scholarly journals The Shape of Agency

2021 ◽  
pp. 92-108
Author(s):  
Joshua Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Practical Reasoning ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Mental Action

After offering accounts of basic building blocks of agency in chapters 2 through 5, this chapter serves as a hinge. Here, drawing on Tyler Burge’s work on primitive agency, this chapter discusses the most primitive features of agency, and considers what must be added to work towards more sophisticated kinds of agent. The main aim is to articulate a kind of (metaphorical) ladder that allows us to see, not only the shape of agency in relief, but also the place of key capacities like a capacity for representation of targets for behavior, and a capacity of practical reasoning. This leads, at the chapter’s very end, to a brief discussion of the role of mental action in an understanding of agency.

scholarly journals Introduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Joshua Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Practical Reasoning ◽  
Intentional Action ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
The Way

In the introduction the book’s central themes are introduced. Agents are often considered special, in that agents actively do things. Non-agents, by contrast, are zones of mere passivity. The aim of this book is to offer a perspective on agency that allows agency to stand out as special when compared to non-agentive systems. This perspective will be developed by way of interlinked explanations of the basic building blocks of agency, as well as its exemplary instances. Novel accounts of several key phenomena are developed: control over behavior, non-deviant causation, intentional action, skill, and knowledgeable action. Along the way the role of planning, practical reasoning, belief, and knowledge receive thorough discussion.

scholarly journals The Shape of Agency

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Practical Reasoning ◽  
Intentional Action ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Action Control ◽  
Action Execution ◽  
Authoritative Knowledge ◽  
Display Quality ◽  
The Way

In this book Shepherd offers a perspective on the shape of agency by offering interlinked explanations of the basic building blocks of agency, as well as its exemplary instances. In the book’s first part, he offers accounts of phenomena that have long troubled philosophers of action: control over behavior, non-deviant causation, and intentional action. These accounts build on earlier work in the causalist tradition and undermine the claims of many that causalism cannot offer a satisfying account of non-deviant causation, and therefore intentional action. In the book’s second part, he turns to modes of agentive excellence—ways that agents display quality of form. He offers a novel account of skill, including an account of the ways that agents display more or less skill. He discusses the role of knowledge in skill and concludes that while knowledge is often important, it is inessential. This leads to a discussion of knowledge of action—of the way that knowledge of action and knowledge of how to act informs action execution. Shepherd argues that knowledgeable action includes a unique epistemic underpinning. For in knowledgeable action, the agent has authoritative knowledge of what she is doing and how she is doing it when and because she is poised to control her action by way of practical reasoning.

The Role of the City in Merovingian Francia

2020 ◽  
pp. 581-610
Author(s):  
S. T. Loseby
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Urban Communities ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Urban Network ◽  
City Councils ◽  
Royal Courts ◽  
Range Of Functions ◽  
Fierce Competition

The Merovingians inherited an urban network from the Roman Empire that remained substantially intact. Although Gallic cities had long been declining in extent and sophistication, during late antiquity their landscapes were adapted to contemporary priorities through the provision of walls and churches, and their politics was transformed by the emergence of bishops as leaders of urban communities. When the upper tiers of imperial administration disappeared, this equipped the vast majority of cities to survive as the basic building blocks of Merovingian kingdoms that were initially conceived as aggregations of city–territories. In ruling through their cities, the Merovingians expanded upon existing mechanisms for the extraction of taxes and services, while relying on centrally appointed bishops and counts rather than city councils for the projection of their authority. This generated fierce competition between kings for control of cities and among local elites for positions of power within them. In the later Merovingian period, however, the significance of cities diminished as stable territorial kingdoms emerged, political practice was centralized around the royal courts, and the Roman administrative legacy finally disintegrated. But the cities remained preeminent religious centers, and, with the beginnings of economic revival, continued to perform a range of functions unmatched by other categories of settlement.

scholarly journals Characterizing the building blocks of Problematic Use of the Internet (PUI): The role of obsessional impulses and impulsivity traits among Italian young adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 106 ◽  
pp. 152225
Author(s):  
Francesco Di Carlo ◽  
Mauro Pettorruso ◽  
Maria Chiara Alessi ◽  
Elena Picutti ◽  
Rebecca Collevecchio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Problematic Use ◽  
Use Of The Internet

scholarly journals Resonance in Optimal Perturbation Evolution. Part II: Effects of a Nonzero Mean PV Gradient

