Concepts and Reference. Defending a Dual Theory of Natural Kind Concepts

In this thesis I argue that the psychological study of concepts and categorisation, and the philosophical study of reference are deeply intertwined. I propose that semantic intuitions are a variety of categorisation judgements, determined by concepts, and that because of this, concepts determine reference. I defend a dual theory of natural kind concepts, according to which natural kind concepts have distinct semantic cores and non-semantic identification procedures. Drawing on psychological essentialism, I suggest that the cores consist of externalistic placeholder essence beliefs. The identification procedures, in turn, consist of prototypes, sets of exemplars, or possibly also theory-structured beliefs. I argue that the dual theory is motivated both by experimental data and theoretical considerations. The thesis consists of three interrelated articles. Article I examines philosophical causal and description theories of natural kind term reference, and argues that they involve, or need to involve, certain psychological elements. I propose a unified theory of natural kind term reference, built on the psychology of concepts. Article II presents two semantic adaptations of psychological essentialism, one of which is a strict externalistic Kripkean-Putnamian theory, while the other is a hybrid account, according to which natural kind terms are ambiguous between internalistic and externalistic senses. We present two experiments, the results of which support the strict externalistic theory. Article III examines Fodor’s influential atomistic theory of concepts, according to which no psychological capacities associated with concepts constitute them, or are necessary for reference. I argue, contra Fodor, that the psychological mechanisms are necessary for reference.

Approximation to the theory of affinities to manage the problems of the groupping process

New economic and enterprise needs have increased the interest and utility of the methods of the grouping process based on the theory of uncertainty. A fuzzy grouping (clustering) process is a key phase of knowledge acquisition and reduction complexity regarding different groups of objects. Here, we considered some elements of the theory of affinities and uncertain pretopology that form a significant support tool for a fuzzy clustering process. A Galois lattice is introduced in order to provide a clearer vision of the results. We made an homogeneous grouping process of the economic regions of Russian Federation and Ukraine. The obtained results gave us a large panorama of a regional economic situation of two countries as well as the key guidelines for the decision-making. The mathematical method is very sensible to any changes the regional economy can have. We gave an alternative method of the grouping process under uncertainty.

The theory of classical Greek music

Luettelointi kesken

Theory of surface noise under Coulomb correlations between carriers and surface states

We present a theory of the surface noise in a nonhomogeneous conductive channel adjacent to an insulating layer. The theory is based on the Langevin approach which accounts for the microscopic sources of fluctuations originated from trapping¿detrapping processes at the interface and intrachannel electron scattering. The general formulas for the fluctuations of the electron concentration, electric field as well as the current-noise spectral density have been derived. We show that due to the self-consistent electrostatic interaction, the current noise originating from different regions of the conductive channel appears to be spatially correlated on the length scale correspondent to the Debye screening length in the channel. The expression for the Hooge parameter for 1/f noise, modified by the presence of Coulomb interactions, has been derived

Self-consistent theory of current and voltage noise in multimode ballistic conductors

Electron transport in a self-consistent potential along a ballistic two-terminal conductor has been investigated. We have derived general formulas which describe the nonlinear current-voltage characteristics, differential conductance, and low-frequency current and voltage noise assuming an arbitrary distribution function and correlation properties of injected electrons. The analytical results have been obtained for a wide range of biases: from equilibrium to high values beyond the linear-response regime. The particular case of a three-dimensional Fermi-Dirac injection has been analyzed. We show that the Coulomb correlations are manifested in the negative excess voltage noise, i.e., the voltage fluctuations under high-field transport conditions can be less than in equilibrium.

A brief introduction to molecular orbital theory of simple polyatomic molecules for undergraduate chemistry students

A simple, four-step method for better introducing undergraduate students to the fundamentals of molecular orbital (MO) theory of the polyatomic molecules H2O, NH3, BH3 and SiH4 using group theory is reported. These molecules serve to illustrate the concept of ligand group orbitals (LGOs) and subsequent construction of MO energy diagrams on the basis of molecular symmetry requirements.

