Non-reductive physicalism is committed to two theses: first, that mental properties are ontologically autonomous, and second, that physicalism is true. Jaegwon Kim has argued that this view is unstable – to honor one thesis, one must abandon the other. In this paper, I present an account of property realization that addresses Kim’s criticism and that explains how the two theses are indeed comfortably compatible.

Davidson has been instrumental in dampening the prospect of reductively explaining the mind. The core of his arguments turn upon his insistence that contentful mental states, the bread and butter of folk psychology, have a “normative element.” In spite of its pivotal role, as well as its intrinsic interest, the concept is very poorly developed and understood. This paper attempts to discern four different strands of the normativity of intentionality and to spark a long overdue systematic examination of a fascinating (...) and significant thesis. (shrink)

This is an overview of Davidson's theory of anomalous monism. Objections and replies are also detailed.

Assessments of an action done intentionally, as we might expect, influence judgments of moral responsibility. What we don't expect is the converse--judgments of moral responsibility influencing assessments of whether an action was done intentionally. Yet this is precisely how people decide, according to Knobe (2003, 2004) and Mendlow (2004) and Nadelhoffer (2004a). I evaluate whether the studies actually support this biasing effect. I argue that the studies are at best inconclusive and that even if they demonstrated that people fall under (...) the biasing effect, such tendencies ought to have no bearing upon philosophical analyses of the concept of intentional action. (shrink)

One of the driving questions in philosophy of mind is whether a person can be understood in purely physical terms. In this presentation, I wish to continue the project initiated by Donald Davidson, whose subtle position on this question has left many more perplexed than enlightened. The main reason for this perplexity is Davidson’s rather obscure pronouncements about the normativity of intentionality and its role in supporting psychophysical anomalism – the claim that there are no laws bridging our intentional states (...) with states of our brain. Insofar as Davidson’s thesis is an ontological one – about the existence of laws or otherwise modally significant connections between the mental and the physical – I think his critics are correct: Davidson has not provided us with a successful argument for psychophysical anomalism. There is, however, a different argument, also based upon considerations about the normativity of intentionality that lead to an equally important conclusion. The conclusion is not ontological but rather epistemic: if thoughts do indeed display normativity, it is hard to understand how they would arise out of mere mechanical occurrences in the brain. To borrow a well-worn phrase, there is an “explanatory gap” between the mental and the physical. Originally coined to capture the epistemic darkness we confront in our attempt to understand phenomenal experiences in purely physical terms, the idea has yet to be explored in the area of contentful mental states or intentionality in general. My argument shall be this: considerations about the normativity of intentionality demonstrate that there is an explanatory gap between the intentional and the physical. In fact, if there were laws of the kind Davidson denies, then the world be more mysterious than if no such laws existed. The presence of an explanatory gap explains why this is so. (shrink)

This study investigated changes in the prevalence of depression, stress, and suicidal attempts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ≥19-year-old population in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2019 and 2020 was included. The histories of depression, stress, and suicidal attempts were compared between the 2019 and 2020 cohorts using multiple logistic regression analysis with complex sampling. The prevalence of depression was not significantly different between the 2019 and 2020 groups (4.1% vs. 4.5%, p = 0.326). The prevalence (...) of stress and suicide attempts was also not significantly different between groups (all p > 0.05). The rates of depression, stress, and suicide attempts were not associated with the 2020 group compared to the 2019 group (all p > 0.05). The 19- to 39-year-old group in the 2020 group indicated a higher rate of depression (diagnosed by physicians) than the 19- to 39-year-old group in the 2019 group (adjusted odds ratio = 1.58, 95% confidence intervals = 1.00–2.50, p = 0.049). The risks of depression, stress, and suicidal attempts were not related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Korean adults. A young adult population demonstrated an increased risk of depression associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. (shrink)

In this panel, we explore the future of value sensitive design (VSD). The stakes are high. Many in public and private sectors and in civil society are gradually realizing that taking our values seriously implies that we have to ensure that values effectively inform the design of technology which, in turn, shapes people’s lives. Value sensitive design offers a highly developed set of theory, tools, and methods to systematically do so.

