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This article uses an interdisciplinary approach to examine the role of news and rumour during the Peasants' Revolt, an aspect of the rising that has not been the subject of a detailed study. It considers the circulation of news in written and oral form and its importance in driving the rebellion. Sources suggest that the news of the revolt traversed the country quickly, moving at up to sixty-five miles a day, and its transmission is shown through an isopleth map to radiate outwards across the country from its point of origin in south-east England. Rumour is considered by means of a thought experiment using three examples drawn from rebel activities in London in June 1381. It thrived in the absence of news, particularly in a highly stressed environment. It is possible that rumour was used as a tactic by rebel commanders, who were able to generate and manipulate rumours to their own advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I argue that absences pose a challenge to our understanding of physicalism that has not been properly appreciated. I do this by setting out a thought experiment involving a being in whom absence properties occupy the causal roles that functionalists take to define mental properties, in which case these absence properties realize the being's mental properties. Such a being should be compatible with the truth of physicalism, I argue, even though its mental properties are neither themselves physical properties nor are they realized/grounded in physical properties – instead, they are realized/grounded in (nonphysical) absence properties. I argue that the case serves as a counterexample to leading formulations of physicalism that appeal to realization or grounding, but not to standard supervenience-based formulations of physicalism, because the latter typically include negative truths in their supervenience base in addition to physical truths. I show how realization- and grounding-based formulations of physicalism might be revised to handle the problem, but also recommend that we rethink how we understand physicalism and the role that negative entities can play for physicalists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue that our capacity to use imagination to acquire knowledge of objective possibilities should be explained in terms of the embodied nature of our imagination. Our imagination is able to be sufficiently reality oriented due to constraints that are a natural consequence of embodied simulation. That is, our bodies, shaped by their histories of interactions with the environment, can play a role in constraining the imagination so that it, sometimes, is epistemically useful. However, insofar as these constraints support our capacity to acquire knowledge of non-actual possibilities, this support is only likely to accrue for knowledge of relatively mundane and parochial possibilities, yet potentially detrimentally distorting when dealing with possibilities that are alien to our specific embodied ways of being. The cases where embodied constraints are likely to fail to provide epistemic support to the imagination include many of the kinds of thought experiment that are central to philosophers’ attempts to gain knowledge of possibilities. Thus, at least insofar as imagination is taken to play a central epistemic role in these cases, one should exercise a degree of modesty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artistic research in music often relies on a combination of thinking and experimenting in music and reflecting on these experiences outside musical time. However, the way in which out-of-time reflection can build on in-time musical thinking is rarely problematised. In this text, I develop a vision that relates critical and reflective ability in musical artistic research to the ability of the researcher to change or alternate positions in relation to the stream of musical events. Thus, a perspective of artistic research as an interruptive practice emerges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show the benefits of bridging the gap between supply chain management (SCM) and political philosophy to challenge the underlying assumptions about SCM concepts and open doors to novel theory building. Design/methodology/approach: A thought experiment is conducted to illustrate how the two philosophers Niccolò Machiavelli and Jürgen Habermas would tackle sustainability issues in coffee supply chains from a research perspective. The thought experiment is carried out using data from 30 semi-structured interviews with actors from the coffee industry. Supplementing the thought experiment with empirical insights allows for a deeper understanding of supply chain dynamics and how these are impacted by the application of the philosophical viewpoints. Findings: The research stresses the importance of SCM scholars being aware of the underlying assumptions of their research, as these have a remarkable impact on theory building. A combination of empirical insights and philosophical understandings makes it possible to reflect on the underlying concepts of SCM, providing suggestions for reimagining SCM. Originality/value: The contribution of the research is twofold. First, the paper presents an original view on SCM, as the thought experiment is introduced as an approach to better understand SCM concepts. By challenging the underlying assumptions with political philosophy, researchers will be better equipped to address grand challenges in the twenty-first century. Second, this is exemplified by the case study of the coffee supply chain, which provides the reader with insight into the dynamics of supply chains with prevalent power differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sorensen (Thought experiments, Oxford