scholarly journals Can one simply say „no“ to solipsism?

2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-93
Author(s):  
Boris Bratina

This text is a part of a broader research of the problem of The Other in modern philosophy. Herefrom emerges a specific angle of view for the question of solipsism. In the first place, the principle impossibility of refutation of such a position is demonstrated, thereupon the author makes a short review of Sartre's analysis of the solipsism problem in Being and Nothingness, traditional argument from analogy and Wittgenstein's analysis in The Philosophical Investigations, and finally he analyzes the defensive and offensive variant of solipsism. Inversely, by virtue of impossibility solipsism confirmation, the motives that position and its consequences on practical sphere are analyzed, too. The author also poses the speech beginning question. It turns out that consequent solipsism shows the need for God?s prerogatives, but in practical situation its method is much more down the earth: The Other (alius) is firstly derogated to mere other (aliud) and thereafter to sameness - such Other is now well suited for asimilation. In the end, the author shows the contradictions of Gorgian formalistic solipsism. Nevertheless some positive aspects of solipsistic possibility are pointed out, too: solipsism is the transcendental condition of subjectivity in general and, just as The Transcendent Other, it is constituitve for subjectivity.

1975 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 395-407
Author(s):  
S. Henriksen

The first question to be answered, in seeking coordinate systems for geodynamics, is: what is geodynamics? The answer is, of course, that geodynamics is that part of geophysics which is concerned with movements of the Earth, as opposed to geostatics which is the physics of the stationary Earth. But as far as we know, there is no stationary Earth – epur sic monere. So geodynamics is actually coextensive with geophysics, and coordinate systems suitable for the one should be suitable for the other. At the present time, there are not many coordinate systems, if any, that can be identified with a static Earth. Certainly the only coordinate of aeronomic (atmospheric) interest is the height, and this is usually either as geodynamic height or as pressure. In oceanology, the most important coordinate is depth, and this, like heights in the atmosphere, is expressed as metric depth from mean sea level, as geodynamic depth, or as pressure. Only for the earth do we find “static” systems in use, ana even here there is real question as to whether the systems are dynamic or static. So it would seem that our answer to the question, of what kind, of coordinate systems are we seeking, must be that we are looking for the same systems as are used in geophysics, and these systems are dynamic in nature already – that is, their definition involvestime.


2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 88-99
Author(s):  
Andrey A. Lukashev

The typology of rationality is one of major issues of modern philosophy. In an attempt to provide a typology to Oriental materials, a researcher faces additional problems. The diversity of the Orient as such poses a major challenge. When we say “Oriental,” we mean several cultures for which we cannot find a common denominator. The concept of “Orient” involves Arabic, Indian, Chinese, Turkish and other cultures, and the only thing they share is that they are “non-Western.” Moreover, even if we focus just on Islamic culture and look into rationality in this context, we have to deal with a conglomerate of various trends, which does not let us define, with full confidence, a common theoretical basis and treat them as a unity. Nevertheless, we have to go on trying to find common directions in thought development, so as to draw conclusions about types of rationality possible in Islamic culture. A basis for such a typology of rationality in the context of the Islamic world was recently suggested in A.V. Smirnov’s logic of sense theory. However, actual empiric material cannot always fit theoretical models, and the cases that do not fit the common scheme are interesting per se. On the one hand, examination of such cases gives an opportunity to specify certain provisions of the theory and, on the other hand, to define the limits of its applicability.


Author(s):  
Marie McGinn

In Philosophical Investigations, Wittgenstein raises difficulties for the idea that what comes before my mind when I hear, or suddenly understand, a word can impose any normative constraint on what I go on to do. The conclusion his reflections seem to force on us gives rise to a paradox: there is no such thing as going on to apply an expression in a way that accords with what is meant by it. The paradox can be seen as one horn of a dilemma, the other horn of which is Platonism about meaning. It is generally agreed that resolving the paradox means finding a middle course between the two horns of the dilemma. This chapter looks at three attempts to find the middle course: communitarianism, naturalized Platonism, and quietism. It then considers whether Charles Travis offers a way out of the dilemma which avoids the problems of the other views discussed.


Proceedings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Sebastiano Trevisani

Modern Earth Scientists need also to interact with other disciplines, apparently far from the Earth Sciences and Engineering. Disciplines related to history and philosophy of science are emblematic from this perspective. From one side, the quantitative analysis of information extracted from historical records (documents, maps, paintings, etc.) represents an exciting research topic, requiring a truly holistic approach. On the other side, epistemological and philosophy of science considerations on the relationship between geoscience and society in history are of fundamental importance for understanding past, present and future geosphere-anthroposphere interlinked dynamics.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 1826
Author(s):  
Mihaela Girtan ◽  
Antje Wittenberg ◽  
Maria Luisa Grilli ◽  
Daniel P. S. de Oliveira ◽  
Chiara Giosuè ◽  
...  

This editorial reports on a thorough analysis of the abundance and scarcity distribution of chemical elements and the minerals they form in the Earth, Sun, and Universe in connection with their number of neutrons and binding energy per nucleon. On one hand, understanding the elements’ formation and their specific properties related to their electronic and nucleonic structure may lead to understanding whether future solutions to replace certain elements or materials for specific technical applications are realistic. On the other hand, finding solutions to the critical availability of some of these elements is an urgent need. Even the analysis of the availability of scarce minerals from European Union sources leads to the suggestion that a wide-ranging approach is essential. These two fundamental assumptions represent also the logical approach that led the European Commission to ask for a multi-disciplinary effort from the scientific community to tackle the challenge of Critical Raw Materials. This editorial is also the story of one of the first fulcrum around which a wide network of material scientists gathered thanks to the support of the funding organization for research and innovation networks, COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).


