Reductive physicalism is a minority view in contemporary philosophy as well as in science, and therefore arguments for endorsing it often amount to arguments against the alternative views, in particular so-called non-reductive physicalism. In this paper we put forward a new argument for reductive physicalism, according to which it is the best account of the empirical data that we have. In particular, we show that: (a) a reductive physicalist theory of the mind forms an essential part of the very argument (...) for the existence of an external world: if one rejects psychophysical identity physicalism, one’s case for believing in the existence of an external world is substantially weakened; and (b) the success of a physical account of the mind is the most important criterion for the success of (future) physics; and (c) reductive physicalism is the only approach in which relying on science in order to account for the external world makes sense; and finally, (d) within reductive physicalism, one can provide a new criterion for theory preference in science, and a new argument for scientific realism. In our physicalist view the experience forms the initial data, which is then reduced to fundamental physics. (shrink)

The behavior of Lyapunov exponents λ and dynamical entropies h, whose positivity characterizes chaotic motion, under Lorentz and Rindler transformations is studied. Under Lorentz transformations, λ and h are changed, but their positivity is preserved..

The behavior of Lyapunov exponents λ and dynamical entropies h, whose positivity characterizes chaotic motion, under Lorentz and Rindler transformations is studied. Under Lorentz transformations, λ and h are changed, but their positivity is preserved for chaotic systems. Under Rindler transformations, λ and h are changed in such a way..

The viewpoint expressed in this essay is that a pressing problem of physics is to recognize that our role as observers is more deeply embedded in our theories and laws than is often realised. This is developed by looking at two possible observer-inclusive approaches to physics.

In phenomenology, we study what something is for an observer. In this work, I asked the question: what is “time” for an observer? I was confronted with Einstein’s insight that time observations and space observations are connected. I was not studying time and space in themselves (as in physics), but rather what time and space are for observers (phenomenology). This phenomenological perspective generated its own answers, which differ from the current scientific consensus. The distortions of space we observe (...) are relativistic — they depend on observers. Observers are the zero-points of reference frames, a “zero” in mathematics. Yet they appear to be the backbone of reference frames in relativity, and the cause of the collapse of the wave function in quantum mechanics. What are observers? They exist; they are real in nature, and they have a lawful connection with nature, as I discovered. The observer, light and 'Spacetime' are the constants. The observed universe is the result of these three constants working together. The redshift of the emitted light from receding galaxies, discovered by Edwin Hubble, is not evidence of an expanding universe, but rather evidence of the relativity of space within gravitational fields. The observer uses his (or her) own normal ticking clock and own locally (flat) ruler as the standard to observe the Universe. (shrink)

Dominant neuroscientific frameworks conceptualize consciousness as an intrinsic property of individual brains, isolating subjective experience from the relational, temporal, and environmental contexts in which it arises. This paper proposes the Multi-Level Mutual Coupling Theory of Consciousness (MLMCT)—a unified theoretical framework that reconceptualizes conscious experience as a dynamically emergent phenomenon arising from the coordinated interaction of three levels of neural coupling: intra-individual (within-brain synchronization), inter-individual (brain-to-brain coupling), and organism-environment (enactive coupling). The framework rests on three foundational principles. First, conscious experience is (...) constitutively delayed relative to physical reality—arising from post-hoc neural integration rather than direct sensory capture. Second, this temporal delay is dynamically compensated by a biologically instantiated coupling protocol—the Mutual Coupling Unit (MCU)—a nonlinear dynamical attractor that emerges from the reciprocal interaction between prediction error P(t) and behavioral synchrony S(t). Third, the quality and architecture of conscious experience are inherently observer-dependent: coupling is not an absolute property of a system but is constituted relative to the observing agent's coupling history and protocol compatibility. Grounded in predictive processing theory (Friston, 2005; Clark, 2013), inter-brain synchronization research (Hasson et al., 2012; Stephens et al., 2010), simulation and mirror neuron systems (Gallese et al., 2007; Rizzolatti & Craighero, 2004), and nonlinear dynamical systems modeling, the MLMCT provides: (1) a formally specified mathematical model with biologically anchored parameters; (2) a bifurcation analysis identifying four clinically relevant dynamical regimes; (3) a principled account of autism spectrum conditions as epistemological protocol incompatibility; (4) extension of the coupling framework to non-human mammals as evidence for an evolutionary continuum of consciousness; and (5) a set of falsifiable predictions testable via dual-EEG hyperscanning methodology. The MLMCT does not dissolve the hard problem of consciousness but reframes it: rather than asking how neural processes give rise to private experience, it asks how biological evolution produced a mechanism that makes subjective experiences approximately shareable, temporally coherent, and predictively efficient across individuals and environments. The framework is explicitly presented as a theoretical scaffold inviting empirical refinement, not as established fact. (shrink)

