Hastings Center Report, Volume 52, Issue S1, Page S83-S88, March‐April 2022.

Social cognition is critical for successfully navigating social relationships. Current evidence suggests that older adults exhibit poorer performance in several core social-cognitive domains compared to younger adults. Neurocognitive decline is commonly discussed as one of the key arbiters of age-related decline in social-cognitive abilities. While evidence supports this notion, age effects are likely attributable to multiple factors. This paper aims to recontextualize past evidence by focusing issues of motivation, task design, and representative samples. In light of these issues, we identify (...) directions for future research to aide our understanding of social-cognitive aging. (shrink)

We have synthesized a 582,970-base pair Mycoplasma genitalium genome. This synthetic genome, named M. genitalium JCVI-1.0, contains all the genes of wild-type M. genitalium G37 except MG408, which was disrupted by an antibiotic marker to block pathogenicity and to allow for selection. To identify the genome as synthetic, we inserted "watermarks" at intergenic sites known to tolerate transposon insertions. Overlapping "cassettes" of 5 to 7 kilobases (kb), assembled from chemically synthesized oligonucleotides, were joined by in vitro recombination to produce intermediate (...) assemblies of approximately 24 kb, 72 kb ("1/8 genome"), and 144 kb ("1/4 genome"), which were all cloned as bacterial artificial chromosomes in Escherichia coli. Most of these intermediate clones were sequenced, and clones of all four 1/4 genomes with the correct sequence were identified. The complete synthetic genome was assembled by transformation-associated recombination cloning in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, then isolated and sequenced. A clone with the correct sequence was identified. The methods described here will be generally useful for constructing large DNA molecules from chemically synthesized pieces and also from combinations of natural and synthetic DNA segments. 10.1126/science.1151721. (shrink)

We take up the challenge of developing an international network with capacity to survey the world's scientists on an ongoing basis, providing rich datasets regarding the opinions of scientists and scientific sub-communities, both at a time and also over time. The novel methodology employed sees local coordinators, at each institution in the network, sending survey invitation emails internally to scientists at their home institution. The emails link to a ‘10 second survey’, where the participant is presented with a single statement (...) to consider, and a standard five point Likert scale. In June 2023, a group of 30 philosophers and social scientists invited 20,085 scientists across 30 institutions in 12 countries to participate, gathering 6,807 responses to the statement 'Science has put it beyond reasonable doubt that COVID-19 is caused by a virus'. The study demonstrates that it is possible to establish a global network to quickly ascertain scientific opinion on a large international scale, with high response rate, low opt-out rate, and in a way that allows for significant (perhaps indefinite) repeatability. Measuring scientific opinion in this new way would be a valuable complement to currently available approaches, potentially informing policy decisions and public understanding across diverse fields. (shrink)

We take up the challenge of developing an international network with capacity to survey the world’s scientists on an ongoing basis, providing rich datasets regarding the opinions of scientists and scientific sub-communities, both at a time and also over time. The novel methodology employed sees local coordinators, at each institution in the network, sending survey invitation emails internally to scientists at their home institution. The emails link to a ‘10 second survey’, where the participant is presented with a single statement (...) to consider, and a standard five-point Likert scale. In June 2023, a group of 30 philosophers and social scientists invited 20,085 scientists across 30 institutions in 12 countries to participate, gathering 6,807 responses to the statement Science has put it beyond reasonable doubt that COVID-19 is caused by a virus. The study demonstrates that it is possible to establish a global network to quickly ascertain scientific opinion on a large international scale, with high response rate, low opt-out rate, and in a way that allows for significant (perhaps indefinite) repeatability. Measuring scientific opinion in this new way would be a valuable complement to currently available approaches, potentially informing policy decisions and public understanding across diverse fields. (shrink)

