bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cause and Explanation in Ancient Greek Thought
Authors: Hankinson R. J. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractIn this book, R. J. Hankinson traces the history of investigation into the nature of cause and explanation, from the beginnings of Ancient Greek philosophy in 600 bc, through the Graeco‐Roman world, to the end of pagan antiquity in c.500 ad The book consists of chapter‐length studies of the Presocratics, Plato, Aristotle (two chapters), Atomism, Stoicism, Scepticism, and Neoplatonism, as well as the Sophistic movement, and Ancient Medicine. Hankinson is principally concerned with the following questions: ‘What did the Greeks understand by a cause?’, and ‘How did the Greeks conceive adequacy in explanation?’. The Ancient Greeks (excepting the Sceptics) are united in their belief that the world and at least some of its process can be rendered intelligible, and that this can be rendered by an inquiry into the nature of things, with reasoned argument as the appropriate method of exhibiting the real structure of the world. Thus, the Greek thinkers set the standards for science, because they are guided by logic and observation in their analysis of causation; but one can also recognize the growth of interest among the Greeks in the nature of explanation itself. The question that becomes central to the development of Greek philosophical science is whether nature can be understood in terms of teleology, or solely in terms of mechanical laws. Hankinson is interested in how the concepts of cause and explanation function in a properly scientific context; but he extends his investigation of these concepts to questions of freedom and responsibility, and fate and astrology, and also the treatment of disease. Hankinson points out that causes and explanations are connected ideas: an explanation is the proffering of reasons, and this involves an account of causes; they are, nevertheless, different concepts—causes are actual items, events, agents, facts, states of affairs, whereas explanations are propositional. Hankinson isolates certain causal principles that recur throughout Greek philosophy: for instance, the principle of sufficient reason, the principle of causal synonymy, and the principle that nothing can come to be from nothing.
Introduction
Authors: Hankinson R. J. 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
In the Introduction, Hankinson identifies universality, simplicity, and the use of argument as the features that distinguish a properly ‘scientific’ explanation of natural phenomena, from a non‐ or pre‐scientific, e.g. mythical, account. For Hankinson, the Milesians are the first thinkers to display a scientific attitude to the investigation of natural phenomena: they sought to explain events by appealing to repeatable and generalizable laws that are invariant over time and which can ground predictions. Simplicity is an adjunct of generalization—the greater the generality of an explanation, the greater is its simplicity; since this involves the attempt to explain the widest variety of phenomena on the basis of the fewest fundamental principles, reductionism is at the centre of the scientific enterprise.
The Presocratics
Authors: Hankinson R. J. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractIn this chapter, Hankinson considers the contributions to the explanation of nature of each of the major Presocratic figures. Following a brief sketch of the cosmogonies of Homer and Hesiod, Hankinson discusses the Milesian thinkers Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes, focussing on the presence in their thought of notions such as material monism, the principle of sufficient reason, the Unlimited (apeiron), and the reduction of properties. Hankinson then discusses Xenophanes of Colophon, Heraclitus, Alcmaeon, Parmenides and his followers Zeno and Melissus, as well as the movement of Pythagoreanism. The Eleatics checked the confidence of Presocratic speculation by offering powerful a priori theses on causation, and the attempt to bypass these conclusions characterize the more sophisticated theories of causation of the succeeding thinkers Anaxagoras, Empedocles, and the Atomists.
Science and Sophistry
Authors: Hankinson R. J. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractIn this chapter, Hankinson considers the treatment of causation and explanation in two important strands of Ancient Greek thought: rational medicine and the sophistic movement. The Hippocratic treatises of the fifth century bc represent a movement in Greek medical practice away from traditional types of explanation of disease in favour of a naturalistic, physiological model of human pathology, which leads to the emergence of the allopathic causal principle, ‘opposites cure opposites’. The Hippocratic treatises distinguished internal, constitutional factors from external causes, a distinction that helps towards explaining why some people are affected by a disease, or benefited from a cure, while others are not. Drawing upon Antiphon and Gorgias, Hankinson also discusses the sophist contribution to causation and explanation, in particular their emphasis on responsibility in the explanation of action. Finally, Hankinson highlights a tendency, evident in Herodotus’ History and also in the medical treatise Airs, Waters, Places, to explain general traits of physique and character in terms of ethnography, i.e. on the basis of environment, climate, and lifestyle.
Plato
Authors: Hankinson R. J. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractPlato offers the first metaphysical exploration of the nature of causation and explanation, and the relationship between these and other metaphysical concepts, such as forms, properties, and the soul. Hankinson focuses on two dialogues, the Phaedo and the Timaeus; in the first of these, Plato rejects the materialism of natural science, in favour of the good as the ground of teleological explanations, and he invokes forms as invariable causal properties. Plato explores the notion of an archê, or ultimate principle, in his argument for the immortality of the soul; this notion comes together with the concept of hypothetical investigation and the casual account of knowledge in the Timaeus. Here, Plato offers a cosmogony invoking a divine artificer who fashions the universe from a receptacle, a material substratum that can receive all forms. In Plato's philosophy, there is the emergence of a concern with the correct form that an explanation ought to take, and also an emphasis on teleological explanation.
Aristotle: Explanation and the World
Authors: Hankinson R. J. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractIn this chapter, Hankinson examines Aristotle's philosophy of science, or the logical structure of explanation as set out in the Posterior Analytics, and which is based on the theory of the syllogism worked out in the Prior Analytics. For Aristotle, definition is fundamental to the project of exhibiting science in its appropriate explanatory form, i.e. proceeding deductively from fundamental principles and axioms about the structure of things. Science and scientific explanation are for Aristotle construed realistically: science must mirror reality, and therefore theory always must cohere with observation and empirical investigation. Hankinson discusses Aristotle's qualitative physics of motion, on the basis of the doctrine of natural places, his account of chemical combination, and his cosmology, which is at once teleological in character, while being empirically adequate. Hankinson also discusses Aristotle's successors Theophrastus and Strato of Lampsacus: Theophrastus developed and refined Aristotle's methodology while bringing some scepticism to the ubiquitous application of teleology; Strato also tends more towards mechanistic explanations.
The Stoics
Authors: Hankinson R. J. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractAn interest in causation and explanation, as these concepts pertain to action, production and agency, is a characteristic of Hellenistic philosophy, and the Stoics are typical in this respect; a cause, or aition, for the Stoics, is something that actually does something. In this chapter, Hankinson discusses Stoic materialism with its distinction between Active and Passive principles, and discusses in detail the Stoic analysis of causation, which is conceived as corporeal and transmitted by contact. Hankinson shows that, while the Stoics embrace determinism to a greater degree than any of their predecessors, they nevertheless retain a genuine possibility of human freedom of action, with emphasis upon the notion of Fate (e.g. in Chrysippus) and responsibility (confatalia). The Stoics’ thoroughly materialistic view of the world does not rule out the presence of intelligence; intelligence, or pneuma, is itself also a material substance, which is identical with God.
The Age of Synthesis
Authors: Hankinson R. J. 
Published: October 2003

