On an Argument for Humility

Considerations upon the nature of properties and laws have led some philosophers to claim that the correct epistemic attitude with regards to the intrinsic properties of particulars is scepticism. I examine one particularly clear version of this line of argument, and contend that a serious form of scepticism is not established. However, I argue that the theories of properties and laws underlying the argument have unwanted metaphysical implications. These provide a stronger reason to jettison the analyses. I end by sketching an alternative view that avoids these difficulties.     

Divine Action and the Natural Sciences

The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences and the Vatican Observatory have jointly sponsored a series of conferences exploring the overarching question: How can we conceive a personal God creating and active within the universe described by the natural sciences? The volumes include significant contributions to the field, although I highlight two important weaknesses: (1) theology is not adequately respected as an active conversation partner capable of advancing the agenda under discussion; and (2) insufficient attention is paid to the many scientific and philosophical uncertainties that plague the overall project.     

危重冠心病患者介入治疗的法学思考——从法律学的角度探讨介入治疗的临床适应症

冠心病是目前严重威胁我国人民健康的一种常见病,由于种种原因一部分晚期冠心病患者,来诊时已经失去介入手术和外科搭桥的最佳时机,而且对于这部分病人来讲,药物治疗往往无效,他们的治疗应何去何从,是目前医学界极具争议的话题。试从法律学的角度,探讨危重冠心病患者介入治疗的可能性及必要性,为临床工作提供法律指导。     

构建医务工作者的诚信体系

医务工作者的诚信体系建设是被全社会普遍关注的一个热点问题。医务工作者的诚信体系应包括几个方面:经济基础是诚信体系的前提和保障;法律规范作为他律控制着医务工作者的诚信;良好的道德环境是构建医务工作者诚信体系的主要手段;个体素质即道德良心是提高医务工作者诚信水平的内在诉求;医疗制度是医务工作者诚信的重要保障。     

网络医疗发展带来的法律问题

随着网络技术迅速发展,网络医疗以其方便快捷,患者足不出门便可得到一流的医院、最优秀的医生、最先进的医疗服务等,这些深受患者青睐。网络医疗对医学发展将起到不可低估的作用。然而网络医疗在其发展的同时,也存在一些不可忽视的问题。网络医疗在改变传统医患关系模式的同时也带来了一系列诸如保障患者隐私权、保护知识产权、法律关系改变等新的法律问题。这些问题不解决,对网络医疗健康发展,对医患合法权利保护等都会带来不利影响,针对这一系列问题展开论述,提出解决问题的办法。     

Misconvergence to the stimulus plane causes apparent displacement of the stimulus elements seen monocularly1

Abstract: When one binocularly views a group of vertical lines through a ring, the outermost line segments (one on each side) seen within the ring are seen monocularly while the segments of the same lines outside the ring are seen binocularly. The monocular segments appear to be displaced outward with respect to the center of the ring and with respect to the corresponding binocular segments outside the ring. Three experiments examined the extent and direction of this illusory displacement as a function of viewing distance, fixation disparity created by varying the angles of the two arms of a haploscope, and fixation disparity created by a stereoscope and different Nonius stimuli. The results of the experiments confirmed the hypothesis that the apparent displacement is due to misconvergence in accordance with Wells‐Hering's laws of visual direction.     

Must God Be Dead? Reinventing the Sacred

Newton became a death knell for a theistic God and for a non-epiphenominal mind. The culprit is the deterministic causal closure of classical physics. Two major revolutions are taking us beyond this closure. The first is Quantum Mechanics, which is non-deterministic. The second revolution may just be happening. The emergence and evolution of life in our or any biosphere is governed by no law at all. This freedom suggests one sense of God as the natural creativity of the Universe.     

Nomic Universals and Particular Causal Relations: Which are Basic and Which are Derived?

Armstrong holds that a law of nature is a certain sort of structural universal which, in turn, fixes causal relations between particular states of affairs. His claim that these nomic structural universals explain causal relations commits him to saying that such universals are irreducible, not supervenient upon the particular causal relations they fix. However, Armstrong also wants to avoid Plato’s view that a universal can exist without being instantiated, a view which he regards as incompatible with naturalism. This construal of naturalism forces Armstrong to say that universals are abstractions from a certain class of particulars; they are abstractions from first-order states of affairs, to be more precise. It is here argued that these two tendencies in Armstrong cannot be reconciled: To say that universals are abstractions from first-order states of affairs is not compatible with saying that universals fix causal relations between particulars. Causal relations are themselves states of affairs of a sort, and Armstrong’s claim that a law is a kind of structural universal is best understood as the view that any given law logically supervenes on its corresponding causal relations. The result is an inconsistency, Armstrong having to say that laws do not supervene on particular causal relations while also being committed to the view that they do so supervene. The inconsistency is perhaps best resolved by denying that universals are abstractions from states of affairs.

Kant's Universal Law Formula Revisited

Kantians are increasingly deserting the universal law formula in favor of the humanity formula. The former, they argue, is open to various decisive objections; the two are not equivalent; and it is only by appealing to the humanity formula that Kant can reliably generate substantive implications from his theory of an acceptable sort. These assessments of the universal law formula, which clash starkly with Kant's own assessment of it, are based on various widely accepted interpretative assumptions. These assumptions, it is argued in this article, depend on misleading translations of key terms; selective attention to Kant's concrete examples; not taking seriously Kant's theoretical claims about the relations among his various ideas; and a failure to take into account Kant's idiosyncratic definitions of key concepts. The article seeks to right these interpretative wrongs, and finds that the universal law formula is not open to many of the standard objections.     

Cities and the real world

It is generally recognized that modern cities pose many problems for their inhabitants and contribute to environmental damage. However, neither planners nor scientists give adequate consideration to cities’ place in the evolutionary process and the planet's ecological system. By recognizing these connections and natural laws, planning would become more realistic, and meaningful progress could be made in solving serious social and environmental problems. Some basic problems influencing urban form are discussed, and a schematic example of how we might approach the planning of urban settlements is presented.