12 research outputs found

    The Role of Purpose in Legal Reasoning

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    I argue the concept of purpose or function plays a central role in understanding the nature of legal reasoning. Other views have emphasized other concepts in legal reasoning, like the concepts of language and morality. Theories that emphasize the role of language in legal reasoning argue that legal reasoning primarily involves the ascertainment of the linguistic content of legal norms; I call these “law as language” views. Theories that emphasize the role of morality in legal reasoning I call “natural law theory.” Both of these theories have their own problems. The law as language view fails to account for reasoning involving unwritten law. Natural law theory does better at explaining reasoning involving unwritten law, but fails to properly explain the nature of reasoning about written law. Oftentimes, judges say that they are applying a law they deem to be unjust. For example, a judge might be putting into action a legislative intent that they do not think represents the best moral justification of the legal system in question, but that nonetheless represents the legally correct result of the case at hand. I recast both the law as language view and natural law theory as offering different ways of ascertaining the purpose of the law in different domains. The role played by purpose is thus more systematic in legal reasoning than the roles played by language and morality. Appeal to purpose plays an important role in both written and unwritten law, and can proceed in a moralized or non- moralized manner.Doctor of Philosoph

    The 16th Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: First Release from the APOGEE-2 Southern Survey and Full Release of eBOSS Spectra

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    This paper documents the 16th data release (DR16) from the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys (SDSS), the fourth and penultimate from the fourth phase (SDSS-IV). This is the first release of data from the Southern Hemisphere survey of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2); new data from APOGEE-2 North are also included. DR16 is also notable as the final data release for the main cosmological program of the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS), and all raw and reduced spectra from that project are released here. DR16 also includes all the data from the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey and new data from the SPectroscopic IDentification of ERosita Survey programs, both of which were co-observed on eBOSS plates. DR16 has no new data from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey (or the MaNGA Stellar Library "MaStar"). We also preview future SDSS-V operations (due to start in 2020), and summarize plans for the final SDSS-IV data release (DR17)

    The 16th Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys : First Release from the APOGEE-2 Southern Survey and Full Release of eBOSS Spectra

    Get PDF
    This paper documents the 16th data release (DR16) from the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys (SDSS), the fourth and penultimate from the fourth phase (SDSS-IV). This is the first release of data from the Southern Hemisphere survey of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2); new data from APOGEE-2 North are also included. DR16 is also notable as the final data release for the main cosmological program of the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS), and all raw and reduced spectra from that project are released here. DR16 also includes all the data from the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey and new data from the SPectroscopic IDentification of ERosita Survey programs, both of which were co-observed on eBOSS plates. DR16 has no new data from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey (or the MaNGA Stellar Library "MaStar"). We also preview future SDSS-V operations (due to start in 2020), and summarize plans for the final SDSS-IV data release (DR17).Peer reviewe

    Basic Moral Parity

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    Egalitarians hold that, despite the great variation in human beings and their properties, human beings are in some fundamental sense morally equal, an idea often referred to as basic moral equality. But there is a problem reconciling the fact of continuous human variation with a commitment to human moral equality. Previous attempts to solve this problem focus on similarities between persons in grounding their equal moral worth. This thesis adopts an alternative approach in that it holds that we need to attend, not just to the similarities between individuals, but also to the differences between persons. As a result of this, the position defended here ultimately rejects basic moral equality in favor or basic moral parity, because of how the parity relation incorporates and manages the relative roles of similarity and difference in establishing the basic moral value of human persons.Master of Art

    Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Diagnostic Criteria Update: Recommendations of the 2012 International Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Consensus Conference

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    Diagnosis and treatment in chronic pancreatitis: an international survey and case vignette study

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    Background The aim of the study was to evaluate the current opinion and clinical decision-making process of international pancreatologists, and to systematically identify key study questions regarding the diagnosis and treatment of chronic pancreatitis (CP) for future research. Methods An online survey, including questions regarding the diagnosis and treatment of CP and several controversial clinical case vignettes, was send by e-mail to members of various international pancreatic associations: IHPBA, APA, EPC, ESGE and DPSG. Results A total of 288 pancreatologists, 56% surgeons and 44% gastroenterologists, from at least 47 countries, participated in the survey. About half (48%) of the specialists used a classification tool for the diagnosis of CP, including the Mayo Clinic (28%), Mannheim (25%), or Büchler (25%) tools. Overall, CT was the preferred imaging modality for evaluation of an enlarged pancreatic head (59%), pseudocyst (55%), calcifications (75%), and peripancreatic fat infiltration (68%). MRI was preferred for assessment of main pancreatic duct (MPD) abnormalities (60%). Total pancreatectomy with auto-islet transplantation was the preferred treatment in patients with parenchymal calcifications without MPD abnormalities and in patients with refractory pain despite maximal medical, endoscopic, and surgical treatment. In patients with an enlarged pancreatic head, 58% preferred initial surgery (PPPD) versus 42% initial endoscopy. In patients with a dilated MPD and intraductal stones 56% preferred initial endoscopic ± ESWL treatment and 29% preferred initial surgical treatment. Conclusion Worldwide, clinical decision-making in CP is largely based on local expertise, beliefs and disbeliefs. Further development of evidence-based guidelines based on well designed (randomized) studies is strongly encouraged
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