Search

This article responds to a conference call for papers that makes universalist assumptions about clause structures, assuming all languages in the world basically follow the same organizing principles in terms of clause structure, argument structure, and alignment. The article presents data from Tagalog to show how different a language can be from the assumed universal organizing principles to make the point that by imposing an Indo-European framework on non-Indo-European languages, we are overlooking the true diversity of language forms found in the world's languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This comment on Sergio Romano's (2022) article tries to integrate this paper that presents correctly, however in a partial way, the relationship between some aspects of Alfred Adler's biography and his psychological hypotheses that contributed to the construction of the theoretical edifice of his Individual Psychology. Despite its conciseness, this comment integrates what is not fully described in Romano's paper, and it is also an opportunity to have a more complete view of Alfred Adler's theory. The commonplace argument that has often circulated regarding Individual Psychology is briefly discussed: it is often said that Alfred Adler's Individual Psychology is a simple theory, easily described with the use of few key concepts. It is argued, instead, that it is a theory that opens up numerous perspectives for understanding the complexity of mental functioning which, in this commentary, is briefly described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

and The Paper Wasp suggest that modern narratives featuring the antiheroine utilize Gothic techniques in order to expose the tension between convention and subversion of traditional feminist ideals in female-female relationships. This paper makes two arguments: firstly, that the initial process of identification with the idealized female friend results in the Gothic antiheroine's sexual, maternal, and artistic awakening; secondly, that these alignments with the "feminine" expose the contradictions and complexities of the Gothic antiheroine figure, resulting in a challenge to the traditional, and problematic, trajectory of the antiheroine narrative. The Gothic antiheroine's confrontation with the self thus exposes cultural anxieties surrounding motherhood, the female (abject) body, and sexual desire, all of which are aligned with the Female Gothic mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I will comment on the comments by the groups of three reviewers separately. First of all, I will thank all three groups providing a first round of reports in order for me to get rid of obvious mistakes. In the second round the reviewers were free to comment on the qualities of my revised version. I am not to change my revised paper when giving my comments on what would be honest reports on the quality of my final version. However, the reviewers will not have a go at my rejoinders to comments according to the symposium rules. I keep the section numbering of the authors in order to make it easier to identify the arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent critical revision of the order Skleroptera by Beutel et al. (2018a) is considered. We show several defects in their interpretation, contradicted by the original descriptions and diagnosis (Nel et al. , 2013 ; Kirejtshuk & Nel, 2013). The main arguments of the initial interpretation of Stephanastus polinae Kirejtshuk et Nel, 2013 (Stephanastidae) and reasons for the proposal of the order Skleroptera (Kirejtshuk & Nel, 2013) are mentioned, together with reasons to reject the proposal of Beutel et al. (2018a, b). A comparison of Skleroptera with other neopteran orders is made. Lastly the problem of the position of Umenocoleus as a member of Coleopterida versus a roachoid is discussed, the first hypothesis being supported by synapomorphies which is not the case for the second. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the absolutive case in Modern Mandarin Chinese sentences with reversible argument structures. In these sentences, the two arguments adjacent to the verb can be interchangeable in syntactic position. Although previous research has provided partial descriptions and analyses of this grammatical phenomenon, there is still no comprehensive and systematic exploration of these reversible sentences. Employing a reductionist methodology, the study meticulously examines the interaction modes between the verb and its arguments in eight types of reversible sentence structures involving the addition or omission of argument roles. This analysis reveals a distinct pattern that highlights the centrality of an 'absolute argument' within these sentences. Building on these observations, the paper articulates the fundamental structural patterns of reversible sentences and concludes a unified explanatory framework. This research enriches our understanding of Mandarin Chinese syntax and offers valuable perspectives on the linguistic dynamics underlying reversible sentence construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We prove a strictification theorem for cartesian closed bicategories. First, we adapt Power's proof of coherence for bicategories with finite bilimits to show that every bicategory with bicategorical cartesian closed structure is biequivalent to a 2-category with 2-categorical cartesian closed structure. Then we show how to extend this result to a Mac Lane-style "all pasting diagrams commute" coherence theorem: precisely, we show that in the free cartesian closed bicategory on a graph, there is at most one 2-cell between any parallel pair of 1-cells. The argument we employ is