Plato's Doctrine Of Forms: Modern Misunderstandings

Among the philosophical ideas of Plato, perhaps the most famous is his doctrine of forms. This doctrine has faced harsh criticism due, in large part, to the interpretations of this position by modern philosophers such as René Descartes, John Locke, and Immanuel Kant. For example, Plato has been interpreted as presenting a ¿two-worlds¿ approach to form and thing and as advancing a rationalist approach to epistemology. His forms have often been interpreted as ideas and as perfect copies of the things of the visible world. In this thesis, I argue that these, along with other interpretations of Plato presented by the moderns, are based on misunderstandings of Plato¿s overall philosophy. In so doing, I attempt to show that the doctrine of forms cannot be directly interpreted into the language of Cartesian, Lockean, and Kantian metaphysics and epistemology, and thus should not be prematurely dismissed because of these modern Platonic interpretations. By analyzing the Platonic dialogues beside the writings of the modern philosophers, I conclude that three of the most prominent modern philosophers, as representatives of their respective philosophical frameworks, have fundamentally misunderstood the nature of Plato¿s famous doctrine of forms. This could have significant implications for the future of metaphysics and epistemology by providing an interpretation of Plato which adds to, instead of contradicts, the developments of modern philosophy.

Original journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806; printed from the original manuscripts in the library of the American Philosophical Society and by direction of its committee on historical documents, together with manuscript material of Lewis and Clark from other sources, including note-books, letters, maps, etc., and the journals of Charles Floyd and Joseph Whitehouse, now for the first time published in full and exactly as written.

Vol. 8 has title: Atlas accompanying the original journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806, being facsimile reproductions of maps, chiefly by William Clark ... Now for the first time published, from the original manuscripts ... together with a modern map of the route ...

Visual demands of modern primary classrooms and the impact of refractive anomalies on academic performance

This research investigated the visual demands in modern primary school classrooms and also the impact of common refractive anomalies on a child's ability to perform academic-related tasks. The results showed that relatively high levels of visual acuity, contrast demand and sustained accommodative-convergence are required to perform optimally in the modern classroom environment. It was also demonstrated that relatively low magnitudes of uncorrected refractive error may have a detrimental impact on children's ability to perform academic-related activities at school, with sustained near work further exacerbating this effect. These findings have important implications for both eye care practitioners and education authorities.

Modern Societal Impulses and their Nordic Manifestations : On Emancipation and Constraint in Societal Development

The 1980s and the early 1990s have proved to be an important turning point in the history of the Nordic welfare states. After this breaking point, the Nordic social order has been built upon a new foundation. This study shows that the new order is mainly built upon new hierarchies and control mechanisms that have been developed consistently through economic and labour market policy measures. During the post-war period Nordic welfare states to an increasing extent created equality of opportunity and scope for agency among people. Public social services were available for all and the tax-benefit system maintained a level income distribution. During this golden era of Nordic welfare state, the scope for agency was, however, limited by social structures. Public institutions and law tended to categorize people according to their life circumstances ascribing them a predefined role. In the 1980s and 1990s this collectivist social order began to mature and it became subject to political renegotiation. Signs of a new social order in the Nordic countries have included the liberation of the financial markets, the privatizing of public functions and redefining the role of the public sector. It is now possible to reassess the ideological foundations of this new order. As a contrast to widely used political rhetoric, the foundation of the new order has not been the ideas of individual freedom or choice. Instead, the most important aim appears to have been to control and direct people to act in accordance with the rules of the market. The various levels of government and the social security system have been redirected to serve this goal. Instead of being a mechanism for redistributing income, the Nordic social security system has been geared towards creating new hierarchies on the Nordic labour markets. During the past decades, conditions for receiving income support and unemployment benefit have been tightened in all Nordic countries. As a consequence, people have been forced to accept deteriorating terms and conditions on the labour market. Country-specific variations exist, however: in sum Sweden has been most conservative, Denmark most innovative and Finland most radical in reforming labour market policy. The new hierarchies on the labour market have co-incided with slow or non-existent growth of real wages and with a strong growth of the share of capital income. Slow growth of real wages has kept inflation low and thus secured the value of capital. Societal development has thus progressed from equality of opportunity during the age of the welfare states towards a hierarchical social order where the majority of people face increasing constraints and where a fortunate minority enjoys prosperity and security.

Factors contributing to phantom bonds in inorganic molecules: Interpretations and predictions

The validity of various qualitative proposals for interpreting and predicting the existence of short contacts between formally non-bonded atoms, as in cyclodisiloxane and related inorganic ring systems, is critically evaluated. The models range from simple considerations of geometric constraints, lone pair repulsions and pi-complex formation to proposals such as the unsupported pi-bond model and the sigma-bridged-pi bond concept. It is pointed out that a unified description based on a combination of closed and open 3-centre 2-electron bonds is possible. The role of hybridisation is emphasized in the short phantom bond computed in an earlier model system. These insights are used to predict structures with exceptionally short Si..Si and B..B phantom bonds. The proposals are confirmed by ab initio calculations.

