Explanationism: Defended on All Sides

Explanationists about epistemic justification hold that justification depends upon explanatory considerations. After a bit of a lull, there has recently been a resurgence of defenses of such views. Despite the plausibility of these defenses, explanationism still faces challenges. Recently, T. Ryan Byerly and Kraig Martin have argued that explanationist views fail to provide either necessary or sufficient conditions for epistemic justification. I argue that Byerly and Martin are mistaken on both accounts

Interventionism Defended

James Woodward’s Making Things Happen presents the most fully developed version of a manipulability theory of causation. Although the ‘interventionist’account of causation that Woodward defends in Making Things Happen has many admirable qualities, Michael Strevens argues that it has a fatal flaw. Strevens maintains that Woodward’s interventionist account of causation renders facts about causation relative to an individual’s perspective. In response to this charge, Woodward claims that although on his account X might be a relativized cause of Y relative to some perspective, this does not lead to the problematic relativity that Strevens claims. Roughly, Woodward argues this is so because if X is a relativized cause of Y with respect to some perspective, then X is a cause of Y simpliciter. So, the truth of whether X is a cause of Y is not relative to one’s perspective. Strevens counters by arguing that Woodward’s response fails because relativized causation is not monotonic. In this paper I argue that Strevens’ argument that relativized causation is not monotonic is unsound

Undaunted Explanationism

Explanationism is a plausible view of epistemic justification according to which justification is a matter of explanatory considerations. Despite its plausibility, explanationism is not without its critics. In a recent issue of this journal T. Ryan Byerly and Kraig Martin have charged that explanationism fails to provide necessary or sufficient conditions for epistemic justification. In this article I examine Byerly and Martin’s arguments and explain where they go wrong

The data processor from the small scientific satellite

A reprogrammable data system aboard a small scientific satellite is described that samples and processes magnetospheric measurements for transmission to the ground. The lightweight configuration of the data system is made up of the program memory, data storage, input/output module, and a central processing unit. The system is designed for multiple missions

How Will New Farmers Control Farmland

The U.S. will soon see many farmers retire and younger farmers taking their place. These younger farmers would prefer to purchase the land rather than rent because of the advantages associated with ownership. However, these farmers need to determine how many acres they need to rent in order to support their purchased land and still provide funds for family living. The model developed here is applied to a typical farm in the Midwest. The results indicate that cash rent is a key element of the model.Farm Management,

How Will New Farmers Control Farmland

The U.S. will soon see many farmers retire and younger farmers taking their place. These younger farmers would prefer to purchase the land rather than rent because of the advantages associated with ownership. However, these farmers need to determine how many acres they need to rent in order to support their purchased land and still provide funds for family living. The model developed here is applied to a typical farm in the Midwest. The results indicate that cash rent is a key element of the model.Farm Management, Land Economics/Use,

NASREN: Standard reference model for telerobot control

A hierarchical architecture is described which supports space station telerobots in a variety of modes. The system is divided into three hierarchies: task decomposition, world model, and sensory processing. Goals at each level of the task dedomposition heirarchy are divided both spatially and temporally into simpler commands for the next lower level. This decomposition is repreated until, at the lowest level, the drive signals to the robot actuators are generated. To accomplish its goals, task decomposition modules must often use information stored it the world model. The purpose of the sensory system is to update the world model as rapidly as possible to keep the model in registration with the physical world. The architecture of the entire control system hierarch is described and how it can be applied to space telerobot applications

Hierarchical control of intelligent machines applied to space station telerobots

A hierarchical architecture is described which supports space station telerobots in a variety of modes. The system is divided into three hierarchies: task decomposition, world model, and sensory processing. Goals at each level of the task decomposition hierarchy are divided both spatially and temporally into simpler commands for the next lower level. This decomposition is repeated until, at the lowest level, the drive signals to the robot actuators are generated. To accomplish its goals, task decomposition modules must often use information stored in the world model. The purpose of the sensory system is to update the world model as rapidly as possible to keep the model in registration with the physical world. The architecture of the entire control system hierarchy and how it can be applied to space telerobot applications are discussed

The Moral Character Evaluation: Proving That Your Past Does Not Define Your Future

To the extent that the character and fitness evaluation continues to exclude those candidates who have not shown remorse or rehabilitation, it remains essential to ensuring the integrity of the legal profession. However, it is unfair to presume that a blemish on an applicant’s record suggests a lack of good moral character, until proven otherwise. Past mistakes and errors in judgment do not automatically indicate that an individual is unfit to practice law. Nor does the lack of “sanctionable conduct” in one’s past conclusively prove that the individual will uphold the integrity of the profession