الصفحة 1
الصفحة 1
United Nations Peace Operations in a Changing Global Order
This volume explores how UN peace operations are adapting to four trends in the changing global order: the rebalancing of relations between states of the global North and the global South; the rise of regional organisations as providers of peace; the rise of violent extremism and fundamentalist non-state actors; and increasing demands from non-state actors for greater emphasis on human security. It identifies emerging conflict and peace trends (robustness of responses, rise of non-state threats, cross-state conflicts) and puts them in the context of tectonic shifts in the global order (rise of emerging powers, North–South rebalancing, emergence of regional organisations as providers of peace). The volume stimulates a discussion between practitioners and academics, offering an analysis of how the international community collectively makes sense of the changing global order and its implications for UN peace operations.
Underdetermination : An Essay on Evidence and the Limits of Natural Knowledge
Underdetermination. An Essay on Evidence and the Limits of Natural Knowledge is a wide-ranging study of the thesis that scientific theories are systematically "underdetermined" by the data they account for. This much-debated thesis is a thorn in the side of scientific realists and methodologists of science alike and of late has been vigorously attacked. After analyzing the epistemological and ontological ascpects of the controversy in detail, and reviewing pertinent logical facts and selected scientific cases, Bonk carefully examines the merits of arguments for and against the thesis. Along the way, he investigates methodological proposals and recent theories of confirmation, which promise to discriminate among observationally equivalent theories on evidential grounds. He explores sympathetically but critically W.V.Quine and H.Putnam’s arguments for the thesis, the relationship between indeterminacy and underdetermination, and possibilities for a conventionalist solution.
Time Predictions : Understanding and Avoiding Unrealism in Project Planning and Everyday Life
Predicting the time needed to complete a project, task or daily activity can be difficult and people frequently underestimate how long an activity will take. This book sheds light on why and when this happens, what we should do to avoid it and how to give more realistic time predictions. It describes methods for predicting time usage in situations with high uncertainty, explains why two plus two is usually more than four in time prediction contexts, reports on research on time prediction biases, and summarizes the evidence in support of different time prediction methods and principles. Based on a comprehensive review of the research, it is the first book summarizing what we know about judgment-based time predictions.
The new haven school : American international law
An intellectual history of the ‘New Haven School’, a school of legal theory and practice associated with Yale Law School in the city of New Haven. New Haven School ‘policy-oriented jurisprudence’—so-called for its emphasis on using law to pursue acknowledged policy aims—was developed from the 1940s by Harold Lasswell, a central figure of twentieth-century American political science, and Myres McDougal, a prominent international lawyer. The book argues that the New Haven School style of argument was representative of mid-century American international law.
The Moral Wager : Evolution and Contract
This book illuminates and sharpens moral theory, by analyzing the evolutionary dynamics of interpersonal relations in a variety of games. We discover that successful players in evolutionary games operate as if following this piece of normative advice: Don't do unto others without their consent.
The Metaphysics of Memory
This book investigates central issues in the philosophy of memory. Does remembering require a causal process connecting the past representation to its subsequent recall and, if so, what is the nature of the causal process? Of what kind are the primary intentional objects of memory states? How do we know that our memory experiences portray things the way they happened in the past? Given that our memory is not only a passive device for reproducing thoughts but also an active device for processing stored thoughts, when are thoughts sufficiently similar to be memory-related? The Metaphysics of Memory defends a version of the causal theory of memory, argues for direct realism about memory, proposes an externalist response to skepticism about memory knowledge, and develops a contextualist account of the factivity constraint on memory.
Rethinking Scientific Change and Theory Comparison : Stabilities, Ruptures, Incommensurabilities?
The volume is a collection of essays devoted to the analysis of scientific change and stability. It explores the balance and tension that exists between commensurability and continuity on the one hand, and incommensurability and discontinuity on the other. And it discusses some central epistemological consequences regarding the nature of scientific progress, rationality and realism. In relation to these topics, it investigates a number of new avenues and revisits some familiar issues, with a focus on the history and philosophy of physics, and an emphasis on developments in cognitive sciences as well as on the claims of "new experimentalists".
R.J. Rummel : An Assessment of His Many Contributions
The book provides a critical and constructive assessment of the many contributions to social science and politics made by Professor R. J. Rummel. Rummel was a prolific writer and an important teacher and mentor to a number of people who in turn have made their mark on the profession. His work has always been controversial. But after the end of the Cold War, his views on genocide and the democratic peace in particular have gained wide recognition in the profession. He was also a pioneer in the use of statistical methods in international relations. His work in not easily classified in the traditional categories of international relations research (realism, idealism, and constructivism). He was by no means a pacifist and his views on the US-Soviet arms race led him to be classified as a hawk. But his work on the democratic peace has become extremely influential among liberal IR scholars and peace researchers. Above all, he was a libertarian.
