Locke's Criterion for the Reality of Ideas: Unambiguous but Untenable

The paper argues against the claim held, e.g., by Leibniz, that Locke employs a double standard for determining whether an object before the mind (i.e., an idea) is real. Using Locke's ectype-archetype distinction it is shown that this charge is the result of confusing Locke's criterion of reality with its application. Depending on whether it applies to a simple, substance or mode idea, the criterion works out differently. Next it is argued that although Locke maintains only a single criterion, this criterion is untenable, since it fails to properly distinguish real from fantastical ideas

Comment on `Magic strains in face-centered and body-centered cubic lattices'

The six symmetry-related so-called magic strain tensors that transform a f.c.c. lattice (or a b.c.c. lattice) into itself, which have been reported recently by Boyer [Acta Cryst. (1989), A45, FC29-FC32] are not unique: an infinite number of displacement tensors can be constructed that transform one lattice into another, or into itself. There is no connection with fivefold symmetry, other than that in any f.c.c. crystal

On the origin of second-peak splitting in the static structure factor of metallic glasses

It is proposed that the splitting of the second peak of the total static structure factor, S(k), of many metallic glasses is essentially the same feature as the indentation at kσ = (9/2)π in the function (sin k σ + α−1 sin kασ), caused by the coincidence of the fourth minimum of the second term with the third maximum of the first term when α ≈ 5/3. Together with the strong-weak relation of the split peak components of S(k), this feature indicates the splitting to be direct evidence for face-sharing of regular tetrahedra (α = 2√2/3) dominating the topological short range order; increasing the number of face-sharing tetrahedra in local structural units indeed increases the amount of peak splitting in S(k); a dense random packing of well defined identical structural units (DRPSU), with neighbouring units linked together by a shared icosahedron, is described in detail. The packing fraction in a homogeneous, isotropic 1078-atom model is 0.67, after static relaxation under a two-body Lennard-Jones potential.\ud \u

Beyond Frozen Conflict Scenarios for the Separatist Disputes of Eastern Europe. CEPS Paperback

This book forms part of a wider project on the relations between the European Union and Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, and in particular the Association Agreements and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (DCFTAs) between these three states and the European Union. The wider project was begun in 2015 in the aftermath of the Maidan uprising at the beginning of 2014, which had been provoked when President Yanukovich reneged over the signing of Ukraine’s Association Agreement with the EU. Following Yanukovich’s flight to Russia, the Association Agreement was duly signed later in 2014. The agreements with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine have a substantial common content, while differing in various details. Overall, they provide an association model of unprecedented extent and depth. Democratic political values are at the heart of the agreements, while the economic content goes far beyond classic free trade agreements to include a wholesale approximation of EU internal market regulatory law. The purpose of our wider project was first of all to explain the complex content of the Association Agreements and DCFTAs, which was achieved in a series of comprehensive handbooks published at www.3dcftas.eu. However, the agreements contain only short and simple articles on conflict prevention and management, without meaningful operational content. This was notwithstanding the fact that the EU considers itself, for its own historical reasons, to have a special vocation in conflict prevention and resolution. In addition, Georgia and Moldova were already the sites of unresolved separatist conflicts originating around the collapse of the Soviet Union three decades ago, namely Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia, and Transdniestria in Moldova, to which we have added the case of the Nagorny Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan. On top of this legacy, the Maidan uprising led to the Russian annexation of Crimea and its hybrid war in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of the Donbas. The Donbas thus joined the old ‘frozen conflicts’. In the light of the above, CEPS took the initiative to examine all five unresolved conflicts, to assess where these disputes seem to be heading, and what different scenarios could be imagined for their future, including how the European Union might become more engaged. Indeed, while none of the conflicts are resolved, none are for that matter ‘frozen’. Our first practical priority was to find an author to undertake a comprehensive study of the Donbas, since conditions there make it practically impossible for any analysts from the government-controlled part of Ukraine or from Europe to safely enter these territories for research purposes. We were therefore very fortunate to find Nikolaus von Twickel who had recently been travelling in the Donbas as part of the OSCE Mission there, and is now an independent analyst. For the other four ‘old’ conflicts we were also most fortunate to bring in Thomas de Waal, who has been a leading scholar of the region for some decades, and was willing to bring the stories of these conflicts up to date. The two authors were able to address the complete set of conflicts with a consistent analytical approach, as will be evident from reading the sets of scenarios. We express our warm appreciation towards Sweden and the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) for their support to the entire project. This volume looks at future prospects for the string of unresolved conflicts that continue to plague the post-Soviet world. Four of them date back to the period when the USSR began to break up in the late 1980s. A new conflict, with many different elements and some similarities, was added to the list in 2014: the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. The open confrontation between Russia and Ukraine over the Donbas and Crimea not only destroyed relations between Moscow and Kyiv but changed politics across the region, shaking up the dynamics of the four existing protracted territorial conflicts over Abkhazia, Nagorny Karabakh, South Ossetia and Transdniestria. The five post-Soviet conflicts are often called ‘frozen’, but this is a misnomer. Although the peace processes around them often look frozen, the situations themselves are anything but frozen and are constantly changing. Two of them, over the Donbas and Nagorny Karabakh, are either ongoing or close to violence. Each dispute has its own history, character and context, which has grown more distinctive over time and has been further shaped by the confrontation over Ukraine. Each continues to evolve. Here we chart scenarios for how these conflicts may develop further with the aim of focusing policymakers’ thinking on which tendencies are dangerous and which ones can be encouraged. There are many moving parts to these situations and complacency is not an option

