When SeaWorld was founded in 1959, the effects of captivity on cetaceans were not well understood. The 2013 release of Blackfish, however, brought modern research and ethics into public light. While some animal activists may rejoice in there being no future for SeaWorld, we argue that SeaWorld has an opportunity to reform itself and the greater “animal entertainment” industry by replacing captive animal shows with virtual and artificial reality. SeaWorld has already stopped breeding orcas and has committed to ending orca (...) shows. We argue it should now also commit to the end of other captive animal shows and we believe the proposed technological shifts could make this feasible. (shrink)

Le problème de l’identité personnelle est une préoccupation essentielle des philosophes modernes depuis que la conscience est mise en scène philosophiquement. Cependant parmi eux il n’y en a pas beaucoup qui considèrent la mémoire comme le fondement de l’identité humaine, bien qu’aujourd’hui, et grâce aux neurosciences, on sache pourtant qu’elle joue un rôle capital. D’une manière générale, les empiristes s’y intéressent davantage que les rationnalistes. Ceux‐ci ayant comme idéal normatif les systèmes mathématiques ne pensent pas qu’elle puisse contribuer à élargir (...) nos connaissances du monde. C’est ce qui explique que le système des idées claires et distinctes chez Descartes, s’établit directement par la conscience présente. De son côté, l’empiriste sceptique Hume, bien qu’il ait souligné l’importance de la mémoire dans notre personnalité, n’a pas pu mettre en pleine lumière sa nature et son fonctionnement. L’esprit considéré comme l’ensemble des perceptions et des idées est loin de constituer l’identité de l’homme normal. On voit dans les théoriesbergsoniennes de la durée et de la mémoire une toute autre perspective qui fonde l’identité personnelle sur l’équilibre mental de la conscience présente et de l’inconscient, c’est‐à‐dire du moi superficiel et du moi profond. (shrink)

Grace Lee Boggs (1915–2015) was a philosopher and activist influenced by Hegel, Marx, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and her collaborators C. L. R. James and Jimmy Boggs. During her long career, she inspired a generation of young thinker-activists to establish institutions and practices in Detroit to promote community and justice. The article gives an overview of her life and accomplishments, discusses the social and political philosophy set forth in her book The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism (...) for the Twenty-first Century, and reviews the documentary about her by director Grace Lee, American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs. (shrink)

