Is the Private Language Argument a Transcendental Argument?

Comparisons between Kant´s critique of pure reason and Wittgenstein´s critique of language, which became current in analytic philosophy (Cf. e.g Hacker 1972, 30.) seem not far-fetched in view of the impetus for the destruction of dogmatic metaphysics both philosophers share. Their relevance would gain though by an elaboration of their dissimilarities rather than by just stressing similarities. An example of the former approach, Weinert (1983, 412) contrasts the tools both critics of metaphysics employ: the distinction between analytic and synthetic judgments, and the description of the logic of languageuse and in particular the ´Argument from Epistemic Operators´ (Wittgenstein 1961, sects. 6.5, 6.51; 1958, §§ 246, 247, 251, 303; references in the form of paragraphnumbers are to the latter text) respectively. The analysis of the employment of those tools in anti-metaphysical arguments -and Weinert treats the Private Language Argument (PLA) as such (427-429)- enables to uncover underlying assumptions, e.g. the implicit assumption in Kant of a prior conceptual relation between concepts to which his notion of analysis is to be applied (430-431) and Wittgenstein´s explicit doctrine that "ordinary language is alright� (434)

Primary prevention and management of variceal bleeding: Review of Historical Evidence

Background: Prevention and control of active bleeding caused by portal hypertension is still a challenge. Surgery used to be the only option in the earlier days, but now many options exist. Choice of the correct mode of treatment is important and is determined by many factors dictated by the condition of each patient and the available experience. Methods: Publications written on the primary prevention and the management of acute bleeding are selected by Internet search. The strength of evidence of each publication is determined using a defined classification method. The advice given is based on the available evidence. Results: Seventy-two publications were retrieved. The level of evidence for each publication is given in the reference section. Conclusion: Surgery should not be done for primary prophylaxis. For the control of acute bleeding surgery is preferred for Childs-Pough class A and B. For class C the procedure of choice is TIPS. Keywords: sclerotherapy, band ligation, portal hypertension.Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences Vol. 3 (1) 2008: pp. 49-6

Corrosion and corrosion prevention in gas turbines

The conditions governing the corrosion behavior in gas turbines are surveyed. Factors such as temperature, relative humidity, the presence of sulfur and nitrogen dioxide, and fuel quality are discussed. Electromechanical corrosion at relatively low temperature in compressors; oxidation; and hot corrosion (sulfidation) at high temperature in turbines are considered. Corrosion prevention by washing and rinsing, fueld additives, and corrosion resistant materials and coatings are reviewed

Orchestrating automobile technology : comfort, mobility culture, and the Construction of the ‘Family Touring Car’, 1917 – 1940

During the social and technical construction of the affordable "family touring car" in both the United States and Europe, one of the urgent projects was the abatement of noise. As a part of the emergence of "automotive comfort,"noise abatement took place during one of the costliest operations in the history of automotive technology: the closing of the body. From an open tourer, the car, during the interwar period, developed into a sedan, encapsulating the driver and his passengers and drastically altering their sensorial intake, especially sight and sound. Thus, car engineering became an engineering of the senses. In this article focusing on the American car culture, it is argued that sound "orchestration" was necessary to enable the automotive subject (the nuclear family) to concentrate on what it liked most: gazing outside the car body. The tourist gaze was rescued through the orchestration (both domesticating and fine-tuning) of the car as a sound machine

Investigating Managers' Exploration and Exploitation Activities: The Influence of Top-down, Bottom-up, and Horizontal Knowledge Inflows

This paper develops and tests hypotheses on the influence of a manager’s knowledge inflows on this manager’s exploration and exploitation activities. Based on a survey among managers of a leading electronics firm, the findings indicate, as expected, that top-down knowledge inflows of a manager positively relate to the extent to which this manager conducts exploitation activities, while they do not relate to a manager’s exploration activities. Furthermore, as expected, bottom-up and horizontal knowledge inflows of a manager positively relate to this manager’s exploration activities, while they do not relate to a manager’s exploitation activities. We contribute to current literature on exploration and exploitation by focusing on the manager level of analysis, and by adding the importance of knowledge flow configurations to the literature on the impact of organizational factors upon exploration and exploitation.Exploitation;Exploration;Bottom-up;Horizontal;Knowledge inflows;Manager-level;Top-down

