Europe: The Space and Time of ReflectionOn the Complutense Research Group La Europa de la Escritura.

This 20 volume Routledge Revivals collection brings together a selection of groundbreaking Philosophy titles, from the rich and diverse Routledge backlist. With titles published between 1933 and 1991, this is a truly wide-ranging selection, encompassing works by distinguished authors such as: Simone Weil, Hilary Putnam, Franz Brentano, Anthony Kenny, Karl Jaspers and Israel Scheffler. Dealing with everything from the notion of freewill, to concepts of time and space, to theories of morality, this set offers a collection of the best (...) of Routledge publishing in the field of Philosophy from across the Twentieth Century. Please note that all titles have been previously available for sale individually through the Routledge Revivals programme. (shrink)

Let M = 〈M, +, <, 0, {λ}λ∈D〉 be an ordered vector space over an ordered division ring D, and G = 〈G, ⊕, eG〉 an n-dimensional group definable in M. We show that if G is definably compact and definably connected with respect to the t-topology, then it is definably isomorphic to a 'definable quotient group' U/L, for some convex V-definable subgroup U of 〈Mⁿ, +〉 and a lattice L of rank n. As two consequences, we derive Pillay's (...) conjecture for a saturated M as above and we show that the o-minimal fundamental group of G is isomorphic to L. (shrink)

Various axiomatic models for unsharp quantum measurements are investigated. These include effect spaces (E-spaces), effect test spaces (E-test spaces), effect algebras, and test groups. It is shown that a test group G is the universal group of an E-test space if and only if G is strongly atomistic. It follows that if G is strongly atomistic, then G is an interpolation group. We then demonstrate that if G is an interpolation group, then G is the universal group of (...) an E-space. Finally, it is shown that an E-space is isomorphic to an E-test space if and only if it is strongly atomistic. (shrink)

This paper addresses the significance of the general class of diffeomorphisms in the theory of general relativity as opposed to the Poincaré group in a special relativistic theory. Using Anderson's concept of an absolute object for a theory, with suitable revisions, it is shown that the general group of local diffeomorphisms is associated with the theory of general relativity as its local dynamical symmetry group, while the Poincaré group is associated with a special relativistic theory as both its global dynamical (...) symmetry group and its geometrical symmetry group. It is argued that the two groups are of equal significance as symmetry groups of their associated theories. (shrink)

Taking ontological realism about social groups as the thesis that groups are composite material objects constituted by their members, this paper considers a challenge to the very possibility that groups be regarded as material entities. Ordinarily we believe that two groups can have synchronic co-extensive memberships—for example, the choir and the rugby team—while preserving their distinctive identity conditions. We also doubt that two objects of the same kind can be in the same place at the same (...) time, which would appear to be the case when groups have identical memberships. I explain that the principle denying the synchronic co-location of objects of the same kind need not apply universally to material objects and that it is a mistake to take resistance to penetrability as a necessary feature of materiality. Therefore, initial appearances notwithstanding, groups can be in the same place at the same time. Key Words: identity • materiality • location • social group. (shrink)

Let G be a countable group. We prove that there is a model companion for the theory of Hilbert spaces with a group G of automorphisms. We use a theorem of Hulanicki to show that G is amenable if and only if the structure induced by countable copies of the regular representation of G is existentially closed.

We show that the Lascar group $\operatorname {Gal}_L$ of a first-order theory T is naturally isomorphic to the fundamental group $\pi _1|)$ of the classifying space of the category of models of T and elementary embeddings. We use this identification to compute the Lascar groups of several example theories via homotopy-theoretic methods, and in fact completely characterize the homotopy type of $|\mathrm {Mod}|$ for these theories T. It turns out that in each of these cases, $|\operatorname {Mod}|$ is (...) aspherical, i.e., its higher homotopy groups vanish. This raises the question of which homotopy types are of the form $|\mathrm {Mod}|$ in general. As a preliminary step towards answering this question, we show that every homotopy type is of the form $|\mathcal {C}|$ where $\mathcal {C}$ is an Abstract Elementary Class with amalgamation for $\kappa $ -small objects, where $\kappa $ may be taken arbitrarily large. This result is improved in another paper. (shrink)

