Cogprints: No conditions. Results ordered -Date, Title. 2018-01-17T14:26:37ZEPrintshttp://cogprints.org/images/sitelogo.gifhttp://cogprints.org/2017-12-19T01:39:43Z2017-12-19T01:39:43Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/10282This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/102822017-12-19T01:39:43ZThe Objectivity of Truth, Morality, and BeautyWhether truth, morality, and beauty have an objective basis has been a perennial question for philosophy, ethics, and aesthetics, while for a great many relativists and skeptics it poses a problem without a solution. In this essay, the author proposes an innovative approach that shows how cognitive intelligence, moral intelligence, and aesthetic intelligence provide the basis needed for objective judgments about truth, morality, and beauty.Dr. Steven James Bartlettsbartlet@willamette.edu2017-02-18T22:07:19Z2017-02-18T22:07:19Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9841This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/98412017-02-18T22:07:19ZThe Idea of WillThis article presents a new conceptual view on the conscious will. This new concept approaches our will from the perspective of the requirements of our neural-muscular system and not from our anthropocentric perspective. This approach not only repositions the will at the core of behavior control, it also integrates the studies of Libet and Wegner, which seem to support the opposite. The will does not return as an instrument we use to steer, but rather as part of the way we learn new automatic behavior and of how our neural system steers us. The new concept suggests that understanding of our will is more about understanding of our daily behavior then about the will itself.Drs. M.M. Dorenboschmichieldorenbosch@yahoo.co.uk2011-09-19T11:57:40Z2012-05-18T14:25:32Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/7623This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/76232011-09-19T11:57:40ZThe Moral of Politics Constitutes Ideological Perspectives
The paper reports some insights that is acquired in the online survey observing the moral politics among Indonesian. The survey maps the participant’s responses into two dimensional axis of political ideology, comprised by the source of moral virtues (ethic-esoteric) and the method to achieve them (progressive-conservative). Since the political ideology is emerged from the moral political values, the observations through the responses in the survey are delivered. The observation also brings some insights from information theory, regarding to the uncertainty within the political minds as captured by the survey.Hokky Situngkirhs@compsoc.bandungfe.net2011-06-01T11:28:17Z2011-06-01T11:28:17Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/7367This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/73672011-06-01T11:28:17ZHappiness: Between What We Want and What We NeedThe paper presents a very simple toy model that is simulated to experience some aspects related to what is it people want and need when related to the social happiness. By outlining some short discussions related to the distinguishing of what we call “want” and “need”, we see how both micro-social aspects may emerge the happiness as well as the urge to innovate and affinity to the collective creativity and social progress. Hokky Situngkirhs@compsoc.bandungfe.net2011-05-02T17:12:27Z2011-05-02T17:12:27Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/7284This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/72842011-05-02T17:12:27ZIntelligent Agents in Military, Defense and Warfare: Ethical Issues and ConcernsDue to tremendous progress in digital electronics now intelligent and autonomous agents are gradually being adopted into the fields and domains of the military, defense and warfare. This paper tries to explore some of the inherent ethical issues, threats and some remedial issues about the impact of such systems on human civilization and existence in general. This paper discusses human ethics in contrast to machine ethics and the problems caused by non-sentient agents. A systematic study is made on paradoxes regarding the long-term advantages of such agents in military combat. This paper proposes an international standard which could be adopted by all nations to bypass the adverse effects and solve ethical issues of such intelligent agents.Mr. Sahon Bhattacharyyasahon.dgro@acm.org2011-05-02T17:21:41Z2011-05-02T17:21:41Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/7239This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/72392011-05-02T17:21:41Z"Friendship". To appear in the Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics. The essay discusses the nature of friendship and the role of parental love in the development of what Aristotle refers to as perfect friendship. I also conclude with some remarks regarding the influence of technology upon the significance of friendship.Professor Laurence Thomaslthomas@maxwell.syr.edu2010-07-01T01:23:34Z2011-03-11T08:57:37Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6859This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/68592010-07-01T01:23:34ZSinger Revisited: Cosmopolitanism, Global Poverty and Our Ethical RequirementsA commonly held view is that giving to the poor is superogatory i.e. that while it is a good thing to do, it is not morally wrong for us not to do so. This essay sets out to show that for the affluent in the world giving to the poor is not superogatory but is rather a moral obligation. The paper critiques Singer’s famous argument in ‘Famine, Affluence and Morality’ and finds that although the argument is a cogent and powerful one, Singer, when trying to apply the argument to how we should act, somewhat skews the argument’s real implications. Furthermore it is argued that a cosmopolitan concern for the global poor is the morally correct response to have, and defends this view by examining the proper effect that that aspects like geographical distance, nationality, reciprocity, and the nature of the global economic system should have on our moral considerations. In conclusion it is argued that as the way that each person spends his/her money is a reflection of what he/she values, then for many of us in positions of affluence, in order to be moral, much more should be done in order to help those experiencing dire, life-threatening poverty across the globe. Mr G. Alexandre Lenfernag07L2342@campus.ru.ac.za2010-07-29T01:44:29Z2011-03-11T08:57:38Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6898This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/68982010-07-29T01:44:29ZUniqueness, Self belonging and Intercourse in NatureThis manuscript has ensued from my past studies in biochemistry (PhD, CUNY 1986) and my current endeavors in graduate study in philosophy and anthropology. The current research project began during my period as a graduate student in biochemistry with a professor of classical genetics comment that DNA was unique in the physical world. The paradox presented to relate this notion to existing natural law lead me to evolve and communicate a view that the world itself is a special case of a general case that has no relevant physical existence. I also hope to have presented a description of a situation that connects history, human behavior, the process and symbolisms of science, cause and effect to a holism of form, philosophy, mathematics, shape, and motionDr. Marvin/E. Kirshkirsh2152000@yahoo.com2010-07-01T01:20:07Z2011-03-11T08:57:37Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6862This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/68622010-07-01T01:20:07ZOpening the black box: How staff training and development may affect the innovation of enterprisesWe describe a research on the interplay that appears to exist in companies between Human Resource Management and innovation. This complex, multicomponent, non-linear and dynamic interplay is often viewed as a "black box". To help open the black box, we outline both a theoretical framework and preliminary empirical data. We view innovation as an organization-level property, favored by the organization's self-perception as a knowledge engine. Therefore, we devised a protocol to study the companies' strategies for training and development and their innovation profile. The protocol consisted in a questionnaire with 100 closed questions, suitable for companies which rely mostly on an inner training and development service. