bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Emerging Media and the Philosophy of Time
Authors: Nyíri Kristóf
Published: March 2016

Is philosophy capable of discussing emerging media at all? Can conceptual analysis be applied to discourse about phenomena that are just in the process of arising? Indeed philosophy from its very beginnings focuses precisely on emerging media. Plato’s theory of ideas is an attempt to come to terms with emerging literacy. Wittgenstein and Heidegger are philosophers of an emerging secondary orality. Heidegger is, also, the philosopher of a new theory of time, inspired by Einstein facing the practical problem of electrically synchronizing clocks at a distance. Our experience of time was again revolutionized by the effects of the mobile phone: the continuous option of re-scheduling on the go made time flexible and personalized. Today, it is new social media applications—most recently and perhaps most notably Snapchat—that transform our encounters with, and call for new philosophical analyses of, time.
Binge-watching Television with Walt and Omar
Authors: Cormier Harvey
Published: March 2016

Emerging information technologies present us with abundant information about our world of subjects and objects. They also present us with a plurality of newly created worlds full of new, autonomous beings. Some of these new beings may seem to be mere fictions, but there is nothing mere about them. In fact, between us, in our real world, and them, in their world of pure information, lies a difference of degree, not of kind. In discussing Hume’s, Nietzsche’s and pragmatist treatments of the self, the chapter argues that Omar Little, who comes to life in the emerging phenomenon of “binge-watching,” is real in the way the reader of this abstract is real, and it explains how Omar can, will, and should reach out from his informational world to accomplish things in “real life.”
Sadness and Photography: Barthes and Benjamin
Authors: Ferber Ilit
Published: March 2016

A philosophical discussion of the emergence of new media cannot be limited to analyzing the structure and inner logic of the different media themselves. It ought to address the abiding philosophical predicaments of human experience, feeling and knowledge. Walter Benjamin and Roland Barthes are both famous for their writings about photography; their discussion, however, is not limited to the nature of the medium itself, but provokes important questions regarding the internal connection between photography and feeling, specifically, sadness. This chapter traces the connection between the photographic medium and feeling as it appears in Benjamin and Barthes and argues that the uniqueness of this medium lies not in the way it captures or represents feeling, but rather in its ability to evoke feeling. Benjamin and Barthes’ investigations of the photographic medium may thus be regarded as an appraisal of the nature of human feelings and their intrinsic connection with photography.
Where Is My Mind? Anscombe on Agency
Authors: Aucouturier Valérie
Published: March 2016

The complexity of robots and machines has led philosophers to think anew the classical issue of mind and thought possession. In the context of emerging media, it raises new philosophical and ethical issues regarding our relation to “intelligent” devices and virtual beings. If we could build a robot whose behavior would be indistinguishable from standard human behavior, would we have to say it thinks in the same sense as we do? Searle opposed Dennett in a famous debate about intentionality: can we ground intentionality on mere behavioral criteria or does intentionality depend on the biological structure of thinking beings? Drawing on Anscombe, the chapter argues that this debate needs to be reformulated: intentional action is usually directed by the agent’s interests in doing it; in that sense, can we think of the intentional or goal-directed behavior of a robot or virtual being as fulfilling this being’s own interests?
Will Emerging Media Create a Collective Mind?
Authors: Steele David Ramsay
Published: March 2016

Some have predicted that the Internet and direct brain-to-brain communication will bring into existence a collective human consciousness that will not eliminate separate individual consciousnesses but will co-exist harmoniously with them. This collective consciousness is even expected to become self-aware. Here such claims are sceptically examined, notably, the theories that: (1) sheer complexity of information processing produces consciousness; (2) that some specific physical (for instance, electro-chemical) conditions are necessary and perhaps sufficient for consciousness; and (3) that consciousness arises in the context of self-organizing systems capable of purposive action. The conclusion is that a community of conversing individuals cannot develop its own consciousness in addition to the consciousness of the separate individuals. Speaking phenomenologically, the co-existence of consciousness in a total system with independent consciousness in its component parts is incoherent.
Plato and Aristotle on the Emerging Medium
Authors: Roochnik David
Published: March 2016

This chapter discusses Socrates’ critique of writing in Plato’s Phaedrus, and Aristotle’s subordination of writing to speaking in his work, On Interpretation. Socrates argues that a written text cannot discriminate among, or adjust to, its possible readers. Because it is separated from its author, it is necessarily subject to misinterpretation and abuse. Aristotle argues that speaking puts us in close proximity to the real beings of the world, while writing distances us. In fourth century Greece, writing was a new and disruptive form of technology. When compared to the vastly more powerful devices utilized in contemporary social media, it may seem trivial. However, as Plato and Aristotle show, the philosophically most fruitful comparison is between a communications technology that produces an external text—whether it be a papyrus roll or a message on a screen—and the face-to-face encounter of oral discourse.
Big Data and the Big “Conversation”
Authors: King Gary
Published: March 2016

