Michael Madary's Visual Phenomenology

A review of Michael Madary's book Visual Phenomenology

Can grounding characterize fundamentality?

It can seem incoherent to fully characterize fundamentality in terms of grounding, given that the fundamental is precisely that which cannot be fully characterized independently. I argue that there is no such incoherence

Phenomenal, Normative, and Other Explanatory Gaps: A General Diagnosis

I assume that there exists a general phenomenon, the phenomenon of the explanatory gap, surrounding consciousness, normativity, intentionality, and more. Explanatory gaps are often thought to foreclose reductive possibilities wherever they appear. In response, reductivists who grant the existence of these gaps have offered countless local solutions. But typically such reductivist responses have had a serious shortcoming: because they appeal to essentially domain-specific features, they cannot be fully generalized, and in this sense these responses have been not just local but parochial. Here I do better. Taking for granted that the explanatory gap is a genuine phenomenon, I offer a fully general diagnosis that unifies these previously fragmented reductivist responses

Knowledge and Other Norms for Assertion, Action, and Belief: A Teleological Account

Here I advance a unified account of the structure of the epistemic normativity of assertion, action, and belief. According to my Teleological Account, all of these are epistemically successful just in case they fulfill the primary aim of knowledgeability, an aim which in turn generates a host of secondary epistemic norms. The central features of the Teleological Account are these: it is compact in its reliance on a single central explanatory posit, knowledge-centered in its insistence that knowledge sets the fundamental epistemic norm, and yet fiercely pluralistic in its acknowledgment of the legitimacy and value of a rich range of epistemic norms distinct from knowledge. Largely in virtue of this pluralist character, I argue, the Teleological Account is far superior to extant knowledge-centered account

Exploring Subjective Representationalism

Representationalism is, roughly, the view that experiencing is to be analyzed wholly in terms of representing. But what sorts of properties are represented in experience? According to a prominent form of representationalism, objective representationalism , experiences represent only objective (i.e. suitably mind‐independent) properties. I explore subjective representationalism , the view that experiences represent at least some subjective (i.e. suitably mind‐dependent) properties. Subjective representationalists, but not objective representationalists, can accommodate cases of illusion‐free phenomenal inversion. Moreover, subjective representationalism captures the so‐called transparency of experience , as it is standardly articulated, just as well as objective representationalism.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94928/1/papq1439.pd

Potential Role of Protein Kinase Cbeta in High Fat Diet-Induced Adipose Dysfunction by Regulating Autophagy Levels

Obesity is the most common nutritional disorder in the United States and worldwide. Public health efforts and other anti-obesity measures clearly have not controlled the obesity epidemic. There is a great need to understand the pathogenic mechanisms underlying fat accumulation. Research of the past decade supports a prominent role for diet-induced adipose tissue dysfunction in the development and/or progression of obesity and associated insulin resistance. Potential mechanisms for the development of adipose tissue dysfunction include ectopic (visceral) fat accumulation, genetic factors, and alterations in autophagy and inflammatory processes. However, the molecular mechanisms linking dietary fat intake with alterations in adipose tissue autophagy levels are not well understood. A critical role of protein kinase C beta (PKCβ) in obesity-associated adipose dysfunction is emerging. PKCβ deficiency protects from high fat diet-induced obesity and related complications. High fat diet is also shown to induce adipose PKCβ expression in mice, whereas PKCβ deficiency is reported to stimulate autophagy in a cell culture model. Based on the above results, we hypothesized that high fat diet-induced PKCβ activation in the adipose tissue inhibits autophagy and thereby promotes adipose dysfunction and fat accumulation. We report here that high fat diet-induced adipose PKCβ induction is accompanied by a simultaneous reduction in the ratio of autophagy markers LC3- II/LC3-I protein expression in mice. Importantly, high fat diet was unable to alter this ratio in the adipose tissue of PKCβ deficient mice. These results implicate PKCβ in mediating harmful effects of high fat diet on adipose tissue autophagy levels. It is hoped that understanding the PKCβ based pathogenic mechanisms leading to diet-induced adipose dysfunction will eventually lead to novel therapeutic approaches to combat the obesity epidemic

A writing guide for professional philosophers

This guide focuses on the content and form of excellent philosophical writing, with further comments on reading, thinking, writing processes, publication strategies, and self-cultivation

Health of Native-born and Foreign-born Black Residents in the United States: Evidence from the 2000 Census of Population and the National Health Interview Survey

Utilizing the 5% Public Use Micro Data Sample (PUMS) from the 2000 Census of Population and 2000-2006 waves of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), we examine differences in disability, self-rated health and chronic conditions among native-born and foreign-born black US residents. Among the foreign-born, we distinguish among immigrants from the Caribbean /West Indies, Africa, Europe and other regions of the world, as well as by Hispanic origin. Results from both data sets point to an immigrant health advantage across all measures of health for all groups except for the European-born. Black immigrants from Europe reported similar levels of hypertension as U.S.-born non-Hispanic blacks. Our results also suggest that the Hispanic health “paradox” does not apply to Hispanics who self-identify as black