Notions Of Epistemic Internalism And Externalism Philosophy Essay

Notions Of Epistemic Internalism And Externalism Philosophy Essay Epistemic justification is the basis for both internalism and externalism as they relate to knowledge. Until the onset of the Gettier problems, knowledge had been commonly held as justified true belief, that is, justification added to true belief makes knowledge. However it is more commonly recognized now that there must be another element to the equation. What kind of justification? It is this question that brings forth the notions of epistemic internalism and externalism, and this question which will be critically addressed in this essay. Epistemic internalism refers to justification as an internal matter of various mental states and their relation to knowledge. Internal matter consists of memories, perceptions, reflections, etc., all of which can give rise to justification irrespective of how they relate to the external world. In other words, if you know some premise (p) then you must also know that you know (p), which is the justification of your belief. To be assessed further in this essay, internalism is supported by the related principles of evidentialism, the conclusive justification theory, virtue epistemology, and the deontological conception of epistemic justification. Inversely, epistemic externalism upholds that a decent theory of knowledge should involve a component of external justification, instead of, or in addition to internal justifications. Justification must come from some form of reliable logical process or cognitive faculty, not merely to be inferred by reflection. You can know some premise (p), if and only if your belief that (p) is i. True, and ii. justified. Again, with further investigation of the externalist foundations of reliabilism, the casual theory of knowledge, and the truth tracking condition of belief, epistemic externalism will be examined and evaluated. Internalism is primarily influenced by appealing to evidentialism as premise. Evidentialists, true to their name, require evidence to support the justification of a belief. As aforementioned, this evidence is of an internal nature, meaning, if a person S is internally justified in believing a certain thing, then this may be something he can internally know just by reflecting upon his own state of mind (Chisholm, 1989: 7) Chisholm means that something must be what he calls directly recognizable, or recognizable upon reflection, and on any occasion. When these two qualifications meet, then they, constitute grounds, or reasons, or evidence for thinking that we know [something] (Chisholm, 1977:17). He takes this theory further and separates his justification requirements into accessibility internalism in which justification is recognizable upon reflection, and in terms of the accessibility of the justification, and mental state internalism, which requires that justifiers must be internal to the mind (i.e. mental states or events). These theories extend a constraint over justification, making it necessarily directly recognizable. Matthias Steup gives the equation example, any time at which S holds a justified belief B, S is in a position to know at T that B is justified (Steup, 2001). This means that because S is able to directly recognize B, then T is the time at which direct recognition takes place. This claim, however, is refuted by external justification and will be addressed in the externalist argument to follow. Some support for internalism includes the deontological conception of epistemic justification, which is a concept of epistemic (not ethical) duties which arise in the pursuit of truth (Pappas, 2005). A equation to exemplify this, S is justified in believing P if in believing P, S does not violate any of his epistemic duties or, if in believing P, S does not fail to do what he ought to in the pursuit of truth (Steup, 2001). According to George Pappas, justification is a matter of epistemic duty fulfilment, making what determines justification identical to what determines epistemic duty. Subsequently, if what determines justification and duty is directly recognizable, then justification is directly recognizable (to ones self). Internalists argue that reliable belief formation is neither necessary nor sufficient for justification or knowledge, when added to true belief (unless supported by adequate evidence). Take the example of Descartes most sceptical theory, the Evil Demon argument, in which one cannot be sure of anything but ones own existence, due to the fact that there is no way of knowing whether or not you are being deceived. To prove that reliable belief production is not necessary for justification, internalists appeal to the possibility of deception by this demon. According to the argument, ones beliefs in the normal world would mirror that of the evil world, thus making it impossible to detect deception. However while beliefs in the normal world would be true, beliefs in the evil world would be false and, according to externalism, thus unjustified. According to internalism however, beliefs in the evil world are also supported by adequate evidence (there is no difference as far as your evidence i s concerned) and so are in fact justified. And so, according to internalists, beliefs in the evil demon world, are also usually supported by adequate evidence and are thus justified. Internalists reject the claim that being produced by reliable cognitive faculties is a necessary condition of epistemic justification (Steup, 2001). In the case of externalism it is important to understand the underpinning theories which comprise this epistemic view. Reliabilism as a theory of knowledge does not require justification, but requires truth and a reliable belief formation, for which internal reflection does not suffice. A defender of reliabilism and thus externalism as well, Frede Dretske argues that justification is not a necessary element of knowledge. By asserting that an animal is able to possess knowledge for example and that by acting on inherent beliefs enables it to know something, what additional benefits are conferred by a justification that the beliefs are being produced in some reliable way? If there are no additional benefits, what good is this justification? Why should we insist that no one can have knowledge without it? (Dretske, 1989: 95). Because of some cognitive origin of the animals belief, a reflection based internal justification becomes unnecessary and obsolete. It is however imperative that th e cognitive origin of belief is reliable. Without the reliability constraint the connection between justification and truth becomes too tenuous. Externalists as a whole believe that it is because of the link between justification and truth being so flimsy, that they demand proof of a strong likelihood of truth. This thing (x) which produces or provides reliability to a belief must, yield mostly true beliefs in sufficiently large and varied run of employments in situations of the sorts we typically encounter (Alston, 1993: 9). It is this truth factor of reliability (absent from the internalist requirements for justification) that rules out a system of beliefs perceived to be justified, but which are in fact being produced by an evil demon who creates falsity within our lives. Since the beliefs held in the evil world would not be true, and thus reliable, then they cannot be known. This proof then begs the question, of what use is internal justification if it is the sort that an evil d eceiver may possess. (Steup, 2001). Externalists refute internal justification as valid, a position that does seem to make sense practically. Simply because someone can perceive of something or reflect upon something in their mind, does not necessarily make that thing knowledge. In support of externalism is the premise of the casual belief theory, which suggests that some extra condition must be placed upon justified true belief solely comprising knowledge. This extra condition is held by externalists to be a reliable cognitive process. The truth tracking condition, developed by Robert Nozick in his 1981 work Philosophical Explorations, claims that knowledge must be true belief plus a truth tracking condition, articulated in terms of a subjunctive connection to the world. To summarize, it seems that knowledge is just a foundational concept to which we can apply various theories to provide justification in certain instances. Externalism as a theory recognizes this and instead of requiring justification by mental evidence, instead simply calls for a logical process of understanding which then leads the subject to the attainment of knowledge. Due to the convincing elements of Dretskes assertion about an animals ability to possess knowledge without the ability to reflect upon it, and the two epistemic notions of Descartes evil demon argument, it does seem that externalism is a more plausible theory of knowledge. The ability to know that you know something in your own mind remains unconvincing in terms of knowledge requirements and true belief. Externalists view justification as an evaluative term of appraisal, meaning that it is used to judge the nature of a belief, not to determine whether or not a belief can be knowledge. Internalists on the other hand require justification, but limit this justification to mental processes. It simply seems illogical to suppose that memories, beliefs, and reflection can be requirements for knowledge, when truth and a reliable external reasoning process is a much more valid and solid approach to gaining knowledge.