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of Italian firms from the Food & beverages and Fashion markets. The results show that certain facets of training and development are indeed correlated to innovation. Finally, we discuss the results.Davide MateAlberto CarpanetoCorrado TirassaAdelina BrizioRaffaele RezzonicoBarbara BrassescoFabio SurraDaniela RabellinoMaurizio Tirassamaurizio.tirassa@unito.it2010-06-06T14:33:44Z2011-03-11T08:57:37Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6849This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/68492010-06-06T14:33:44ZA Model for the Rehabilitation of Witness Perspective-The Path of Knowledge:The Knowledge of PathThe sound producing machinery of change is a viral element in the problems of
civilization. A silent relation that is unmoved, as it is unexposed to the power of the
discourse of change and a silent logic of volumetric processes, together illustrated to
companion empirical nature are employed for the elaboration of historical conceptual
paradox involving mind and matter. Mind, conceived as an enduring state of the
becoming of energy into a state of matter, and matter as the constantly becoming
environment, are tested with criteria of witnessibility for consistency to capture an
acceptably reasoned description, from a modern perspective, of cultural evolution. A
self-generating friction at the conceptual border of the social and natural sciences, as the
recurring source of the problems of civilization, is discussed. The philosophies of logical
positivism and post modernism referenced from the elaborated philosophy are determined
to reflect a need for a representation of nature that is independent of temporal and
physical parameters of perspective. Emergence is discussed within the framework of first
witness perspective and a visually based mathematical-physical model of space is
elaborated.
Dr. Marvin/E. Kirshkirsh2152000@yahoo.com2010-04-01T19:34:05Z2011-03-11T08:57:35Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6781This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/67812010-04-01T19:34:05ZRawls’ two principles of justice: their adoption by rational self-interested individuals. In A Theory of Justice.The present paper aims in a first stage, to exploit succinctly the cardinal argument – the contract argument - acquainted in “A Theory of Justice”, which provides incentives for the two principles’ general adoption. In a second stage, a discussion appraising the feasibility of these two principles and their subsequent empirical adoption will be dealt with. This contributes to the provision of counter-arguments and the highlighting of weaknesses.Alexandra Dobraad574@york.ac.uk2009-10-15T22:51:21Z2011-03-11T08:57:29Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6655This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/66552009-10-15T22:51:21ZThe meaning of life in a developing universeThe evolution of life on Earth has produced an organism that is beginning to model and understand its own evolution and the possible future evolution of life in the universe. These models and associated evidence show that evolution on Earth has a trajectory. The scale over which living processes are organized cooperatively has increased progressively, as has its evolvability. Recent theoretical advances raise the possibility that this trajectory is itself part of a wider developmental process. According to these theories, the developmental process has been shaped by a yet larger evolutionary dynamic that involves the reproduction of universes. This evolutionary dynamic has tuned the key parameters of the universe to increase the likelihood that life will emerge and produce outcomes that are successful in the larger process (e.g. a key outcome may be to produce life and intelligence that intentionally reproduces the universe and tunes the parameters of ‘offspring’ universes). Theory suggests that when life emerges on a planet, it moves along this trajectory of its own accord. However, at a particular point evolution will continue to advance only if organisms emerge that decide to advance the developmental process intentionally. The organisms must be prepared to make this commitment even though the ultimate nature and destination of the process is uncertain, and may forever remain unknown. Organisms that complete this transition to intentional evolution will drive the further development of life and intelligence in the universe. Humanity’s increasing understanding of the evolution of life in the universe is rapidly bringing it to the threshold of this major evolutionary transition.John E Stewartjes999@tpg.com.au2009-09-07T10:19:41Z2009-09-07T10:19:41Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6610This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/66102009-09-07T10:19:41Z"Beings of a life-span are equal: Rebutting Singer's sentience and Naess' deep ecology criteria for moral standing."This article critically explores the assumptions of anthropocentricism, as well as the sentience and deep ecology arguments. While Peter Singer argues for the extension of moral standing to some non-human beings because they are sentient, Arne Naess believes that all living beings should be accorded moral standing because they have inherent value. I argue that both arguments present some difficulties. Sentience, for instance, may not be limited to a mere feeling of pain and pleasure because it also encapsulates aims, values and wants. Only rational creatures probably have these capacities. Naess does not seem to give us a clear argument as for why he believes all living beings have inherent value, infact one of his eight platform principles says human beings can only reduce richness and diversity if this will enable them to satisfy vital needs. I consider this to be a contradiction of his overall argument that living things have inherent value. I argue that human beings and non-human beings are only equal on the basis of their temporary natures, that is, they both have a definite life-span as defined by their creator and this is enough to dismiss men's domineering attitude towards non-human beings in nature.Dr. Fainos Mangenafmangena@ufh.ac.za2012-12-31T19:47:38Z2013-02-18T15:08:44Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/8795This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/87952012-12-31T19:47:38ZA modern nihilismPresents the author's evolving views of the best current positions on certain core philosophical and psychological problems. These positions together suggest a skeptical or nihilist perspective modified by evolutionary psychology and contemporary philosophy that embraces our desire to live as best we can and the relative and psychological reality of values, free will and other phenomena while recognizing limitations on their foundations and our understanding. The below makes no claims to originality for most of the ideas expressed, drawing on a range of mostly unreferenced texts that will be familiar to philosophers and psychologists working in this area.Dr. Marc Krellenstein2009-01-21T22:43:48Z2011-03-11T08:57:18Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6322This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/63222009-01-21T22:43:48ZConversations on the Search for a ‘Physics & Chemistry
– an Alchemy’ of Innovation - Reward Systems.