아리스토텔레스의 작품들에 대한 토마스 아퀴나스의 주해의 의도는 최근 수 십 년 동안 제이퍼(H. V. Jaffa), 고티에(R. A. Gauthier), 브래들리(D. J. M. Bradley), 도이그(J. C. Doig), 엘더스(L. Elders) 등과 같은 여러 학자들 사이에서 종종 논쟁거리가 되어 왔다. 그 중에서도 용기라는 덕은 아리스토텔레스와 토마스 아퀴나스 사이에 있었던 논쟁들 중의 핵심적인 요소였다. 예를 들면, 드용(R. K. De Young)은 토마스 아퀴나스가 전쟁터에서의 용기보다는 오히려 순교자의 용기의 주요한 행위로서 인내만을 강조함으로써 아리스토텔레스의 용기 개념으로부터 갈라섰다고 주장한다. 이와 같은 그녀의 토마스 아퀴나스의 순교자의 인내에 관한 충실한 (...) 이해는 여러 관점들 안에서 성격상 철저하게 신학적이라는 것을 부정할 수는 없다.BR 그러나 드용의 주장과는 달리, 헤르트(J. A. Herdt)와 라이히버그(G. M. Reichberg)와 같은 학자들은 토마스 아퀴나스의 용기에 대한 설명이 더 광범위한 신학적인 전통들을 배경으로 하여 지속됨에도 불구하고, 가장 두드러진 것은 그의 용기에 관한 설명들이 아리스토텔레스로부터의 벗어남 또는 이탈이 결코 아니라고 주장한다. 그들은 그가 어떤 의미에서 아리스토텔레스에게 의존하고 있는 순교자의 용기의 주요한 행위로서 인내라는 전형을 주장하는 것 이외에도, 전쟁터 용기에 대한 아리스토텔레스의 분석을 거부하는 것이 아니라 오히려 아리스토텔레스를 능가하는 방식을 취하고 있다고 주장한다. 또한 그들은 그가 “은총은 자연을 완전하게 만든다.”라는 원리를 받아들임으로써 이러한 두 가지 형태들, 즉 후천적으로 획득된 용기와 주입된 용기 사이에 존재할 수 있는 다양한 관계들에 주의를 기울이고 있다고 주장하고 있다.BR 이 연구에서는 먼저, 연구자는 토마스 아퀴나스의 순교자의 용기와 인내에 관한 드용의 입장을 검토해보고자 한다. 이 방법의 일환으로서, 연구자는 드용이 지적한 내용들, 즉 순교자로서 인내와 신의 은총으로서 인내를 살펴볼 것이다. 그리고 나서 드용의 주장들에 대한 반론으로서 첫째, 연구자는 헤르트의 주장들을 중심으로 하여 토마스 아퀴나스가 신의 은총 없이도 시민의 덕으로서 인내를 가지는 것이 가능하다는 것을 분명하게 보여주고 있다는 것을 드러낼 것이다. 둘째, 본 연구자는 라이히버그의 주장을 중심으로 하여 토마스 아퀴나스는가 아리스토텔레스의 군대의 용기 또는 전쟁터에서의 용기를 대담함과 인내라는 두 가지의 정념들의 적절한 균형을 통하여 아리스토텔레스의 용기의 개념을 발전적으로 변용시켰다고 주장할 것이다. 결론적으로, 연구자는 토마스 아퀴나스가 아리스토텔레스의 용기의 개념을 단순히 그리스도교의 순교 또는 인내와 관련되어 있는 용기의 개념으로 변형시키려고 한 것이 아니라 아리스토텔레스의 부분적인 진리를 더 완전한 진리 쪽으로 나아갈 수 있는 지를 보여주고자 한 것임에 분명하다는 것을 제시하고자 한다. (shrink)

Reproduced from Robert J.C. Young, Torn Halves. Pages: 256. ISBN: 0-7190-477-3 ; 0-7190-4776-5. Price: 14.99 ; 40.00.

The resting-state human electroencephalogram power spectrum is dominated by alpha and theta oscillations, and also includes non-oscillatory broadband activity inversely related to frequency. Gratton proposed that alpha and theta oscillations are both related to cognitive control function, though in a complementary manner. Alpha activity is hypothesized to facilitate the maintenance of representations, such as task sets in preparation for expected task conditions. In contrast, theta activity would facilitate changes in representations, such as the updating of task sets in response to (...) unpredicted task demands. Therefore, theta should be related to reactive control, while alpha may be more relevant to proactive control. Less is known about the possible relationship between 1/f activity and cognitive control, which was analyzed here in an exploratory fashion. To investigate these hypothesized relationships, we recorded eyes-open and eyes-closed resting-state EEG from younger and older adults and subsequently tested their performance on a cued flanker task, expected to elicit both proactive and reactive control processes. Results showed that alpha power and 1/f offset were smaller in older than younger adults, whereas theta power did not show age-related reductions. Resting alpha power and 1/f offset were associated with proactive control processes, whereas theta power was related to reactive control as measured by the cued flanker task. All associations were present over and above the effect of age, suggesting that these resting-state EEG correlates could be indicative of trait-like individual differences in cognitive control performance, which may be already evident in younger adults, and are still similarly present in healthy older adults. (shrink)

In this article, we review approaches to modeling a connection between spatial and mathematical thinking across development. We critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of factor analyses, meta-analyses, and experimental literatures. We examine those studies that set out to describe the nature and number of spatial and mathematical skills and specific connections between these abilities, especially those that included children as participants. We also find evidence of strong spatial-mathematical connections and transfer from spatial interventions to mathematical understanding. Finally, we map (...) out the kinds of studies that could enhance our understanding of the mechanisms by which spatial and mathematical processing are connected and the principles by which mathematical outcomes could be enhanced through spatial training in educational settings. (shrink)

Evolution would favor organisms that can make recurrent decisions in accordance with classical probability (CP) theory, because such choices would be optimal in the long run. This is illustrated by the base-rate fallacy and probability matching, where nonhumans choose optimally but humans do not. Quantum probability (QP) theory may be able to account for these species differences in terms of orthogonal versus nonorthogonal representations.

