El modelo semántico y causal de la acción en Davidson y sus aspectos críticos

Fil: Naishtat, Francisco Samuel. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación; Argentina.

El modelo semántico y causal de la acción en Davidson y sus aspectos críticos

Fil: Naishtat, Francisco Samuel. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación; Argentina.

Davidson's externalisms

Donald Davidson ha tenido un papel extremamente importante en lo que hoy se llama Externismo. Sin embargo, la formulación exacta de su externismo no es obvia porque sus compromisos están dispersos a lo largo de muchos de sus artículos. El objetivo de este trabajo es explorar los detalles de su externismo. Indicaremos que Davidson, sin duda defiende, que la mente no está auto-contenida. No obstante, tal idea tiene por lo menos dos sentidos distintos en su trabajo: por un lado, estados y contenidos mentales deben ser individuados, en parte, respecto a factores externos a la piel de uno, porque fueron causados por ellos; y por otro lado, estados y contenidos mentales deben ser individuados por factores externos porque la mente está constituida por conocimiento. Indicaremos que la relación entre estos dos niveles explicativos, aparentemente armoniosa, se vuelve conflictiva dentro del mismo programa davidsoniano. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT

The legacy of past manuring practices on soil contamination in remote rural areas

This paper demonstrates that there can be a legacy of contamination on former arable land in remote rural areas as a result of past manuring practices. In the first part of the study four farms abandoned in the late 19th to mid-20th century were investigated with samples collected from residual material in domestic hearths, the midden heaps, kailyards (walled garden for vegetables), infields (intensively managed arable land) and outfields (less intensively managed land for cropping or grazing). Consistent sequences in concentration values were found for such elements as Pb, Zn, Cu and P in the order hearth>midden>kailyard>infield>outfield. Such patterns can in part be explained in terms of atmospheric deposition on peat and turf which were subsequently burnt in hearths to result in enhanced elemental concentrations. The ash then was deposited in midden heaps and subsequently on kailyards or infields. In the second part, microanalytical results from St. Kilda are discussed. Enhanced loadings of Pb and Zn were found in the old arable land. The highest levels of Zn were found in small fragments of carbonised and humified material and bone fragments; in contrast Pb tended to be more uniformly distributed. Seabird waste was extensively applied to the arable land and some of the Zn may have accumulated in the soil by this pathway. The retention of Zn in bone is likely to have been very minor given the rarity of bone fragments as evident in thin sections (0.3%); this compares with 6.8% for black carbonised particles which are likely to provide the main storage sites for Zn.

Ancient manuring practices pollute arable soils at the St Kilda World Heritage Site, Scottish North Atlantic

The impact of ancient fertilization practices on the biogeochemistry of arable soils on the remote Scottish island of Hirta, St Kilda was investigated. The island was relatively unusual in that the inhabitants exploited seabird colonies for food, enabling high population densities to be sustained on a limited, and naturally poor, soil resource. A few other Scottish islands, the Faeroes and some Icelandic Islands, had similar cultural dependence on seabirds. Fertilization with human and animal waste streams (mainly peat ash and bird carcases) on Hirta over millennia has led to over-deepened, nutrient-rich soils (plaggen). This project set out to examine if this high rate of fertilization had adversely impacted the soil, and if so, to determine which waste streams were responsible. Arable soils were considerably elevated in Pb and Zn compared to non-arable soils. Using Pb isotope signatures and analysis of the waste streams, it was determined that this pollution came from peat and turf ash (Pb and Zn) and from bird carcases (Zn). This was also confirmed by (13)C and (15)N analysis of the profiles which showed that soil organic matter was highly enriched in marine-derived C and N compared to non-arable soils. The pollution of such a remote island may be typical of other 'bird culture' islands, and peat ash contamination of marginal arable soils at high latitudes may be widespread in terms of geographical area, but less intense at specific locations due to lower population densities than on Hirta.

Land use history of Village Bay, Hirta, St Kilda World Heritage Site:A palynological investigation of plaggen soils

This paper presents findings based on a palynological investigation of artificially accreting (plaggen) soils from the settlement of Village Bay, Hirta, in the St Kilda archipelago, which was perhaps the most distant and inhospitable outpost of sustained human habitation in the British Isles. The soils were developed principally through the addition of turf ash and seabird waste, although some ash may have been derived from upland peats. It is assumed that the woodland pollen signal (much lower in the soils than in an upland peat site nearby) represents off-island sources. Corylus avellana-type pollen (frequent in upland sites), along with Potentilla-type, may provide markers in the Village Bay profiles for the addition of ashed hillside turf, and possibly peat, to the plaggen soils. Cereal-type pollen is well represented through the profiles and is often strongly associated with the record for Chrysanthemum segetum (corn marigold), a frequent indicator of arable land. The Brassicaceae signal may partly reflect the cultivation of cabbages; Chelidonium majus (greater celandine) may have been grown for medicinal use. Soil mixing has rendered radiocarbon dating meaningless at this site, but the establishment of a change in cultivation regime before AD 1830 may have been identified from the patterns of pollen concentration and preservation in the profiles. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Wittgenstein y el giro lingüístico. Hacia un nuevo paradigma anti-representacionalista en filosfía

