Arguments For Conclusion Research Articles

“ATOMIC LAW” OR “NUCLEAR LAW”? AN ACADEMIC DISCUSSION REVISITED

The terms “atomic law” and “nuclear law” are regularly being (to a certain part as synonyms) used in both scientific and popular literature to refer to a body of legal norms, governing peaceful uses of nuclear energy and ionizing radiation, as provided by sources of international law (“international atomic law,” or “international nuclear law”), national legislation and a complex body of unbinding norms (soft law). Further, several other variations of these terms are also regularly used (such as “atomic energy law,” “nuclear energy law,” “international nuclear law,” “law of the atomic/nuclear energy,” etc.). This contribution aims to identify the origins of this terminological labyrinth and to deal with the perception of these terms in the legal scholarship. Further, this contribution deals with the recent perception of these terms in the legal science of major States, using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. This article aims to clarify the existing terminology, which is to large extent being used in the literature without an appropriate explanation. The author pleads for a consequent use of the term “nuclear law” (droit nucléaire, yadernoe pravo, Nuklearrecht, derecho nuclear, diritto nucleare) and presents arguments for such conclusion.

ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТЬ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ ЧЕЛОВЕЧЕСКИМ КАПИТАЛОМ НА ПРИМЕРЕ ТЕХНИЧЕСКИХ ВУЗОВ САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГА

Формирующаяся инновационная инфраструктура вузов, нормативно-методическая база, эффективные контракты, новые подходы к подготовке и управлению научно-педагогическими кадрами свидетельствуют об инновационном характере управления в системе высшего образования. Именно качество человеческого капитала вузов имеет решающее значение для реализации всех инноваций в системе высшего образования. Поэтому предметом исследования является качественная характеристика управления, которой является эффективность управления человеческим капиталом вуза. Цель – обоснование модели эффективного управления человеческим капиталом вуза в соответствии с его общим направлением развития. Методология исследования включает обоснование ряда положений и аргументацию выводов на основе использования общенаучных и специальных методов анализа – диалектического, ситуационного, а также использования коэволюционного (системно-процессного) подхода. Проведенный анализ кадровой политики Санкт-Петербургского горного университета и Санкт-Петербургского государственного университета аэрокосмического приборостроения продемонстрировал результаты эффективного управления человеческим капиталом, что подтверждается данными статистики. Однако существующие проблемы объективной оценки эффективности управления обусловили необходимость дополнения индикативных методов индексными. Результатом стала модель, включающая индексные методы оценки эффективности управления человеческим капиталом. Данная модель применима при оценке капиталовложений в персонал вуза, который в свою очередь позволяет оценить эффективность управления человеческим капиталом. Таким образом, системный процесс оценки эффективности управления человеческим капиталом вузов по представленной модели позволит своевременно находить проблемные зоны и узкие места в управлении их человеческим капиталом, что обеспечит своевременное реагирование управленческого звена вуза на проблемы в области его человеческого капитала.

Protection of Space Environment in the Light of Perspective Challenges of “Space Wars”

In article it is analyzed action in the space of the principle of prohibition of the use of force and threats (jus contra bellum). Also it is researched application of Geneva Law to space conflicts (jus in bello) and it correlations with another hard and soft norms of international law in the light of protection of space environment such as Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques, Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment 1972, Rio Declaration on Environment and Development 1992 etc. Beside this it is used practice of International Court of Justice for argumentation of positions and conclusions. Since space objects management is done remotely with help of software, author draw parallels between legal regulation of international conflicts in outer space and cyber space. Furthermore, it is researched specific features of application the principle of proportionality in international space armed conflicts with the aim of protection environment of space and Earth.