reminiscent of that used by Čubrić, Dybjer, and Scott to show normalisation for the simply-typed lambda calculus (Čubrić et al., 1998). The main results first appeared in a conference paper (Fiore and Saville, 2020) but for reasons of space many details are omitted there; here we provide the full development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I shall argue that the law of non-contradiction can be used to constructively reframe the univocalist debate. Duns Scotus argued famously that a term is univocal in two statements if its unity is sufficient for a contradiction. This logical definition was woven into his arguments against Henry of Ghent's (and indirectly Thomas Aquinas') view of analogy, arguing that all successful analogies must be built upon a univocal core. As early as the 1960s, this Scotist univocity had been singled out by French scholars and, by the turn of the century, had become the cherished whipping boy of Radical Orthodoxy, which claims that Scotus was the progenitor of modern onto-theology, nihilism, and secular immanence. While the genealogical critique in its fullness is beyond this paper's scope, it illustrates the gravity of the question. If the doctrine of analogy is coherent—i.e., if Scotus turned to univocity without cause—then perhaps his condemnation is justified. However—in line with the principle quod est necessarium est licitum (that which is necessary is permissible)—if univocity is necessary for successful theological reference, then perhaps the doctrine of univocity can be defended regardless of its historical usage. This paper will argue that univocity is latent in all successful analogies, commencing with a fairly standard analysis of Scotus' Ordinatio, then moving beyond Scotus to more constructively suggest that an expanded version of the argument from non-contradiction can help reframe the univocalist debate for today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In mathematics, for professionals, the most compelling way to back a statement is to prove it. This could even be true, as recent research indicates, for 9-year-olds (or for even younger learners), given appropriate conditions in the early grades. In this article, based on data drawn from the three preceding papers, I explore some ways in which the building of an argument can emerge in step with the development of understanding. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In political discourse, it is common to claim that non-majoritarian institutions are legitimate because they are technical and value-free. Even though most analysts disagree, many arguments for non-majoritarian legitimacy rest on claims that work best if institutions are, in fact, value-free. This paper develops a novel standard for non-majoritarian legitimacy. It builds on the rich debate over the value-free ideal in philosophy of science, which has not, so far, been applied systematically to political theory literature on non-majoritarian institutions. This paper suggests that the argument from inductive risk, a strong argument against the value-free ideal, (1) shows why a naive claim to value freedom is a poor general foundation for non-majoritarian legitimacy; (2) provides a device to assess the degree of democratic value inputs required for an institution to be legitimate; which (3) shows the conditions under which a claim to technical legitimacy might still be normatively acceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his discussion of Gentile's and Togashi's Plenary papers, the author explains how they are initially destabilizing, but ultimately reorienting and profoundly hopeful for us in these threatening, uncertain times. He reviews the arguments that the papers present, explores how they are challenging to him as a representative of a 1960's liberal, Self Psychological perspective and illustrates how they can be applied to clinical work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the result of an email exchange which occurred following the publication of my 2020 paper, I have changed my view on LCOE, and wish to retract the argument I presented in 2019. The 2020 paper, which was based on the 2019 paper, is also thus invalidated. It turns out the conventional wisdom is right in this case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the light verb constructions (LVCs) formed with the light verb dādan ‘to give’ in Persian by employing the principles of cognitive lexical semantics. It examines the semantic relationships between the heavy verb dādan and its uses as LVCs. The analysis of attested examples reveals that the use of dādan as a light verb (LV) is a function of the semantic structure of its simple verb counterpart. This suggests that its lightness status is highly systematic and can be explained in terms of cognitively driven motivations. In addition, a significant number of the LVCs express certain causation meanings, suggesting that Persian speakers tend to use the LV dādan to convey causative notions as newly emerged LVCs. This stance will constitute our line of argument to analyze the data in this study. By presenting a cognitive configuration of LVCs in Persian, the current paper can pave the way for a fine-grained theorization of typological aspects of LVCs in some other languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a reward model for the optimization of preventive maintenance for a complex production system functioning in any one of k unobservable operating states. The changes of the states are driven by a non-homogeneous Markov (NHM) process X(t) with known characteristics. The system fails according to a point process whose intensity is modulated by the unobservable state. Failures are