University Press, New York, 1992) has provided two modal-logical schemas to reconstruct the logical structure of two types of destructive thought experiments: the Necessity Refuter and the Possibility Refuter. The schemas consist of five propositions which Sorensen claims but does not prove to be inconsistent. We show that the five propositions, as presented by Sorensen, are not inconsistent, but by adding a premise (and a logical truth), we prove that the resulting sextet of premises is inconsistent. Häggqvist (Can J Philos 39(1):55–76, 2009) has provided a different modal-logical schema (Counterfactual Refuter), which is equivalent to four premises, again claimed to be inconsistent. We show that this schema also is not inconsistent, for similar reasons. Again, we add another premise to achieve inconsistency. The conclusion is that all three modal-logical reconstructions of the arguments that accompany thought experiments, two by Sorensen and one by Häggqvist, have now been made rigorously correct. This may inaugurate new avenues to respond to destructive thought experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the development of physical theories, thought experiments play a crucial role. Research on this topic began in 1976 and has continued to the present. This study aims to provide a more complete picture of the progress of thought experiments over the past two decades. To achieve this, this study employs bibliometric mapping methods. A total of 679 published papers were analyzed, including articles (504), conference papers (92), and book chapters (83). This data was retrieved from the Scopus database. The study's findings reveal that research and publications on thought experiments are highly valued and have received significant attention over the past eight years. According to the findings, 90% of the top 20 source titles contributing to thought experiments are from journals in the first and second quartiles (Q1 and Q2). This quartile ranking shows the quality and significant influence of a journal. The geographical distribution indicates that the United States contributes the most to thought experiments research, with 213 documents, 2592 citations, and 47 links. We also identified several prospective keywords that could be the focus of future research, including artificial intelligence, physics education, fiction, God, theology, productive imagination, technology, speculative design, and critical design. Therefore, this study provides a thorough picture of thought experiment research trends and future directions of potential topics that can be the focus of future researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I discuss the conditions for the possibility of the existence of time according to Aristotle’s Physics IV, 10-14. For this purpose, I present three thought experiments that help to clarify the nature of time. According to my reading, motion is not a sufficient condition for the existence of time; such condition is, instead, that motion could be measured—even if it is not actually measured. There is time when a movement can be put in a relation of proportion with another movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present thought experiments to measure the Arnowitt–Deser–Misner E ADM and Bondi–Sachs energy E BS of isolated systems in general relativity. The expression of E BS used in the protocol is likely to have other applications. In particular, it is well-suited to be promoted to an operator in non-perturbative loop quantum gravity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay is split into two thought experiments. The first will be to diffract ressentiment through the works of Gloria Anzaldúa and Édouard Glissant. I will create a bridge with decolonial thought by interpreting Anzaldúa's concept of the nopal de castilla and mestiza consciousness through the interpretive lens of ressentiment to show the affinity that exists between the work of Anzaldúa and Nietzsche. I then look at ressentiment through some of the concepts Glissant offers in the Poetics of Relation. I argue that ressentiment resists the creolization of identity and culture, and that Glissant's demand for the right to opacity for all signals the overcoming of ressentiment. The second experiment diffracts ressentiment through Eduardo Viveiros de Castro's Cannibal Metaphysics , beginning with an analysis of the most relevant points of that text for our discussion, then putting our diffracted ressentiment in conversation with the Brazilian anthropologist's post-structural interpretation of Amerindian perspectivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many philosophers have become sceptical of the use of thought experiments in theorising about personal identity. In large part, this is due to work in experimental philosophy that appears to confirm long‐held philosophical suspicions that thought experiments elicit inconsistent judgements about personal identity and hence judgements that are thought to be the product of cognitive biases. If so, these judgements appear to be useless at informing our theories of personal identity. Using the methods of experimental philosophy, we investigate whether people exhibit inconsistent judgements and, if they do, whether these judgements are likely to be the source of cognitive bias or, instead, sensitivity to some relevant factor. We do not find that people's judgements are sensitive to any of the factors we investigate (relevant or irrelevant), nor that people have inconsistent judgements across cases. Rather, people's judgements are best explained by them having a very minimal account of what it takes for a person to survive. Since this pattern of judgements is no reason to think that we are subject to cognitive bias, we see no reason, as things stand, to be sceptical