The principle of recombination and the principle of distinctness: A puzzle for Armstrong's theory of modality

Book Information Agency and Responsibility: A Common-Sense Moral Psychology. Agency and Responsibility: A Common-Sense Moral Psychology Jeanette Kennett New York Oxford University Press 2001 viii + 229 Hardback US$45 By Jeanette Kennett. Oxford University Press. New York. Pp. viii + 229. Hardback:US$45,     

The puzzle of the self-torturer

I've profited from discussions with Alan Nelson, David Erikson, Yoram Gutgelt, Tony Martin, members of a seminar at New York University, and, especially, Kit Fine.     

The puzzle of the hats

The Puzzle of the Hats is a betting arrangement which seems to show that a Dutch book can be made against a group of rational players with common priors who act in the common interest and have full trust in the other players’ rationality. But we show that appearances are misleading—no such Dutch book can be made. There are four morals. First, what can be learned from the puzzle is that there is a class of situations in which credences and betting rates diverge. Second, there is an analogy between ways of dealing with situations of this kind and different policies for sequential choice. Third, there is an analogy with strategic voting, showing that the common interest is not always served by expressing how things seem to you in social decision-making. And fourth, our analysis of the Puzzle of the Hats casts light on a recent controversy about the Dutch book argument for the Sleeping Beauty.     

The safety margin and perceived safety of pedestrians at unmarked roadway

Many pedestrians cross out of crosswalks (i.e., unmarked roadway) in developing countries, but researches about their safety are under reported. This study explored safety related factors and their casual relations at unmarked roadway. Videos of 254 pedestrians’ crossing process were analyzed objectively on safety and evaluated subjectively on perceived safety. The two safety indexes are consistent on important factors, with higher running frequency reduce safety while bigger group size increase safety. The two factors had contrary effect on pedestrian speed, which is positively related with safety. Higher looking frequency before crossing also enhance safety, partly by reducing running frequency and increasing going backwards with its planning nature. Longer waiting time before crossing can facilitate this planning behavior while at the same time leads to bigger group size. Buses are safer than cars, but they are not perceived as safer. In situations where only some vehicles yield, yielding ones bring danger due to sight blocking of unyielding ones in adjacent lanes. These findings can be applied to the design of intelligent transportation systems and the education of drivers and pedestrians to improve safety.     

The puzzle of language evolution

Linguistics must again concentrate on the evolutionary nature of language, so that language models are more realistic with respect to human natural languages and have a greater explanatory force. Multi-agent systems are proposed as a possible route to develop such evolutionary models and an example is given of a concrete experiment in the origins and evolution of word-meaning based on a multi-agent approach.     

The puzzle of language evolution

Zusammenfassung. Die Sprachwissenschaft muß sich wieder auf den evolutionären Aspekt der Sprache konzentrieren, damit Sprachmodelle in bezug auf menschliche natürliche Sprachen realistischer und überzeugungskräftiger werden. Multiagent-Systeme werden als ein möglicher Weg zur Entwicklung solcher evolutionärer Modelle vorgeschlagen, und es wird ein Beispiel eines konkreten Experiments über Ursprung und Entwicklung der Semantik auf der Grundlage einer Multi-agent-Methode gegeben. Abstract. Linguistics must again concentrate on the evolutionary nature of language, so that language models are more realistic with respect to human natural languages and have a greater explanatory force. Multi-agent systems are proposed as a possible route to develop such evolutionary models and an example is given of a concrete experiment in the origins and evolution of word-meaning based on a multi-agent approach.     

The unsolved puzzle of trauma

This paper covers the inherent difference between psychoanalysis, which deals with unconscious fantasies, and trauma, which emphasizes the psychic repercussions caused by events in external reality. This distinction has led to variations in the treatment for victims of trauma, which also reflects the duality commonly observed in this group of patients. I suggest that trauma leads to unconscious guilt and the need for exoneration because individuals identify with their fate, and that this guilt can and indeed should be analyzed. Further studies might show that dividedness predates the experience of trauma and that this mode of defense mitigates the impact of trauma.     

A new principle of plural harm

Philosophical Studies - According to the counterfactual comparative account (CCA), an event harms a person if and only if it makes things worse for her. Cases of overdetermination and preemption...     

Academic performance,prejudice, and the jigsaw classroom: new pieces to the puzzle

This field study investigated the effects of a cooperative learning environment and a Jigsaw classroom environment on academic performance, self-esteem, liking of school, liking of peers, and racial prejudice. The subjects were 103 children in Grades 4–6, in two separate schools. The cooperative learning condition was used as a baseline measure of the effects of cooperation, against which the effects of a Jigsaw method, involving both cooperation and interdependence, were compared. The results reveal that Jigsaw produced significant improvements on measures of academic performance, liking of peers, and racial prejudice. In contrast, the effect of the cooperative condition was to exacerbate pre-existing intergroup tensions. The present findings demonstrate that the Jigsaw method can be applied successfully in Australian conditions, and lend support to Allport's contact hypothesis. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The accomplishment of plans: a new version of the principle of double effect

The classical principle of double effect offers permissibility conditions for actions foreseen to lead to evil outcomes. I shall argue that certain kinds of closeness cases, as well as general heuristic considerations about the order of explanation, lead us to replace the intensional concept of intention with the extensional concept of accomplishment in double effect.     

A new principle of pellet feeder design

Most current commercial devices dispense dry food pellets by moving the pellets horizontally toward a discharge point. Individual pellets, captured by perforations in a horizontal metal disk, are discharged one by one by stepwise rotation of the disk within the pellet reservoir. In our laboratory, where the average pellet discharge rate is some 20,000 pellets per week, feeders of this type produced occasional problems. Some were electronic; others involved failure always to capture a pellet in each perforation, particularly when the pellet supply was low. But the most common problem was an accumulation of pellet chips and dust under and around the perforated disk, which ultimately jammed the mechanism. Despite weekly cleaning and maintenance, troubles arose at least twice a month, prompting a search for a simpler pellet-feeder design which would be more reliable and require less maintenance. The present pellet feeder employs a vertical rather than horizontal design principle. It has been used extensively in operant conditioning applications for more than a year. More than 200,000 pellets have been reliably discharged from a single feeder without a breakdown. No maintenance, other than a weekly cleaning of the discharge tube, has been required.     

The placebo puzzle: putting together the pieces.

This article outlines and assesses the main theories of the placebo effect and suggests how they might sit together in a larger model of placebo etiology. Among the approaches considered are expectancy theory, emotional change theory, classical conditioning, and the biological approach. Although these are sometimes assumed to be competing models, in many cases they shed light on different pans of the placebo puzzle. Expectancies are the core of most placebo effects in human beings. The effects of expectancies are sometimes unmediated but in other cases are mediated by changes in emotional state, immune system function, perception, or behavior. Although expectancies are implicated in most placebo effects, a small number of placebo effects may be solely attributable to nonconscious contingency learning.