A number of nonmonotonic reasoning formalisms have been introduced to model the set of beliefs of an agent. These include the extensions of a default logic, the stable models of a general logic program, and the extensions of a truth maintenance system among others. In [13] and [16], the authors introduced nonmonotomic rule systems as a nonlogical generalization of all essential features of such formulisms so that theorems applying to all could be proven once and for all. In this paper, (...) we extend Rieter's normal default theories, which have a number of the nice properties which make them a desirable context for belief revision, to the setting of nonmonotonic rule systems. Reiter defined a default theory to be normal if all the rules of the default theory satisfied a simple syntatic condition. However, this simple syntatic condition has no obvious analogue in the setting of nonmonotonic rule systems. Nevertheless, an analysis of the proofs of the main results on normal default theories reveals that the proofs do not rely on the particular syntactic form of the rules but rather on the fact that all rules have a certain consistency property. This led us to extend the notion of normal default theories with respect to a general consistency property. This extended notion of normal default theories, which we call Forward Chaining normal , is easily lifted to nonmonotomic rule systems and hence applies to general logic programs and truth maintenance. (shrink)

It is human nature to try to recognize patterns and to make sense of that which we observe. Unfortunately, our intuition is often wrong, and so there is a need to impose some objectivity on the methods by which observations are converted into knowledge. One definition of biostatistics could be precisely this, the rigorous and objective conversion of medical and/or biological observations into knowledge. Both consumers of biostatistical principles and biostatisticians themselves vary in the extent to which they recognize the (...) need to continue the improvement. Some may not recognize the need for (some or all of) the methods that have already been developed; others may accept these as they find them completely sufficient; still others recognize both the value and the shortcomings of these methods, and seek to develop even better methods to ensure that future medical conclusions are less subject to biases than current ones are. (shrink)

Subtitled "Rejections of Cartesian Dualism" this collection of essays traces through western Philosophy the strong but often overlooked idea that the body and the mind are not two different kinds of entity somehow reconciled in man, but rather a unity that is man. The editor's introduction sets forth Aristotle's ideas, concentrating on the dictum that it is the same man that thinks and runs. Spicker also treats Descartes' view, and the view of the Cartesians, ably separating the two when necessary. (...) The rest of the book is basically arranged chronologically, starting with extracts from Spinoza's Ethics, an essay on these extracts by Hans Jonas, and then moving through Julien de la Mettrie and two short essays by Kant. The second part of the book contains interesting essays on the human body by John Dewey, Douglas Long, and B. A. O. Williams, all defending the essential unity of body and soul. The third and last section of the book is itself divided into two parts, the first of which, entitled "Philosophy of Embodiment" contains four extracts from the works of prominent phenomenologists, Max Scheler, Gabriel Marcel, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. These essays all center around the necessity of a concept of the "lived body" to the understanding of man's being-in-the-world. In the last section, the quality of the essays drops, although it is delightfully leavened by a witty essay by Richard Griffith on the foot. This section contains essays on particular parts of the human body, such as sight and the upright posture, by Herbert Plügge, Hans Jonas, and Erwin W. Straus. There is a selected bibliography for those who are captured by this basic thread of western thought.--W. A. de V. (shrink)

One of Anchor books, new Problems in Philosophy Series, this slim and simple volume gives a clear yet comprehensive account of the mind-body problem and its various solutions. Campbell brings to light the assumptions which lead to the mind-body problem, and examines each in terms of the evidence for it and the way it is handled in some of the solutions to the problem. He then formulates the basic mind-body problem as an inconsistent tetrad and examines the evidence upon which (...) each of the four propositions has been accepted at one time or another. After this preliminary study, Campbell examines two Dualisms and their solutions, the Behaviorist 'solution' or dissolution, and different forms of a Causal Theory of the Mind, including Central State Materialism and what he calls a 'new Epiphenomenalism'. In his examination of these solutions to the problem, Campbell always states both the reasons for accepting it and the problems that the solution itself raises. Not intended for a sophisticated audience, this lucid account will provide the beginner with a solid basis for further studies in this central problem. With this in mind, the author has included an extensive bibliography for the beginning student.--W. de V. (shrink)

This book is a collection of Rush Rhees' recent articles on Wittgenstein along with a record of Wittgenstein's comments on continuity made in private conversations in 1938. The first part of the book is on the Tractatus. It begins with a review of Anscombe's Introduction of which Rhees generally approves and then goes on to discuss the "picture theory" and language's capacity to get hold of reality. Rhees argues against Maslow that elementary statements are more than psychological phenomena but must (...) be spoken of in a purely formal sense. Commenting on Black's Companion he argues that Wittgenstein did not have in mind any ontological implications of logic when he was working on the Tractatus. Rhees uses his critique of Pitcher's Philosophy of Wittgenstein and an article on that philosophy to form the transition to the discussion of the later Wittgenstein. He insists that Wittgenstein taught more a method of seeing the depth of certain problems than a set of solutions to those problems. He introduces the theme of "publicness" by arguing that language involves the ability to "say something" and must thus involve publicity. In his article on "Wittgenstein's Builders" he argues that this ability to say something rests on the interrelation of language games and the unity of a form of life. Using this as a basis, he speaks of the Wittgensteinean approach to ethics as one of studying the way of saying something ethically in a certain language game rather than one of studying ethics in general. The essay on continuity begins with a discussion of the dependence of mathematical language on everyday language for meaning. Here Wittgenstein argues that mathematical language derives its sense from experiential language and not from eternal and immutable objects. He discusses the mathematical notion of continuity with an eye to the limits of its sense and shows that its sense is limited by ordinary notions of space and continuity and tests relating to them. This book is worth reading for both the presentation of basic approaches to understanding Wittgenstein and for the record of Wittgenstein's remarks on continuity which are unavailable elsewhere.--J. V. W. (shrink)