of our judgements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenomenon of near death and dying experiences has been both of popular interest and of scientific speculation. However, the reality of mental perception at the point of death is currently a subjective experience and has not been formally evaluated. While postmortem gene expression, even in humans, has been evaluated, restoration of postmortem brain activity has heretofore only been attempted in animal models, at the molecular and cellular levels. Meanwhile, progress has been made to translate brain activity of living humans into speech and images. This paper proposes two inter-related thought experiments. First, assuming progress and refinement of the technology of translating human brain activity into interpretable speech and images, can an objective analysis of death experiences be obtained by utilizing these technologies on dying humans? Second, can human brain function be revived postmortem and, if so, can the relevant technologies be utilized for communication with (recently) deceased individuals? In this paper, these questions are considered and possible implications explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gravity measurements have uses in a wide range of fields including geological mapping and mine-shaft inspection. The specific application under consideration sets limits on the survey and the amount of information that can be obtained. For example, in a conventional gravity survey at the Earth's surface a gravimeter is translated on a two-dimensional planar grid taking measurements of the vertical component of gravity. If, however, the survey points cannot be chosen so freely, for example if the gravimeter is constrained to operate in a tunnel where only a one-dimensional line of data could be taken, less information will be obtained. To address this situation, we investigate an alternative approach, in the form of an instrument which rotates around a central point measuring the gravitational potential or its radial derivative on the boundary of a sphere. The ability to record additional components of gravity by rotating the gravimeter will give more information than obtained with a single measurement traditionally taken at each point on a survey, consequently reducing ambiguities in interpretation. We term a device which measures the potential, or its radial derivatives, around the surface of a sphere a gravitational eye. In this article we explore ideas of resolution and propose a thought experiment for comparing the performance of diverse types of gravitational eye. We also discuss radial analytic continuation towards sources of gravity and the resulting resolution enhancement, before finally discussing the possibility of using cold-atom gravimetry and gradiometry to construct a gravitational eye. If realised, the gravitational eye will offer revolutionary capability enabling the maximum information to be obtained about features in all directions around it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wigner's friend scenarios—in which external agents describe a closed laboratory containing a friend making a measurement—highlight the difficulties of quantum theory when accounting for measurements. The problem is to accommodate for unitary evolution from the point of view of the external agent with the measurements or other operations carried out by the friend. Here, we show in the context of a relativistic thought experiment that an operation that may be accounted for unitarily in a given reference frame cannot be described unitarily in a different reference frame. This result, based on the frame dependence of the state update in relativistic contexts, could point to some fundamental inadequacy when attempting to model actions taken by a complex agent as unitary operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In the development of physical theories, thought experiments play a crucial role. Research on this topic began in 1976 and has continued to the present. This study aims to provide a more complete picture of the progress of thought experiments over the past two decades. To achieve this, this study employs bibliometric mapping methods. A total of 679 published papers were analyzed, including articles (504), conference papers (92), and book chapters (83). This data was retrieved from the Scopus database. The study's findings reveal that research and publications on thought experiments are highly valued and have received significant attention over the past eight years. According to the findings, 90% of the top 20 source titles contributing to thought experiments are from journals in the first and second quartiles (Q1 and Q2). This quartile ranking shows the quality and significant influence of a journal. The geographical distribution indicates that the United States contributes the most to thought experiments research, with 213 documents, 2592 citations, and 47 links. We also identified several prospective keywords that could be the focus of future research, including artificial intelligence, physics education, fiction, God, theology, productive imagination, technology, speculative design, and critical design. Therefore, this study provides a thorough picture of thought experiment research trends and future directions of potential topics that can be the focus of future researchers.

