Knowing Things in Themselves

A perennial epistemological question is whether things can be known just as they are in the absence of any awareness of them. This epistemological question is posterior to ontological considerations and more specific ones pertaining to mind. In light of such considerations, the author propounds a naïve realist, foundationalist account of knowledge of things in themselves, one that makes crucial use of the work of Brentano. After introducing the resources provided by Brentano’s study of mind, the author reveals the ontological framework in which it takes place. Doing so is instrumental to illuminating acquaintance, the state that enables the direct engagement of a mind and some other thing. The author discusses this state and shows how it has the epistemic heft, with a Brentanian account of judgment, to provide the foundations of one’s knowledge of the world. A naïve realist, foundationalist account of knowledge is open to a compelling objection; the author presents this objection with the means of undermining it. In conclusion, the author recurs to the opening theme of the primacy of ontology and suggests that familiar misgivings about knowing things in themselves are all based on questionable—and ultimately untenable—ontological presuppositions

What Is Time?

In this paper, I answer the question of what time is. First, however, I consider why one might ask this question and what exactly it is asking. The latter consideration reveals that in order to answer the question, one must first engage in a more basic investigation of what a thing, anything at all, is. Such radical investigation requires a special methodology. After briefly characterizing this methodology, I show how it can be employed to answer the titular question. This answer is significant not merely because it illuminates something of perennial interest, but because it is essential to a comprehensive and fully satisfactory metaphysics of time and, hence, to a view of the full structure in reality

Structure, Intentionality and the Given

The given is the state of a mind in its primary engagement with the world. A satisfactory epistemology—one, it turns out, that is foundationalist and includes a naïve realist view of perception—requires a certain account of the given. Moreover, knowledge based on the given requires both a particular view of the world itself and a heterodox account of judgment. These admittedly controversial claims are supported by basic ontological considerations. I begin, then, with two contradictory views of the world per se and the structure one experiences. I draw out the consequences of these two views for what intentionality is. The two views yield incompatible accounts of the given. The definitive spontaneity of the one account, and passivity of the other, can be understood in terms of the structure (or lack thereof) in the given. In defense of the claim that a structured given is not an apt epistemic basis, I examine an attempt to found an epistemology on such an account in light of the so-called myth of the given. I maintain that the given, if it is to provide some justification for taking the world to be a particular way, must be unstructured. To support this, I first discuss a significant problem with traditional foundationalism. I then argue that a satisfactory (foundationalist) epistemology requires the rejection of the orthodox propositional view of judgment in favor of a non-propositional, reistic view

Higgs boson decay into four leptons at NLOPS electroweak accuracy

In view of precision studies of the Higgs sector at the Run II of the LHC, the improvement of the accuracy of the theoretical prediction is becoming a pressing issue. In this framework, we detail a calculation of the full Next-to-Leading Order (NLO) electroweak corrections to Higgs boson decay into four charged leptons, by considering the gold-plated channel H -> Z(*) Z(*) -> 2l 2l', l,l' = e, mu. We match the NLO corrections with a QED Parton Shower (PS), in order to simulate exclusive multiple photon emission and provide novel results at NLOPS electroweak accuracy. We compare our NLO predictions to those of the program Prophecy4f and present NLOPS phenomenological results relevant for Higgs physics studies, with particular attention to precision measurements of the Higgs boson mass, spin-parity assignment and tests of the Standard Model. Our calculation is implemented in a new code, Hto4l, which can be easily interfaced to any generator describing Higgs boson production. As an example, we provide illustrative results for Higgs production and decay in the process gg -> H -> 4l using POWHEG with NLOPS accuracy in the production mode.Comment: 27 pages, 2 tables, 9 figures. New numerical results and plots for dressed leptons. Conclusions unchanged. Version to appear in JHE

Reliability analysis of deep pressurized tunnels excavated in the rock mass with rheological behavior