In phenomenology, we study what something is for an observer. In this work, I asked the question: what is “time” for an observer? I was confronted with Einstein’s insight that time observations and space observations are interconnected. I was not studying time and space in themselves (as in physics), but rather what time and space are for observers (phenomenology). This phenomenological perspective generated its own answers, which differ from the current scientific consensus. The distortions of space we observe (...) are relativistic — they depend on observers. Observers are the zero-points of reference frames, a “zero” in mathematics. Yet they appear to be the backbone of reference frames in relativity, and the cause of the collapse of the wave function in quantum mechanics. What are observers? They exist; they are real in nature, and they have a lawful connection with nature, as I discovered. The redshift of the emitted light from receding galaxies, discovered by Edwin Hubble, is not evidence of an expanding universe, but rather evidence of the relativity of space within gravitational fields, observed by an real existing observer with his particular clock and his particular ruler. It can be a measuring device, an animal, a human being. Real existing observers with a real lawful connection with the observations of space and time. Not only theoretised reference frames in a model, but real existing entities with a lawful connection with their observations. (shrink)

This paper introduces the Informational Vision Model (IVM), a unified framework explaining how different biological organisms, artificial systems, and potential simulated observers perceive reality through species-specific informational compression filters. Instead of treating perception as a simple function of photoreceptors or sensors, the IVM proposes that each visual system applies a unique compression operator to the underlying informational field, producing a reconstructed perceptual world shaped by structural, evolutionary, and computational constraints. The model unifies human perception, animal sensory systems, artificial vision, and (...) astrophysical sensor design under a single informational principle. By mapping how different observers compress the same informational substrate— retinal biology, neural processing, spectral sensitivity, priors, and cognitive integration—the IVM allows us to reconstruct how various organisms perceive reality and provides a computational foundation for next-generation visual systems, including multi-spectrum telescopes inspired by biological diversity. (shrink)

We formalize a general semantic constraint on physically admissible procedures: discrete outcomes must exhibit bounded input dependence, meaning that determinate outcomes are supported by finite stability margins in the underlying state space. We prove that any such procedure can discriminate only properties corresponding to open regions of state space. Properties whose truth sets are topologically thin, having empty interior with dense complement, are operationally unresolvable under admissible physical semantics. This limitation is structural rather than computational. It arises from topological (...) constraints induced by stability at the semantic interface and applies uniformly across continuum ontologies. Stability is shown to be preserved under lawful continuous dynamics, implying that thin distinctions cannot be amplified into operational differences by finite physical evolution followed by admissible readout. Computability provides a canonical representative example. Computable and noncomputable elements form interwoven dense subsets of continuum domains, so computability is not a topological property of states but a property of representation structure. As such, it cannot be operationally extracted by bounded-input-dependent procedures. Restrictions motivated by bounded input dependence thus express ontological parsimony: they eliminate distinctions incapable of supporting stable physical discrimination. The result provides a semantic foundation for aligning ontological commitments with structurally admissible distinctions in realist physical theories. -/- . (shrink)

There is persistent heterodoxy in the physics literature concerning the proper treatment of those quantons that are unstable against decay. Following a brief litany of this heterodoxy, I develop some of the consequences of assuming that such quantons can exist, undecayed and isolated, at definite times and that their treatment can be carried out within a standard quantum theoretic state space. This assumption requires hyperplane dependence for the unstable quanton states and leads to clarification of some recent results concerning (...) deviations from relativistic time dilation of decay lifetimes. In the course of the discussion I make some observations on the relationship of unstable quantons to quantum fields. (shrink)

Moral response-dependent metaethical theories characterize moral properties in terms of the reactions of certain classes of individuals. Nick Zangwill has argued that such theories are flawed: they are unable to accommodate the motive of duty. That is, they are unable to provide a suitable reason for anyone to perform morally right actions simply because they are morally right. I argue that Zangwill ignores significant differences between various approvals, and various individuals, and that moral response-dependent theories can accommodate the motive of (...) duty. (shrink)

An introductory discussion of the theory-dependence of observation.