We take up the challenge of developing an international network with capacity to survey the world’s scientists on an ongoing basis, providing rich datasets regarding the opinions of scientists and scientific sub-communities, both at a time and also over time. The novel methodology employed sees local coordinators, at each institution in the network, sending survey invitation emails internally to scientists at their home institution. The emails link to a ‘10 second survey’, where the participant is presented with a single statement (...) to consider, and a standard five-point Likert scale. In June 2023, a group of 30 philosophers and social scientists invited 20,085 scientists across 30 institutions in 12 countries to participate, gathering 6,807 responses to the statement Science has put it beyond reasonable doubt that COVID-19 is caused by a virus. The study demonstrates that it is possible to establish a global network to quickly ascertain scientific opinion on a large international scale, with high response rate, low opt-out rate, and in a way that allows for significant (perhaps indefinite) repeatability. Measuring scientific opinion in this new way would be a valuable complement to currently available approaches, potentially informing policy decisions and public understanding across diverse fields. (shrink)

Latin Translation of the Qurʾān : Commissioned by Egidio da Viterbo. Critical Edition and Case Study. By Katarzyna K. Starczewska. Diskurse der Arabistik, vol. 24. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2018. Pp. cxxiv + 828, illus. €138.

Technology has expanded genomic research and the complexity of extracted gene-related information. Health-related genomic incidental findings pose new dilemmas for nurse researchers regarding the ethical application of disclosure to participants. Consequently, informed consent specific to incidental findings is recommended. Critical Social Theory is used as a guide in recognition of the changing meaning of informed consent and to serve as a framework to inform nursing of the ethical application of disclosure consent in genomic nursing research practices.

"Many theologians, as well as many philosophers, may be heard today asserting that there neither is nor can be any such thing as a uniquely Christian ethical system. On the one hand it is argued that an ethic based on revelation must be inherently static, unable to respond to new demands and situations; but if the ethical code is little more than a refinement of so-called natural law or natural morality, then there is no reason to term it Christian. In (...) consequence, most of the current discussion in the field of ethics addresses itself almost exclusively to a consideration of such specific issues as war, sex, abortion or mercy killing. Professor N. H. G. Robinson, however, turns his attention to the basic question of what Christian ethics really is. Morality, Robinson argues, was not created by Christianity, but exists independently; all men are subject to it, whatever their belief. This fundamental truth about human beings is of profound significance for theology, which must continue to insist upon an objective moral code. We will never understand Christian ethics, Robinson asserts, until we accept the doctrine of natural morality. But there can hardly be two moralities—one natural and the other supernatural—each competing for our obedience. Rejecting both the medieval and the post-Reformation approaches to the relationship of natural and Christian ethics, Robinson looks to the redemptive nature of Christian revelation for his answer. Moral standards are not merely imposed upon us, nor do we invent them; we discover them—their authority depends on their existing independently of us. It is the entry of redemptive revelation into the system of moral philosophy that creates what Robinson describes as "natural morality, judged, reoriented and transformed, and brought under the forgiving and reconciling lordship of Christ, which constitutes the Christian life." Here, then, is no inflexible, static code, incapable of responding to change. Rather, Robinson, describes a creative ethic that is objective, normative, and theocentric, a morality always in the making; it is a way of life, not a closed system. "Moral rules," he overserves, "are yesterday's moral solutions." Teh Groundwork of Christian Ethics is a major contribution to the field of Christian ethics which no serious student can afford to overlook."-Publisher. (shrink)

The focus of this study was on adolescent mental health. More specifically, the relationship between strength-based parenting (SBP) and subjective wellbeing (SWB) during adolescence, as assessed by a sample of adolescents, was examined at three time points over 14 months (N = 202, Mage = 12.97, SDage =.91, 48% female). SBP was positively related to life satisfaction and positive affect at each of the three time points, and was negatively related to negative affect. SBP and SWB both declined significantly over (...) time. When examining the causal relationships between SBP and SWB, two different statistical models were applied: latent growth-curve models (LGM) and random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM). The LGM revealed a strong positive relationship between changes in SBP and SWB. Specifically, this model showed that SBP at one time point predicted adolescent SWB at future time points. However, when the more stringent statistical test was completed through RI-CLPMs, no cross-lagged paths reached significance. Thus, while parenting is a significant predictor of wellbeing for pre-teens and teens in real time, it is not predictive of wellbeing at future time points. Parents, thus, cannot assume that their current levels of SBP are ‘banked’ by their children to support future wellbeing. Instead, SBP needs to be an ongoing, contemporary parenting practice. Furthermore, the fact that perceptions of SBP decline in this age bracket suggest that SBP interventions may be helpful in supporting adolescent mental health. (shrink)

The symplectic structures (brackets, Hamilton's equations, and Lagrange's equations) for the Dirac electron and its classical model have exactly the same form. We give explicitly the Poisson brackets in the dynamical variables (x μ,p μ,v μ,S μv). The only difference is in the normalization of the Dirac velocities γμγμ=4 which has significant consequences.