Recent work has determined the depth of the Mohorovičić discontinuity at sea and has made it likely that peridotite xenoliths in basaltic volcanic rocks are samples of material from below the discontinuity. It is now possible to produce a hypothetical section showing the transition from a continent to an ocean. This section is consistent with both the seismic and gravity results. The possible reactions of the crust to changes in the total volume of sea water are dis­cussed. It seems possible that the oceans were shallower and the crust thinner in the Archean than they are now. If this were so, some features of the oldest rocks of Canada and Southern Rhodesia could be explained. Three processes are described that might lead to the formation of oceanic ridges; one of these involves tension, one compression and the other quiet tectonic conditions. It is likely that not all ridges are formed in the same way. It is possible that serpentization of olivine by water rising from the interior of the earth plays an important part in producing changes of level in the ocean floor and anomalies in heat flow. Finally, a method of reducing gravity observations at sea is discussed.


1883 ◽  
Vol 35 (224-226) ◽  
pp. 21-25

On Hind Head, a fine moorland plateau about three miles from Haslemere, with an elevation of 900 feet above the sea, I have recently erected a small iron hut, which forms, not only a place of rest, but an extremely suitable station for meteorological observations. Here, since the beginning of last November, I have continued to record from time to time the temperature of the earth’s surface as compared with that of the air above the surface. My object was to apply, if possible, the results which my experiments had established regarding the action of aqueous vapour upon radiant heat. Two stout poles about 6 feet high were firmly fixed in the earth 8 feet asunder. From one pole to the other was stretched a string, from the centre of which the air thermometer was suspended. Its bulb was 4 feet above the earth. The surface thermometer was placed upon a layer of cotton wool, on a spot cleared of heather, which thickly covered the rest of the ground. The outlook from the thermometers was free and extensive; with the exception of the iron hut just referred to, there was no house near, the hut being about 50 yards distant from the thermometers.


1977 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 1249-1258
Author(s):  
Douglas C. Nyman ◽  
Harsh K. Gupta ◽  
Mark Landisman

abstract The well-known relationship between group velocity and phase velocity, 1/u = d/dω (ω/c), is adapted to the practical situation of discrete observations over a finite frequency range. The transformation of one quantity into the other is achieved in two steps: a low-order polynomial accounts for the dominant trends; the derivative/integral of the residual is evaluated by Fourier analysis. For observations of both group velocity and phase velocity, the requirement that they be mutually consistent can reduce observational errors. The method is also applicable to observations of eigenfrequency and group velocity as functions of normal-mode angular order.


2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (11) ◽  
pp. 4221-4227 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. McKenzie

Abstract. This paper provides an analysis of the combined theory of gravity-inertial-Rossby waves on a β-plane in the Boussinesq approximation. The wave equation for the system is fifth order in space and time and demonstrates how gravity-inertial waves on the one hand are coupled to Rossby waves on the other through the combined effects of β, the stratification characterized by the Väisälä-Brunt frequency N, the Coriolis frequency f at a given latitude, and vertical propagation which permits buoyancy modes to interact with westward propagating Rossby waves. The corresponding dispersion equation shows that the frequency of a westward propagating gravity-inertial wave is reduced by the coupling, whereas the frequency of a Rossby wave is increased. If the coupling is sufficiently strong these two modes coalesce giving rise to an instability. The instability condition translates into a curve of critical latitude Θc versus effective equatorial rotational Mach number M, with the region below this curve exhibiting instability. "Supersonic" fast rotators are unstable in a narrow band of latitudes around the equator. For example Θc~12° for Jupiter. On the other hand slow "subsonic" rotators (e.g. Mercury, Venus and the Sun's Corona) are unstable at all latitudes except very close to the poles where the β effect vanishes. "Transonic" rotators, such as the Earth and Mars, exhibit instability within latitudes of 34° and 39°, respectively, around the Equator. Similar results pertain to Oceans. In the case of an Earth's Ocean of depth 4km say, purely westward propagating waves are unstable up to 26° about the Equator. The nonlinear evolution of this instability which feeds off rotational energy and gravitational buoyancy may play an important role in atmospheric dynamics.


2013 ◽  
Vol 315 ◽  
pp. 472-476
Author(s):  
Adnan Hj. Bakri ◽  
Abdul Rahman Abdul Rahim ◽  
Noordin Mohd Yusof

The objective of this short review paper is to examine the practical applications of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) in the manufacturing industry. In this short review, an attempt was made to critically discuss the previous literatures related to TPM with the other established quality initiatives in the manufacturing, such as Total Quality Management (TQM) and Just-In-Time practice (JIT). This literature review-based research revealed an important research gaps related to TPM. The significance role of TPM as an important complementary to either TQM or JIT initiative is observed not been well addressed in the available literatures. Most of the researches available investigate these initiatives separately, focuses on the other element rather than addressing on the significant role of TPM as one of the main thrust. The separate implementation of such quality initiatives in the manufacturing organization means the requirement of large scale human, financial and technical resources as well the associated problems of running competing project in the company. The outcomes from this review justify the needs of further research in the area of TPM integration with other available initiatives, to further enhance its methodology aimed at solidifying its philosophy towards more realistic practical applications.


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