Is the Private Language Argument a Transcendental Argument?

Comparisons between Kant´s critique of pure reason and Wittgenstein´s critique of language, which became current in analytic philosophy (Cf. e.g Hacker 1972, 30.) seem not far-fetched in view of the impetus for the destruction of dogmatic metaphysics both philosophers share. Their relevance would gain though by an elaboration of their dissimilarities rather than by just stressing similarities. An example of the former approach, Weinert (1983, 412) contrasts the tools both critics of metaphysics employ: the distinction between analytic and synthetic judgments, and the description of the logic of languageuse and in particular the ´Argument from Epistemic Operators´ (Wittgenstein 1961, sects. 6.5, 6.51; 1958, §§ 246, 247, 251, 303; references in the form of paragraphnumbers are to the latter text) respectively. The analysis of the employment of those tools in anti-metaphysical arguments -and Weinert treats the Private Language Argument (PLA) as such (427-429)- enables to uncover underlying assumptions, e.g. the implicit assumption in Kant of a prior conceptual relation between concepts to which his notion of analysis is to be applied (430-431) and Wittgenstein´s explicit doctrine that "ordinary language is alright� (434)

Corrosion and corrosion prevention in gas turbines

The conditions governing the corrosion behavior in gas turbines are surveyed. Factors such as temperature, relative humidity, the presence of sulfur and nitrogen dioxide, and fuel quality are discussed. Electromechanical corrosion at relatively low temperature in compressors; oxidation; and hot corrosion (sulfidation) at high temperature in turbines are considered. Corrosion prevention by washing and rinsing, fueld additives, and corrosion resistant materials and coatings are reviewed

Relational capital, new knowledge and innovative ideas

Organisational learning occurs when people engage in exploration activities – activities aimed at acquiring and using new knowledge, ideas and insights. Exploration, explains Tom Mom, associate professor of strategic entrepreneurship at RSM, ‘is about people and organisations promoting things that are new to them,’ which can lead to new products, new technologies, or the company going into new markets

Investigating Managers' Exploration and Exploitation Activities: The Influence of Top-down, Bottom-up, and Horizontal Knowledge Inflows

This paper develops and tests hypotheses on the influence of a manager’s knowledge inflows on this manager’s exploration and exploitation activities. Based on a survey among managers of a leading electronics firm, the findings indicate, as expected, that top-down knowledge inflows of a manager positively relate to the extent to which this manager conducts exploitation activities, while they do not relate to a manager’s exploration activities. Furthermore, as expected, bottom-up and horizontal knowledge inflows of a manager positively relate to this manager’s exploration activities, while they do not relate to a manager’s exploitation activities. We contribute to current literature on exploration and exploitation by focusing on the manager level of analysis, and by adding the importance of knowledge flow configurations to the literature on the impact of organizational factors upon exploration and exploitation.Exploitation;Exploration;Bottom-up;Horizontal;Knowledge inflows;Manager-level;Top-down

SECANTO: a retrieval system and classification tool for simple artefacts

Secanto is a computer program that compares the shapes of artefacts like vessels, arrow points and axes by calculating dissimilarities. This comparison of objects leads into two interesting application areas: retrieval systems to obtain look-alikes of a specific object, and typologies of objects. However, just like human beings, automated classification systems are not perfect, but the type of mistakes they make are quite different, which may be one of the reasons that automatic classification systems are not so popular among archaeologists

SMILE: A novel dissimilarity-based procedure for detecting sparse-specific profiles in sparse contingency tables

International audienceA novel statistical procedure for clustering individuals characterized by sparse-specific profiles is introduced in the context of data summarized in sparse contingency tables. The proposed procedure relies on a single-linkage clustering based on a new dissimilarity measure designed to give equal influence to sparsity and specificity of profiles. Theoretical properties of the new dissimilarity are derived by characterizing single-linkage clustering using Minimum Spanning Trees. Such characterization allows the description of situations for which the proposed dissimilarity outperforms competing dissimilarities. Simulation examples are performed to demonstrate the strength of the new dissimilarity compared to 11 other methods. The analysis of a genomic data set dedicated to the study of molecular signatures of selection is used to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method in a real situatio

CACTUS, a document management system to support the archaeological and historical research of San Juan, a plantation on Curaçao

The CACTUS document management and analysis system was developed to aid the historical and archaeological research of San Juan, a plantation on Curaçao. The main task of the CACTUS system is providing access to more than 2000 digitized documents that belong to the “Letters and Papers” collection of the second Dutch West India Company roughly dating to the period 1700–1740. The advantage of the CACTUS system is that it is possible to query the documents on a very detailed level, as all occurring names of people, places and ships are indexed and searchable in several ways. In addition, a tool has been developed to detect the existence of relationships between the indexed subjects

Investor protection through model case procedures – implementing collective goals and individual rights under the 2012 Amendment of the German Capital Markets Model Case Act (KapMuG)

The German Capital Markets Model Case Act (KapMuG) and its amendment of 2012 highlight some fundamentals of collective redress in civil law countries at the example of model case procedures in the field of investor protection. That is why a survey of the ongoing activities of the European Union in the area of collective redress and of its repercussions on the member state level forms a suitable basis for the following analysis of the 2012 amendment of the KapMuG. It clearly brings into focus a shift from sector-specific regulation with an emphasis on the cross-border aspect of protecting consumers towards a “coherent approach” strengthening the enforcement of EU law. As a result, regulatory policy and collective redress are two sides of the same coin today. With respect to the KapMuG such a development brings about some tension between its aim to aggregate small individual claims as efficiently as possible and the dominant role of individual procedural rights in German civil procedure. This conflict can be illustrated by some specific rules of the KapMuG: its scope of application, the three-tier procedure of a model case procedure, the newly introduced notification of claims and the new opt-out settlement under the amended §§ 17-19

Investigating Managers' Exploration and Exploitation Activities: The Influence of Top-down, Bottom-up, and Horizontal Knowledge Inflows

This paper develops and tests hypotheses on the influence of a manager’s knowledge inflows on this manager’s exploration and exploitation activities. Based on a survey among managers of a leading electronics firm, the findings indicate, as expected, that top-down knowledge inflows of a manager positively relate to the extent to which this manager conducts exploitation activities, while they do not relate to a manager’s exploration activities. Furthermore, as expected, bottom-up and horizontal knowledge inflows of a manager positively relate to this manager’s exploration activities, while they do not relate to a manager’s exploitation activities. We contribute to current literature on exploration and exploitation by focusing on the manager level of analysis, and by adding the importance of knowledge flow configurations to the literature on the impact of organizational factors upon exploration and exploitation