AbstractIn this chapter, Hankinson discusses the origins of syncretism, or the growing convergence of Platonism, Aristotelianism, and Stoicism, focusing mainly on the Old Academy Platonists Speusippus and Xenocrates, the empiricist Stoic Posidonius, the lapsed sceptic Antiochus, and the orthodox Aristotelian Alexander of Aphrodisias. Hankinson also discusses Eudorus, Philo of Larissa, and Plutarch, as well as briefly noting the influential Primer on Plato's Doctrines by Alcinous. The importance of the Old Academy is its influence upon the development of later Platonic tradition; Proclus, for instance, credits Xenocrates with a distinction between transcendent and immanent causation that became a central feature of Middle Platonism. Posidonius, a Stoic and Cicero's philosophical mentor, is important to the growing convergence of the schools because he introduced Platonism and Aristotelianism into his account of Stoicism, while Antiochus, a product of Philo of Larissa's sceptical Academy, pursued an eclectic Platonism. Alexander of Aphrodisias was the leading Peripatetic of Alexandria, around the second century ad; he revived an orthodox Aristotelianism, accepting Aristotle's four causes doctrine, and identifying Fate as an efficient cause.
Introduction
Authors: Boeri Tito , Brugiavini Agar , Calmfors Lars , Booth Alison , Burda Michael , Checchi Daniele , Ebbinghaus Bernhard , Freeman Richard , Garibaldi Pietro , Holmlund Bertil , Naylor Robin , Schludi Martin , Verdier Thierry , Visser Jelle 
Published: October 2003

