John Bell showed that a big class of local hidden-variable models stands in conflict with quantum mechanics and experiment. Recently, there were suggestions that empirically adequate hidden-variable models might exist which presuppose a weaker notion of local causality. We will show that a Bell-type inequality can be derived also from these weaker assumptions.

Institute of Theoretical Physics, Exact Sciences Sidlerstrasse 5, University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern Switzerland portmann{at}itp.unibe.ch' + u + '@' + d + ''//--> awuethr{at}itp.unibe.ch' + u + '@' + d + ''//--> John Bell showed that a big class of local hidden-variable models stands in conflict with quantum mechanics and experiment. Recently, there were suggestions that empirically adequate hidden-variable models might exist which presuppose a weaker notion of local causality. We will show that a Bell-type inequality can be derived also (...) from these weaker assumptions. Introduction The EPR-Bohm experiment Local causality Bell's inequality from separate common causes 4.1 A weak screening-off principle 4.2 Perfect correlation and ‘determinism’ 4.3 A minimal theory for spins 4.4 No conspiracy Discussion. (shrink)

Falsification no longer is the cornerstone of philosophy of science; but it still looms widely that scientists ought to drop an explanatory hypothesis in view of negative results. We shall argue that, to the contrary, negative empirical results are unable to disqualify causally explanatory hypotheses—not because of the shielding effect of auxiliary assumptions but because of the fact that the causal irrelevance of a factor cannot empirically be established. This perspective is elaborated at a case study taken from the history (...) of plant physiology: the formaldehyde model of photosynthesis, which for about sixty years dominated the field—despite the fact that in these sixty years all the attempts to conclusively demonstrate even the presence of formaldehyde in plants failed. (shrink)

In his Geography, Ptolemy recorded the geographical coordinates of more than 6,300 toponyms of the known oikoumenē. This study presents the type of geographical information that was used by Ptolemy as well as the methods he applied to derive his geographical coordinates. A new methodological approach was developed in order to analyse the characteristic deviations of Ptolemy’s data from their reconstructed reference locations. The clusters of displacement vectors establish that Ptolemy did not obtain his coordinates from astronomical observations at each (...) geographical location. The characteristic displacement vectors reveal how Ptolemy derived the coordinates: he constructed locations on maps using a compass and ruler, for which he employed a small amount of astronomical reference data and geographical distance information; he made schematic drawings of coastlines, based on textual descriptions of coastal formations; and he situated additional locations within the established framework using reports of travel itineraries. (shrink)

The information technological progress that has been achieved over the last decades has also given the humanities the opportunity to expand their methodological toolbox. This paper explores how recent advancements in natural language processing may be used for research in the history of ideas so as to overcome traditional scholarship's inevitably selective approach to historical sources. By employing two machine learning techniques whose potential for the analysis of conceptual continuities and innovations has never been considered before, we aim to determine (...) the extent to which they can enhance conventional research methods. It will amount to a critical evaluation of how the advantages of computational in-breadth analysis could be combined with the merits of traditional in-depth analysis in a philosophically fruitful way. After a brief technical description, the approach will be applied to an example: the conceptual (dis)continuity between medieval and early modern philosophy. All the challenges encountered during development and application will be carefully evaluated. We will then be able to assess whether these tools and techniques present promising extensions to the methodological toolbox of traditional scholarship, or whether they do not yet have the potential for a task as complex as the analysis of philosophical literature. The present investigation can thus be seen as an experiment on how far one can go with current machine-learning techniques in this area of research. In doing so, it provides important insights and guidance for future advances in the field. (shrink)

In the light of recent discussions we present the main results of our project, the aim of which was to derive a Bell-type inequality from the weakest possible assumptions. A principal outcome of the project is that a Bell-type inequality can be derived from the assumption of separate common causes (Graßhoff, Portmann and Wüthrich 2005), even without the assumption of perfectly anticorrelating event types (Portmann and Wüthrich 2007). We also address the critique that in Graßhoff et al. (2005) we implicitly (...) assume a common common cause (Hofer-Szabó forthcoming). (shrink)

