bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Metaphysical Preliminaries
Authors: Hoefer Carl
Published: October 2019

The book argues that objective chance facts are grounded on the existence of patterns in the events found in our world’s Humean Mosaic (HM); and the chance facts so grounded will later be seen to be apt for guiding rational credences (subjective probabilities) in the way captured by the Principal Principle (PP). But what is this HM? What does it contain, and what does it leave out? What understanding of time is presupposed? The rest of the chapter discusses the idea of considering objective chance facts to be primitives of some sort, as most propensity views hold, or to be based on primitively (irreducibly) chancy laws of nature. After an extended attempt to explore what it could mean to postulate primitive chances or chancy laws, it is argued that no acceptable answer can be given. A tacit invocation of PP helps explain why philosophers often think they understand the meaning of primitive chance claims. The invocation of the PP is illegitimate, though, because there is no way to show that a bare primitive posit deserves to guide credence in the way captured by PP.
From Lewisian Chance to Humean Chance
Authors: Hoefer Carl
Published: October 2019

This chapter introduces David Lewis’ highly influential views on objective chance, from his 1980 treatment of objective chance and the Principal Principle (PP) to his 1994 Humean Best System analysis of chance. Some unfortunate consequences of Lewis’ theory are discussed: (1) if the Best System of laws for the world has no probabilistic laws in it, then there are no objective chances in the world. (2) Physical determinism is incompatible with non-trivial objective chances. (3) Events in the past are “no longer chancy.” It is argued that a good account of chance can and should reject all three of these consequences. But two pillars of Lewis’ approach remain valid. First, his contention that the ability to demonstrably play the chance role captured by the PP is crucial for any account of the nature of objective chance. And second, his intuition that a Best System approach in which chance facts supervene on patterns in the Humean Mosaic is a promising approach vis-à-vis allowing such a demonstrable grounding of the PP.
Undermining
Authors: Hoefer Carl
Published: October 2019

The problem of undermining is an apparent contradiction that arises when Humean chances and the Principal Principle come together. This chapter gives a full discussion of, and resolution of, the undermining/contradiction problem for Humean chance. First, the problem is laid out and earlier attempts to resolve it are shown to be insufficient. It is then argued that the correct way to overcome the undermining problem is via a revised form of the Lewis-Hall response, which involves making a small amendment to the Principal Principle (PP) itself. The amendment is seen to be simpler and better justified than the one Lewis and Hall suggested. The modified version of the PP can be seen to be essentially identical, in all practical scenarios, to the original PP.
Macro-Level and Micro-Level Chances
Authors: Hoefer Carl
Published: October 2019

This chapter discusses conceptual problems that may arise if we think of the Best System as giving us two (potentially) different chances for the same macroscopic event: one that arises by mathematical entailment out of chancy microphysics, and a second one that is in the system because it supervenes directly on the pattern of events at the macro level. Given the pragmatic approach of HOC, such dual-chance-value situations could exist, though there are formidable conceptual difficulties about how to derive probabilities for macroscopic event-types from micro-level chance laws. It is argued that if such dual-value situations exist in the Best System, one would have reason to apply PP to the macro-level chance rules, but not to the micro-derived chances. The discussion reveals a heretofore hidden limitation of both HOCs themselves, and the validity of the arguments from chapter 4 justifying PP. But the limitation is of no practical consequence.
Chance and Causation
Authors: Hoefer Carl
Published: October 2019

Causality and objective probability are often linked. Some philosophers have tried to characterize objectively chancy setups as incomplete, partial causes of the various possible outcomes the setup may yield. Other philosophers have proposed probabilistic theories of causation, defining a cause c for an effect e as a factor whose presence raises the objective probability of e. Neither of these links is, overall, defensible. Nonetheless, it is clear that there is some link between causation and probability, as is shown with a simple vignette. Analyzing the vignette shows that one should link causation with subjective probability. It is proposed that the strongest general principle that links causation and probability is a Cause-Probability Principle (CPP), which says (roughly) that when an agent learns that a cause c for an effect e has been introduced or put into action, then her subjective probability for the occurrence of e should be at least as high as it was beforehand.
The Psychology of Satire
Authors: Young Dannagal Goldthwaite
Published: October 2019

Chapter 4 explores the internal structure and logic of satire, offering a deep dive into how satire and irony are comprehended and appreciated in the brain. Using various examples, the chapter unpacks, step by step, the way humor is processed by audience members. It defines the concepts of satire and irony and explores the cognitive complexity of these unique forms of humor, offering several competing theories to account for how and why they reduce the level of counterargumentation by audience members. The chapter also considers recent research on the impact of humor on affect and cognition, in particular how humor might affect persuasion.
The Psychological Roots of Humor’s Liberal Bias
Authors: Young Dannagal Goldthwaite
Published: October 2019

