An ad hominem fallacy is committed when an individual employs an irrelevant personal attack against an opponent instead of addressing that opponent’s argument. Many discussions of such fallacies discuss judgments of relevance about such personal attacks, and consider how we might distinguish those that are relevant from those that are not. This paper will argue that the literature on bias and testimony can helpfully contribute to that analysis. This will highlight ways in which biases, particularly unconscious biases, can make ad (...) hominem fallacies seem effective, even when the irrelevance is recognized. (shrink)

Audrey Rousseau La recherche de formes de rétablissement à la suite d’événements difficiles, voire traumatiques, implique souvent de considérer la parole comme un moteur de transformation personnelle et sociale. À partir de préoccupations éthiques et épistémologiques d’une chercheuse non autochtone menant une recherche collaborative au sujet des disparitions et des assassinats de femmes et de filles autochtones en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, cet article interroge plus précisément l’association fréquente entre l’expression du souvenir et la recherche d’un « mieux-être ». Après avoir introduit (...) les assises de cette recherche, qui se fonde sur l’oralité comme mode de transmission des savoirs entre générations, j’explorerai certaines conceptions du mieux-être et de la guérison tirées de la littérature scientifique autochtone. Puis, à partir du postulat relationnel au fondement du pouvoir du storytelling chez les Premières Nations, je révélerai deux conceptions des récits-histoires : l’une les concevant comme des « médecines » qui rassemblent les forces des ancêtres, l’autre les traitant comme des enseignements valorisant l’identité culturelle et les savoirs traditionnels. En terminant, j’aborderai certaines tensions relatives à la volonté d’éclairer des problèmes complexes, tout en réfléchissant aux conditions de l’écoute de ces récits-histoires et aux défis de représenter et d’interpréter ces savoirs expérientiels. (shrink)

There are two general questions which many views in the philosophy of mathematics can be seen as addressing: what are mathematical objects, and how do we have knowledge of them? Naturally, the answers given to these questions are linked, since whatever account we give of how we have knowledge of mathematical objects surely has to take into account what sorts of things we claim they are; conversely, whatever account we give of the nature of mathematical objects must be accompanied by (...) a corresponding account of how it is that we acquire knowledge of those objects. The connection between these problems results in what is often called "Benacerraf's Problem", which is a dilemma that many philosophical views about mathematical objects face. It will be my goal here to present a view, attributed to Richard Dedekind, which approaches the initial questions in a different way than many other philosophical views do, and in doing so, avoids the dilemma given by Benacerraf's problem. (shrink)

As scholars revisit the profound words of John Dewey, an acclaimed American philosopher and intellectual, the impact of his writings is often discussed within the context of peacebuilding. Although Dewey supported American military involvement in World War I, he did so with caution. His main objective was to establish a lasting peace based on the principles President Woodrow Wilson put forth as part of his Fourteen Points. Dewey supported it as a "war to end all wars" and "to make the (...) world safe for democracy." During World War I, Dewey used his pragmatic philosophy to try to influence both leaders and laymen regarding the possibilities of world peace, through American military participation, in order... (shrink)

A rich literature examines human rights treaty commitment and compliance. A subset of this literature has begun to examine the international legal actions states make following treaty ratification. I argue that the ways that states legally engage with treaties following commitment to UN human rights treaties is much more nuanced and differentiated than scholars have thus far presented via Reservation, Understanding, and Declaration. I introduce a first descriptive analysis of what I term Post-Commitment Actions to UN human rights treaties and (...) generate varying hypotheses of why different PCAs have different relationships with expected human rights practices. I conduct a preliminary statistical analysis of the effect of PCAs on human rights practices and find that they are varied and important. Some PCAs result in improved human rights, while others result in worse human rights. I conclude by calling for further future study into these treaty actions. (shrink)

Open Access: This paper will connect literature on epistemic injustice with literature on victims and perpetrators, to argue that in addition to considering the credibility deficit suffered by many victims, we should also consider the credibility excess accorded to many perpetrators. Epistemic injustice, as discussed by Miranda Fricker, considers ways in which someone might be wronged in their capacity as a knower. Testimonial injustice occurs when there is a credibility deficit as a result of identity-prejudicial stereotypes. However, criticisms of Fricker (...) have pointed out that credibility is part of a more complex system that includes both deficits and excesses. I will use these points to argue that we should look closer at sources of credibility excess in cases of sexual assault. This means that in addition to considering sources of victim blaming by looking at ways in which “ideal” victims are constructed, we also need to consider ways in which “ideal” perpetrators are constructed. (shrink)