It is a long-standing view that global translation varies during the cell cycle and is much lower in mitosis than in other cell-cycle phases. However, the central papers in the literature are not in agreement about the extent of downregulation in mitosis, ranging from a dramatic decrease to only a marginal reduction. Herein, it is argued that the discrepancy derives from technical challenges. Cell-cycle-dependent variations are most conveniently studied in synchronized cells, but the synchronization methods by themselves often evoke stress (...) responses that, in turn, affect translation rates. Further, it is argued that previously reported cell-cycle-dependent changes in the global translation rate to a large extent reflect responses to the synchronization methods. Recent findings strongly suggest that the global translation rate is not regulated in a cell-cycle-dependent manner. Novel techniques allowing a genome-wide analysis of translational profiles suggest that the extent and importance of selective translational regulation associated with cell-cycle transitions have been underestimated. Therefore, the main question is which messenger RNAs (mRNAs) are translated, rather than whether the global translation rate is decreased. (shrink)

Coherent Observational Epistemology (COE) is a methodological framework concerned with the structural conditions under which heterogeneous observational sequences can jointly support scientific inference. In an era of distributed measurement infrastructures—astronomical networks, climate observatories, particle detectors, biomedical laboratories—scientific practice increasingly depends on the integration of observational outputs originating from independent localities. Yet the epistemic as sumptions underlying such integration often remain implicit and unexamined. COE addresses this gap by providing: (i) foundational principles governing observation, fixation, ordering, and coherence; (ii) secondary principles (...) describing operational constraints and methodological safeguards; and (iii) an axiomatic system that formalizes the structural requirements enabling inter-local evidential synthesis. The goal of COE is not to replace existing modelling frameworks but to clarify the epistemological preconditions that make cross-local inference scientifically justified. (shrink)

Relational Quantum Mechanics posits that facts about the properties of physical systems are relative to other systems. As recently pointed out by Adlam, this gives rise to the question of the relationship between the facts that obtain relative to complex systems and the facts that obtain relative to their constituents. In this paper, I respond to Adlam’s discussion of what she calls the Combination Problem. My starting point is a maximally permissive default view according to which any collection of systems (...) counts as a new system and composites inherit all facts that obtain relative to their constituents. Subsequently, I advance three main claims: First, that Adlam’s arguments in favour of a more restrictive approach are not compelling. Second, that even if they were, she is wrong to claim that a ‘tamed’ version of RQM with postulated links between perspectives is in a better position to support such a restrictive approach. And third, that the possibly most difficult aspect of the Combination Problem in fact pertains to the combination of quantum states and probabilities. While significant challenges for the permissive solution arise here, I argue that they are likely to arise for any plausible response to the Combination Problem. More tentatively, I propose a strategy to mitigate the difficulty based on the observer-dependence of relative quantum state assignments. Along the way, I address crucial foundational issues in Relational Quantum Mechanics, from cross-perspective communication to the link between relative facts and experiences to empirical adequacy. (shrink)

Response-dependence theories have historically been very popular in aesthetics, and aesthetic response-dependence has motivated response-dependence in ethics. This chapter closely examines the prospects for such theories. It breaks this category down into dispositional and fittingness strands of response-dependence, corresponding to descriptive and normative ideal observer theories. It argues that the latter have advantages over the former but are not themselves without issue. Special attention is paid to the relationship between hedonism and response-dependence. The chapter (...) also introduces two aesthetic properties that lead to wrong kinds of reasons problems for aesthetic response-dependence: insightfulness and the capacity to change one’s perspective. These properties do not have obvious parallels in the ethical domain, and so present an obstacle for response-dependence even in aesthetics. The chapter ends by examining replies on behalf of the response-dependence theorist, ultimately suggesting that a restricted form of response-dependence is the most promising way forward for fans of such theories. (shrink)