Juliet Floyd and James E. Katz interview Gary King about ethical, conceptual, and philosophical aspects of big data. King presents his view that, judging from an historical perspective, there is actually little about big data that is conceptually unprecedented and that the issues surrounding the collection, possession, and use of such data are not substantial or unsurmountable. However they represent, quantitatively speaking, an enormous and unprecedented augmentation of data and new methods for social science. The largest changes King envisions would likely be prosocial, helping solve problems ranging from public health to transportation systems. The discussion also covers related questions of institutional control, free will, and public participation in political decision-making, democratic theory, and the questions of emergence and meaning. King seems to agree with none of the alarmist concerns over the misuse of big data, though, he sees that vigilance is required to avoid any of these concerns from being realized.
Coda
Authors: Floyd Juliet , Katz James E. , Robinson Elizabeth A.
Published: March 2016

A revisiting and distillation of themes, questions, and results of the book’s chapters, with a description of possible alternative pathways through the volume. Open problems and suggestions for further research are also offered, laying out a vision of the field as a whole, and calling for future research, especially into topics relating to qualitative vs. quantitative uses of big data, the concept of “media”, issues in the history of philosophy and digital humanities, normative questions concerning social justice, race, gender, and disability, religion, human transformation, virtual and non-virtual reality, collective and individual experience, self-consciousness, personal identity, human enhancement through digital means, privacy, speech-act theory, documentality, history, and the intersection of research into psychological and social cognition.
Lexical items and feature bundling
Authors: Gallego Ángel J.
Published: March 2016

This chapter investigates a puzzle posed by traditional and contemporary approaches to the lexicon: words (lexical items) are conceived of as both complex and atomic units. Such puzzle has been the focus of much research, with consequences for the overall architecture of grammar, the debate between decompositionalists and atomists, and the study of microparametric variation. The chapter reviews the arguments that have been provided to treat words as primitive units of computation that nonetheless have a rich internal structure (“atomic complexes,” as it were), and suggest that this dual character follows from the way computational devices and memory resources interact. In particular, it is argued that the word-internal structure is created through Merge (the only structure-building operation) and later on rendered opaque through a process of reprojection.
Economic Good as Indifferent
Authors: Baker Jennifer A.
Published: March 2016

Most approaches to ethics and economics today are “Aristotelian” in methodology. Although he had a psychological account of virtue to which to refer, Aristotle largely analyzed economics in terms of market norms and general social good. This chapter argues for the radical proposal of the Stoics. It suggests that we need, in addition to an account of virtue, a tool for considering the role markets play in our lives—and only the Stoics provide us with the right kind of theoretical tool in their virtue ethic. The key to their agility with ethics and the market is their theoretical approach to economic goods. They term economic goods “indifferents” and the benefits from making this distinction enable us to talk about ethics and economics without confusing the two.
Adam Smith on Virtue, Prosperity, and Justice
Authors: Otteson James R.
Published: March 2016

Adam Smith is usually considered to be a central figure in the political–economic tradition of liberalism, but recent scholars have debated whether he is an adherent to the “classical” or “progressive” versions of liberalism. This chapter outlines Smith’s conception of the origins and nature of virtue, focusing on his conception of justice in particular. After laying out his admittedly thin conception of justice, the chapter offers several “Smithian” reasons supporting it. It then considers a social-justice objection to Smith’s position, and argues that the social-justice objection does not defeat it. The chapter concludes that Smith offered a defensible and integrated conception of economics and virtue that places him in the classical liberal camp.
The Space Between Choice and Our Models of It
Authors: Yuengert Andrew
Published: March 2016

The gap between the economic theory of action and the practical reality of choice (analyzed in the Aristotelian practical wisdom tradition) cannot be bridged through the development of more complex models. This poses a challenge for the use of economic models for policy analysis: they cannot help but leave out of their formal analysis certain aspects of actual decision-making (such as practical wisdom) which are crucial to the operation of the economy. Insights from three different treatments of the gap between the formal analysis of choice and the reality of human behavior—Lucy Suchman’s studies of plans and situated action, James Scott’s analysis of mētis, and Vernon Smith’s studies of ecological rationality—offer guidance for how economists might modify the insights of their models of choice when offering policy advice.
Virtues of Productivity versus Technicist Rationality
Authors: Swanton Christine
Published: March 2016

