Review of Contemporary Philosophy
ABSTRACTS
Review of Contemporary Philosophy
VOLUME 4 • NUMBERS 1-2 • MAY, AUGUST 2005
Review of Contemporary Philosophy
VOLUME 5 • NUMBERS 1-2 • MAY, AUGUST 2006
Review of Contemporary Philosophy
VOLUME 6 • 2007
Review of Contemporary Philosophy
VOLUME 7 • 2008
Review of Contemporary Philosophy
VOLUME 4 • NUMBERS 1-2 • MAY, AUGUST 2005
VERDASTRU
RICHARD SWINBURNE
ABSTRACT. Qualitativeness is not 'an entirely relative matter'. There are various clear objective distinctions to be made between qualitative and non-qualitative predicates, varying with how narrowly 'qualitative' is defined. In order to show that an object is green we do not have to show what the date is, whether or not the object is grue or bleen. Back to contents
CE TIP DE IDEALISM ESTE VIABIL ASTAZI?
NICHOLAS RESCHER
ABSTRACT. In recent times virtually all idealists have construed 'the minds' at issue in their theory as a matter of separate individual minds equipped with socially engendered resources, and thus forming part of the world rather than standing outside or behind it. Rescher argues for a version of idealism that does not go too decidedly against the grain of such current philosophical sensibilities, namely a conceptual idealism. Back to contents
VARIABLES, GENERALITY AND EXISTENCE: CONSIDERATIONS ON THE NOTION OF A CONCEPT-SCRIPT (I)
HENRY LAYCOCK
ABSTRACT. The ideal of a logically transparent language represents no merely interesting episode in the history of ideas. The notion of an ideal language typically carries the implication that it is not only transparent but also that it is complete. The project of formalising natural-language sentences is not simply a matter of developing smooth and effective techniques for the representation of reasoning. Back to contents
DECONSTRUCTING FICTIONAL DISCOURSE
EROS CORAZZA
ABSTRACT. The distinction between fictional discourse and factual discourse captures some platitudes concerning our everyday linguistic practice. One's mastery of existential statements parallels one's mastery of the distinction between fictional and factual discourse and between discourse within the fiction and discourse about the fiction and one's capacity of engaging in games of make-believe. Back to contents
CE A URMAT DUPA RUSSELL
HARTLEY SLATER
ABSTRACT. Slater details relevant formal aspects of the epsilon calculus before tracing its extensive application not just to the theory of descriptions, but also to more general problems with anaphoric reference. The paper also contrasts a Meinongian account of cross-reference in intensional constructions with the epsilon account. Back to contents
TRANSHUMANIST VALUES
NICK BOSTROM
ABSTRACT. Transhumanism promotes not only traditional means of improving human nature, such as education and cultural refinement, but also direct application of medicine and technology to overcome some of our basic biological limits. By responsible use of science, technology, and other rational means we shall eventually manage to become posthuman (beings with vastly greater capacities than present human beings have). Back to contents
ISTORIA SI TEORIA SISTEMELOR FILOSOFICE
ALEXANDRU SURDU
ABSTRACT. The main influence of philosophy has been to underlie and to inspire a great number of significant movements of thought embodying attitudes to man and society and, as bearing on them, nature and the universe at large. Philosophy, in a popular sense of the word, has aimed to satisfy a widespread popular need, typically by way of guidance in the conduct of life. Back to contents
SIMBOL SI FORMA IN ARTA MODERNA (I)
ALEXANDRU BOBOC
ABSTRACT. Art is a good thing to the extent that it has purely aesthetic value, as distinct from moral or cognitive or utility value. Art is also important as a way of gaining understanding of human behaviour; what value art-products have cannot be divorced from issues of truth and morality. Back to contents
DAVIDSON: 'METAFORA TRIUNGHIULARA' VERSUS 'METAFORA CARTEZIANA', INTERSUBIECTIVITATEA SI INTERPRETAREA RADICALA
MARIN TURLEA
ABSTRACT. Via perception, there are causal connections between two creatures reacting in systematic ways to some feature of the environment. Explanation of mental phenomena is a form of normative rationalizing explanation (in describing how someone is mentally, we are describing them as rational beings, subject to the norms of logic and good reasoning). Back to contents
PSYCHOLOGICAL JURISPRUDENCE AND THE LIMITS OF LAW
GEORGE LAZAROIU
ABSTRACT. Psychologists accept the dominant assumption that legitimacy should be enhanced in order to gain greater compliance with the demands of legal authorities. The study of procedural justice is neutral about the quality of the existing legal system; legal authorities understand that a truly equitable legal system would lead to fundamental changes. Back to contents
WHITEHEAD'S PROCESS METAPHYSICS
ANDREI CARPENEANU
ABSTRACT. The construing of cosmological enduring societies as metaphysical entities has left philosophy a bundle of contradictions. Whitehead's metaphysical notion of causal inheritance was never meant to be confused with the scientific generalization from the cosmological stability of orders. The framework of measurable time (conceptual physical time) is the conceptual framework for potential measurements, and hence concerns (potentially) objectified time. Back to contents
DAVIDSON'S TRUTH-THEORETIC TREATMENT OF MEANING
MADALINA NICOLOF
ABSTRACT. The normative concepts relevant to belief are those of justification and having reasons for. A theory of meaning for a language should at least entail, for any sentence of the language, a sentence that 'gives its meaning'. The concepts of meaning, truth, belief, desire, intention are interrelated. Back to contents
FIINTA IN CONTEXT ROMANESC
OANA GHERMAN
ABSTRACT. There are kinds of being and modes of being. The kinds of being may be subdivided into universals and particulars and into concrete beings and abstract beings. Also, being as entity or thing is what all real entities possess -existence, that refers i) to the sum total of reality, and ii) to the elusive characteristic of being, which differentiates real things from fictional ones. Back to contents
JUSTICE, LEGALITY, AND DEMOCRACY
CARMEN PALACEAN
ABSTRACT. The concept of legitimacy can be useful for international legal theory, because it takes into consideration the existing contradictions within international law, and at the same time gives indications for their solution. International law would no longer be capable of fulfilling its function were the existence of rights or obligations to be determined through the importation of material criteria into the law. Back to contents
SOCIAL DEMOCRACY AND THE RULE OF LAW
IONUT TOARTA
ABSTRACT. The ideas of separation of powers and the rule of law fall apart only when they are stretched too far. The law of state responsibility always adopted more or less swiftly to each momentous change in the nature of the state and its relations with its members. The rule of law requires that laws should regulate conduct prospectively. Back to contents
NEANTUL CA STRUCTURA A REALULUI IN VIZIUNEA LUI SARTRE (II)
ADRIANA NEACSU
ABSTRACT. Consciousness belongs to a different ontological category from that of the physical world. Consciousness is always constituted by a tacit self-consciousness. The conception of a conscious mental state which does not include this self-conscious dimension is incoherent, since it would be an unconscious conscious state. Back to contents
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEARNING STYLE AND ENJOYMENT OF MUSIC
LUMINITA POGACEANU
ABSTRACT. Expressive performance consists of deviation from the regular, in sound properties such as loudness, tempo, articulation, and intonation. Before an effective interpretation can be developed, both a musicological and historical investigation should take place. The study of certain factors of original performances may help us to understand stylistic features of the music and how its current notation could best be interpreted. Back to contents
LIBERALISMUL CLASIC SMITHIAN SI ORDINEA ECONOMICA
GEORGE DEVITT
ABSTRACT. Smith suggested that the reason for the pleasure is the similarity between the virtue of the agent and that of the spectator himself; what makes the spectator's pleasure moral is its object, the agent's motive of consciously conforming with agreed standards of not harming the innocent. Back to contents
RELATIA OMULUI POLITIC CU FILOSOFIA SI SOFISTICA PRIN PRISMA PROBLEMATICII ADEVARULUI
GINA SERBANESCU
ABSTRACT. The growth of descriptive and explanatory studies relevant to political philosophy as well as normative work in other disciplines has complicated study of the history of political philosophy. Political philosophy tends to aspire to an account of an appropriately structured and functioning community, with its main constitutive institutions and values. Back to contents