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 695-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. de Vries ◽  
J. D. Opsteegh
Keyword(s):  
Potential Vorticity ◽  
Propagation Speed ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Joint Effect ◽  
Optimal Perturbation ◽  
Orr Mechanism ◽  
Nonzero Mean ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Pv Gradient

Abstract Optimal perturbations are constructed for a two-layer β-plane extension of the Eady model. The surface and interior dynamics is interpreted using the concept of potential vorticity building blocks (PVBs), which are zonally wavelike, vertically confined sheets of quasigeostrophic potential vorticity. The results are compared with the Charney model and with the two-layer Eady model without β. The authors focus particularly on the role of the different growth mechanisms in the optimal perturbation evolution. The optimal perturbations are constructed allowing only one PVB, three PVBs, and finally a discrete equivalent of a continuum of PVBs to be present initially. On the f plane only the PVB at the surface and at the tropopause can be amplified. In the presence of β, however, PVBs influence each other’s growth and propagation at all levels. Compared to the two-layer f-plane model, the inclusion of β slightly reduces the surface growth and propagation speed of all optimal perturbations. Responsible for the reduction are the interior PVBs, which are excited by the initial PVB after initialization. Their joint effect is almost as strong as the effect from the excited tropopause PVB, which is also negative at the surface. If the optimal perturbation is composed of more than one PVB, the Orr mechanism dominates the initial amplification in the entire troposphere. At low levels, the interaction between the surface PVB and the interior tropospheric PVBs (in particular those near the critical level) takes over after about half a day, whereas the interaction between the tropopause PVB and the interior PVBs is responsible for the main amplification in the upper troposphere. In all cases in which more than one PVB is used, the growing normal mode configuration is not reached at optimization time.

The Frame Problem in Ethics

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 53-73
Author(s):  
Sebastian Gałecki
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Moral Judgment ◽  
First Principles ◽  
Practical Reasoning ◽  
Ethical Principles ◽  
Frame Problem ◽  
Classical Philosophy ◽  
The Frame Problem ◽  
The Invisible

Although the “frame problem” in philosophy has been raised in the context of the artificial intelligence, it is only an exemplification of broader problem. It seems that contemporary ethical debates are not so much about conclusions, decisions, norms, but rather about what we might call a “frame”. Metaethics has always been the bridge between purely ethical principles (“this is good and it should be done”, “this is wrong and it should be avoided”) and broader (ontological, epistemic, anthropological etc.) assumptions. One of the most interesting meta-ethical debates concerns the “frame problem”: whether the ethical frame is objective and self-evident, or is it objective but not self-evident? In classical philosophy, this problem takes the form of a debate on the first principles: nonprovable but necessary starting points for any practical reasoning. They constitute the invisible but essential frame of every moral judgment, decision and action. The role of philosophy is not only to expose these principles, but also to understand the nature of the moral frame.

scholarly journals Role of the Global Fund in national HIV/AIDS response in Myanmar: a qualitative study

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zarni Htun ◽  
Yingxi Zhao ◽  
Hannah Gilbert ◽  
Chunling Lu
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Health System ◽  
Global Fund ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Key Informants ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Hiv Aids

Abstract Background The Global Fund has been a major funding source for HIV/AIDS programs in Myanmar. In this qualitative study, we aim to understand the impact of Global Fund on national HIV/AIDS response in Myanmar during the era of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Methods We conducted individual in-depth interviews by recruiting key informants through purposive snowball sampling. The respondents were engaged in the national/subnational response to HIV/AIDS in Myanmar and worked for the United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and civil society. Interview questions were organized around the role of Global Fund in strengthening national response to HIV/AIDS in the six building blocks of the Myanmar’s health system. Transcripts from the key informants were synthesized into specific themes through a deductive approach. Results We found that the Global Fund has provided substantial support to (1) finance the national HIV/AIDS response in Myanmar, and (2) strengthen leadership and governance at the central level through improving coordination and collaboration, including more stakeholders (e.g. civil society, NGOs) in decision making process, and catalyzing policy changes on scaling-up key interventions. Yet, its role remains limited in addressing new demands at the township level in terms of capacity building, staffing, and medical supply resulting from rapid scale-up of HIV interventions and decentralization of service delivery in the public sector. Conclusion There was a missed opportunity for Myanmar to capitalize on the use of the Global Fund’s funding to strengthen the health system. Deliberate planning is required to optimize the use of those scarce resources to provide universal coverage for HIV/AIDS.