Hermann von Helmholtz’s geometrical papers have been typically deemed to provide an implicitly group-theoretical analysis of space, as articulated later by Felix Klein, Sophus Lie, and Henri Poincaré. However, there is less agreement as to what properties exactly in such a view would pertain to space, as opposed to abstract mathematical structures, on the one hand, and empirical contents, on the other. According to Moritz Schlick, the puzzle can be resolved only by clearly distinguishing the empirical qualities of (...) spatial perception from those describable in terms of axiomatic geometry. This paper offers a partial defense of the group-theoretical reading of Helmholtz along the lines of Ernst Cassirer in the fourth volume of The Problem of Knowledge of 1940. In order to avoid the problem raised by Schlick, Cassirer relied on a Kantian view of space not so much as an object of geometry, but as a precondition for the possibility of measurement. Although the concept of group does not provide a description of space, the modern way to articulate the concept of space in terms of transformation groups reveals something about the structure and the transformation of spatial concepts in mathematical and natural sciences. (shrink)

In this engaging, highly detailed and meticulously researched account of late twentieth century technological dreaming and development, W. Patrick McCray traces the links between United States advocates of space colonies in the 1970s, and promoters of nanotechnology in the 1980s and 1990s. McCray does a compelling job of elucidating the personal, scientific and ideological ties between the groups, the substantive roles played by many individuals and institutions in both movements, and the enduring importance of past space glory (...) in the American imaginary.To write this “contemporary history”, McCray has brought together an impressive collection of archival material, including many documents from what were previously disparate personal collections and records. He has conducted interviews with many of the key actors and drawn on contemporary media reports and popular publications, the academic and grey literature.McCray’s focus is on a select group of people he dubs “visioneers”—a neo .. (shrink)

We develop a theory of LOGSPACE structures and apply it to construct a number of examples of Abelian Groups which have LOGSPACE presentations. We show that all computable torsion Abelian groups have LOGSPACE presentations and we show that the groups ${\mathbb {Z}, Z(p^{\infty})}$ , and the additive group of the rationals have LOGSPACE presentations over a standard universe such as the tally representation and the binary representation of the natural numbers. We also study the effective categoricity of (...) such groups. For example, we give conditions are given under which two isomorphic LOGSPACE structures will have a linear space isomorphism. (shrink)

§ 1. Introduction. In this communication we present some recent results on the classification of Polish metric spaces up to isometry and on the isometry groups of Polish metric spaces. A Polish metric space is a complete separable metric space.Our first goal is to determine the exact complexity of the classification problem of general Polish metric spaces up to isometry. This work was motivated by a paper of Vershik [1998], where he remarks : “The classification of Polish (...) spaces up to isometry is an enormous task. More precisely, this classification is not ‘smooth’ in the modern terminology.” Our Theorem 2.1 below quantifies precisely the enormity of this task.After doing this, we turn to special classes of Polish metric spaces and investigate the classification problems associated with them. Note that these classification problems are in principle no more complicated than the general one above. However, the determination of their exact complexity is not necessarily easier.The investigation of the classification problems naturally leads to some interesting results on the groups of isometries of Polish metric spaces. We shall also present these results below.The rest of this section is devoted to an introduction of some basic ideas of a theory of complexity for classification problems, which will help to put our results in perspective. Detailed expositions of this general theory can be found, e.g., in Hjorth [2000], Kechris [1999], [2001]. (shrink)

We show that the algebra of the group SL(2, C) naturally leads to the notion of gyrogroups and gyrovector spaces for dealing with the Lorentz group and its underlying hyperbolic geometry. The superiority of the use of the gyrogroup formalism over the use of the SL(2, C) formalism for dealing with the Lorentz group in some cases is indicated by (i) the validity of gyrogroups and gyrovector spaces in higher dimensions, by (ii) the analogies that they share with groups (...) and vector spaces, and by (iii) the demonstration that gyrovector spaces form the setting for hyperbolic geometry in the same way that vector spaces form the setting for Euclidean geometry. As such, gyrogroups and gyrovector spaces provide powerful tools for the study of relativity physics. (shrink)

We characterise strongly minimal groups interpretable in elementary extensions of compact complex analytic spaces.