Bruno Latour in “How to evaluate innovation” develops a fairly simple well argumented procedure based upon the experimental sciences which may prove valuable to all. Latour suggests that the scientific method should be applied not only by scientists but even more so by major decision makers especially politician. Doing one's best and working for the better are some of the the questions discussed in this paper.
Some of Latour's concepts are clarified by translation to simple graphical models. Models for failure MTBF-mean time between failure - are playfully, creatively transformed into models for success.
In spite of the many serious issues discussed,this paper hopefully remains light-hearted in its style and approach. Mr James Alexanderjalex45@gmail.com2008-11-02T10:00:01Z2011-03-11T08:57:13Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6251This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/62512008-11-02T10:00:01ZIntellectual property, copyright, and fair use in educationAs with other rights, such as liberty and organization, intellectual property (IP) rights are often overlooked or disregarded simply because they are intangible. Yet, IP rights are essential to the workings of our society, and upholding them means greater freedom to invent, create, and advance.Shaheen E Lakhanslakhan@gnif.orgMeenakshi K Khuranamkhurana@gnif.org2008-06-27T01:44:01Z2011-03-11T08:57:09Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6111This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/61112008-06-27T01:44:01ZHow Body and Soul Interact with the Spiritual Mind Cognitive Linguistics as an enterprise provides new theoretical and methodological instruments in understanding the relationship between people’s thoughts and the language they use. Spiritual and religious experiences (particularly the ones involving some type of revelation from or communication with a transcendent being) are especially interesting since they involve some type of external, physically invisible force or agent, contributing an “ineffable” quality to the phenomenon. However, people can and do describe such events, and metaphors and blends pervade the representations of certain concepts of the transcendental when attempting to talk about such abstract ideas. One of the main tenants of Cognitive Linguistics is that people’s views about themselves and the world around them are deeply rooted in their conceptual systems, created by their experiences and their bodily interactions with the world, whether they be physical, psychological or social.
People who practice spirituality reach certain states by means of personal or collective rituals, such as prayer, meditation, and bodily procedures involving discipline, as is the case of fasting or re-understanding pain. When they then communicate certain religious and spiritual concepts, they are revealing a great deal about themselves and their world and the way they interact with it. Concepts dealing with people’s system of beliefs are very “meaningful” for the individual, and the more entrenched a frame of mind is, the less plastic it is, a fact confirmed by the neurosciences which claim that it is difficult to break down and reconstruct certain synaptic structures of the brain.
But how do people who have had such awesome experiences represent these supernatural encounters and their states of being? What is the relationship between the concepts of body and soul in devotees who torture their bodies, who have out of body experiences or who describe a body possessed by other spirits? What does the language they use say about the individuals’ concept of themselves and their world?
I will present some of my own research data containing conceptual metaphors and blends collected in various sacred texts and during a series of interviews of people who claim to have had such supernatural experiences. The data includes linguistic expressions as well as gesture. Moreover, the interviewees were asked to draw on paper certain experiences of spiritual nature and then to describe their pictures. My investigation will try to shed new light on the phenomenology of spiritual experiences and personhood, using cognitive linguistics as a prime tool of analysis.