rectified through minimal repairs (MRs) whose costs are associated with age and the state process X(t). The modeling approach also allows both the revenue stream and the preventive maintenance cost to be characterized by the state process X(t). The paper first formulates the reward model depending on the unobservable state process estimated through the filtering theorem argument by projection on the observed history including failure point process observations. The estimation of the state process allows failure prediction and maximizing revenue stream implemented through scheduling periodic overhauls. A case study is provided to illustrate the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the ongoing debate about the feasibility of enforcing a transition to decentralized energy conversion systems, arguments are often presented that lack scientific rigor. Granted, the issue is multi-faceted and fundamentally multi-disciplinary, and possible solutions strongly depend on the selection of location as well as on local climate and demographics. Furthermore, decentralizing the final energy distribution leads to potential socio-economic considerations that involve value judgements. However, the most serious problem is that media have appropriated the topic and are often publishing opinion papers authored by non-specialists and even by representatives of interest groups. The present paper proposes an approach that is innovative on two counts: first, it treats "final energy" as any other commodity and therefore expands the field of investigation to the problems arising from the decentralization of a generic production line or technological chain; second, it argues that a method solidly rooted in Thermodynamics, the Extended Exergy Accounting, may be used to quantify the total amount of primary exergy resources requested by a decentralized strategy (as opposed to a centralized one), so that a comparison can be performed and discussed on a rational, unbiased and scientific basis. This is an introductory paper that reports some theoretical results of the method: realistic applications are perforce excluded because the idea is that the procedure must be drafted in such a way to be applicable to different socio-economic scenarios and locations and to remain valid under a broad range of boundary conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I examine Socrates' argument that presupposes an audience familiar with Forms and explains why the sight-lovers are not philosophers. It is divided into three parts: the first part (476a1–6) shows why each Form is one in number; the second part (476a6–9) distinguishes Forms from their sensible appearances; and the third part (476a10–d6) draws an analogy between philosophers – people being awake and sight-lovers – people being asleep. Remarkably, the argument works only for opposites, which are mistakenly identified by the sight-lovers with sensible things. Also in this paper I suggest an alternative interpretation of the so-called 'Two Worlds Theory' which is based on the distinction between the objects of knowledge and opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between science and philosophy is contentious. Quine saw philosophy as continuous with science (broadly understood), but many philosophers see a dichotomy between them. The present paper discusses cases where the relevance of certain scientific findings has been denied (related to Zeno's Dichotomy paradox and to the appeal of skeptical arguments) or overlooked (one argument related to the frame problem of artificial intelligence and Nagel's "bat" argument). The results caution against overly quick dismissal of the import of science on philosophical questions, whether the latter be of a more theoretical or practical nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Top-Down Argument for the ability to do otherwise aims at establishing that humans can do otherwise in the sense that is relevant for debates about free will. It consists of two premises: first, we always need to answer the question of whether some phenomenon (such as the ability to do otherwise) exists by consulting our best scientific theories of the domain at issue. Second, our best scientific theories of human action presuppose that humans can do otherwise. This paper argues that this is not enough to establish the conclusion. The Top-Down Argument supports that humans can do otherwise in some sense. But it does not show that humans can do otherwise in the sense that is relevant for debates about free will. The paper then shows that the apparently best way to make the argument valid does not work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impurism says that practical factors encroach on knowledge. An important version of impurism is called 'Threshold-Impurism,' which says that practical factors encroach on the threshold that rational credence must pass in order for one to have knowledge. A prominent kind of argument for Threshold-Impurism is the so-called 'principle-based argument,' which relies on a principle of fallibilism and a knowledge-action principle. This paper offers a new challenge against Threshold-Impurism. I attempt to show that the two principles Threshold-Impurists are committed to—KJ and Fallibilism—are jointly in tension with a widely-held principle of credence that's called 'Truth-Directedness,' in the sense that the former two principles cannot both apply to those who know the third. This tension constitutes a serious challenge to Threshold-Impurists, because it leaves them two options, both of which are undesirable: denying Truth-Directedness, or accepting Truth-Directedness and accepting that whether KJ and Fallibilism apply to a person