Permutations and foster problems: two puzzles or one?

How are permutation arguments for the inscrutability of reference to be formulated in the context of a Davidsonian truth-theoretic semantics? Davidson (1979) takes these arguments to establish that there are no grounds for favouring a reference scheme that assigns London to ‘Londres’, rather than one that assigns Sydney to that name. We shall see, however, that it is far from clear whether permutation arguments work when set out in the context of the kind of truth-theoretic semantics which Davidson favours. The principle required to make the argument work allows us to resurrect Foster problems against the Davidsonian position. The Foster problems and the permutation inscrutability problems stand or fall together: they are one puzzle, not two

A Sea Change in Eta Carinae

Major stellar-wind emission features in the spectrum of Eta Car have recently decreased by factors of order 2 relative to the continuum. This is unprecedented in the modern observational record. The simplest, but unproven, explanation is a rapid decrease in the wind density.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

1-Hyperreflexivity and Complete Hyperreflexivity

The subspaces and subalgebras of B(H) which are hyperreflexive with constant 1 are completely classified. It is shown that there are 1-hyperreflexive subspaces for which the complete hyperreflexivity constant is strictly greater than 1. The constants for \bC T \otimes B(H) are analyzed in detail.Comment: 41 page

Uneven and combined development: modernity, modernism, revolution

Trotsky’s theory of Uneven and Combined Development was born out of his experience of the Russian Revolution. To mark the centenary of the revolution, we are publishing a series of five pieces by Neil Davidson that explore the theory’s wider contribution to how we understand capitalist modernity. These articles show how ideas that began life in the revolution continue to inspire new ways of grasping the world, and that we are very much engaging in a living 21st century world when reflecting on the previous century. The series published here are extracts of his forthcoming book Violating all the Laws of History that will be published in the Haymarket Historical Materialism series in 2018

Alasdair Macintyre and Trotskyism

This essay features as part of a collection of essays that explore the implications of Alasdair MacIntyre’s critique of liberalism, capitalism, and the modern state, his early Marxism, and the complex influences of Marxist ideas on his thought. A central idea is that MacIntyre’s political and social theory is a form of revolutionary—not reactionary—Aristotelianism. The contributors aim, in varying degrees, both to engage with the theoretical issues of MacIntyre’s critique and to extend and deepen his insights

Native Birth: Identity and Territory in Postcolonial Guinea-Bissau, West Africa

Author's final manuscript

Nations and neoliberalism

This paper examines nations and neoliberalism

Native Birth: Identity and Territory in Postcolonial Guinea-Bissau, West Africa

Author's final manuscript