Vito Evolaevola@unipa.it2008-06-27T01:44:06Z2011-03-11T08:57:09Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6112This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/61122008-06-27T01:44:06ZMultimodal Semiotics of Spiritual Experiences: Representing Beliefs, Metaphors, and ActionsTraditionally, spiritual experiences have been considered "ineffable," but metaphors pervade the representations of certain concepts of the transcendental in an attempt to talk about such abstract ideas. Whether it be during the description of a vision or simply talking about morality, people use conceptual metaphors to reason and talk about these concepts. Many representations of God, spirits, or the afterlife are culturally based, but whereas some may differ based on individual experiences, others seem to have a more universal character. From a phenomenological point of view, it seems that the descriptions are contingent and not necessary, that is, the language a believer is exposed to may influence, but not condition a priori, his or her own spiritual experience as Constructivists have thought. People's views about themselves and the world around them are deeply rooted in their conceptual systems, which are created by their experiences and their bodily interactions with the world, whether it's having to do with gravity in the case of UP and DOWN, or what our individual and social concepts are. When people talk about religious and spiritual concepts, they are revealing a great deal about their world and themselves and the way they interact with it. Concepts dealing with people's system of beliefs are very "meaningful" for the individual, and the more entrenched a frame of mind is, the less plastic it is, a fact confirmed by the neurosciences, which claim that it is difficult to break down and reconstruct certain synaptic structures of the brain. How do today's common "faithful" relate to certain metaphors about spiritual concepts transmitted by their faiths? What do these metaphors say about the individuals' concepts of themselves and their world? I will explore some of my own conclusions concerning conceptual metaphors and figurative language collected in various sacred texts and during a series of interviews of religious people with different backgrounds of religious systems. The data include linguistic expressions as well as gesture. Moreover, the interviewees were asked to draw on paper certain experiences of religious nature and then to describe their pictures. My investigation will try to shed new light on the phenomenology of religious experiences and personhood, using cognitive linguistics as a prime tool of analysis.Vito Evolaevola@berkeley.edu2009-12-19T12:21:13Z2011-03-11T08:57:34Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6740This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/67402009-12-19T12:21:13ZA Practical Guide to Ethical Research Involving HumansThe popularity of empirical methods in software engineering research is on the rise. Surveys, experiments, metrics, case studies, and field studies are examples of empirical methods used to investigate both software engineering processes and products. The increased application of such methods has also brought about an increase in discussions about adapting these methods to the particularities of software engineering. In contrast, the ethical issues raised by empirical methods have received little attention in the software engineering literature. In this chapter, we introduce four ethics principles of primary importance for conducting ethical research. We additionally discuss and provide examples of applying these principles in the context of ethics review. Norman G. Vinsonnorm.vinson@acm.orgJanice A. Singerjanice.singer@gmail.com2008-07-15T09:56:00Z2011-03-11T08:57:09Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6116This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/61162008-07-15T09:56:00ZCognitive Linguistics and the Evolution of Body and Soul
in the Western World: from Ancient Hebrew to Modern EnglishA philological and comparative analysis of the lexical items
concerning personhood in Ancient Hebrew, Ancient Greek and Modern English reveals semantic shifts concerning the relative lexical concepts. Ancient Hebrew presents an essentially holistic idea of personhood, whereas, via Biblical translations and Greek philosophical influences, the Western World has conceptualized humans as being
dualistic in nature. I analyze the polysemy and semantic shifts in the lexicon used for "body" and "soul" in Ancient Hebrew and Ancient Greek, which are the two linguistic systems known by St. Paul of Tarsus, and then confront them with Paul's usage context, and finally with Modern English, hypothesizing a possible case of linguistic relativity.Vito Evolaevola@unipa.it2007-04-04Z2011-03-11T08:56:48Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5471This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/54712007-04-04ZShould there be more women in science and engineering?Many people hold this truth to be self-evident, that there should be more female students in science and engineering. Typical arguments include possible benefits to women, possible benefits to the economy, and the unfairness of the current female under-representation. However, these justifications are never explicitly and thoroughly presented. Clearly stating and scrutinizing them, we show that they in fact have logical flaws. When made consistent, these arguments do not unconditionally justify enrolling more women in scientific disciplines. In particular, what women want must be taken into account. Outreach programs towards K-12 girls must therefore purport to allow them to choose a field freely, rather than try to draw as many of them to scientific disciplines as possible. This change of mindset must be accompanied by a close examination of the purpose and effects of these programs.Mathieu Bouville2006-12-03Z2011-03-11T08:56:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5264This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/52642006-12-03ZWhat can we do with the Research Institute for Social Complexity Sciences in Indonesia?The article discussed about the research opportunities in social complexity studies, especially in Indonesia. This issue is connected to the establishment a social research institute in Indonesia, how to establish and maintain it regarding the interdisciplinary research field. However a lot of localities are taken into the consideration to maintain the social complexity research institute, there would always things that can be learnt by any other similar research institute. Hokky Situngkir2006-08-18Z2011-03-11T08:56:34Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5074This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/50742006-08-18ZAbortion and Moral RepugnancyMost arguments concerning abortion center around the issue of rights. This short essay argues that there can be important considerations regarding the matter that have nothing whatsoever to do with rights. In general, the issue of moral decency has never been entirely settled by reference to rights. It can be morally repugnant to do some thing even if one would be acting perfectly within one's rights. I argue that with advances in technology this will turn out to be the case with abortion, given the possibility of transferring a fetus from one womb to another.Professor Laurence Thomas2008-07-15T09:55:43Z2011-03-11T08:57:09Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/6118This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/61182008-07-15T09:55:43ZSt. Paul's Error: The Semantic Changes of BODY and SOUL in the Western World Historically Christianity owes much to Judaism. St. Paul’s Christianity, however, changed the way of thinking of many of the first Jews because of a new way of reasoning about selfhood, the human body, and human cognition. Without wanting to treat certain theological concepts, I want to underline how modern science’s view of the person is closer to traditional Judaism than it is to Christianity, and how Paul’s “error” was diffused throughout the Western world, by analyzing the semantics of linguistic references to the body, the soul, and emotions.
