title: Is correspondence truth one or many?

authors: Ulatowski, Joseph W.

abstract: On the correspondence theory of truth, a proposition is true if and only if it corresponds to fact. Criticisms of the correspondence theory of truth have argued that such a strict interpretation of the correspondence relation will not be able to account for the truth of statements about fiction or mathematics. This challenge has resulted in the introduction of more permissive correspondence relations, such as Austin’s correspondence as correlation or Tarski’s correspondence as reference satisfaction. Recently, some mediated correspondence theorists of truth have proposed that the correspondence relation holds not only between thought and world but also between thought and language. In this paper, I argue that correspondence truth, direct or mediated, is not a monistic theory of truth, the view that there is one and only way for a proposition to be true. To argue for this position, I will have to show that each of the correspondence theories accept direct and indirect ways of understanding the correspondence relation as well as address potential objections to the view that correspondence theory is not singular and monolithic.

text: Is correspondence truth one or many? On the correspondence theory of truth, a proposition is true if and only if it corresponds to fact. Criticisms of the correspondence theory of truth have argued that such a strict interpretation of the correspondence relation will not be able to account for the truth of statements about fiction or mathematics. This challenge has resulted in the introduction of more permissive correspondence relations, such as Austin’s correspondence as correlation or Tarski’s correspondence as reference satisfaction. Recently, some mediated correspondence theorists of truth have proposed that the correspondence relation holds not only between thought and world but also between thought and language. In this paper, I argue that correspondence truth, direct or mediated, is not a monistic theory of truth, the view that there is one and only way for a proposition to be true. To argue for this position, I will have to show that each of the correspondence theories accept direct and indirect ways of understanding the correspondence relation as well as address potential objections to the view that correspondence theory is not singular and monolithic.

year: 2023-10-31

title: A pilot randomised controlled trial of oral doxycycline after endoscopic sinus surgery and its effects on the sinonasal microbiome

authors: Challis, Jacinda M.

subjects: endoscopic sinus surgery

abstract: Oral antibiotics are commonly prescribed after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) despite minimal clinical data supporting this practice. We aim to assess the effect of post-ESS doxycycline on clinical outcomes and on the diversity and composition of the sinonasal microbiome. Methods: Samples from the middle meatus were collected from twelve patients undergoing ESS to treat chronic rhinosinusitis. Patients were double-blind randomised to receive either oral doxycycline or placebo in the post-operative period. Further samples were collected at two weeks and three months post-operatively. The sinonasal microbiome was characterized using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene amplicon sequencing. SNOT-22 scores, Lund Mackay scores, and Modified Lund Mackay Endoscopic Scores (MLMES) were collected. Results: After ESS, bacterial diversity increased while SNOT-22 score decreased for both treatments. Microbiome composition diverged between treatments, and random forest analysis identified nine taxa that may distinguish treatment groups. There was no significant difference in SNOT-22 score, 3-month MLMES or bacterial diversity between the placebo and doxycycline groups. The trends for all of these measures favour placebo. Conclusion: In this pilot study, we detected no significant difference between placebo and antibiotic treatments in clinical outcome. As patient symptoms improved after ESS, we detected a concurrent increase in the diversity of the sinonasal microbiome. Our data highlight the need for and facilitate the design of future larger studies to explore the relationship between prophylactic antibiotics and post-ESS recovery.

text: A pilot randomised controlled trial of oral doxycycline after endoscopic sinus surgery and its effects on the sinonasal microbiome Oral antibiotics are commonly prescribed after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) despite minimal clinical data supporting this practice. We aim to assess the effect of post-ESS doxycycline on clinical outcomes and on the diversity and composition of the sinonasal microbiome. Methods: Samples from the middle meatus were collected from twelve patients undergoing ESS to treat chronic rhinosinusitis. Patients were double-blind randomised to receive either oral doxycycline or placebo in the post-operative period. Further samples were collected at two weeks and three months post-operatively. The sinonasal microbiome was characterized using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene amplicon sequencing. SNOT-22 scores, Lund Mackay scores, and Modified Lund Mackay Endoscopic Scores (MLMES) were collected. Results: After ESS, bacterial diversity increased while SNOT-22 score decreased for both treatments. Microbiome composition diverged between treatments, and random forest analysis identified nine taxa that may distinguish treatment groups. There was no significant difference in SNOT-22 score, 3-month MLMES or bacterial diversity between the placebo and doxycycline groups. The trends for all of these measures favour placebo. Conclusion: In this pilot study, we detected no significant difference between placebo and antibiotic treatments in clinical outcome. As patient symptoms improved after ESS, we detected a concurrent increase in the diversity of the sinonasal microbiome. Our data highlight the need for and facilitate the design of future larger studies to explore the relationship between prophylactic antibiotics and post-ESS recovery.

year: 2022-04-08

title: Ideology is theft: Thoughts on the legitimacy of a Maori psychology

authors: Tamatea, Armon J.

subjects: Maori

abstract: ‘War, in fact, can be seen as a process of achieving equilibrium among unequal technologies’ (McLuhan, 1964) 
We are at war. As Western science and its accompanying technology expands the frontiers of knowledge at an ever-increasing rate, ‘indigenous’ perspectives of knowledge are exiled into the borderlands of special interest groups and localized research programmes. Mainstream scientific thought lays claim to objective interpretations of experience at the expense of alternative realities offered by emerging theories of knowledge. Furthermore, as localized worldviews (i.e., those derived from ancestral knowledge bases and pre-industrial or non-scientific premises) challenge existing paradigms, the inevitable interactions threaten to undermine the fidelity of this knowledge. One such arena where this ideological conflict is apparent is the growing field of Maori psychology.

text: Ideology is theft: Thoughts on the legitimacy of a Maori psychology ‘War, in fact, can be seen as a process of achieving equilibrium among unequal technologies’ (McLuhan, 1964) 
We are at war. As Western science and its accompanying technology expands the frontiers of knowledge at an ever-increasing rate, ‘indigenous’ perspectives of knowledge are exiled into the borderlands of special interest groups and localized research programmes. Mainstream scientific thought lays claim to objective interpretations of experience at the expense of alternative realities offered by emerging theories of knowledge. Furthermore, as localized worldviews (i.e., those derived from ancestral knowledge bases and pre-industrial or non-scientific premises) challenge existing paradigms, the inevitable interactions threaten to undermine the fidelity of this knowledge. One such arena where this ideological conflict is apparent is the growing field of Maori psychology.

year: 2008