Como bien lo ejemplifica el cambio de pensamiento del primer al segundo Wittgenstein, pareciera que el giro lingüístico conlleva el tránsito del modernismo al post-modernismo. Es decir, mientras que el primer Wittgenstein, al tener como base teórica concluyente el principio representacionalista y veritativo de la realidad a través del lenguaje figurativo, pareciera ser el punto más alto del paradigma representacionalista moderno, el segundo, al renunciar a dicho principio para tener como fundamento el uso social del lenguaje, pareciera subsumir al conocimiento y saber occidental en un nuevo paradigma relativista y no-repreentacionalista, al cual se le denota en la discusión contemporánea simplemente como la "condición post-moderna" y/o "crisis de la modernidad". Pero como lo muestra el trabajo de Lyotard, Quine, Rorty y Davidson, todo parece indicar que dicho giro lo que lleva es a un nuevo paradigma anti-representacionalista; resultando, académicamente, válido y positivo (provechoso) para el conocimiento y saber filosófico/epistemológico occidental. Lo cual parece señalar, entonces, que de hecho asistimos a una nueva época, a la que simplemente se le ha antepuesto el prefino "post" para diferenciarla de aquella otra que quedó atrás en el tiempo: la Modernidad.

Reconsidering Relativism and Intentionalism in Interpretation : Donald Davidson, Hermeneutics, and Pragmatism

This study focuses on two philosophical issues related to the interpretation of art. Firstly, it considers the role of authorial intentions in interpretation. Secondly, the study raises the issue of relativism in interpretation through a discussion of the relativistic tendencies apparent in the views of three major figures of contemporary philosophy: Joseph Margolis, Hans-Georg Gadamer, and Richard Rorty. The major goal of the thesis is to develop a theory of interpretation supporting the role of authorial intentions in interpretation on the basis of Donald Davidson s late philosophy of language and the holistic account of interpretation that underlies different parts of his philosophy. It is my belief that an intentionalist view of interpretation built on Davidsonian elements manages to form the most convincing defense of that interpretive position against the skepticism present in the views of Margolis, Gadamer, and Rorty. The theoretical issues addressed in the thesis are illuminated by discussions of case-examples, most importantly Richard Wagner s The Valkyrie, Thomas Adés America: A Prophecy, and some symphonies by Dimitri Shostakovich. In chapter one, I present a critical discussion of Margolis robust relativism. While finding Margolis criticism of the self-refutive argument plausible, I, nevertheless, argue that the relativistic logic Margolis offers should not be favored in interpretation. The first parts of chapter two outline Davidsonian intentionalism by presenting a reading of Davidson s later work in philosophy of language and mind, and by indicating its relationship to Davidson s views of literature. Then, I shall compare Davidson s ideas with some recent modest forms of intentionalism found in analytic aesthetics, and argue that Davidsonian intentionalism is in many respects more satisfactory compared to them. Chapter three engages Gadamer s hermeneutics by defending E.D. Hirsch s criticism of Gadamer. Uncovering the shortcomings in the replies of Gadamer s followers to Hirsch s criticism serves as a basis for the defense of intentionalism in interpretation carried out in the chapter. That defense is then extended with a discussion of some recent hermeneutic readings of Davidson s views. Chapter four deals with the standing of intentionalism through Rorty s pragmatist approach to literature. By indicating the position of pragmatist notions of aesthetic experience and imagination in Davidsonian intentionalism, it is shown that an intentionalist approach need not be as impoverished with regard to the value Rorty attributes to literature as he assumes. The concluding chapter outlines some ways in which one can be a pluralist with regard to art and interpretation without falling into relativism.

Non-reductive Physicalism, Irreducibility of the Mental and the Problem of Mental Causation : A study of Donald Davidson's and Georg Henrik von Wright's positions in the philosophy of mind