The constructs of behavioral mass in research on the momentum of operant behavior and associative strength in Pavlovian conditioning have some interesting parallels, as suggested by Savastano & Miller. Some recent findings challenge the strict separation of operant and Pavlovian determiners of response rate and resistance to change in behavioral momentum, renewing the need for research on the interaction of processes that have traditionally been studied separately. Relatedly, Furedy notes that some autonomic responses may be refractory to conditioning, but a (...) combination of operant contingencies and enriched Pavlovian stimulus-reinforcer relations may prove effective. (shrink)

Altruism can be understood in terms of traditional principles of reinforcement if an outcome that is beneficial to another person reinforces the behavior of the actor who produces it. This account depends on a generalization of reinforcement across persons and might be more amenable to experimental investigation than the one proposed by Rachlin.

The predictive validity of the ultimatum game (UG) for cross-cultural differences in real-world behavior has not yet been established. We discuss results of a recent meta-analysis (Oosterbeek et al 2004), which examined UG behavior across large-scale societies and found that the mean percent offers rejected was positively correlated with social expenditure.

My dissertation comprises three inter-related chapters, all of which explore the nature of work law and critically analyze the prevailing emphasis on matters of contract. The Escape Plans of Mill and Jefferson: I discuss these thinkers’ unsuccessful “escape plans” to minimize wage work. Mill advocated cooperative, worker-owned firms, while Jefferson favored farming the vast American frontier. I explore whether, if realized, either proposal would have satisfied the demands of justice. I argue that such proposals are normatively deficient because they lead (...) us mistakenly to assume that so long as the law provides alternatives to wage labor, it can justly leave work relationships in an unregulated, Dickensian state. In reply, I contend that we have no just alternative to engaging in the messy and difficult task of regulating the workplace. Revising the Roles of Master and Servant: I critically examine the claim that work law is best understood as part of contract law, arguing that this view is neither descriptively nor normatively instructive. Rather than understanding work law as a set of restraints on freedom of contract, we should see it as creating and defining special relationships, much like the codified definitions of marriages and corporations. I trace the development of work relationships through the common law of “master and servant” and more recent statutory modifications. I argue that the history and present form of work law are not consistent with the contract-centered view of work law as “interfering” with an otherwise free labor market. Competing Ideologies and the End of the Lochner Era: I examine Howard Gillman’s critique of the view that early-20th Century Supreme Court Justices sought to advance policy preferences rather than interpret the law. Gillman reconstructs the legal basis for their decisions, thus undermining the claim that they merely pursued laissez faire policies. However, Gillman then claims that the Justices who overruled liberty-of-contract in West Coast Hotel had no principled basis for their decisions. In response, I argue that West Coast Hotel was not only based on a plausible interpretation of constitutional law, but also the best outcome with respect to justice. (shrink)

The ethical principle of respect for autonomy has come into its own In American medicine since World War II as equal in importance to the traditional medicomoral principles of nonmaleficence and beneficence. Respect for autonomy provides the ethical underpinning for the patient's right to exercise an informed choice – whether to consent to or to refuse recommended medical treatment. However, an informed choice demands a certain level of competence. Typical criteria for patient competence to accept or to refuse medical treatments (...) Include ability to make a choice and ability to comprehend the nature of the treatment, as well as the risks and benefits of accepting or refusing the treatment. (shrink)

All-encompassing text examines every aspect of coma from neurochemistry, monitoring, and treatments to prognostic factors.

Presents a portrait of Alamaba rivers, from their origins in the Appalachian highlands to their confluence with the Gulf of Mexico, and promotes the stewardship and preservation of these natural regions.

In this essay I contrast Freud’s account of mourning in Mourning and Melancholia to that of Merleau-Ponty in Phenomenology of Perception. In suggesting a somatic as well as a psychic response, Merleau-Ponty, I argue, more accurately accounts for the ways in which we experience loss and why, contrary to Freud’s suggestion, mourning’s work is never completed.