According to Alasdair MacIntyre, business cannot be a practice conducive to and exemplifying virtue because it is an institution concerned with profit as an “external good” dominated by technicist rationality. It is argued in this chapter that, although profit is a good internal to business, it should be understood, if it is to be such a good, as one exemplifying productive virtue. This idea is explained via Aristotle’s distinction between phronēsis (practical wisdom) essential to virtue, and technê, which has given rise to a narrow notion of technicist rationality, which is traditionally thought to apply to production (poesis) as opposed to action (praxis), the domain of ethics. It is argued (along with Ayn Rand) that productive rationality is at the heart of human nature and that virtues such as justice, integrity, industriousness, and creativity should be applied to the realm of production, including the profit-making enterprises of business.
Virtues as Social Capital
Authors: Rose David C.
Published: March 2016

This chapter explores the nature of those virtues that are the most important for supporting economic activity. Virtues are considered as forms of human capital to the extent they are instrumental to improving an individual’s personal quality of life. Virtues are divided into three categories: prudential, positive, and negative. The negative virtues are shown to be especially important for sustaining high-trust societies and, as such, are also properly viewed as social capital. The negative virtues are shown to also constitute public goods and, as such, are prone to inadequate investment. In addition to deepening our understanding of the role that virtues in general play in the development and operation of free-market economies, this exercise helps explain why most societies are not flourishing free-market societies. This exercise also calls into question conventional approaches to moral education, which do not stress the negative virtues.
The Syntax of Yes and No
Authors: Holmberg Anders
Published: March 2016

This is a study of the syntax of yes–no questions and answers to them in the languages of the world. Even very short answers like ‘yes’ and ‘no’ are claimed to be complete sentences. A typical answer consists of a focused polarity feature which is either spelled out as a particle or supported by a moved verb, with the rest of the sentence subject to ellipsis under identity with the question. These are the two main types of yes–no answers found among the languages of the world. How to answer negative questions is subject to cross-linguistic (and also intralinguistic) variation, where ‘yes’ in one language appears to correspond to ‘no’ in another. The variation is argued to depend on the syntax of negation and the syntax of questions. Data have been gathered from well over a hundred languages, but some are discussed in particular detail, as representatives of different types of question and answer systems, including English, Finnish, Swedish, Thai, and Chinese. An important claim is that all sentences have a polarity feature as head, which is unvalued in yes–no questions and assigned a value in the answer. A seemingly trivial phenomenon, how to say yes and no is shown to have wide-ranging consequences for linguistic theory and the understanding of linguistic variation.
The Social Study of Information Technology Markets
Authors: Pollock Neil , Williams Neil
Published: March 2016

Who are the industry analysts who, by providing information about the performance and prospects of various offerings, are key to the current operation of IT markets? Despite their salience, little is known about them. The chapter considers how we may assess the influence of analysts. Do they merely describe the evolution of the sector? Do their knowledge outputs accelerate existing trends? Or do they shift or even redirect technology trajectories. The chapter links these interests to an underpinning theoretical concern with how we understand the ‘performativity’ of their expert knowledge. Callon (2007) has suggested that academic economists’ models are performative: aligning market behaviour to the predictions in their models and thus constituting markets. Does this model apply to wider business knowledge? Or should we explain the influence of industry analyst expertise by exploring the multiple interactions through which their knowledge is evaluated and consumed as well as generated?
Marketing of Quantifications
Authors: Campagnolo Gian Marco
Published: March 2016

The chapter discusses Gartner’s signature research piece the ‘Magic Quadrant’ which some describe as the most influential piece of research in the IT domain. The substantive interest in the chapter is to understand the history, construction and contemporary use of this object. The chapter shows how it both derives from, and has led to, deep transformations within corporate computing. However, the Magic Quadrant is not without controversy. It is described by some as wielding ‘substantial power’ and by others as nothing short of ‘simple marketing’. Conceptually, the chapters aim is to discuss what the Magic Quadrant might mean for our understanding of the idea of ‘commensuration’. Is the Magic Quadrant powerful because it is a ranking and therefore puts all vendors on an even scale, as some would argue (Espeland & Stevens 2009) or is it influential for other reasons? The chapter makes some suggestions in this latter direction through exploring the ‘marketing of quantifications’.
The Expertise Ecosystem
Authors: Pollock Neil , Williams Neil
Published: March 2016

Gartner has outpaced its global competitors (Forrester and IDC) and a handful of smaller players like Ovum, Yankee Group. The industry is highly polarized between larger firms who attract adopter subscriptions on the basis of their independence and breadth of expertise and hundreds of smaller boutique analyst outfits that may seek to advise vendors on marketing their products. This complex ecosystem, in which smaller and larger players play different kinds of role, is also changing. Social media technologies have reduced barriers to entry, leading to a dramatic increase in ‘new entrants’. This includes so-called ‘open source’ or ‘2.0 research firms’ that employ different business models or research practices that, in some respects, have begun to compete with the incumbents. The chapter also discusses the growth of new forms of expertise - ‘analyst relations’ specialists who help IT vendors respond more systematically to the challenge of industry analyst firms.
From IT Markets to the Sociology of Business Knowledge
Authors: Pollock Neil , Williams Neil
Published: March 2016