scholarly journals Autophagy and Metabolism in Normal and Malignant Hematopoiesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (16) ◽  
pp. 8540
Author(s):  
Ioanna E. Stergiou ◽  
Efstathia K. Kapsogeorgou
Keyword(s):  
Hematopoietic Cells ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Hematologic Malignancies ◽  
Mitochondrial Content ◽  
Differentiation Potential ◽  
Hematopoietic Stem ◽  
Hematopoietic System ◽  
Regulation Of Metabolism ◽  
Multipotent Differentiation

The hematopoietic system relies on regulation of both metabolism and autophagy to maintain its homeostasis, ensuring the self-renewal and multipotent differentiation potential of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). HSCs display a distinct metabolic profile from that of their differentiated progeny, while metabolic rewiring from glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) has been shown to be crucial for effective hematopoietic differentiation. Autophagy-mediated regulation of metabolism modulates the distinct characteristics of quiescent and differentiating hematopoietic cells. In particular, mitophagy determines the cellular mitochondrial content, thus modifying the level of OXPHOS at the different differentiation stages of hematopoietic cells, while, at the same time, it ensures the building blocks and energy for differentiation. Aberrations in both the metabolic status and regulation of the autophagic machinery are implicated in the development of hematologic malignancies, especially in leukemogenesis. In this review, we aim to investigate the role of metabolism and autophagy, as well as their interconnections, in normal and malignant hematopoiesis.

scholarly journals Truth in Practical Reason: Practical and Assertoric Truth in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michail Pantoulias ◽  
Vasiliki Vergouli ◽  
Panagiotis Thanassas
Keyword(s):  
Practical Reason ◽  
Practical Reasoning ◽  
Nicomachean Ethics ◽  
Controversial Subject ◽  
Practical Syllogism ◽  
The Subject ◽  
De Interpretatione

Truth has always been a controversial subject in Aristotelian scholarship. In most cases, including some well-known passages in the Categories, De Interpretatione and Metaphysics, Aristotle uses the predicate ‘true’ for assertions, although exceptions are many and impossible to ignore. One of the most complicated cases is the concept of practical truth in the sixth book of Nicomachean Ethics: its entanglement with action and desire raises doubts about the possibility of its inclusion to the propositional model of truth. Nevertheless, in one of the most extensive studies on the subject, C. Olfert has tried to show that this is not only possible but also necessary. In this paper, we explain why trying to fit practical truth into the propositional model comes with insurmount­able problems. In order to overcome these problems, we focus on multiple aspects of practical syllogism and correlate them with Aristo­tle’s account of desire, happiness and the good. Identifying the role of such concepts in the specific steps of practical reasoning, we reach the conclusion that practical truth is best explained as the culmination of a well-executed practical syllogism taken as a whole, which ultimately explains why this type of syllogism demands a different approach and a different kind of truth than the theoretical one.

Pre-school numeracy play as a predictor of children’s attitudes towards mathematics at age 10

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aidan Clerkin ◽  
Katie Gilligan
Keyword(s):  
Building Blocks ◽  
Early Numeracy ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Mathematical Performance ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Lower Socioeconomic ◽  
Attitudes Towards Mathematics ◽  
Mathematics And Science

Numeracy activities in early childhood have been linked to children’s mathematical performance in subsequent years. However, few studies have examined associations between early numeracy play and children’s subsequent attitudes towards mathematics. This study draws on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011 assessment to provide a retrospective snapshot of pre-school numeracy play reported by the parents of 10-year-old children (N = 4560). Most children were found to have engaged frequently in some form of early numeracy activity. However, children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds had less regular engagement with numeracy play, while spatial play (e.g. building blocks) was less common among girls. The extent to which children engaged in pre-school numeracy play was significantly associated with greater confidence and (for children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds) liking of mathematics at age 10, controlling for other factors. The results highlight socioeconomic and gendered differences in children’s early activities about which policy-makers, educators and parents should be aware. They also suggest the potential role of numeracy play in fostering positive attitudes towards mathematics, which should be considered amid efforts to increase participation in science, technology, engineering and maths domains.

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