Utilization of treated wood, steel, fibreglass, ferrocement and aluminium in the construction of modern fishing boats and their comparative cost analysis

Modern fishing boats have to be built not only on perfect lines but also with sound and strong construction materials that will ensure a long lasting trouble free service commensurate with the heavy capital investment involved. Choice of construction materials for fishing boats need careful scrutiny as they have to perform too well under most aggressive environments-sea-water and marine atmosphere. A number of alternative boat-building materials are now available whose comparative merits and demerits as well as comparative costs are brought out in this paper.

Modern sedimentary environments and dynamic depositional systems in the southern Yellow Sea

Based on analyses of more than 600 surface sediment samples together with large amounts of previous sedimentologic and hydrologic data, the characteristics of modern sedimentary environments and dynamic depositional systems in the southern Yellow Sea (SYS) are expounded, and the controversial formation mechanism of muddy sediments is also discussed. The southern Yellow Sea shelf can be divided into low-energy sedimentary environment and high-energy sedimentary environment; the low-energy sedimentary environment can be further divided into cyclonic and anticyclonic ones, and the high-energy environment is subdivided into high-energy depositional and eroded environments. In the shelf low-energy environments, there developed muddy depositional system. In the central part of the southern Yellow Sea, there deposited the cold eddy sediments under the actions of a meso-scale cyclonic eddy (cold eddy), and in the southeast of the southern Yellow Sea, an anticyclonic eddy muddy depositional system (warm eddy sediment) was formed. These two types of sediments showed evident differences in grain size, sedimentation rate, sediment thickness and mineralogical characteristics. The high-energy environments were covered with sandy sediments on seabed; they appeared mainly in the west, south and northeast of the southern Yellow Sea. In the high-energy eroded environment, large amounts of sandstone gravels were distributed on seabed. In the high-energy depositional environment, the originally deposited fine materials (including clay and fine silt) were gradually re-suspended and then transported to a low-energy area to deposit again. In this paper, the sedimentation model of cyclonic and anticyclonic types of muddy sediments is established, and a systematic interpretation for the formation cause of muddy depositional systems in the southern Yellow Sea is given.

Thoughts from modern martyrs/ edited and arranged by James Anthony Walsh.

http://www.archive.org/details/thoughtsfrommode00walsuoft

The Shawlies: A study of early neoliberal ‘gender-fication’. The Street Trading Act, 1926, modern gender-fication, and the implications for Cork’s women street traders

For centuries Cork’s Shawlies, working-class women, survived by trading on public streets. My study explores how the first Irish Free State government, and Cork’s local authority, limited the rights of poor women to earn by subsistence trading with The Street Trading Act, 1926. The government insisted this would regulate street trading. In practice it further marginalised the women economically and socially, containing them outside the privileged, commercial city centre. In Cork the legislation facilitated the gradual disappearance of the Shawlies amid entrenched social processes and relations, contingencies that allowed for the abuse of their rights in the service of amalgamated business interests. This study address the role of discourses in deepening this marginalisation. My theoretical framework is designed to demonstrate how a seemingly innocuous piece of legislation would, in practice, do this. I set out the concepts of ‘Thriving State’, ‘Prosperous State’, and state of ‘Best Intentions’ that uses gentrification to meet these goals. The existing knowledge on women in trade is then examined, highlighting the gaps in what is known about the Shawlies. Chapter 3 details the theory behind my genealogical method. The legislation, debate, and other data produced at the national level is then examined, before moving to the local data. Chapter 6 is devoted to the Shawlies, setting their stories in the larger context of the debates. An examination of studies of contemporary women street traders in poor nations follows, along with a brief history of the decline of street trading in New York city under gentrification. Points of convergence between that process and the one in Cork are identified, along with convergences between contemporary traders and the Shawlies. The conclusion sets out my methodological, theoretical and substantive discoveries, and comments on current nostalgic renderings of the Shawlies in Cork’s newly gentrified Corn Market Street.

Divergent Paths of Development: The Modern World-System and Democratization in South Africa and Zambia

This article examines whether a Modern World- Systems (MWS) perspective can provide an improved understanding of the processes of democratization in Africa (and other developing regions of the world) by conducting a comparative case study of South Africa and Zambia in the 1990s, examining the transitions to democracy and divergent processes of democratic consolidation in each country. Semiperipheral South Africa has, due to its more advantageous position in the world-system, been better equipped than peripheral Zambia to safeguard democracy against erosion and reversal. Th e central irony of the MWS is that the weakest states in the MWS can be pushed around by core powers and are more easily forced to democratize while at the same time they are least likely to possess the resources necessary for democratic consolidation. Semiperipheral states can maintain their independence vis-à-vis the core to a higher degree, but if the decision is made to undertake a democratic transition they are more likely to possess the resources necessary for successful consolidation. Th e MWS perspective allows for an improved understanding of the causal pathway of how position in the MWS translates into the ability to consolidate democracy than does approaches that emphasize domestic factors.

'Ancient Enmities' and Modern Conflict: History and Politics in Northern Ireland

This article investigates the role of history and historical consciousness in deeply divided societies. It looks at the case of Northern Ireland. It argues that, while the conflict here is caused by contemporary divisions, perceptions of the past have had considerable influence. Recent years have seen efforts to change historical attitudes and this has aided political accommodation. An important lesson from the conflict in Northern Ireland points to the need to challenge such historical perceptions.