Design of pressurized tunnels in rock masses which have a time -dependent behavior is a challenging task. On the one hand, time -dependent behavior not only imposes extra pressure to the tunnel lining but also leads the rock mass hydraulic conductivity to vary continuously; this aspect can exert another adding pressure to the lining. On the other hand, the uncertainty of the rock mass properties, which can differ from one point to another one, is another source of instability. Furthermore, the excavation method, i.e., poor blasting, which creates a weaker damaged zone around the tunnel, intensifies the complexity of the problem. This paper presents a probabilistic approach to investigate the influencing factors on the behavior of underwater tunnels. The behavior of the original and damaged rock masses is considered as visco-elastoplastic (using the CVISC model) in order to be able to consider its rheological character. Four parameters including Geological Strength Index (GSI), rock mass permeability, thickness of the damaged zone, and Kelvin shear modulus, which showed the most influencing effects in a developed sensitive analysis, were chosen as random variables. The Monte Carlo Method (MCM) was used to generate random values for these variables, adopting the normal distribution. Then, the response surface methodology (RSM) was used to intelligently lessen the number of generated values, and then to prepare datasets with the inclusion of all variables. The calculations were carried out for each provided dataset by a tridimensional numerical model (FLAC3D code) to obtain the tunnel wall displacement and the lining pressure, over time, as the results of the calculation. The RSM is again employed to obtain the relationships between inputs and output values and finally to have the probability function of the outputs. The results show that a right-skewed Gamma distribution governs the outputs: i.e. the distribution mass is concentrated on the left side of the probability distribution. Furthermore, when the water pressure is enhanced, the skewness of the probability distribution for the tunnel wall convergence and the lining pressure increases and decreases, respectively. Finally, it was possible to detect how the designing of pressurized tunnels using a deterministic approach, which adopts a unique value for the input parameters, may be misleading when the internal water pressures are high

Boundary effects in extended dynamical systems

In the framework of spatially extended dynamical systems, we present three examples in which the presence of walls lead to dynamic behavior qualitatively different from the one obtained in an infinite domain or under periodic boundary conditions. For a nonlinear reaction-diffusion model we obtain boundary-induced spatially chaotic configurations. Nontrivial average patterns arising from boundaries are shown to appear in spatiotemporally chaotic states of the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky model. Finally, walls organize novel states in simulations of the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation.Comment: Proceedigs of LAWNP'99. To be published in Physica A. Uses the Elsart style. This short paper is intended as a summary of our recent work on boundary influences in extended dynamical systems, with links to more detailed papers. Related material at http://www.imedea.uib.es/PhysDept

Productivity and working costs of modern trench-cutters for the construction of concrete diaphragms in an urban environment

In the excavation of shallow underground works in an urban environment using the ‘cut and cover' method, the choice is often made to use concrete diaphragms in order to support the side walls, before proceeding with the excavation of the ground. When these diaphragms exceed a depth of about 20 m, trench-cutters are generally used to excavate the panels, using a supply of bentonite mud. A remarkable development of trench-cutters has taken place over the last 30 years and these machines today allow panels to be excavated in any type of ground whatsoever, even when it is highly cemented. The experience that has been gained in Turin (Italy) in recent years can be considered interesting, because of the huge number of diaphragms that have been completed and the varying characteristics of the ground in the urban area, which ranges from loose sand and gravel to highly cemented ones. On the basis of detailed analysis of the in situ behaviour of trench-cutters in Turin and of laboratory investigations on the effects of wear on the tools, it has been possible to make a preliminary estimation of the construction costs and the productive times of the concrete diaphragms for the different types of geolog

Study of the systematic fully grouted rock bolts performance in tunnels considering installation condition of bolt head

A two-dimensional parametric numerical study is conducted to investigate some unknown aspects of the systematic fully grouted rock bolts performance in the stability of tunnels. The influence of the bolt head constraint conditions, i.e. a stiff steel plate on a smooth rigid basement or a rough basement (the rigid and flexible complexes, respectively) on the convergence confinement, development of the plastic band, and the maximum bolt force is studied in a tunnel located at a poor or good rock mass quality. As well, the difference of the tunnel convergence on the bolt head location and in the middle between the two bolts is the other investigated parameter. The results show that for a tunnel excavated in a poor rock mass quality at great depths (very squeezing condition), the difference of convergences must be considered, particularly for large openings in which the spacing of the bolts is not small