(Mock-)Thinking about the Same

In this paper, I want to address once more the venerable problem of intentional identity, the problem of how different thoughts can be about the same thing even if this thing does not exist. First, I will try to show that antirealist approaches to this problem are doomed to fail. For they ultimately share a problematic assumption, namely that thinking about something involves identifying it. Second, I will claim that once one rejects this assumption and holds instead that thoughts are constituted either by what they are about, their intentional objects, or by what determines their proposition-like intentional contents, one can address the problem of intentional identity in a different way. One can indeed provide a new solution to it that basically relies on two factors: a) what sort of metaphysical nature intentional objects effectively possess, once they are conceived as schematic objects à la Crane (2001, 2013); b) whether such objects really belong to the overall ontological inventory of what there is. According to this solution, two thoughts are about the same nonexistent intentional object iff i) that object satisfies the identity criterion for objects of that metaphysical kind and ii) objects of that kind belong to the overall ontological inventory of what there is, independently of whether they exist (in a suitable first-order sense of existence). As such, this solution is neither realist nor antirealist: only if condition ii) is satisfied, different thoughts can be about the same nonexistent intentionale; otherwise, they are simply constituted by the same intentional content (provided that this content is not equated with that intentionale). Third, armed with this solution, I will hold that one can find a suitable treatment of the specific and related problem of whether different people may mock-think about the same thing, even if there really is no such thing. Finally, I will try to show that this treatment can be also applied to the case in which different thoughts are, according to phenomenology, about the same intentionale and yet this intentionale is of a kind such that there really are no things of that kind. For in this case, such thoughts are about the same intentionale only fictionally

EFPU roundtable: ‘EU Foreign Policy: The view from the Mediterranean’

On 19 January 2012 the LSE’s European Foreign Policy Unit hosted the third roundtable on ‘EU Foreign Policy after Lisbon’, entitled ‘EU Foreign Policy: The View from the Mediterranean’. The panellists were Professor Atila Eralp (Middle East Technical University, Ankara), Professor Richard Gillespie (University of Liverpool) and Dr Claire Spencer (Chatham House). The roundtable was chaired by Professor Karen E. Smith of the LSE

EFPU roundtable: ‘Influencing the EU foreign policy process’

In a world where the presence of non-state actors (e.g. multinational corporations, NGOs, international organisations, etc.) has increased exponentially, it has become a burning issue to investigate the influence that they have on the EU. While much ink has been spilled analysing lobbying and advocacy activities in several EU policy areas, EU foreign policy, meaning all EU external relations, has not received particular attention

What cannot be cured must be endured?

Temos observado um aumento significativo na prescrição de medicamentos psiquiátricos para toda sorte de sofrimentos cotidianos. Sabemos que as crianças não têm sido poupadas dessa lógica de tratamentos. A escola, por sua vez, tem apelado intensamente ao saber médico para "corrigir" os problemas apresentados por seus alunos. A prática descrita brevemente está sustentada por uma biologização cada vez mais bem-sucedida de nossa condição humana, ou seja, parece que chegou o tempo de o homem viver de perto o mito do criador, sustentado pelo controle da bioquímica e da genética de nosso organismo. Como efeito dessa biologização temos um silenciamento do sujeito em benefício da amplificação do lugar ocupado por seu organismo. Neste trabalho, pretendemos discutir o impacto dessa lógica de tratamentos para a prática nas escolas. O que pretendemos destacar aqui é que se a bioquímica responde ao porquê o menino aprende ou não aprende, e o remédio se torna um instrumento imprescindível na aprendizagem da criança, o professor "não tem mais nada a ver com isto", no duplo sentido que a expressão indica: o de desresponsabilização e o de impotência.A significant increase in the prescription of psychiatric medication for all kinds of daily suffering is observed, and children have not been prevented from this treatment. Schools, on their turn, have intensively appealed to the doctor's knowledge to 'correct' the problems their students present. This briefly described practice is sustained by an ongoing well succeeded biologization of our human condition, that is, it seems that the time has come for man to experience the creator myth, supported by the biochemical and genetic control of our organisms. As an effect of this biologization, the subject is silenced for the benefit of the enlargement of the room his or her body occupies. A discussion on the impact of this logic of treatment practiced in schools is developed focusing on a crucial question: would bio-chemistry answer the question why a child learns or not, would medicine play a main role in the child learning process, would a teacher 'have nothing to do with it' in the two senses the expression suggests: a process of irresponsibility and a status of impotence