Die alte Frage, wie Menschen zusammen leben wollen, muss nach Kopernikus neu gestellt werden. Anthropologie und Kosmologie verweisen aufeinander, und doch fügen sie sich nicht in einen gemeinsamen Erklärungsrahmen. Das zeigt sich unter anderem an den Erörterungen über den freien Willen und der daran hängenden Möglichkeit der Moral. In der Überzeugung, dass wahrheitsfähiges Wissen nur in den Naturwissenschaften zu erlangen sei, überschreitet man deren Grenzen. Dieses Buch will, anknüpfend an Kants Kritik der dogmatischen Denkungsart, einen Beitrag dazu leisten, diese einengenden (...) Vorgaben zu überwinden. (shrink)

The book gives an introduction to the new research field of Historical Pragmatics of Controversies and provides seven case studies (from 1609 to 1796) on controversies in the fields of astronomy/astrology, medicine, chemistry, philosophy, and theology. The protagonists of these controversies include both famous authors like Kepler, Hobbes and Leibniz and internationally less known authors like the German theologian A.H. Francke and the chemist F.A.C. Gren. The case studies examine the organizing principles of historical controversies, language use, moves and strategies, (...) topic management and text organisation, and the adherence to communication principles in these controversies. At the same time they analyse the use of different text types and media in the course of controversies, including pamphlets, journal articles, reviews, scientific handbooks and letters. In addition, the case studies demonstrate early modern writers' resources from disputation practice, dialectic, and rhetoric and show developments of the practice of polemical writing during this period. (shrink)

The sociology of knowledge is faced with a problem of historical temporality that it has carefully avoided up until now. The subject has been avoided or ignored because a discussion of it in depth would run the risk of questioning all modern scientific thought. The problem is that of the concept of absolute time as it is used in evolutionist theory. In this category of theory I include not only social evolutionism, abused for a long time and recently reanimated by (...) the “socio-biologists,” but also biological, paleontological, geological and other types of evolutionism, that is, those qualified as “scientific.”. (shrink)

Proceedings of 2 international conferences held at the University of Mainz and at Fudan University/Shanghai.

Wie kann Versohnung geschaffen werden, wenn sich Menschen, Familien, Gruppen, Parteien, Nationen oder Religionsgemeinschaften getrennt oder verfeindet haben? Wahrend das Gegeneinander, der Streit, die Entzweiung oder der Krieg Folgen von Sprachlosigkeit sind, ist Versohnung nur mit Sprache und durch Sprache moglich. Solange Menschen miteinander sprechen, sind sie auf einem Weg der gegenseitigen Verstandigung. Stephan Gratzel zeigt, wie es mit einem dialogischen Verstandnis von Sprache gelingt, Gemeinsamkeiten zu stiften und Konflikte zu losen. Der dialogische Weg ermoglicht jedoch nicht nur die Versohnung (...) zwischen Menschen, sondern fuhrt auch zur Versohnung des Menschen mit sich selbst. (shrink)

Within the highly organized nuclear structure, specific nuclear domains (ND10) are defined by accumulations of proteins that can be interferon-upregulated, implicating ND10 as sites of a nuclear defense mechanism.Compatible with such a mechanism is the deposition of herpesvirus, adenovirus, and papovavirus genomes at the periphery of ND10. However, these DNA viruses begin their transcription at ND10 and consequently initiate replication at these sites, suggesting that viruses have evolved ways to circumvent this potential cellular defense and exploit it. Other ND10-associated proteins (...) belong to ubiquitin-related pathways. These findings, together with the accumulation of various overexpressed cellular and viral proteins, suggest that ND10 function as nuclear dumps or as nuclear depots. Consistent with the recruitment or deposition of various proteins and viral genomes adjacent to ND10, ND10 themselves may only be protein accumulations at specific but as yet undefined nuclear deposition sites. The concept of specific nuclear deposition sites may explain the juxtaposition of various nuclear bodies and allows testable predictions about a potential supramolecular regulatory mechanism whereby proteins are selectively segregated or released by global changes induced in nuclear functions such as viral infections, stress, or hormonal induction. BioEssays 20:660–667, 1998.© 1998 John Wiley & Sons Inc. (shrink)