Dependent Arising (paṭicca-samuppāda) is often interpreted either as a doctrine of rebirth or as a general theory of causality. This paper proposes a different reading: Dependent Arising as a phenomenological description of how suffering is constructed and ceased within lived experience. Drawing on a personal reflection grounded in early Buddhist teachings, the paper focuses on sati (awareness) as the decisive turning point in this process. Rather than treating suffering as an inevitable result of conditioned existence, this study argues that suffering (...) arises at a specific moment—when feeling gives rise to craving through habitual patterns of judgment and fixation. At this critical juncture, sati functions as an immediate recognition of the mind’s movement toward grasping. When such awareness is present, ignorance loses its operative force, and the chain of Dependent Arising does not proceed further. By examining the transition from momentary awareness to sustained mindfulness, the paper shows how Dependent Arising shifts from a closed cycle of suffering to an open and observable process. In this light, conditioned phenomena (saṅkhata-dhamma) are no longer experienced as fixed or absolute, but as fluid and contingent. The paper further suggests that the Four Noble Truths and the Twelvefold Chain express a single insight in complementary forms: the structure of suffering and the practical means of its cessation. Ultimately, this essay presents Dependent Arising not as a metaphysical claim, but as a path of seeing—one that reveals freedom not beyond experience, but within the clear awareness of experience as it unfolds. (shrink)

This paper proposes a structural reinterpretation of limits, derivatives, and partial differential equations based on the notion of convergence modes. -/- In classical analysis, limits are defined through asymptotic conditions (e.g., ε–δ formulations), which characterize correctness but do not specify the operational structure by which convergence is realized. In practice, however—whether in numerical computation, physical measurement, or multiscale modeling—limits are always approached through concrete procedures involving discretization, scaling relations, ordering of variables, and regularization mechanisms. -/- The central claim of this (...) work is that such procedures should be treated as primary objects rather than implicit background assumptions. To this end, we introduce convergence modes: structured representations of admissible approximation processes. Derivatives are then defined as limits taken along modes, leading to mode-dependent differentials, and classical derivatives emerge as invariants under admissible variations of these modes. -/- Within this framework, partial differential equations no longer determine single solutions in isolation. Instead, they generate mode-dependent sets of admissible limits (“solution clouds”), and additional conditions—such as entropy conditions in nonlinear conservation laws—are reinterpreted as restrictions on the class of admissible convergence modes rather than as intrinsic properties of solutions themselves. -/- This perspective connects several traditionally separate domains: - the formal definitions of analysis, - the behavior of numerical schemes, - and the structure of physically observable quantities. -/- Conceptually, the paper argues that the classical notion of a limit should be understood not as a procedure-independent object, but as an invariant emerging from a family of operationally defined convergence processes. -/- The work is intended as a contribution to the foundations of analysis and the philosophy of mathematics, with implications for the interpretation of differential equations, numerical methods, and physical modeling. -/- More generally, the work suggests that differential calculus and PDE theory may be understood as theories of stability over spaces of admissible operational procedures, rather than as theories of abstract limit objects alone. (shrink)

This book develops an explanation for the roles of observation and theory in scientific endeavor that occupies the middle ground between empiricism and rationalism, and captures the strengths of both approaches. Brown argues that philosophical theories have the same epistemological status as scientific theories and constructs an epistemological theory that provides an account of the role that theory and instruments play in scientific observation. His theory of perception yields a new analysis of objectivity that combines the traditional view of observation (...) as the foundation of scientific objectivity with the contemporary recognition that observation is theory-dependent. (shrink)

This commentary note proposes that the Buddhist principle of Dependent Origination (paṭicca-samuppāda) functions as a structural supplement to Western phenomenology by clarifying a dimension that phenomenological discourse has left incomplete. While phenomenology has offered careful and rigorous descriptions of how phenomena appear within lived experience, it has tended to leave implicit the question of why such appearances arise in the particular ways they do. The generative and conditional framework underlying manifestation has remained largely unarticulated. Drawing on the basic structure of (...) the Twelvefold Chain of Dependent Origination, this paper argues that phenomena are not unreal but unfixed, arising as conditionally effective events rather than as self-subsistent substances. Even momentary arising and cessation possess reality insofar as they function causally within a network of relations. From this perspective, Dependent Origination is neither a metaphysical hypothesis nor a religious doctrine, but an observable phenomenological fact and the very mode through which cognition arises. By interpreting appearance, cognition, and naming as dependently arisen processes, this commentary reconsiders the epistemological implications of phenomenology and offers a non-nihilistic reading of the Diamond Sutra’s formula, “A is not A; therefore, it is called A.” Dependent Origination, it is argued, does not negate phenomenology but completes it by making explicit the conditional structure that renders experience, meaning, and knowledge possible. (shrink)

