What is "true" in internal realism?

This paper is a critical examination of Putnam's theory of truth as it evolves from metaphysical to internal realism. First, I analyze the model-theoretic argument that led Putnam to abandon the metaphysical concept of truth as correspondence and to adopt and epistemic view of truth. Though a powerful critique of the metaphysical realist conception of truth, this argument does not establish conclusively that the concept of truth has any epistemic content. Secondly, I discuss Putnam's idealization theory of truth, arguing that the identification of truth with "acceptability under ideal conditions" is at odds with the claim that truth is context-transcendent, since the notion of justification is intrinsically context-dependent and no amount of idealization can reedeem its contextual character. Finally, I suggest that the realist intuitions that Putnam's internal realism tries to capture call for no more than a deflationary view of truth. Acceptance of this view requires abandoning not only the idea that truth is an epistemic property, but also the idea that truth is a substantive property that all true statements share and, therefore, a proper object of philosophical theorizing.Aquest article és un examen critic de la teoria de la veritat de Putnam en la seva evolució des d'un realisme metafisic a un realisme intern. En primer lloc, presento una anàlisi de l'argument de la teoria de models que va dur a Putnam a abandonar el concepte metafísic de veritat corn a correspondència i a adoptar un concepte epistèmic de veritat. Aquest argument, encara que constitueix una potent crítica de la concepció de la veritat del realisme metafísic, no estableix conclusivament que la veritar tingui algun contingut epistèmic. En segon lloc, discuteixo la teoria idealitzada de la veritat de Putnam, tot argumentant que la identificació de la veritat amb "acceptabilitat en condicions ideals" no s'adiu amb la tesi que la veritat no és contextual sinó transcendent, per tal com la noció de justificació és intrínsecament contextual i no hi ha idealització que la pugui redimir d'aquest caracter. Finalment, suggereixo que les intuicions realistes que el realisme intern de Putnam intenta captar no requereixen més que una perspectiva deflacionista sobre la veritat. Adoptar aquesta perspectiva implica abandonar no sols la idea que la veritat és una propietat epistèmica, sinó també la idea que la veritat és una propietat substantiva que totes les afirmacions verdaderes comparteixen i que, per tant, és objecte d'una teoria filosòfica

Tongues United: Polyphonic Identities and the Hispanic Family

In this paper I will use the Bakhtinian notion of polyphony,1 of a choral dialogue of multiple and heterogeneous voices, to elaborate a pluralistic account of cultural identity in general and of Hispanic identity in particular. I will complicate and further pluralize the Bakhtinian notion by talking about the overlapping and criss-crossing dialogues of heterogeneous voices that go into the formation of cultural identities. My pluralistic view emphasizes that cultural identity is bound up with differences and opposes those homogeneous models that try to impose a unique articulation of collective identity on the members of a group. Although I will not explicitly discuss the complex relations between cultural identity and racial and ethnic identity,2 my pluralistic view underscores that racial and ethnic elements are crucial components of cultural identity and of its heterogeneous nature; and I oppose those contemporary views that talk about post-ethnic and post-racial identities, trying to purify individual and collective identities of racial and ethnic meanings.

Pluecker-type relations for orthogonal planes

We explore a Pluecker-type relation which occurs naturally in the study of maximally supersymmetric solutions of certain supergravity theories. This relation generalises at the same time the classical Pluecker relation and the Jacobi identity for a metric Lie algebra and coincides with the Jacobi identity of a metric n-Lie algebra. In low dimension we present evidence for a geometric characterisation of the relation in terms of middle-dimensional orthogonal planes in euclidean or lorentzian inner product spaces.Comment: 39 pages (v2: substantial revision, 33% more material, link with n-Lie algebras

Changes in Daytime Hours of Work and Employment in Colombia

We estimate the effect on hourly wages and hours of work, of an increase in the number of hours of work, defined by law as daytime hours of work. To identify the parameter of interest, we estimate difference in difference models. Although we do not know the working hour schedule; we exploit the necessary conditions for the intervention to affect them, to define treatment and comparison groups. We find that wages of males older than 25 working in industry in metropolitan areas decreased more than 11% due to the reform, while females older than 25 working in industry in metropolitan areas reduced their hours of work per week in 3.6 hours. There is evidence, although weaker, of increases in hourly wages for male workers in the other sectors of the economy. This suggests that employers increased labor demand in those sectors. Overall, the reform would have had positive effects on all workers but those in industry.Classification JEL: K31; J20; J30.