Leibniz's theory of bodies: monadic aggregates, phenomena, or both?

Leibniz's conception of bodies seems to be a puzzling theory. Bodies are seen as aggregates of monads and as wellfounded phenomena. This has initiated controversy and unending discussions. The paper attempts to resolve the apparent inconsistencies by a new and formally spirited reconstruction of Leibniz's theory of monads and perception, on the one hand, and a (re-)formulation and precisation of his concept of preestablished harmony, on the other hand. Preestablished harmony is modelled basically as a covariation between the monadic and the ideal realm.

Rebuilding Defenses: Explorations in Norman Fairclough’s Theory of Critical Discourse Analysis

Tutkielmassa eritellään Norman Faircloughin kriittisen diskurssianalyysin teoriaa ja siihen kohdistettua kritiikkiä. Pyrkimyksenä on sovittaa näitä erilaisia näkemyksiä keskenään ja tarjota ratkaisuja yhteen kiriittisen diskurssianalyysin keskeiseen ongelmaan eli emansipaation (sosiaalisten epäkohtien tunnistamisen ja ratkaisemisen) puutteellisuuteen. Teoriaosuudesta esiin nousevia mahdollisuuksia sovelletaan tekstianalyysiin. Tutkimuksen kohteena on teksti Rebuilding America’s Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources For a New Century ja jossain määrin sen tuottanut järjestö Project for the New American Century. Näitä tarkastellaan ennen kaikkea sosiaalisina ilmiöinä ja suhteessa toisiinsa. Faircloughin mallin suurimmiksi ongelmiksi muodostuvat perinteinen käsitys kielestä, jonka mukaan kielen järjestelmän abstraktit ja sisäiset suhteet ovat tärkeimpiä, sekä ideologinen vastakkainasettelu kritiikin lähtökohtana. Ensimmäinen johtaa kielellisten tutkimustulosten epätyydyttävään kykyyn selittää sosiaalisia havaintoja ja jälkimmäinen poliittiseen tai maailmankatsomukselliseen väittelyyn, joka ei mahdollista uusia näkemyksiä. Tutkielman lopputulema on, että keskittymällä asiasisältöön kielen rakenteen sijasta ja ymmärtämällä tekstin tuottaja yksittäisenä, rajattuna sosiaalisena toimijana voidaan analyysiin saada avoimuutta ja täsmällisyyttä. Kriittiinen diskurssianalyysi kaipaa tällaista näkemystä kielellisten analyysien tueksi ja uudenlaisen relevanssin löytääkseen.

The relation between the general maxim of causality and the principle of uniformity in hume's theory of knowledge

ABSTRACT When Hume, in the Treatise on Human Nature, began his examination of the relation of cause and effect, in particular, of the idea of necessary connection which is its essential constituent, he identified two preliminary questions that should guide his research: (1) For what reason we pronounce it necessary that every thing whose existence has a beginning should also have a cause and (2) Why we conclude that such particular causes must necessarily have such particular effects? (1.3.2, 14-15) Hume observes that our belief in these principles can result neither from an intuitive grasp of their truth nor from a reasoning that could establish them by demonstrative means. In particular, with respect to the first, Hume examines and rejects some arguments with which Locke, Hobbes and Clarke tried to demonstrate it, and suggests, by exclusion, that the belief that we place on it can only come from experience. Somewhat surprisingly, however, Hume does not proceed to show how that derivation of experience could be made, but proposes instead to move directly to an examination of the second principle, saying that, "perhaps, be found in the end, that the same answer will serve for both questions" (1.3.3, 9). Hume's answer to the second question is well known, but the first question is never answered in the rest of the Treatise, and it is even doubtful that it could be, which would explain why Hume has simply chosen to remove any mention of it when he recompiled his theses on causation in the Enquiry concerning Human Understanding. Given this situation, an interesting question that naturally arises is to investigate the relations of logical or conceptual implication between these two principles. Hume seems to have thought that an answer to (2) would also be sufficient to provide an answer to (1). Henry Allison, in his turn, argued (in Custom and Reason in Hume, p. 94-97) that the two questions are logically independent. My proposal here is to try to show that there is indeed a logical dependency between them, but the implication is, rather, from (1) to (2). If accepted, this result may be particularly interesting for an interpretation of the scope of the so-called "Kant's reply to Hume" in the Second Analogy of Experience, which is structured as a proof of the a priori character of (1), but whose implications for (2) remain controversial.