This chapter integrates literature on the psychology of liberals and conservatives with the study of aesthetic preferences. It summarizes research illustrating how liberals and conservatives vary in their artistic and aesthetic tastes, and how these differences are shaped by the higher tolerance for ambiguity and need for cognition of those on the left. It then advances a key proposition: that irony is a particularly complex and ambiguous form of humor that requires a comfort with ambiguity and motivation to engage in complex cognitive tasks and hence is favored by those on the left. Also included is a consideration of the logic and spirit of improvisation, to which ambiguity is central. Finally, the chapter offers an exploration of the language, humor, and policies of President Donald Trump as a case study in cultural conservatism that is notably noncomic.
The Aesthetics of Outrage
Authors: Young Dannagal Goldthwaite
Published: October 2019

Chapter 8 describes the kind of programming and political aesthetics that ought to be most appealing to conservatives based on their psychological—and even physiological—characteristics: political content that offers explicit, unambiguous, emotionally charged, threat-oriented argumentation. This chapter builds on prior work of Jeffrey Berry and Sarah Sobieraj (2014) to suggest that the genre of outrage has been more successful on the right than the left because of these underlying differences in the psychology and physiology of liberals and conservatives. It presents data illustrating the ideological leaning of outrage and satire shows and original data on the tolerance for ambiguity among viewers of outrage and satire, split by audience party and ideology. Finally, the chapter argues that conservatives’ preference for outrage over satire is also enhanced by the moral certainty of the former and the ambiguous hybridity of the latter.
Playing against Type
Authors: Young Dannagal Goldthwaite
Published: October 2019

Chapter 10 considers what it looks like when liberals and conservatives play against type—when liberals attempt to create outrage programming and conservatives attempt to create satire. It summarizes the story of the liberal “outrage” radio network Air America and the short-lived Fox News satire show The 1/2 Hour News Hour, illustrating the ways in which each failed to deliver on some of the central defining features of the genre it was intended to fit. The chapter argues that these failings stem from unique psychologies of the left and the right that make it challenging for the left to create “outrage” and for the right to create “satire.” The chapter ends with a consideration of how late-night comedy and satire changed under the Trump administration, suggesting that when progressive values are perceived to be under threat, some liberal comics might find it more difficult to remain in the state of play.
Clandestine Relations Matter
Authors: Auyero Javier , Sobering Katherine
Published: October 2019

The first chapter situates this study in the scholarship on the state and its illicit networks with criminal organizations. It pays particular attention to the notion of intreccio and workings of what scholars call “state-sponsored protection rackets.” Both concepts clearly illustrate the existence of clandestine connections between participants in criminal activity and members of the state repressive apparatus, what at the ground level is known as el arreglo or “the arrangement.” While studies have signaled the importance of these clandestine connections, very few scholarly works have dissected the actual content of these covert relationships. This book not only fills this important gap but also draws connections between police-criminal collusion, drug market dynamics, policing practices, and the lived experiences of residents at the urban margins.
Patchworks of Protection
Authors: Auyero Javier , Sobering Katherine
Published: October 2019

This chapter presents two cases that deepen our understanding of the micro-dynamics of collusion and the ambivalent ways that the state operates at the urban margins. The first case takes us to Argentina’s northeastern border, where Los Pescadores smuggled drugs to distribute throughout the country. Given its transnational operations, the organization created a patchwork of protection to facilitate their illicit business. The chapter then returns to Buenos Aires to analyze the case of La Banda de Raúl, a smaller group that operates in a crowded drug market and relies on a broker to mediate their clandestine relationships with the police.
Conclusions
Authors: Auyero Javier , Sobering Katherine
Published: October 2019

Police-criminal collusion like that examined in this book is common throughout Latin America and around the globe. This conclusion moves beyond the case of Argentina to consider the implications of its findings for understandings of the state. Unlike explanations that have focused either on the absence of the state or its violent presence, it argues that by including the clandestine dimensions of state actions, the state that emerges is a deeply ambivalent organization. While collusion is a patterned phenomenon, its structural character does not mean that this profound entanglement is permanent. In the rest of this conclusion, we reflect on well-documented cases of collusion at different times and in different places to consider how collusion can be can eradicated.
Democracy’s Expanding Reach
Authors: Talisse Robert B.
Published: October 2019

This chapter argues that the problem of overdoing democracy is inherent within the democratic ideal; we tend to overdo democracy in our pursuit of responsible democratic practice. Thus the problem is not due to an infiltration of some antidemocratic norm or tendency into democratic society. Rather, the democratic ideal of self-government among equals lends itself to progressively expanding conceptions of the social reach of democratic politics. This chapter defines the site, scope, and reach of politics, and discusses majoritarian, minimalist, particpationalist, and deliberativist views of democracy. The latter view is what we are trying to do, and, more importantly for present purposes, it is most often what we see ourselves as doing when we engage politically.
Civic Friendship
Authors: Talisse Robert B.
Published: October 2019