depends on whether she knows Truth-Directedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper investigates reflexives in Najdi Arabic (NA). We start by examining how the encoding of reflexivity in NA can be attained lexically, morphologically, and syntactically. We also investigate the argument structure of reflexive constructions in NA in accordance with Reinhart and Siloni’s (2005) bundling approach. Finally, possessive reflexives and their cross-linguistic distribution with definiteness marking are examined, providing empirical coverage to this area in NA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relying on the notion of "overlapping perspectives," this paper argues that entity realism and perspectivism are complementary. According to entity realism, it is justified to maintain a positive attitude toward the existence of unobservable entities with which multiple experimental interactions are possible. Perspectivism also explains that our beliefs about these entities are bounded by historically contingent theoretical and instrumental perspectives. The argument of the paper is developed through a discussion of Ronald Giere's versions of realism: entity realism, constructive realism, and perspectival realism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper navigates artificial intelligence's recent advancements and increasing media attention. A notable focus is placed on Eliezer Yudkowsky, a leading figure within the domain of artificial intelligence alignment, who aims to bridge the understanding gap between public perceptions and rationalist viewpoints on artificial intelligence technology. This focus analyzes his predicted course of action for artificial intelligence outlined within his unpublished paper AGI Ruin: A List of Lethalities. This is achieved by attempting to understand the concept of intelligence itself and identifying a reasonable working definition of that concept. The concept of intelligence is then applied to contemporary artificial intelligence capabilities and developments to understand its applicability to the technologies. This paper finds contemporary artificial intelligence systems are, to some extent, intelligent. However, it argues that both weak and strong artificial intelligence systems, devoid of human-defined goals, would not inherently pose existential threats to humanity, challenging the notions of artificial intelligence alignment, bringing into question the validity of Nick Bostrom's Orthogonality Thesis. Furthermore, the possibility of artificial life created through the method of assembling various modules each emulating a separate mind function is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent paper, Justin D'Ambrosio (2020) has offered an empirical argument in support of a negative solution to the puzzle of Macbeth's dagger—namely, the question of whether, in the famous scene from Shakespeare's play, Macbeth sees a dagger in front of him. D'Ambrosio's strategy consists in showing that "seeing" is not an existence-neutral verb; that is, that the way it is used in ordinary language is not neutral with respect to whether its complement exists. In this paper, we offer an empirical argument in favor of an existence-neutral reading of "seeing". In particular, we argue that existence-neutral readings are readily available to language users. We thus call into question D'Ambrosio's argument for the claim that Macbeth does not see a dagger. According to our positive solution, Macbeth sees a dagger, even though there is not a dagger in front of him. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962), torture was systematically practiced by various parties to the conflict. This paper examines the dynamics of the widespread use of torture by the French police and military in order to understand what conditions favor the practice of torture by democratic regimes. The Algerian case is a valuable example as France's use of torture in the conflict has influenced other regimes' responses to terrorism. Common narratives and arguments used to justify torture, most notably the ticking bomb scenario, date from this period. The paper explores the systematic use of torture by the French police and military in the Algerian War in order to examine the social and political conditions conducive to the practice of torture by democratic regimes. It focuses on and extends the nexus between torture and terror that Gershon Shafir (2007) examines in an essay on the use of torture by Israel. I argue that the relationship and dynamic between the two works both ways: the use of terror makes torture more likely, but also torture can lead to terror or intensify the use of terror. Furthermore, torture can be terroristic and understood as terror. This paper identifies and explores the conditions that favor the use of torture, terror, or both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the arguments found in a student’ academic writing, namely a thesis. It attempts to show how an argument is built in a student’s thesis in the Department of Islamic Education, Faculty of Tarbiyah and Education, Islamic University of Bandung by drawing upon the theory of Toulmin (2003). The results of this research show that verse, hadith, and exegesis become the starting point of the argument to be presented in the thesis. However, there is a discrepancy between the verses used as warrant’s claim and the data on the student’s thesis. Consequently, the argument becomes unstable because of the inconsistencies of argument elements. The implication of this research is concerned with the supervision process of a student’s thesis that should give more emphasis on how the student makes his or her arguments correctly.