Lloyd Jones’s *The Book of Fame*, a novel about the stunningly successful 1905 British tour of the New Zealand rugby team, represents both skilled group action and the difficulty of capturing it in words. The novel’s form is as fluid and deceptive, as adaptable and integrated, as the sweetly shaped play of the team that became known during this tour for the first time as the All Blacks. It treats sport on its own terms as a rich world, a set (...) of bodily skills, and an honest profession in itself. A reading of *The Book of Fame* can contribute to the interdisciplinary study of literature and cognition, exemplifying two-way ‘exchange values’. On the one hand, we gain insights into the nature of skilful group agency, of distinct forms and at distinct timescales, by focussing on the precise forms taken by the All Blacks’ creation of space. Here, we treat The Book of Fame as a brilliant evocation of features of collective thought, movement, and emotion that both everyday and scientific inquiry can easily miss. On the other hand, we also read back into the novel a subtle, fascinated interrogation of the mechanisms by which small groups form, evolve, and act. In this more ambitious mode of analysis, we use independently motivated theoretical concerns to help us see real features of the literary work that might otherwise remain invisible. We focus on the relationship between skilful performance and collective action. These topics fall outside the ambit of much current work by literary theorists using cognitive research, who tend to focus on theory of mind and modularity, metaphor and blending, emotion and empathy, consciousness and concepts, representation and so on. But skilled performance and collective action comprise surprisingly lively research fields across the sciences, from neuropsychology to philosophy of mind and cognitive anthropology. These areas of inquiry may provide even more productive avenues for future work in the interfield of literary and cultural theory and the cognitive sciences. (shrink)

In this paper, we introduce the concept of N-dimensional generalized Minkowski space, i.e., a space endowed with a metric tensor, whose coefficients do depend on a set of non-metrical coordinates. This is the first of a series of papers devoted to the investigation of the Killing symmetries of generalized Minkowski spaces. In particular, we discuss here the infinitesimal-algebraic structure of the space-time rotations in such spaces. It is shown that the maximal Killing group of these spaces is (...) the direct product of a generalized Lorentz group and a generalized translation group. We derive the explicit form of the generators of the generalized Lorentz group in the self-representation and their related, generalized Lorentz algebra. The results obtained are specialized to the case of a 4-dimensional, “deformed” Minkowski space \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} $${\widetilde M}$$ \end{document}4, i.e., a pseudoeuclidean space with metric coefficients depending on energy. (shrink)

We construct various isometry groups of the Urysohn space , including abelian groups which act transitively, and free groups which are dense in the full isometry group.

We investigate ideals of the form {A⊆ω: Σn∈Axnis unconditionally convergent} where n∈ωis a sequence in a Polish group or in a Banach space. If an ideal onωcan be seen in this form for some sequence inX, then we say that it is representable inX.After numerous examples we show the following theorems: An ideal is representable in a Polish Abelian group iff it is an analytic P-ideal. An ideal is representable in a Banach space iff it is a nonpathological (...) analytic P-ideal.We focus on the family of ideals representable inc0. We characterize this property via the defining sequence of measures. We prove that the trace of the null ideal, Farah’s ideal, and Tsirelson ideals are not representable inc0, and that a tallFσP-ideal is representable inc0iff it is a summable ideal. Also, we provide an example of a peculiar ideal which is representable inℓ1but not in ℝ.Finally, we summarize some open problems of this topic. (shrink)

Through a Zizekian framework, this article explores a doubled precarity as experienced by individuals involved in groups described as ‘gangs’. This dual precarity being the inability to parallel mainstream discourses of security, and abstracted precarity of mirrored images of ‘mainstream’ groups. The paper outlines brittle relationships between these two poles and the stories relating to learning and be-coming within such groups. These precarious relationships resonate Zizek's proposal of the '... blind leading the blind, or, more precisely, the (...) blind leading the blind...'. This paper explores the precariaty / precariaty of learning to be within such groups and the value of the story of becoming predominantly through the lens of a case study focusing on Participant 1 and supported through vignettes from encounters with other participants. (shrink)