This is a paper about model-building and overfitting in normative ethics. Overfitting is recognized as a methodological error in modeling in the philosophy of science and scientific practice, but this concern has not been brought to bear on the practice of normative ethics. I first argue that moral inquiry shares similarities with scientific inquiry in that both may productively rely on model-building, and, as such, overfitting worries should apply to both fields. I then offer a diagnosis of the problems of (...) overfitting in moral inquiry and explain how our current practice seems worryingly susceptible to such problems. I conclude by giving suggestions for how we might avoid overfitting when doing normative ethics. (shrink)

Criticism can sometimes provoke defensive reactions, particularly when it implicates identities people hold dear. For instance, feminists told they are upholding rape culture might become angry or upset, since the criticism conflicts with an identity that is important to them. These kinds of defensive reactions are a primary focus of this paper. What is it to be defensive in this way, and why do some kinds of criticism, or implied criticism, tend to provoke this kind of response? What are the (...) connections between defensiveness, identity, and active ignorance? What are the social, political, and epistemic consequences of the tendency to defensiveness? Are there ways to improve the situation? (shrink)

The idea of photographing the dead is as old as photography itself. For the most part, early death photographs were commissioned or taken by relatives of the deceased and preserved in the home as part of the family collection. Once thought inappropriate and macabre, today these photographs are considered to have a beneficial role in bereavement therapy. Photography and Death reveals the beauty and significance of such images, formerly dismissed as disturbing or grotesque, and places them within the context of (...) changing cultural attitudes towards death and loss. Excluding images of death through war, violence, or natural disasters, Audrey Linkman concentrates on photographs of natural deaths within the family. She identifies the range of death-related photographs that have been produced in both Europe and North America since the 1840s and charts changes in their treatment through the decades. Photography and Death will interest photo, art, and social historians and practitioners in the field of bereavement therapy, as well as those who wish to better understand the images of long-lost ancestors who gaze back from the pages of family albums. (shrink)

Although women have long been participants in martial arts and other contact sports, the introduction of a women’s division in the Ultimate Fighting Challenge in 2012 brought women in combat sports into the media spotlight in an arguably unprecedented way. Yet, the increasing acceptance of women’s participation in combat sports does not necessarily mean that these sports are equally accessible to people of all genders. This article, extending insights from Iris Marion Young’s “Throwing Like a Girl,” will argue that the (...) modalities of feminine bodily existence pose barriers to women’s success in combat sports. Young discusses ways in... (shrink)

Erratum to: Int J Semiot Law DOI 10.1007/s11196-014-9376-7Dans la publication originale de cet article, l’auteur n’a pas cité le titre correct de la thèse de philosophie de Stefan Goltzberg.A la dernière phrase du premier paragraphe, il ne faut pas lire «il a écrit une thèse de philosophie intitulé Théorie et histoire de la philosophie du droit, philosophie du droit de Chaïm Perelman, de Theodor Viehweg, de Roscoe Pound» mais bien «il a écrit une thèse de philosophie intitulée Théorie bidimensionnelle de (...) l’argumentation. Définition, Présomption, Argument A fortiori». (shrink)

«Existe-t-il une argumentation juridique?», c’est la question à laquelle tente de répondre l’ouvrage de Stefan Goltzberg, intitulé explicitement L’argumentation juridique. Si l’auteur commence son ouvrage en posant directement la question, on en cherche aussitôt, par un réflexe de «juriste», la définition. Et il faut probablement lire l’intégralité de ce petit ouvrage pour voir se profiler une définition de l’argumentation juridique. Or, au cours de cette lecture Stefan Goltzberg nous montre en quoi chercher la définition, la poser, est déjà une marque (...) argumentative (p. 25) et certainement une marque de l’argumentation juridique. Or, Stefan Goltzberg n’est pas juriste de formation. Philosophe et linguiste, il est, notamment membre du Centre Perelman de philosophie du droit au sein duquel il a écrit une thèse de philosophie intitulé Théorie et histoire de la philosophie du droit, philosophie du droit de Chaïm Perelman, de Theodor Viehweg, de Roscoe Pound.Le droit est d’abord un objet d’ .. (shrink)

