogo di massima concentrazione dello scambio. Le attività, infatti, si insediano all’interno degli agglomerati urbani e metropolitani per minimizzare le risorse necessarie a soddisfare le crescenti necessità di relazione e di scambio con le altre attività localizzate sul territorio. Negli ultimi anni la concentrazione e la specializzazione di queste attività hanno comportato un aumento straordinario, per intensità e qualità, delle necessità di scambio, con la ovvia conseguenza di avviare alla congestione la maggior parte delle aree metropolitane con prevedibili conseguenze sulla sostenibilità delle aree urbane, sulla qualità della vita dei suoi abitanti e sui consumi energetici associati alla crescente domanda di mobilità. Come conseguenza, negli ultimi anni, diversi autori hanno sostenuto la necessità di una maggiore integrazione tra politiche di assetto urbano, gestione della mobilità ed efficientamento energetico. In tale contesto, il presente volume intende offrire un contributo in tale direzione e presenta i risultati di un progetto di ricerca, finalizzato alla messa a punto di un modello di governance integrato città-mobilità-energia. In particolare, la prima parte del lavoro è finalizzato alla definizione di un quadro conoscitivo del complesso rapporto tra mobilità, consumi energetici e ambiente costruito mediante una rassegna della letteratura scientifica più recente. In particolare, in tale sezione, vengono considerate le due principali fonti di consumo energetico in ambito urbano (il consumo energetico nel settore residenziale ed il consumo energetico dei trasporti) che costituiscono i settori di maggiore incidenza in Italia, rappresentando, secondo le più recenti stime, rispettivamente il 32% e 35% del consumo finale di energia. Vengono dunque presentate diverse caratteristiche dell’ambiente costruito quali, ad esempio, la densità, il mix funzionale o l’accessibilità e descritto come tali fattori influenzano il consumo energetico nel settore dei trasporti e nel settore residenziale. La comprensione di tali relazione risulta essere infatti di fondamentale importanza per la messa a punto di un mix coordinato di azioni finalizzate alla riduzione del consumo energetico in ambito urbano. Successivamente, vengono presentati i principali modelli presenti in letteratura per la stima dei consumi energetici residenziali e dei trasporti in ambito urbano, ponendo particolare attenzione ai punti di forza e di debolezza e di debolezza di ciascun modello, alla complessità ed agli aspetti tecnico-operativi connessi con l’implementazione di tali modelli. Nella seconda parte del lavoro viene presentato un focus sulle tecniche per la rappresentazione e la classificazione dei consumi energetici delle aree urbane, mediante una applicazione al caso studio di Napoli. Tale sezione in particolare pone particolare enfasi sulle nuove opportunità offerte dai Sistemi Informativi Geografici (GIS) e dalla crescente disponibilità di nuove fonti di dati. Il lavoro infatti integra l’utilizzo di fonti di dati “tradizionali” quali le indagini censuarie, nuove fonti di dati (in particolar modo dati aperti e big data) con analisi spaziali sviluppate ad hoc per fornire una conoscenza esaustiva dei pattern di consumo energetico all’interno del Comune di Napoli. La metodologia proposta è validata tramite il confronto dei risultati ottenuti con i dati precedentemente disponibili per l’area di studio e mediante l’implementazione di analisi statistiche di tipo spaziale in ambiente GIS. La metodologia proposta costituisce un utile strumento di supporto per decisori pubblici e policy makers per la definizione di strategie di governo integrato finalizzate alla riduzione e ottimizzazione dei consumi energetici pubblici e privati. In particolare, la metodologia descritta risulta essere utile per la classificazione e la rappresentazione dei consumi energetici a scala urbana, per l’individuazione delle problematiche energetiche presenti sul territorio e la valutazione ex post degli interventi sul sistema urbano. Infine, l’ultima parte del lavoro propone una analisi degli strumenti, delle azioni e delle best practices per la riduzione dei consumi energetici in ambito urbano. In particolar modo in tale capitolo vengono presentati gli strumenti di governo della mobilità alla scala urbana, descrivendo, per ciascuno di essi, i principali obiettivi, i contenuti e le modalità di attuazione. Vengono inoltre introdotti inoltre due nuovi strumenti di governo delle trasformazioni territoriali, il Piano Energetico Comunale ed il Piano di Azione per l'Energia Sostenibile che definiscono le politiche energetiche dei Comuni, finalizzate al raggiungimento di obiettivi di riduzione delle di gas emissioni clima-alteranti, efficientemente energetico ed impiego di fonti energetiche rinnovabili. Successivamente, viene presentata una sintesi ragionata delle azioni che i singoli Comuni possono mettere in campo per contenere i consumi energetici nel settore dei trasporti. Tali azioni sono organizzate in forma di indirizzi e criteri di azione. Gli indirizzi costituiscono orientamenti di carattere generale di governo della mobilità. I criteri di azione invece rappresentano una specificazione in chiave operativa dei primi. Infine, nell’ultima parte del capitolo vengono presentati alcuni casi di studio di interventi sulla mobilità urbana finalizzati al risparmio energetico realizzati in alcune città italiane ed europee. Si tratta di casi particolarmente rilevanti, esempi di una mobilità capace, da una parte, di ottimizzare l’uso e lo sviluppo delle risorse energetiche con interventi di risparmio dei combustibili tradizionali e di incentivazione all'utilizzo di fonti energetiche rinnovabili e, dall’altra, di rispondere alle nuove esigenze di trasporto di persone e merci in modo sicuro ed efficiente

Synesthesia, Hallucination, and Autism

Synesthesia literally means a “union of the senses” whereby two or more of the five senses that are normally experienced separately are involuntarily and automatically joined together in experience. For example, some synesthetes experience a color when they hear a sound, although many instances of synesthesia also occur entirely within the visual sense. In this paper, I first mainly engage critically with Sollberger’s view that there is reason to think that at least some synesthetic experiences can be viewed as truly veridical perceptions, and not as illusions or hallucinations. Among other things, I explore the possibility that many forms of synesthesia can be understood as experiencing what I will call “second-order secondary properties,” that is, experiences of properties of objects induced by the secondary qualities of those objects. In doing so, I shed some light on why synesthesia is typically one-directional and its relation to some psychopathologies such as autism