We consider interpretable topological spaces and topological groups in a p-adically closed field K. We identify a special class of “admissible topologies” with topological tameness properties like generic continuity, similar to the topology on definable subsets of Kn. We show that every interpretable set has at least one admissible topology, and that every interpretable group has a unique admissible group topology. We then consider definable compactness (in the sense of Fornasiero) on interpretable groups. We show that an interpretable (...) group is definably compact if and only if it has finitely satisfiable generics (fsg), generalizing an earlier result on definable groups. As a consequence, we see that fsg is a definable property in definable families of interpretable groups, and that any fsg interpretable group defined over Qp is definably isomorphic to a definable group. (shrink)

We prove that in the Polish group of isometries of the Baire space the collection of n-th powers is non-Borel. We also prove that in the Polish space of trees on $\mathbb{N}$ the collection of trees that have an automorphism under which every node has order exactly n is non-Borel.

We construct the Extended Relativity Theory in Born-Clifford-Phase spaces with an upper R and lower length λ scales (infrared/ultraviolet cutoff). The invariance symmetry leads naturally to the real Clifford algebra Cl (2, 6, R) and complexified Clifford Cl C (4) algebra related to Twistors. A unified theory of all Noncommutative branes in Clifford-spaces is developed based on the Moyal-Yang star product deformation quantization whose deformation parameter involves the lower/upper scale $$(\hbar \lambda / R)$$. Previous work led us to show from (...) first principles why the observed value of the vacuum energy density (cosmological constant) is given by a geometric mean relationship $$\rho \sim L_{\rm Planck}^{-2}R^{-2} = L_{P}^{-4} (L_{\rm Planck} / R)^{2} \sim 10^{-122}M_{\rm Planck}^4$$, and can be obtained when the infrared scale R is set to be of the order of the present value of the Hubble radius. We proceed with an extensive review of Smith’s 8D model based on the Clifford algebra Cl (1, 7) that reproduces at low energies the physics of the Standard Model and Gravity, including the derivation of all the coupling constants, particle masses, mixing angles,....with high precision. Geometric actions are presented like the Clifford-Space extension of Maxwell’s Electrodynamics, and Brandt’s action related to the 8D spacetime tangent-bundle involving coordinates and velocities (Finsler geometries). Finally we outline the reasons why a Clifford-Space Geometric Unification of all forces is a very reasonable avenue to consider and propose an Einstein-Hilbert type action in Clifford-Phase spaces (associated with the 8D Phase space) as a Unified Field theory action candidate that should reproduce the physics of the Standard Model plus Gravity in the low energy limit. (shrink)

In this paper, we continue the study of the Killing symmetries of an N-dimensional generalized Minkowski space, i.e., a space endowed with a metric tensor, whose coefficients do depend on a set of non-metrical coordinates. We discuss here the finite structure of the space–time rotations in such spaces, by confining ourselves to the four-dimensional case. In particular, the results obtained are specialized to the case of a “deformed” Minkowski space M_4, for which we derive the explicit (...) general form of the finite rotations and boosts in different parametric bases. (shrink)

The relation of the conformal group to various earlier proposed relativistic quantum mechanical dynamical groups (and other related groups) is studied in the framework of projective geometry, by explicitly constructing the contractions of the six-dimensional coordinate transformations. Five-dimensional realizations are then derived. An attempt is made to improve our physical insight through geometry.

The aim of this paper is to describe an analogue of the theory of nontrivial torsion-free divisible abelian groups for metabelian groups. We obtain illustrations for “old-fashioned” model theoretic algebra and “new” examples in the theory of stable groups. We begin this paper with general considerations about model theory. In the second section we present our results and we give the structure of the rest of the paper. Most parts of this paper use only basic concepts from (...) model theory and group theory. However, in Section 5, we need some somewhat elaborate notions from stability theory. One can find the beginnings of this theory in [14], and we refer the reader to [16] or [21] for stability theory and to [22] for stable groups.§1. Some model theoretic considerations. Denote by the theory of torsion-free abelian groups in the language of groups ℒgp. A finitely generated group G satisfies iff G is isomorphic to a finite direct power of ℤ. It follows that axiomatizes the universal theory of free abelian groups and that the theory of nontrivial torsion-free abelian groups is complete for the universal sentences. Denote by the theory of nontrivial divisible torsion-free abelian groups. (shrink)