Research in the Digital Humanities requires computer systems that can document and analyze interpretations of creative works, such as literary texts. These systems are designed to provide access to existing interpretations and identify their similarities and differences. To this end, we propose an approach to formally representing interpretations. In particular, we develop an ontology of observations aimed at capturing, through what we call observational vocabularies, what interpreters claim about the texts that they interpret. We distinguish between different types of observations, (...) in particular, basic observations, which represent specific and domain-dependent claims (e.g., regarding the analysis of literary characters’ traits), and observations such as assertion, denial, support, and defeat to document more nuanced claims. We also introduce formal mechanisms that can be used to analyze particular (sets of) observations, texts, and so on. Throughout the article, we illustrate the discussion with examples from literary studies. (shrink)

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are increasingly judged not only on their own social impacts but also on those of their supply chain partners. To reduce this environmental dependence, many MNCs implement social evaluations and codes of conduct which suppliers must follow. But how do MNCs legitimise and implement social evaluations in their supply chains? To address this, we draw on and augment resource dependence and legitimacy theories, to analyse a multinational grocery retailer’s implementation of labour standards for its fruit (...) and vegetable suppliers. The case study utilises interviews, analysis of a database of audits, internal documents, and observational data. It provides the basis for theorizing corporate reputation as a resource dependency, with social evaluations a distinct means to co-opt external actors to preserve the focal organization’s autonomy while reducing environmental contingencies. The legitimacy of social evaluations of supply chain partners depends on processes that reconcile both moral and pragmatic concerns, allowing the focal organization to mitigate resource dependencies without ceding control over enforcement and enabling actions. (shrink)

The paper deals with the notions of grounding and of existential dependence. It is shown that cases of existential dependence seem to be systematically correlated to cases of grounding and hence the question is raised what sort of tie might hold the two notions together so as to account for the observed correlation. The paper focusses on three possible ties between grounding and existential dependence: identity, definition, and grounding. A case for the definitional tie is made.

We ask how to use machine learning to expand observability, which presently depends on human learning that informs conceivability. The issue is engaged by considering the question of correspondence between conceived observability counterfactuals and observable, yet so far unobserved or unconceived, states of affairs. A possible answer lies in importing out of reference frame content which could provide means for conceiving further observability counterfactuals. They allow us to define high-fidelity observability, increasing the level of correspondence in question. To achieve high-fidelity (...) observability, we propose to use generative machine learning models as the providers of the out of reference frame content. From an applied point of view, such a role of generative machine learning models shows an emerging dimension of human-machine cooperation. (shrink)

In order to accommodate empirically observed violations of the independence axiom of expected utility theory Becker and Sarin (1987) proposed their model of lottery dependent utility in which the utility of an outcome may depend on the lottery being evaluated. Although this dependence is intuitively very appealing and provides a simple functional form of the resulting decision criterion, lottery dependent utility has been nearly completely neglected in the recent literature on decision making under risk. The goal of this paper (...) is to revive the lottery dependent utility model. Therefore, we derive first a sound axiomatic foundation of lottery dependent utility. Secondly, we develop a discontinuous variant of the model which can accommodate boundary effects and may lead to a lexicographic non-expected utility model. Both analyses are accompanied by considering some functional specifications which are in accordance with recent experimental results and may have significant applications in business and management science. (shrink)

According to the skeptical argument from disagreement, we are mandated to suspend judgement about a question if we discover that others disagree with us. Critics, however, have proposed that this skeptical argument fails if there are not equally many people on either side of the debate: numbers matter. The present paper explicates this as the argument that a group can be more likely to arrive at the correct view by majority rule than the members are on their own. Defenders of (...) the skeptical argument have resisted that numbers matter by observing that if group members depend on each other when forming their beliefs, then the group can be less competent than its members. However, neither side of the debate has accompanied their views with quantitative estimates of how detrimental dependence is for group competence. This paper tries to improve this situation by drawing on jury theorems from social choice theory. The paper cannot settle the debate, but it shows that even the lower limit on group competence will exceed the average individual competence when dependence among voters remains moderate. This should give confidence to those who propose that asymmetry between the disputing parties can counter the skeptical argument from disagreement since being in the majority can thus be higher-order evidence for the disputed proposition. (shrink)