We proposed the finite-time cycle model of a measurement-based quantum cooler, where the invasive measurement provides the power to drive the cooling cycle. Such a cooler may be regarded as an alternative thought experiment of Maxwell's demon. The measurement-feedback information is capable of moving heat from the cold to hot bath without any work input and even making the maximum coefficient of performance larger than the Carnot limit. The causes that this seemingly paradoxical result does not violate the laws of thermodynamics can be clearly explained through the derivation of a generalized Clausius inequality including the mutual information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Game of Life (GoL) is a paradigmatic computer simulation that exhibits the emergence of complex properties of the whole from relatively simple sets of heuristic rules operating at lower organizational levels. Therefore, it is widely understood as a valuable tool for investigating global properties of evolutionary processes. Cognizant of refined concepts that emerged in recent debates on the central role of historical contingency (historicity) in evolution, we modify the original GoL rules by introducing an updating feedback loop and a probability factor that reflect the degree of historicity in pattern evolution as both stochastic path dependence and sensitivity to initial conditions. We examine this trait in simulations of the emergence and breaking of bilateral and radial symmetries commonly observed in the evolution of life, most prominently as evolving body plans. We show that the implementation of historicity parameters leads to a more realistic sequential and gradual alternating emergence and the breaking of new symmetries than the original set of rules. Apart from its more realistic representations of evolutionary processes, the new approach allows for easier exploration of the parameter space, demonstrates the sequential and gradual emergence and breaking of symmetries, and provides a publicly available and modular simulation tool. We discuss the exploratory potential of the modified GoL platform we designed as an extended thought experiment to study the parameter space defining the historicity of biological processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work is a thought experiment in re-interpreting the virtue of li or ritual/propriety for the contemporary, multi-cultural, world. Using Zhuangzi, the Lunyu, and Zhongyong as my primary points of departure, I re-interpret the Confucian ideas of hierarchy in terms of the Daoist conception of harmony. Many scholars today argue that Confucianism has a relational ontology, yet at the same time, we find that Confucian values can and do lead to rigid and harmful traditions that have historically oppressed marginalized groups like women. As such, I re-imagine what li might look like if we take relational ontology seriously, Drawing from Zhuangzi, I argue that Confucian harmony and order do not necessarily arise out of hierarchy, and that harmony, the most primary goal of li and of the Confucian project, can be best attained through propriety that is influenced by Daoism and feminist values such as equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

10.1119/5.0175922 The rod and slit paradox, as first proposed by Shaw, is revisited. In this paradox, a rod of rest length l0 moves parallel to the horizontal x-axis. Simultaneously, a thin sheet parallel to the horizontal xz-plane with a rod-shaped slit of rest length d < l 0 moves along the vertical y-axis. The rod passes through the slit due to relativistic effects. Earlier papers do not link the thought experiment to the Silberstein/Thomas/Wigner-rotation (STW-rotation), which is essential to its outcome. In this paper, the role of the STW-rotation is discussed, and additional clarifying figures are provided. Some misleading aspects of earlier treatments are pointed out and corrected. Editor's Note: Readers who are familiar with the "barn door" paradox will enjoy this 2D version of it. Imagine a rod, thrown like a javelin, moving at a constant horizontal speed and also falling at a constant vertical speed. As it reaches ground level, it falls precisely through a javelin-length slit in the floor. However, in the reference frame of the javelin, the slit will be length-contracted and the javelin will have its (longer) proper length. So as the ground rises up to meet it, how does it pass through? The authors revisit this classic paradox and present new ideas on its resolution, including the concept of relativistic boost-induced rotations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Apotheke is the property of Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Many liberal philosophers claim that people are free to do as they will by default; any interference must be justified. This supposed presumption of liberty does a significant amount of theoretical work for public reason liberals such as Gerald Gaus and John Rawls. This paper shows that Gaus’s explicit defense of a presumption of liberty fails. Gausa and his many followers repeatedly appeal to a particular thought experiment from Stanley Benn. We argue that this thought experiment fails to show that there is a presumption of liberty, but instead shows, at best, the trivial point that when any particular moral concern is specified to be the only relevant concern, then there is a presumption in favor of that concern. Further, Gaus, along with Shaun Nichols, has tried to demonstrate empirically that the intuitions and conclusions he draws from this example are fairly uniform and universal among other moral agents, but we explain why their experimental results do not vindicate any such conclusion. We conclude that undermining the alleged presumption of liberty places public reason liberalism in serious jeopardy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a hybridization of Newcomb's Problem and the Frustrater (Spencer and Wells's 2019 paper 'Why take both boxes?'), underscoring how difficult it is to reconcile the rationality of taking both boxes in Newcomb's Problem and the rationality of taking the envelope in the Frustrater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article