Let f be a computable function from finite sequences of 0ʼs and 1ʼs to real numbers. We prove that strong f-randomness implies strong f-randomness relative to a PA-degree. We also prove: if X is strongly f-random and Turing reducible to Y where Y is Martin-Löf random relative to Z, then X is strongly f-random relative to Z. In addition, we prove analogous propagation results for other notions of partial randomness, including non-K-triviality and autocomplexity. We prove that f-randomness relative to a (...) PA-degree implies strong f-randomness, hence f-randomness does not imply f-randomness relative to a PA-degree. (shrink)

In their article, Geoffrey Brennan and Loren Lomasky present an alternative to market theories of voting behavior. Contrary to market theories which view the voter as acting to maximize the expected self-interest, the alternative view sees voting as fundamentally an act of self-expression: “Voting, like speech, is an expressive activity providing an outlet for one's moral sentiments. We suggest that it is the expressive return to a vote that frequently determines the behavior of individuals in large-number electorates.”.

As we approach the end of the century and reflect on the large number of wars and political incidents that continue to rage throughout the world, it is imperative to understand the background and implication of the political philosophies that instigate many of these conflicts. Hudelson's book is a brief introduction to the major topics and issues in political philosophy from the Enlightenment to Postmodernism. Within the scope of ten short chapters, Hudelson presents both the historical background of, (...) and a systematic discussion of contemporary issues relating to the major traditions within political philosophy, making this the ideal introduction to the topic for students and interested readers. (shrink)

This article considers the significance of the fall of communism for the question of the truth of Marxism. It begins by considering some Marxist theories of Stalinism and some Marxist criticisms of Bolshevism. Having rejected the adequacy of those theories, the author goes on to argue that while Stalinism in part rests on a nonmarket vision of socialism derived from Marx, contrary to an argument of Carl Cohen, this vision is not deeply rooted in Marxist philosophy.

Marxism as a political movement appears to have exhausted itself, but Marx the thinker engages us still. In different ways Allan Megill and David Steele work to dispel the lingering shade of Marx, exposing what each sees as a deep flaw in Marxist thought. In contrast, the papers collected in Marxism and Social Sciences argue for the continued merit of many of Marx’s ideas. Each book makes a significant contribution to our ongoing dialogue with Marx. Key Words: Marxism • historical (...) materialism • calculation problem • Hegel. (shrink)

It was a dark and stormy night, in the otherwise unnoteworthy year 711 E.C. , and the great-aunt sat crouched at her typewriter, holding his hands out to it from time to time as if for warmth and swinging on a swing. He was a handsome boy of about eighteen, one of those men who suddenly excite your desire when you meet them in the street, and who leave you with a vague feeling of uneasiness and excited senses. On (...) the plate beside the typewriter lay a slice of tomato. It was a flawless slice. It was a perfect slice of a perfect tomato. It is perfectly boring. I hold out my hands to the typewriter again, while swinging and showing my delicate limbs, and observe that the rows of keys are marked with all the letters of the English alphabet, and all the letters of the French alphabet minus accent marks, and all the letters of the Polish alphabet except the dark L. By striking these keys with the ends of my fingers or, conceivably, a small blunt object, the aging woman can create a flaw in the tomato. She did so at once. It was then a seriously, indeed a disgustingly flawed tomato, but it continued to be perfectly boring until eaten. She expired instantly in awful agony, of snakebite, flinging the window wide to get air. It is a dark and stormy night and the rain falling in in the typewriter keys writes a story in German about a great-aunt who went to a symposium on narrative and got eaten in the forest by a metabear. She writes the story while reading it with close attention, not sure what to expect, but collaborating hard, as if that was anything new; and this is the story I wrote . . . Ursula K. Le Guin, distinguished novelist, poet, and essayist, is the author of The Left Hand of Darkness, Malafrena, and The Dispossessed, for which she won both the Hugo and the Nebula Award. Her novel The Lathe of Heaven was made into a film by the Public Broadcasting System. (shrink)

How may we best understand the motivational structure that stands behind individuals' acts of voting? In “The Impartial Spectator Goes to Washington” we suggested that expressive concerns swamp narrowly consequential motivations, in contradistinction to normal market transactions in which the priority is reversed. A striking consequence of this fact is that individuals will be led to vote for outcomes that they would reject were they in a position to act decisively. In this regard we found the moral psychology Adam Smith (...) develops in The Theory of Moral Sentiments remarkably fecund in suggesting alternatives to what we call the standard theory of electoral behavior. (shrink)