Relational capital, new knowledge and innovative ideas

Organisational learning occurs when people engage in exploration activities – activities aimed at acquiring and using new knowledge, ideas and insights. Exploration, explains Tom Mom, associate professor of strategic entrepreneurship at RSM, ‘is about people and organisations promoting things that are new to them,’ which can lead to new products, new technologies, or the company going into new markets

Political Transformations in Nepal: Dalit Inequality and Justice

This thesis uncovers the underlying causes of Dalit inequality and the necessary institutional reforms required addressing the impact of institutional barriers and biases, with a view to formulating and implementing socially just policies. The central thesis is that Dalit requires special measures to achieve participatory parity and institutional reforms to change long-standing injustices. Recognition of the devalued identity of Dalit together with the redistribution of state power and resources are indispensable for Dalits’ social and political equality. This thesis asserts the need for a group differentiated politics of recognition to counter the extant generalised understanding of Dalit assimilation in the society as their end goal. To understand the causes and effects of the ongoing hegemonic caste hierarchy and required institutional reform, this research is grounded in a two-dimensional—redistribution and recognition— conception of social justice, drawing in particular on the work of critical theorist Nancy Fraser. The nature of extant injustices against Dalit as well the institutional barriers to Dalit in the recent political reform processisexplicated through a phenomenological research methodology. Personal experiences of Dalit demonstrate that despite State anti-caste discrimination measures, changing the patterns of caste discrimination remains very slow, as evidenced by rampant everyday discrimination. Furthermore, recent efforts to bring about political reform, including State restructuring and Federalism have been relatively ineffective in addressing Dalit issues. Due in part to their overemphasis on the ethnic identity discourse, fundamental issues faced by other marginalised groups like Dalit received inadequate attention. Nevertheless, Dalit demands have to some extent been recognised in the new constitution promulgated by the Constituent Assembly (CA) in 2015, and as such, Dalit now needs to achieve internal unity and strategic action to continue their struggle. By studying the dynamics of Dalit inequality, hegemonic socio-political structures and institutional reforms, this research study has generated new empirical perspectives for Dalit that can be widely utilised by policymakers as well as academics for further research and policymaking processes

CACTUS, a document management system to support the archaeological and historical research of San Juan, a plantation on Curaçao

The CACTUS document management and analysis system was developed to aid the historical and archaeological research of San Juan, a plantation on Curaçao. The main task of the CACTUS system is providing access to more than 2000 digitized documents that belong to the “Letters and Papers” collection of the second Dutch West India Company roughly dating to the period 1700–1740. The advantage of the CACTUS system is that it is possible to query the documents on a very detailed level, as all occurring names of people, places and ships are indexed and searchable in several ways. In addition, a tool has been developed to detect the existence of relationships between the indexed subjects

Irony in Kant's 'Zum ewigen Frieden'

In an introduction to a French edition of Kant´s Zum ewigen Frieden, Charles Lemonnier, who was involved in the international peace movement, wonders why Kant had not touched the ´social question´ in this essay. In this paper, I take Lemonnier´s explanation of Kant´s silence concerning that issue, combined with his appreciation of the ironic format of the text as a starting point to analyse the irony in the essay. This analysis, in which, for heuristic purposes, Kant is compared with Plato, demonstrates a connection of Kant´s irony with the rigour of his political philosophy, rooted as it is in the moral principle. The irony, thus conceived, is determined, pace Rorty, in many respects as genuinely Rortyan. This result is used to criticise a suggestion by Williams to abandon irony by going far enough in recognizing historical contingency as to no longer need it