Bio-Enhanced Constructivism: Moral Facts for the Naturalistic but Morally Serious Philosopher

ABSTRACT Bio-Enhanced Constructivism: Moral Facts for the Naturalistic but Morally Serious Philosopher by Jason Gardner Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy Washington University in St. Louis, 2014 Professor Eric Brown, Chair There is a tension between being both morally and naturalistically serious because it is doubtful that features philosophers have ascribed to moral facts in order to explain why we should take them seriously can be given a naturalistic accounting. Yet even serious naturalists who think the tension is real and troubling persist in trying to be serious moralists. I do not think they can do so on their own terms. Thus the purpose of this dissertation: to inquire after a perfectly natural way to think about morality, one that begins by examining the colloquially moral behaviors of the natural human animal, one that also demands that we take morality seriously. I call the view that emerges \u27Bio-Enhanced Constructivism\u27. It consists of two theses: the Human Nature Thesis saying it belongs to the human species to have peculiarly moral desires, and the Biological Construction Claim saying moral facts are determined by certain evaluations that these desires dispose us to make. I defend the view in three steps. First I present evidence from the biological and psychological sciences for the Human Nature Thesis. Then I argue that the Biological Construction Claim is the only viable way to make sense of how there could moral facts determined by our evaluations. Finally, I consider a great number of objections claiming to undermine the justification a bio-enhanced constructivist offers for our taking morality seriously and I show that none of these objections is able to uphold its claim

Myoglobin-facilitated oxygen diffusion in the heart: A mathematical assessment

Myoglobin facilitated oxygen diffusion and Michaelis-Menten kinetics are added to an experimentally-validated cardiac tissue model to determine the steady-state function of myoglobin in working heart tissue. Previous modeling of tissue oxygen partial pressure (pO\sb2) data suggests that the oxygen diffusion coefficient in working heart tissue is greater than expected. To fit the pO\sb2 data, the tissue oxygen diffusion coefficient in the model must be elevated to 8 to 12 times reported values. These elevated values of the tissue oxygen diffusion coefficient are not acceptable based upon the current understanding of cardiac muscle physiology. In this dissertation the effect of including myoglobin facilitated diffusion in the model is evaluated to determine if this phenomenon can explain the need for an elevated oxygen diffusion coefficient. The Radially-Averaged, Axially-Distributed (RAAD) model considers axial diffusion of oxygen in tissue, myoglobin facilitation of oxygen transport, and pO\sb2-dependent oxygen consumption. Models are solved numerically using a variable-mesh finite-difference scheme. Parameters are optimized with Nelder-Mead simplexing and are chosen to minimize the sum-of-squares error between model pO\sb2 predictions and pO\sb2 data. The addition of myoglobin to the RAAD model does not provide a better data fit. Simulations led to the conclusion that myoglobin facilitation is not responsible for the elevated oxygen diffusion found through modeling pO\sb2 data. Also, simulations indicate that myoglobin facilitated diffusive transport of oxygen can be disregarded in future steady-state oxygen transport models of the isolated perfused cat heart. Possible explanations for the elevated oxygen diffusion coefficient include tissue stirring by contractile elements, intercapillary oxygen exchange, and preparation-specific transport conditions of the isolated heart

Lack of static lattice distortion in Tb2Ti2O7Tb_2 Ti_2 O_7

We investigated the possibility of temperature dependent lattice distortions in the pyrochlore compound Tb$_{2}$Ti$_{2}$O$_{7}$ by measuring the internal magnetic field distribution, using muon spin resonance, and comparing it to the susceptibility. The measurements are done at temperatures as low as 70 mK and external fields up to 6 kG. We find that the evolution of the width of the field distribution can be explained by spin susceptibility only, thus ruling out a temperature dependent hyperfine coupling. We conclude that lattice deformations are absent in Tb$_{2}$Ti$_{2}$O$_{7}$.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in J. Phys. Condens. Matter. (Proceedings of Highly Frustrated Magnetism 2006); Corrections of various typo

Enhancing the Fuel Value of Wood Pellets with the Addition of Lignin

Because of the increased cost of petroleum-based energy production, there is renewed interest in the use of wood for energy. In particular, residential heating using wood pellets has experienced a large increase during the last decade. Manufacturers of wood pellets are interested in producing high-quality, high fuel-value pellets. In this study, lignin was explored as an additive to wood to enhance pellet fuel value. Two types of lignin were examined in the production of wood pellets, Kraft black liquor and Indulin AT (IAT). Lignin was added to a softwood furnish and pellets were prepared on a commercial California Pellet Mill. The pellets were analyzed for fuel value, moisture content, and quality. Those prepared with IAT produced better quality pellets and had a higher fuel value than with Kraft black liquor. The Kraft black liquor pellets were soft and spongy and easily fell apart. A cost analysis indicates that lignin preparation will have a major impact on the feasibility of adding lignin to wood pellets to enhance fuel value

Metamorphic, Autonomous Symmetries

Unified signed models have led to many intuitive advances, including courseware and lambda calculus. In fact, few developers would disagree with the construction of the UNIVAC computer, which embodies the unfortunate principles of cryptoanalysis. We examine how DHCP can be applied to the evaluation of vacuum tubes

Bathymetric terrain model of the Atlantic margin for marine geological investigations.

Bathymetric terrain models of seafloor morphology are an important component of marine geological investigations. Advances in acquisition and processing technologies of bathymetric data have facilitated the creation of high-resolution bathymetric surfaces that approach the resolution of similar surfaces available for onshore investigations. These bathymetric terrain models provide a detailed representation of the Earth’s subaqueous surface and, when combined with other geophysical and geological datasets, allow for interpretation of modern and ancient geological processes. The purpose of the bathymetric terrain model presented in this report is to provide a high-quality bathymetric surface of the Atlantic margin of the United States that can be used to augment current and future marine geological investigations. The input data for this bathymetric terrain model, covering almost 305,000 square kilometers, were acquired by several sources, including the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geophysical Data Center and the Ocean Exploration Program, the University of New Hampshire, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. These data have been edited using hydrographic data processing software to maximize the quality, usability, and cartographic presentation of the combined terrain model

Emission Line Galaxies in the STIS Parallel Survey II: Star Formation Density

We present the luminosity function of [OII]-emitting galaxies at a median redshift of z=0.9, as measured in the deep spectroscopic data in the STIS Parallel Survey (SPS). The luminosity function shows strong evolution from the local value, as expected. By using random lines of sight, the SPS measurement complements previous deep single field studies. We calculate the density of inferred star formation at this redshift by converting from [OII] to H-alpha line flux as a function of absolute magnitude and find rho_dot=0.043 +/- 0.014 Msun/yr/Mpc^3 at a median redshift z~0.9 within the range 0.46<z<1.415 (H_0 = 70 km/s/Mpc, Omega_M=0.3, Omega_Lambda=0.7. This density is consistent with a (1+z)^4 evolution in global star formation since z~1. To reconcile the density with similar measurements made by surveys targeting H-alpha may require substantial extinction correction.Comment: 16 preprint pages including 5 figures; accepted for publication in Ap

A quest for frustration driven distortion in Y2Mo2O7

We investigated the nature of the freezing in the geometrically frustrated Heisenberg spin-glass Y2Mo2O7 by measuring the temperature dependence of the static internal magnetic field distribution above the spin-glass temperature, Tg, using the muSR technique. The evolution of the field distribution cannot be explained by changes in the spin susceptibility alone and suggests a lattice deformation. This possibility is addressed by numerical simulations of the Heisenberg Hamiltonian with magneto-elastic coupling at T>0.Comment: 5 pages 4 figures. Accepted for publication in PR