The Twelvefold Chain of Dependent Arising (paṭicca-samuppāda) is often interpreted as a causal explanation of suffering, rebirth, or psychological conditioning. This paper argues that such readings obscure the distinctive philosophical function of the chain. Rather than describing how phenomena are caused in the world, the Twelvefold Chain offers a phenomenological analysis of how cognition, once distorted by ignorance (avijjā), necessarily organizes experience into a structure that culminates in suffering. A central distinction is drawn between causality, as observed in vipassanā practice, (...) and dependent arising. Causality refers to the non-evaluative observation that phenomena arise and pass away in dependence on conditions. Dependent arising, by contrast, does not describe this observational stance, but presupposes its failure. The necessity governing the chain is therefore not physical or deterministic, but structural: given the misrecognition of fluid experience as fixed and substantial, certain cognitive consequences follow with internal coherence. The paper locates the origin of suffering not in perception or feeling themselves, but in the emergence of craving (taṇhā), where valuation and fixation first enter experience. This point is identified as the true beginning of phenomenological distortion. The role of sati (mindfulness) is analyzed as a meta-cognitive awareness that interrupts the transition from feeling to craving, thereby suspending the automatic progression of the chain. By reinterpreting non-abiding mind (apratiṣṭhita-citta) as a mode of cognition free from reification rather than as a mystical or moral state, the paper clarifies why compassion and affirmation arise naturally as cognitive consequences. In doing so, it repositions the Twelvefold Chain as an epistemological contribution that extends phenomenological description into a practical account of liberation. (shrink)

We characterize computer science as an interplay between two modes of reasoning: the Aristotelian (procedural) method and the Platonic (declarative) approach. We contend that Aristotelian, step-by-step thinking dominates in computer programming, while Platonic, static reasoning plays a more prominent role in computational complexity. Various frameworks elegantly blend both Aristotelian and Platonic reasoning. A key example explored in this paper concerns nondeterministic polynomial time Turing machines. Beyond this interplay, we emphasize the growing importance of the ‘computing by observing’ paradigm, which posits (...) that a single derivation tree—generated with a string-rewriting system—can yield multiple interpretations depending on the choice of the observer. Advocates of this paradigm formalize the Aristotelian activities of rewriting and observing within automata theory through a Platonic lens. This approach raises a fundamental question: How do these Aristotelian activities re-emerge when the paradigm is formulated in propositional logic? By addressing this issue, we develop a novel simulation method for nondeterministic Turing machines, particularly those bounded by polynomial time, improving upon the standard textbook approach. (shrink)

The dependence on history of both present and future dynamics of life is a common intuition in biology and in humanities. Historicity will be understood in terms of changes of the space of possibilities as well as by the role of diversity in life’s structural stability and of rare events in history formation. We hint to a rigorous analysis of “path dependence” in terms of invariants and invariance preserving transformations, as it may be found also in physics, while (...) departing from the physico-mathematical analyses. The idea is that the invariant traces of the past under organismal or ecosystemic transformations contribute to the understanding of present and future states of affairs. This yields a peculiar form of unpredictability in biology, at the core of novelty formation: the changes of observables and pertinent parameters may depend also on past events. In particular, in relation to the properties of synchronic measurement in physics, the relevance of diachronic measurement in biology is highlighted. This analysis may a fortiori apply to cognitive and historical human dynamics, while allowing to investigate some general properties of historicity in biology. (shrink)

Observation and conceptual interpretation constitute the two major ways through which human beings engage the world. _The World Observed/The World Conceived _presents an innovative analysis of the nature and role of observation and conceptualization. While these two actions are often treated as separate, Hans Radder shows that they are inherently interconnected-that materially realized observational processes are always conceptually interpreted and that the meaning of concepts depends on the way they structure observational processes and abstract from them. He examines the role (...) of human action and conceptualization in realizing observational processes and develops a detailed theory of the relationship between observation, abstraction, and the meaning of concepts. _The World Observed/The World Conceived_ will prove useful to many areas of scholarly study including ontology, epistemology, philosophy of language, philosophy of science, science studies, and cognitive science. (shrink)

This article argues that nonlinear dynamical systems provide a structural mechanism for (near-)unfaithfulness that has received little attention in philosophical discussions of causal discovery. In such systems, observable statistical relations arise from invariant-measure averaging over state-dependent causal effects. Because local causal influences vary across the system’s state space, their contributions may partially cancel, weakening statistical dependence between causally connected variables. The resulting “effective independence” can be empirically indistinguishable from genuine independence, posing challenges for dependence-based causal discovery methods. Unlike (...) classical violations that rely on parameter fine-tuning, this form of (near-)unfaithfulness arises from structural features of system dynamics. (shrink)

