The San Zeno Wheel of Verona is an exceptional, virtually unstudied fifteenth-century horological device, the only one of its type to have survived. Yet certain features of the Wheel correspond to contemporary manuscript volvelles and to the liturgical calendars of larger horological devices. The interpretation of the object presented here has two main objectives: first, to elucidate the Wheel itself; and second, to consider its role in relation to the ecclesiastical routines of the San Zeno complex. By investigating the relationship (...) of the Wheel to fourteenth- and fifteenth-century time-reckoning instruments, notably astronomical clocks, the article shows that it is the oldest liturgical calendar disk to survive and, therefore, an invaluable testament to the original appearance of the earliest astronomical clocks. This is followed by a reconstruction of the way in which the Wheel was used in its original setting. An interpretation of its content in relation to the other horologia at San Zeno suggests that it was made to complement another time-reckoning device in the basilica. San Zeno therefore provides a unique case study regarding the ways in which multiple time systems were synchronised in the reckoning of the liturgy following the invention of the mechanical clock. The analysis of the Wheel has potentially far-reaching implications for our understanding of the ways in which the dispensation of mechanical horologia in monastic settings affected the perception of time. Such an analysis is, therefore, significant not only for the study of historical horology, but of medieval temporality more generally. (shrink)

The Philosophy Outreach Project gets high school students across Indiana thinking. POP creates alternative spaces for learning in classrooms, clubs, online, and conference settings. By curating philosophical content and fostering philosophical discussion, POP provides high school students with tools and a platform to engage with each other and the world. POP is run by three teams of Ball State students with a variety of different interests and backgrounds. POP's team includes students studying philosophy, psychology, English, communications, criminal justice, and more. (...) This diversity of interests and knowledge allows for an impressive level of collaboration, which is ultimately what makes POP successful in promoting and facilitating pre-college philosophy. (shrink)

This article extends earlier research concerning the relationship between corporate social performance and corporate financial performance, with particular emphasis on methodological inconsistencies. Research in this area is extended in three critical areas. First, it focuses on a particular industry, the chemical industry. Second, it uses multiple sources of data-two that are perceptual based (KLD Index and Fortune reputation survey), and two that are performance based (TRI database and corporate philanthropy) in order to triangulate toward assessing corporate social performance. Third, it (...) uses the five most commonly applied accounting measures in the corporate social performance and corporate financial performance (CSP/CFP) literature to assess corporate financial performance. The results indicate that the a priori use of measures may actually predetermine the CSP/CFP relationship outcome. Surprisingly, Fortune and KLD indices very closely track one another, whereas TRI and corporate philanthropy differentiate between high and low social performers and do not correlate to the firm's financial performance. (shrink)

Confabulation is a symptom central to many psychiatric diagnoses and can be severely debilitating to those who exhibit the symptom. Theorists, scientists, and clinicians have an understandable interest in the nature of confabulation—pursuing ways to define, identify, treat, and perhaps even prevent this memory disorder. Appeals to confabulation as a clinical symptom rely on an account of memory’s function from which cases like the above can be contrasted. Accounting for confabulation is thus an important desideratum for any candidate theory of (...) memory. Many contemporary memory theorists now endorse Constructivism, where memory is understood as a capacity for constructing plausible representations of past events. Constructivism’s aim is to account for and normalize the prevalence of memory errors in everyday life. Errors are plausible constructions that, on a particular occasion have led to error. They are not, however, evidence of malfunction in the memory system. While Constructivism offers an uplifting repackaging of the memory errors to which we are all susceptible, it has troubling implications for appeals to confabulation in psychiatric diagnosis. By accommodating memory errors within our understanding of memory’s function, Constructivism runs the risk of being unable to explain how confabulation errors are evidence of malfunction. After reviewing the literature on confabulation and Constructivism, respectively, I identify the tension between them and explore how different versions of Constructivism may respond. The paper concludes with a proposal for distinguishing between kinds of false memory—specifically, between misremembering and confabulation—that may provide a route to their reconciliation. (shrink)

Platonic discourses concerning the soul are incredibly rich and multitiered. Plato's own diverse and disparate arguments and images offer competing accounts of how we are to understand the nature of the soul. Consequently, it should come as no surprise that the accounts of Platonists who engage Plato’s dialogues are often riddled with questions. This volume takes up the theories of well-known philosophers and theologians, including Plato, Plotinus, Proclus, the emperor Julian, and Origen, as well as lesser-known but equally important figures (...) in a collection of essays on topics such as transmigration of the soul, the nature of the Platonist enlightenment experience, soul and gender, pagan ritual practices, Christian and pagan differences about the soul, mental health and illness, and many other topics. Contributors include Crystal Addey, Sara Ahbel-Rappe, Dirk Baltzly, Robert Berchman, Jay Bregman, Luc Brisson, Kevin Corrigan, John Dillon, John F. Finamore, Lloyd P. Gerson, Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum, Elizabeth Hill, Sarah Klitenic Wear, Danielle A. Layne, Ilaria L. E. Ramelli, Gregory Shaw, Svetla Slaveva-Griffine, Suzanne Stern-Gillet, Harold Tarrant, Van Tu, and John D. Turner. (shrink)

This chapter contains section titled: What Is a Woman? “I Am a Viper Pilot” But Aren't Men and Women Different? Crossroads Notes.