Arap edebiyatı tarihinin dönemlerinden biri olarak Osmanlı dönemi Arap edebiyatı yaklaşık dört buçuk asırlık uzun bir dönemi kapsamaktadır. Modern dönemde Arap edebiyatı tarihi yazımına öncülük eden Carlo Alfonso Nallino (öl.1938), Hamilton Gibb (öl.1971), Régis Blachère (öl.1973) gibi müsteşrikler Osmanlı dönemi Arap edebiyatını yok saymış, dahası bir çöküş ve inkıta evresi olarak tanımlamışlardır. Bu makalede sözü edilen araştırmacıların dönemle ilgili iddialarının sağlamasını yapmak üzere Osmanlı’da Arap edebiyatı alanında var olan süreklilik, çeşitlilik ve gelişim durumu dönemin öncü iki edebiyatçısı ve eserlerinde (...) ön plana çıkan temalar üzerinden konu edilmiştir. Makale, literatür değerlendirmesinin de yapıldığı bir girişi, Osmanlı Dönemi Arap edebiyatı hakkında bir değerlendirmeyi, 17. yy. Osmanlı dönemi Arap edebi çevrelerinde meşhur olan edebiyatçılardan Yûsuf el-Bedî‘(öl. 1073/1662)’nin ve Şihâbuddîn el-Mûsevi Ebû Ma‘tûḳ (öl. 1087/1676)’un edebi şahsiyetlerini ve eserlerinde ön plana çıkan temaları, edebi süreklilik açısından incelemeyi içermektedir. Adı geçen iki edebi şahsiyetin seçilmesinin sebebi, edebiyatta hem geleneği korumuş olmaları hem de eserlerinin modern dönem edebiyatını etkilemiş olmasıdır. Genel olarak Osmanlı dönemi Arap edebiyatında ortaya konan edebî eserler hakkında, özel olarak makalenin konusunu teşkil eden edebiyatçılar hakkında henüz yeterli sayıda ilmî araştırmanın bulunmaması bir boşluk oluşturmaktadır. Makalemiz, önemini bu boşluğu bir nebze de olsa doldurma çabasından almaktadır. Makalemizde, bu dönemin edebî gelişim ve zenginlik açısından bir duraksamaya uğrayıp uğramadığı veya yok sayılacak denli edebî faaliyetlerden uzak olup olmadığı; edebiyat sahasında geleneğin sürekliliğinin sağlanıp sağlanmadığı ve edebî olgunluk ile gelişime ulaşılıp ulaşılmadığı sorularına cevap bulmak amaçlanmıştır. Dönemin iki usta edebiyatçısına ait edebî temaların süreklilik bakımından değerlendirilmesi suretiyle konuya objektif bir bakış açısı sunmak hedeflenmiştir. Makalede nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden betimleyici yöntem kullanılmış olup edebî metinlerden verilen örnekler sınırlı tutulmuştur. Osmanlı Döneminin, Arap edebiyatının sekteye uğradığı bir dönem olmayıp, kendisinden önceki edebî dönemlerin devamı olarak canlılığını sürdürdüğü ve modern döneme temel teşkil edecek çalışmaların yapıldığı verimli bir dönem olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Yûsuf el-Bedî‘î’nin ve Ebû Ma‘tûḳ'un edebî zevkleri, tenkit yetenekleri ve şair kimlikleri, onları yetiştiren kültürel çevreyi yansıtırken, canlı bir entelektüel ortamın varlığını da gösterir. Şiirlerinde klasik kasidenin temalarını dönemlerine uygun şekilde işleyerek, Arap edebiyatının zengin mirasının nesilden nesile aktarıldığını kanıtlarlar. Onların edebî kişilikleri, yaşadıkları yüzyılın entelektüel düzeyini ve dönemin edebiyatçı profilini nitelikli bir şekilde temsil etmektedir. (shrink)

