Seeing People and Knowing You: Perception, Shared Knowledge, and Acknowledgment

This article takes up the proposal that action and expression enable perceptual knowledge of other minds, a proposal that runs counter to a tradition of thinking that other minds are special in that they are essentially unobservable. I argue that even if we accept this proposal regarding perceptual knowledge, there is still a difference between knowing another person and knowing other things. I articulate this difference by pointing out that I can know another person by sharing knowledge with her. Such sharing is expressed in the use of the second-person pronoun. Thus, I argue, other minds are indeed special as objects of knowledge, but not in the way the tradition has supposed

Journal for the history of analytical philosophy: Gilbert Ryle: intelligence, practice, skill, v. 5, no. 5

Special issue on Gilbert Ryle edited by Juliet Floyd and Lydia Patton. Articles: "Volume Introduction: Gilbert Ryle on Propositions, Propositional Attitudes, and Theoretical Knowledge" by Julia Tanney; "Ryle’s “Intellectualist Legend” in Historical Context" by Michael Kremer; "Skill, Drill, and Intelligent Performance: Ryle and Intellectualism" by Stina Bäckström and Martin Gustafsson; "Ryle on the Explanatory Role of Knowledge How"by Will Small.https://jhaponline.org/jhap/issue/view/319Published versio

Review of Inside Ethics: On the Demands of Moral Thought by Alice Crary

Book review of Crary, Alice, Inside Ethics: On the Demands of Moral Thought, Harvard University Press 2016

Energieffektivisering i ridanläggningen i Råneå

If you want to minimize the need for purchased energy the best way is to ensure that as little heat and air as possible escapes from the building. A significant amount of heat in buildings with normal standard is lost through the surrounding envelope that is through the roof walls, windows, doors and floors. High air tightness of a building improves profitability by creating a better indoor environment and lower energy consumption. It normally requires addition of energy to balance the energy losses of various kinds. A building's energy is the energy that is purchased for normal use during a normal property and energy. For the building to be in balance have the energy to be equal to the losses.Transmission losses for the arena is approximately 140 000 kWh and for the stable approximately 130 000 kWh. Ventilation losses for the arena are approximately 140 000 kWh and for the stable 130 000 kWh.The energy consumption for the entire horse riding centre was approximately 340 100 kWh (2011). Heat consumption is approximately 270 200 kWh. When you subtract the unnecessary losses the consumption is approximately 170 000 kWh. Heat for the buildings are obtained through under floor heating, (not in the riding hall) heated by an electric cartridge of 9 kW and electric air heaters, staff areas are heated by electric radiators. Domestic hot water is prepared in electric water heaters. Heat recovery on ventilation is in the staff areas. The stall has an FT system with a central exhaust and two supply fan.I have developed a number of suggestions for improvement comprising: Improve / replace existing insulation. Replace existing heater poles for cars, to time-controlled. Replace the interior lighting in the riding hall to motion sensor lighting. Have the outdoor lights turned off during certain times of day. Lower the heat to radiators in those areas that are not directly used like coffee room / kitchen and keep the gates closed, Replace the existing radiators to more energy efficient ones. Replace existing heating system to geothermal heating, wind power, combustion of horse manure (Sewbo Bio Therm boiler). I have also made financial calculations.Validerat; 20140207 (global_studentproject_submitter

Must Expression Be Instrumental?

This article engages critically with the theory of expression proposed by Mitchell Green in his Self-Expression (2007). In this book, Green argues that expressions are signals designed to convey information about mental states. By putting pressure on one of the examples Green uses in his book, I will challenge this thesis. I will then deepen this challenge by developing a contrast between two philosophical perspectives on expression, which I name the 'instrumental' and the `descriptive'. I take Green's theory of expression to be an exemplar of the instrumental perspective. Expression, in the instrumental perspective, is a means for transmitting information about mental states from organism to organism. The descriptive perspective I articulate with the help of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Ludwig Wittgenstein. On the descriptive view, expression is (at least a part of) an answer to the question what it is so much as to have mental states and a living body. I suggest at the end of the article that if we remain within the instrumental perspective, we will not be able to use expression to satisfactorily answer this question