As a step towards understanding how local environemntal hazards policy is made, this article explores how Canadian local elected officials gained and assimilated scientific and technical information about the environmental hazards facing their communities. Consistent with previous work in the hazards field, three of Weiss’s (1979) meanings of research utilization were found to be directly applicable. The elected officials expressed the view that reconciling conflicting expert opinion and competing concerns was more difficult and more rightly their responsibility than gathering information. (...) This research demonstrates the utility of focus groups for interviewing elite populations making community scale decisions. (shrink)

As a number of high profile companies have found to their cost, corporate reputations can be significantly affected by firms' management of sustainability issue, including those that are outside their direct control, such as the environmental and social impacts of their supply networks. This paper begins by examining the relationship between corporate social responsibility, reputation, and supply network conditions. It then looks at the effectiveness of one tool for managing supply network sustainability issues, ethical sourcing codes of conduct, by examining (...) how the characteristics of three supply networks branded clothes, DIY wood products and branded confectionary affects the implementation ethical sourcing codes of conduct. It ends by setting out conclusions on why implementation of such codes has been so much more successful in some sectors than others and recommendations on effective approaches to managing sustainability issues in supply networks. (shrink)

Written over a period of thirty-five years, these essays explore the topics of causation, time, fate, determinism, natural teleology, different conceptions of the human soul, the idea of the highest good and the human significance of leisure. While most of the essays take as their starting-point some theme in Ancient Greek philosophy, they are meant not as exegesis but as distinctive and independent contributions to live philosophizing. Written with clarity, precision without technicality, and philosophical imagination, they will engage a wide (...) range of readers, including scholars and students of Ancient Greek philosophy and others working on more contemporary analytical concerns. (shrink)

Ecological weed management (EWM) is a scientifically established management approach that uses ecological patterns to reduce weed seedbanks. Such an approach can save organic farmers time and labor costs and reduce the need for repeated cultivation practices that may pose risks to soil and water quality. However, adoption of effective EWM in the organic farm community is perceived to be poor. In addition, communication and collaboration between the scientific community, extension services, and the organic farming community in the US is (...) historically weak. In order to uncover the most persistent obstacles to promoting effective weed management in organic agroecosystems, we use the mental models approach to generate an expert model based on interviews with experts (e.g., weed scientists, weed ecologists, and extension personnel) and theories from the behavioral sciences. The expert model provides two main insights: (1) EWM is a complex strategy that may cause farmers to use heuristics in management decisions and (2) the long-term benefits of EWM, rather than the risks, need to be emphasized in communication with and outreach to organic farmers. The basis for new research topics and outreach material that incorporates these insights from the expert model are discussed. We briefly explain how the expert model is an incomplete picture of on-farm practices, but provides the basis for the second step of our mental models research, the farmer interviews and farmer decision model development. (shrink)

But there is considerable consensus, even among writers who disagree radically about the ultimate significance of time so understood, that time as ...

Ding und Begriff stellen den Kern von Peter F. Strawsons Philosophie dar: Worauf beziehen wir uns in unserem alltaglichen Denken und Sprechen und unter welchen Bedingungen konnen wir uns darauf beziehen? Mit dieser Frage, wie wir die Welt begrifflich erfassen, sind eine Reihe von Problemstellungen metaphysisch-ontologischer, epistemologischer, logischer und sprachphilosophischer Natur verbunden. An sie knupfen die hier versammelten Beitrage an. Die systematische Auseinandersetzung mit Strawsons Themen zeigt einige Schwachen seiner Positionen auf, weist aber auch Wege zu moglichen Losungen und bettet (...) Strawsons Philosophieren dadurch in aktuelle Debatten ein.". (shrink)

This volume studies the origin and evolution of philosophical interest in Aristotle's Categories, and illuminates the earliest arguments for Aristotle's approach to logic as the foundation of higher education.

Discussion of the possibilities of comparing values of radically different kinds, and values that are essentially constituted by other simpler values.