- SEQUENTIAL DECISIONS IN THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PROBLEM

This paper studies the sequential mechanisms which mimic matching procedures formany-to-one-real-life matching markets. We provide a family of mechanisms implementing thestudent´ optimal allocation in subgame perfect equibrium.Matching, Implementation, Mechanism Design

Sequential decisions in the college admissions problem.

This paper studies sequential mechanisms which mimic a matching procedures for many-to-one real life matching markets. We provide a family of mechanisms implementing the students' optimal allocation in Subgame Perfect Equilibrium.Matching markets; College admission problems; Mechanism design;

Change and development in the Spanish wine industry, 1950-2009

In recent years the European winegrowing regions have been carrying out deep changes in response to increasing international competition, outstanding the case of Spain. This study analyses the main sequences of changes the Spanish wine industry has undergone: the evolution of consumption; the role of exports; the spread of marketing and business organization; the factors that have been involved in the modernization of the wineries. An initial valuation leads us to conclude that it has been an authentic wine revolution in reference to the transformations that have occurred in a period of farming changes and technological modernization for the businessesWine industry revolution, technological modernization, enological change, Spain, twentieth century.

On the structure of symmetric self-dual Lie algebras

A finite-dimensional Lie algebra is called (symmetric) self-dual, if it possesses an invariant nondegenerate (symmetric) bilinear form. Symmetric self-dual Lie algebras have been studied by Medina and Revoy, who have proven a very useful theorem about their structure. In this paper we prove a refinement of their theorem which has wide applicability in Conformal Field Theory, where symmetric self-dual Lie algebras start to play an important role due to the fact that they are precisely the Lie algebras which admit a Sugawara construction. We also prove a few corollaries which are important in Conformal Field Theory. (This paper provides mathematical details of results used, but only sketched, in the companion paper hep-th/9506151.)Comment: 19 pages, .dvi.uu (needs AMSFonts 2.1+

The probability of default in internal ratings based (IRB) models in Basel II: an application of the rough sets methodology

El nuevo Acuerdo de Capital de junio de 2004 (Basilea II) da cabida e incentiva la implantación de modelos propios para la medición de los riesgos financieros en las entidades de crédito. En el trabajo que presentamos nos centramos en los modelos internos para la valoración del riesgo de crédito (IRB) y concretamente en la aproximación a uno de sus componentes: la probabilidad de impago (PD). Los métodos tradicionales usados para la modelización del riesgo de crédito, como son el análisis discriminante y los modelos logit y probit, parten de una serie de restricciones estadísticas. La metodología rough sets se presenta como una alternativa a los métodos estadísticos clásicos, salvando las limitaciones de estos. En nuestro trabajo aplicamos la metodología rought sets a una base de datos, compuesta por 106 empresas, solicitantes de créditos, con el objeto de obtener aquellos ratios que mejor discriminan entre empresas sanas y fallidas, así como una serie de reglas de decisión que ayudarán a detectar las operaciones potencialmente fallidas, como primer paso en la modelización de la probabilidad de impago. Por último, enfrentamos los resultados obtenidos con los alcanzados con el análisis discriminante clásico, para concluir que la metodología de los rough sets presenta mejores resultados de clasificación, en nuestro caso.The new Capital Accord of June 2004 (Basel II) opens the way for and encourages credit entities to implement their own models for measuring financial risks. In the paper presented, we focus on the use of internal rating based (IRB) models for the assessment of credit risk and specifically on the approach to one of their components: probability of default (PD). In our study we apply the rough sets methodology to a database composed of 106 companies, applicants for credit, with the object of obtaining those ratios that discriminate best between healthy and bankrupt companies, together with a series of decision rules that will help to detect the operations potentially in default, as a first step in modelling the probability of default. Lastly, we compare the results obtained against those obtained using classic discriminant análisis. We conclude that the rough sets methodology presents better risk classification results.Junta de Andalucía P06-SEJ-0153