Menalar Dilema Etis Dalam Film Silence

Silence was a provocative film, particularly for Christians viewers. Aside from sketching stories of great interest concerning challenges endured by Jesuit missionaries to Japan, the film presents a deep ethical struggle one finds worthy of careful analysis. In the most climactic scene, the missionary Rodrigues faces an ethical dilemma. He must desecrate fumi-e, a bronze board depicting Christ Jesus, in an act of apostasy to save five tortured and dying hostages. Rodrigues must choose: apostasy or allowing people to die. In this article, the author attempts to reason through Rodrigues' ethical dilemma, without providing conclusive arguments in support of any ethical choices the author might prefer, to broaden the thinking of his readers. Following preliminary considerations for how to define the category of ethical dilemma, the author provides two key questions for evaluating solutions belonging to the moral agent. (α) Concerning competing moral demands, which one is highest in standing amid the rest? (β) Concerning available interventions by the moral agent, which action most effectively realizes the highest moral demand? These two lines of inquiry frame three proposed solutions. Finally, the author also proposes a fourth solution termed Kierkegaardian conflict, following the philosopher of ethics Phillip L. Quinn, whose own proposal, too, remains inconclusive for resolving the dilemma.

Poetisk verbalbrug og sproglig datering af gammeltestamentlige tekster

This article includes a short introduction to the general issueof linguistic dating of Old Testament texts as well as an appraisal ofthe alternative, non-chronological view of linguistic variation that hasrecently been put forward by Young, Rezetko and Ehrensvärd. Two poeticaltexts that are generally considered arch aic (Exodus 15 and Judges5), are examined using an approach to the verbal system in Biblical Hebrewpoetry inspired by Alviero Niccacci. In this way it is demonstratedthat supposedly archaic preterital use of yiqtol can be explained in otherways – which means that this feature is not a conclusive argument forearly dating.

Abortion law reform: Why ethical intractability and maternal morbidity are grounds for decriminalisation.

In this paper, we present two grounds for arguing that abortion should be decriminalised. First, we consider the implications of the fact that the long-standing ethical debate concerning the morality of abortion has to date proven intractable. We maintain that because the philosophical literature has failed to demonstrate conclusively that views either for or against abortion's moral acceptability are false, the matter remains at a stalemate in terms of rational debate, contributing to the ongoing absence of political and popular consensus about the issue in our society. In these circumstances, we argue, the law should adopt a minimalist position by not imposing criminal sanctions for abortion. Second, we present evidence, often neglected in the moral debates about abortion, that the risks of carrying a fetus to term and of delivery are substantial for a woman. Most laws recognise that, should her life be endangered by her pregnancy, a woman's right to life shall prevail. However, the impacts of carrying a fetus to term and delivery on a woman are not restricted to the risks to her life, but extend to significant permanent changes to her body, and include risks of injury that are not negligible. We argue that a woman should not be compelled to take these risks by laws prohibiting abortion, when no conclusive argument exists against the morality of abortion. We also address, albeit briefly, the issue of late-term abortion.

Meaningful Model Comparisons have to Include Reasonable Competing Models and also all Data: A Rejoinder to Rieskamp (2018)

AbstractProper methods for model comparisons require including reasonable models and all data. In an article in this issue, we highlight that excluding some models was common in parts of the literature supposedly supporting fast‐and‐frugal heuristics and show in comprehensive simulations and exemplified reanalyses of studies by Rieskamp that this can–under specific conditions–lead to wrong conclusions. In a comment in this issue, Rieskamp provides no conclusive arguments against these basic principles of proper methodology. Hence, the principles to include (i) all reasonable competing models and (ii) all data still stand and have to remain the standards for evaluating past and future empirical work. Rieskamp addresses the first of the two issues in a Bayesian analysis. He, however, violates the second principle by omitting data to be able to uphold his previous conclusion, which invalidates his results. We explain in more detail why exclusion of data leads to biased estimates in this context and provide a refined Bayesian analysis–of course based on all data–that underlines our previously raised concerns about the criticized studies. Instead of arguing against the two basic principles of model comparison, we recommend authors of affected studies to conduct proper reanalyses including all models and data. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