LAW, STATE, AND SOCIETY
GEORGE HODOROGEA
ABSTRACT. Liberal political philosophy maintains that individuals should be left unimpeded to pursue their conceptions of the good life. The law is a system of rules that are identified by appeal to a rule of recognition. A rights-based conception of the rule of law assumes that citizens have moral rights and duties with respect to one another. Back to contents
GLOBAL LAW WITHOUT A STATE
CONSTANTIN LAPADAT
ABSTRACT. A state has to control not only the actions of its citizens, but also all actions emanating from its territory. States are entitled to exercise universal jurisdiction over offenses covered by obligations erga omnes. States are responsible for the acts or omissions of individuals exercising the state's 'machinery of power and authority'. Back to contents
THE RULE OF LAW AND THE LEGAL SYSTEM IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
SEVASTIAN BLENDEA
ABSTRACT. The construction of the legal person relies on the notion of a separate, autonomous and rational being who approximates a man capable of employing rights aggressively and assertively and in ways that follow rules. A lack of legal character on the part of the fundamental substantive norms of a legal system entails a lack of legal character on the part of all norms typical of the system. Back to contents
ANTROPOLOGIA MODERNITATII TARZII SI IDENTITATEA CULTURALA
MARIA POPELCA
ABSTRACT. 'Modernity' and 'enlightenment' tend to be used interchangeably, whether by thinkers who seek to sustain that project, or by those who consider it a closed chapter in the history of ideas. Post-modernism might be seen as a ludic development of the 'linguistic turn' that has characterized much philosophical thinking of late. Back to contents
THE ROLE OF JUDICIAL REVIEW IN LIBERAL DEMOCRACIES
IONUT TOARTA
ABSTRACT. There is currently no source of international law that would give a legal body like a court the authority to recognize the division of an oppressive or illegitimate state into separate legal entities. The non-positivistic concept of law carries with it the risk that the judge, appealing to justice, will oppose decisions of the democratically legitimated legislator. Back to contents
STILURI INTERPRETATIVE IN CREATIA PIANISTICA ROMANTICA
LUMINITA POGACEANU
ABSTRACT. The important features of the Baroque, Classic, and Romantic styles must be understood so that one will not play Mozart on the piano in the same way one would play Chopin or Liszt. Muzic is an art in time and unlike painting, sculpture, and architecture, music can and must be brought back to life by a new projection in time on every occassion that it is to be appreciated. Back to contents
MONTESQUIEU'S NORMATIVE NATURALISM
CARMEN PALACEAN
ABSTRACT. Montesquieu constructed a naturalistic account of the various forms of government, and of the causes that made them what they were and that advanced or constrained their development, using this account to explain how governments might be preserved from corruption. Positive law is properly formulated to the extent that its normative basis coheres with certain natural, empirical, or historical properties. Back to contents
UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION AND INTERNATIONAL GOVERNANCE
SEVASTIAN BLENDEA
ABSTRACT. Universal jurisdiction is exercised by powerful countries over acts that occurred in developing countries and that were committed by persons from such countries. The state is made responsible for the acts of a movement that was not a government at the material time and could not have drawn state responsibility upon itself. Back to contents
ORDINE SI HAZARD IN STRUCTURA FINANCIARA DIN SISTEMUL CAPITALIST GLOBAL
CONSTANTIN LAPADAT
ABSTRACT. The way to develop a free trade constituency is to engage the opposition and address its legitimate concerns. The WTO agreements are enforced through a compulsory dispute settlement mechanism backed by an effective system of sanctions. It is governments which negotiate in institutions like the WTO, and governments are accountable to their citizens. Back to contents
LAUTERPACHT'S THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
GHEORGHE STANESCU
ABSTRACT. Lauterpacht notes that the function of the judge to pronounce in each case quid est juris is pre-eminently a practical one. The decisive test for the existence of law is the existence of obligatory judicial settlement. Within the State the rule pacta sunt servanda is one of the rules of law sanctioned by the legal order. Back to contents
Review of Contemporary Philosophy
VOLUME 5 • NUMBERS 1-2 • MAY, AUGUST 2006
ACESTITATE
RICHARD SWINBURNE
ABSTRACT. It might well seem that individuals of some kinds have haecceitas or thisness, which makes them different, from other individuals of the same kind otherwise indistinguishable from them. In the first part of this paper I seek to make the notion of thisness more precise, and I then go on to consider which kinds of individuals have thisness. I shall unhesitantly suggest that abstract objects, places, and times do not. I shall hesitantly suggest that material objects do not. I shall confidently suggest that animate beings (such as humans) and also conscious events which involve them do have thisness; and I shall hesitantly suggest that all other events also have thisness. These suggestions will be backed up by arguments, but inevitably my discussion will raise many other central philosophical questions which a paper such as this cannot discuss adequately. The point of the paper is, however, to show how different answers to these questions are connected to each other by the central notion of thisness; and to show how the grounds for ascribing thisness to individuals of one kind interact with the grounds for ascribing it to individuals of another kind. Back to contents
TEORIE, OBSERVATIE SI REALISM STIINTIFIC
JODY AZZOUNI
ABSTRACT. A normative constraint on theories about objects which we take to be real is explored: such theories are required to track the properties of the objects which they are theories of. Epistemic views in which observation (and generalizations of it) play a central role, and holist views which see epistemic virtues as applicable only to whole theories, are contrasted in the light of this constraint. It's argued that global-style epistemic virtues can't meet the constraint, although (certain) epistemic views within which observation (and, more generally, thick epistemic access) are centralized do meet it. Back to contents
DERRIDA, HEIDEGGER, AND THE ONTOLOGY OF THE HUMAN BEING
CARMEN PETCU
ABSTRACT. Derrida argues that language as a medium and as a subject of philosophy constitutes a particular charged lows of deconstruction (Golumbia). Heidegger is far removed from concerning the self as a substance or a subject (George). Hegel believes that our natural instincts should be tempered and educated by reason, rather than modified (Hegel's procedure is uniquely able to capture our pre-scientific experience of nature). Back to contents
LEARNING EXPRESSIVITY IN MUSIC PERFORMANCE AND THE LIMITS OF AUTHENTICITY
LUMINITA POGACEANU
ABSTRACT. Friskin instructs pianists to remember Bach's own indicated wish for the development of a cantabile style, thus prescribing a general singing legato, along with the addition of portato for connected eighth notes in some passages. Levin remarks that in Schubert's as in Mozart's time all composers were demonstrably performers, and most distinguished performers were composers. Turley holds that Mendelssohn was at once challenged and liberated by the dramatic possibilities of the concert aria. Back to contents
ETHICAL ISSUES IN ADVANCED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
NICK BOSTROM
ABSTRACT. The ethical issues related to the possible future creation of machines with general intellectual capabilities far outstripping those of humans are quite distinct from any ethical problems arising in current automation and information systems. This paper surveys some of the unique ethical issues in creating superintelligence, and discusses what motivations we ought to give a superintelligence, and introduces some cost-benefit considerations relating to whether the development of superintelligent machines ought to be accelerated or retarded. Back to contents
JUSTIFYING SOCIAL NORMS AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF ETHICS
GHEORGHE BUNESCU
ABSTRACT. Autonomy is achieved in virtue of a two-way integration within a person's hierarchy of motivations, intermediate standards and values, and highest principles (Friedman). While moral judgments express attitudes, they are also assertions (Joyce). Human cooperation is largely based on a social norm of conditional cooperation (Fehr and Fischbacher). Millgram identifies the theories of practical reasoning underlying classical utilitarianism, Kant's moral theory, and virtue ethics. Back to contents
IS THE PHYSICAL WORLD OUTSIDE OF CONSCIOUSNESS FOR SARTRE?