‘Byzantine logic diagrams’ have been used since at least late antiquity, and became popular in Europe in the 16th century. However, since the criticism of W. Hamilton and J. Venn in the 19th century, Byzantine diagrams have been largely dismissed as obsolete. This paper challenges this prevailing view. Initially, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of research pertaining to these diagrams, illustrating their applicability in analyzing assertoric syllogisms. Subsequently, we propose that the expressive capacity of these (...) diagrams extends far beyond their traditional use. In particular, we demonstrate that the expressivity of these diagrams is not limited to checking the validity of syllogisms. Rather, we show that there are various extensions of Byzantine diagrams, including opposition relations, modal logic, particular instances, n-term diagrams and logical connectives. These extensions are compositional and can therefore be combined to create very complex Byzantine diagrams that go far beyond what has been commonly believed since Hamilton and Venn. (shrink)

Grassmann n’est pas le premier à créer un nouveau calcul :Möbius, Hamilton, Bellavitis, Cauchy, et bien d’autres l’ont précédé dans cette voie qui témoigne de toute l’importance des mutations subies par l’algèbre et de l’évolution des rapports complexes entretenus entre ce domaine et son « exacte contrepartie » la Géométrie euclidienne : à l’heure où s’élaborent les premières « structures » et les « morphismes », la géométrie euclidienne perd son statut de « critère de vérité » et d’« (...) existence » des entités algébriques, notamment dénoncé par un prétendu « retour à la rigueur ».L’introduction « philosophique », décriée par ses contemporains ne voyant là que « fausse philosophie », ne pouvait être impunément écartée : la « seconde » Ausdehnungslehre de 1862 (A2) — pourtant proposée telle une nouvelle version rédigée conformément au style « souhaité » par son époque — ne conviendra pas plus à ses trop rares lecteurs. Tout lecteur averti reconnaît que A2ne peut être parfaitement entendu sans les nécessaires éclaircissements de A1.Trois points nous paraissent aujourd’hui significatifs :– L’Ausdehnungslehre est une science formelle qui trouve sa place dans le système mathématique de Grassmann. Ce système « améliore » celui déjà classique (notamment connu du père de Grassmann) qui résulte du croisement entre les deux contrastes fluants « continu/discret » et « distinct/égal ».– L’Ausdehnungslehre admet la géométrie comme première « application » remarquable. La géométrie [Geometrie] (ou encore la théorie de l’espace [Raumlehre]) est devenue une science réelle (l’espace préexiste), elle ne peut donc légitimement figurer au sein de la mathématique pure.– Une partie précède la séparation en les quatre branches précédentes de la mathématique pure (ou théorie des formes). La théorie générale des formes présente leurs lois communes, soit cette série de vérités qui, de la même manière se rapportent à toutes les branches des mathématiques et qui ne supposent donc que les concepts généraux d égalité, de diversité, de liaison et de séparation. (shrink)