The notion of strong measure zero is studied in the context of Polish groups and general separable metric spaces. An extension of a theorem of Galvin, Mycielski and Solovay is given, whereas the theorem is shown to fail for the Baer–Specker group Zω\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${{\mathbb{Z}^{\omega}}}$$\end{document}. The uniformity number of the ideal of strong measure zero subsets of a separable metric space is examined, providing solutions to several problems of Miller and Steprāns (...) :52–59, 2006). (shrink)

Vector spaces over unspecified fields can be axiomatized as one-sorted structures, namely, abelian groups with the relation of parallelism. Parallelism is binary linear dependence. When equipped with the n-ary relation of linear dependence for some positive integer n, a vector-space is existentially closed if and only if it is n-dimensional over an algebraically closed field. In the signature with an n-ary predicate for linear dependence for each positive integer n, the theory of infinite-dimensional vector spaces over algebraically closed (...) fields is the model-completion of the theory of vector spaces. (shrink)

Personal space is the distance that people tend to maintain from others during daily life in a largely unconscious manner. For humans, personal space-related behaviors represent one form of non-verbal social communication, similar to facial expressions and eye contact. Given that the changes in social behavior and experiences that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, including “social distancing” and widespread social isolation, may have altered personal space preferences, we investigated this possibility in two independent samples. First, we compared (...) the size of personal space measured before the onset of the pandemic to its size during the pandemic in separate groups of subjects. Personal space size was significantly larger in those assessed during the onset of the pandemic. Lastly, we found that the practice of social distancing and perceived risk of being infected with COVID-19 were linked to this personal space enlargement during the pandemic. Taken together, these findings suggest that personal space boundaries expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic independent of actual infection risk level. As the day-to-day effects of the pandemic subside, personal space preferences may provide one index of recovery from the psychological effects of this crisis. (shrink)

What if gravity satisfied the Klein-Gordon equation? Both particle physics from the 1920s-30s and the 1890s Neumann-Seeliger modification of Newtonian gravity with exponential decay suggest considering a "graviton mass term" for gravity, which is _algebraic_ in the potential. Unlike Nordström's "massless" theory, massive scalar gravity is strictly special relativistic in the sense of being invariant under the Poincaré group but not the 15-parameter Bateman-Cunningham conformal group. It therefore exhibits the whole of Minkowski space-time structure, albeit only indirectly concerning volumes. (...) Massive scalar gravity is plausible in terms of relativistic field theory, while violating most interesting versions of Einstein's principles of general covariance, general relativity, equivalence, and Mach. Geometry is a poor guide to understanding massive scalar gravity: matter sees a conformally flat metric due to universal coupling, but gravity also sees the rest of the flat metric in the mass term. What is the 'true' geometry, one might wonder, in line with Poincaré's modal conventionality argument? Infinitely many theories exhibit this bimetric 'geometry,' all with the total stress-energy's trace as source; thus geometry does not explain the field equations. The irrelevance of the Ehlers-Pirani-Schild construction to a critique of conventionalism becomes evident when multi-geometry theories are contemplated. Much as Seeliger envisaged, the smooth massless limit indicates underdetermination of theories by data between massless and massive scalar gravities---indeed an unconceived alternative. At least one version easily could have been developed before General Relativity; it then would have motivated thinking of Einstein's equations along the lines of Einstein's newly re-appreciated "physical strategy" and particle physics and would have suggested a rivalry from massive spin 2 variants of General Relativity. The Putnam-Grünbaum debate on conventionality is revisited with an emphasis on the broad modal scope of conventionalist views. Massive scalar gravity thus contributes to a historically plausible rational reconstruction of much of 20th-21st century space-time philosophy in the light of particle physics. An appendix reconsiders the Malament-Weatherall-Manchak conformal restriction of conventionality and constructs the 'universal force' influencing the causal structure. Subsequent works will discuss how massive gravity could have provided a template for a more Kant-friendly space-time theory that would have blocked Moritz Schlick's supposed refutation of synthetic _a priori_ knowledge, and how Einstein's false analogy between the Neumann-Seeliger-Einstein modification of Newtonian gravity and the cosmological constant \Lambda generated lasting confusion that obscured massive gravity as a conceptual possibility. (shrink)