CARMEN PETCU
ABSTRACT. Sartre views the non-positional self-awareness within pre-reflective consciousness as a form of self-consciousness (first-order outer-directed conscious states are also self-conscious states). Sartre offers a notion of the world as a system of objects where meanings and values are organized in light of the individual's project. Sartre distinguishes between positional (or thetic) consciousness and non-positional (or non-thetic) consciousness: For Sartre, the self is a kind of construct only. Back to contents
CARTWRIGHT ON THE LAWS IN PHYSICS AS CETERIS PARIBUS LAWS
CAMELIA-SIMONA DRAGAN
ABSTRACT. Cartwright maintains that the fundamental laws of physics are true in only idealized counterfactual situations; the fundamental laws of physics cannot provide covering law explanations. The success of experimental science vindicate local, context-specific models, rather than general theories. Many data models are used to get beyond theory to better represent physical systems. The actual content of our scientific knowledge does not lie in fundamental laws and theories but in phenomenological laws. Back to contents
QUINE ON COMMUNICATION AND THE RELATION OF LANGUAGE TO THE WORLD
GEORGE LAZAROIU
ABSTRACT. Quine claims that even if he had a satisfactory notion of shared content, he would not want to improve it in a positivist spirit as a condition of meaningfulness. Quine oulines the crucial role played by the grammatical particles in our understanding of language. Quine defines stimulus-meaning in terms of the class of stimulations that would prompt a speaker's assent to or dissent from a given sentence at a given date. Back to contents
QUINE AND THE ONTOLOGY OF MEANING
ADRIAN CONSTANTINESCU
ABSTRACT. Quine writes that the indeterminacy thesis tells us that right translations can sharply diverge; the indeterminacy of translation shows that the notion of propositions as sentence meanings is untenable. The notions of synonymy, meaningfulness, analyticity, and entailment are connected in intimate ways. The apparatus of stimulus and response will not vindicate common-sense views about meaning. Back to contents
CAN ONE ACCEPT QUINE'S ARGUMENT AGAINST ANALYTICITY WITHOUT BEING COMMITTED TO THE INDETERMINACY OF MEANING?
SEVASTIAN BLENDEA
ABSTRACT. Quine asserts that a sentence or a set of sentences is devoid of empirical content unless it is testable. Quine claims that his example offer a crude notion of how it may be that reification and reference contribute to the elaborate structure that relates science to its sensory evidence. The truths of logic are obvious given the circumstances in which assent or dissent is elicited from the natives by the translator. Back to contents
WHAT DOES THE INDETERMINACY OF TRANSLATION INVOLVE?
MADLINA NICOLOF
ABSTRACT. Quine states that it is part of translation practice to translate others so that they come out believing the same logical laws that we do. Quine claims that manuals for translating one language into another can be set up in divergent ways. Quine writes that his gavagai example has figured too centrally in discussions with the indeterminacy of translation. Quine holds, given analyticity, we can get sameness of meaning within the language but still not between languages. Back to contents
QUINE'S REJECTION OF AN ATOMISTIC NOTION OF COGNITIVE MEANING AS A BASIS FOR ANALYTICITY
OANA GHERMAN
ABSTRACT. Quine's behaviourism requires the linguist's theoretical constructions to be justified on the basis of objective evidence. The available paradigms in the case of definition either assume prior synonymy relations or else have nothing to do with meaning. No comparison between hypotheses about beliefs and hypotheses about meaning is possible (it assumes an analytic/synthetic distinction). Back to contents
ARE HUMAN RIGHTS UNIVERSAL IN THE LAW OF PEOPLES?
ELENA PARASCHIV
ABSTRACT. Rawls considers and rejects the argument that nonliberal societies are always properly subject to some form of sanctions. The Law of Peoples allows for relatively large inequalities in wealth between peoples; a peoples' being decent will ensure enough equity in distribution of social goods within the peoples' territory. Freeman defends Rawls's grounding of political justice in social cooperation. Back to contents
RAWLS'S ACCOUNT OF LIBERAL BASIC LIBERTIES AND THE GUARANTEES OF DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE
ELENA-MARIA TUDOR
ABSTRACT. The Law of Peoples is an extension of a liberal conception of justice for a domestic regime to a Society of Peoples. International justice applies only if nation states are self-sufficient and states can reach the level of well-ordered peoples with the duty of assistance from the liberal societies. Justice is concerned with the distribution of social primary goods, where these are social resources that any rational individual would want more of. Back to contents
INVESTMENT DECISIONS AND THE EQUITY ACCOUNTING STANDARD
LUMINITA IONESCU
ABSTRACT. Mittoo examines whether the differences in the US accounting and disclosures requirements relative to those in other countries induce segmentation. Morris and Gordon investigate equity accounting adoption in regulated and unregulated settings. Burchell et al. argue that, in wider social practice, accounting innovations satisfy more general searches for the extension of calculative practice which are embodied within the societies of which organizations are a part. Back to contents
CHALLENGES FOR IMPLEMENTING HUMAN CAPITAL ANALYSIS IN THE FINANCIAL MARKETS
DORIN DOBRISAN
ABSTRACT. In order for human capital analysis to be effective, companies will need to provide access to securities analysts on human resource management practices so they have valid data on which to base their human capital recommendations (Royal and O'Donnell). Originally developed in the financial community to operate commodity futures markets, the economic market mechanisms are applied to structure markets for aggregating information about the future (Passmore et al.). Back to contents
INTERNATIONAL LAW AND STATE SOVEREIGNTY
ELENA PARASCHIV
ABSTRACT. The international obligation on states is not to create a perfect system of justice but a system of justice where serious errors are avoided or corrected (Paulsson). Kwiecien presents an approach which illustrates the immanent interrelation between state sovereignty and international law, and perceives the former as the basis of the latter. Anghie contends that colonialism was central to the constitution of international law. Wolff refers to the universal society of mankind governed by the law of nations. Back to contents
Review of Contemporary Philosophy
VOLUME 6 • 2007
THE PARADOX OF BELIEVABILITY
MICHAEL FARA
ABSTRACT. A superagent is a being who satisfies the following two principles: (I) If p entails q, and if S believes p, then S believes q. (II) If S believes that she doesn't believe p, then S doesn't believe p. There could be a superagent, in the sense that it's not conceptually impossible for a superagent to exist. Our concept of belief should not be such as to rule out the possibility of a being of this kind. Although our concept of belief shouldn't rule out the possibility of a being of this kind, it apparently does. The key to solving this paradox lies in the recognition that the question of whether an agent could believe so-and-so can sometimes diverge from the question of whether it is possible that she believes so-and-so. Back to contents
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM AS A PHILOSOPHY OF MATHEMATICS: CONSTRUCTIVISM REHABILITATED?