Reagan's mythical America : towards a narrative theory of prophetic politics

Lectio praecursoria Tampereen yliopistossa 17.8.2010.

Social ventures : the development of the theory of sustainable contributive advantage and initial empirical tests

This thesis attempts to fill gaps in both a theoretical basis and an operational and strategic understanding in the areas of social ventures, social entrepreneurship and nonprofit business models. This study also attempts to bridge the gap in strategic and economic theory between social and commercial ventures. More specifically, this thesis explores sustainable competitive advantage from a resource-based theory perspective and explores how it may be applied to the nonmarket situation of nonprofit organizations and social ventures. It is proposed that a social value-orientation of sustainable competitive advantage, called sustainable contributive advantage, provides a more realistic depiction of what is necessary in order for a social venture to perform better than its competitors over time. In addition to providing this realistic depiction, this research provides a substantial theoretical contribution in the area of economics, social ventures, and strategy research, specifically in regards to resource-based theory. The proposed model for sustainable contributive advantage uses resource-based theory and competitive advantage in order to be applicable to social ventures. This model proposes an explanation of a social venture’s ability to demonstrate consistently superior performance. In order to determine whether sustainable competitive advantage is in fact, appropriate to apply to both social and economic environments, quantitative analyses are conducted on a large sample of nonprofit organizations in a single industry and then compared to similar quantitative analyses conducted on commercial ventures. In comparing the trends and strategies between the two types of entities from a quantitative perspective, propositions are developed regarding a social venture’s resource utilization strategies and their possible impact on performance. Evidence is found to support the necessity of adjusting existing models in resource-based theory in order to apply them to social ventures. Additionally supported is the proposed theory of sustainable contributive advantage. The thesis concludes with recommendations for practitioners, researchers and policy makers as well as suggestions for future research paths.

Towards conceptually comprehensive and integrated theory of entrepreneurial opportunity

Insufficient understanding of entrepreneurial opportunities characterizes entrepreneurship research (Companys & McMullen 2006, 302). Subsequently, the purpose of this study was to analyze the concept of entrepreneurial opportunity and to explore and synthetize the integrated theory of entrepreneurial opportunity. A theoretical and concept analytical approach was adapted. Findings of this study was that entrepreneurial opportunity concept was used for variety of different phenomena. No commonly accepted definition existed. Altogether 24 attributes that described the concept were found. The most frequently attached attributes were agent and action, new goods and services, market, value, new means ends or both, and future. Further, the results implied that opportunity could be best understood as a part of a process. Opportunity emerges out of intervened factors. Changes in the environment together with factors related to knowledge, cognition and social ties are the most important drivers of opportunity. Preventing factors that impeded the emergence of opportunity were typically related to cognitive and organizational factors. This study found a tendency towards more integrated theory of entrepreneurial opportunity. The integrated theory acknowledged the usefulness of both discovery and creation theories of opportunity in explaining opportunity. Yet three argument types of integrating two different opportunity theories were identified. These were process category, contextual category and complementing category. Opportunity is at the same time cognitive, social and linguistic construct, although it is shaped by the objective environment. Opportunity requires linguistic endeavors to become explicit. Materialization of opportunity occurs in a social context. Moreover, it is always characterized by some extent of subjectivity, as opportunities cannot appear without the agent and their action. Due to these the concept remains always to some extent ambiguous. Tolerating and harnessing change and investing in human and social capital create the preeminent environment for the entrepreneurial opportunity to be identified.