This chapter provides a prescription for addressing the problem of overdoing democracy. As politics always involves loss, democratic citizens need to cultivate within themselves capacities required for sustaining democratic commitments even in the face of political loss; they need to be able to regard one another as political equals even when they also see each other as severely mistaken about justice. Civic friendship is the blanket term used to refer to these capacities. Belief polarization under political saturation creates civic enmity, so the solution to the problem of overdoing democracy is to figure out how to cultivate civic friendship. It is argued that more or even better democratic engagement is likely to be counterproductive, and that the relevant capacities can be nurtured only by means of nonpolitical cooperative endeavors. A plan is put forward for doing this.
Introduction
Authors: Aljunied Khairudin
Published: October 2019

This chapter orients the reader to the importance of studying Islam in Malaysia as a window into understanding the wider history of global Islam. I begin with a discussion of problems in the extant literature on Islam in Malaysia. This is followed by the book’s methodological contribution, that is, the approach of “entwined history,” which involves the long-term interrelationships, interplay, connections, exchanges, and nexus between four key forces of history: global currents and local realities, the conduct of states and the everyday life in Muslims in society, scholarly and popular pieties, and, more importantly, Muslims and non-Muslims. Upon explaining the methodology and how it can enrich our understanding of Islam in Malaysia, the chapter moves to discuss a new periodization that captures the course of Islamization in Malaysia from the eleventh to the twenty-first centuries.
Sufis, Sufism, and Conversion Narratives
Authors: Aljunied Khairudin
Published: October 2019

Chapter 2 bridges the gradualist with the populist phase of Islamization later in this book. It considers the emotive and mystical dimensions of the infusion and reception of Islam among the Malays. It explains how the Sufis gained Muslim converts through spiritual and cultural means. The Sufis employed wayang kulit (shadow puppet plays), dikir barat (lyrical verse debate), folk tales, religious stories, magic, and other forms of mystical arts as Islamizing tools. We then transition to what Tijana Krstić termed as “Islamic tradition of conversion narratives” found in Malay hikayat texts inspired by Sufi and mystical themes. These narratives are valuable in helping us understand how early Malay Muslims made sense of and sought to explain the significance of their conversion to Islam as a means to persuade the wider society to adopt the new faith. Sufi and mystical themes served another function: they masked underlying pragmatic and strategic motives that prompted Malay elites to accept Islam in the age of the expansion of Islamic empires.
Kerajaan Proselytism
Authors: Aljunied Khairudin
Published: October 2019

Chapter 3 examines the role of kingdoms in transforming Islam into a force to be reckoned with in Malaysia. Be it through diplomacy, conquest, trade, or tribute, the rajas worked hand in hand with overseas Muslim and non-Muslim empires as well as local societies to infuse Islam in all corners of Malaysia. The states of Kedah, Terengganu, Kelantan, Pahang, Johor, and, most illustrious of all, Melaka positioned themselves as Islamizers and defenders of the faith akin to the Safavids and the Ottomans that these states hoped to emulate up until the eighteenth century. Muslim kings employed a range of subtle and hard strategies to widen their command over non-Muslim polities.
Islam and Colonialism
Authors: Aljunied Khairudin
Published: October 2019

Chapter 5 looks at institutions and other policies created by the British to address Muslim affairs. The Majlis Ugama Islam (Islamic Religious Councils) was one of these. Although modeled upon British experience in Egypt and India with the aim of bureaucratizing Islam in Malaysia, these institutions were also platforms for the propagation of Islam as local Muslims collaborated with the British in restructuring Muslim lives. Orientalism under the sponsorship of colonial states also helped to create deeper appreciation on the part of the Muslims about their own faith and history. Although regulated, the hajj continued as an avenue where reformist and modernist ideas flowed into and out of Malaysia. Colonialism was, in hindsight, Islamization by other means, or “colonial Islamization.” This chapter provides a counterargument against previously held beliefs that colonialism in Malaysia arrested the infusion of Islam. The reverse held true, though it must also be acknowledged that colonialism did result in fragmentation of the Muslim community into Anglophones and British-compliant elites. Divide and rule was the British way of keeping Muslims in check.
Constructing a Malay-Triumphalist Islam
Authors: Aljunied Khairudin
Published: October 2019

