Causation with a Human Face

Causation with a Human Face PDF Author: James Woodward
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197585434
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 425

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Book Description
The past few decades have seen an explosion of research on causal reasoning in philosophy, computer science, and statistics, as well as descriptive work in psychology. In Causation with a Human Face, James Woodward integrates these lines of research and argues for an understanding of how each can inform the other: normative ideas can suggest interesting experiments, while descriptive results can suggest important normative concepts. Woodward's overall framework builds on the interventionist treatment of causation that he developed in Making Things Happen. Normative ideas discussed include proposals about the role of invariant or stable relationships in successful causal reasoning and the notion of proportionality. He argues that these normative ideas are reflected in the causal judgments that people actually make as a descriptive matter. Woodward also discusses the common philosophical practice-particularly salient in philosophical accounts of causation--of appealing to "intuitions" or "judgments about cases" in support of philosophical theses. He explores how, properly understood, such appeals are not different in principle from appeals to results from empirical research, and demonstrates how they may serve as a useful source of information about causal cognition.

Causation with a Human Face

Causation with a Human Face PDF Author: James Woodward
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197585434
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 425

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Book Description
The past few decades have seen an explosion of research on causal reasoning in philosophy, computer science, and statistics, as well as descriptive work in psychology. In Causation with a Human Face, James Woodward integrates these lines of research and argues for an understanding of how each can inform the other: normative ideas can suggest interesting experiments, while descriptive results can suggest important normative concepts. Woodward's overall framework builds on the interventionist treatment of causation that he developed in Making Things Happen. Normative ideas discussed include proposals about the role of invariant or stable relationships in successful causal reasoning and the notion of proportionality. He argues that these normative ideas are reflected in the causal judgments that people actually make as a descriptive matter. Woodward also discusses the common philosophical practice-particularly salient in philosophical accounts of causation--of appealing to "intuitions" or "judgments about cases" in support of philosophical theses. He explores how, properly understood, such appeals are not different in principle from appeals to results from empirical research, and demonstrates how they may serve as a useful source of information about causal cognition.

What is a Human?

What is a Human? PDF Author: John Hyde Evans
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190608072
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Scholars claim that if the public has particular definitions of a human they will treat others like objects or animals. This book examines these claims and finds that some definitions do lead to maltreatment, but the definitions of a majority of the public are unlikely to do so.

The Merriam-Webster Thesaurus

The Merriam-Webster Thesaurus PDF Author: Merriam-Webster
Publisher: Merriam-Webster
ISBN: 9780877790983
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Find the right word fast! This indispensable guide from America's Language Experts is the perfect tool for readers and writers! This all new edition of The Merriam-Webster Thesaurus features more than 150,000 word choices, including related words, antonyms, and near antonyms. Each main entry provides the meaning shared by the synonyms listed and abundant usage examples show words used in context. Words alphabetically organized for ease of use. A great complement to The Merriam-Webster Dictionary and perfect for school, home, or office.

Titan

Titan PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : English literature
Languages : en
Pages : 782

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Book Description


The Uncanny Valley Hypothesis and Beyond

The Uncanny Valley Hypothesis and Beyond PDF Author: Marcus Cheetham
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2889454436
Category : Robotics
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
A field of theory and research is evolving around the question highlighted in the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis: How does high realism in anthropomorphic design influence human experience and behaviour? The Uncanny Valley Hypothesis posits that a very humanlike character or object (e.g., robot, prosthetic limb, doll) can evoke a negative affective (i.e., uncanny) state. Recent advances in robotic and computer-graphic technologies in simulating aspects of human appearance, behaviour and interaction have been accompanied, therefore, by theorising and research on the meaning and relevance of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis for anthropomorphic design. Current understanding of the "uncanny" idea is still fragmentary and further original research is needed. However, the emerging picture indicates that the relationship between humanlike realism and subjective experience and behaviour may not be as straightforward as the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis suggests. This Research Topic brings together researchers from traditionally separate domains (including robotics, computer graphics, cognitive science, psychology and neuroscience) to provide a snapshot of current work in this field. A diversity of issues and questions are addressed in contributions that include original research, review, theory, and opinion papers.

Immovable Laws, Irresistible Rights

Immovable Laws, Irresistible Rights PDF Author: Christine Pierce
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
Same-sex partnerships. Pregnancy through in vitro fertilization. Ending one's own life in dignity. All are deemed inherently wrong by the standards of natural law ethics, but for many people they represent legitimate life choices that are morally right. Now a leading feminist critic of the natural law tradition explores the ongoing confrontation between natural law and moral rights to argue that rights constitute a more solid grounding for ethics in human affairs—and for feminist thought. In this volume, Christine Pierce's important essays—including the celebrated "Natural Law Language and Women"—expand, reflect, and refine this central controversy. Reaching back to Aristotle and Aquinas and drawing on modern papal encyclicals and Supreme Court cases, Pierce demonstrates that the natural law tradition, with its doctrine of a supposed hierarchy of natural purpose, has served to mystify women's nature and thereby justify restricting women to a predetermined social stratum. Addressing issues that concern not only feminism but legal theory as well, she defends her views on equality and universalization against a growing postmodern critique and presents rights theory as an alternative to an ethics of responsibility based on Aristotelian notions of friendship and trust. Through tightly constructed arguments presented in engaging prose, Pierce conveys her deep knowledge of legal philosophy and her passion for rights as she takes on such issues as AIDS, gay marriage, animal liberation, and feminist separatism. She combats the prevailing view of Plato as sexist and explores Sartre's views of "holes and slime." She also examines the work of contemporary authors in ecology, biology, sociobiology, and religion to reveal their reliance on nature for ethical conclusions, and she criticizes recent efforts to root a feminist natural law in Thomism. With natural law concepts now in fashion with many conservatives and even some Supreme Court justices, Pierce's essays offer a necessary perspective on where current legal and ethical thinking is headed. Immovable Laws, Irresistible Rights is invigorating reading for all scholars, students, and interested readers who seek a better understanding of these arguments and the issues affected by them.