Revisiting the central concerns of this book, the chapter asks whether the current portrayal of the ‘performativity’ of markets as (partially or fully) built around financial/economic theories—is useful for analyzing business contexts. The chapter rejects the dichotomy in existing literature between implausibly ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ readings of the performativity of such expertise. The (strong) performativity thesis that portrays economic theory as ‘doing things to people’ seems less appropriate in a business setting in which cognitive authority is distributed amongst an array of sceptical and reflexive players. What may be at stake is less the performativity of knowledge than its performance i.e. its generation, circulation, validation, and consumption across a closely interacting network. The chapter argues for more systematic exploration of the epistemic systems of different types of business knowledge as pointers towards a Sociology of Business Knowledge.
Statistical inference with probabilistic graphical models
Authors: Shah Devavrat
Published: March 2016

This chapter introduces graphical models as a powerful tool to derive efficient algorithms for inference problems. When dealing with complex interdependent variables, inference problems may become of huge complexity. In this context, the structure of the variables is of great interest. In this chapter, directed and undirected graphical models are first defined, before some crucial results are stated, such as the Hammersley–Clifford theorem of Markov random fields and the junction tree property aimed at finding groupings under which a graphical model becomes a tree. Taking advantage of the structure of the variables, belief propagation is then described, including two particular instances: the sum–product and max–sum algorithms. In the final section, the learning problem is addressed in three different contexts: parameter learning, graphical model learning, and latent graphical model learning.
Cavity method: message-passing from a physics perspective
Authors: Mézard Marc
Published: March 2016

The cavity method is introduced as a heuristic framework from a physics perspective to solve probabilistic graphical models and is presented at both the replica symmetry (RS) and one-step replica symmetry breaking (1RSB) levels. This technique has been applied with success to a wide range of models and problems, such as spin glasses, random constraint satisfaction problems (rCSP), and error correcting codes. First, the RS cavity solution for the Sherrington–Kirkpatrick model—a fully connected spin glass model—is derived and its equivalence to the RS solution obtained using replicas is discussed. The general cavity method for diluted graphs is then illustrated at both RS and 1RSB levels. The latter was a significant breakthrough in the last decade and has direct applications to rCSP. Finally, as an example of an actual problem, k-SAT is investigated using belief and survey propagation.
Local algorithms for graphs
Authors: Gamarnik David
Published: March 2016

A significant topic of recent interest has been analyzing the performance of various algorithms for graphical models, however, such analysis relies on properties of graphs which are known to be very hard to compute. In this chapter, statistical physics tools are used to show that local algorithms—that is, algorithms for which the result on each node depends only upon nodes at a finite distance—can provide some precise estimates for the independent set problem as long as the graph remains locally tree-like. For example, Erdös-Rényi graphs are one such class of analyzable graphs, as their sparse nature gives them this locally tree-like property. The chapter also discusses the validity of such methods and algorithms when loops become an important feature of the graph and shows that the limits of such algorithms are linked to the clustering problem.
The Latin New Testament
Authors: Houghton H. A. G.
Published: March 2016

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the history and development of the Latin New Testament and a user’s guide to the resources available for research and further study. The first five chapters offer a new historical synthesis, bringing together evidence from Christian authors and biblical manuscripts from earliest times to the late Middle Ages. Each witness is considered in its chronological and geographical context, to build up the bigger picture of the transmission of the text. There are chapters introducing features of Latin biblical manuscripts and examining how the Latin tradition may serve as a witness for the Greek New Testament. In addition, each book of the New Testament is considered in turn, with details of the principal witnesses and features of particular textual interest. The three main scholarly editions of the Latin New Testament (the Vetus Latina edition, the Stuttgart Vulgate, and the Oxford Vulgate) are described in detail. Information is also given about other editions and resources, enabling researchers to understand the significance of different approaches and become aware of the latest developments. The Catalogue of Manuscripts gives full details of each manuscript used in the major editions, with bibliographical references and links to sets of digital images. The Appendices include concordances for the different ways in which manuscripts are cited in scholarly literature. An extensive reference bibliography of publications on the Latin New Testament is also supplied.
Features of Latin New Testament Manuscripts
Authors: Houghton H.A.G.
Published: March 2016