This dissertation seeks to contribute to research in the philosophy of social science. The study focuses upon select epistemological and ontological aspects of Hannah Arendt’s work from which methodological implications are drawn pertaining to sociology. Arendt, although critical of the sociology of her time, has become increasingly cited and influential for emerging sociological research and this study seeks to contribute to this by focusing upon the problem of novelty. The aim is to explore the philosophical and methodological implications of novelty (...) for social science by working through three case studies that are theoretically pivotal for social science—action, the ‘social’, and the self—in terms of novelty as expressed in Arendt’s writing. Arendt is critical of methodology and epistemology, aiming to draw her readers to ontological concerns outlined from her preoccupation with the 'world' and social reality. In this aim, Arendt seeks to distance herself from social sciences that she claims ignore human novelty in favour of reading social regularities, tendencies and similarities. Despite her disdain for method, Arendt suggests a anti-methodological 'method' (outlined in an overlooked footnote) for keeping trained upon and for dealing with novel, anomalous events. In the seed of this method lies a unique opportunity for social science to reassess and extend its methods, addressing this oversight and in so doing bring to light the novel social object as a legitimate subject of social research. (shrink)

Over the last decades, it has become evident that highly complex networks of regulators govern post‐transcriptional regulation of gene expression. A novel class of Argonaute (Ago)‐associated RNA molecules, the agotrons, was recently shown to function in a Drosha‐ and Dicer‐independent manner, hence bypassing the maturation steps required for canonical microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis. Agotrons are found in most mammals and associate with Ago as ∼100 nucleotide (nt) long RNA species. Here, we speculate on the functional and biological relevance of agotrons: (i) (...) agotrons could serve as non‐promiscuous miRNA‐like regulators with reduced off‐targeting or (ii) agotrons could encompass other putative functions, such as protecting Ago proteins from taking up aberrant short RNAs or by rescuing and stabilizing otherwise unloaded Ago‐proteins from degradation. Collectively, agotrons have emerged as a novel class of interesting non‐coding RNA molecules, but their full functional potential and biological impact still remain to be disclosed. (shrink)

Calpains are a family of calcium‐dependent thiol‐proteases which are proposed to be involved in many physiological processes as well as pathological conditions. Calpains are likely to be involved in processing of numerous enzymes and cytoskeletal components, thereby linking their activity to a variety of intracellular events. Although widely studied, the precise mechanism(s) involved in calpain activation and activity in vivo remain poorly understood. Initial studies suggested that calpain exists primarily as an inactive proenzyme that required autolytic cleavage for activation. It (...) was also hypothesized that calpain associated with membrane phospholipids, serving to increase calcium sensitivity, facilitating autolytic conversion and thus activating the enzyme. These hypotheses, however, have not been universally accepted and there is increasing evidence that intact, non‐autolyzed calpain is the physiologically active calpain form. (shrink)

Our only channel of information about the world is the impact of external forces on our sensory surfaces. So says science itself. There is no clairvoyance. How, then, can we have parlayed this meager sensory input into a full-blown scientific theory of the world? This is itself a scientific question. The pursuit of it, with free use of scientific theory, is what I call naturalized epistemology. The Roots of Reference falls within that domain. Its more specific concern, within that domain, (...) is reference to concrete and abstract objects: what such reference consists in, and how we achieve it. (shrink)

This book is a translation of W.V. Quine's Kant Lectures, given as a series at Stanford University in 1980. It provide a short and useful summary of Quine's philosophy. There are four lectures altogether: I. Prolegomena: Mind and its Place in Nature; II. Endolegomena: From Ostension to Quantification; III. Endolegomena loipa: The forked animal; and IV. Epilegomena: What's It all About? The Kant Lectures have been published to date only in Italian and German translation. The present book is filled out (...) with the translator's critical Introduction, "The esoteric Quine?" a bibliography based on Quine's sources, and an Index for the volume. (shrink)

With his customary incisiveness, W. V. Quine presents logic as the product of two factors, truth and grammar--but argues against the doctrine that the logical truths are true because of grammar or language. Rather, in presenting a general theory of grammar and discussing the boundaries and possible extensions of logic, Quine argues that logic is not a mere matter of words.