Chapter 7 examines the postcolonial state’s quest to construct a “Malay-triumphalist Islam.” This was achieved through legal measures as evinced in the enshrining of Islam in the constitution and through the construction of national mosques and other Islamic monuments. The state also created enforcement agencies, organized mass events, and promulgated slogans to generate a Malaysian-centric Islam colored with strong pro-Malay undertones. The racial riots that broke out on May 13, 1969, further accelerated the process of Islamization in the country in favor of the Malay Muslims. Such policies yielded contradictory outcomes. While uniting Malay Muslims under the banner of Islam, the state policies also brought about unhappiness on the non–Malay Muslims and the non-Muslims in the country who saw Malay-triumphalist Islam as an infringement of their status as equal citizens in the country.
Nationalizing Islam, Islamizing the Nation
Authors: Aljunied Khairudin
Published: October 2019

This concluding chapter turns the reader’s attention to global Islamic resurgence as an alternative form of triumphalist Islamization. The state attempted, on many occasions, to tame this resurgent and equally Malay-triumphalist Islam through coercive and co-optation strategies. The effectiveness of these policies reached its zenith in 1998 on the eve of the Reformasi Movement. Islamic movements and Islamic opposition parties closed ranks and battled against the state’s hegemony. They derived their strength and inspiration from a globalized Islam. Amidst this struggle between the state and civil society actors, the notion of a total Islamization of society, of “halalization” and the implementation of the shari’a to cover all aspects of Muslim life bound the opposing groups together, causing much anxiety for non-Muslims and inspiring the development of counter-Islamization and liberal civil society groups. This book closes with brief reflections on recent developments in Malaysia. After a millennium’s journey analyzed through the lenses of entwined history, it is clear to me that Islamization in Malaysia is now in a state of flux. Debates over halal (permissible) food, the hudud, the prohibition of the use of “Allah” by non-Muslims, sectarianism among Sufis and Salafis, culture wars between liberals and conservatives, and regime change that saw the end of UMNO’s dominance in Malaysian politics, among many others, indicate that Islam in Malaysia is, without a doubt, a riveting case study that can shed light on the ways in which Islam in other parts of the world has developed over time. This book is an invitation to a deeper attentiveness to that past and to recognizing that the histories and destinies of Muslims, wherever they may be, have always been entwined.
Inequity Embodied
Authors: Dominguez Tyan Parker
Published: October 2019

This chapter examines African American women’s disproportionate risk of low birth weight, preterm delivery, and infant and maternal mortality, and the ways in which race, gender, and class oppression create a unique matrix of stress burden that increases allostatic load (i.e., weathering or wear and tear on the body), thereby increasing risk for these adverse pregnancy-related outcomes. The chapter describes how traditional risk factors, such as health behavior, medical risk, and lower socioeconomic status, do not account for racial disparities in childbearing health, and it utilizes a stress paradigm for explaining how the intersectional burden of race, gender, and class inequity can affect African American pregnancy women. The chapter concludes by noting several mobilization efforts that are underway to eliminate health disparities in adverse birth outcomes by promoting health equity that is fair and just opportunities to be healthy.
Rural Girls’ Educational Empowerment in Urbanizing China
Authors: Seeberg Vilma , Na Ya , Li Yu , Clark Debra L.
Published: October 2019

Secondary schooling may empower rural girls migrating to the cities in China to control resources, improve family well-being intergenerationally, and become leaders in their communities. Majority Han and minority Mongolian girls live in very different socioeconomic and policy environments, are affected by different schooling, have inherited different gendered cultural norms, and expect to thrive in different socioeconomic and political futures. Interviews exploring their aspirations and agency show that senior secondary schooling enables both Mongolian and Han girls to act forcefully on their own behalf but differences by ethnicity and socioeconomic location. Mongolian girls benefit from Mongolian traditions of valuing women more highly by developing greater independence compared to Han girls, who lack confidence compelled by Confucian patriarchal traditions. Mongolian girls foresee professional futures, although they worry about Mongolian language limitations; Han girls aspire to finding and keeping simple stable work. Implications for diverse educational and economic policies for the two regions are drawn.
The Women of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation
Authors: Soto Claradina , Handboy Toni , Supranovich Ruth , Weiss Eugenia L.
Published: October 2019

This chapter describes the impact of colonialism on indigenous women with a focus on the experience of the Lakota women on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation in South Dakota. It explores the experiences of indigenous women as related to history, culture, intrapersonal violence, and internalized oppression. A case study of a Lakota woman is provided as an example of strength and triumph in overcoming adversity and being empowered despite the challenges of marginalization faced by many Native Americans in the United States and indigenous women throughout the world. The chapter discusses how readers can be advocates and actively engage in decolonizing and dismantling systems of oppression to protect future generations and to allow indigenous communities to heal and revitalize.
Women’s Voices in Egypt and Globally
Authors: Kimball Gayle
Published: October 2019