What Makes the Good Life Good? An Investigation into the Nature of Happiness

My research focuses on the nature of happiness as presented by contemporary philosopher Fred Feldman in his recent work, What is This Thing Called Happiness?(2010). Feldman offers an innovative theory of happiness that suggests happiness is contingent on a subject’s capacity to acquire more pleasure than displeasure in his or her surroundings. Feldman’s model is a valuable contribution to the study of happiness because it calls attention to the power a subject has in determining her own happiness. Like many of his predecessors including Aristotle, Feldman describes the happy life as the Good Life. However, where Aristotle measures the Good Life in terms of virtue, Feldman uses welfare as his metric. A problem with Feldman’s approach is that he rejects Aristotle’s arguments for why happiness is the Good without providing a suitable alternative. In this paper, I address the limitations of Feldman’s model by examining the implications of this omission. I will argue that Feldman lacks a conclusive argument for why the Good Life consists of welfare. Most significantly, Feldman’s account is problematic because it leads to the unusual conclusion that many of us are not in fact pursuing the Good Life for fear of becoming moral monsters. By reintroducing virtue into our description of happiness, and arguments for why happiness is our greatest good, I think that we can rescue contemporary theories of happiness from the repugnant moral conclusions that I have suggested are present in Feldman’s work.

The Dogmatic Slumbers of Constitutional Doctrine

My forthcoming (2019) dissertation raises the question whether European constitutional scholarship has adequately dealt with some of the challenges American Legal Realists have launched. There, I undertake to reconstruct some of the claims of American legal realism so as to be able to critically subject European constitutional scholarship to these claims. Conversely, I (re)construct some theoretical and methodological answers that have been proffered so as to fend off the aforementioned challenges. The defense resting on the justificatory focus of legal scholarship (as opposed to a focus on discovery) has been one of the common responses, as I try to explain below, to dislodge realist criticism. Relativizing the context distinction in the context of legal scholarship, as I will try to do here, does not by itself provide a conclusive argument for a reconceptualization of doctrinal scholarship. However, in my dissertation I offer additional arguments to establish the need for this reconceptualization, focusing on the relativity of the autonomy of the law as an object of inquiry for legal scholarship, and discussing the concept of “reification” as I see it emerging out of legal realist thought. This is a work in progress, which I am happy to discuss further.

Two Sides of Modus Ponens

McGee (1985) argues that it is sometimes reasonable to accept both x and x->(y->z) without accepting y->z, and that modus ponens is therefore invalid for natural language indicative conditionals. Here, we examine McGee's counterexamples from a Bayesian perspective. We argue that the counterexamples are genuine insofar as the joint acceptance of x and x->(y->z) at time t does not generally imply constraints on the acceptability of y->z at t, but we use the distance-based approach to Bayesian learning to show that applications of modus ponens are nevertheless guaranteed to be successful in an important sense. Roughly, if an agent becomes convinced of the premises of a modus ponens argument, then she should likewise become convinced of the argument's conclusion. Thus we take McGee's counterexamples to disentangle and reveal two distinct ways in which arguments can convince. Any general theory of argumentation must take stock of both.

Signs of Colonial Discourse and their Psycho-Semiotic Significance

Colonial discourse is defined as a “complex of signs and practices” (Ashcraft, Griffiths, & Tiffin, 1998, p.235). In the light of this statement this research article investigates following main questions. 1. What are those signs and practices which constitute colonial discourse? 2. How do they signify according to semiotic theory? This article is a philosophical endeavour to develop conclusive argument to determine the psycho-semiotic nature of those meaning making practices which form the very basis of the colonial discourse. The aim of this study is to establish a triangular link of the sign theory, psychological conditioning and colonial discourse. Fairclough’s (1995) triadic model of Critical Discourse Analysis has been used to analyse various linguistic practices of colonisers at Description—Interpretation—Explanation levels. After exemplifying from various texts, the study concludes that colonial signs are psychologically conditioned, discursively conventionalised and socially upheld linguistic practices which disseminate ideas they stand for. Hence, colonialism is not only a historical fact but also a linguistically and semiotically crafted phenomenon. The article lays down a vivid criterion which can serve for further analytical studies in the domain of colonial and post-colonial discourse.