J. N. Crossley [1] raised the question of whether the implication 2 + A = A ⇒ 1 + A = A is true for constructive order types (C.O.T.'s). Using an earlier definition of constructive order type, A. G. Hamilton [2] presented a counterexample. Hamilton left open the general question, however, since he pointed out that Crossley considers only orderings which can be embedded in a standard dense r.e. ordering by a partial recursive function, and that his counterexample (...) fails to meet this requirement. We resolve the question by finding a C.O.T. A which meets Crossley's requirement and such that 2 + A = A but 1 + A ≠ A. At the suggestion of A. B. Manaster and A. G. Hamilton we easily extend this construction to show that for any n ≧ 2, there is a C.O.T. A such that n + A = A but m + A ≠ A for 0 < m < n. Hence, Theorem 3 of [2] and all of its corollaries hold with the new definition of C.O.T. The construction is not difficult and requires no priority argument. The techniques are similar to those developed in [3], but no outside results are needed here. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:"The Fittest Man in the Kingdom":Thomas Reid and the Glasgow Chair of Moral PhilosophyPaul Wood (bio)Paul Wood Paul Wood is at the Department of History, University of Victoria, PO Box 3045, MS 7381, Victoria BC V8W 3P4 Canada. email: [email protected] August 1996Revised January 1997Notes. An earlier version of this paper was delivered at a plenary session of the 23rd International Hume Conference held at the University of Nottingham. For (...) comments and/or references, the author wishes to thank Roger Emerson, Carol Gibson-Wood, Knud Haakonssen, Ian Simpson Ross, Stephen Snobelen, M. A. Stewart, and the anonymous Hume Studies referees. For permission to cite and quote from manuscripts, he is grateful to the Keeper of the Manuscripts of Scotland as well as to the Librarians of Aberdeen University Library, Edinburgh University Library, Glasgow University Archives and Business Records Centre, Glasgow University Library (Department of Special Collections), the Mitchell Library Glasgow, and Dr. Williams' Library.1. Although little information survives regarding Law's teaching, we do know that he discussed Pufendorf in his classes; see Christine Mary King [Shepherd], "Philosophy and Science in the Arts Curriculum of the Scottish Universities in the Seventeenth Century," (Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Edinburgh, 1974), 177. Carmichael's edition of Pufendorf first appeared in Glasgow in 1718, and a second edition was published in Edinburgh in 1724 while Hume was still a student there.2. The surviving correspondence between the two men from this period is to be found in The Letters of David Hume, ed. J.Y.T. Greig, 2 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1932), I 32-35; 36-40; 45-48 (hereafter abbreviated as HL).3. The first detailed discussion of the 1745 election appeared in the introduction to David Hume, A Letter from a Gentleman to His Friend in Edinburgh, edited by Ernest C. Mossner and John V. Price (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1967). This account has recently been challenged in Roger L. Emerson, "The 'Affair' at Edinburgh and the 'Project' at Glasgow: The Politics of Hume's Attempts to become a Professor," in Hume and Hume's Connexions, edited by M. A. Stewart and John P. Wright (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1994), 1-22; and M. A. Stewart, The Kirk and the Infidel (Lancaster: Lancaster University Publications Office, 1995). For historically sensitive contextual analysis of Hume's philosophical relations with Hutcheson, see inter alia James Moore, "Hume and Hutcheson," in Stewart and Wright, 23-57, and M. A. Stewart, Warmth in the Cause of Virtue (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, forthcoming).4. In January 1752, "Mr. Smith read an Account of some of Mr. David Hume's Essays on Commerce" to the Society, and Hume was elected a member in 1753; see Notices and Documents Illustrative of the Literary History of Glasgow, During the Greater Part of Last Century, edited by W. J. Duncan (Glasgow: T. D. Morison, 1886), 132-133. Hume's failed candidacy is discussed in Emerson, "The 'Affair' at Edinburgh," 14-16, and Ian Simpson Ross, The Life of Adam Smith (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995), 112-113. Smith's Glasgow colleague from 1751 to 1755, William Cullen, was also sympathetic to Hume's philosophy, as was John Millar, who was elected Professor of Law in 1761. On Cullen and Hume see J.R.R. Christie, "Ether and the Science of Chemistry: 1740-1790," in Conceptions of Ether: Studies in the History of Ether Theories 1740-1900, edited by G. N. Cantor and M.J.S. Hodge (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981), 90-96.5. David Hume to William Strahan, 26 October 1775, HL II 301.6. See, for example, The Works of Thomas Reid, D.D., edited by Sir William Hamilton, 4th ed. (Edinburgh: Maclachlan and Stewart, 1854), 30n; James McCosh, The Scottish Philosophy, Biographical, Expository, Critical, from Hutcheson to Hamilton (London: Macmillan, 1875), 36; James Veitch, "Philosophy in the Scottish Universities," Mind 2 (1877): 207-234 (209).7. John Rae, Life of Adam Smith (London and New York: Macmillan, 1895); William Robert Scott, Francis Hutcheson: His Life, Teaching and Position in the History of Philosophy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1900); idem., Adam Smith as Student and Professor (Glasgow: Jackson... (shrink)