What Accuracy Could Not Be

Two different programs are in the business of explicating accuracy—the truthlikeness program and the epistemic utility program. Both assume that truth is the goal of inquiry, and that among inquiries that fall short of realizing the goal some get closer to it than others. TL theorists have been searching for an account of the accuracy of propositions. Epistemic utility theorists have been searching for an account of the accuracy of credal states. Both assume we can make cognitive progress in an inquiry even while falling short of the target. I show that the prospects for combining these two programs are bleak. A core accuracy principle, Proximity, that is universally embraced within the Truthlikeness program turns out to be incompatible with a central principle within the Epistemic Utility program, namely Propriety

Normative Judgment and Rational Requirements: A Reply to Ridge

I examine and rebut Ridge’s two arguments for Capacity Judgment Internalism (simply qua their particular character and content, first person normative judgments are necessarily capable of motivating without the help of any independent desire). First, the rejection of the possibility of anormativism (sec. 2), second, an argument from the rational requirement to intend to do as one judges that one ought to do (sec. 3). I conclude with a few remarks about the nature of this requirement and about verdicts of akrasia. (sec. 4)

An Argument Against Commensurate Truthmakers

The core of the truthmaker research program is that true propositions are made true by appropriate parts of the actual world. This idea seems to give realists their best shot at capturing a robust account of the dependence of truth on the world. For a part of the world to be a truthmaker for a particular it must suffice for, or necessitate, the truth of the proposition. There are two extreme and unsatisfactory truthmaker theories. At one extreme any part of the world (up to and including the whole world) that suffices for a proposition is deemed to be a truthmaker for that proposition. At the other extreme there is only one truthmaker that can do the job, and that is the entire world, the whole show. Another possibility suggests itself, that a truthmaker be any minimal sufficer for a proposition. A truthmaker is minimal if it suffices but no proper part of it suffices. A minimal sufficer would be both sufficient for the truth of the proposition and, in one sense, necessary for it as well. A minimal sufficers would be commensurate with the proposition it makes true. Unfortunately not all propositions have minimal sufficers. But it does not follow that not every proposition has a commensurate sufficer. The problem, then, is to specify a coherent notion of commensurateness on which every truth has a commensurate sufficer. I argue that this problem may not be soluble

What Accuracy Could Not Be

Two different programs are in the business of explicating accuracy—the truthlikeness program and the epistemic utility program. Both assume that truth is the goal of inquiry, and that among inquiries that fall short of realizing the goal some get closer to it than others. TL theorists have been searching for an account of the accuracy of propositions. Epistemic utility theorists have been searching for an account of the accuracy of credal states. Both assume we can make cognitive progress in an inquiry even while falling short of the target. I show that the prospects for combining these two programs are bleak. A core accuracy principle, Proximity, that is universally embraced within the Truthlikeness program turns out to be incompatible with a central principle within the Epistemic Utility program, namely Propriety

The Helper

This is a short story about a domestic worker in Macau who is subjected to varying degrees of mistreatment, exploitation and physical/sexual abuse. The story tracks a short but tragic episode in the life of a young Filipino helper – Teresa – who works for an English expatriate family living in Macau. In a broad sense, it exposes the clashing of two very different existences – the prosperous, secure, comfortable life of the Western expat versus the poor, desperate, vulnerable existence of the Filipino helper. While focusing on Teresa\u27s personal experiences and the surprising transformation of her relationship with her employer, Mrs. Chippenham, the story highlights the precariousness of the situation in which Macau’s domestic workers operate. It also aims to reveal the systemic indifference of Macanese society - in both local and expatriate communities - to their plight

The Moral Case for the Legislation of Voluntary Euthanasia

If a person is suffering from some illness or disability and wishes to end their We the lawought to facilitate rather than frustrate that choice argues Graham Oddie in this article. Hepoints out the inconsistencies in current medical practice, and the gross disparity between the practice and the letter of the law. In dismissing many of the commonly raised objections to calls for reform of the law permitting euthanasia he makes a strong case for consistency in our approach to the right to die and patient autonomy

“I Don’t Believe the World Is Tilted”: Emotion, Struggle, and Relationship in Making Meaning With Texts

The purpose of this study was to understand how the social and cultural practices of classroom literacy instruction afforded students opportunities to make meaning with texts. Research was conducted from a sociocultural perspective that focused on students as participants in social learning, in a context of interactive relations. This study was responsive to contemporary developments of the sociocultural tradition, recognizing the importance of emotion and other subjective means for constructing understanding. Two classes of a turnaround school, 18 Second-Grade students and 20 Third-Grade students, were observed as they participated in Interactive Read Aloud and Guided Reading over a period of nine weeks. In both classes 50% of the students were English Language Learners. All instruction was in English and was delivered in hyflex format. Classroom discourse was analyzed using sociocultural concepts, followed by microanalysis that showed communication purposes and patterns of interaction. Students were found to draw upon multiple resources in making meaning: personal subjective experience, emotion, and interactions with peers and teachers in the social context. The findings show the importance of bringing all students into the shared process of making meaning and offer a new perspective on “failing” students as active makers of meaning