This chapter reports on Egyptian feminist activism to make the experiences and thoughts of these feminists heard and empowered. The chapter quotes brave women who spoke up for gender equality from 1919 to 2018, in opposition to the censorship of state feminism, Islamic extremists, and the traditional belief that a woman’s place is in the home subordinate to her father or husband. Following feminist standpoint theory, grassroots feminist organizers were interviewed, including a teenager who participated in the front lines of the revolution of January 2011 that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Interviewees were pessimistic about freedom under current president General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, whose government jails activists, even for social media posts. However, groups such as Girls Revolution and Young Egyptian Feminists League rely on the relative safety of social media to lobby for equal rights. The internet and cell phones provide women with the ability to organize from the safety of their homes, without scrutiny from police or family—a global phenomenon. With increased access to education and the internet, a “social nonmovement” is occurring, described by Iranian Asef Bayat as lifestyle rebellions that gradually create real change.
Child Marriage in the United States
Authors: Wahi-Singh Aditi , Zaleski Kristen
Published: October 2019

According to the United Nations, child marriage often is a result of gender bias and discrimination by families that choose boys over girls to pursue education. Advocates argue that early marriage creates a permanent end to a girl’s childhood more often than a boy’s childhood because of early forced sexual encounters, early pregnancy, and premature exit from school to attend to household chores for the new husband. Child marriages have consistently been linked with early, more frequent, and more unwanted pregnancies compared with adult marriages in developing countries. Women married as children often experience significantly greater life stressors and higher rates of suicidal thoughts and attempts than do women married as adults. Despite what is known globally about child marriage, the United States continues to legally allow the practice. This chapter explores the limited information on American child brides and discusses policy and practice implications of this phenomenon.
Peacebuilding and Gender Inclusivity
Authors: Gregorian Adrineh
Published: October 2019

The work of women’s groups and organizations in conflict zones is underestimated and underresourced, yet these groups continue to be a voice of the marginalized. By examining the case of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, this chapter seeks to demonstrate how women’s role in peacebuilding is pivotal and should not be trivialized. Women have proven to be more nonviolent, they have differentiated needs in conflict, and they are more successful at utilizing out-of-the-box methods. When official top-down approaches fail women, civil society organizations step in to fill the gaps. Whereas formal negotiation tactics often seem to be fruitless, out-of-the-box tools are created to develop connections and safe spaces to share, listen, and build empathy. These steps should not be overlooked; instead, they underscore that women’s inclusion in peace processes is imperative.
Feminine Stereotypes and the Advantages of Association
Authors: Valdini Melody E.
Published: October 2019

Chapter 3 focuses on one variable in the inclusion calculation: the incongruity benefit. It begins with an analysis of feminine stereotypes and illustrates the common assumptions that women in politics are more honest and committed to democracy than men. It then presents the results of an original survey of citizens in the United States and Canada, which suggests that most citizens continue to value men over women as leaders, yet see women as potentially bringing valuable traits to leadership. The chapter then expands on my central argument underlying the mechanism of the incongruity benefit, explaining that, because of women’s assumed personality traits, having them associated with the party or government can be valuable to men. Thus, male elites can strategically increase the presence of women legislators to give citizens the impression of a new embrace of honesty or even democracy, even though those elites may have no sincere interest in increasing women’s power.
The Method of Inclusion Matters Too
Authors: Valdini Melody E.
Published: October 2019

Chapter 5 looks beyond candidate selection to consider the adoption of gender quotas in the aftermath of a massive corruption scandal. It argues that the prevalence of gender quotas today demonstrates that elites see an advantage to this particular method of inclusion and suggests several reasons why a quota offers the benefits of feminization while simultaneously limiting some of the costs of women’s inclusion. The chapter asserts that a gender quota potentially allows elites more control over women’s presence and power than any other method of inclusion and is thus often the elites’ optimal method. In addition, it presents case study analyses of the adoption of legislated gender quotas in two countries—Italy and Argentina—and argues that quota adoption was driven by both the benefit of strategically associating with women in the post-scandal environment as well as the particular advantages of this method of inclusion in these contexts.
Conclusion, Implications, and Future Research
Authors: Valdini Melody E.
Published: October 2019

Chapter 7 presents the implications of the book’s findings as well as suggestions for future research. Because the findings suggest that women’s political presence can be a strategic tool used by male gatekeepers to maintain power, one of the key implications of this project is that scholars of women’s descriptive representation should engage more with the strategies of male elites in their analyses. In addition, the chapter suggests that scholars use more caution when their findings demonstrate a correlation between women’s low confidence and their representation in government; it may not be as simple as instructing women to “lean in.” Finally, the chapter offers several paths for future research, including proposing the engagement of intersectionality, the variation in women’s assumed traits, and a theoretical broadening to engage those countries in which strategic feminization is never an advantageous approach (e.g., Russia and the Central African Republic).
Definition and the Mind–Body Problem
Authors: McComas Alan J.
Published: October 2019

