106 research outputs found
Cosmological Argument: A Pragmatic Defense
We formulate a sort of "generic" cosmological argument, i.e., a cosmological argument that shares premises (e.g., "contingent, concretely existing entities have a cause") with numerous versions of the argument. We then defend each of the premises by offering pragmatic arguments for them. We show that an endorsement of each premise will lead to an increase in expected utility; so in the absence of strong evidence that the premises are false, it is rational to endorse them. Therefore, it is rational to endorse the cosmological argument, and so rational to endorse theism. We then consider possible objection
Conceptualized direct perception: a hybrid theory of vision
I formulate a hybrid theory of perception, one in which the mind’s interaction with the world is a more direct affair than many suppose (no perceptual mental representations, no sense data, no Cartesian Theater), but one in which our concepts also play a role. My claims have implications for philosophical attempts to understand perception, cognitive science theories of vision, debates over the nature of consciousness, and philosophical debates concerning Artificial Intelligence
The Probable Efficiency of A Vocabulary Notebook In The Teaching of Latin Vocabulary.
Since the findings of the Classical Investigation have been reported, makers of Elementary Latin Textbooks have, among other things, stressed basal Latin vocabulary and English words derived therefrom. As a means of achieving a mastery of a larger vocabulary, they often advise the teacher to require pupils to make and keep a vocabulary notebook. Particularly this is advised in the Ullman-Henry Elementary Latin texts which the writer has used for the past six years. Upon submitting to the publishers of the Ullman-Henry texts, the vocabulary notebook which he had developed in teaching these texts, the writer received the comment that no one was as yet convinced as to the form each notebook should take, nor that it really paid in terms of learning, to use one. Since the use of a vocabulary notebook in class entails no small amount of extra labor on the part of the teacher and the pupil, it seemed eminently worth while to attempt to discover whether or not pupils really do learn more vocabulary as a result of using a notebook. This attempt was begun in the fall of 1929 and finished in the spring of 1931
Kochen-Specker Sets and Generalized Orthoarguesian Equations
Every set (finite or infinite) of quantum vectors (states) satisfies
generalized orthoarguesian equations (OA). We consider two 3-dim
Kochen-Specker (KS) sets of vectors and show how each of them should be
represented by means of a Hasse diagram---a lattice, an algebra of subspaces of
a Hilbert space--that contains rays and planes determined by the vectors so as
to satisfy OA. That also shows why they cannot be represented by a special
kind of Hasse diagram called a Greechie diagram, as has been erroneously done
in the literature. One of the KS sets (Peres') is an example of a lattice in
which 6OA pass and 7OA fails, and that closes an open question of whether the
7oa class of lattices properly contains the 6oa class. This result is important
because it provides additional evidence that our previously given proof of noa
=< (n+1)oa can be extended to proper inclusion noa < (n+1)oa and that nOA form
an infinite sequence of successively stronger equations.Comment: 16 pages and 5 figure
Hilbert Lattice Equations
There are five known classes of lattice equations that hold in every infinite
dimensional Hilbert space underlying quantum systems: generalised
orthoarguesian, Mayet's E_A, Godowski, Mayet-Godowski, and Mayet's E equations.
We obtain a result which opens a possibility that the first two classes
coincide. We devise new algorithms to generate Mayet-Godowski equations that
allow us to prove that the fourth class properly includes the third. An open
problem related to the last class is answered. Finally, we show some new
results on the Godowski lattices characterising the third class of equations.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figure
Kochen-Specker Vectors
We give a constructive and exhaustive definition of Kochen-Specker (KS)
vectors in a Hilbert space of any dimension as well as of all the remaining
vectors of the space. KS vectors are elements of any set of orthonormal states,
i.e., vectors in n-dim Hilbert space, H^n, n>3 to which it is impossible to
assign 1s and 0s in such a way that no two mutually orthogonal vectors from the
set are both assigned 1 and that not all mutually orthogonal vectors are
assigned 0. Our constructive definition of such KS vectors is based on
algorithms that generate MMP diagrams corresponding to blocks of orthogonal
vectors in R^n, on algorithms that single out those diagrams on which algebraic
0-1 states cannot be defined, and on algorithms that solve nonlinear equations
describing the orthogonalities of the vectors by means of statistically
polynomially complex interval analysis and self-teaching programs. The
algorithms are limited neither by the number of dimensions nor by the number of
vectors. To demonstrate the power of the algorithms, all 4-dim KS vector
systems containing up to 24 vectors were generated and described, all 3-dim
vector systems containing up to 30 vectors were scanned, and several general
properties of KS vectors were found.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, title changed, introduction thoroughly
rewritten, n-dim rotation of KS vectors defined, original Kochen-Specker 192
(117) vector system translated into MMP diagram notation with a new graphical
representation, results on Tkadlec's dual diagrams added, several other new
results added, journal version: to be published in J. Phys. A, 38 (2005). Web
page: http://m3k.grad.hr/pavici
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