AbstractThe introduction presents two key dimensions of the analysis of the role of trade unions developed in the book: (1) the facts and the causes of the decline in union power that has occurred in the last two decades of the twentieth century; and (2) the future developments of unions’ behaviour in Europe.
Union Membership
Authors: Boeri Tito , Brugiavini Agar , Calmfors Lars , Booth Alison , Burda Michael , Checchi Daniele , Ebbinghaus Bernhard , Freeman Richard , Garibaldi Pietro , Holmlund Bertil , Naylor Robin , Schludi Martin , Verdier Thierry , Visser Jelle 
Published: October 2003

AbstractDiscusses and describes trends in union membership as a starting point of a study on trade unions behaviour. Using data from the DUES (Development of Unions in European Societies) project, the study deals with the recent decline in union power, union members' choices, and the main (cyclical, structural, and institutional) factors explaining membership trends.
Unions' Involvement in the Welfare State
Authors: Boeri Tito , Brugiavini Agar , Calmfors Lars , Booth Alison , Burda Michael , Checchi Daniele , Ebbinghaus Bernhard , Freeman Richard , Garibaldi Pietro , Holmlund Bertil , Naylor Robin , Schludi Martin , Verdier Thierry , Visser Jelle 
Published: October 2003

AbstractShows that there are important correlations between the unions' strength and activities and their welfare outcomes. The chapter provides a taxonomy of the large differences across countries in unions' strength and social expenditure. The analysis distinguishes among four dimensions of union influence: (1) unions as political movements; (2) unions and self‐administration in public schemes; (3) unions and private pensions; and (4) institutional participation and political veto points.
Unions and Pensions: Theory, Evidence, and Implications
Authors: Boeri Tito , Brugiavini Agar , Calmfors Lars , Booth Alison , Burda Michael , Checchi Daniele , Ebbinghaus Bernhard , Freeman Richard , Garibaldi Pietro , Holmlund Bertil , Naylor Robin , Schludi Martin , Verdier Thierry , Visser Jelle 
Published: October 2003

AbstractThe relationship between union actions and welfare outcomes is developed, taking the provision of old‐age insurance as a natural example. This chapter develops the economic theory of how unions go about setting policies on pensions; it presents empirical evidence of their impact on occupational pensions and policies on state pensions and early retirement options; and it examines how union activities depend on labour relations institutions.
Learning from Welfare Reforms: The Case of Public Pensions
Authors: Boeri Tito , Brugiavini Agar , Calmfors Lars , Booth Alison , Burda Michael , Checchi Daniele , Ebbinghaus Bernhard , Freeman Richard , Garibaldi Pietro , Holmlund Bertil , Naylor Robin , Schludi Martin , Verdier Thierry , Visser Jelle 
Published: October 2003

AbstractProvides a detailed account of the position of unions on pension reforms across Europe. This example is regarded as a major indicator establishing whether unions have a truly solidaristic approach in negotiating reforms or appear to be driven mainly by internal membership considerations and by a strong seniority bias.
Conclusions
Authors: Boeri Tito , Brugiavini Agar , Calmfors Lars , Booth Alison , Burda Michael , Checchi Daniele , Ebbinghaus Bernhard , Freeman Richard , Garibaldi Pietro , Holmlund Bertil , Naylor Robin , Schludi Martin , Verdier Thierry , Visser Jelle 
Published: October 2003