This is an introduction to the characteristics of manuscripts of the Latin New Testament and their description. The first section covers writing materials and the layout of each page, including the per cola et commata sense-line format. The second deals with scripts, abbreviations, and punctuation. The section on ‘Contents and Paratext’ includes a discussion of the order of New Testament books and details of the most common biblical prologues and chapter titles (capitula). There is an explanation of the Eusebian apparatus for identifying material found in more than one Gospel and the canons and concordances for the Pauline Epistles. The final section treats decoration and illustrations, including evangelist portraits and symbols, ‘carpet pages’, and the chi-rho page typical of Insular manuscripts.
Tentasali
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

This chapter describes early efforts of scientists to immerse themselves in the culture of indigenous peoples. American ethologist Frank Hamilton Cushing, for instance, joined an anthropological expedition to New Mexico and decided to ‘go native’. From 1879 to 1884, he lived with the Zuni tribe and was initiated into their rituals and practices. Thirty years later, Polish-born anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski lived among the natives of the Trobriand Islands. Malinowski was the first to define the technique of ‘participant-observation’, the goal of which was ‘to grasp the native’s point of view, his relation to life, to realise his vision of his world’. This approach brought to light indigenous peoples’ extensive knowledge of medicinal plants. Cushing himself was given the tribal name, ‘tentasali’, meaning ‘medicine flower’.
The Lions of Miletus
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

This chapter focusses on a profound revolution in thought that took place in the Greek-speaking Ionian colony of Miletus. Around 547/6 BC a book was published by a citizen of Miletus named Anaximandros. One of the first Greek books to be written in prose, it both developed and disagreed with ideas first put forward by his teacher, Thales; the author (who was one of the first to draw a map of the known world) also had knowledge of lands beyond those where people spoke Greek. Each one of these factors played into the revolutionary concept contained within it—an idea in which a new kind of religious thinking and a new kind of interest in the natural world were two sides of the same coin. For Anaximandros everything has its origin in a single arche—a source or principle—which is ‘ungenerated and imperishable’.
The Move to Athens
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

This chapter first describes how the philosopher Anaxagoras came to Athens and introduced its citizens to the new Ionian way of thinking. Like Anaximandros before him, Anaxagoras wrote a book which carried forward and extended two of the central themes of Ionian thinking: the nature of the divine arche and the way in which it ordered and steered the universe. The chapter then discusses how Athenian philosophers began to develop and extend the ideas of the Ionians; the teachings of the sophists; and Socrates’ search for a reliable basis for moral action. Anaxagoras and his predecessors argued that there was an underlying order which gave rise to all the physical processes we perceive. Socrates extended this notion by arguing that this underlying order was also a moral order. His incessant questions about what we would now call moral realism provided his successors with an intellectual slipstream for further physical investigations.
Through the Academy Door
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

In wake of Socrates’ execution, Plato left Athens and travelled to Italy where he formed a lasting relationship with the Pythagorean community at Tarentum led by Archytas, who seems to have had a significant impact on the development of his thinking. This chapter discusses Plato’s initiation of religiously motivated mathematical and astronomical studies; Aristotle’s arche; the emergence of Stoicism and Epicureanism; and the anti-scientific aspect of Epicurean philosophy. The final section deals with the export of Greek philosophy throughout the known world, which brought it into contact with a religious tradition that had very different roots. The meeting between Hellenistic science and the three Abrahamic religions—first Judaism, then Christianity, and later Islam—would in time radically reframe the way in which the relationship between divine order and the physical world was conceived.
The Divided City
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

This chapter focusses on the city of Alexandria. Alexander the Great founded this new Greek capital of Egypt around 322 bc and shortly after, his general Ptolemy imported 120,000 captive Jews from the Greek conquest of Judea. The city was divided into five districts named after letters of the alphabet: the Greeks in Alpha and Beta, the Jews and other immigrants in the north east Gamma and Delta districts, and the native Egyptians in Episilon. The city’s diversity was a frequent cause of friction and Alexandria became famous for its riots. However, a more positive aspect of Alexandria’s diversity lay in the mutual discovery of different cultures.
Industrious Jack
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

This chapter first discusses John Philoponus’ book Against Proclus. Working through each of Proclus’ 18 arguments, Philoponus demonstrates, through close philosophical analysis, that in no case do Proclus’ conclusions follow from his premises. There is only one premise that he cannot accept, even for the sake of argument, and that is the dogma that Plato and Aristotle never disagree. The chapter then turns to Simplicius the Cicilian’s life in exile, when he produced his great commentaries on Aristotle in which he included the attack on his fellow pupil, Philoponus. Simplicius announces his forthcoming assault in the prologue to his commentary on Aristotle’s De Caelo (On the Heavens).
The Creation of the World
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

