The Problem of Arbitrary Creation for Impassibility

There is a particular question that has plagued classical Christian theism over the centuries. What reason could God have for creating a universe? In this article, I shall articulate the unique claims of classical theism that other rival models of God lack. I shall argue that classical theism’s unique commitments entail that God cannot create the universe for a reason. Thus, any nonclassical model of God can claim to have the advantage over classical theism because they can affirm that God creates the universe for a reason. In Section 1, I shall articulate classical theism. In Section 2, I shall lay the groundwork for the debate by explaining what a reason is and what a creation is. In Section 3, I shall argue that a classical theist cannot affirm that God creates the universe for a reason, thus conflicting with God’s perfect rationality.

A Non-Classical Model of Mass Valuation of Agricultural Property

Mass valuation of real estate requires meeting a combination of several demands, such as estimating a large number of real estate properties in a short time, and above all carrying out calculations using the same tools. Econometric models ensuring that the above requirements are met are widely used throughout the world. Their application is subject to the fulfillment of assumptions, which, in practice, turns out to be difficult, especially in a market with low information efficiency, which the real estate market is an example of. Hence, apart from classical models, including multiple regression, there are proposals of non-classical models. Additionally, researchers usually analyze the market of apartments or land in urbanized areas, whereas the research area in the article is non-urbanized areas. The nonclassical model of mass valuation of agricultural property tested in the Szczecin center for ad valorem property tax purposes can be treated as an alternative to classical models. The article discusses the methodology of mass valuation of undeveloped agricultural properties in non-urbanized areas, with a proposal of features significantly affecting the value of these properties. A comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of classic and non-classical models used in the mass valuation of real estate was also carried out. The issues addressed are important given the different concepts of introducing cadastral value in Poland, but also the concepts of mass valuation in developing countries where there is not enough developed methodology of real estate estimation by authorized entities.

Temporal synchrony, dynamic bindings, and Shruti: A representational but nonclassical model of reflexive reasoning

Lange & Dyer misunderstand what is meant by an “entity” and confuse a medium of representation (synchrony) with the content being represented. This leads them to the erroneous conclusion that SHRUTI will run out of phases and that its representation of bindings lacks semantic content. It is argued that (1) the limit on the number of phases suffices, and (2) SHRUTI can be interpreted as using “dynamic signatures” that offer significant advantages over fixed preexisting signatures. Bonatti refers to three levels of commitment to a representational theory of the mind (RTM) and states that SHRUTI is committed to RTM at levels 1 and 2. He acknowledges that SHRUTI is not committed at level 3, but argues that an extended SHRUTI would have to make such a commitment. We agree that SHRUTI is committed to RTM at level 1 and, in a sense, also at level 2. SHRUTI, however, is not committed to RTM at level 3 and, even though it has been extended in several ways, it has retained its original representational character.