AbstractSummarizes the main findings of this part of the report, stressing how the seniority bias in unions leads to economic outcomes that are more favourable to older workers. It analyses the ways in which unions can counteract this tendency and choose policies that benefit both young and older workers. Four final questions arise: (1) Do unions interact with the welfare state? How do they do it? (2) What explains union policies toward welfare outcomes? (3) Which institutional structure emphasizes unions' welfare‐enhancing activities relative to unions' rent‐seeking activities? (4) Can unions contribute to a reform of welfare systems?
Introduction
Authors: Barr Nicholas 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
The chapter introduces the core arguments of the book: that the welfare state exists not only to relieve poverty (the ‘Robin Hood’ function) but also to provide insurance and consumption smoothing over the life cycle (the ‘piggy‐bank’ function). The latter is the focus of this book, which discusses insurance (unemployment insurance, medical insurance, long‐term care insurance), pensions (i.e. redistribution from one's younger to one's older self) and education finance, notably student loans (i.e. redistribution from one's older to one's younger self). The state has a major role in these areas because private institutions face problems of imperfect information, risk, and uncertainty.
Designing Student Loans
Authors: Barr Nicholas 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
Imperfect information, risk, and uncertainty create capital market imperfections. As a result, conventional loans, i.e. mortgage‐type loans, are both inefficient and inequitable. Income‐contingent loans – i.e. loans with repayments calculated as x % of the borrower's subsequent earnings until he or she has paid off the loan – address these capital market imperfections by reducing the risks facing borrowers and lenders. Though its form and extent may vary, public involvement is necessary to collect income‐contingent loan repayments, and perhaps also to provide the loan capital.
Financing Higher Education: The Options
Authors: Barr Nicholas 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
This chapter draws together economic theory and the experience of different countries, and discusses how higher education might be organized and funded in ways that are efficient and equitable, taking account of information problems and other technical problems such as externalities. Issues discussed include the role of market forces, who should pay, and the role of the state in a market‐oriented system of higher education. Countries discussed include the UK, USA, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, and New Zealand. The chapter also discusses misleading guides to policy design, and concludes by setting out a strategy for financing tertiary education involving tuition fees, income‐contingent student loans, and active measures to promote access.
The Welfare State in Post‐Communist Countries
Authors: Barr Nicholas 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
Post‐communist transition has two central elements: a move from central planning to market forces and a move from totalitarian to more democratic government. Because of the resulting economic, political, and social disruption, the reforming countries fail even more sharply than western countries to conform to the assumptions of the simple model described in Ch. 2. Information is highly imperfect, risk greater, and uncertainty pervasive. Two conclusions about the welfare state follow. Firstly, the role of the state is perhaps greater than in the advanced industrial countries. Secondly, – the subject of this chapter – the welfare state needs systematically to change to meet the needs of a market economy. The first part of the chapter establishes the simple analytics of transition. Subsequent sections parallel the rest of the book, discussing insurance issues, particularly in connection with labour‐market adjustment, the reform of pensions, and necessary changes in the education system.
The Welfare State in a Changing World
Authors: Barr Nicholas 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
The world is changing: real incomes are rising, income disparity is increasing, family structures are becoming more fluid, the population is ageing, and information and capital flows across national boundaries are instantaneous, increasing international competition. This chapter looks at the welfare state in the context of these forces. The first part of the chapter considers the ‘crisis’ in the welfare state and argues that it should not be exaggerated. The last part of the chapter discusses the ways in which the welfare state will adapt. The conclusion is that the reasons why a welfare state is necessary will not go away; its institutions are robust and responsive; in forms that will continue to evolve, it remains a continuing twenty‐first‐century challenge.
Introduction: Reviewing and Reassessing Parties
Authors: Ramón Montero José , Gunther Richard 
Published: October 2003