This chapter focusses on Philoponus’ book De Opificio Mundi—On the Creation of the World—a commentary on the Genesis account of creation. While one thrust of the book is to refute the criticisms of Genesis made by his pagan philosophical colleagues, a larger part is directed against the kind of interpretations of Genesis put forward by some fellow Christians. The crux of his dispute with the former concerned the nature and purpose of God’s relationship with the physical world. The heart of his argument with the latter turned on the nature and purpose of God’s Holy Scriptures. The chapter also considers Philoponus’ other theological writings, where he attempted to bring a philosophical clarity to two of the most vexed theological issues of the time: the nature of Christ and the nature of the Trinity.
Imposed Silence
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

This chapter begins by briefly considering the person Roger Bacon was referring to when he claimed that the most beautiful parts of philosophy were those that he may have learned from a mysterious French soldier known as Pierre de Maricourt or Petrus Peregrinus (Peter the Pilgrim). It then turns to how the Church’s control of doctrine affected the whole future relationship of science and religion. It discusses the use of state violence to ensure religious conformity. The Pope began to appoint ‘inquisitors’ or judges to try individual cases of heresy. The newly established Dominican and Franciscan orders seemed to some to have been providentially supplied for just this purpose.
Experimental Science
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

This chapter focusses on Roger Bacon’s discourse on experimental science. On 22 June 1266, Bacon received a letter stamped with the papal seal of Clement IV instructing him to send the Pope ‘writings and remedies for current conditions ... not withstanding any prohibitions from his order’. This instruction faced him with the task of summarizing some thirty years of work and thought. Bacon’s response included Opus Majus, ‘the greater work’, and possibly Opus Minus, ‘the lesser work’. In his discourse, Bacon argued that a ‘philosophical chancellor’ could organize science and the pursuit of technology for the benefit of the Christian world. He dispatched the great work to the Pope in 1267, presumably with the hope that Clement might take on this role.
A Lutheran Astrologer
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

This chapter focusses on the work of Johannes Kepler, a young Lutheran maths teacher at the Stiftsschule at Graz. Kepler was introduced to Copernicus’ theory by his seminary professor, Michael Maestlin, while studying to be a Lutheran pastor. When he published his first book, Mysterium Cosmographicum—The Mystery of the Universe—Kepler had included Rheticus’ Narratio Prima as an appendix. It was in response to being sent this book that Galileo had confessed to being himself a secret Copernican. In their theological attitude to the new theory the two men, though belonging to different confessions, were in effect singing from the same hymn sheet.
Le Grand Newton
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

This chapter focusses on the philosophy of Sir Isaac Newton. By the end of the eighteenth century, Newton was revered on the Continent as an icon of human rationality: the supreme representative of a way of thinking that could replace the old superstitions of religion. These Continental admirers of Newton represented the first concerted philosophical attempt to use science against religion since the Epicurean philosophers of Greece and Rome. Their approach was a reverse image of Newton’s British followers, who found a confirmation of divine order in Sir Isaac’s theories in much the same way that Plato had found a confirmation of the rationality of the universe in the theories of Eudoxos of Cnidus. This latter perspective was closer to Newton’s own view.
Mathematical Theologies
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

Following the death of Queen Anne in August 1714, her nearest protestant relative George Ludwig, the Prince Elector of Hanover, travelled to England and was crowned in Westminster Abbey that October. A year after the coronation, his daughter-in-law Caroline received a letter from Leibniz about what he considered to be the decay of natural religion in England. Caroline relayed the contents of the letter to Dr Samuel Clarke, the Rector of St James Westminster. An exchange of papers was then conducted through the Princess, which continued until Leibniz’s death in 1716. This chapter considers these exchanges. It discusses the defences that natural theology offered against atheism and infidelity, as well as the work of Blaise Pascal. It argues that Leibniz’s metaphysical sense of divine order and Newton’s empirical insistence on God’s freedom to do what he chose were both critical elements in driving discovery forward.
The Coast of Infinity
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

This chapter focusses on the work of Wilhelm (or William) Herschel, whose observations of the stars eventually confirmed Newton’s universal hypothesis. Herschel first came to the attention of the Royal Society when William Watson, the son of the then secretary, found him on a street in Bath looking at the Moon through a telescope. When Watson asked if he might be permitted to look in, he discovered that the clarity and resolution of what he saw were superior to any telescope he had ever used. Herschel began constructing his telescope in 1773 (nearly half a century after Newton’s death) when he realized that to achieve what he called ‘space-penetrating power’, he would need a larger version of the tiny reflector telescope that Newton had presented to the Royal Society.
The Creed of Science
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

