Thought experiments in current metaphilosophical debates

Although thought experiments were first discovered as a sui generis methodological tool by philosophers of science (most prominently by Ernst Mach), the tool can also be found – even more frequently – in contemporary philosophy. Thought experiments in philosophy and science have a lot in common. However, in this chapter we will concentrate on thought experiments in philosophy only. Their use has been the centre of attention of metaphilosophical discussion in the past decade, and this chapter will provide an overview of the results this discussion has achieved and point out which issues are still open

But Is It Interpretivism?

In this critical notice I raise a couple of questions concerning Mölder’s ambitious metaphysics, aimed at underpinning his Ascription Theory. I argue that some of the points he takes to depend on this metaphysics are in fact independent of it. I further question whether the relation between the mental and the physical is quite so unlike relations between special science entities and physics as Mölder suggests. Finally I relate Mölder’s Ascription Theory in very compressed form and suggest that although its loosening of the strictures on what evidence an ascriber of mental attitudes may avail herself of, it is not clear that the theory can really do without rationality considerations of the sort emphasised by Davidson and Dennett—at least if it is to count as a species of interpretivism

The EU State Aid Prohibition and Taxation – The Expanding Scope of Art. 107 TFEU

A topic that has received a significant amount of attention within the international community is the concept of harmful tax competition. This is of particular relevance to the EU due to the additional exposure to this problem the Member States experience by virtue of the internal market. A closely related concept is that of aggressive tax planning where multinational enterprises abuse mismatches between tax systems allowing them to pay low or no tax on large parts of their profits. The Commission’s recent State aid investigations into the advanced rulings handed out by Member States is an attempt to resolve a situation where Member States facilitate tax avoidance for tax competition purposes. This paper focus on the four investigations where a final decision has been reached: Starbucks, Fiat, Apple and Excess Profit. The paper introduces the reader to the background of tax competition before explaining the current state of the law surrounding the notion of State aid in Art. 107. The focus is on the concept of the selective advantage in the area of tax law. A review of the ECJ’s case law in this area show a significant degree of inconsistency in how the test of selective advantage is to be applied. The ECJ puts a major emphasis on the question of competitive advantages being granted on a discriminatory basis. This is contrary to the traditional idea of State aid which require there to be a transfer of state resources to an undertaking. But the ECJ seem to consider evidence of unequal treatment under the tax laws as enough to raise a presumption that this prerequisite is fulfilled. Using that logic the Commission argues in the cases mentioned above that a failure to abide by the OECD’s arm’s length principle in the area of transfer pricing is contrary to Art. 107. As this paper illustrates this further expands the scope of Art. 107 to such a degree that the Commission can be regarded as harmonizing this area of law through the State aid process. This paper argues that this interpretation by the Commission infringes too much on the Member States’ tax sovereignty and that a more restrictive approach to the State aid test is needed.Ett ämne som väckt stora diskussioner inom internationell skatterätt är fenomenet skadlig skattekonkurrens mellan länder. Detta är speciellt relevant för EU-samarbetet då den inre marknaden innebär ökade möjligheter för länder att delta i sådan konkurrens. Ett närliggande problem är så kallat aggressiv skatteplanering som avser när multinationella företag utnyttjar skiljaktigheter mellan jurisdiktioner för att tillägna sig skattemässiga fördelar. Kommissionen nådde nyligen fyra beslut där medlemsstater hade givit ut förhandsbeslut som hade faciliterat sådan skatteplanering; Starbucks, Fiat, Apple och Excess Profits. Detta ansågs av Kommissionen vara statligt stöd. Denna uppsats fokuserar på en rättslig analys av dessa. Uppsatsen förklarar innebörden av skattekonkurrens i en kortare bakgrundsdel innan den sedan fortsätter med en analys av rättsläget. Fokuset ligger på frågan om hur statligt stöd ska definieras under Art. 107. Det visar sig att ECJ’s praxis angående denna fråga inte är konsekvent. Domstolen använder en mycket vid definition av statligt stöd genom att fokusera på om konkurrensfördelar föreligger mellan jämförbara företag som följd av skattereglerna. I domstolens ögon är det ofta tillräckligt att bevisa att så är fallet för att rekvisiten angående statliga resurser och ekonomisk gynning ska vara presumerade uppfyllda. Kommissionen utnyttjar denna praxis för att argumentera för att medlemsstater bryter mot reglerna angående statligt stöd om de inte applicerar armlängdsprincipen i enlighet med OECD’s riktlinjer. Denna uppsats tar en kritisk syn på detta och visar att kommissionen i själva verket harmoniserar skattereglerna i EU på detta område genom dess tillämpning av Art. 107. Detta kritiseras i uppsatsen för att gå för långt i inskränkningen av medlemsstaternas kompetens inom skatteområdet. Författaren argumenterar därefter för en mer restriktiv praxis på detta rättsområde

But Is It Interpretivism?