PAUL ERNEST
ABSTRACT. Epistemological issues, although controversial, are central to teaching and learning and have long been a theme of PME. A central epistemological issue is that of the philosophy of mathematics. It is argued that the traditional absolutist philosophies need to be replaced by a conceptual change view of mathematics. Building on the principles of radical constructivism together with the assumption of the existence of the physical and social worlds, a social constructivist philosophy of mathematics is proposed. This suggests an explanation of both the apparent objectivity and the utility of mathematics. A consequence is that the criticism that radical constructivism is necessarily solipsistic is overcome. Back to contents
VARIABLES, GENERALITY AND EXISTENCE: CONSIDERATIONS ON THE NOTION OF A CONCEPT-SCRIPT (II)
HENRY LAYCOCK
ABSTRACT. The ideal of a logically transparent language represents no merely interesting episode in the history of ideas. The notion of an ideal language typically carries the implication that it is not only transparent but also that it is complete. The project of formalising natural-language sentences is not simply a matter of developing smooth and effective techniques for the representation of reasoning. Back to contents
HUMAN GENETIC ENHANCEMENTS: A TRANSHUMANIST PERSPECTIVE
NICK BOSTROM
ABSTRACT. Transhumanists place an emphasis on modifications which, in addition to promoting human well-being, also open more possibilities than they close and which increase our ability to make subsequent choices wisely. Longer active lifespans, better memory, and greater intellectual capacities are plausible candidates for enhancements that would improve our ability to figure out what we ought to do next. They would be a good place to start. Back to contents
NEOLIBERAL GOVERNMENTALITY: FOUCAULT ON THE BIRTH OF BIOPOLITICS
MICHAEL A. PETERS
ABSTRACT. Abstract. This paper first briefly discusses Foucault's approach to governmentality, before detailing and analysing Foucault's account of German ordoliberalism, a configuration based on the theoretical configuration of economics and law developed at the University of Freiberg by W. Eucken and F. Böhm that views the market contingently as developing historically within a judicial-legal framework. The economy is thus based on a concept of the Rule of Law, anchored in a notion of individual rights, property rights and contractual freedom that constitutes, in effect, an economic constitution. Back to contents
CIRCUMSTANTE TEMPORALIZATE
RICHARD SWINBURNE
ABSTRACT. Events occur at instants or over periods of time, and are related to other events by the relations of "earlier than", "simultaneous with", and "later than." Insofar as statements affirm the possession of properties by individuals at places and times, they make no reference to the mode of presentation of those individuals, places, and times. Insofar as he understands a language, a subject's beliefs can be put into sentences which express the propositions which he believes and then he will believe those sentences. Back to contents
TRIANGULATION, OBJECTIVITY AND THE AMBIGUITY PROBLEM
MARTIN MONTMINY
ABSTRACT. Davidson claims that a creature that has spent its entire life in isolation cannot have thoughts: (i) interaction with another creature (what he calls "triangulation") is required to locate the cause of the creature's responses, and (ii) linguistic communication is necessary to acquire the concept of objective truth, which is itself required in order to have thoughts. At best, these two reasons imply that in order to have thoughts a creature must be capable of participating in triangulation, not that it must have already participated in triangulation. Triangulation doesn't solve the ambiguity problem (it doesn't entail that a being's tho ughts and utterances are about distal objects rather than proximal patterns of stimulation). Fortunately, ambiguity, like other forms of indeterminacy, doesn't entail that we cannot have thoughts. Back to contents
CHOMSKY AND PRAGMATICS
ASA KASHER
ABSTRACT. Chomsky's research program of Generative Linguistics has had syntax in focus, but its conception of objectives, scientific methodology and philosophical foundations transcend syntax and lend themselves to interesting applications. Pragmatics is an area to which they have been applied. The introduction of a theoretical notion of pragmatic competence imports into pragmatics the form of theoretical objectives, the scientific methodology and the philosophical foundations of Chomsky's research program of Generative Linguistics. Back to contents
ASTRONOMICAL WASTE: THE OPPORTUNITY COST OF DELAYED TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
NICK BOSTROM
ABSTRACT. With very advanced technology, a very large population of people living happy lives could be sustained in the accessible region of the universe. For every year that development of such technologies and colonization of the universe is delayed, there is therefore an opportunity cost: a potential good, lives worth living, is not being realized. Given some plausible assumptions, this cost is extremely large. However, the lesson for utilitarians is not that we ought to maximize the pace of technological development, but rather that we ought to maximize its safety, i.e. the probability that colonization will eventually occur. Back to contents
DELEUZE, BAUDRILLARD, AND DERRIDA ON INTERPRETATION AND IMAGINATION
CARMEN PETCU
ABSTRACT. Deleuze says that whatever you will, will it in such a way that you also will its eternal return; there is no possible compromise between Hegel and Nietzsche (Nietzsche's philosophy forms an absolute anti-dialectics). Baudrillard stresses that we live by object time - we live at the pace of objects, live to the rhythm of their ceaseless succession. Derrida notices that as the place of the irreplaceable singularity and the unique referential, the punctum irradiates and lends itself to metonymy. Back to contents
DEVELOPING A VIABLE PURPOSIVE PSYCHOLOGY
AUREL PERA
ABSTRACT. Koch claims that the rudiments of cognitive adventures, conscious thought, the more elaborated forms of scientific reflection, all seem to follow a special path of dynamic heuristics. Schuh explains that, traditionally, morphology at the macroscopic level has formed the basis for most recognized taxonomic characters. Johnston argues that given what we know from the psychophysics of perception it follows that Revelation and Explanation cannot be true together (when it comes to the external explanatory causes of our color experience, psychophysics has narrowed down the options. Back to contents
NEWTONIAN COSMOLOGY AND THE GEOMETRY OF SPACE
CAMELIA-SIMONA DRAGAN
ABSTRACT. Norton stresses that in ordinary Newtonian gravitation theory, one decomposes a free fall motion into two parts: an inertial trajectory and a deflection due the gravitational field. Krantz thinks that a version of Newtonian mechanics based on the present axiomatization of force measurement (together with the usual statements of Newton's second and third laws) would have to be considered slightly programmatic in character. As Domski puts it, Newton contends that we should not use the dimensions of equations corresponding to curves as a means for classifying curves as simple or complex. Back to contents
CONCEPTUAL SHIFTS IN THE STUDY OF GRAMMAR
MADALINA NICOLOF
ABSTRACT. Frege says that it may be granted that every grammaticality well-formed expression figuring as a proper name always has a sense. Leech states that language consists of grammar and pragmatics: grammar is an abstract formal system for producing and interpreting messages. Searle argues that there is a conception of reality, and of the relationships between reality on the one hand and thought and language on the other, that is so fundamental that to some extent it defines that tradition. Back to contents
RUSSELL ON PROPOSITION AND THE LOGICAL FORM
ADRIAN CONSTANTINESCU
ABSTRACT. Russell writes that the logical form is just the same whether you believe a false or a true proposition; judgment involves the neutral fact, not the positive or negative fact. Russell points out that if an expression has a meaning, then there must be something which it means; being is a general attribute of everything, and to mention anything is to show that it is. Sainsbury remarks that, for Russell, a proper name ("in the narrow logical sense") is a simple expression which of necessity has a referent (one must be acquainted with this referent in order to understand the name). Back to contents
METAETHICAL SUBJECTIVISM AND MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
OANA GHERMAN
ABSTRACT. Nichols states that no action is wrong simpliciter. Young advocates a holistic concept of freedom which is not merely defined negatively but which positively provides the preconditions for individuals to actively exercise their autonomy and to flourish as human beings in the process. Nagel suggests that unjust and illegitimate regimes are the necessary precursors of the progress toward legitimacy and democracy. Back to contents
DID WITTGENSTEIN DISAGREE WITH HEIDEGGER?