AbstractSome scholars have concluded that the existing literature on parties is sufficient, and that there is little more that can be learned through additional study in the aftermath of a century of scholarly research on the topic. Others maybe led to dismiss further empirical study of parties on the grounds that parties are becoming increasingly irrelevant, since they are failing to respond successfully to a series of challenges, and many of their functions are performed better by less formally organized social movements, by direct contact between politicians and citizens through the broadcast media or the internet, or by innovations in direct democracy; in the view of this group of scholars, parties maybe seen as in an inexorable process of ‘decline’. Finally, there maybe some who have concluded that scholarly research on parties has failed to advance the task of developing rigorous and persuasive theory, and that further efforts along these lines are doomed to fail. Begins by reviewing each of these assertions, and concludes that such negative views are unwarranted. It concludes with a brief overview of the contributions made by the authors in each of the three parts of the book, which examine the core concepts that have guided empirical research on parties (reconceptualizing parties and party competition), their organizational structures (party organization and party models), and the changing and sometimes problematic nature of their relations with citizens in democratic political systems (party linkages and attitudes to parties).
Still the Age of Catch‐Allism? Volksparteien and Parteienstaat in Crisis and Re‐equilibration
Authors: Puhle Hans‐Jürgen 
Published: October 2003

AbstractExperience of modern political parties during the last fifty years can be briefly summarized under two headlines: the rise of the catch‐all party (Volksparteien) after the Second World War (earlier in the US), and the ‘crisis’ and restructuring of the catch‐all parties under profound challenges and severe ‘stress’ since the late 1970s. Both processes have been interrelated as it often seems that the ‘crisis’ has been due in part to a number of inherent characteristics and weaknesses of catch‐all parties, and that the ‘pure type’ of catch‐all party has been somewhat transitory in structure despite its apparent longevity. The analysis presented in this chapter of the character and the potential outcome of the perceived present ‘crisis’ begins with a description of the principal dimensions of the problem at hand. The next section, ‘Catch‐all parties and the Parteienstaat’ discusses the definition, characteristics, constellations, and the historical context and organizational modernization of the catch‐all party, which cannot be separated from the respective constellations of party systems and from the emergence of the European invention of the party state (Parteienstaat). The last main section of the chapter looks at the various symptoms of the perceived crisis of the catch‐all party, and the implications of the ‘third wave’ of politico‐organizational modernization of the final decades of the twentieth century, which is shown to have led to tentative new types of party, including numerous ‘catch‐all plus’ phenomena and a search for new terms to describe a ‘fourth’ type of party.
Electoral and Party Competition: Analytical Dimensions and Empirical Problems
Authors: Bartolini Stefano 
Published: October 2003

Abstract
Focuses on the concept of electoral and party competition as the key mechanism leading party elites to respond to the preferences of voters. While competition is of central importance in both democratic theory and in empirical studies of party behaviour, the concept (as operationalized in many studies) is vague and ambiguous; in particular, it has very different meanings in the real world of electoral and parliamentary behaviour, on the one hand, and in the formal models of rational‐choice scholars, on the other. Discusses the unintended by‐product (social value) of competition, and gives an overview of the intellectual origins (from Simmel, Schumpeter, and Downs) of this approach. The bulk of the chapter is dedicated to an original criticism of the problems inherent in applying this import from economic theory to the study of electoral competition, first focusing on key dimensions of this competition—contestability, availability, decidability, and vulnerability, and then arguing that these four crucial dimensions of competition interact with one another in ways that are fundamentally incompatible with the simplifying assumptions upon which the economic model depends. Each of the dimensions of electoral competition impinges on the others in an interactive, if not sometimes contradictory manner, and as a result of these multidimensional interaction effects, party competition cannot be conceived of as a linear process that unfolds between minimum and maximum points on a single continuum, but rather as a moving point shifting about in a four‐dimensional space within which no equilibrium point can be identified; accordingly, electoral preferences cannot be regarded as exogenous to party competition, but are decisively influenced by parties and party elites.