Background: A body of literature has arisen analyzing and legitimating the emerging field of engineering education research (EER). Using concepts from the sociology of knowledge, EER can be described as a region because it has relationships both to other academic fields and to its field of practice. Of interest is the strength of boundaries between these fields, described by the sociologist Bernstein's concept of classification. Purpose/Hypothesis: This study addresses the research questions: (1) How, when and by whom are arguments made to strengthen or weaken the boundaries, first between EER and other academic fields and second between EER and engineering teaching? (2) How do these arguments change across time and national contexts? Design/Method: Drawing on a survey of 21 EER experts, this sociological discourse analysis focuses on a purposive dataset of 17 papers from 2000 to 2020. Results: The study identified three main arguments in this literature, favoring: (1) strong classification (a singular in sociological terms); (2a) a region linked outward to teaching practice; and (2b) a region linked inward to other social science disciplines. Conclusions: The argument for EER as a strongly classified field has served value in establishing legitimacy and associated resources in some contexts but has not yet delivered a unique knowledge base for such legitimation. An alternative framing holds together the productive tension between two directions in which EER as a region can face: Looking inward to parent disciplines for theoretical and methodological direction and looking outward to the world of practice for meaningful problems to guide its studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper investigates participial root configurations, i.e. participial clauses that are grammatically independent of a host clause. Unlike previous work, which has focussed on either directive or (non-directive) performative uses of so-called past participles (i.e. participles that have passive and/or perfect(ive) interpretations), the present paper establishes a typology of 'root participles' in Germanic and contrasts the properties of four main types: (1) directive (RPdir), (2) expressive (RPexp), (3) commissive (RPcom), (4) representative root participles (RPrep). The main claim with respect to the properties of these distinct types is that they differ in terms of whether they include a verbal or an adjectival (passive) participle. In fact, arguments based on argument structure, orientation, aspect, and adverbial modification are presented to substantiate the claim that types (1) and (2) are formed with verbal and types (3) and (4) with adjectival participles. Additionally, the distinct types will be shown to differ in their status of either being non-sentential (i.e. structurally different from potential clausal counterparts) or merely elliptical (just phonologically reduced): types (1) and (3) can be shown to be non-sentential and hence receive a dedicated syntactic analysis, where special attention is paid to the contribution of the (imperative vs. declarative) left periphery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss with some contemporary Thomists the possibility of re-actualizing Thomas's fifth way to God in the science–theology dialogue. We start with a reference to Spinoza's critique of teleology in light of some recent Spinoza studies, and after summarizing several Thomistic defenses of Aquinas's teleological argument, we interpret that critique as targeting the fifth way as well. We then focus on Darwin's impact on biological design arguments. We argue that his naturalistic explanation of biological teleology also affects the fifth way. The distinction between internal-Aristotelian and external-Platonic conceptions of teleology does not seem to be able to protect the teleological argument from a Darwinian critique. We conclude by stressing the importance and fruitfulness of Thomas's thought for contemporary interdisciplinary dialogue, provided that Darwin's impact on the biological version of the fifth way is taken into due account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates and refines the proportionalist solution to the causal exclusion problem developed by Menzies and List. First and foremost, it explores the implications of their inter-level compatibility result. It is highlighted that in theory the inter-level causal compatibility of realizer and realized properties allows for scenarios where the higher-level property is multiply realized. By developing concrete illustrations, the paper proves this to be an empirically plausible option. Further non-trivial implications of the framework are unpacked to show that the sensitivity of causal relations to background conditions is as important in deciding on the existence and the direction of exclusion as sensitivity to the realization of the cause. This insight also opens the way to further refinements: a richer reconceptualization of upwards exclusion and a plausible answer to a critic of the Menzies and List project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In terminally ill individuals who would otherwise end their own lives, active voluntary euthanasia (AVE) can be seen as life-extending rather than life-shortening. Accordingly, AVE supports key pro-euthanasia arguments (appeals to autonomy and beneficence) and meets certain sanctity of life objections. This paper examines the extent to which a terminally ill individual's wish to donate organs after death contributes to those life-extension arguments. It finds that, in a terminally ill individual who wishes to avoid experiencing life he considers to be not worth living, and who also wishes to donate organs after death, AVE maximizes the likelihood that such donations will occur. The paper finds that the wish to donate organs strengthens the appeals to autonomy and beneficence, and fortifies the meeting of