What was St. Paul’s error? The question means to be both allusive and provocative. He was born by the name Saul in the city of Tarsus, in modern Turkey, during the height of its splendour as a Roman-Greek city. Paul grew up as a “free man”, that is, as a Roman citizen in a cosmopolitan environment. He is considered to be the most influential and productive of the testimonies of the Christian thought throughout Asia Minor and Western Europe. His epistles circulated throughout his time and continue to influence millions of followers, who often interpret his thoughts in contrasting manner, but nonetheless attest to his authority.
An erudite Greek-Roman, persecutor of the first Christians, Paul battled to spread the story of Jesus of Nazareth. His ideology, indeed, is a blend of Greek-Roman thought and of what he learned from the first Christians. The Hellenic characteristics of his faith created a divergence from traditional Judaic thought within what was to become the Christian creed though his influence. As a matter of fact, Christianity came to have a more coherent structure because of Paul, and Christian belief in a way is more Paul’s thought than it is Jesus’.
Jewish teaching circa selfhood was quite holistic. The Hebrew word nephesh is often translated as “soul” but also means “body”, whereas Paul clearly distinguishes the two, talking about a co-existence, “concupiscence” and the necessity of dominating the body to exalt the spirit. I will examine the semantic changes in words dealing with body and soul, and how Paul’s authority eventually influenced the Western world’s way of reasoning about such concepts.Vito Evolaevola@unipa.it2006-10-15Z2011-03-11T08:56:39Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5217This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/52172006-10-15ZRestricted Complexity, General Complexity
Why has the problematic of complexity appeared so late? And why would it be justified?Edgar Morin2007-01-18Z2011-03-11T08:56:45Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5367This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/53672007-01-18ZShould there be more women in science and engineering?Many people hold this truth to be self-evident, that there should be more female students in science and engineering.
We first examine four usual arguments: higher salaries, the possibility to help others, the positive impact of diversity on designs, and the increasing need for engineers. These indicate that there ought to be a mutual attraction between women and scientific fields, so that there should be more women in these fields inasmuch as women are motivated to graduate in science and engineering. Another common argument is that women are under-represented in scientific fields. Yet under-representation is morally neutral and cannot by itself be a justification. Focusing on ethics rather than statistics, we conclude that every woman should be allowed to graduate in a field congruent with her abilities and desires. This is similar to the result of mutual attraction. Outreach programs towards K-12 girls must therefore purport to allow them to choose a field freely, rather than try to draw as many of them to scientific disciplines as possible. At the very minimum, this will require an evaluation of the impact of outreach and a change of mindset.Mathieu Bouville2005-09-18Z2011-03-11T08:56:11Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/4541This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/45412005-09-18ZMorality and a Meaningful LifeThis essay aims to capture the intuition that the moral person is, in virtue of being such, favored over the immoral person to lead a meaningful life. It is argued that the reason for this is that the moral person is open to affirmation from others in a way that the immoral person is not. Central to the argument is that idea of psychological health. Being affirmed by others is a fundamental aspect of being psychologically health. Thus, being moral and being psychologically healthy are said to dovetail with respect to leading a meaningful life. The argument regarding psychological health draws upon, and extends, P. F. Strawson’s seminal essay “Freedom and Resentment”. Also in this regard, Wittgenstein’s argument against the possibility of a private language is extended to social behavior generally. Laurence Thomas2004-12-30Z2011-03-11T08:55:48Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/4011This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/40112004-12-30ZMoral Equality and Natural InferiorityThis essay is a commentary upon "Race and Kant" by Thomas Hill, Jr and Bernard Boxill. They argue that although Kant in his anthropological writings took blacks to be inferior, his moral theory requires that they be shown the proper moral respect since blacks are persons nonetheless.
I argue that this argument is sound, because the conception of inferiority that Kant attributed to blacks does not permit showing them the proper moral respect. Imagine a defective Mercedes Benz and a Ford Pinto. These two cars are not inferior in the same sort of way. For Kant, I argue, the inferiority of blacks is more akin to that of a Ford Pinto; for he undoubtedly took blacks to be perpetual children. Chilren are persons, too; however, no one has ever supposed that moral theory applies to children in the full way that it applies to adults. Laurence Thomas2004-04-21Z2011-03-11T08:55:31Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3566This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/35662004-04-21ZCancer-related electronic support groups as navigation-aids: Overcoming geographic barriers
Cancer-related electronic support groups (ESGs) may be regarded as a complement to face-to-face groups when the latter are available, and as an alternative when they are not. Advantages over face-to-face groups include an absence of barriers imposed by geographic location, opportunities for anonymity that permit sensitive issues to be discussed, and opportunities to find peers online. ESGs can be especially valuable as navigation aids for those trying to find a way through the healthcare system and as a guide to the cancer journey. Outcome indicators that could be used to evaluate the quality of ESGs as navigation aids need to be developed and tested. Conceptual models for the navigator role, such as the Facilitating Navigator Model, are appropriate for ESGs designed specifically for research purposes. A Shared or Tacit Model may be more appropriate for unmoderated ESGs. Both conceptual models raise issues in Internet research ethics that need to be addressJames E. Till2004-07-30Z2011-03-11T08:55:38Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3722This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/37222004-07-30ZConsent Issues Raised by Observational Research in OrganisationsnoneNorman G. VinsonJanice