Transcendental arguments and the concept of self-refutation

The overall aim of this thesis is to find out whether any version of the transcendental method could be made to yield conclusions which are both factual and indubitably certain. In other words, could any sense be given to the notion of an a priori-synthetic principle, and if so, could such a principle be arrived at by means of a transcendental deduction? An affirmative answer is given to both these questions. Part I. “The search for a transcendental proof “. I try to show that although Kant recognizes at least two kinds of transcendental argument - transcendental deductions and transcendental expositions - only transcendental deductions are capable of giving rise to principles which are, in some sense, a priori-synthetic. I defend the concept of an a priori-synthetic principle against the objections of radical pragmatists (like Quine) on the one hand, and traditional empiricists (like Russell) on the other. I criticize Kant's reasons for thinking that transcendental deductions, as he conceives them, logically guarantee the truth of their (synthetic) conclusions, and I explain how the structure of his arguments would have to be changed in order to achieve this. Main conclusion: The initial premise of a transcendental deduction must be self-guaranteeing in the sense that any attempt to deny it would be self-refuting. Part II. 'The concept of self-refutation. I examine a wide range of self-refuting statements, and produce ac comprehensive system of classification. This is designed to show why some forms of self-refutation can be used as-the basis of a transcendental deduction, but not others.I point out that some of the things which have been said about self-refuting statements would seem to suggest that transcendental deductions based on any form of self-refutation are impossible, but that these suggestions are unfounded. Main conclusion: A. transcendental deduction may be described as an argument of the transcendental form in which the initial premise is operationally self-guaranteeing. Part III. 'The composition of a transcendental deduction. I consider what other requirements an argument must satisfy in order to count as a transcendental deduction. I argue that it should be based on a Cartesian-style premise and should be presuppositional rather than implicational in form. This leads to a comparison of the transcendental and Cartesian methods. I explain that the only way in which ultimate principles or axioms can be justified, on other than pragmatic grounds, is by some form of transcendental deduction. Main conclusion: Our revised notion of a transcendental deduction has much in common with Kant's original conception, although his claim that this method of argument is entirely different from any hitherto conceived' is not altogether justified

Experiences concerning the development of identities of primary school physical education specialist teachers during the first year of teaching in England. A phenomenological case study

This thesis explores the lived experiences of a critical case sample of eight primary school Physical Education specialists embarking on their first year of teaching in England, with focus on the ways their perceived identities as teachers were impacted by their experiences. All participants were trained at the same Initial Teacher Education Provider on a three year undergraduate degree in Primary Education with Qualified Teacher Status during the academic years of 2013-2016. It explores the individual perspectives, subjective interpretations and issues they identified as contributing factors to their satisfaction, motivation and sense of self. The theoretical framework through which this thesis examines the findings uses Korthagen’s Onion Skin Model (2004) of values and belief and Lawson’s model of Teacher Socialisation (1983a; 1983b, 1986). In contrast to much of the preceding literature this study provides detailed empirical work on identity development from the perspective of Newly Qualified Teachers. A qualitative, interpretivist, phenomenological approach underpinned the gathering and analysis of data. This approach reflected the focus of the study which was to experience and understand the lived experiences of Newly Qualified Teachers and their interpretations of this. The adoption of phenomenological case study as the methodological approach captured the uniqueness of the participants’ experiences and their subsequent interpretations. Their aspirations, thoughts and expectations were explored through a series of semi structured interviews within which discussion focused on visual representations of themselves that the participants had created and brought to the interview. The study findings revealed ways that mentors, head teachers, parents and children interacted with the new teachers to inform their perceptions and interpretations of their first year of teaching and how they saw themselves as teachers. Data captured at the start of their first year reveal the NQTs’ trepidation, anticipation, anxiety and excitement for what was to come and their views that they had much to offer their new schools, particularly in respect to their skills in physical education. Findings highlight the importance of context, emotion and people in the new teachers’ lived experiences. Their stories provide information that (physical education) teacher educators may find valuable when considering the ways teachers are supported to prepare for teaching and in their early careers. Ultimately, the study findings have the potential to inform ways new teachers may be retained in the profession and empower them as agents of change with capacity to understand and challenge cultural norms and expectations which may not be beneficial

Getting to know you: Accuracy and error in judgments of character

Character judgments play an important role in our everyday lives. However, decades of empirical research on trait attribution suggest that the cognitive processes that generate these judgments are prone to a number of biases and cognitive distortions. This gives rise to a skeptical worry about the epistemic foundations of everyday characterological beliefs that has deeply disturbing and alienating consequences. In this paper, I argue that this skeptical worry is misplaced: under the appropriate informational conditions, our everyday character-trait judgments are in fact quite trustworthy. I then propose a mindreading-based model of the socio-cognitive processes underlying trait attribution that explains both why these judgments are initially unreliable, and how they eventually become more accurate

The why, how and when of LGBT+ education in primary schools in England.

