Physicalism and Humanism

In recent years philosophers have been discussing the pros and cons of the Identity Hypothesis of Herbert Feig! (Feig!, 1958). The Identity Hypothesis holds that feelings, expressed or described in phenomenalist language, are identical to brain states as described by rapidly developing neural science. The discussions abound with Ockham\u27s Razor, attacks on and defenses of emergentism, and appeals to Turing Machines as analogues (Hook, 1960). This paper does not propose to enter that particular dispute, although the author believes the Identity theorists have made the better case thus far. Rather, it is here proposed ,to widen the frame of reference surrounding such disputes. For, underlying the arguments, are considerations as to the promise of physical science for explaining our feelings, attitudes, language, acts, and behavior. An appraisal of such promise would seem to demand that account be taken of sciences other than neurophysiology which purport to explain our feelings, language, and acts. The three sciences particularly concerned are psychology, sociology, and linguistics

The inner reality in the dramatic works of Benavente

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University.An investigation of critics representing each of the six decades during which Benavente wrote his plays reveals a fundamental dichotomy of opinion regarding the dramatist's attitude toward human existence. One group, including Pio Baroja, Manuel Bueno, Perez de Ayala, Diaz Plaja and others, maintains that Benavente demonstrates a generally consistent pessimistic and cynical view of man and society. Some among this group believe that this attitude emanates from a materialistic, amoral and even atheistic philosophy on the part of Benavente. The other group of critics, including Gonzalez Blanco, Onis, Lazaro, Valbuena Prat and others, believe that despite an initial pessimism and cynicism, Benavente gradually develops an interest in the inner world of human existence, and moves toward a more idealistic view. The present study establishes and defines the existence of the two opposing schools of Benavente criticism referred to above, and attempts to reconcile them. Our own study, based on an investigation of the complete dramatic and non-dramatic works of Benavente, reveals that the dramatist has a two-fold view of the human condition: 1) "External Reality", or man's environment, presents him with an essentially tragic existence which man cannot alter. 2) "Inner Reality", or man's spiritual and imaginative resources provide him with the means to find refuge, consolation or escape from the tragedy of his environment. [TRUNCATED

An analysis of workbooks in economic geography

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University, 1949. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Bends in the plane with variable curvature

Explicit formulae for planar variable curvature bends are constructed using Euler’s method of natural equations. The bend paths are expressed in terms of special functions. It is shown that the length of the different bend types varies linearly with increasing radius and that the curvature of variable curvature bends can be expressed as a multiple of the curvature of a circle

Closing the loop: A combined computational modeling and experimental approach provides novel insights into immune cell signaling systems and their global effects.

Systems biology is an approach that marries complimentary disciplines, encouraging the use of quantitative methods to help define, explain, and predict biological processes. By building computational models of biological systems, we can pose new biologically motivated questions and make falsifiable, quantitative predictions. In this thesis I will discuss the cycle of model building and experimental validation, and how it has provided insight into poorly and understood systems and allowed us to predict the effects of perturbations on these systems, which could have real and significant effects in human health and medicine. First, we model the activation of neutrophils in sepsis. By fitting a single model to two sets of data, coming from animals that survive and succumb to the same bacterial challenge, we create a realistic representation of biological variation, showing how a single network architecture can lead to different outcomes. Additionally, this method allows us to identify markers for sepsis susceptibility and identify and optimize a potential treatment option to lead to improved outcomes. Next, we model signaling downstream of the T cell receptor, and how this leads to differentiation decision making in CD4 T cells. By modeling the dynamics of this signaling network under varying antigen doses, we are able to identify network elements critical to dose discrimination, leading to the production of Treg cells following low dose stimulation and Th cells following high dose stimulation. We can then perturb these elements of the network, to potentially fine tune mature T cell populations to alter the trajectories of autoimmune disorders or cancer. Finally, we model the dynamics of IL-17 signaling. This allows us to understand how ubiquitin scaffolds form following cytokine stimulation, leading to the activation of NF-B, and how the ubiquitin editing enzyme A20 acts as a negative feedback regulator by breaking these chains. This allows us to better understand ubiquitin oligomerization as a fulcrum in the system, and how changes in A20 and ubiquitin binding proteins lead to different profiles of NF-B activation and could play a role in inflammatory disorders

Periodic Optical Variability of Radio Detected Ultracool Dwarfs

A fraction of very low mass stars and brown dwarfs are known to be radio active, in some cases producing periodic pulses. Extensive studies of two such objects have also revealed optical periodic variability and the nature of this variability remains unclear. Here we report on multi-epoch optical photometric monitoring of six radio detected dwarfs, spanning the $\sim$M8 - L3.5 spectral range, conducted to investigate the ubiquity of periodic optical variability in radio detected ultracool dwarfs. This survey is the most sensitive ground-based study carried out to date in search of periodic optical variability from late-type dwarfs, where we obtained 250 hours of monitoring, delivering photometric precision as low as $\sim$0.15%. Five of the six targets exhibit clear periodicity, in all cases likely associated with the rotation period of the dwarf, with a marginal detection found for the sixth. Our data points to a likely association between radio and optical periodic variability in late-M/early-L dwarfs, although the underlying physical cause of this correlation remains unclear. In one case, we have multiple epochs of monitoring of the archetype of pulsing radio dwarfs, the M9 TVLM 513-46546, spanning a period of 5 years, which is sufficiently stable in phase to allow us to establish a period of 1.95958 $\pm$ 0.00005 hours. This phase stability may be associated with a large-scale stable magnetic field, further strengthening the correlation between radio activity and periodic optical variability. Finally, we find a tentative spin-orbit alignment of one component of the very low mass binary LP 349-25.Comment: Accepted to The Astrophysical Journal; 22 pages; 12 figure

The design of curved optical waveguides : analytical and numerical analysis

A model for understanding the formation and propagation of modes in curved optical waveguides is developed. A numerical method for the calculation of curved waveguide mode profiles and propagation constants in two dimensional waveguides is developed, implemented and tested. A numerical method for the analysis of propagation of modes in three dimensional curved optical waveguides is developed, implemented and tested. A technique for the design of curved waveguides with reduced transition loss is presented. A scheme for drawing these new waveguides and ensuring that they have constant width is also provided. Claims about the waveguide design technique are substantiated through numerical simulations