DUNCAN RICHTER
ABSTRACT. My goal in this paper is to look at what Wittgenstein said about Heidegger. So little attention has been paid to this subject that his few recorded remarks on Heidegger have only recently all been translated into English. I will examine these remarks closely in what follows. I will also look at some of what has been said about them recently, and finally analyze them in order to draw a conclusion about what Wittgenstein really thought of Heidegger's work. Back to contents
WITTGENSTEIN AND DECONSTRUCTION
NICHOLAS F. GIER
ABSTRACT. Some commentators have interpreted Wittgenstein's philosophy as a form of deconstruction à la Derrida. I argue that Wittgenstein does indeed have aporetic moments, and Wittgentstein's rejection of a universal Weltbild and his semantic relativism make the thesis of a deconstructive Wittgenstein an attractive proposition. Both Wittgenstein and Derrida could be seen as radical descendants of the phenomenological movement, starting with Husserl, moving through existentialism, and then beyond to deconstruction. There is no ultimate contradiction between Wittgenstein's deconstructive moments and his reconstructive phenomenology of forms of life. Back to contents
INSIDE THE MOMENT OF THINKING AND SPEAKING: "THE QUIET WEIGHING OF LINGUISTIC FACTS"
JOHN SHOTTER
ABSTRACT. In Wittgenstein's works, we begin to move away from the Cartesian mechanical world of dead forms and structures, and begin to find ourselves face to face with a wholly new horizon, a new world of life and of living events and processes. Nothing in it retains its old character. We now see the intellectual veils, the static forms, systems, patterns, and logics that we have in the past taken for The Reality within which we must live our lives, as a set of frozen drapes thrown over a throng of diverse activities in continual living interaction with each other. These stiff and frozen dust sheets have hidden from us all the ways in which we, and other such beings, all live in unceasing responsive relations with each other. Back to contents
WITTGENSTEIN ON MEANING AND RULE-FOLLOWING
MATTHEW J. DENSLEY
ABSTRACT. Wittgenstein's remarks on rule-following constitute an attack on the theory of meaning of the Tractatus, but the significance he places on it shows a salient continuity with his earlier work. Meaning is still seen as central to philosophical theorizing, and Wittgenstein's concern remains to show how this enterprise is misguided. The later Wittgenstein attempts to unearth the intuitions that bring us to offer philosophical theories in the first place. His remarks on rule-following are most informatively regarded as part of a rejection of a very general approach to philosophical theorizing, which I shall call "conceptual realism", which assumes a distinction between language and an independent reality which justifies its use. Back to contents
WITTGENSTEIN ON MUSIC
TERRY B. EWELL
ABSTRACT. Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) was one of the most original thinkers of the first half of the twentieth century. His views on philosophy and language have significantly shaped the present-day discipline of philosophy. Of interest to musicians is the fact that Wittgenstein refers to music in a number of his lectures and writings, which provide insights into discourse about aesthetics and ways to understand music and the arts. Back to contents
FACTUALITY AND THE LANGUAGE OF THE MEDIA
GEORGE LAZAROIU
ABSTRACT. Sousa contends that journalism media would act especially through the act of informing citizens, in the assumption that they are responsible players in a social system they belong and on which they have to intervene. Nerone and Barnhurst state that newspaper workers, owners and readers alike imagine that the real work of newspapers is to allow democracy to function. Sparre points out that the high number of stories about celebrities has led to worry and unease amongst journalists and academics concerning the quality of media contest and falling journalistic standards. Back to contents
AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL UNDERSTANDING OF CONTEMPORARY JOURNALISM
GEORGE LAZAROIU
ABSTRACT. Eide argues that an adequate understanding of society and a relevant theory of power should be able to account for the role of journalism. Martin remarks that the mass media frequently create unrealistic fears about criminals, foreign peoples and mass protest. Sigal states that reporters must locate themselves in places where information is most likely to flow to them. According to Kunczik, to viewers entertainment is simply what entertains, it is like to say, the absence of boredom. Back to contents
ORAL COMPOSITION IN ROMANIAN EPIC POETRY
VIORICA BARBU-IURASCU
ABSTRACT. Beissinger holds that the fundamental unit of narrative content in epic poetry is the complete thought (which is expressed as a complete sentence, with a subject and a predicate). Zlateva reasons that unlike the vocal doinas, the instrumental ones have more developed forms, with wide compass and richer ornamentation (according to the technical possibilities offered by the musical instruments on which they are played). Giurchescu remarks that the Calus dance demands a very high degree of agility, power, and endurance (qualities that are developed over a considerable length of time through arduous training, practice, and devotion). Back to contents
THE STRUCTURE OF MUSICAL DISCOURSE
LUMINITA POGACEANU
ABSTRACT. Ockelford claims that "structure" refers solely to implicative relationships through which one perceived sonic event or feature is deemed to derive through imitation of another. Storr observes that music can be regarded as a form of communication between people, but what it communicates is not obvious. Gordon asserts that Chopin's pianistic specialization leads to his distinctive style containing many strikingly original elements. Back to contents
RHETORICAL-COMPOSITIONAL DEVICES IN ROMANIAN EPIC SONGS
VIORICA BARBU-IURASCU
ABSTRACT. Zlateva contends that folk music gained its real importance in Enescu's work when he began to develop his own Western musical language. Beissinger holds that oral composition in Romanian epic is characterized by a congruity between textual and musical ideas (singers clearly sense a relationship between text and music and utilize complex patterns of interaction as they construct their traditional songs). Catarella stresses that categorizing the oral ballad as a genre is difficult because it is interdisciplinary and all-encompassing. Back to contents
MUSICAL STRUCTURES AND PERFORMANCE EXPRESSION
LUMINITA POGACEANU
ABSTRACT. Palmer points out that musical experience enhances both performer's use of expression to emphasize interpretations and listeners' ability to identify interpretations and expressive aspects of performance. Clarke notes that perception must be understood as a relationship between environmentally available information and the capacities, sensitivities, and interests of a perceiver. Chopin says that the goal is not to learn to play everything with an equal sound, but rather, a well-formed technique that can control and vary a beautiful sound quality. Back to contents
INFLATION AND MONETARY POLICY DECISIONS
DORIN DOBRISAN
ABSTRACT. According to Rogoff, central banks would like to be able to forecast terms of trade changes, and a high level of global excess capacity relative to domestic excess capacity implies that short-run favorable terms of trade gains. Gnan and Valderrama hold that the notion that central banks worldwide did a better job in reducing inflation and keeping it low is developed in various directions. Reddy observes that the period since the 1990s has witnessed some convergence in the conduct of monetary policy, worldwide. Back to contents
DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT AND THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
GEORGE HODOROGEA
ABSTRACT. CDT describes some ways in which DRM is already having a major impact on how the public accesses and interacts with digital content, and suggests specific questions that consumers and reviewers should be asking about media devices and services incorporating DRM. Chorianopoulos et al. remark that digital music consumers have to choose between illegal file swapping services and online music stores. Dhamija and Wallenberg look at DRM based systems, extensions to DRM to support fair uses, monitor-and-charge schemes, compulsory licensing schemes and alternative business models. Back to contents
HOW DOES GLOBALIZATION AFFECT INFLATION?