This chapter focusses on the work and correspondence between Darwin and Herschel. It describes how Darwin asked his publishers to send Herschel a copy of On the Origin of Species following its publication; Herschel later sent Darwin a signed copy of the second edition of his own book, Physical Geography. It also discusses how their religious convictions moved in somewhat different directions over the course of their lives. As he grew older, and particularly after his marriage, Herschel’s religious feelings seemed to grow warmer and deeper. In contrast, Darwin, in the autobiography that he wrote for his family in 1876, described how in the years after returning from his travels he had gradually come ‘to disbelieve in Christianity as divine revelation’.
The Intellectual Picklock
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

This chapter focusses on George Smith, ‘deluge Smith’ the ‘intellectual picklock’, a nationally known figure whose discoveries were eagerly followed in the pages of the Daily Telegraph. Smith had a childhood fascination with accounts of the exploits of Rawlinson and Layard, and had taught himself to read cuneiform. Starting his working life as an apprentice bank note engraver, he would spend all his lunch hours at the British Museum and all his spare earnings on books about Assyria. He was appointed assistant in the Assyriology Department in 1867. Smith died at the age of 36 in the British consulate in Aleppo after contracting a plague while on expedition in Nineveh.
Adam and Adapa
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

In 1887, among a number of tablets written in Akkadian cuneiform that had been dug up in the ruined city of el-Amarna was one, dated to 1400 bc, that told the story of Adapa—the primal man, the first of the seven sages and the son of Eridu, the first human city. In the story, Adapa is summoned to heaven because while out fishing he had ‘broken the wing of south wind’. The god Ea tells him how to behave and advises him that when he is offered the bread of death he must not eat, and when offered the water of death he must not drink. Adapa follows this instruction but then discovers he has actually refused the bread of life and the water of life, thus losing the chance for immortality. This chapter considers the relationship between this and the Genesis account of Adam and Eve.
Epilogue
Authors: Wagner Roger , Briggs Andrew
Published: March 2016

The vast expansion of scientific modes of thinking has introduced new material and interested motives into the practice of science. But has it brought about a deeper, more philosophical change? Has the long entanglement of religious and scientific thinking now at last come to an end? Is scientific thought finally fulfilling the ancient Epicurean hope of crowding religious ways of thinking off the stage? This chapter presents a theatrical metaphor to address this question, framing it as a drama in three acts. The first act begins in the Prologue, with the appearance of straightforward conflict. In the second act (Subversion), unexpected discoveries cast doubts on whether the pursuit of ultimate questions remains a feasible enterprise. In the final act (Resolution) the attempt of science to hog the stage is unmasked as a surprising continuation of the fundamental process that our metaphor of slipstreaming has been trying to describe.
Mathematical methods
Authors: Barr G. , Devenish R. , Walczak R. , Weidberg T.
Published: March 2016

This chapter provides a resume of the mathematical tools that are used to explain and understand the Standard Model of particle physics and the experimental data that support it. Various aspects of symmetry in physics are covered, in particular three-dimensional rotational symmetry and its associated quantum-mechanical formalism and Lorentz covariance. The invariant variables of two-body interactions, namely s (centre-of-mass energy squared) and t (4-momentum transfer squared), are defined and examples of their use are given. The concepts of cross section and phase space are introduced with examples from two- and three-body final states. The importance of graphical tools is outlined with an explanation and example of a Dalitz plot. The Breit–Wigner formula for an unstable state is explained. The last sections of the chapter cover group theory, in particular the Lie groups U(n) and SU(n).
Static quark model
Authors: Barr G. , Devenish R. , Walczak R. , Weidberg T.
Published: March 2016

This chapter introduces the quark model of hadrons, starting with a short section on how to combine two and three spin-half particle states. The quark model is explained with reference to the hadrons formed from the light quarks (u, d, s). It is explained that even though these quarks have different masses, an approximate symmetry—known as flavour symmetry—is used to make predictions. The complete spin–flavour–colour hadronic wavefunction for a proton is described. The remaining sections cover the heavy quarks (c, b, t), for which an extended flavour symmetry is not useful. The heavy-quark systems of charmonium (ccˉ) and bottomonium (bbˉ) are described. These systems have states below the threshold for producing charm and beauty meson pairs and show clear analogies with positronium (e+e− bound system). They provide key experimental information in support of quantum chromodynamics and the concept of confinement).
Relativistic quantum mechanics
Authors: Barr G. , Devenish R. , Walczak R. , Weidberg T.
Published: March 2016