The study's purpose was to estimate the variety of foods consumed within standard and ethnic food categories by three groups of women between 18 and 35 years of age. Foreign-born Chinese women [N = 21], Chinese-American women [N = 20] and white American women [N = 23] kept 4-day food records, after instruction. Analysis of variance showed that the mean number of different foods consumed by the foreign-born Chinese was significantly [p < 0.05] lower than those eaten by the other (...) two groups for breads/cereals, dairy products, ethnic foods, fats, meats, sweets/sugars, and vegetable categories. White American women consumed significantly more dairy products and legumes/nuts than either of the groups of Chinese women. Diets of the Chinese-American women were more nutrient dense than those of the women in the other groups, containing significantly more energy, riboflavin, iron, folacin, and calcium than those of the foreign-born Chinese women. The percentage of kilocalories derived from fat [33–34%] did not differ among groups. 95% of foreign-born and 85% of Chinese-American women affirmed their ethnic identification by consuming foods belonging to Chinese cuisine; whereas, the percentage [30%] of white American women selecting Chinese food was significantly lower. Mexican and Italian foods were selected by significantly more white and Chinese-American women than by foreign-born Chinese women. Approximately 20% of both groups of Chinese women, but 49% of white American subjects, ate Japanese food. Chinese-American women retained a preference for Chinese food, similar to that of the foreign-born Chinese women. However, the Chinese-American women consumed cheeses, legumes, raw vegetables in salads, and foods from Italian and Mexican cuisines, indicating their acceptance of foods commonly consumed by white American women. Dietary acculturation among the Chinese-American women improved their diets over those of the foreign-born Chinese women and these results support the theory that consumption of a greater variety of foods increases nutrient density of diets. (shrink)

This article, based on a socio-cognitive approach, deals with the professional training of student teachers in French agricultural education during their practical work experience. The main objective is to demonstrate that the student teacher’s social interaction with his academic advisor allows him to use and develop his professional knowledge relating to practical matters. Based on a qualitative analysis this study presents the results of an investigation of seven students and six academic advisors. The article studies the interrelations between the nature (...) of the professional knowledges in question and the processes of construction in the work. (shrink)

It is a commonly held view that Dedekind's construction of the real numbers is impredicative. This naturally raises the question of whether this impredicativity is justified by some kind of Platonism about sets. But when we look more closely at Dedekind's philosophical views, his ontology does not look Platonist at all. So how is his construction justified? There are two aspects of the solution: one is to look more closely at his methodological views, and in particular, the places in which (...) predicativity restrictions ought to be applied; another is to take seriously his remarks about the reals as things created by the cuts, instead of considering them to be the cuts themselves. This can lead us to make finer-grained distinctions about the extent to which impredicative definitions are problematic, since we find that Dedekind's use of impredicative definitions in analysis can be justified by his philosophical views. (shrink)

L'expérimentation animale n'existe pas: le tour de force des industries qui y ont recours consiste à l'avoir fait disparaître." Chaque année, en Europe, environ 12 millions d'animaux subissent des tests : un chiffre qui ne faiblit pas depuis vingt ans malgré une opposition citoyenne croissante et un discours scientifique qui vante la réduction des expériences. Rongeurs, poissons, chats, chiens ou singes sont utilisés dans les laboratoires, et pour des raisons parfois bien éloignées du cadre de la santé. Que vivent vraiment (...) ces animaux? Pourquoi le changement est-il si lent? Comment agir? En créant l'association Animal Testing, Audrey Jougla a pu recueillir des informations et des témoignages inédits. Des années d'enquêtes de terrain ponctuées de déceptions ou de victoires : l'auteur livre un panorama sans concession, aussi clair qu'édifiant. Un récit intime et engagé qui interroge notre humanité face à la condition animale.--Cover page 4. (shrink)

Faculty workload inequities have important consequences for faculty diversity and inclusion. On average, women faculty spend more time engaging in service, teaching, and mentoring, while men, on average, spend more time on research, with women of color facing particularly high workload burdens. We explore how faculty members perceive workload in their departments, identifying mechanisms that can help shape their perceptions of greater equity and fairness. White women perceive that their departments have less equitable workloads and are less committed to workload (...) equity than white men. Women of color perceive that their departments are less likely to credit their important work through departmental rewards systems than white men. Workload transparency and clarity, and consistent approaches to assigning classes, advising, and service, can reduce women’s perceptions of inequitable and unfair workloads. Our research suggests that departments can identify and put in place a number of key practices around workload that will improve gendered and racialized perceptions of workload. (shrink)