ELENA-MARIA TUDOR
ABSTRACT. Wagner remarks that inflation is regarded by the public as a signal of bad policy and political and economic instability; inflation works like taxation: the real effective capital income tax rate rises as inflation increases (the effects on capital income taxes are a main mechanism by which the tax system becomes nonneutral to inflation). Rogoff argues that for countries with well-developed financial markets, the thin information content of exchange rates makes them of limited use in a monetary policy rule. Berger et al. stress that globalization has flattened the short-run output-inflation trade-off. Back to contents
EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERNAL CONTROL AND FINANCIAL REPORTING
LUMINITA IONESCU
ABSTRACT. According to INTOSAI, internal control in public sector organizations should be understood within the context of the specific characteristics of these organizations. INTOSAI claims that no matter how well designed and operated, internal control cannot provide management absolute assurance regarding the achievement of the general objectives. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP maintain that the SEC's interpretive guidance, which addresses the management assessment aspects of the internal control process, emphasizes a top-down, risk-based approach to evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. Back to contents
ASSET PRICES, GLOBAL INFLATION, AND OPTIMAL MONETARY POLICY
DORIN DOBRISAN
ABSTRACT. With respect to monetary policy, Yellen finds nothing either in theory or the existing empirical evidence to overturn the conclusion that a country like the United States, operating under a flexible exchange rate regime, can ultimately achieve the inflation target of its choice. Berger et al. focus on the question whether and how the ongoing process of economic integration, usually labeled as globalization, affects policymakers' optimal choice between a proactive and reactive policy strategy. Wagner reasons that globalization forces market players to make structural adjustments or reforms which change the conditions or constraints under which monetary policy is implemented. Back to contents
Review of Contemporary Philosophy
VOLUME 7 • 2008
ON MEANING, MEANING AND MEANING
RUTH MILLIKAN
ABSTRACT. Various criss-crossing distinctions have been drawn in the philosophical tradition between kinds or dimensions of linguistic meaning or between meaning and other dimensions of linguistic function. In this chapter I'll try to collect together from various books and papers the results of my own investigations on different aspects of meaning. The underlying idea is that to understand how language works, one must look, first, to the cooperative functions that various language forms perform, understanding these on a biological model as what these forms accomplish that keeps them in circulation. To explain the cooperative function of a language form is to explain its survival value, the source of its proliferation, what it does that accounts at the same time for the fact that speakers continue to use it and that hearers continue to react to it often enough in standard ways. Next we should look at language mechanics, at how language forms perform their functions. For some language forms there are conditions in the world that are necessary to support their functions and that vary systematically with certain variations in the forms themselves. These are truth conditions, and they are determined by a kind of "meaning" that I will call "semantic mapping functions" - "functions", this time, in the mathematical sense. (Semantic mapping functions determine truth conditions; truth conditions only delimit and do not determine semantic mapping functions. I will get to this.) Last we need to describe the psychological mechanisms that are involved in implementing the functions of various language forms, the ways that speakers and hearers manage to produce and understand these forms so as to promote performance of their cooperative linguistic functions. Back to contents
INTERTWINING METAPHYSICS AND MATHEMATICS: THE DEVELOPMENT OF GEORG CANTOR'S SET THEORY 1871-1887
ANNE NEWSTEAD
ABSTRACT. Cantor's set theory went against philosophical orthodoxy, which held since Aristotle that there were no actual infinities required in mathematics. In order to promote the acceptance of his new theory, Cantor realized he would need to argue against the philosophical tradition. Cantor's main philosophical work, Grundlagen (1883), is compared with this later writings (including his Nachlass) in order to demonstrate the change in Cantor's philosophical views over time. Back to contents
APOCALYPTIC THINKING NOW: THE ENDS OF POSTMODERNISM
MICHAEL A. PETERS
ABSTRACT. "Postmodernism", like a host of other similar terms christened with the same prefix, such as "Post-Impressionism" and "Post-Expressionism", employs a reactive rhetorical device or strategy, betraying what I call a "naming anxiety". Postmodernism gets a bad press. It is attacked from all sides. Both the right and the left deny its reality or reinterpret postmodernism as an epiphenomenon - the cultural logic of late capitalism, or a kind of secondary narcissism, or a neoliberal "free trade" global capitalism such as that promoted by the World Trade Organization. Postmodernism is also appropriated for different purposes by those who examine a certain politics, aesethics, and epistemology. Many standard accounts of postmodernism take no notice of apocalyptic thinking - its different cultural expressions - or the importance of time, especially in relation to Being. Back to contents
EXISTENTA NECESARA A LUI DUMNEZEU
RICHARD SWINBURNE
ABSTRACT. It follows not merely from general philosophical considerations, but from the very nature of Theism itself, that God is not a logically necessary being. The claim that God exists necessarily may be read in either or two ways - either as saying "there is a divine being" expresses a necessarily true statement, or as saying "God exists" (i.e. that individual in fact picked out by the description "divine" exists) expresses a necessarily true statement. It is coherent to suppose that there are ultimate principles governing how things are, governing which other principles or agents operate in particular spheres for limited periods of time. Back to contents
GOD, REALITY AND THE REALISM/ANTIREALISM DEBATE
EBERHARD HERRMANN
ABSTRACT. It is almost self-evident for many people that one has to be a metaphysical realist in order to be a religious believer. Most of the debates on religious realism and religious antirealism are focusing upon the claim that truth is correspondence between a description and independently existing entities. I will question the fruitfulness of this claim and argue for moving the focus to an internal perspective. I will do this by clarifying the use of the word "reality" taking into account that for us reality is always conceptualized reality. Back to contents
MERLEAU-PONTY, WHITEHEAD, AND THE POLITICS OF NATURE
ALBERTO TOSCANO
ABSTRACT. This essay takes its cue from Maurice Merleau-Ponty's discussion of Alfred North Whitehead in his Collège de France course on the concept of nature in order to delve into the roots of the contemporary invocation of the philosophy of nature. It explores Merleau-Ponty's critique of an 'immaterialist' lineage going from Descartes to Sartre, and seeks to problematise the link that the French phenomenologist makes between an organicist concern with bodies, perception and living beings, on the one hand, and an anti-decisionist politics, on the other. The points of convergence and contrast between Merleau-Ponty and Whitehead are used to identify broader issues regarding the philosophical role of the concept of nature and the paths taken by anti-reductionist philosophies. The essay concludes that Whitehead's eschewing of anthropocentric and corporeal themes makes him a far more rigorous opponent of the Cartesian legacy. Back to contents
TRANSCENDENTAL LOGIC REDEFINED
MANUEL BREMER
ABSTRACT. Traditionally transcendental logic has been set apart from formal logic. Transcendental logic had to deal with the conditions of possibility of judgements, which were presupposed by formal logic. Defined as a purely philosophical enterprise transcendental logic was considered as being a priori delivering either analytic or even synthetic a priori result. In this paper it is argued that this separation from the (empirical) cognitive sciences should be given up. Transcendental logic should be understood as focusing on specific questions. These do not, as some recent analytic philosophy has it, include a refutation of scepticism. And they are not to be separated from meta-logical investigations. Transcendental logic properly understood, and redefined along these theses, should concern itself with the (formal) re-construction of the presupposed necessary conditions and rules of linguistic communication in general. It aims at universality and reflexive closure. Back to contents
NARRATION AND SUBJECTIVITY IN CONTEMPORARY FRENCH LITERATURE
CARMEN PETCU
ABSTRACT. As Veivo puts it, the city was a central theme in modern French literature (characterized from Baudelaire to Verhaeren and beyond by the figures of le flâneur and la foule). Bourdieu asks us to beware of constituting the first signs of the institutionalizing of the writer's person as the indices of a sort of absolute beginning, as the appearance of specific instances of consecration. Meretoja says that the nouveaux romanciers repudiate storytelling in the name of a new realism (i.e. in order to bring forth the fundamentally chaotic, fragmentary nature of reality). Back to contents
FRENCH AS A LANGUAGE OF ADMINISTRATION
IRINA AIRINEI