A. Singer2004-04-06Z2011-03-11T08:55:31Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3549This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/35492004-04-06ZDr. Laura: Ruminations from a ListenerThis essay is a discussion of the radio talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger. It is an assessment of the moral advice that she dispenses her radio show, and kinds of criticisms to which she has been subjected. Laurence Thomas2005-01-13Z2011-03-11T08:55:47Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3996This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/39962005-01-13ZTwo Accounts of Moral Diversity: The Cognitive Science of Pluralism and AbsolutismAdvances in cognitive science are relevant to the debate between moral pluralism and absolutism. Parametric structure, which plausibly underlies syntax, gives some idea of how pluralism might be true. The cognitive mechanisms underlying mathematical intelligence give some idea of how far absolutism is right. Advances in cognitive science should help us better understand the extent to which we are divided and how far we are potentially harmonious in our values. Asst. Prof. John Bolender2003-11-24Z2011-03-11T08:55:24Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3280This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/32802003-11-24ZEquality and the Mantra of DiversityThis essay is part of a symposium on affirmative action that took place at the University of Cincinnati with the distinguished legal scholar Ronald Dworkin. I argue against affirmative action. And I discuss at length the votes of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and the dissent of Justice Clarence Thomas. I develop the idea of idiosyncratic excellence; and I argue that diversity is a weakness insofar as it (a) an excuse for social myopia and (b)an impediment to individuals seeing beyond their differences and affirming the excellences that they witness. The expected publication date, Univ of Cinn Law Review, is March 2004. Laurence Thomas2004-01-11Z2011-03-11T08:55:27Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3376This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/33762004-01-11ZEquality and the Mantra of DiversityThis essay is part of a symposium on affirmative action that took place at the University of Cincinnati with the distinguished legal scholar Ronald Dworkin. I argue against affirmative action. And I discuss at length the votes of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and the dissent of Justice Clarence Thomas. I develop the idea of idiosyncratic excellence; and I argue that diversity is a weakness insofar as it (a) an excuse for social myopia and (b)an impediment to individuals seeing beyond their differences and affirming the excellences that they witness. The expected publication date, Univ of Cinn Law Review, is March 2004.
Laurence Thomas2003-11-03Z2011-03-11T08:55:23Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3263This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/32632003-11-03ZL'Avortement: Entre La Liberté et La VieThis essay discusses Thomson's famous article "A Defense of Abortion". I argue that a Brave New World like future with artificial wombs and the possibility of a womb transfer procedure will change dramatically the scope and force of Thomson's ingenious argument. It is noted that grief and depression often accompany both women who give their child up for adoption and women who abort their child.Thomas Laurence2006-09-01Z2011-03-11T08:56:35Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/5107This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/51072006-09-01ZAutonomy, Behavior, & Moral GoodnessIn this essay, the view that autonomy is always a good is challenged. Numerous examples of autonomous people who committed quite immoral acts are offered. It is further argued that many people who have behaved in quite admirable ways have not been autonomous Professor Laurence ThomasSyracuse University2003-06-19Z2011-03-11T08:55:18Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3015This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/30152003-06-19ZAutonom, Behavior, & Moral GoodnessIn this essay, the view that autonomy is always a good is challenged. Numerous examples of autonomous people who committed quite immoral acts are offered. It is further argued that many people who have behaved in quite admirable ways I have not been autonomous Professor Laurence ThomasSyracuse University2003-05-06Z2011-03-11T08:55:16Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2922This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/29222003-05-06ZIntentional Action in Folk Psychology: An Experimental InvestigationFour experiments examined people’s folk-psychological concept of intentional action. The chief question was whether or not evaluative considerations — considerations of good and bad, right and wrong, praise and blame — played any role in that concept. The results indicated that the moral qualities of a behavior strongly influence people’s judgements as to whether or not that behavior should be considered ‘intentional.’ After eliminating a number of alternative explanations, the author concludes that this effect is best explained by the hypothesis that evaluative considerations do play some role in people’s concept of intentional action.Joshua Knobe2003-06-17Z2011-03-11T08:55:18Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3014This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/30142003-06-17ZUpside-Down Equality: A Response to Kantian ThoughtDrawing upon the work of Barbara Herman, I argue that our understanding of equality is inextricably tied to our experiences. In particular, I argue that moral equality and social equality are fundamentally different. Prof Laurence ThomasSyracuse University2004-09-11Z2011-03-11T08:55:41Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3819This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/38192004-09-11ZUpside-Down Equality: A Response to Kantian ThoughtDrawing upon the work of Barbara Herman, I argue that our understanding of equality is inextricably tied to our experiences. In particular, I argue that moral equality and social equality are fundamentally different. Prof Laurence ThomasSyracuse University2004-09-16Z2011-03-11T08:55:42Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3823This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/38232004-09-16ZUpside-Down Equality: A Response to Kantian ThoughtDrawing upon the work of Barbara Herman, I argue that our understanding of equality is inextricably tied to our experiences. In particular, I argue that moral equality and social equality are fundamentally different. Prof Laurence ThomasSyracuse University2003-12-04Z2011-03-11T08:55:24Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3299This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/32992003-12-04ZEthical Issues in Empirical Studies of Software EngineeringThe popularity of empirical methods in software engineering research is on the rise. Surveys,
