Floyd brings queer critique to bear on the Marxian categories of reification and totality and considers the dialectic that frames the work of Georg Lukâas, Herbert Marcuse and Frederic Jameson.

According to the traditional account Mendel's paper on pea hybrids reported a study of inheritance and its laws. Hence, Mendel came to be known as The Father of Genetics. This paper demonstrates that, in fact, Mendel's objective in his research was finding the empirical laws which describe the formation of hybrids and the development of their offspring over several generations. Having found these laws (and not the laws of inheritance that he is generally credited with) he proposed a theoretical scheme (...) involving the formation of germinal and pollen cells in hybrids and their combination in fertilization competent to explain why his laws took the form that they did. Mendel's research shows a pattern of development closely paralleling the stages of empirical investigation beginning at the level of qualitative description in common language rising through four levels of increasing abstraction and culminating in a fifth level, his simple mechanical theory. This mechanism met all the tests that a theory of this type must pass. In that respect Mendel was highly successful and this success might be the reason why he did not push his theory to a higher level, a sixth level involving the use of particulate determiners; despite this fact, Mendel was credited with having taken exactly that step. (shrink)

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Is the way in which political philosophy is conducted today too ahistorical? Does such ahistoricism render political philosophy too abstract? Is political philosophy thus incapable of dealing with the realities of political life? This volume brings together some of the world's leading political philosophers to address these crucial questions. The contributors focus especially on political philosophy's pretensions to universality and on its strained relationship with the world of real politics. Some chapters argue that political philosophers should not be cowed by (...) the accusations levied against them from outside of their own field. Others insist that these accusations require a dramatic reshaping of normative political thought. The volume will spark controversy across political philosophy and beyond. (shrink)

Paul Signac and Color in Neo-Impressionism is a groundbreaking examination of the artistic technique of "divisionism" in terms of modern scientific theory of color. Truly interdisciplinary in his approach, Floyd Ratliff treats the evolution of both color theory and artistic practice in an integrated way. Signac was the principal advocate for the new movement launched by Georges Seurat in the 1880s. The book is handsomely illustrated with both Neo-Impressionist paintings and scientific drawings and diagrams. Ratliff's five-part essay provides an (...) extended introduction to a translation of Signac's monograph, From Eugene Delacroix to Neo-Impressionism, widely regarded as the basic document of the movement, but never before available in English. This will be an invaluable reference for scholars in art and design, as well as students of the psychology and neurophysiology of color vision and those interested in the relation between the arts and the sciences. Its clarity of style also makes it accessible to the general reader interested in art history, painting, or the perception of color, particularly with its glossary of technical and art terms, index, and bibliography. (shrink)

A German translation with 2017 postscript of Floyd, Juliet. 2012. "Wittgenstein's Diagonal Argument: A Variation on Cantor and Turing." In Epistemology versus Ontology, Logic, Epistemology: Essays in Honor of Per Martin-Löf, edited by P. Dybjer, S. Lindström, E. Palmgren and G. Sundholm, 25-44. Dordrecht: Springer Science+Business Media. An analysis of philosophical aspects of Turing's diagonal argument in his (136) "On computable numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem" in relation to Wittgenstein's writings on Turing and Cantor.

A major new statement on how we do, and we ought to do, political philosophy.

This book argues against the mainstream view that we should treat propositional attitudes as internal states, suggesting that to treat beliefs as things of certain sort (id est to reify them) is a mistake. The reificatory view faces several problems that the non-reificatory view avoids, and it is argued the non-reificatory view is more faithful to the everyday concept of belief. There are several major reasons why it might be thought that a reificatory approach to mental states is nevertheless unavoidable, (...) but this book attempts to show that none of these reasons is at all convincing; in each case, the evidence is consistent with a non-reificatory view. Having argued that the popularity of the reificatory view is unjustified, the author examines history of psychology and philosophy of mind, and the structure of psychological language, in order to show that this popularity is quite understandable, but mistaken nonetheless. (shrink)

Purpose In 2006, the United Nations established the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. Simultaneously, the UN has adopted the sustainable development goals in 2015 and the 17 goals must be achieved by member states by 2030. Regionally, countries within the Caribbean community have formulated the Kingston Accord and the Declaration of Petion Ville. Both of these two instruments outlined a regional framework on the issue of persons with disabilities. The media, therefore, have axiological roles to play in (...) educating and informing all the stakeholders of these programmes, policies and legislation. It is within this context that this researcher did a qualitative assessment of how the media within Caribbean societies have been aiding the process of developmental transformation for PWDs. The main purpose of this paper therefore; is to show that if the varied programmes and policies relating to PWDs within the Anglophone Caribbean are to be successfully implemented, digital and traditional media will have to play a lead role through their social and ethical responsibilities in changing attitudes of non-disabled individuals towards the members of this vulnerable group. The main purpose of this paper therefore; is to show that if the varied programmes and policies relating to PWDs within the Anglophone Caribbean are to be successfully implemented, digital and traditional media will have to play a lead role through their social and ethical responsibilities in changing attitudes of non-disabled individuals towards the members of this vulnerable group. Design/methodology/approach The central argument guiding this paper is that if the varied programmes and policies relating to PWDs within the Caribbean are to be successfully implemented, the media, in all its forms, will have to play a lead role through their social and ethical responsibilities in changing attitudes of non-disabled individuals towards the members of this vulnerable group. The unequivocal questions that have been answered are how and what are the media doing to aid in the transformation of the lives of PWDs in the Caribbean? Are they fulfiling their social and ethical responsibilities? Findings The major finding is that the media in the Anglophone Caribbean has significant work to do to fulfil one of its social and ethical responsibilities in aiding the developmental transformation of PWDs in the region. Research limitations/implications The research is limited by the fact that there is serious data scarcity on the population of PWDs in the region. Serious research on the population is just emerging and this will change significantly over the next few years. Practical implications The practical implication of this study is that it will bring to the forefront of the media in the Caribbean, the importance of placing issues relating to PWDs on the development agenda in a consistent manner. Social implications PWDs will be brought in the mainstream of Caribbean society over time. Originality/value This is an original study and will undoubtedly contribute to a greater understanding of the media and PWDs in the Caribbean. (shrink)