ABSTRACT. Since 1500 the influence of Latin began to wane and people began to write administrative documents in their own dialect rather than in Latin. Carter holds that in the decades immediately following the Norman conquest, French was not used as the language of law. French became the language of record for much of official life through the late 14th century. Judge notes that since 1945, the newly independent ex-colonial states gained access to the various inter- national organizations and chose to use French to communicate with the outside world. Back to contents
WORD MEANING, LINGUISTIC FORMS, AND THE SEMANTIC CONCEPTION OF TRUTH
ADRIAN CONSTANTINESCU
ABSTRACT. Russell claims that the concept which occurs in the verbal noun is the very same as that which occurs as verb. Bloomfield defines the meaning of a linguistic form as the situation in which the speaker utters it and the response which it calls forth in the hearer. Blackburn writes that there is such a thing as the correct and incorrect application of a term: to say that there is such a thing is no more than to say that there is truth and falsity. There is a prelinguistic, pre-cognitive situation which seems to Davidson to constitute a necessary condition for thought and language. Back to contents
GRAMMAR, LOGIC, AND SEMANTIC REPRESENTATION
MADALINA NICOLOF
ABSTRACT. Sowa asserts that context and background knowledge are important, since most sentences cannot be understood in isolation. Carnap makes an analogous distinction between descriptive and pure syntax: descriptive syntax is an empirical investigation of the syntactical features of given languages; pure syntax deals with syntactical systems. Davidson maintains that to have a belief it is not enough to discriminate among aspects of the world, to behave in different ways in different circumstances. Chomsky says that the grammar as a whole can be regarded as a device for pairing phonetically represented signals with semantic representations. Back to contents
HEIDEGGER AND THE ESSENCE OF DASEIN
OANA GHERMAN
ABSTRACT. Kamal explains how Heidegger's analysis of human existence (Dasein) opens a new horizon for understanding human reality and how this analysis becomes a total rejection of a Cartesian theory of self-substance. Esfeld writes that, for Heidegger, being-in-the-world includes both being at things in the world and being with other people. Dasein is concerned about its being, and it is being-in-the-world. George notes that Heidegger asks the question what it means to be only in relation to that entity for which its own "to-be" is always an issue, for which its "to-be" is always my "to-be" and for which the characteristic of inquiring and questioning is fundamental. Williams maintains that Heidegger's thought is both philosophical and theological: it precedes and determines the scope of the questioning through which philosophy and theology have their first determinations in discourse, their public realization, representation and foundation. Back to contents
IDEALISM AND REALISM IN EARLY ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY - WITTGENSTEIN'S TRACTATUS LOGICO-PHILOSOPHICUS
MATTHEW J. DENSLEY
ABSTRACT. Much has been made of the 'Transcendental Idealism' in Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico Philosophicus, particularly the influence of Schopenhauer on Wittgenstein's remarks on solipsism. It has even been suggested that Wittgenstein's commitment to idealism survives into his later work. The proper understanding of this influence, however, shows the most important relation to Kant's transcendental idealism to be on a meta-philosophical level that balances idealism against realism, resulting in a position that is neither. The 'truth' in idealism and realism show that neither position is correct: the Tractatus is a roughly Kantian attempt to constrain metaphysical theorising, albeit in a far more severe way than Kant's own philosophy. The resulting position is mystical quietism. Back to contents
WITTGENSTEIN AND SUBJECTIVITY: PICTURES OF THE SELF
ANNE-MARIE SONDERGAARD CHRISTENSEN
ABSTRACT. In this article, I focus on Wittgenstein's view of self-understanding as a necessary part of the attempt to live an ethical or responsible life especially focused on his description of our use of pictures in this regard. Wittgenstein shows how we construct and use pictures to highlight or express certain features of our particular way of being; pictures that may be revealing but may also prove to be a source of misunderstanding about ourselves. In the final part of the paper, I use a minor digression into Wittgenstein's account of a philosophical problem to show how pictures in this way mirror, and thus may help us to understand, an inherent dynamic dimension in the acquisition of self-understanding. Back to contents
WITTGENSTEIN ON THE NATURE OF RELIGIOUS BELIEF
MAIJA AALTO-HEINILA
ABSTRACT. In the first part of this article I introduce briefly the main tenets in Wittgenstein's views on religion; for example, his idea that religious beliefs are not dependent on empirical evidence. In the second part I introduce and discuss some typical criticisms that have been targeted against his views. The main accusation against Wittgenstein (which has been made both by religious and non-religious philosophers) is that he makes religion appear as an isolated language-game which is immune from criticism. I try to show that this accusation rests on a misunderstanding of Wittgenstein's real views. Back to contents
WITTGENSTEINIANS AND CHOMSKYANS: IN DEFENCE OF MENTALISM
TREVOR PATEMAN
ABSTRACT. An extended defence of Chomskyan linguistics and the Cognitive Paradigm in general against the Wittgensteinian critiques of Saul Kripke, Baker & Hacker, Esa Itkonen and others. Consideration is given to the Private Language arguments; to the distinction between public (outer) and private (inner); to the distinction between the social and the individual; to ascription and causality; to rule-normativity; to creativity arguments. Comments from Noam Chomsky and Peter Hacker are included in the extensive Endnotes. Five lines of Wittgensteinian critique are identified in each of the essay's sub-section headings. Back to contents
INTERNAL UNITY, EXPRESSIVE CHARACTER, AND DRAMATIC MEANING IN PIANO MUSIC
LUMINITA POGACEANU
ABSTRACT. Kinderman claims that the piano represents a springboard for Beethoven's achievements and a primary vehicle for the pathbreaking innovations of his evolving musical style. Samson contends that Chopin's ballades have their own particular kind of musical material (different in kind from that of the sonatas, despite formal parallels). Hamilton claims that the Sonata in B Minor marks the zenith of Liszt's piano music (occupying the same position as the Faust Symphony in his orchestral output, or the oratorio Christus in his choral). Back to contents
MUSICAL EXPRESSIONS AND STRUCTURAL COHERENCE
VIORICA BARBU-IURASCU
ABSTRACT. Tomashevich holds that the music of the Balkan Peninsula shares certain area-wide common features, based on certain common sources and formative experiences. Carmi-Cohen writes that every semantic idea in a sung text is realized through some structure of musical organization (musical organization has reached pinnacles of complexity). Adorno maintains that the succession of sounds is like logic: it can be right or wrong. The sound material is different at various times (the physical and historical dimensions mutually interact). Back to contents
IS ALL MUSICOLOGY EMPIRICAL?
CARMEN STOIANOV • PETRU STOIANOV
ABSTRACT. Cook and Fujisawa argue that the fact that some chords sound stable, final and resolved, while others sound unstable, tense and unresolved cannot be explained solely on the basis of the summation of interval dissonance among tones and their upper partials. According to Thomson, empirical studies of our own cognitive-perceptual machinery point to rather basic and uniform processes that govern the way humans obtain a sense of dynamic wholes from successions of pitches. Huron argues that a composer might choose to use the minor key for purposes other than evoking or portraying a particular emotion (a composer might employ the minor mode to increase a compositional contrast, to add musical variety, or as a means of delineating formal divisions in a work). Back to contents
CHEUNG ON MOZART AND BRAHMS
LUMINITA POGACEANU
ABSTRACT. Cheung maintains that with its perfect proportion to its parent movement and its orchestral color, Mozart's cadenza ensures equality between the piano and the tutti. Cheung contends that each of Brahms' three piano quartets is composed of four movements, similar in external layout to the string quartets of the Classical masters. Cheung points out several musically salient features of Brahms' C minor Piano Quartet, and shows how their interrelationships con- tribute to the unfolding of a musical drama with an ironically tragic conclusion. Back to contents
MUSICAL IMAGERY, HARMONIC PATTERNS, AND EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION
VIORICA BARBU-IURASCU
ABSTRACT. Cohen argues that, in the West, the era, the individual composer, and the individual piece have been important, whereas in some other cultures the function and the musical instrument are salient factors. Meyer holds that two cultures may appear to employ the same scale structure (the structure might be interpreted differently by the members of each culture). As Michels puts it, neuromusical research is providing valuable information about music processing. Cook holds that there is a nexus of interrelated assumptions built into the basic language we use of music. Back to contents
WHAT LIES AT THE HEART OF COGNITIVE TECHNOLOGIES THAT HELP MAKE MATHEMATICAL THINKING PURPOSEFUL?