This chapter is concerned with definition and the monism–dualism debate. It first deals with two major issues—a definition of consciousness and the mind–brain problem. The former is simply stated as “consciousness is an organism’s awareness of itself.” After arriving at a clear working definition, the chapter turns to the mind–brain problem. It pays particular attention to the monism–dualism debate, the former of which argues that there is only one unifying reality. From here, the chapter jump-starts a discussion on consciousness as an epiphenomenon of brain activity, ultimately with a conclusion in favor of epiphenomenalism, in the sense that the mind is a product of the working of the brain.
Concepts, Conferences, and Controversies
Authors: McComas Alan J.
Published: October 2019

This chapter outlines the history of research meetings dealing with consciousness, beginning with that hosted by Herbert Jasper in the Laurentian mountains of Quebec in 1953. It starts, however, with a brief discussion on ancient scientific approaches to medicine, which was jump-started by the Greek physician, Hippocrates. Afterward, the chapter skips forward two millennia to major figures who made breakthroughs in the field of brain science. It also touches on a central debate that reached its climax a little later, as to which part of the brain was responsible for consciousness. The chapter considers whether it was the cerebral cortex, as had been the prevailing assumption, or if it was the brain stem.
Who Else Is Conscious?
Authors: McComas Alan J.
Published: October 2019

This chapter studies the behaviors of various animal species, as well as animal consciousness. It argues for the significance of such studies, for these indicate that they, the animals, share the property of consciousness with human beings. The chapter contends that animals are perfectly capable of language (and thus of thought), both vocal and signed. It is up to the humans then to undertake the challenge of deciphering these. To illustrate these points, the chapter looks at research done on various species of animals, from cats and dogs to dolphins and even insects. In so doing, this chapter it draws awareness to the fact that brains do not have to be built like that of humans to possess consciousness.
Awaking the Cortex
Authors: McComas Alan J.
Published: October 2019

This chapter tells the story of the discovery of the reticular activating system. At the same time, the chapter traces various attempts to address the larger question of “waking” the cortex and bringing it to a state of consciousness. It turns to two scientists, Horace Magoun and Giuseppe Moruzzi, both of whom conducted experiments to explore the possible effects on the cerebral cortex of stimulating the brain stem. Since the brain’s reticular formation ended just below the thalamus on either side, it was logical to see if it might alter cortical excitability. The chapter shows how Magoun and Moruzzi came to the conclusion that, through its action on the excitability of the cortex, the reticular formation could control the wakefulness of the brain.
Electricity Works
Authors: McComas Alan J.
Published: October 2019

This chapter focuses on the electrical activity of the brain. It first highlights Richard Caton’s demonstration of slow waves in the rabbit brain before an audience of physicians in Edinburgh in 1875. Then the chapter turns to the impact of Hans Berger’s discovery of similar slow waves in the human brain and of the advent of electroencephalography. The chapter finishes with the remarkable technical accomplishment of Mircea Steriade in being able to record from the same single neuron during periods of sleep and wakefulness, thereby showing the enormous range of impulse firing frequencies possible. From here, the chapter considers if it is possible that it is simply the intensity of the cortical discharge, with its thalamic underpinning, that determines whether or not impulse activity enters into consciousness.
Single Units and Grandmother Cells
Authors: McComas Alan J.
Published: October 2019

This chapter turns to a more recent discovery in the human hippocampus, that of “concept” (or “grandmother”) cells. These grandmother cells are neurons that code for multiple aspects of the same person or object. The prediction that specific recognition cells were present in the brain had been made many years previously by vision scientists in Cambridge University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Especially relevant for an understanding of conscious mechanisms was the observation that merely thinking about a person or image could increase the impulse firing rate of the corresponding concept cell, even when the person or image was no longer being seen. At about the same time Jerzy Konorski, in Warsaw, had argued for the existence of similar neurons (“gnostic units”) serving a number of functions.
Making Sense of the Senses
Authors: McComas Alan J.
Published: October 2019

This chapter describes the novel findings of David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel when recording from single cells in the primary visual cortex and how these findings supported the concept that the various features of the observed image underwent independent processing in parallel. Of the various sensory systems, the one about which most is known is the visual one. Vision is also the most complex sensory system, which is reflected in its large cortical territory. The chapter thus focuses on the sense of sight in particular as it explores the findings of Hubel and Wiesel. However, the chapter also presents an alternative to the now-classic Hubel–Wiesel scheme, one that, despite its fundamental differences, seems equally plausible.
More on Gnostic Units and Cortical Columns
Authors: McComas Alan J.
Published: October 2019