revisits the conventional distinction in political science between 'positive' and 'normative' political theory, particularly the belief that formal and mathematical methods are only pertinent to positive political theory. We argue that formal models are equally valuable in normative political theory for three reasons: they can make thought experiments more rigorous, they can demonstrate the consistency of normative principles, and they can provide insights into the practical workings of novel institutional arrangements in the absence of empirical data. The integration of formal models into normative political theory presents challenges, including the development of criteria for evaluating these models and potential shifts in research focus. Integration can also strengthen political theory's tenuous role in the political science discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the main features and goals of the speculative work in modern sciences that has greatly accelerated since World War II due to the exponential increase in computing power and newly available theoretical and conceptual tools. It points to the long historical strand of speculative philosophical work in symbiosis with the sciences, suggests the reasons for its unexpected neglect in contemporary professional philosophy of science, why it should be a major approach, and why such pursuit is not inevitable. Finally, the paper outlines potential topics, fields, and tools for such collaborative work and argues it is likelier to be more fruitful today than at any point in the past hundred years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The attribution of causality, a central concept in human cognition theory, is the principal instrument for investigating functional links between events and phenomena. Although the links between causality and moral responsibility are commonly recognized, the scope of studies analysing the practical implications of causality attribution is minimal. This study examines the effect of causality perception on the desired distribution of the generic means of life by utilising thought experiment data collection methodology and non-parametric statistical analysis. The results indicate that: (i) causality perception affects the desired distribution, and (ii) individuals show no tendency to modify their perception of causality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Perspektive Mediation is the property of Verlag Oesterreich GmbH and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This unique thought experiment invites the field of agricultural education to a critical dialogue on issues related to making teaching a career. Leveraging elicitation techniques, we introduce a series of nine letters on agriculture teacher retention. Written by agriculture teacher education faculty with expertise in teacher retention, these letters orient readers to the collective thought experiment by introducing the complex reality of engaging in the field via multifaceted viewpoints representative of perspectives we have encountered within the profession. Representing the broad range of perspectives on teacher retention, readers can expect to initially agree with components of some letters and disagree with others; however, readers should refrain from dismissing perspectives as this opposes the need to collectively understand the depth and diversity of perspectives on teacher retention in agricultural education. Understanding these diverse perspectives is critical to creating innovative, adoptable solutions to address the explicit and implicit challenges and opportunities embedded within these letters. To support engagement in the thought experiment, we provided resources for reviewing the letters and contributing to the dialogue as appendices, with specific opportunities for individuals and groups to engage with intentionality. Readers are, therefore, encouraged to explore the appendices prior to reading the letters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This reply is a refutation of Santiago Vrech's article "The End of the Case? A Metaphilosophical Critique of Thought Experiments" (2022) which argues that thought experiments used in argumentation cannot hold in All Possible Worlds (APW) modality, and thus should end. Cases are used to justify or refute a philosophical theory, but should not have the power to refute an entire theory, especially ad infinitum. Significant variations in intuitions, he argues, invalidate cases and are not proven. I argue some variation is acceptable and expected, and his bar of criteria is too high--APW validity is unnecessary. Vrech's three arguments are faulty and/ or too weak, and his thought experiment is of questionable value. Experimental and armchair philosophy (or philosophers) are misnomers, misleading and false dichotomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a contribution to a symposium about a book on thought experiments by Nenad Miščević. I argue that it is the first monograph dedicated to a defense of the mental models account of thought experiments. I exemplify the strengths of this account by applying Miščević's analytical tools to the task of reading the Biblical Book of Job as a theological thought experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of our knowledge about neurodiversity, I argue that the cognitive science framework Miščević uses in Thought Experiments must be broaden to create a pluralistic account of thought experimentation, one able to account for the many ways thought experiments are replicated using not only visual models, but also arguments, conceptual analyses, and images as some of the many instruments used in the laboratory of our mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution examines Miscevic's defence against