Decision Theory with a Human Face

Decision Theory with a Human Face PDF Author: Richard Bradley
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108547877
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
When making decisions, people naturally face uncertainty about the potential consequences of their actions due in part to limits in their capacity to represent, evaluate or deliberate. Nonetheless, they aim to make the best decisions possible. In Decision Theory with a Human Face, Richard Bradley develops new theories of agency and rational decision-making, offering guidance on how 'real' agents who are aware of their bounds should represent the uncertainty they face, how they should revise their opinions as a result of experience and how they should make decisions when lacking full awareness of, or precise opinions on relevant contingencies. He engages with the strengths and flaws of Bayesian reasoning, and presents clear and comprehensive explorations of key issues in decision theory, from belief and desire to semantics and learning. His book draws on philosophy, economics, decision science and psychology, and will appeal to readers in all of these disciplines.

The Human Face of Globalization

The Human Face of Globalization PDF Author: Jacques Audinet
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742542280
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
International immigration, massive migrations, economic globalization and a world-wide communications revolution have brought about a mixing of races, cultures and lifestyles unprecedented in human history. What are the implications of this phenomenon? What options present themselves...a battle of cultures for power; a move toward communitarian cooperation, or, something new, the evolution of racially and culturally mixed societies? Anthropologist and sociologist Jacques Audinet proposes an alternative to culture wars and simple multiculturalism as he explores the history and evolution of mestizaje, the mixing of races and cultures resulting in a third and new force able to ease the tensions between the original two. Audinet reviews the tragic history of imperial and colonial conquests and traces the growth of mestizaje, especially stimulated by literature, music and sports. Audinet argues that, instead of chasing or preserving the illusion of "pure" races, we need to face the shifting boundaries of peoples and cultures. He acknowledges the uncertainty of the changes, but emphasizes the essential role that mestizaje can play in the avoidance of racial and cultural clashes while pursuing equality as part of the promise of a democratic society.

Private Fleming at Chancellorsville

Private Fleming at Chancellorsville PDF Author: Perry Lentz
Publisher: University of Missouri Press
ISBN: 0826265308
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
What intelligent person has never pondered the meaning of life? For Yuval Lurie, this is more than a puzzling philosophical question; it is a journey, and in this book he takes readers on a search that ranges from ancient quests for the purpose of life to the ruminations of postmodern thinkers on meaning. He shows that the question about the meaning of life expresses philosophical puzzlement regarding life in general as well as personal concern about one's own life in particular. Lurie traces the emergence of this question as a modern philosophical quandary, riddled with shifts and turns that have arisen over the years in response to it. Tracking the Meaning of Life is written as a critical philosophical investigation stretching over several traditions, such as analytic philosophy, phenomenology, and existentialism. It maps out a journey that explores pivotal responses to this question, drawing especially on the thought of Tolstoy, Wittgenstein, Sartre, and Camus and exploring in depth the insights these thinkers offer regarding their own difficulties concerning the meaning of life. In the book's four sections, Lurie discusses Tolstoy's challenge to experience the religious and transcendental meaning of life by choosing a simple, hardworking existence; Wittgenstein's focus on ethics and discovering the sense of the world, his conclusion that the question of the meaning of life makes no sense, and his turning to experience the mystical aspect of the world; Sartre's positing of freedom as the basis of human life, stipulating a personal answer to the question of the meaning of life; and Camus' view of the absurdity of life, unalleviated by any personal meaning. Guided by these views, Lurie imparts new insight to ideas that underlie our concern with life's meaning, such as the difference between attitudes toward life and beliefs and opinions about life, the meaning of words versus the meaning of events, shared meanings versus personal meanings, and the link between ethics and personal identity. Tracking the Meaning of Life is no mere dry philosophical study but a journey that dramatically illustrates the poignancy of the quest for meaning, showing that along the way it gradually becomes more obvious how personal meaning may be found in the pulsations of everyday life. The book offers stimulating reading not only for scholars in philosophy but also for general readers who wish to see how their personal concerns are echoed in modern philosophical thought. More than a description of a journey, it is a map to anxieties and puzzlements we all face, pointing to ideas that can guide readers on their own search for meaning.

45 Great Philosophers and What They Mean for Judaism

45 Great Philosophers and What They Mean for Judaism PDF Author: Shmuly Yanklowitz
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
In this new forty-five-chapter series, Rabbi Shmuly explores forty-five of the most influential philosophers throughout history and how Jewish ideas might engage with each of the philosophers and their philosophical projects. At times, Judaism may need to reject harmful, foreign ideas. Other times, Judaism may need to adapt, integrate, and expand. There are many other approaches we’ll see of how Jewish thought can engage with other philosophies as well. In this exciting new exploration, we learn about Jewish intellectual history and what it means for us today.