Ways to Skin the Zombie Cat: A Look at the Problems Associated with Chalmers\u27s Zombie-Argument

In contemporary philosophy of mind, the issue of consciousness has taken center stage. Broadly speaking, those who deal with consciousness fall into two camps: those who prioritize empirical work and those who favor conceptual investigation. One prominent argument has served to deepen the divide: the argument for the possibility of zombies. In this paper I intend to examine closely this argument, as it’s presented by David Chalmers, and some of the attempts to discredit it. In so doing, I present some of my own arguments against it, as well as the claim that if it’s sound, then materialism is false. Finally, I present a sketch of a new way of thinking about consciousness that would, I argue, guard against the threat—real or merely apparent—of arguments such as the zombie-argument

What Is Grounded Theory Good For?

Grounded theory (GT) made its appearance in the social sciences in 1967 with publication of Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss’s The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Glaser and Strauss advocated for systematically discovering and interpreting empirical data to generate theory, in contrast to testing or verifying theory derived from a priori assumptions. In the intervening 50 years, GT has spread into a wide range of fields including journalism and mass communication. Variations of the method have been developed, and debate has ensued about its relation to positivism and constructivism as well as pragmatism and postmodernism and about its value for critical race theory, feminist theory, and indigenous and other critical methods and theories. When and how is it best used? Is it misunderstood or misused by some? Is it more than a method? We asked senior scholars with expertise in GT to reflect on these issues, beginning with Vivian Martin, coeditor with Astrid Gynnild of Grounded Theory: The Philosophy, Method, and Work of Barney Glaserpublished by BrownWalker Press (2012). Martin, professor and chair of the Department of Journalism at Central Connecticut State University, argues the method has been misunderstood even by those who use it, often conflated with qualitative studies, with only two GT studies published in journalism and mass communication. It is practical and subversive, she observes, with the ability to develop new concepts and link ideas across disciplines. She advocates a closer adherence to Glaser’s original intentions for the method. Responding to Martin is Clifton Scott, associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Scott is the author of “Grounded Theory” in Encyclopedia of Communication Theory, edited by Steven Littlejohn and Sonja Foss published by SAGE (2009). While agreeing with Martin that the name often is misapplied, Scott argues for less preoccupation with policing the purity of the method in favor of developing multiple approaches appropriate to it as a methodology. Reacting to both Martin and Scott, Bonnie Brennen critiques the original GT approach as neglecting “methodological self-consciousness,” which would uncover researchers “theoretical assumptions, power relations, class positions and personal experiences.” Brennen, the Nieman Professor of Journalism in the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University, is the author of Qualitative Research Methods for Media Studies, second edition, published by Routledge in 2017. Finally, Meenakshi Gigi Durham, responding to all three, expresses optimism about GT’s potential to spur new inquiry through exploration of social life, while she proposes that, like all theory, it be seen as necessarily dynamic and evolutionary. Durham is a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Iowa and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She is the editor with Douglas M. Kellner of Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks, second edition, published by Blackwell (2011). Lana Rakow, Associate Editor Louisa Ha, Edito

Human stereo matching is not restricted to epipolar lines

AbstractComputational approaches to stereo matching have often taken advantage of a geometric constraint which states that matching elements in the left and right eye images will always fall on “epipolar lines”. The use of this epipolar constraint reduces the search space from two dimensions to one, producing a tremendous saving in the computation time required to find the matching solution. Use of this constraint requires a precise knowledge of the relative horizontal, vertical and torsional positions of the two eyes, however, and this information may be unavailable in many situations. Experiments with dynamic random element stereograms reveal that human stereopsis can detect and identify the depth of matches over a range of both vertical and horizontal disparity. Observers were able to make accurate near/far depth discriminations when vertical disparity was as large as 45 arcmin, and were able to detect the presence of correlation over a slightly larger range. Thus, human binocular matching sensitivity is not strictly constrained to epipolar lines

Magnetic back-to-back locator

A back-to-back locator instrument includes a first portion with an array of two or more magnetic sensors, and an indicator arrangement. A second portion of the instrument includes an array of correspondingly located magnets. Each of the first and second portions includes a marking arrangement, which either allows marking of the underlying surface, or viewing of a mark on the surface for properly locating the instrument portion thereon. When the two portions are congruent or registered, the indicator arrangement gives a maximum indication of corresponding locations. In a particular use, corresponding locations on the inside and outside of a tank are identified. The indicator arrangement may include a separate indicator for each magnetic sensor. A flux concentrator may be associated with each magnetic sensor

Vertical Profiles, Sources and Transport of PFASs in the Arctic Ocean

The relative importance of atmospheric versus oceanic transport for poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) reaching the Arctic Ocean is not well understood. Vertical profiles from the Central Arctic Ocean and shelf water, snow and meltwater samples were collected in 2012; 13 PFASs (C6-C12 PFCAs; C6, 8, 10 PFSAs; MeFOSAA and EtFOSAA, and FOSA) were routinely detected (range: \u3c5 – 343 pg/L). PFASs were only detectable above 150 m depth in the polar mixed layer (PML) and halocline. Enhanced concentrations were observed in snow and meltpond samples, implying atmospheric deposition as an important source of PFASs. Model results suggested atmospheric inputs to account for 34-59% (~11-19 pg/L) of PFASs. Model results suggested atmospheric inputs to account for 34-59% (~11-19 pg/L) of measured PFOA concentrations in the PML (mean 32±15 pg/L). Modeled surface and halocline measurements for PFOS based on North Atlantic inflow (11-36 pg/L) agreed with measurements (mean, 17, range \u3c5-41 pg/L). Modeled deep water concentrations below 200 m (5-15 pg/L) were slightly higher than measurements (\u3c5 pg/L), suggesting the lower bound of PFAS emissions estimates from wastewater and rivers may provide the best estimate of inputs to the Arctic. Despite low concentrations in deep water, this reservoir is expected to contain most of the PFOS mass in the Arctic (63-180 Mg) and projected to continue increasing to 2038

Generation of cloned transgenic pigs rich in omega-3 fatty acids

Meat products are generally low in omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids, which are beneficial to human health. We describe the generation of cloned pigs that express a humanized Caenorhabditis elegans gene, fat-1, encoding an n-3 fatty acid desaturase. The hfat-1 transgenic pigs produce high levels of n-3 fatty acids from n-6 analogs, and their tissues have a significantly reduced ratio of n-6/n-3 fatty acids (P < 0.001). © 2006 Nature Publishing Group