AUREL PERA
ABSTRACT. Stephan et al. note that modern cognitive neuroscience uses a variety of non-invasive techniques for measuring brain activity. Resnick and Resnick assert that information-processing theories of cognition analyze cognitive performances into complexes of rules, but that performances critically depend on interactions among those rules. According to Heirdsfield, emphasis should be placed on strategic flexibility and students' exploring, discussing, and justifying their strategies and solutions. Morgan and Morton argue that even when a subject is presented with a syllogism in which the terms are abstract symbols or concrete terms which have little importance, he has difficulty in selecting the correct conclusion. Back to contents
THE ENCROACHMENT OF TABLOIDIZATION ON THE MEDIA
GEORGE LAZAROIU
ABSTRACT. Fox maintains that the journalists' narrative is not a free choice but one guided by institutions, routines and conventions. Barnhurst observes that news stories have become generally longer, more analytical, and focused on interpretation. As Postman puts it, television's information paradigm is altering the meaning of being informed. Picard maintains that the amount of news the public desires and the way it is consumed vary widely. Back to contents
CONCEPTUAL MATHEMATICAL KNOWLEDGE AND THE NUMBER SENSE
AUREL PERA
ABSTRACT. Gilmore et al. assert that symbolic arithmetic is fundamental to science, technology and economics: its acquisition by children typically requires years of effort, instruction and drill. Heirdsfield notes that the study of proficiency in mental computation extends beyond the development of flexible mental strategies (it also encompasses the study of associated factors that might con- tribute to both flexibility and accuracy). Back to contents
AN ANALYSIS ON PRINT MEDIA CONTENT AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH TABLOIDIZATION
GEORGE LAZAROIU
ABSTRACT. Dahlgren observes that information sharing going on in cyberspace tends to by-pass the classical role of journalism. Kovach and Rosenstiel argue that the primary purpose of journalism is to provide citizens with the information they need to be free and self-governing. Huesca asserts that the tasks of reporting and writing shift form content delivery to information development and design. Domingo holds that the buzzword in the 1990s was interactivity, and that now it is participatory journalism. Back to contents
MONETARY POLICY, INFLATION STABILIZATION, AND DOMESTIC OUTPUT
DORIN DOBRISAN
ABSTRACT. Berger et al. remark that the optimal policy response to an asset price boom may depend in a complex way on various economic determinants. Davig says that the position of the optimal trade-off frontier, or efficiency frontier, depends on the variance of the underlying aggregate supply shocks and structural parameters of the model. Hänsel and Krahnen analyze whether the use of credit risk transfer instruments affects the risk taking of large, international banks. Gruben et al. test the links between depositor discipline and the predisposition of banks to break towards risky behavior in periods associated with bank liberalization or privatization. Back to contents
CONVENTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
NICOLAE TUDORESCU • CONSTANTIN ZAHARIA
ABSTRACT. Burchell and Mukherji claim that land conversion involves the use of previously undeveloped land to accommodate development. Kentor examines the impact of the expansion of transnational corporate subsidiaries on the economic growth of less developed countries between 1970 and 2000. Bartels proposes a new approach to studying the effectiveness of foreign assistance: the effectiveness of foreign assistance and the degree to which it is fungible can only be understood through an institution-based model of fiscal behavior that accounts for the competing incentives actors face in the presence of foreign assistance. According to NEAA-RIVM, environmental degradation has the potential to undermine progress towards the achievement of the MDGs. Back to contents
EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND NETWORK GOVERNANCE
STEFAN PAUN
ABSTRACT. Verdun maintains that network governance implies that there is a multitude of actors at play without there being a central hierarchy. Bieler notes that, within EMU, monetary policy for the single currency is set by the independent ECB (which is solely committed to low inflation and price stability). Smith argues that EU institutions seeking to advance their own interests in deeper integration both constitute effective access points and stimulate the organization of diffuse interests at the European level. Leblond observes that if economic interests are uncertain about their pay-offs regarding a certain integration policy outcome, they are unlikely to lobby actively in favor or against it. Back to contents
BENEFITS FROM ADOPTING HARMONIZING INSTRUMENTS ON EUROPEAN CONTRACT LAW
DUMITRU VADUVA
ABSTRACT. Gómez Pomar presents some preliminary ideas about the potential benefits and costs arising from the process of European Contract Law harmonization for the functioning of the existing national Contract Laws, and for the welfare of European societies. Kerber and Grundmann discuss the advantages and disadvantages of an optional European contract law from an economic perspective. Loos claims that the inconsistencies introduced by the implementation of European directives can be utilized by the legislator in order to reconsider out-of-date concepts in national law. Back to contents
GLOBAL PRODUCTION NETWORKS AND SUPERMARKET DEVELOPMENT
MADALINA T. ANDREI
ABSTRACT. Dawson holds that, for the retail sector, internationalization is the latest stage in its continuing integration into a consumer driven globalized economy. Coe and Wrigley map out a detailed research agenda with respect to the host economy impacts of transnational retailing. Reardon et al. contend that the rapid take-off of supermarkets was due to a set of critical conditions on the demand side and to two other factors: a supportive institutional and policy environment in the 1990s, and to proactive fast-tracking strategies in marketing and procurement by both retail trans-national corporations and leading domestic retailers. Back to contents
COST ACCOUNTING, ORGANIZATION PERFORMANCE, AND CORPORATE STRATEGY
LUMINITA IONESCU
ABSTRACT. Sharman says that it is time for management accountants to drive meaningful, dynamic, and disciplined changes in their role of providing information to managers. Bragg affirms that direct costing can be used for an internal report that focuses specifically on activities in the extreme short term. Brandl et al. argue that allocation of IT infrastructure costs is an increasingly important topic in corporate IT departments, and propose a method to determine usage-based cost allocation keys for customer-oriented services based on their estimated resource consumption. Back to contents
GLOBAL FINANCIAL INTEGRATION, MONETARY POLICY, AND INFLATIONARY EXPECTATIONS
GEORGE HODOROGEA
ABSTRACT. McCauley remarks that the central banks of Malaysia and Thailand have two main monetary policy goals: low inflation and stable exchange rates. Mohanty and Scatigna remark that growing global financial integration has influenced monetary policy in important ways. Bhuiyan proposes to incorporate a forward-looking dimension into the monetary policy rule, by adding inflationary expectations as a contemporaneous input, to identify the policy shoch in the structural VAR model. Berger et al. maintain that by adopting a pro-active strategy monetary policy-makers aim at avoiding a future credit crunch in the first place. Back to contents
HORTICULTURAL REFORM IN THE EU AND THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE
CONSTANTIN ZAHARIA
ABSTRACT. Rickard and Sumner note that, in horticultural markets, trade barriers often apply to the processed products (domestic support applies to farm-produced raw commodities). Cook observes that, worldwide, consumption and cultivation of fruits and vegetables is increasing. According to ECD-GA, the EU is an active operator on the world market. Delayen argues that, in 2000, the EU expanded its basis for direct subsidies programs to address long-term goals for development. Jacobsen and Bokelmann write that the German horticultural sector is facing an increasing international competition. Back to contents
CONTRACT LAW AS A MATTER OF JUSTICE
DUMITRU VADUVA
ABSTRACT. Hesselink presents the European policies with regard to consumer protection, European citizenship and the area of justice, and discusses the kind of contract law that each of these approaches leads to and the kind of society they contribute towards. Grundmann argues that the chance to find refined solutions satisfying all groups in a market, to combine freedom and protection, is the most important challenge in a modern European Contract Law. Gómez Pomar contends that European societies and economies are diverse both in terms of preferences by citizens on many issues, and in levels of wealth and distribution of that wealth among different societal groups. Back to contents
SHORT-RUN INFLATION DYNAMICS, LONG-RUN INFLATION UNCERTAINTY, AND OUTPUT GROWTH
ELENA-MARIA TUDOR
ABSTRACT. Gnan and Valderrama affirm that, in a closed economy, the price level or inflation are influenced in the short run by the balance between do- mestic aggregate demand and the economy's production potential. Davig notices that short-run inflation dynamics have an important impact on the appropriate conduct of monetary policy. Carlsson and Westermark claim that downward nominal rigidity is a constraint that changes the choice set and opens up for potential welfare gains. Back to contents
NEW MODES OF GOVERNANCE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
STEFAN PAUN
ABSTRACT. As Hall and Soskice put it, more liberal trade and financial regimes have inspired vast new flows of goods and capital across national borders. Drezner maintains that while governments may receive benefits from the development of a single global standard, states will not prefer any global standard. Taylor and Mathers claim that, in many European countries, organized labor had an important social role as a corporate partner alongside capital and the state. Höpner and Schäfer argue that European economic integration has entered a new, post-Ricardian phase in which it systematically clashes with national va- rieties of capitalism. Back to contents
OPTIMAL MONETARY POLICY, SYSTEMIC BANKING CRISES, AND RISK-MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
DORIN DOBRISAN
ABSTRACT. Gruben et al. maintain that some financial crises are creatures of bad macroeconomic or fiscal outcomes whose links to risky lending in the traditional sense are tenuous. Kinnunen and Vehviläinen remark that the bank risk-taking suffers from the same econometric problems as exchange rate economics in general. Hänsel and Krahnen suggest that credit securitization goes hand-in-hand with an increase in the risk appetite of the issuing bank. Foster says that the implementation of IAS has many consequences for banks and multinational corporations. Back to contents