Obscurity and involvement on the unconscious of thought in Leibniz, Spinoza, and Hume

In this dissertation I argue for the central metaphysical importance of unconscious dimensions of thought in philosophical systems of Leibniz, Spinoza, and Hume, and analyze how these unconscious dimensions inform how each conceives of freedom and volition. I show that they develop robust accounts of unconscious perceptions, beliefs, desires, and habits of thinking, all of which participate significantly in shaping the processes by which we consciously make decisions. I claim that attention to this aspect of their philosophies, which has often been neglected, sheds important light on their reflections concerning whether and how individual freedom is possible. I show that, for all three of them, this kind of freedom is in fact possible, but only once we take into account these unconscious aspects of our determination as thinking subjects. For these philosophers, the unconscious dimensions of thought constitute limiting conditions for the possibility of individual freedom. I conclude by pointing to the categories of obscurity and involvement, which appear in each of their accounts, as being singularly useful for the project of exploring the unconscious of thought

Astrophysical neutrino production and impact of associated uncertainties in photo-hadronic interactions of UHECRs

High energy neutrinos can be produced by interactions of ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) in the dense radiation fields of their sources as well as off the cosmic backgrounds when they propagate through the universe. Multi-messenger interpretations of current measurements deeply rely on the understanding of these interactions. In order to efficiently produce neutrinos in the sources of UHECRs, at least a moderate level of interactions is needed, which means that a nuclear cascade develops if nuclei are involved. On the other hand, the available cross-section data and interaction models turn out to make poor predictions for most nuclei heavier than protons. We show the impact of these uncertainties in state-of-the-art photo-disintegration models and motivate nuclear cross-section measurements. Further, we discuss extensions for photo-meson models currently used in astrophysics and demonstrate the importance of understanding the details of UHECR interaction with the Glashow resonance.Comment: invited talk presented at ISVHECRI 2018, submitted for publication to EPJ Web of Conference

Recent insights into zebrafish cardiac regeneration.

In humans, myocardial infarction results in ventricular remodeling, progressing ultimately to cardiac failure, one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In contrast to the adult mammalian heart, the zebrafish model organism has a remarkable regenerative capacity, offering the possibility to research the bases of natural regeneration. Here, we summarize recent insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern cardiac regeneration in the zebrafish.This work was supported by the European Research Council ERC Consolidator Grant 819717 – TransReg and the Swiss National Science Foundation grant ForceInRegeneration 310030L_182575.S