The EU's engagement with 'moderate' political Islam: the case of Ennahda

This paper focuses on the European Union’s engagement – or lack thereof – with Islamist political parties in North Africa following the Arab uprisings. By delving into the case of Tunisia’s Ennahda, it shows that the party’s growing moderation trajectory has been matched by a greater pragmatic engagement by the EU during the period 2011–16. It is argued that this new trend is explained by a partial shift in the frames that the EU employs to interpret ongoing changes in the Middle East and North Africa region as well as its interests and potential role in the region

The effect of CO2-induced dissolution on flow properties in Indiana Limestone: An in situ synchrotron X-ray micro-tomography study

The injection of CO -rich fluids in carbonate rocks results in an evolution of the pore space, with consequent changes in the hydraulic properties of the reservoir; how these properties evolve, particularly for parameters relevant to multiphase flow e.g. P (s), remains a topic of active research despite several decades of study. We have carried out an in situ synchrotron X-ray microtomography experiment to monitor pore structure evolution during dissolution of an Indiana Limestone core; the experiment involved flowing CO -saturated water through the core for 36 h and resulted in 10 volumes corresponding to different temporal stages of the dissolution process. The injection parameters corresponded to the flow velocities expected near the well-bore region of a shallow aqueous CO injection; fast flow rates with high reactant availability. Analysis of the tomographic data shows flow-enhanced dissolution i.e. channeling, and provides a time-resolved map of pore space alteration. Using the resulting 4D pore space volume, we modeled the evolution of capillary-pressure curves; this exercise demonstrates how pore structure evolution could impact the invasion and remobilization of non-wetting fluids, dramatically decreasing the entry pressure and the P in some parts of the sample. The modeling of permeability, using a Stokes solver approach, quantified the relationship of porosity vs. permeability; we found that a modest increase in porosity, especially when the channeling system is more developed, greatly affects permeability. These results demonstrate how movement of CO saturated brine near injected plumes might alter drainage dynamics near the plume boundary, thus leading to mobilization across subtle capillary barriers. 2 c 2 2 C

Il migliore dei naturalismi possibili

In this paper, we first set out three requirements that each e-theory – a theory whose task is to explain data – must fulfill in order to be one such good theory: i) an ontological requirement, i.e. adequate simplicity, ii) a methological requirement, i.e. plurality of research procedures, iii) an epistemological requirement, i.e. compatibility with the best available epistemical procedures. Moreover, we will claim that from the metaphilosophical point of view, unlike scientific naturalism on the one hand and supernaturalism on the other, liberal naturalism is the only philosophical approach capable of fulfilling all such requirements

Effective high resolution 3D geometric reconstruction of heritage and archaeological sites from images

Motivated by the need for a fast, accurate, and high-resolution approach to documenting heritage and archaeological objects before they are removed or destroyed, the goal of this paper is to develop and demonstrate advanced image-based techniques to capture the fine 3D geometric details of such objects. The size of the object may be large and of any arbitrary shape which presents a challenge to all existing 3D techniques. Although range sensors can directly acquire high resolution 3D points, they can be costly and impractical to set up and move around archaeological sites. Alternatively, image-based techniques acquire data from inexpensive portable digital cameras. We present a sequential multi-stage procedure for 3D data capture from images designed to model fine geometric details. Test results demonstrate the utility and flexibility of the technique and prove that it creates highly detailed models in a reliable manner for many different types of surface detail