This chapter starts with a brief summary of special relativity, describing how 4-vectors and the Lorentz transformation can be represented by complex matrices. Spinors are introduced as basic building blocks of special relativity, allowing a demonstration of how the Weyl equation and the Dirac equation emerge from the Lorentz transformation of spinors. The Klein–Gordon equation is discussed to show the problems and applicability of relativistic quantum mechanics. The Dirac equation for a free particle is then discussed, including the use of different representations (including the Dirac and Weyl representations), discrete symmetries, and the non-relativistic limit. Interactions with the classical electromagnetic field are introduced, demanding a corresponding gauge symmetry. The chapter concludes by extending the gauge symmetry to account for weak and strong interactions.
Experimental tests of electroweak theory
Authors: Barr G. , Devenish R. , Walczak R. , Weidberg T.
Published: March 2016

This chapter aims to give a thorough introduction to the experimental techniques used at colliders by first treating the relatively simple events at an electron–positron collider (LEP) and then moving on to the more complex collisions at a hadron collider. The fundamental measurements of the properties of the weak and electroweak interactions are covered and a description is given of how precision measurements have been used to probe physics at higher energy scales. IInteractions of neutrinos and the measurement of CKM matrix elements are considered first, followed by precision measurements of the electroweak interactions at the Z pole at LEP. This includes the determination of the number of neutrino species from the Z lineshape. The chapter continues with measurements of W-boson properties at LEP2 and the Tevatron, and ends with a detailed case study of a hadron collider measurement—the discovery of the top quark.
The Negative Effect of Elections to the European Parliament on Diffuse Support for the European Project
Authors: Beaudonnet Laurie , Franklin Mark N.
Published: March 2016

Do elections to the European Parliament increase or at least sustain a higher level of diffuse support for Europe? This chapter confirms and extends previous research findings by demonstrating the manner in which the reverse is true. Based on a time‐series analysis of diffuse support for Europe in twelve European Union member states (from 1985 to 2011), the chapter shows that attitudes towards integration are impacted by shocks and negatively impacted by European Parliament elections every five years. European Parliament elections contribute to declining support for the European Project by providing citizens time and again with reminders of the apparent waste of public time that EP elections involve.
Introduction
Authors: Shneiderman Ben
Published: March 2016

The research heroes who take on the immense problems of the present time face bigger-than-ever challenges. However, if they adopt potent guiding principles and effective research life cycle strategies, they can solve societal problems and enhance lives. These inspirational research leaders will break free from traditional thinking, disciplinary boundaries, and narrow aspirations. They will be bold innovators and engaged collaborators who are ready to lead yet open to new ideas, and self-confident yet empathetic to others. This book reports on the growing number of initiatives to promote integrated approaches to research. The central guiding principle is that combining applied research and basic research (the ABC principle) produces more rapid progress in both areas, compared to doing them separately.
Combining Applied and Basic Research
Authors: Shneiderman Ben
Published: March 2016

The first guiding principle of this book is that when research teams take on applied and basic research goals, they are more likely to produce stronger applied and basic outcomes. My goal in promoting the ABC principle is more than improving research team productivity. I seek to provoke ambitious research projects that will more frequently cope with contemporary problems such as energy sustainability, healthcare delivery, community safety, and environmental protection. These and other complex challenges require foundational science theories, innovative technology breakthroughs, and compelling designs that together will produce pro-social change for billions of people.
Blending Science, Engineering, and Design
Authors: Shneiderman Ben
Published: March 2016

The goal of this book is to reduce the barriers between disciplines and encourage exchange of research methods so as to draw on the strengths of science, engineering, and design. The blended approach, which celebrates close teamwork and increases respect for diversity, seeks to link science, engineering, and design (the SED principle). Lowering disciplinary barriers will change how researchers are trained, conduct their work, and gain recognition. Since blending disciplines often requires teamwork, another challenge will be to separate the dance from the dancers, or the team contributions from the individuals who made them.
What Engineering Contributes
Authors: Shneiderman Ben
Published: March 2016

Engineering is about aspirations, requiring bold visions and clear plans, driven by attention to detail, repeated measurement, and persistence in the face of setbacks. It requires experience, but each engineering challenge is a step into the unknown to build something that was never done before. Engineering successes come from an innovative spirit and an entrepreneurial style that can enlist the participation of others to create something valuable. Engineering research is risky, so anticipating and coping with failures requires mental planning to limit their damage and frequency, plus a resilient personality to pick up and keep working.
What Design Contributes
Authors: Shneiderman Ben
Published: March 2016

Design thinking is needed to fashion physical objects such as pottery vases, clothing, or magazine covers, as well as intangibles such as Web pages, business services, or healthcare/wellness plans. Design thinking is tied to deeply understanding human needs, persistently reformulating the given problem, and continuously reconsidering the goals. Design processes often lead to multiple divergent solutions, seek input from stakeholders, and engage in spirited teamwork critiques. At some point, design team leaders acknowledge the limits of time and resources, forcing them to converge on a potential solution.