Thomas Piketty’s recent book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, provides a great deal of empirical support for the observation that the rate of return on capital (r) is greater than the growth rate of the economy as a whole (g); i.e. “r > g”. From this observation, Piketty derives two important insights: entrepreneurs eventually become rentiers, and except during unusual circumstances, inequality tends to rise over time. This paper views Piketty’s observation against the institutional setting that has prevailed over the (...) period of his study and makes two additional observations. First, whether Piketty’s two insights follow from his observation depends not simply on whether r is greater than g, but on whether the difference between the two is greater than the consumption of the capital-owning group. The relative size of capitalists’ consumption and capital income is not obvious, and therefore, more evidence is needed to confirm the connection between Piketty’s observation and his insights. Second, the statement r has been greater than g is more accurate than simply r is greater than g. Whether r continues to exceed g depends crucially on the political and institutional environment in question. Economists tend to view one specific institutional setting, a version of laissez faire, as natural. But there is no natural set of property institutions, and those that have prevailed over the two centuries of Piketty’s observations are extremely favorable to capital owners. Awareness of the flexibility of potential property institutions raises many ethical questions and makes many tools available to address inequality – one of the most obvious being the taxation of rent on capital distributed as a basic income. (shrink)

We analyze the causal-observational languages that were introduced in Barbero and Sandu (2018), which allow discussing interventionist counterfactuals and functional dependencies in a unified framework. In particular, we systematically investigate the expressive power of these languages in causal team semantics, and we provide complete natural deduction calculi for each language. Furthermore, we introduce a generalized semantics which allows representing uncertainty about the causal laws, and we analyze the expressive power and proof theory of the causal-observational languages over this enriched semantics.

All sorts of things are context-dependent in one way or another. What it is appropriate to wear, to give, or to reveal depends on the context. Whether or not it is all right to lie, harm, or even kill depends on the context. If you google the phrase ‘depends on the context’, you’ll get several hundred million results. This chapter aims to narrow that down. In this context the topic is context dependence in language and its use. It is (...) commonly observed that the same sentence can be used to convey different things in different contexts. That is why people complain when something they say is ‘taken out of context’ and insist that it be ‘put into context’, because ‘context makes it clear’ what they meant. Indeed, it is practically a platitude that what a speaker means in uttering a certain sentence, as well as how her audience understands her, ‘depends on the context’. But just what does that amount to, and to what extent is it true? (shrink)

Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM) treats quantum states as observer-dependent facts rather than absolute properties. While this relational stance is conceptually attractive, it raises concerns about empirical confirmation, particularly in multi-observer scenarios. Existing responses within RQM focus on securing agreement between observers by strengthening the status, stability, or accessibility of recorded outcomes. However, they leave open a more basic question: what grounds the persistence of an observer across time? Scientific observation presupposes stable records and the capacity to relate (...) outcomes across successive measurements. We argue that the minimal definition of the observer in RQM as a merely interacting physical system is insufficient to support this requirement. We propose a complementary account of the observer that distinguishes physical interaction from informational coherence, and show how this distinction supports empirical confirmation in Wigner’s friend–type scenarios. (shrink)

Some concepts, such as colour concepts or value concepts, seem to bear traces of the mind's own make-up. For instance, the character of perceptually-determined colour concepts seems in some sense derivative from the character of the visual system. Thus, it has seemed plausible to claim that the corresponding colour properties are dispositions to elicit certain visual experiences in normal observers under suitable conditions. Much the same has been suggested for value concepts. An extreme position would be that colours and values (...) therefore are not in the world at all, they instead are mere projections that tell us more about the users of response-dependent concepts than about the world they inhabit. But even setting aside such extreme views, a number of important philosophical and psychological questions remain open. What exactly is response-dependence, and does any concept have this feature? What is the appropriate metaphysics for properties represented by response-dependent concepts, and for these concepts themselves? What determines the extension of such properties? How are we to account for knowledge expressed in terms of response-dependent concepts? What mechanisms correctly explain the origins of response-dependent concepts, and their role in representation? This volume brings together a wide range of views on these questions. (shrink)

Laspro et al. (2024) contemplate the first whole eye transplant (WET) procedure in humans. They discuss the implications of such a procedure on the physical, social, and psychological well-being of...

Ancient Greek Philosopher Protagoras’ famous statement, “Man is the measure of all things,” is traditionally interpreted as a doctrine of epistemological relativism. This paper proposes a mathematical reinterpretation connecting Protagorean observer-dependence, Einsteinian relativity, quantum measurement theory, and the Ibaguner Fractal Operator (IFO). A generalized observer geometry is introduced in which reality emerges through recursive observer projections. Within this framework, truth, measurement, and observation become manifestations of a single holographic principle.