certain sanctity of life objections, achieved by life-extension arguments, and also generates appeals to justice that form novel life-extension arguments in favour of AVE in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the oscillation of solutions to a class of first-order differential equations with variable coefficients and a general delay argument. New oscillation criteria are established, which improve and extend many known results reported in the literature. A couple of illustrative examples are given to show the efficiency of the newly obtained results. In particular, it is shown that our criteria partially fulfill a remaining gap in a recent sharp result by Pituk et al. [31]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reconsiders Ezekiel's alleged anti-imperial attitude toward the Babylonian empire. It nuances the alleged attitude with Frantz Fanon's theory of colonized subjects' desire to be like their colonizer. Looking at Ezekiel's privileged social location, I argue that the book exhibits a desire to be like the Babylonian empire. Ezekiel intertwines Babylonian's "anti-Egyptian" propaganda with Yahweh's interest in maintaining loyalty toward the empire. To support this argument, the paper first surveys the Babylonian and Egyptian conflict over the Levant. It then reconsiders the situation of Ezekiel and his community in exile. Further, it discusses Fanon's theory of colonized subjects' desires and how Ezekiel operates within it. It concludes by looking at what Ezekiel might gain through this maneuver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses some conceptual and organizational questions which bear on the issue of whether those designated mad can produce knowledge from, about, and beyond their experience. Ideas encapsulated in concepts such as lack of reason and epistemic justice are deployed as well as the individuation that characterizes both the clinical encounter and services generally. It is argued that these prevent such knowledge making in itself and dissipate the structures which would enable it. The paper looks at ways in which the silencing of the mad has been broken and at responses which suppress or recuperate such developments. It argues, nonetheless, that counter-narratives are being established that resist these responses. Several empirical studies provide evidence to support the argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tankersley et al. published a paper suggesting that a cosmic airburst caused the decline of the Hopewell culture in Cincinnati during the 3rd or 4th century CE. However, this claim is not supported by archaeological investigations in the Middle Ohio River Valley, which have found no evidence of a widespread catastrophe or social decline. Other recent papers linking extraterrestrial events to ancient cultural declines have also been challenged on methodological and theoretical grounds. The Hopewell archaeological record actually shows gradual changes rather than a catastrophic event. Tankersley et al.'s argument is based on misinterpretations and mischaracterizations of the Hopewell archaeological record and lacks substantive evidence. [Extracted from the article]

Where sporting games may be said to epitomize our species' unique agential capacity for playful movement, sports played in nature differ from their equivalent played indoors in that they envelop the human agent within the living physical environment from which our agency originates. In this paper, we draw attention to how sporting sites differ according to origin by pursuing a biosemiotic line of reasoning. Here, the story of a meaningful human life begins with the eukaryotic cell, even though the human subject itself arises much later. As such, the story of nature in relation to our agency, here, in sports, changes too. We present key concepts from biosemiotics, including its continuum life-as-semiotic-agency view, Umwelt, metasemiosis, and semiotic scaffolding to advance our argument that naturogenic sporting sites provide continuity to the macro processes that have generated our semiotic ability to play. Meanwhile, secluded anthropogenic environments constitute yet another discontinuity for the modern sportsperson where the moving body steps into an anthroposemiotic loop and its restricted signscapes from centralized agency. We conclude on the primacy of naturogenic sporting sites as they preserve the quality and complexity of animal ludens' constitutive relations and therefrom semiotic freedom, on which current and future gameplaying depends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the question of whether nature sports are to be counted among the (traditional) sports and Kevin Krein's recent argument, based on sporting excellence, as to why they should. Krein argues that sports as such are ultimately about sporting excellence and because both so-called traditional sports and nature sports fulfil that criterion, nature sports belong in the sport domain. Here, I show that Krein's argument rests on an equivocation between two concepts of sporting excellence. Sporting excellence in traditional sports is connected to sporting success. Here agon (contest or competition) dictates or frames areté (striving for excellence). This is not the case for sporting excellence in nature sports, as these are not competitions. We are dealing with two different concepts of sporting excellence and Krein's argument, based on sporting excellence, must be rejected. It gives no basis for including nature sports in the sport domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Thousands of preprints related to Covid-19 have effused into the academic literature. Even though these are not peer-reviewed documents and have not been vetted by medical or other experts, several have been cited, while others have been widely promoted by the media. While many preprints eventually find their way into the published