Group polarization—roughly, the tendency of groups to incline towards more extreme positions than initially held by their individual members— has been rigorously studied by social psychol- ogists, though in a way that has overlooked important philosophical questions about this phenomenon which remain unexplored. Two such salient questions are metaphysical and epistemological, respectively. From a metaphysical point of view, can group polarization, understood as an epistemic feature of a group, be reduced to epistemic features of its individual members? Relatedly, from (...) an epistemological point of view, is group polarization best understood as a kind of cognitive bias or rather in terms of intellectual vice? This book taxonomizes this possibility space by comparing four models which combine potential answers to the metaphysical and epistemological questions. The models we consider are: group polarization as a collective bias, a summation of individual epistemic vices; a summation of individual biases; and a collective epistemic vice. We defend a collective vice model of group polarization over the competing alternatives. (shrink)

A fundamental characteristic of human visual perception is the ability to group together disparate elements in a scene and treat them as a single unit. The mechanisms by which humans create such groupings remain unknown, but grouping seems to play an important role in a wide variety of visual phenomena. I propose a neural model of grouping; through top-down control of its circuits, the model implements a grouping strategy that involves both a connection strategy (which elements to connect) and a (...) selection strategy (spatiotemporal properties of a selection signal that segments target elements to facilitate identification). With computer simulations I explain how the circuits work and show how they can account for a wide variety of Gestalt principles of perceptual grouping. Additionally, I extend the model so that it can simulate visual search tasks. I show that when the model uses particular grouping strategies, simulated results closely match empirical results from replication experiments of three visual search tasks. In these experiments, perceptual grouping was induced by proximity and shape similarity (Palmer & Beck, 2007), by the spacing of irrelevant distractors and size similarity (Vickery, 2008), or by the proximity of dots and the proximity and shape similarity of line figures (Trick & Enns, 1997). Thus, I show that the model accounts for a variety of grouping effects and indicates which grouping strategies were likely used to promote performance in three visual search tasks. (shrink)

The following paper continues discussions within this journal about how the work of Delueze and Guattari can inform radical pedagogy. Building primarily on Noel Gough's 2004 paper, we take up the challenge to move towards a more creative form of 'becoming cyborg' in our teaching. In contrast to work that has focused on Deleuzian theories of the rhizome, we deploy Guattari's work on institutional schizoanalysis to explore the role of group creativity in radical pedagogy. The institutional therapies of Felix Guattari's (...) schizoanalytic practice in the 1950s and 1960s and, before him, the Francophone educationalist Celestin Freinet, who founded the Modern School Movement, are explored and used to illuminate examples of some of our own attempts to set the classroom up as a space for collective engagement. We conclude by exploring how this understanding of the class as subject group may be used to mobilise action and de-stabilise the coordinates of existing academic divisions of labour. (shrink)

This book is a ricochet against mainstream physics. It sprang out of the idea that outer symmetries of space-time are the same as inner symmetries of matter. In other words, the standard model of physics is a space-time group. This book is about structures and phenomena that are lying hidden underneath the surface of space-time. It begins with a few biographic events, Majoranas legacy, the philosophy of Gerhard Frey and some related anthropological topics which have to do (...) with high energy physics. It continues with a reconstruction of the theorem by Banach and Tarski in Minkowski space. We are making acquaintance with the standard model as a property of space-time. So we are challenging quite unusual actions such as penetration of quarks by a probe. We propose to apply a penetrating function D. Then, measure and basis are connected with the axiom of choice. (shrink)