In this study I consider what kind of perspective on the mind body problem is taken and can be taken by a philosophical position called non-reductive physicalism. Many positions fall under this label. The form of non-reductive physicalism which I discuss is in essential respects the position taken by Donald Davidson (1917-2003) and Georg Henrik von Wright (1916-2003). I defend their positions and discuss the unrecognized similarities between their views. Non-reductive physicalism combines two theses: (a) Everything that exists is physical; (b) Mental phenomena cannot be reduced to the states of the brain. This means that according to non-reductive physicalism the mental aspect of humans (be it a soul, mind, or spirit) is an irreducible part of the human condition. Also Davidson and von Wright claim that, in some important sense, the mental aspect of a human being does not reduce to the physical aspect, that there is a gap between these aspects that cannot be closed. I claim that their arguments for this conclusion are convincing. I also argue that whereas von Wright and Davidson give interesting arguments for the irreducibility of the mental, their physicalism is unwarranted. These philosophers do not give good reasons for believing that reality is thoroughly physical. Notwithstanding the materialistic consensus in the contemporary philosophy of mind the ontology of mind is still an uncharted territory where real breakthroughs are not to be expected until a radically new ontological position is developed. The third main claim of this work is that the problem of mental causation cannot be solved from the Davidsonian - von Wrightian perspective. The problem of mental causation is the problem of how mental phenomena like beliefs can cause physical movements of the body. As I see it, the essential point of non-reductive physicalism - the irreducibility of the mental - and the problem of mental causation are closely related. If mental phenomena do not reduce to causally effective states of the brain, then what justifies the belief that mental phenomena have causal powers? If mental causes do not reduce to physical causes, then how to tell when - or whether - the mental causes in terms of which human actions are explained are actually effective? I argue that this - how to decide when mental causes really are effective - is the real problem of mental causation. The motivation to explore and defend a non-reductive position stems from the belief that reductive physicalism leads to serious ethical problems. My claim is that Davidson's and von Wright's ultimate reason to defend a non-reductive view comes back to their belief that a reductive understanding of human nature would be a narrow and possibly harmful perspective. The final conclusion of my thesis is that von Wright's and Davidson's positions provide a starting point from which the current scientistic philosophy of mind can be critically further explored in the future.

Kant en los problemas de filosofía de la mente contemporánea entre D. Davidson y J. Kim: un argumento a favor del Monismo Anómalo

El Monismo Anómalo que Donald Davidson postuló como posible derrotero a propósito de los problemas latentes en filosofía de la mente contemporánea ha sido víctima de serias críticas, en especial aquellas planteadas por Jaegwon Kim. Sin embargo, una lectura que incluya las referencia que Davidson hizo del proyecto que Kant desarrolló en la Tercera Antinomia de la Razón Pura puede servir para ofrecer una lectura a favor de su proyecto.

Book review of Donald, S.H., & Gammack, J.G. 2007. Tourism and the Branded City : Film and Identity in the Pacific Rim. Aldershot : Ashgate.

In the decade since the destination branding literature emerged (see for example Pritchard & Morgan 1998, Dosen & Vransevic 1998), only a few books have been published. These are Morgan et al.’s (2002, 2004) edited volumes of international case studies and conceptual papers, and Baker’s (2007) practitioner perspective on branding small cities in the USA. This work by Stephanie Donald and John Gammack is the first research-based text related to destination branding, and is a welcome and timely addition to the field. In the foreword to the first issue of Place Branding and Public Policy, editor Simon Anholt (2004, p. 4) suggested “almost nobody agrees on what, exactly, branding means”, when he described place branding practice as akin to the Wild West. Indeed, this lack of theory was one of the motivators for the authors of this text. Tourism and the Branded City is part of Ashgate’s New Directions in Tourism Analysis series, edited by Dimitri Ioannides. The aim of the series is to address the gap in published theory underpinning the study of tourism, with a particular interest in non-business disciplines such as Sociology, Social Anthropology, Human and Social Geography, and Cultural Studies...

The Donald Mackay Churchill Fellowship to study methods of preventing and supporting victims of online fraud

Every day inboxes are being flooded with invitations to invest money in overseas schemes, notifications of overseas lottery wins and inheritances, as well as emails from banks and other institutions asking for customers to confirm information about their identity and account details. While these requests may seem outrageous, many believe the request to be true and respond, through the sending of money or personal details. This can have devastating consequences, financially, emotionally and physically. While enforcement action is important, greater success is likely to come in the area of prevention, which avoids victim losses in the first place. Considerable victim support is also required by victims who have suffered significant losses, in trying to get their lives back on track. This project examined fraud prevention strategies and support services for victims of online fraud across the United Kingdom, United States of America and Canada. While much work has already been undertaken in Queensland, there is considerable room for improvement and a great deal can be learnt from these overseas jurisdictions. There are several examples of innovative and effective responses, particularly in the area of victim support, that are highlighted throughout this report. It is advocated that Australia can continue to improve its position regarding the prevention and support of online fraud victims, by applying the knowledge and expertise learnt overseas to a local context.

Donald Ezekiel AM : passionate and innovative contact lens practitioner and manufacturer

Donald Ezekiel (known to all as ‘Don’) was born in Singapore on September 12, 1936, to a German mother and Iraqi father. His parents were Jewish refugees, who met in Batavia,1 married and alternately lived in Batavia and Singapore. The family established their primary residence in Singapore after Don’s older brother Eric (later to become a haematologist) was born in 1934. The Ezekiel family was forced to flee in 1941 when the Japanese bombed Singapore and were fortunate to obtain passage on a hospital ship to Perth. They returned to Singapore after the war but left again on their own accord in 1951 due to race riots. The Ezekiels sold up everything in Singapore and decided to settle in Perth...