Evidential holism

AbstractEvidential holism begins with something like the claim that “it is only jointly as a theory that scientific statements imply their observable consequences.” This is the holistic claim that Elliott Sober tells us is an “unexceptional observation” (1993: 35). But variations on this “unexceptional” claim feature as a premise in a series of controversial arguments for radical conclusions, such as: that there is no analytic or synthetic distinction; that the meaning of a sentence cannot be understood without understanding the whole language of which it is a part; that all knowledge is empirical knowledge (there is no a priori knowledge). This paper is a survey of what evidential holism is, how plausible it is, and what consequences it has. Section 2 will distinguish a range of different holistic claims, Sections 3 and 4 explore how well motivated they are and how they relate to one another, and Section 5 returns to the arguments listed above and uses the distinctions from the previous sections to identify holism's role in each case.

SMALL MOLECULES ADSORBED ON SILICON SURFACES: TWO CASES THROUGH TIME

The adsorption of small organic molecules on silicon surfaces has been long a subject of investigations, as it provides the fundamental basis of silicon-based technologies in many fields. Several approaches were used, both theoretical and experimental, on many types of adsorbate-substrate systems aiming at determining preferential sites and geometries of adsorption, stable configurations, transition barriers, adsorption mechanisms, electronic structures among others. The research efforts, though, did not always bring to conclusive arguments and on some systems investigations are still going on following the evolution of the experimental techniques and computational methods. In this review, two case studies are reported: benzene and methanol on Si(100)2[Formula: see text]1, i.e. examples of a molecular and a dissociative adsorption. The adsorption of benzene on Si(100)2[Formula: see text]1 is still an open case, as it may adsorb in di-[Formula: see text] or tetra-[Formula: see text] bonded configurations, but contrasting evidences have been reported so far, on which of the two is the most stable one and the debate is still open. The adsorption of methanol is less controversial and it is widely accepted it is dissociative with breakage of the O–H at low coverages. But also in this case, investigations are going on to elucidate the adsorption mechanism.

Could God Fail to Exist?

I apply developments in modal reasoning to the question of whether God has necessary existence. My larger task is to assess the main reasons to think that God is not a metaphysically necessary being. I consider Hume’s conceivability-based argument, and then I pay attention to more recent arguments, including Swinburne’s neo-Humean argument and the subtraction argument. I show that such arguments face a ‘parity’ problem, since the very reasoning that gets them off the ground also launches parallel arguments for an opposite conclusion. In my closing section, I sketch an argument schema designed to illustrate a new, general strategy for deducing the necessary existence of God by building upon recent modal cosmological arguments.

Exposure to Violence, Ethos of Conflict, and Support for Compromise

Does ongoing exposure to political violence prompt subject groups to support or oppose compromise in situations of intractable conflict? If so, what is the mechanism underlying these processes? Political scholarship neither offers conclusive arguments nor sufficiently addresses individual-level forms of exposure to violence in the context of political conflict, particularly the factors mediating political outcomes. We address this by looking at the impact of exposure to political violence, psychological distress, perceived threat, and ethos of conflict on support for political compromise. A mediated model is hypothesized whereby exposure to political violence provokes support for the ethos of conflict and hinders support for compromise through perceived psychological distress and perceived national threat. We examined representative samples of two parties to the same conflict: Israelis ( N = 781) and Palestinians from Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank ( N = 1,196). The study’s main conclusion is that ethos of conflict serves as a mediating variable in the relationship between exposure to violence and attitudes toward peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Naturalizing indispensability: a rejoinder to ‘The varieties of indispensability arguments’

In ‘The varieties of indispensability arguments’ Marco Panza and Andrea Sereni argue that, for any clear notion of indispensability, either there is no conclusive argument for the thesis that mathematics is indispensable to science, or the notion of indispensability at hand does not support mathematical realism. In this paper, I shall not object to this main thesis directly. I shall instead try to assess in a naturalistic spirit a family of objections the authors make along the way to the use of indispensability premises in indispensability arguments.

Petrus Hispanus O.P. Auctor Summularum (III) ¿”Petrus Alfonsi” o “Petrus Ferrandi”?