Lakatos’s methodology of scientific research programmes centres around series of theories, with little regard to the role of models in theory construction. Modifying it to incorporate model-groups, clusters of developmental models that are intended to become new theories, provides a description of the model dynamics within the search for physics beyond the standard model. At the moment, there is no evidence for BSM physics, despite a concerted search effort especially focused around the standard model account of electroweak symmetry breaking. (...) Using the framework provided by Lakatosian research programmes, we can capture the way the periphery of a model-group changes as the available parameter space shrinks, while its central tenets remain untouched by unfavourable experimental findings. By way of motivation, I provide two case studies of model-groups that offer alternative mechanisms for electroweak symmetry breaking: supersymmetry and composite-Higgs models. Both of these model-groups are under pressure from the discovery of the Higgs boson, yet they have both been active research projects in the years after the Higgs discovery. However, a proper assessment of the progress of an ongoing research programme is impossible through a purely Lakatosian lens, so I propose replacing it with Laudan’s problem-solving account, which provides ongoing assessment, while offering normative guidance concerning the pursuit-worthiness of research programmes. My incorporation of model-groups into Lakatosian research programmes captures the developments of two attempts to expand our physical description of the world, and Laudan’s problem-solving rationality allows us to assess their pursuit-worthiness. (shrink)

Spaces can make certain forms of philosophical activity more likely or more fruitful among the people who occupy them, and many public philosophers aim to promote one or another form of fruitful philosophical activity. It's helpful to distinguish four ways in which spaces can facilitate philosophical reflection and interaction: domain‐general cognitive facilitation, domain‐specific cognitive facilitation, affective facilitation, and relational facilitation. This chapter shows how philosophical spaces shape the activity of their occupants in ways of interest to public philosophers. Groups (...) can be unjustly excluded from philosophical communities for any number of reasons, but some of that exclusion is territorial. There are a number of challenges facing the would‐be designer of a philosophical space. The chapter presents three such challenges and offers some suggestions for how designers of philosophical spaces might address them. These include: the problem of rapport, the problem of urban social psychology, and the problem of the outsider. (shrink)

The fall of the Berlin wall, the uprising at Tiananmen Square, the war in the Persian Gulf, the conflict in Bosnia—such events have been fundamentally affected by modern technology. As we become instant spectators of war, famine, and revolution, time and space assume new global meanings. This provocative volume presents an eclectic group of contributors who attempt to make sense of the "now" and the "here" that define the modern age. The essays, by anthropologists, religionists, geographers, linguists, sociologists, and (...) historians, explore the temporal and spatial facets of social life. Their range is remarkable and includes English landscape painting, talk in corporations, agoraphobic women, the ecological structure of Los Angeles, the cosmology of the Holocaust, and the ritual spaces of Buddhist Japan and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The editors' introduction addresses the diversity of these empirical concerns and positions them within a rapidly expanding theoretical landscape. David Hockney's striking painting on the book jacket captures the tension between somewhere and everywhere, between space and place, now and just a moment ago—hence "nowhere" or "now/here.". (shrink)

Despite the reservations of many, digital spaces are useful and are here to stay. Most of us have witnessed that usefulness in action over the last two years, since the outbreak of COVID-19, and ma...

Proxy signature and group signature are two basic cryptographic primitives. Due to their valuable characteristics, many schemes have been put forward independently and they have been applied in many practical scenarios up to the present. However, with the development of electronic commerce, many special requirements come into being. In this article, we put forward the concept of group–proxy signature, which integrates the merits of proxy signature and group signature for the first time. We also demonstrate how to apply our scheme (...) to construct an electronic cash system. The space, time, and communication complexities of the relevant parameters and processing procedures are independent of group size. Our demonstration of the concrete group–proxy signature scheme shows that the concepts brought forward by us are sure to elicit much consideration in the future. (shrink)

What is group well-being? There is, as of yet, shockingly little philosophical literature explicitly aiming to answer this question. This essay sketches some of the logical space of possible answers, and nudges us to seriously consider certain overlooked options. There are several importantly different ways the well-being of a collective or a group could be related to the well-being of the individuals who constitute it: 1) eliminativism, 2) functionalism, 3) partialism, or 4) the independent view. If the relation between (...) individual and collective well-being is either functional or partial, then we face a further question: What is the direction of constitutive dependence? Does the well-being of a group depend upon the well-being of the well-being of the individuals who compose it, or does the well-being of an individual depend upon the well-being of the groups to which they belong? Or both? These questions raise some puzzles that I begin to resolve. I conclude that there might be a wide variety of ways the well-being of a collective obtains, only some of which are related to the well-being of the individuals who are its members. In the end, I hope to vindicate the thought that an injury to one is an injury to all. (shrink)