Pencil Art Workshop : Techniques, Ideas, and Inspiration for Drawing and Designing with Pencil
The humble pencil is the world’s most flexible and forgiving drawing material. And in Pencil Art Workshop artist and educator Matt Rota (author of The Art of Ballpoint) explores the pencil’s phenomenal range. Turn to any chapter--drawing with line, drawing with tone, drawing quickly, photorealism, adding color--and you’ll discover, through step-by-step instructions and illustrations, how to choose the right pencil and use it to its fullest in every drawing style. Each chapter also includes a gallery of edgy and inspiring works by contemporary pencil artists to enjoy, and to give inspiration
Particle Metaphysics : A Critical Account of Subatomic Reality
The empirical successes of atomic, nuclear, and particle physics have not reduced -- and may never fully resolve -- the philosophical controversies about the inner constitution of matter. This book examines these debates by exploring the particle concept in physics.
Nuel Belnap on Indeterminism and Free Action
Seeks to further the use of formal methods in clarifying one of the central problems of philosophy: that of our free human agency and its place in our indeterministic world. It celebrates the important contributions made in this area by Nuel Belnap, American logician and philosopher. Philosophically, indeterminism and free action can seem far apart, but in Belnap’s work, they are intimately linked. This book explores their philosophical interconnectedness through a selection of original research papers that build forth on Belnap’s logical and philosophical work. Some contributions take the form of critical discussions of Belnap's published work, some develop points made in his publications in new directions, and others provide additional insights on the topics of indeterminism and free action.
Immanent Realism : An Introduction to Brentano
A set of knotty questions are implied in the very title of Brentano's work "Psychology from an empirical standpoint". To solve them, Albertazzi guides us systematically through Brentano's life and works, investigating into the inherent complexity of both his view of mental life and the related methodology. In so doing, she discloses a number of threads into the open texture of modern philosophy of mind." Lia Formigari, Ordinary professor of Philosophy of Language, La Sapienza, Rome, Italy
Formal Ontology and Conceptual Realism
Theories about the ontological structure of the world have generally been described in informal, intuitive terms, and the arguments for and against them, including their consistency and adequacy as explanatory frameworks, have generally been given in even more informal terms. The goal of formal ontology is to correct for these deficiencies. By formally reconstructing an intuitive, informal ontological scheme as a formal ontology we can better determine the consistency and adequacy of that scheme; and then by comparing different reconstructed schemes with one another we can much better evaluate the arguments for and against them and come to a decision as to which system it is best to adopt.
Fluid Transport in Nanoporous Materials : Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, held in La Colle sur Loup, France, 16-28 June 2003
The most promising include molecular sieves which are being developed as inorganic or polymeric systems with 0. 3-30nm in pore dimensions. These nanoporous solids have a broad spectrum of applications in chemical and biochemical processes. The unique applications of molecular sieves are based on their sorption and transport selectivity. Yet, the transport processes in nanoporous systems are not understood well. At the same time, the theoretical capabilities have increased exponentially catalyzed by increases in computational capabilities. The interactions between a diffusing species and the host solid are being studied with increasing details and realism. Further, in situ experimental techniques have been developed which give an understanding of the interactions between diffusing species and nanoporous solids that was not available even a few years ago. The time was ripe to bring together these areas of common interest and study to understand what is known and what has yet to be determined concerning transport in nanoporous solids. Molecular sieves are playing an increasing role in a broad range of industrial petrochemical and biological processes. These include shape-selective separations and catalysis as well as sensors and drug delivery. Molecular sieves are made from inorganic as well as organic solids, e. g. , polymers. They can be employed in packed beds, as membranes and as barrier materials. Initially, the applications of molecular sieves were dominated by the use of zeolites.
Law and Politics : A Dilemma for Contemporary Legal Theory
Politics and the political discourse occupy a central position in the modern legal theoretical discussion. The goal of this book is to reconstruct and to classify, according to ideal-typical models, the different positions taken by the major contemporary legal theories as to whether and how law relates to politics. In particular, attention is focused on Kelsen, Hart, Finnis, Critical Legal Studies, Law and Economics and legal realisms.
Knowledge from a Human Point of View
Explores some of the historical roots and epistemological ramifications of perspectivism. Perspectivism has recently emerged in philosophy of science as an interesting new position in the debate between scientific realism and anti-realism.
Judges and Adjudication in Constitutional Democracies : A View from Legal Realism
Offers contributions to a philosophical and realistic approach to the place of adjudication in contemporary constitutional democracies. Bringing together scholars from different legal and philosophical backgrounds, purports to cast light on the role(s) of judges and the function of judicial interpretation inside of constitutional states, from the standpoint of legal realism as a revisited and sophisticated jurisprudential outlook. In so doing, also copes with a few major jurisprudential issues, like, e.g., determining the ideas that make up the core of legal realism, exploring the relation between legal realism and legal positivism, identifying the boundaries of judicial interpretation as they appear from a realist standpoint, as well as considering some skeptical outlooks on the very claims of contemporary legal realism.
Iterated Function Systems for Real-Time Image Synthesis
Natural phenomena can be visually described with fractal-geometry methods, where iterative procedures rather than equations are used to model objects. With the development of better modelling algorithms, the efficiency of rendering, the realism of computer-generated scenes and the interactivity of visual stimuli are reaching astonishing levels. Iterated Function Systems for Real-Time Image Synthesis gives an explanation of iterated function systems and how to use them in generation of complex objects.
Agency and causal explanation in economics
This book provides an exploration of the consequences of the ontological differences between natural and social objects (sometimes described as objects of nature and objects of thought) in the workings of causal and agency relationships.