There are a host of data privacy decisions we must make every day – and it is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, for us to make meaningful decisions about all of them. In this thesis, I define, conceptualize, interrogate, and design for value-centered privacy decision making – that is, decisions that are focused on who we are and what we value – as a means of respecting and promoting user autonomy. To achieve this, this work utilizes philosophical theory to understand (...) value-centered privacy decisions and translates this theory into a system that promotes such decisions. In summary, this work has two major contributions. Firstly, I conceptualize and define value-centered privacy decision-making using a value-centered theory of autonomy. I explore how we can create the space for value-centered privacy decisions by applying the Four-Dimensional Theory of Self Governance (4DT). I first conceptualize privacy decisions in terms of these four dimensions – self-definition, self-realization, self-unification, and self-constitution – and explore existing data privacy challenges through this lens. In particular, I conceptualize notice fatigue in terms self-realization, self-unification, and self-constitution; a lack of relevant privacy controls in terms of self-realization and self-unification; and nudges in terms of self-realization and self-unification. I then present and discuss results from a mixed-methods investigation into how values are involved in privacy decisions – in particular, app choice. We found that they were related in a highly individualized, context specific manner, observing different values that were more relevant based on the app in question. This suggests that the value-privacy relationship is largely informed by individual preferences and understandings of values. However, the values of Use, Control, and Community were quite prevalent, with Use and Control in particular spanning contexts and individual participants. They were also frequently perceived as in conflict with each other. This suggests that these three values are the most relevant to consider when designing for value-centered privacy decisions. The participants’ experiences can also be explained using 4DT, providing empirical support for our conceptualization of value centered privacy. However, the study results also provide insights into how existing systems – such as surveillance capitalism and the attention economy – frustrate value centered privacy decisions. Secondly, I use the 4DT-based understanding of value-centered privacy decisions to establish the usability and effectiveness of the value-centered approach, designing a privacy assistant to help users make app choices that are in more accordance with their personal values. To inform the design of a smartphone assistant that creates this space for users, I examine an existing technology – personalized privacy assistants (PPAs) – using the 4DT lens. Using insights from this examination, I propose a value-centered, smartphone privacy assistant (VcPA) to help users make more value-centered decisions at one privacy decision point: smartphone app choices. This VcPA consists of three features: selective notices, exploratory notices, and a “suggest alternative apps” feature. I then present the results from testing a prototype VcPA system with users, serving as a proof-of concept that a value-centered privacy assistant, designed using privacy preferences and values, could help users when making privacy decisions such as choosing apps. In particular, we found that the VcPA prototype helped users download value-consistent apps, with the “suggest alternatives” feature especially well-received. We also identified places where the VcPA could be improved – for example, profiles could be improved by being made more customizable; VcPA notices could be made easier to understand; and the “suggest alternatives” feature could be more streamlined. This thesis lays the groundwork for future researchers to design systems that promote value-centered privacy decisions. To guide this future work, I lastly present prospective research avenues to advance the value-centered approach to data privacy decision-making. In particular, I discuss limitations of the studies in this work, including engagement with a wider range of demographic groups; touch upon how the identified VcPA improvements, such as improved VcPA profiles, might be accomplished; briefly explore the possibility of applying the value-centered understanding to other privacy contexts; and consider how both system-wide regulation and individual autonomy enhancing interventions, such as the VcPA, can empower us to shape a technological future based on our values. (shrink)

Aristotle connects modality and time in ways strange and perplexing to modern readers. In this book the author proposes a new solution to this exegetical problem. Although primarily expository, this work explores topics of central concern for current investigations into causality, time, and change.

The Content Skeptic argues that a subject could not have introspective knowledge of a thought whose content is individuated widely. This claim is incorrect, relying on the tacit assumption that introspective knowledge differs significantly from other species of knowledge. The paper proposes a reliabilist model for understanding introspective knowledge according to which introspective knowledge is simply another species of knowledge, and according to which claims to introspective knowledge are not, as suggested by the Content Skeptic, defeated by the mere possibility (...) of error. This way of understanding introspective knowledge affords a robust theory of privileged access consistent with semantic externalism. (shrink)

Examines the postmodern implications of Whitehead’s metaphysical system.

Using data from 80 in-depth qualitative interviews with women randomly sampled from New York City, I ask: how do women develop expectations about their future workforce participation? Using an intersectional approach, I find that women’s expectations about workforce participation stem from gendered, classed, and raced ideas of who works full-time. Socioeconomic status, race, gender, and sexuality influenced early expectations about work and the process through which these expectations developed. Women from white and Latino working-class families were evenly divided in their (...) expectations about their future workforce participation, while the vast majority of white, Asian, African American, and Latina middle-class women expected to work continually as adults. Unlike their working-class white and Hispanic peers, all of the working-class Black respondents developed expectations that they would work continuously as adults. The intersections of race, class, and gender play a central role in shaping women’s expectations about their participation in paid work. (shrink)

Jurgen De Wispelaere and Lindsay Stirton point out that basic income must be designed in light of the features of the society in which the policy is to be implemented. Yet, in Canada, scholars and politicians have neglected one crucial aspect of the context in which basic income stands to be implemented – namely, a settler-colonial one. In a settler-colonial context, we must consider the compatibility of such a policy proposal with the worldviews of Indigenous peoples who continue to assert, (...) apply, and revitalize their laws on this land. As such, in this paper, I consider the compatibility of a basic income with Anishinaabe worldview and legality. Ultimately, I find that while dominant justifications for basic income are not compatible with Anishinaabe worldview, the implementation of the policy may nonetheless support the urgent imperative of Indigenous law revitalization. (shrink)