Transcendental Aspects, Ontological Commitments and Naturalistic Elements in Nietzsche's Thought

Nietzsche's views on knowledge have been interpreted in at least three incompatible ways - as transcendental, naturalistic or proto-deconstructionist. While the first two share a commitment to the possibility of objective truth, the third reading denies this by highlighting Nietzsche's claims about the necessarily falsifying character of human knowledge (his so-called error theory). This paper examines the ways in which his work can be construed as seeking ways of overcoming the strict opposition between naturalism and transcendental philosophy whilst fully taking into account the error theory (interpreted non-literally, as a hyperbolic warning against uncritical forms of realism). In doing so, it clarifies the nature of Nietzsche's ontological commitments, both in the early and the later work, and shows that his relation to transcendental idealism is more subtle than is allowed by naturalistic interpreters while conversely accounting for the impossibility of conceiving the conditions of the possibility of knowledge as genuinely a priori

Channel plasmon-polaritons: modal shape, dispersion, and losses

We theoretically study channel plasmon-polaritons (CPPs) with a geometry similar to that in recent experiments at telecom wavelengths (Bozhevolnyi et al., Nature 440, 508 (2006)). The CPP modal shape, dispersion relation, and losses are simulated using the multiple multipole method and the finite difference time domain technique. It is shown that, with the increase of the wavelength, the fundamental CPP mode shifts progressively towards the groove opening, ceasing to be guided at the groove bottom and becoming hybridized with wedge plasmon-polaritons running along the groove edges.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Nanoscale Fabry-Perot Interferometer Using Channel Plasmon-Polaritons in Triangular Metallic Grooves

In this letter, we demonstrate the possibility of an effective nano-scale Fabry-Perot interferometer in a sub-wavelength plasmonic waveguide in the form of a triangular groove on a metal surface, guiding channel plasmon-polaritons (CPPs). The resonant cavity is formed by two semitransparent metal membranes (mirrors) placed into the groove. Effective filtering effect of the cavity is demonstrated, resulting in single-mode output from the cavity. Typical quality factor for the cavity of the resonant length is determined to be Q ~ 100 for the silver-vacuum structure with the 30 degree groove angle. Possible ways of increasing this factor are discussed

Pile-tunnel interaction: a conceptual analysis

The underground space of densely populated cities contains parts of buildings, utility installations, deep foundations and tunnels. It is possible that new tunnels will be built within close proximity of existing pile foundations. Therefore pile tunnel interaction (PTI) must be assessed so that it is possible to ensure safety for both the tunnel construction and the pile-supported structures. This paper presents a simple model to evaluate the pile settlements and increment of axial force due to tunnel excavation. The displacement field around the tunnel can be used to estimate the pile displacement and the differential displacements around the pile-soil interface. Based on an example plane strain calculation of an unlined tunnel, different possible pile locations were evaluated. The results were compared to six studies from the literature and considerable agreement was obtained for the trends of ratios of pile to surface settlement and increment of axial stress on the pile

The Analytic of Finitude and the History of Subjectivity

In one of his last texts, Foucault defined his philosophical enterprise as an ?analysis of the conditions in which certain relations between subject and object are formed or modified, insofar as they are constitutive of a possible knowledge,? or again as ?the manner in which the emergence of games of truth constituted, for a particular time and place and certain individuals, the historical a priori of a possible experience.? Despite its eclipse during the genealogical period, the notion of the historical a priori is thus reaffirmed as central by later Foucault. There is, however, an essential modification with respect to its archaeological problematisation: In The Order of Things, the various historical a priori were characterized by specific relations between being and language, relations in which the subject of knowledge did not always or necessarily have a place. The Renaissance episteme was defined by the homogeneity of words and things, and its Classical counterpart by the transparent distance between being and representation, which excluded any positioning for the subject (the missing ?place of the king?). Within the archaeological configuration, only the contemporary historical a priori was characterized by the invention of a new position for the subject of knowledge, that of Man, which according to Foucault generated the Analytic of Finitude and ultimately resulted in the ?anthropological sleep? criticised at the end of The Order of Things. So although later Foucault refocuses his work around the notion of the historical a priori, he gives the notion a considerable twist whereby the conditions of truth saying are no longer referred back to an implicit connection between being and language, but to the various relations historically established between ?modes of subjectivation? and ?modes of objectification.

Caring for Fat Bodies: Bridging the Gap Between Intention and Practice in Primary Care

Healthcare providers work hard to support patients in optimizing their health. Typical care prioritizes use of the body mass index (BMI) which has widely been criticized for its ineffectiveness at measuring health, and which perpetuates a white European male body as “normal”. From individual care to public health policy, the measurement of health through BMI and thinness has created and enforced weight stigma. Literature over the past 20 years has continued to demonstrate the negative health impacts of weight stigma, not only in harming physiological, psychological, and behavioral health, but also in fact contributing to weight gain. Notably, the research also shows that weight loss is not achievable or sustainable for the vast majority of people, and that weight cycling, or losing and re-gaining weight repeatedly, which is the most common outcome of weight loss attempts, is profoundly harmful to metabolic health. Evidence-based practices which empower patients to focus on individualized measures of health rather than weight loss may provide providers an opportunity to support and improve the health of patients of all sizes

Is early Foucault a historian? History, history and the analytic of finitude

This paper is an exploration of the theme of history in The Order of Things, with a view to clarifying the relation between history and philosophy in Foucault?s early work. I argue that Foucault introduces, beyond the Hegelian distinction between res gestae (past deeds) and historia rerum gestarum(the history of past deeds), a third meaning for the notion: History (capitalized) as our current historical a priori or �pist�m�, succeeding Order in the Classical age. I show that methodologically speaking, this commits early Foucault to a revised form of transcendental idealism. I then examine the complex relation between History and Man, established by chapters VII and IX as the ground of our current �pist�m�. This involves an analysis of the theme of the origin in chapter IX, which in turn allows the core of this relation to be formally identified as the possibility of shifting from the empirical to the transcendental in order to distinguish between two forms of temporality, primordial and derived. I then argue that because Foucault still belongs to the very �pist�m� he is trying to describe, the content of this distinction is and must remain obscure. However, I also show that his liminary position allows him a unique insight into the problems generated by the grounding of History in Man, and examine the impact of his criticism of anthropology on his characterization of History. Finally, I draw out the consequences of these analyses for Foucault?s methodology by arguing that the latter is best characterized as a form of ?transcendental history?, meant to de-anthropomorphize the analytic of finitude while retaining its demand for a shift from the post hoc to the a priori (in a revised sense)