A colimit decomposition for homotopy algebras in Cat

Badzioch showed that in the category of simplicial sets each homotopy algebra of a Lawvere theory is weakly equivalent to a strict algebra. In seeking to extend this result to other contexts Rosicky observed a key point to be that each homotopy colimit in simplicial sets admits a decomposition into a homotopy sifted colimit of finite coproducts, and asked the author whether a similar decomposition holds in the 2-category of categories Cat. Our purpose in the present paper is to show that this is the case.Comment: Some notation changed; small amount of exposition added in intr

Free CR distributions

There are only some exceptional CR dimensions and codimensions such that the geometries enjoy a discrete classification of the pointwise types of the homogeneous models. The cases of CR dimensions $n$ and codimensions $n^2$ are among the very few possibilities of the so called parabolic geometries. Indeed, the homogeneous model turns out to be \PSU(n+1,n)/P with a suitable parabolic subgroup $P$. We study the geometric properties of such real $(2n+n^2)$-dimensional submanifolds in $\mathbb C^{n+n^2}$ for all $n>1$. In particular we show that the fundamental invariant is of torsion type, we provide its explicit computation, and we discuss an analogy to the Fefferman construction of a circle bundle in the hypersurface type CR geometry

Paradigms and self-reference: what is the point of asserting paradoxical sentences?

A paradox, according to Wittgenstein, is something surprising that is taken out of its context. Thus, one way of dealing with paradoxical sentences is to imagine the missing context of use. Wittgenstein formulates what I call the paradigm paradox: ‘one sentence can never describe the paradigm in another, unless it ceases to be a paradigm.’ (PG, p.346) There are several instances of this paradox scattered throughout Wittgenstein’s writings. I argue that this paradox is structurally equivalent to Russell’s paradox. The above quotation is Wittgenstein’s version of the vicious circle principle which counteracts the paradox. The prohibition Wittgenstein describes is, however, limited to a certain language-game. Finally, I argue that there is a structural analogy between a noun being employed as a self-membered set and a paradigmatic sample being included in or excluded from the set it generates. Paradoxical sentences are not prohibited forever; they can indicate a change in our praxis with a given paradigm

Reality Is Not a Solid. Poetic Transfigurations of Stevens’ Fluid Concept of Reality

The main aim of this essay is to show that, for Stevens, the concept of reality is very fluctuating. The essay begins with addressing the relationship between poetry and philosophy. I argue, contra Critchley, that Stevens’ poetic work can elucidate, or at least help us to understand better, the ideas of philosophers that are usually considered obscure. The main “obscure” philosophical work introduced in and discussed throughout the essay is Schelling’s System of Transcendental Idealism. Both a (shellingian) philosopher and a (stevensian) poet search for reality. In order to understand Stevens’ poetry better, I distingush several concepts of reality: initial reality (the external world of the common sense), imagined reality (a fiction, a product of one’s mind), final reality (the object of a philosopher’s and a poet’s search) and total reality (the sum of all realities, Being). These determinations are fixed by reason (in the present essay), whereas in Stevens’ poetic works, they are made fluid by the imagination. This fluidity leads the concept of reality from its initial stage through the imagined stage to its final stage. Throughout this process, imagined reality must be distinguished from both a mere fancy and its products. Final reality is, however, nothing transcendent. It is rather a general transpersonal order of reality created by poetry/the imagination. The main peculiarity of final reality is that it is a dynamic order. It is provisional at each moment. Stevens (and Schelling too) characterizes this order as that of a work of art which is a finite object, but has an infinite meaning. Stevens calls this order “the central poem” or the “endlessly elaborating poem”. If ultimate reality is a poem created by the imagination, one may ask who is the imagining subject. I argue that this agent is best to be thought as total reality, that is, as Being. Stevens, however, maintains that if there were such an agency, it would be an inhuman agency, “an inhuman meditation”. The essay concludes, in a Derridian manner, with the claim that this agency cannot have any name; it is the “unnamed creator of an unknown sphere, / Unknown as yet, unknowable, / Uncertain certainty” (OP: 127). It is best thought as an X, as an unknown variable. Being has no name

Creative Nonfiction in Social Science: Towards More Engaging and Engaged Research

The paper aims at identifying, explaining and illustrating the affordances of “creative nonfiction” as a style of writing social science. The first part introduces creative nonfiction as a method of writing which brings together empirical material and fiction. In the second part, based on illustrations from my ethnographic research of European “crisis reporters,” written in the form of a novel about a fictional journalist, but also based on a review of existing social science research that employs a creative method of writing, I identify several main affordances of creative nonfiction in social-scientific research. In particular, I argue that creative nonfiction allows scientists to illustrate their findings, to express them in an allegorical way, to organize data into a narrative, to let their pieces of research act in the social world, and to permeate research accounts with self-reflexive moments. I also discuss some apparent negative affordances: challenges that creative nonfiction poses to readers and to the institutionalized academic discourse. Finally, I suggest that writing about sociological problems in the style of creative nonfiction can help to produce more engaging and engaged texts, and I discuss the ethical implications of the approach