Given a finitely generated group Γ, we study the space Isom(Γ, ℚ������) of all actions of Γ by isometries of the rational Urysohn metric space ℚ������, where Isom(Γ, ℚ������) is equipped with the topology it inherits seen as a closed subset of Isom(ℚ������) Γ . When Γ is the free group ������ n on n generators this space is just Isom(ℚ������) n , but is in general significantly more complicated. We prove that when Γ is finitely generated (...) Abelian there is a generic point in Isom(Γ, ℚ������), i.e., there is a comeagre set of mutually conjugate isometric actions of Γ on ℚ������. (shrink)

Using sheaves of special groups, we show that a general local-global principle holds for every reduced special group whose associated space of orderings only has a finite number of accumulation points. We also compute the behaviour of the Boolean hull functor applied to sheaves of special groups.

This paper discusses the role of Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) in the development of epistemic learner identity. MUVEs might help educators create the types of tasks and intellectual open spaces helping students with learner identity development in the information age. MUVEs can create new possibilities for dissemination and sharing of critical information (e.g. nonhierarchical, non-linear), opening up spaces of (safe) rebellion against top-down, teacher directed educational processes, helping students become more autonomous thinkers, ready to question information, and search for multiple (...) sources in problem-solving. The experiment reported here follow two General Education classes for pre-service teachers (58 students) that integrated the MUVE Second Life as a major part of their curriculum. The experimental MUVE condition was compared to two classes (59 students) using the same curricula approach and the same instructor but without using a MUVE. Individual student blog posts (weekly assignments) were extracted for both groups (experimental, active control) from three different time points over the semester. The posts were coded for levels of complexity/uncertainty, critical perspective and source of information. It was expected that students in the experimental (MUVE integrated) group would show increases over the semester as compared to the active control group. Growth curve analyses suggests students in the experimental (MUVE-integrated) condition did indeed increase in modes of thinking that question authority through increased complexity/uncertainty and critical thinking in their assigned academic/intellectual tasks, suggesting possibilities for epistemological shifts. (shrink)

In Decision Space: Multidimensional Utility Analysis, first published in 2001, Paul Weirich increases the power and versatility of utility analysis and in the process advances decision theory. Combining traditional and novel methods of option evaluation into one systematic method of analysis, multidimensional utility analysis is a valuable tool. It provides formulations of important decision principles, such as the principle to maximize expected utility; enriches decision theory in solving recalcitrant decision problems; and provides in particular for the cases in which (...) an expert must make a decision for a group of people. The multiple dimensions of this analysis create a decision space broad enough to accommodate all factors affecting an option's utility. The book will be of interest to advanced students and professionals working in the subject of decision theory, as well as to economists and other social scientists. (shrink)

This study explored local controls relating to trees and spacesof the local environment in Nyamaropa Communal Lands in theNyanga District of eastern Zimbabwe. Controls were consideredin a broad and inclusive framework encompassing codified rules,taboos, and, regulatory norms and emotions. Special emphasis waslaid on people‘s emotional and ethical investment in the abovecomponents of the environment – trees and spaces. The studyemployed intensive informal and group interviews. Results showthat there is tremendous emotional and ethical investment intrees and spaces of the environment in (...) Nyamaropa. Emotions comein a variety of forms: fear, shunning, love, reverence, andconfidence and security enhancement. The emotional and ethicalnorms are designed to govern behavior and the context of resourceutilization. These norms have implications on the organization ofspaces of the local environment and regimes of resource utilizationoccurring in them. Location of resources in spaces of the environmenthas implications on the management of resources within them. Thedomains of human habitation – home bases and home fields – werefound to be the most emotionally laden spaces with trees in thembeing actively planted, nurtured, conserved, eliminated, or destroyedon the basis of certain emotions and norms. The findings of the studyhave implications within the framework of decentralization and ofdemocratization of natural resource management. (shrink)