Este artículo pretende ser complemento y continuación de mis anteriores trabajos sobre la figura de Petrus Hispanus O. P., Auctor Summularum. Comienzo presentando algunos nuevos documentos relacionados con las cuestiones ya examinadas en mis artículos de 1997 y 2001. A continuación, me ocupo de las cuestiones aplazadas en el artículo de 2001: los problemas relativos a la figura de “Petrus Ferrandi” y su posible relación con el “auctor Summularum”, así como los argumentos de Tugwell contra la hipótesis de la posible identidad de estas dos figuras, examinados ahora desde la perspectiva del autor de la Legenda prima. Tras analizar testimonios procedentes de muy diversos ámbitos, afirmo, por una parte, que la hipótesis de la identidad entre “Petrus Ferrandi” y “Petrus Hispanus” podría ser correcta y, por otra parte, que no hay argumentos concluyentes que obliguen a afirmar con seguridad que el autor de la Legenda prima es Pedro Ferrando. Aunque los análisis no permiten por el momento determinar si es “Petrus Alfonsi” o “Petrus Ferrandi” el “auctor Summularum”, los testimonios recogidos y las conexiones establecidas contribuirán, sin duda, a orientar futuras investigaciones en torno a la figura de “Petrus Hispanus”.

Heidegger and Korsgaard on Death and Freedom: The Implications for Posthumanism

Prominent advocates of posthumanism such as Nick Bostrom and Ray Kurzweil make the case that a drastic increase in the human lifespan (or healthspan) would be intrinsically good. This question of the value of an extended lifespan has perhaps become more pressing as medical and scientific advances are seemingly bringing us closer and closer to being able to extend our lives in the way posthumanists envision. In this paper I intend to use Martin Heidegger’s work on death and freedom to develop a potential objection to the claim that an indefinite healthspan is intrinsically desirable. The basic plan will be to make the case that the structure of human agency is such that truly free action is possible only on the basis of the essential finitude of our existence. Assuming that we take this sort freedom to be an important good, we would lose something of crucial importance if we were to radically extend the human healthspan. I am not claiming to present an entirely conclusive argument against posthumanism, or even enhancing the human healthspan to posthuman proportions, but rather, I see my argument here as adding another currently valued dimension of human existence that could very well be lost if we move decisively in the posthumanist direction.

History as Philosophy? Genealogies and Critique

Are genealogies of our beliefs relevant to the truth of these beliefs? Drawing on Bernard Williams’s Truth and Truthfulness, I argue that genealogies, or historical narratives showing how a set of beliefs came about, can be either critical or vindicatory of these beliefs. They can be critical by denaturalizing beliefs, showing their continued inability to solve explanatory problems, revealing the origins of these beliefs in assumptions that we no longer accept, and exposing unwelcome practical applications of these beliefs. Genealogies can be vindicatory by showing that the framework of beliefs has the ability to innovate itself and has led to acceptable practical applications of the beliefs in question. However, if contingency creates the space for genealogies in philosophical arguments, it also limits their effectiveness. In most cases, genealogies do not offer conclusive arguments for or against the beliefs they narrate. They either point out a contradiction that needs to be resolved, or show that the framework of beliefs has been successful so far, with no guarantees for such success in the future.

Research dissonance

While academics increasingly recognize the complexity of phenomena that do not easily conform to our reductive understandings, it sometimes remains difficult to reconcile this with a need for clear and conclusive arguments. In this article I share the contradictory forces and unresolved discrepancies in my own work as a means to better understanding the process of coming to terms with empirical and theoretical messiness. In particular, I draw on the Theory of Cognitive Dissonance to better understand the psychological influence this concept has in pushing us to make sense of the world in a way that downplays contradictions, counter-trends, complexity, gaps and unresolved loose ends. Having identified this largely subconscious dynamic, the pursuit for an agentic suspension of the need for cognitive harmony can be a productive means for thinking through the results of our research. Using my own work understanding the impact of the U.S.–Mexico border on the Tohono O’odham, an indigenous group based in Arizona and Sonora, I share how the perspectives of the groups with which I work has helped me think through contradiction in writing up the results of my research. For a more complete understanding I must embrace the counter-currents at play and alternative understandings of these events and places-even if I cannot fully explain away such incongruent forces.