This chapter returns to the subject of gnostic units discussed in Chapter 9, as well cortical columns, both of which form the building blocks of cortical function. Gnostic units are used to describe a neural assembly having knowledge (information). The chapter first expounds on gnostic units and how they relate to the concept/grandmother cells already discussed previously. It then goes on to consider the type of neural structure, which might correspond to a gnostic unit. At the simplest level, electrophysiological recordings have shown that a single neuron could be regarded as a gnostic unit. From here, the chapter conceives of a hierarchy of analyzers in the form of cortical columns. At the highest level will be the column(s) specific for a particular face or object—these cells will fire, and the face or object will be recognized by the conscious brain.
Introduction
Authors: Dohoney Ryan
Published: October 2019

The introduction argues for a broader investigation into Morton Feldman’s music for the Rothko Chapel beyond a model of ekphrasis that considers only how Feldman translates Rothko’s paintings into music. Instead of focusing on the dyadic relationship of influence between Rothko and Feldman, it argues that the role of the patrons John and Dominique de Menil must figure in any account of Feldman’s Rothko Chapel. This leads to a reconsideration of Feldman’s music not as translation of Rothko’s painting, but as a broader event in which conflicting intentions and interpretations of abstraction, ecumentical spirituality, experimental music were held in productive tension with one another. Furthermore, it argues for the inclusion of religion as a category of analysis in the study of experimental music.
Epilogue
Authors: Dohoney Ryan
Published: October 2019

The epilogue tracks the aftermath of the premiere of Rothko Chapel and focuses on the subsequent recording of the piece and its role in the life of the Chapel. The record managed to extend the circulation of both Feldman’s music and the chapel but also lead to conflicts between the de Menils’s and Feldman in his new position as composition professor at the University of Buffalo. It concludes with a broader reflection on the place of religion in the study of experimental music and notes the ways in which the Rothko Chapel event exemplifies the process by which events are deemed religious, that is taken as experiences are freighted with spiritual meaning.
Governing the Rainforest
Authors: Bratman Eve Z.
Published: October 2019

Sustainable development is among the foremost ideas that guide societal aspirations around the world. This book interrogates the concept through a critical lens, examining both its history and the trajectory of its manifestations in the Brazilian Amazon. The book argues that sustainable development is a concept that is better understood as involving embroilments and ongoing processes of contestation rather than a single end goal. The research offers historical analysis of Amazonian development from the colonial era into the discourse and praxis of sustainable development in contemporary times, and then illustrates the tensions of sustainable development plans that are experienced by people living in the areas geographically the closest to where those plans are being implemented. The history of the Brazilian Amazon is introduced to readers through focused discussions on the tensions between making grand plans for the region and the everyday practices and experiences of sustainable development, which involve considerably more muddling. Case studies explore agrarian reform initiatives that occur alongside road paving projects, the creation of extractive reserves and conservation areas that follow in the wake of assassinations, and the construction of a massive hydroelectric dam. While Amazonian sustainable development is a widely-accepted imperative, the research presented here shows how land use and infrastructure plans conducted in the name of sustainable development often perpetuate and reinforce economic and political inequalities.
The Roads through the Forest
Authors: Bratman Eve Z.
Published: October 2019

Chapter 4 focuses on the legacy of modernization-oriented planning processes, which are reinforced through transposition into the language and logics of sustainable development planning concerning how lands bordering the Transamazon and BR-163 highways will be protected, even as those roads are paved. The experiences of sustainable development explored in this chapter reveal how techno-managerial coordination and institutional capacity plays out on vulnerable landscapes and frequently marginalized populations, with consequences that are full of friction and imbalanced privilege. They also reveal how historically constituted relationships and understandings of modernity inform development projects, often reproducing long-standing inequalities.
The Land in the Middle
Authors: Bratman Eve Z.
Published: October 2019

Chapter 5 explores the creation of conservation areas in the region known as the Terra do Meio, a process that involved the collaborations of state actors with local and international civil society groups and ultimately transformed a region of substantial isolation and lawlessness into one of the world’s largest and most important biodiversity corridors. The chapter highlights how the sustainable development forms taking shape suggest how territories of conservation are circumscribed by strategic alliances and political moments and entail different, often contradictory, ideas of place and identity that are articulated by different actors.
The River
Authors: Bratman Eve Z.
Published: October 2019