In this critical notice I raise a couple of questions concerning Mölder’s ambitious metaphysics, aimed at underpinning his Ascription Theory. I argue that some of the points he takes to depend on this metaphysics are in fact independent of it. I further question whether the relation between the mental and the physical is quite so unlike relations between special science entities and physics as Mölder suggests. Finally I relate Mölder’s Ascription Theory in very compressed form and suggest that although its loosening of the strictures on what evidence an ascriber of mental attitudes may avail herself of, it is not clear that the theory can really do without rationality considerations of the sort emphasised by Davidson and Dennett—at least if it is to count as a species of interpretivism

The Role of Intuitions in Philosophy

Editorial to the special issue "The Role of Intuitions in Philosophical Methodology"

Management plan for Gammliaskogen

En stor andel av naturbesöken sker i anslutning till bostaden. Genom att skapa en skötselplan för den tätortsnära naturen kan risken att viktiga områden försummas eller glöms bort minimeras. Få kommuner har en övergripande strategi för sina grönområden och 2011 hade bara hälften av kommunerna påbörjat arbetet med att ta fram en strategi. Länsmuseet Gammlia har ingen plan för sitt trädbevuxna markinnehav och är positiv till en sådan. Jag har upprättat en skötselplan som omfattar delar av Länsmuseets trädbevuxna område och sträcker sig 50 år framåt i tiden. En inventering utfördes för att fastställa nuvarande skogstillstånd. Vanligt förekommande besöksgrupper identifierades och deras vanligaste preferenser sammanställdes med stöd av en litteraturstudie. De besöksgrupper som identifierades var barngrupper, hundägare, genom- och förbipasserande samt besökare till museet. Övergripande för alla grupper är att variation i skogen upplevs positivt. Barngrupper föredrar övergången mellan öppen äng till buskskog och vuxen skog. Gles ungskog med mindre gläntor, byggmaterial och klätterträd är positivt för lek. Mellan barngrupper och hundägare kan det uppstå en konflikt och därför har en hundskog föreslagits. För genom- och förbipasserande är det bra att öka orienterbarheten samt minska vind och buller. Naturen runt den samiska utställningen har anpassats för att återge den natur som omger förebilderna till vistena och för att minska sikten mellan de olika vistena. Besöksgruppernas preferenser och de ekologiska förutsättningarna ligger till grund för val av skötselåtgärder. Skötselplanen har resulterat i att området har delats upp i avdelningar och fått en eller flera skötselförslag. Skötselförslagen syftar till att utveckla det befintliga skogsbeståndet så att det matchar de identifierade besöksgruppernas preferenser. Denna skötselplan kan tjäna som inspiration till hur skötselåtgärder kan användas för att påverka skogens utveckling i föredragen riktning.A high percentage of nature visits are made close to home. By creating a management plan we can minimize the risk of important areas in urban nature being neglected or forgotten. Few municipalities have a comprehensive strategy for its nature areas and in 2011 only half of the municipalities had begun developing a strategy for these areas. The county museum Gammlia has no management plan for its forested area and is positive in receiving one. I have made a management plan covering parts of the county museums forested area and extend 50 years into the future. An inventory was conducted to determine the current state of the forest. Frequent visiting groups were identified and their common preferences where compiled on the basis of a literature review. The main groups identified were groups of children, dog owners, people passing through and visitors to the museum. Variation is perceived positively for all groups. Children prefer environments representing the borderland between the closed forest and the open meadow. Diverse young forest with glades, building material and climbing trees are forest structures that are positive for children’s play. Sometime there is conflict between visitors, for example children and dog owners. I have suggested a dog forest should be created to give groups of children opportunity to choose a different area for their play. Orientation, wind- and noise reduction are identified as important for people passing through. The forest surrounding the Sami settlements are suggested to reflect their natural environment. The county museum wished to reduce the sight between the Sami settlements. Selections of silvicultural measures are based on visitor groups´ preferences and the forest ecological conditions. I have divided the plan area into compartments which I have given one or more management proposal. Management proposal aims to develop the current state of the forest to match the preferences of identified visitor groups. This management plan can also serve as inspiration for other end users as in how silvicultural measures can be used to influence forest development in a preferred direction

Om eldbegångelser under kriget i Finland

Intet resumé

Finlands Krematorium i Helsinki (Helsingfors)

Intet resumé

Phytoplankton dynamics in a shallow lake dominated by common water milfoil

Phytoplankton temporal fluctuation and vertical distribution were studied by seasonal and close interval siphon sampling (May-Sep) in a shallow lake dominated by common water milfoil (Myriophyllum sibiricum). Factors potentially regulating phytoplankton primary production were investigated in situ in 2 enrichment bioassays. The results suggest that the macrophyte vegetation provided an unfavourable habitat for large colonial chlorophytes. Small species, mainly cryptophytes but also small chlorophytes and cyanobacteria, characterised the summer phytoplankton. Phytoplankton abundance as well as primary production were considerable and remained in the mesotrophic range. The total nitrogen to total phosphorus ratio during the growth season, and the enrichment bioassays, showed that phosphorus was a significant regulator of primary production. Small-celled species had competitive advantages in the dense vegetation, and the canopy structure created by dense stands of common water milfoil allowed phytoplankton growth. Hence, although the macrophytes altered the physical and chemical conditions in the lake, coexistence of small-celled algae and macrophytes was possible

Diurnal Preference Contributes to Maximal UVB Sensitivity by the Hour of the Day in Human Skin In Vivo

Non peer reviewe