experiments, metrics, case studies, and field studies are examples of empirical methods used to
investigate both software engineering processes and products. The increased application of
empirical methods has also brought about an increase in discussions about adapting these
methods to the peculiarities of software engineering. In contrast, the ethical issues raised by
empirical methods have received little, if any, attention in the software engineering literature. This
article is intended to introduce the ethical issues raised by empirical research to the software
engineering research community, and to stimulate discussion of how best to deal with these ethical
issues. Through a review of the ethical codes of several fields that commonly employ humans and
artifacts as research subjects, we have identified major ethical issues relevant to empirical studies
of software engineering. These issues are illustrated with real empirical studies of software
engineering.Janice A. SingerNorman G. Vinson2005-12-05Z2011-03-11T08:56:14Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/4634This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/46342005-12-05ZThe Morally Obnoxious Comparisons of Evil: American Slavery and the HolocuastThe essay discuss the issue of comparing the American Slavery and the Holocaust, and the extent to which the ideology of the American dream has fueled invidious comparisons between the two peoples. Just as murder and rape are wrongs to be understood in their own right, I argue that a like claim holds for American Slavery and the Holocuast. The essay further points out that we should be weary of supposing that wrongdoing is the sort of the thing for which compensation is at all possible. Laurence Thomas2001-12-02Z2011-03-11T08:54:51Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1954This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/19542001-12-02ZWhat have we learned from evolutionary psychology?Evolutionary psychology claims biological inclinations for certain behaviors (e.g., a desire for more frequent sex and more sexual partners by males as compared to females), and the origin of these inclinations in natural selection. Jerry Fodors recent book, The Mind Doesnt Work that Way (2000), grants the nativist case for such biological grounding but disputes the presumed certainty of its origin in natural selection. Nevertheless, there is today a consensus that at least some of the claims of evolutionary psychology are true, and their broad appeal suggests that many see them as easy insights into and possible license for some controversial behaviors. Evolutionary psychologists, on the other hand, caution that an origin in natural selection implies only an inclination for certain behaviors, and not that the behaviors will be true of all people, will lead to happiness or are morally correct. But such cautions can be as facile as the simplistic positions they are intended to counter. A biological basis implies tendencies to behaviors that will be pleasurable when engaged in, and that can be modified to an extent and at a psychic cost that is, at best, not fully understood. Also, while it is true that naturally selected behaviors are not necessarily moral, the implications of current evolutionary psychology cast doubt on any absolute foundation for morality at all, as well as suggesting limits on our ability to fully understand both ourselves and the universe around us. However, this does not mean that our (relative) values or apparent free will are any less real or important for us.Marc Krellenstein2001-02-08Z2011-03-11T08:54:29Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1291This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/12912001-02-08ZCognitive Relatives and Moral RelationsThe close kinship between humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans is a central theme among participants in the debate about human treatment of the other apes. Empathy is probably the single most important determinant of actual human moral behavior, including the treatment of nonhuman animals. Given the applied nature of questions about the treatment of captive apes, it is entirely appropriate that the close relationship between us should be highlighted. But the role that relatedness should play in ethical theory is less clear. To the extent that legal and regulatory challenges to keeping apes in captivity are likely to be based on principles of theory, it is important to understand what roles evolutionary theory can play in deriving such principles. The development of ethically correct policies for captivity of animals will depend on taking into account both species-specific and individual differences in the ways that individuals perceive and conceptualize the spaces in which they live, and the choices with which they are presented. A fully evolutionary approach to cognition, a cognitive ethology, that is not just limited to the great apes or to primates is the best hope we have for understanding such perceptions and conceptions.Colin Allen2004-07-30Z2011-03-11T08:55:30Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3538This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/35382004-07-30ZGetting to the Source of Ethical IssuesNorman G VinsonJanice Singer2001-04-30Z2011-03-11T08:54:37Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1468This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/14682001-04-30ZWhat is at stake in taking responsibility? Lessons from third-party property insuranceThird-party property insurance (TPPI) protects insured drivers who accidentally damage an
expensive car from the threat of financial ruin. Perhaps more importantly though, TPPI also protects
the victims whose losses might otherwise go uncompensated. Ought responsible drivers therefore
take out TPPI?
This paper begins by enumerating some reasons for why a rational person might believe that they
have a moral obligation to take out TPPI. It will be argued that if what is at stake in taking
responsibility is the ability to compensate our possible future victims for their losses, then it might
initially seem that most people should be thankful for the availability of relatively inexpensive TPPI
because without it they may not have sufficient funds to do the right thing and compensate their
victims in the event of an accident.
But is the ability to compensate one's victims really what is at stake in taking responsibility? The
second part of this paper will critically examine the arguments for the above position, and it will
argue that these arguments do not support the conclusion that injurers should compensate their
victims for their losses, and hence that drivers need not take out TPPI in order to be responsible.