Within the highly organized nuclear structure, specific nuclear domains (ND10) are defined by accumulations of proteins that can be interferon-upregulated, implicating ND10 as sites of a nuclear defense mechanism.Compatible with such a mechanism is the deposition of herpesvirus, adenovirus, and papovavirus genomes at the periphery of ND10. However, these DNA viruses begin their transcription at ND10 and consequently initiate replication at these sites, suggesting that viruses have evolved ways to circumvent this potential cellular defense and exploit it. Other ND10-associated proteins (...) belong to ubiquitin-related pathways. These findings, together with the accumulation of various overexpressed cellular and viral proteins, suggest that ND10 function as nuclear dumps or as nuclear depots. Consistent with the recruitment or deposition of various proteins and viral genomes adjacent to ND10, ND10 themselves may only be protein accumulations at specific but as yet undefined nuclear deposition sites. The concept of specific nuclear deposition sites may explain the juxtaposition of various nuclear bodies and allows testable predictions about a potential supramolecular regulatory mechanism whereby proteins are selectively segregated or released by global changes induced in nuclear functions such as viral infections, stress, or hormonal induction. BioEssays 20:660–667, 1998.© 1998 John Wiley & Sons Inc. (shrink)

This commentary argues that, in discussing the racial and cultural identities of cinematic representations of humanoid AI robots, nuances and differentiations are beneficial. It suggests that the essay on which the present text comments does not sufficiently acknowledge the range of identities found in AI films, in particular in Alex Garland's Ex Machina.

A response to Lindsay Craig's essay, The So-Called Extended Synthesis and Population Genetics.

Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart invites readers to embark on a new journey into a land of rationality that differs from the familiar territory of cognitive science and economics. Traditional views of rationality tend to see decision makers as possessing superhuman powers of reason, limitless knowledge, and all of eternity in which to ponder choices. To understand decisions in the real world, we need a different, more psychologically plausible notion of rationality, and this book provides it. It is about (...) fast and frugal heuristics--simple rules for making decisions when time is pressing and deep thought an unaffordable luxury. These heuristics can enable both living organisms and artificial systems to make smart choices, classifications, and predictions by employing bounded rationality. But when and how can such fast and frugal heuristics work? Can judgments based simply on one good reason be as accurate as those based on many reasons? Could less knowledge even lead to systematically better predictions than more knowledge? Simple Heuristics explores these questions, developing computational models of heuristics and testing them through experiments and analyses. It shows how fast and frugal heuristics can produce adaptive decisions in situations as varied as choosing a mate, dividing resources among offspring, predicting high school drop out rates, and playing the stock market. As an interdisciplinary work that is both useful and engaging, this book will appeal to a wide audience. It is ideal for researchers in cognitive psychology, evolutionary psychology, and cognitive science, as well as in economics and artificial intelligence. It will also inspire anyone interested in simply making good decisions. (shrink)

The well-known proposal to consider the Lüders-von Neumann measurement as a non-classical extension of probability conditionalization is further developed. The major results include some new concepts like the different grades of compatibility, the objective conditional probabilities which are independent of the underlying state and stem from a certain purely algebraic relation between the events, and an axiomatic approach to quantum mechanics. The main axioms are certain postulates concerning the conditional probabilities and own intrinsic probabilistic interpretations from the very beginning. A (...) Jordan product is derived for the observables, and the consideration of composite systems leads to operator algebras on the Hilbert space over the complex numbers, which is the standard model of quantum mechanics. The paper gives an expository overview of the results presented in a series of recent papers by the author. For the first time, the complete approach is presented as a whole in a single paper. Moreover, since the mathematical proofs are already available in the original papers, the present paper can dispense with the mathematical details and maximum generality, thus addressing a wider audience of physicists, philosophers or quantum computer scientists. (shrink)