restrictionist X-phi, based on his view that thought experiments exhibit a large number of typical stages. On Miscevic's view, the epistemic threats identified by proponents of the negative program in X-phi may be countered or ameliorated in various ways at various stages. I argue that the defence he offers is insufficient to counter the arguments by in particular Machery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper I introduce and discuss the interpretative procedure ; a stage of investigation in thought experiments in which it is determined which states of affairs are genuine realizations of the described story. I show how incorporating the interpretative procedure to the reconstruction of a certain kind of thought experiments, i.e., the method of cases, provides a solution to the so-called problem of deviant realizations. According to this problem it is hard to formulate the logical structure of the method of cases that excludes far-fetched interpretations of a particular thought experiment's description that are inconsistent with the expected conclusion of the experiment. As I show, if we agree that the interpretative procedure precedes the act of establishing whether the thing which is at issue (e.g., knowledge) appears within a certain state of affairs, deviant realizations could be ruled out, since within interpretative procedure we establish the set of states of affairs that are compatible with the intentions of the author of the thought experiment. In the paper I provide a general explanation of how this task could be fulfilled by semantic intuitions and discuss their contextual dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a "thought experiment" that takes recourse to Lucien Freud's youthful portrait of himself as Acteon-the hunter whom the goddess Diana turned into a stag, as famously narrated by Ovid. In his drawing, Freud's crisis of presence is mobilized by a play on gender differentiation. More broadly, the piece is an exploration of what it involves being present as a person and of how personal transcendence opens up a propositional ontology that differs from the intentionality of life. The possibility of loss of personal transcendence is an ever-present preoccupation of humans wherever they are. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previously, it has been shown that transmissible and harmful misinformation can be viewed as pathogenic, potentially contributing to collective social epidemics. In this study, a biological analogy is developed to allow investigative methods that are applied to biological epidemics to be considered for adaptation to digital and social ones including those associated with misinformation. The model's components include infopathogens, tropes, cognition, memes, and phenotypes. The model can be used for diagnostic, pathologic, and synoptic/taxonomic study of the spread of misinformation. A thought experiment based on a hypothetical riot is used to understand how disinformation spreads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To a large extent, the evidential base of claims in the philosophy of science has switched from thought experiments to case studies. We argue that abandoning thought experiments was a wrong turn, since they can effectively complement case studies. We make our argument via an analogy with the relationship between experiments and observations within science. Just as experiments and observations can together evidence claims in science, each mitigating the downsides of the other, so too can thought experiments and case studies be mutually supporting. After presenting the main argument, we look at potential concerns about thought experiments, suggesting that a judiciously applied mixed-methods approach can overcome them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thought experiments and normative case studies can play different and complementary roles in moral and political philosophizing. Thought experiments help us to sculpt and refine normative concepts and alert us to contradictions between intuitive judgments and basic principles, or among intuitive judgments, thus informing our reflective equilibrium about what fundamentally matters. Normative case studies assist us in judging how to trade off conflicting values in specified circumstances. Engaging with a sufficient number of well‐wrought normative case studies can thus inform our ultimate judgments about the relative weights of different values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Normative case studies represent empirically grounded phenomena that raise normative philosophical questions. Growth in the popularity of case‐based inquiry in philosophy reflects a recent trend in the field not to shy away from engaging with empirical realities, but instead to advance philosophical projects that recognize and speak directly to these realities, including social inequities endemic to our societies. Yet, as the use of case studies and other empirically engaged philosophical approaches has grown, concerns have been raised about whether these methods risk reducing philosophy to social science and, in turn, burdening philosophy with the constraints of social science research. Responding to these concerns calls for more attention to the methodological dimensions of case‐based inquiry in philosophy. In this article, Rebecca Taylor offers reflections on two core clarifying questions: (1) What makes normative case studies distinct from other related tools for inquiry — in particular, philosophical thought experiments and qualitative case studies? (2) What quality criteria should guide the development of normative case studies? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different why-questions emerge under different contexts and require different information in order to be addressed. Hence a relevance relation can hardly be invariant across contexts. However, what is indeed common under any possible context is that all explananda require scientific information in order to be explained. So no scientific information is in principle explanatorily irrelevant, it only becomes so under certain contexts. In view of this, scientific thought experiments can offer explanations, should we analyze their representational strategies. Their representations involve empirical as well as hypothetical statements. I call this the "representational mingling" which bears scientific information that can explain events. Buchanan's thought experiment from constitutional economics is examined to show how mingled representations explain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Social Anthropology / Anthropologie Sociale is the property of Berghahn Books and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Wodak (2019) persuasively argues that we are not justified in believing that well-being measurements are linear. From this, he infers grave consequences for both political philosophy thought experiments and empirical psychological research. Here I argue that these consequences do not follow. Wodak's challenges to the status of well-being measurements do not affect thought experiments, and well-being empirical researchers may be justified in making average comparisons even if their measurements are not linear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay offers a rationale for deploying ecofeminist science fiction stories as object-oriented thought experiments in science and environmental education, with particular reference to developments in genetics and evolutionary biology, and their implications for human (and more-than-human) reproduction and kinship in the period following the determination of the double helical structure of DNA by scientists affiliated with Cambridge University's Cavendish Laboratory in 1953, and the impact of subsequent gene-centric discourses on the biological sciences and the wider culture. The utility and defensibility of this approach is exemplified by reference to two science fiction novels by the late Naomi Mitchison that foreground and anticipate implications of genetic sciences for matters of concern to ecofeminists, including reproductive rights and responsibilities, population control, human relations with the more-than-human, and problematizing gendered (and other) binaries in everyday speech and popular culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entanglement exhibits a unique property of quantum theory that is unseen in classical counterparts. The experimental confirmation of Bell's inequalities has surprised many people and revived interest and debate regarding the exact nature of quantum theory, including the wave-particle duality. On the other hand, rapid advancements in computing technology in recent years have provided a new tool for investigating the nature of quantum theory. In this paper, numerical simulation is used to visualize the nonlocality implied in quantum entanglement. In particular, a Gedanken experiment of a discrete approximation of a continuous quantum space is provided, similar to the case of the dual nature of particle/wave in the double-slit experiment. The results are expected to provide a different angle for a deeper understanding of the mysterious nature of quantum correlations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of KULT online is the property of Justus Liebig University Giessen and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Ideological expectations from the right and the left saturate higher education. With public controversies detailing historic sexual abuse, research misconduct and plagiarism, how is the PhD positioned in a university sector losing its purpose, meaning and momentum? The doctorate is not only indicative, illustrative or representative of wider societal concerns, but also requires nuanced recognition of its distinctiveness from undergraduate degrees. This article activates a thought experiment to consider what is happening in international higher education, and how this history has been shaped and creased through the (post) pandemic environment. Uberfication is a provocative trope that enables the development of a generational modelling of our universities, spanning the baby boomers, Generation X, and millennials. With three generations circulating in higher education, can the assumptions and expectations be managed and aligned? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Wigner's friend thought experiment has gained a resurgence of interest in recent years thanks to no-go theorems that extend it to Bell-like scenarios. One of these, by us and co-workers, showcased the contradiction that arises between quantum theory and a set of assumptions, weaker than those in Bell's theorem, which we named 'Local Friendliness'. Using these assumptions, it is possible to arrive at a set of inequalities for a given scenario, and, in general, some of these inequalities will be harder to violate than the Bell inequalities for the same scenario. A crucial feature of the extended Wigner's friend scenario in our aforementioned work was the ability of a superobserver to reverse the unitary evolution that gives rise to their friend's measurement. Here, we present a new scenario where the superobserver can interact with the friend repeatedly in a single experimental instance, either by asking them directly for their result, thus ending that instance, or by reversing their measurement and instructing them to perform a new one. We show that, in these scenarios, the Local Friendliness inequalities will always be the same as Bell inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]