Further still, even if these arguments did support the conclusion that injurers should compensate
their victims for their losses, then (perhaps surprisingly) nobody should to be allowed to take out
TPPI because doing so would frustrate justice.Nicole Vincent2004-07-06Z2011-03-11T08:55:27Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/3395This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/33952004-07-06ZWhy and how research ethics matters to you, yes YOU!none.Janice SingerNorman G Vinson2001-01-06Z2011-03-11T08:54:28Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1183This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/11832001-01-06ZFrom Is to Ought: Another WayArgues for an objective protomoral normativity in terms of what an adaptation is for, without falling victim to Hume's Law, open-question arguments, queerness arguments, and internalism/externalism debates. Also provides a general strategy for naturalizing objective moral normativity which is likewise proof against the usual-suspect objections.John F. Post2001-01-11Z2011-03-11T08:54:28Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/1204This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/12042001-01-11ZSympathy and subjectivityThis paper shows that even if the mental states of non-human animals lack phenomenological properties, as some accounts of mental-state consciousness imply, this need not prevent those states from being appropriate objects of sympathy and moral concern. The paper argues that the most basic form of mental (as opposed to biological) harm lies in the existence of thwarted agency, or thwarted desire, rather than in anything phenomenological. Peter Carruthers2000-02-03Z2011-03-11T08:53:53Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/400This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/4002000-02-03ZWhat shall we tell the children?NoneNicholas Humphrey2000-02-03Z2011-03-11T08:54:20Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/843This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/8432000-02-03ZVarieties of altruism - and the common ground between themNoneNicholas Humphrey1998-05-08Z2011-03-11T08:53:48Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/294This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2941998-05-08ZWaves, Particles, and Explanatory CoherencePeter Achinstein (1990, 1991) analyses the scientific debate that took place in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries concerning the nature of light. He offers a probabilistic account of the methods employed by both particle theorists and wave theorists, and rejects any analysis of this debate in terms of coherence. He characterizes coherence through reference to William Whewell's writings concerning how "consilience of inductions" establishes an acceptable theory (Whewell, 1847) . Achinstein rejects this analysis because of its vagueness and lack of reference to empirical data, concluding that coherence is insufficient to account for the belief change that took place during the wave-particle debate.C. EliasmithP. Thagard1998-01-22Z2011-03-11T08:53:45Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/236This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2361998-01-22ZDefault Assumptions of Good BehaviorThis paper connects Turiel's discovery that small children distinguish between moral and conventional norms with the theory of mind debate and with contemporary work in moral philosophy. My aim is to explain both why pre-schoolers can easily make a moral/conventional distinction, and why at some later age it becomes harder to grasp such a distinction. My answer, in a nutshell, is that there is a simple moral/conventional distinction that is well within the capabilities of very small children, but this distinction is not the right one for adult use, for reasons which are explicit in contemporary work in moral philosophy. So when children begin to grasp these complications, we can expect their earlier simple certainty to vanish. Moreover, the contrast between the kinds of capacities needed to negotiate the earlier moral/conventional distinction and those needed to understand the reasons for its inadequacy are related to those on either side of the famous 'false belief' divide.Adam Morton1998-06-21Z2011-03-11T08:53:58Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/469This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/4691998-06-21ZAnalysis of a computer model of emotionsIn the fields of psychology, AI, and philosophy there has recently been theoretical activity in the cognitively-based modelling of emotions. Using AI methodology it is possible to implement and test these complex models, and in this paper we examine an emotion model called ACRES. We propose a set of requirements any such model should satisfy, and compare ACRES against them. Then, analysing its behaviour in detail, we formulate more requirements and criteria that can be applied to future computational models of emotion. In arguing to support the new requirements, we find that they are desirable for autonomous systems in general. We also show how they can explain the psychological concept of regulation. Finally, we use the concepts developed to make a theoretical distinction between emotion and motivation.D. MoffatN.H. FrijdaR.H. Phaf2013-09-17T14:29:34Z2013-09-17T14:29:34Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/9031This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/90312013-09-17T14:29:34ZProgramma TFA Informatica di Base AA 2012-31. Che cos’è il software? La natura del software è un aspetto dell’informatica che viene raramente analizzato in tutti i suoi aspetti. Il software infatti ha almeno due livelli, il codice sorgente (leggibile dall’uomo) e il codice binario (leggibile dalla macchina). Ma questo primo livello di analisi lascia aperte una serie di domande importanti: quanto è importante l’implementazione? Perché usiamo diversi linguaggi di programmazione se in teoria sono tutti Turing-equivalenti? Che differenza c’è tra istruzioni, esecuzione, e dati? Vedremo il caso particolare della meta-
programmazione, e il ruolo del programmatore come (meta)autore del software.
2. Modelli di produzione del software. Attorno al software c’è tutto un ecosistema, formato da diverse figure, professionali e non solo: il designer, lo sviluppatore, il
committente, l’utente finale, ecc. A seconda della licenza scelta (proprietaria, a sorgente aperto, software libero) si configurano diversi modelli di produzione, con risvolti diversi anche da un punto di vista economico. Vedremo il modello di produzione industriale del software proprietario di tipo tayloristico, il modello Toyota (dall’eXtreme
Programming), il modello a bazar di Raymond, la strategia della doppia licenza, la legge della coda lunga di Anderson e altri modelli noti in letteratura.
3. Analisi di casi etici in informatica La pervasività dell’informatica nella società comporta una serie di dilemmi etici di difficile soluzione, che possono essere analizzati tramite il metodo dell’analisi dei casi etici. Dopo aver spiegato il metodo in tutti i suoi passaggi, verranno proposti alcuni casi etici noti in letteratura, quali: chi è responsabile del drone che in guerra uccide erroneamente un civile? È giusto mettere videocamere di sorveglianza ovunque o potrebbe essere usato per fini poco leciti e quindi andrebbe limitato?Dr Federico Gobbofederico.gobbo@univaq.it