In Chapter 6, competing visions behind sustainable development articulations are analyzed based on the case study of the Belo Monte hydroelectric project, which is located along the Xingu River. The chapter reveals how the framework of sustainable development promotes the logics of state planning for the promotion of macro-economic and growth-oriented goals, while concealing the social and environmental consequences of the infrastructure under the auspices of democratic engagement. In order to structure this chapter’s exposition of what is one of the world’s most controversial dams, the discussion is organized around three central arenas, all of which contributed to the creation and perpetuation of the sustainable development narrative surrounding Belo Monte: the legal disputes, civil society activism, and global-level policies over hydroelectric dams. The chapter concludes with a critical analysis of the divergence between articulations of sustainable development in its idealized form and the mismatched shortfalls that were present in reality.
UFOs, Ufologists, and Digital Media in Brazil
Authors: Almeida Rafael Antunes
Published: October 2019

This chapter presents an ethnography of a Brazilian ufological community that focuses on the role of digital media on its constitution. The author offers a critique of the heuristic capacity of the notion of “belief” to interpret the socialities formed around extraterrestrial motives and proposes a move from the discussion concerned with the “secret of belief” to what has been termed the “pragmatic of secrecy.” Drawing on the idea of “pragmatic of secrecy” and on Bruno Latour’s analysis of science networks, the author discusses three processes: reduction, multiplication, and differentiation. When combined, they constitute ufology by translating the order of the supernatural into the realm of the “ultra-natural.”
Algorithm Magic
Authors: Marenko Betti
Published: October 2019

Drawing on Simondon’s vision of the primitive magical universe—the original harmonious mode of existence of the human in the world—the chapter proposes that a new algorithmic magical and animistic universe is in the making in our contemporary computational world. By framing the immersive experience of computation and its sensibilities, perceptions, and affects through Simondon’s magical unity, where humans are an integral part of a totalizing and harmonious whole, the chapter looks at the black mirrors of our digital screens as the portals into a new magical and animistic reticulation of the human and the nonhuman. This perspective locates the algorithm within a genealogy of the relationship between technology and magic, and reads it as a mysterious form of nonhuman intelligence performing in inscrutable ways. It is the increasing autonomous agency and digital uncertainty of algorithms that engenders a new magical and animistic universe.
The Problem in Detail
Authors: Kalinowski Thomas
Published: October 2019

This chapter sets the stage for the empirical investigation of the domestic political economic sources of international conflicts and cooperation. It consists of four parts. First, it gives a general brief historical overview over the problems of the international regulation of finance since nineteenth-century imperialism until the global financial crisis that started in 2008. Second, it introduces the G20 as the main forum for global economic cooperation. Third, it offers an overview of the different reactions to the global economic crisis since 2008. Fourth, it introduces the major conflicts in the G20 about the international regulation of finance in the three crucial areas identified in Chapter 1: global imbalances and macroeconomic coordination, financial globalization and financial regulation, as well as currency competition and management.
Random sampling
Authors: Little Max A.
Published: October 2019

This chapter provides an overview of generating samples from random variables with a given (joint) distribution, and using these samples to find quantities of interest from digital signals. This task plays a fundamental role in many problems in statistical machine learning and signal processing. For example, effectively simulating the behaviour of the statistical model offers a viable alternative to optimization problems arising from some models for signals with large numbers of variables.
Probabilistic graphical models
Authors: Little Max A.
Published: October 2019

Statistical machine learning and statistical DSP are built on the foundations of probability theory and random variables. Different techniques encode different dependency structure between these variables. This structure leads to specific algorithms for inference and estimation. Many common dependency structures emerge naturally in this way, as a result, there are many common patterns of inference and estimation that suggest general algorithms for this purpose. So, it becomes important to formalize these algorithms; this is the purpose of this chapter. These general algorithms can often lead to substantial computational savings over more brute-force approaches, another benefit that comes from studying the structure of these models in the abstract.
Discrete signals: sampling, quantization and coding
Authors: Little Max A.
Published: October 2019

Digital signal processing and machine learning require digital data which can be processed by algorithms on computer. However, most of the real-world signals that we observe are real numbers, occurring at real time values. This means that it is impossible in practice to store these signals on a computer and we must find some approximate signal representation which is amenable to finite, digital storage. This chapter describes the main methods which are used in practice to solve this representation problem.
Richard of St Victor
Authors: Schumacher Lydia
Published: October 2019

Although under-researched by comparison to his earlier contemporary, Hugh, Richard of St Victor’s work in spirituality and theology was highly innovative in its own day. Richard was the first to schematize the pathway to knowledge of God that had been referred to in more individualistic terms by previous thinkers. He departed significantly from the previous Western tradition which focused on the simplicity of God and proffered a psychological analogy for the relations amongst the persons of the Trinity. In its place, he developed a version of the more Eastern tendency to speak of God as first and foremost infinite and to explain the Trinity in terms of a social analogy. To this end, he redefined common Latin ideas of human personhood. In these areas and others, he exerted a greater and more lasting influence on subsequent thinking than any of his near contemporaries.