Generic Subsequence Matching Framework: Modularity, Flexibility, Efficiency

Subsequence matching has appeared to be an ideal approach for solving many problems related to the fields of data mining and similarity retrieval. It has been shown that almost any data class (audio, image, biometrics, signals) is or can be represented by some kind of time series or string of symbols, which can be seen as an input for various subsequence matching approaches. The variety of data types, specific tasks and their partial or full solutions is so wide that the choice, implementation and parametrization of a suitable solution for a given task might be complicated and time-consuming; a possibly fruitful combination of fragments from different research areas may not be obvious nor easy to realize. The leading authors of this field also mention the implementation bias that makes difficult a proper comparison of competing approaches. Therefore we present a new generic Subsequence Matching Framework (SMF) that tries to overcome the aforementioned problems by a uniform frame that simplifies and speeds up the design, development and evaluation of subsequence matching related systems. We identify several relatively separate subtasks solved differently over the literature and SMF enables to combine them in straightforward manner achieving new quality and efficiency. This framework can be used in many application domains and its components can be reused effectively. Its strictly modular architecture and openness enables also involvement of efficient solutions from different fields, for instance efficient metric-based indexes. This is an extended version of a paper published on DEXA 2012.Comment: This is an extended version of a paper published on DEXA 201

Devil in the Making: Sino-Japanese Wartime Cultural Products in China and Its Influence on Chinese Nationalism

This paper aims to provide a possible interpretation of the role of Sino-Japanese wartime cultural products in shaping Chinese nationalism through a cultural sociological analysis. The concept of “wartime cultural products” in this paper does not refer to the cultural products produced during wartime; instead, it refers to the cultural products with war as the topic. In order to give a hint of the role of Sino-Japanese wartime cultural products in shaping Chinese nationalism, the author asks the following two specific questions and will answer them in the main body of this paper: 1) what is the deep cultural structure of the anti-Japanese culture products? 2) how does the deep cultural structure shape current Chinese nationalism and anti-Japanese action? “Deep cultural structure” here means the objective but non-public codes and logic, which is different from the surface structure that can be obtained easil

Metaphor in Analytic Philosophy and Cognitive Science

This article surveys theories of metaphor in analytic philosophy and cognitive science. In particular, it focuses on contemporary semantic, pragmatic and non-cognitivist theories of linguistic metaphor and on the Conceptual Metaphor Theory advanced by George Lakoff and his school. Special attention is given to the mechanisms that are shared by nearly all these approaches, i.e. mechanisms of interaction and mapping between conceptual domains. Finally, the article discusses several recent attempts to combine these theories of linguistic and conceptual metaphor into a unitary account

Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Classical Theory: Affinities Rather than Divergences

Conceptual Metaphor Theory makes some strong claims against so-called Classical Theory which spans the accounts of metaphors from Aristotle to Davidson. Most of these theories, because of their traditional literal-metaphorical distinction, fail to take into account the phenomenon of conceptual metaphor. I argue that the underlying mechanism for explaining metaphor bears some striking resemblances among all of these theories. A mapping between two structures is always expressed. Conceptual Metaphor Theory insists, however, that the literal-metaphorical distinction of Classical Theories is empirically wrong. I claim that this criticism is based rather on terminological decisions than on empirical issues. Conceptual Metaphor Theory focusses primarily on conventional metaphors and struggles to extend its mechanism to novel metaphors, whereas Classical Theories focus on novel metaphors and struggle to extend their mechanisms to conventional metaphors. Since all of these theories study metaphors from the synchronic point of view, they are unable to take into account any semantic change. A diachronic perspective is what we need here, one which would allow us to explain the role of metaphor in semantic change and the development of language in general

Commodity Markets Financialization and its Impact on the Word Economy

This paper deals with the financialization of contemporary world commodity markets and its influence on the economy. Firstly, it defines the ways in which this current trend shows itself and then analyzes its impact on the economy. Concurrently the paper tries to find out in what way is the effect positive for the economy as well as in what is negative. The aim of the analysis is also to confirm or refuse the hypothesis that financialization of commodity markets is one of the factors which has contributed to the emergence of modern "financial" crisis and helps its prolongation. The closing part of the paper focuses on the question if this process is beneficial or harmful for the further development of the worlds economy or whether is appropriate to matter in this process or rather waits for the result of the spontaneous development itself.Tato práce se zabývá financializací světových komoditních trzhů a jejími dopady na ekonomiku. Je zde definován způsob, jakým se tento současný trend projevuje a jsou zde analyzovány jeho pozitivní i negativní dopady na ekonomiku. Cílem analýzy je také potvrdit nebo zamítnout hypotézu, že financializace na komoditních trzích je jedním z faktorů, který přispěl ke vzniku "finanční" krize a pomáhá jejímu prodlužování. Závěrečná část práce se zaměřuje na otázku, zdali je tento proces prospěšný nebo škodlivý pro další rozvoj světové ekonomiky, resp. zda je vhodné jej ponechat samovolnému vývoji, anebo je zapotřebí jej začít celosvětově regulovat.This paper deals with the financialization of contemporary world commodity markets and its influence on the economy. Firstly, it defines the ways in which this current trend shows itself and then analyzes its impact on the economy. Concurrently the paper tries to find out in what way is the effect positive for the economy as well as in what is negative. The aim of the analysis is also to confirm or refuse the hypothesis that financialization of commodity markets is one of the factors which has contributed to the emergence of modern "financial" crisis and helps its prolongation. The closing part of the paper focuses on the question if this process is beneficial or harmful for the further development of the worlds economy or whether is appropriate to matter in this process or rather waits for the result of the spontaneous development itself