Why would a successful physician who has undergone seven years of rigorous medical training take the trouble to seek out and learn to practice alternative methods of healing such as homeopathy and Chinese medicine? From Doctor to Healer answers this question as it traces the transformational journeys of physicians who move across the philosophical spectrum of American medicine from doctor to healer. Robbie Davis-Floyd and Gloria St. John conducted extensive interviews to discover how and why physicians make the move (...) to alternative medicine, what sparks this shift, and what beliefs they abandon or embrace in the process. After outlining the basic models of American health care-the technocratic, humanistic, and holistic-the authors follow the thoughts and experiences of forty physicians as they expand their horizons in order to offer effective patient care. The book focuses on the radical shift from one end of the spectrum to the other-from the technocratic approach to holism-made by most of the interviewees. Because many American physicians find such a drastic change too threatening, the authors also address the less radical transition to humanism-a movement toward compassionate care arising from within the medical system. (shrink)

In 1991 Nancy Floyd bought her first handgun. Soon she was participating in Ladies Day at her local shooting range and reading Women & Guns magazine. In 1993 she began interviewing and photographing women who were fellow gun owners. In 1997 she started researching "gun women" from the past to see how they were represented in the popular imagination. Now she has brought her work together in a book, filled with remarkable photographs and candid first-person stories, accompanied by an (...) eye-opening illustrated history of female gun ownership in America. Sympathetic but unsentimental, Floyd presents gun-toting women young and old, including an eleven-year-old girl competing in her first gun competition, a woman whose grandmother was killed by an intruder, and a war veteran who experienced firefights while stationed in Iraq. Whatever you might think about gun-toting women before you open this book, your preconceptions are sure to be shattered by the end.--From publisher description. (shrink)

This collection of previously unpublished essays presents a new approach to the history of analytic philosophy--one that does not assume at the outset a general characterization of the distinguishing elements of the analytic tradition. Drawing together a venerable group of contributors, including John Rawls and Hilary Putnam, this volume explores the historical contexts in which analytic philosophers have worked, revealing multiple discontinuities and misunderstandings as well as a complex interaction between science and philosophical reflection.

A survey of Wittgenstein's writings on logic and mathematics; an analytical bibliography of contemporary articles on rule-following, social constructivism, Wittgenstein, Godel, and constructivism is appended. Various historical accounts of the nature of mathematical knowledge glossed over the effects of linguistic expression on our understanding of its status and content. Initially Wittgenstein rejected Frege's and Russell's logicism, aiming to operationalize the notions of logical consequence, necessity and sense. Vienna positivists took this to place analysis of meaning at the heart of philosophy, (...) while Ramey took extensionalism to result. Wittgenstein's interest in rule-following emerged through his reactions to these attempted appropriations. (shrink)

A survey of open questions in the field; definitions of “emergence” and “media” are given, as well as their relationship to big data. Rationale for the volume is given, and c. 100 word descriptions and analyses of each essay in the volume are put forward. The volume is differentiated from other books and approaches, and open problems and questions set forth.

O presente artigo procede, em primeiro lugar, a um exame das evidências disponíveis referentes à atitude de Wittgenstein em relação ao, bem como conhecimento do, primeiro teorema da incompletude de Gödel, incluindo as suas discussões com Turing, Watson e outros em 1937-1939, e o testemunho posterior de Goodstein e Kreisel Em segundo lugar, o artigo discute a importância filosófica e histórica da atitude de Wittgenstein em relação ao teorema de Gödel e outros teoremas da lógica matemática, contrastando esta atitude com (...) a de, por exemplo, Penrose. Finalmente, a autora responde também a criticas instrutivas feitas por Mark Steiner a um artigo seu publicado em 1995, as quais estabelecem a importância do trabalho semântico de Tarski, quer para o nosso entendimento das observacoes de Wittgenstein. /// This paper presents, first, a survey of current evidence available concerning Wittgenstein's attitude toward, and knowledge of, Gödel's first incompleteness theorem, including his discussions with Turing, Watson and others in 1937-1939, and later testimony of Goodstein and Kreisel Secondly, the article discusses the philosophical and historical importance of Wittgenstein's attitude toward Gödal's and other theorems in mathematical logic, contrasting this attitude with that of, e. g., Penrose. Finally, the author also replies to an instructive criticism of her 1995 paper by Mark Steiner which assesses the importance ofTarskih semantical work, both for our understanding of Wittgenstein's remarks on Godel, and our understanding ofGodeVs theorem itself. (shrink)