Spontaneous expression and intentional action

When spontaneous expressions such as smiling or crying have been at issue in Anglophone philosophy of action, the touchstone has been Donald Davidson’s belief-desire account of action. In this essay, I take a different approach. I use Elizabeth Anscombe’s formal conception of intentional action to capture the distinction and unity between intentional action and spontaneous expression. Anscombe’s strategy is to restrict her inquiry to the class of acts to which a certain sense of the question ‘Why?’ has application. Applying Anscombe’s strategy to an area she did not consider other than by contrast, I argue that spontaneous expressions are subject to a different but intimately related why-question. Both questions elicit non-observational knowledge. But where the question posed to intentional actions opens up a means-end order (an order of practical reasoning) this is not true of the corresponding question for spontaneous expressions. Our explanations of our own spontaneous expressions have conceptual and normative dimensions, but they do not display an inferential order. Anscombe, taking a formulation from Aquinas, describes practical knowledge as the cause of what it understands. I conclude by arguing that this formulation also holds true of our understanding of our own smiles and episodes of crying. This work was supported by Kone Foundation and the Academy of Finland.</p

Skill, Drill, and Intelligent Performance: Ryle and Intellectualism

In this paper, we aim to show that a study of Gilbert Ryle’s work has much to contribute to the current debate between intellectualism and anti-intellectualism with respect to skill and know-how. According to Ryle, knowing how and skill are distinctive from and do not reduce to knowing that. What is often overlooked is that for Ryle this point is connected to the idea that the distinction between skill and mere habit is a category distinction, or a distinction in form. Criticizing the reading of Ryle presented by Jason Stanley, we argue that once the formal nature of Ryle’s investigation is recognized it becomes clear that his dispositional account is not an instance of reductionist behaviorism, and that his regress argument has a broader target than Stanley appears to recognize

Effects of the "Inspirational Lecture" in Combination With "Ordinary Antenatal Parental Classes" as Professional Support for Expectant Parents : A Pilot Study as a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Both expectant mothers and their partners describe weaknesses in ordinary parental preparatory professional support provided internationally and nationally within Sweden. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the parental preparatory professional support provided by midwives for expectant parents within Sweden. This study will evaluate the effects on expectant parents of receiving a combination of an "inspirational lecture" and "ordinary antenatal parental classes" compared with only "ordinary antenatal parental classes." Methods/Design: This block randomized controlled trial included an intervention as a pilot study, in which expectant parents were randomized for (1) the inspirational lecture and ordinary antenatal parental classes (intervention group [IG]) (n = 66) or (2) ordinary antenatal parental classes (control group [CG]) (n = 60). Data collection with repeated questionnaires was conducted in the first week and 6 months after birth. Statistical analyses were conducted for participant characteristics, differences between parents within IG and CG, effects of the intervention, intention to treat, and internal consistency of the included measurements. Results: The intervention showed a tendency to be gainful for one out of four outcomes related to birth experience, and parents' perceived quality of parental couple relationship consensus and sexuality and manageability. These results were more prominent for the partners. Parents within both the intervention and control groups reported decreased social support in the first 6 months after birth. Conclusion and Clinical Implications: Overall, the concept of the inspirational lecture in combination with ordinary antenatal parental classes as parental preparatory professional support seems to be a valuable care intervention. However, this study was a pilot study and the results should therefore be interpreted with caution. More research is needed since childbirth and transition to parenthood are complex processes in need of comprehension

How partners of pregnant women use their social networks when preparing for childbirth and parenthood : A qualitative study

Social contextual circumstances have an influence on parental transition, and social support has been shown to facilitate the transition to parenthood, among other states. Further knowledge is, however, needed to explore how partners of pregnant women use their social networks during pregnancy. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore how partners of pregnant women use their social networks when preparing for childbirth and parenting. Within this study, a social network is defined as social connections such as family, friends and significant others. In total, 14 partners (expectant fathers and co-mothers) were interviewed. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. EQUATOR Network guidelines and the COREQ checklist were applied. The analysis resulted in one theme of meaning: Partners use their social networks to receive social support, which facilitates understanding about how to prepare for childbirth and parenthood, which was described through three sub-themes. The results highlight the importance of social networks for partners when preparing for childbirth and parenthood. Professionals should aim to strengthen and extend partners’ social networks and access to social support. This could be done not only to support partners to attend parental classes, but also to participate socially as well as engage with other expectant parents within the classes.CC BY 4.0Corresponding author:Caroline B€ackstrom, School of Health Sciences, University of Skövde, Post Box 408, S 541 28, Sweden. Email: [email protected]</p