This paper analyses the traditionally recognized dependence between observation statements and theories. The analysis proceeds by working out the interrelationship between classification systems and theoretical frameworks. Cuvier's and Darwin's theories are used as examples to illustrate this issue. The second part of the paper develops a model designed to give an account of the historical development of this interrelationship. It is argued that the interdependence is not circular and that it is an integral part of scientific research. It is (...) suggested that an interdependence of the type reflected in the model can be helpful in evaluating research programmes in the history of all the sciences. (shrink)

The role of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in mate choice in humans is controversial. Nowadays, the availability of genetic variation data at genomic scales allows for a careful assessment of this question. In 2008, Chaix et al. reported evidence for MHC‐dependent mate choice among European American spouses from the HapMap 2 dataset. Recently, Derti et al. suggested that this observation was not robust. Furthermore, when Derti et al. applied similar analyses to the HapMap 3 European American samples, they did (...) not see a significant effect. Although some of the points raised by Derti et al. are relevant, we disagree with the reported absence of evidence for MHC‐dependent mate choice within the HapMap samples. More precisely, we show here that the MHC dissimilarity among HapMap 3 European American spouses is still extreme in comparison to the rest of the genome, even after multiple testing correction. This finding supports the hypothesis of MHC‐dependent mate choice in some human populations. (shrink)

We approach the sorites paradox through an observer-based and time-dependent approach to truth of vague assertions. Formally the approach gives rise to a semantics, called fluxing-object semantics (FOS), because it involves models that contain “fluxing objects”, that is, entities changing with time and observer. The models are equipped with agents (observers) and a linear and discrete time axis for time. The changing entities are represented by partial functions of time and agent, and this partiality causes truth-value gaps. If (...) we interpret a truth-value gap as a third truth value, then FOS becomes a three-valued logic, which, quite interestingly, is proved identical to strong Kleene three-valued logic. The sorites phenomena can be represented in a structure of FOS as special objects that change imperceptibly with respect to an observer and with respect to a particular attribute. In this account the key point that eliminates the paradoxical character of sorites is the partiality of functions. When the observer is fixed the partiality corresponds to interrupted watching on his part. The interruption creates watching gaps during which the attributed property of the object as understood by the observer may change, without violating the imperceptibility condition. Interrupted watching has, according to experts on visual attention and focusing capabilities of humans, a firm physiological justification. The relationship of watching gaps with horizon crossing is also discussed. (shrink)

The influence of imagery on perception depends on the content of the mental image. Sixty-three students responded to the location of the 2 hands of a clock while visualizing the correct or an incorrect clock. Reaction time was shorter with valid cueing. Could this have resulted from visual acquisition strategies such as planning visual saccades or shifting covert attention? No. in this study, a crucial control condition made participants look at rather than visualize the cue. Acquisition strategies should have affected (...) equally both types of cueing, but we observed that the effect of the visual cue was smaller and limited to a particular subcase in which one expects visual acquisition strategies. Thus, what matters is the similarity of the content of the mental image with the visual scene. In addition, an interaction involving the hand used for responding supports the notion that composite imagery is lateralized. (shrink)

I provide a fairly systematic analysis of when quantities that are variant under a dynamical symmetry transformation should be regarded as unobservable, or redundant, or unreal; of when models related by a dynamical symmetry transformation represent the same state of affairs; and of when mathematical structure that is variant under a dynamical symmetry transformation should be regarded as surplus. In most of these cases the answer is `it depends': depends, that is, on the details of the symmetry in question. A (...) central feature of the analysis is that in order to draw any of these conclusions for a dynamical symmetry it needs to be understood in terms of its possible extensions to other physical systems, in particular to measurement devices. (shrink)

Within the standard structuralist approach, the theoretical description of a system by means of an empirical theory T is regarded as an extension process in which partial models are extended into models of T by supplementing suitable T-theoretical functions. Thereby, it is taken for granted that the base sets, on which these functions or relations are defined, can be assumed as given independently of the theory in question. My aim in this paper is to show that, in many cases, this (...) assumption is not justified. I will argue that this fact—which may be seen as a mere technical complication on first sight—turns out to have profound consequences for core concepts of the structuralist framework: First, the concept of intended applications has to be reconsidered. Second, the extension process has to be described in a more differentiated and complex way. Third, the theory-dependent determination of base sets has major implications concerning the defense mechanisms of empirical theories against conflicting observational data. (shrink)