This study conducts a detailed friction-based performance analysis of stabilizer bar bush seals through numerical simulations. Utilizing state-of-the-art Finite Element Analysis (FEA) tools, the research aims to evaluate how varying levels of friction coefficients impact the mechanical integrity and functionality of bush seals within automotive stabilizer bars. By systematically altering the friction coefficients from 0.1 to 0.5, the investigation assesses the resulting changes in reaction forces and stress distribution across the seal components. The primary focus is on understanding how different (...) friction settings influence the operational performance of the seals, particularly in terms of wear patterns, durability, and the ability to maintain effective load transmission between the stabilizer bar and its adjoining components. Key performance metrics such as seal deformation, stress resistance, and longevity under cyclic loading conditions are analyzed to provide insights into the optimal frictional properties required for maximizing seal efficiency. The outcomes of this simulation study are expected to offer valuable guidelines for the design and material selection of bush seals, aiming to enhance the overall stability and noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) characteristics of automotive suspension systems. Recommendations for future research will include exploring the impact of material heterogeneity and geometric modifications on the frictional behavior of stabilizer bar bush seals. This work sets a foundation for advancing the design standards of automotive bush seals by integrating friction considerations into the simulation protocols for component testing. (shrink)

The automotive door system's weather-strip seals play a crucial role in determining the degree of door closure, sealing the passenger cabin from water, and reducing wind noise inside the vehicle. Wrinkles often occur when installing weather-strips on door surfaces with bent or twisted profiles, affecting both the closure tightness and the noise insulation properties of the car door system. This study characterizes the wrinkling of Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) automotive weather-strip seals during bending and identifies critical conditions for wrinkle (...) formation. The hyper elastic behaviour of the seal's EPDM sponge and dense EPDM rubber was modeled using the Foam and Mooney-Rivlin models, respectively. A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) model of the automotive weather strip seal was then developed and analysed using the linear FEA software Abaqus to determine the deformation and thickness reduction in areas prone to wrinkling. Finally, the critical criteria for wrinkle formation were determined through reaction force analysis in these areas. The proposed analytical method significantly reduces the product design cycle and cuts down on design and prototype costs. (shrink)

The automotive door system's weather-strip seals play a crucial role in determining the degree of door closure, sealing the passenger cabin from water, and reducing wind noise inside the vehicle. Wrinkles often occur when installing weather-strips on door surfaces with bent or twisted profiles, affecting both the closure tightness and the noise insulation properties of the car door system. This study characterizes the wrinkling of Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) automotive weather-strip seals during bending and identifies critical conditions for wrinkle (...) formation. The hyper elastic behaviour of the seal's EPDM sponge and dense EPDM rubber was modeled using the Foam and Mooney-Rivlin models, respectively. A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) model of the automotive weather strip seal was then developed and analysed using the linear FEA software Abaqus to determine the deformation and thickness reduction in areas prone to wrinkling. Finally, the critical criteria for wrinkle formation were determined through reaction force analysis in these areas. The proposed analytical method significantly reduces the product design cycle and cuts down on design and prototype costs. (shrink)

The automotive door system's weather-strip seals play a crucial role in determining the degree of door closure, sealing the passenger cabin from water, and reducing wind noise inside the vehicle. Wrinkles often occur when installing weather-strips on door surfaces with bent or twisted profiles, affecting both the closure tightness and the noise insulation properties of the car door system. This study characterizes the wrinkling of Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) automotive weather-strip seals during bending and identifies critical conditions for wrinkle (...) formation. The hyper elastic behaviour of the seal's EPDM sponge and dense EPDM rubber was modeled using the Foam and Mooney-Rivlin models, respectively. A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) model of the automotive weather strip seal was then developed and analysed using the linear FEA software Abaqus to determine the deformation and thickness reduction in areas prone to wrinkling. Finally, the critical criteria for wrinkle formation were determined through reaction force analysis in these areas. The proposed analytical method significantly reduces the product design cycle and cuts down on design and prototype costs. (shrink)

Aristotle and the classical rhetoricians conceived of metaphor as a figure of speech in which one thing is given a name or an attribute of another thing on the basis of some resemblance that exists between the two things. Wallace Stevens conceived of metaphor not as the production of pre-existing resemblances observed in nature but the “creation of resemblance by the imagination” (NA: 72). Resemblance, and not identity, according to Stevens, is the fundamental relation between the two terms of metaphor. (...) This is akin to contemporary accounts of metaphor in terms of the phenomenological or experiential seeing of one thing as another thing (Yoos 1971; Davidson 1979; Camp 2006a,b; Semino 2008; Ritchie 2013). Seeing one thing as another thing on the basis of resemblance or similarity implies that the one thing is not the other. I do two main things in this paper: one, I appraise the theoretical value of Wallace Stevens’ conception of metaphor as the creation of resemblance by the imagination; and two, I pose a challenge to the view that takes resemblance as fundamental to metaphor, arguing that in the cases I present, thinking of the relation as identity and not resemblance, concurs with our ontological commitments to the things compared in the metaphor. In the final analysis, I suggest that Stevens conception of metaphor as metamorphosis can meet the challenge: rather than thinking of the ‘is’ (identity) of metaphor as an ‘as’ (resemblance), for Stevens, the ‘as’ (resemblance) of metaphor metamorphosize into an ‘is’ (identity). (shrink)