A Spreading Danger: Time for a New Policy towards Chechnya. CEPS Policy Briefs No. 68, 1 April 2005

The ongoing conflict in and around Chechnya is helping to feed the wider international jihadi movement, and is endangering the West as well as Russia. The next “soft target” of North Caucasian terrorism could be a Western one. Mutual recriminations over the conflict have badly damaged relations between Russia and the West. While most of the blame for this lies with Russian policies, the Western approach to the issue has often been unhelpful and irresponsible. Denunciations of Russian behaviour have not been matched by a real understanding of the Chechen conflict or a real commitment to help. In their own interest, Western countries need urgently to address the crisis in the North Caucasus. This requires them to recognize the seriousness of the threat, to open a real dialogue on cooperation with Russia rather than simply making criticisms, and to make a serious economic contribution to the region

Teaching Peirce to Undergraduates

Fourteen philosophers share their experience teaching Peirce to undergraduates in a variety of settings and a variety of courses. The latter include introductory philosophy courses as well as upper-level courses in American philosophy, philosophy of religion, logic, philosophy of science, medieval philosophy, semiotics, metaphysics, etc., and even an upper-level course devoted entirely to Peirce. The project originates in a session devoted to teaching Peirce held at the 2007 annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy. The session, organized by James Campbell and Richard Hart, was co-sponsored by the American Association of Philosophy Teachers

Calibrated imputation of numerical data under linear edit restrictions

A common problem faced by statistical offices is that data may be missing from collected data sets. The typical way to overcome this problem is to impute the missing data. The problem of imputing missing data is complicated by the fact that statistical data often have to satisfy certain edit rules and that values of variables sometimes have to sum up to known totals. Standard imputation methods for numerical data as described in the literature generally do not take such edit rules and totals into account. In the paper we describe algorithms for imputation of missing numerical data that do take edit restrictions into account and that ensure that sums are calibrated to known totals. The methods sequentially impute the missing data, i.e. the variables with missing values are imputed one by one. To assess the performance of the imputation methods a simulation study is carried out as well as an evaluation study based on a real dataset

Is Famine Relief Irrelevant to Rural People?

SUMMARY This article argues that food relief can be much less relevant to rural people's survival strategies during famine than is generally supposed. Evidence from the 1984/85 famine in Darfur, Sudan suggests that there it neither saved thousands of lives nor created a ‘dependency syndrome’. Excess deaths were related to ‘health crises’ precipitated by population movements, lack of water, and breakdown of health facilities. Food relief did not act as a ‘pull factor’. Rather, people concentrated around towns primarily for employment and because of lack of water in home villages. Farmers often walked away from relief aid when they needed to cultivate. They regarded relief as an incidental bonus rather than a reliable source of food around which to plan. The contribution of food relief to the success of rural people's survival strategies was significant but small. Resumé L'assistance portée en temps de famine est?elle sans rapport avec les besoins des populations rurales? Cet article conclut qu'une assistance alimentaire peut être beaucoup moins effective en tant que stratégie de survie pour les populations rurales durant les périodes de famine que l'on semble le supposer. Des évidences produites sur la famine de 1984/85 dans le Dafuer au Soudan suggèrent que cette approche n'a ni sauvé des milliers de vies humaines, ni créé un ‘syndrome de dépendence’. Les excès du nombre des morts enregistrés étaient liés à des ‘crises de santé’ accélérées par des mouvements de population, le manque d'eau, et une rupture des facilités sanitaires à disposition. L'assistance alimentaire n'a pas eu un effet régénérateur. Au contraire, la population en quête d'emploi et aussi en manque d'eau dans leurs villages d'origine se concentra autour des villes. Les exploitants fréquemment s'éloignaient des points d'assistance lorsqu'ils avaient besoin de cultiver. Ils considéraient l'assistance comme un bonus accidentel plutôt que comme une ressource efficace en matière d'alimentation autour de laquelle ils pouvaient s'organiser. La contribution faite par l'assistance alimentaire au succès des stratégies de survie des populations rurales était considérable mais néanmoins très limitée. Resumen Relevancia del auxilio a la hambruna de la población rural Este artículo sostiene que el auxilio alimenticio puede ser mucho menos relevante para las estrategias de sobrevivencia de la población rural, durante una hambruna, que lo que generalmente se supone. La evidencia de la hambruna de 1984/85 en Darfur, Sudán, sugiere que allí no salvó miles de vidas ni creó un “síndrome de dependencia”. El exceso de muertes ocurridas, se relaciona con las “crisis de salud” precipitadas por los movimientos poblacionales, falta de agua y colapso de los servicios de salud. El auxilio alimenticio no actùa como un “factor centrípeto”, ya que las personas se concentran en los pueblos básicamente buscando empleo y a causa de la falta de agua en las aldeas. Los agricultores a menudo dejaron el lugar del auxilio alimenticio cuando necesitaron cultivar, considerando tal ayuda como un bono incidental en lugar de una fuente confiable de alimentos en la cual basar sus planes. La contribución del auxilio alimenticio al éxito de las estrategias de sobrevivencia de la población rural fue significativa pero pequeña