IntroductionRecent research investigating the benefits of being outdoors and contact with nature in children showed strong associations with children’s health and development. More teachers are choosing to integrate outdoor learning into their practice in Quebec, but few studies have focused on OL in the school environment, particularly in Canada and more specifically in Quebec, despite the fact that the school context lends itself favorably to this practice.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to portray OL in preschool and primary schools in (...) Québec by identifying three key elements: teachers’ perception of the outdoors, the uses of OL in schools, and teaching strategies and factors that influence teachers’ integration of OL.MethodologySemi-structured group interviews conducted with 14 teachers and participant observations were used for data collection. Inclusion criteria were to be a preschool or primary school teacher, to have taught at least eight sessions of OL in the past year, and to have no connection or contact with the research team prior to the start of the study.ResultsFirst, the results showed that teachers commonly understood the outdoors as being in the open air, practicing a physical activity, having the presence of nature, providing physical freedom and targeting a pedagogical intention. Second, teachers appeared to incorporate a variety of pedagogical intentions in OL, in a variety of settings, and with a variety of academic subjects and learning tasks. Third, teachers used a wide range of teaching strategies in OL. Participants also identified multiple factors specific to their setting that appeared to facilitate or limit their integration of OL into the school environment.ConclusionThis study provided a better understanding of the current use of the OL in the Quebec school environment by identifying the common characteristics, limitations and winning strategies of its use in schools. Teachers and schools interested in OL could benefit from the results of this study, particularly those interested in adopting a Forest School or Udeskole approach. (shrink)

Feminist epistemologies consider ways in which gender influences knowledge. In this article, I want to consider a particular kind of feminist empiricism that has been called feminist radical empiricism. I am particularly interested in this view's treatment of values as empirical, and consequently up for revision on the basis of empirical evidence. Proponents of this view cite the fact that it allows us to talk about certain things such as racial and gender equality as objective facts: not just whether we (...) have achieved said equality in our society, but whether we are, in fact, all equal. I will raise the concern that the way in which they model the role of values in epistemology may be a problematic idealization of the open-mindedness of human agents. In some cases, resistance to value-change cannot be diagnosed as a failure to respond adequately to evidence. If so, the strategy of empirically testing our values that some feminist radical empiricists suggest may not be as useful a tool for social change as they think. (shrink)

Marcel Paquet croit au projet de constitution d'une Europe unie dans la démocratie en lutte contre les nationalismes et l'universalisme. Un nouveau moment de l'histoire européenne se prépare : l'éthico-politique.

There are many good reasons to learn about the lives of people who have less social privilege than we do. We might want to understand their circumstances in order to have informed opinions on social policy, or to make our institutions more inclusive. We might also want to cultivate empathy for its own sake. Much of this knowledge is gained through social scientific or humanistic research into others' lives. The entitlement to theorize about or study the lives of marginalized others (...) is often granted under the presumption of academic freedom. This paper will not question whether academic freedom licenses us to do so in the first place ; instead, I will... (shrink)

Aristotle maintains that vicious people are blameworthy despite their moral ignorance, since becoming vicious was up to them and whatever is up to us we are able to do or not do. However, one’s upbringing shapes one’s moral character. Together, these claims invite an objection I call the horrible childhood challenge. According to this objection, vicious adults who suffered horrible childhoods through which they were taught to adopt bad ends as though they were good should not be held accountable for (...) their vice. Aristotle’s likely answer to this challenge reveals that, for Aristotle, a minimal degree of rationality is necessary for moral responsibility. I argue that, for Aristotle, a vicious agent is responsible for her vice only if 1) she is rational, which implies 2) she grasps a specific basic principle, thus consenting to become a certain kind of person through action. The thoroughly bad who satisfy both claims are moral idiots; those who do not may be blameless brutes. (shrink)

Many criticisms of epistemic logic have centered around its use of devices such as idealized knowers with logical omniscience and perfect self-knowledge. One possible response to such criticisms is to say that these idealizations are normative devices, and that epistemic logic tells us how agents ought to behave. This paper will take a different approach, treating epistemic logic as descriptive, and drawing the analogy between its formal models and idealized scientific models on that basis. Treating it as descriptive matches the (...) way in which some philosophers, including one of its founders, Jaako Hintikka, have thought about epistemic logic early in its history. Further, the analogy between the two fields will give us a way to defuse criticisms that see epistemic logic as unrealistic. For example, criticizing models of epistemic logic in which agents know all propositional tautologies as being unrealistic would be like criticizing frictionless planes in physics for being unrealistic. Each one would certainly be an unsuitable model for studying some kinds of phenomena, but is entirely appropriate for others. After outlining the analogy between epistemic and scientific models, we will discuss some ways in which idealizations are used by different research programs in epistemic logic. (shrink)

RésuméPartant de la considération inaugurale de.