This study aims to contribute to the field of primary education and inclusive practices by discussing when and how lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender plus (LGBT+) education is being taught and what primary school teachers need to feel confident in teaching LGBT+ content.Despite changes in the English National Curriculum, the LGBT+ community and associated laws in the UK, it is still not compulsory for LGBT+ content to be taught in English primary schools. This can cause conflict for school leaders and teachers in deciding how and when to teach LGBT+ education and an inconsistent approach regarding LGBT+ content and teaching (DfE, 2019a, p.15; Glazzard and Stones, 2020, p.2). This discordance raises issues regarding what should and should not be taught in primary schools, from the perspectives of both teachers and parents; the matter of an LGBT+ inclusive curriculum is becoming a controversial topic.This poster will explore the year group in which teachers feel LGBT+ education should first be taught, the areas that impact teachers’ confidence, and the most effective strategies that can be used to deliver content. This study employed an online survey of primary school teachers in England and semi structured interviews to evaluate the overarching question of why, how, and when LGBT+ content could be taught in primary schools.Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThis study used an online questionnaire given to all participants via opportunity sampling, in this case – 58 primary school teachers from a range of schools across England and years Reception through to Year 6. Due to the nature of the research, participants were asked to disclose their gender identities and sexualities so that it could be identified whether this influenced their responses. From this, it was identified that twenty-six percent of participants identified as a sexuality that was not heterosexual, and two percent of participants did not identify as the gender they were assigned with at birth. To also allow for more interpretivist responses, one-to-one semi structured interviews were used (n=3). These participants were of a range of ages, worked in different year groups and all identified differently by gender and sexuality. Interviews were transcribed and a process of inductive coding was used, which involved categorising the data into different themes or labels so that patterns can be identified, examined and discussed (Cohen et al., 2018, p.645). The same approach was used to code the qualitative data from the open questionnaire questions (Figure 1). Ethical guidance from BERA (2018) was used and ethical approval given by the University of Northampton and considered aspects such as consent, withdrawal, confidentiality and the safe storage of data (Cohen et al., 2018, p.111). As well as these key ethical considerations, several other ethical aspects were important due to the nature of the topic, such as the sensitivity of the topic, limiting bias alongside actions to be taken in the case of ethical dilemmas.Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThis study intended to explore why, how, and when to deliver LGBT+ education in English primary schools but the is much to contribute to wider LGBT+ education and awareness more widely. Most teachers feel LGBT+ content should be taught at some point within primary education, and most of these feel that it should begin being taught from Reception or Year 1 as this cultivates an environment of respect and acceptance. When considering strategies to deliver LGBT+ content, this study identified that teachers’ feel PSHE lessons or circle time are the most effective strategies to deliver LGBT+ content, however teachers would appreciate a specific scheme of work to support them in delivering this. Furthermore, participants expressed that use of literature and integration of LGBT+ content across the curriculum are also effective strategies as this normalises LGBT+ topics. Half of participants felt confident in teaching LGBT+ content, however, many teachers still felt they need to grow in confidence; the lack of training and resources and a fear of parental opposition being the key factors that concern them (DePalma, 2018, p.9; Barnes and Carlile, 2018, p.33). There is a need for resources to be developed to allow teachers and trainee teachers to build their confidence in teaching age-appropriate activities. Initial teacher training can begin this process by considering the broadness of opportunity to be inclusive and looking for opportunities to build LGBT+ content into their curriculums. Training providers should work closely with school-based mentors to allow trainee teachers the opportunity to experience how content is taught and the culture of the school can be representative of a range of communities

Mill on logic

Working within the broad lines of general consensus that mark out the core features of John Stuart Mill’s (1806–1873) logic, as set forth in his A System of Logic (1843–1872), this chapter provides an introduction to Mill’s logical theory by reviewing his position on the relationship between induction and deduction, and the role of general premises and principles in reasoning. Locating induction, understood as a kind of analogical reasoning from particulars to particulars, as the basic form of inference that is both free-standing and the sole load-bearing structure in Mill’s logic, the foundations of Mill’s logical system are briefly inspected. Several naturalistic features are identified, including its subject matter, human reasoning, its empiricism, which requires that only particular, experiential claims can function as basic reasons, and its ultimate foundations in ‘spontaneous’ inference. The chapter concludes by comparing Mill’s naturalized logic to Russell’s (1907) regressive method for identifying the premises of mathematics

A study of X-ray narrow emission lines from ionised gas in Active Galactic Nuclei

This thesis presents a study of X-ray narrow emission lines from ionised gas within Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and is based on the analysis of high- resolution X-ray spectra from XMM-Newton’s Reflection Grating Spectrome- ter. I have investigated the location, ionisation level and chemical abundances of the gas producing X-ray narrow emission lines in NGC 5548 and NGC 1365. Using observations during an unusual time when the nuclear emission of NGC 5548 is obscured by cool absorbing material, I show that the emission lines are consistent with being absorbed by further ionised gas within the AGN system. This is supported by the location I derive for the emission line gas, within those of the known warm absorbers in this system. With NGC 1365 spectra I demonstrate that these emission lines can be used to derive metal abundances within AGN systems; this can be especially important in obscured objects where usual methods of deriving abundances from UV spectra are unavailable due to the large degree of absorption. Finally, leading on from the results on individual objects, I explore outflow-inflow velocities of emission lines in a large sample of AGN, testing whether these velocities are distributed differently for different categories of AGN. With current observations it is not possible to detect population velocity differences in the X-ray narrow emission lines of the magnitude previously seen in optical studies. Through this study, I significantly increase the number of O VII f line detections using a uniform method across a sample of AGN. These three studies show the variety of insights into AGN environments enabled by the study of X-ray narrow emission lines. The thesis closes with a forward look to what could be achieved in this area with the next generation of X-ray observatories