literature, usually through integrated publishing streams, there is a small body of preprints that have been opaquely withdrawn/retracted, without suitable reasons, leaving only a vestigial or skeletal record online. Others have, quite literally, vanished. This paper aims to examine some of those cases. Design/methodology/approach: For peer-reviewed literature, a retracted academic paper is usually water-marked with "RETRACTED" across each page of the document, as recommended by ethical bodies such as the Committee on Publication Ethics, which represents thousands of journals and publishers. Curiously, even though pro-preprint groups claim that preprints are an integral part of the publication process and a scholarly instrument, there are no strict, detailed or established ethical guidelines for preprints on most preprint servers. This paper identifies select withdrawn/retracted preprints and emphasizes that the opaque removal of preprints from the scholarly record may constitute unscholarly, possibly even predatory or unethical, behavior. Findings: Strict ethical guidelines are urgently needed for preprints, and preprint authors, in the case of misconduct, should face the same procedure and consequences as standard peer-reviewed academic literature. Originality/value: Journals and publishers that have silently retracted or withdrawn preprints should reinstate them, as for regular retracted literature, except for highly exceptional cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its beginnings, modern bodybuilding has been accompanied by the background issue of whether it should be considered a sport. The problem, culminating in its provisional acceptance as a sport by the International Olympic Committee, was later retracted. The uncertainty of whether bodybuilding is a sport or not seems to linger. Addressing this issue, Aranyosi (2018) provided an account to determine the status of bodybuilding as a sport that arrives at the negative answer: bodybuilding is not a sport but rather a form of artistic presentation. In this paper, we disagree with Aranyosi. We argue that by the standards he presents in his first argument, bodybuilding should be considered a sport. Further, we argue that his alternative approach on how to evaluate a discipline as more sport- or art-like on a spectrum, is not a valid basis to make such a judgment regarding bodybuilding. Further, even if his spectrum was modified to enable such a judgment, again it would result in bodybuilding being evaluated as a sport. Therefore, we conclude that everyone who accepts Aranyosi´s (or any less restrictive) requirements to decide whether bodybuilding is a sport, has to consider bodybuilding as a sport or refrain from making claims about its status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sober and Huemer have independently argued that simplicity has no place in evaluating philosophical views. In particular, they have argued that the best rationales for scientists to appeal to simplicity in judging between rival theories fail to carry over to philosophers judging between rival philosophical accounts. This paper disagrees with Sober and Huemer. It argues that two rationales for scientific appeals to simplicity equally well underwrite appeals to simplicity when philosophers evaluate rival rational reconstructions of some social normative practice. These two rationales are shown to apply to two philosophical appeals to simplicity: in Quine's argument against analyticity and in an argument against pluralism in accounts of scientific explanation. Some factors are identified that influence how much weight simplicity should carry in these and other philosophical cases. Simplicity's legitimate role in evaluating rival rational reconstructions suggests that simplicity will also turn out to be justly relevant to ontological investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guaranteed lower Dirichlet eigenvalue bounds (GLB) can be computed for the m-th Laplace operator with a recently introduced extra-stabilized nonconforming Crouzeix–Raviart ( m = 1 ) or Morley ( m = 2 ) finite element eigensolver. Striking numerical evidence for the superiority of a new adaptive eigensolver motivates the convergence analysis in this paper with a proof of optimal convergence rates of the GLB towards a simple eigenvalue. The proof is based on (a generalization of) known abstract arguments entitled as the axioms of adaptivity. Beyond the known a priori convergence rates, a medius analysis is enfolded in this paper for the proof of best-approximation results. This and subordinated L 2 error estimates for locally refined triangulations appear of independent interest. The analysis of optimal convergence rates of an adaptive mesh-refining algorithm is performed in 3D and highlights a new version of discrete reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the major divides in contemporary philosophy of consciousness is on whether phenomenal consciousness requires some form of self-consciousness. The disagreement revolves around the following principle (or something in the vicinity): IA: For any subject S and phenomenally conscious mental state C of S, C is phenomenally conscious only if S is aware of C. We may call the relevant awareness of one's own mental states "inner awareness" and the principle "Inner Awareness Principle" (IA). In a paper recently published in this Journal, Stoljar (2021) puts forward a massive theoretical criticism of IA. He addresses many extant arguments for IA, and argues, for each of them, that it is unpersuasive. In this paper, I focus on what strike me as the two most compelling arguments in Stoljar's list: the argument from memory and the argument from attention. I argue that Stoljar's objections to them can be rebutted; accordingly, those arguments promise to constitute the steadiest theoretical ground for IA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]