C.S. Foresters Lieutenant Hornblower: Success And Failure :: Lieutenant Hornblower Essays

In the novel Lieutenant Hornblower there were a few scenes were Hornblower was a success and a few were he was a failure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In my opinion the first success of Hornblower was when he used all the cannons on one side of the ship to free them from the mud holding the ship. Another success was when Hornblower suggested a landing attack on Samana Bay. The commanding officer agreed with his suggestion, and they put together a landing party. Hornblower had the whole attack planed and the coordinates marked. His surprise attack on the Spanish at Samana proved to be a success. Once the fort was taken over he was successful in firing red hot shot at enemy ships, even without ever using that technique before. Then when the negotiation with the Spanish took place he had a brilliant idea to mount a nine pound cannon at the upper end of the peninsula to prevent the Spanish from escaping. This enabled them to turn down the terms of the proposal that the Spanish wanted and get what they wanted without giving anything to the Spanish. These achievements made by Hornblower is what later earned him the command of the Retribution, although his command of the Retribution did not come until later when the war started again.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hornblower had also had a few failures that hindered his successes. Among these was when Hornblower was using the red hot shot to sink enemy ships. This was both a success and failure. It was a failure because after heating the shot for a considerably long period of time the shot began to deform. This deformity of the shot wouldn't allow it to fit into the cannon. Hornblower realized his mistake after one of the shots wouldn't fit into the cannon. This slowed their operation down but didn't cause a defeat to them. The situation with Hornblower gambling is mostly in my opinion a success but it could also be a failure. The way I think it would be a failure is that he lost a lot of his

The Day of the Week Effect

Bishop’s University Department of Economics The â€Å"Day-of-the-Week† Effect: Analysis of Trends in the Daily Returns of Copper and Aluminum Lucas Zawislak and Jennifer Lee Dr. M. Vigneault Applied Economic Analysis March 15th, 2013 Introduction According to the neoclassical school of economics, asset markets are assumed to be both efficient and random.These two assumptions are the base from which two neoclassical theories are derived: 1) â€Å"The Efficient Market Theory† infers that the market is remarkably adept in its utilization of information; while 2) â€Å"The Random Walk Model† infers that accurate predictions of outcome cannot be made on the basis of historical data. In summation, it is assumed that the price behavior of assets is essentially random, and all relevant information is almost immediately incorporated into price. There are two key elements, in reference to market participants or decision makers, engrained in the neoclassical position .First, it is presumed that the decision maker is rational and therefore makes decisions using the expected utility function. Second, this position reasons that each decision maker has access to, and uses, full information about the fundamental valuations of assets. Consequently, the market should be comprised of distinctly independent, fully informed and rational decision makers. Contrary to the neoclassical belief’s studies have uncovered irregularities, in asset returns, over specific ranges in time, specifically over the days of the week.This observed anomaly is commonly referred to as â€Å"The-Day-of-the-Week-Effect† which challenges the notion of market efficiency and randomness. It proposes that the distribution of returns may vary according to the day of the week. The most distinct characteristic of this anomaly is a pattern of positive returns on Friday coupled with negative returns on Monday, also known as â€Å"the weekend effect†. Purpose and Motiva tion The objectives of this study are to determine if there is evidence of the day-of-the week-effect in the weekly price fluctuations of both Copper and Aluminum.More specifically, we will determine if the assets returns are dependent on the day of the week in which they are generated. If this is proven true, it will have implications on the behavior of market participants in regards to the trading of these commodities. It would be difficult to directly and consistently exploit this effect each week, due to high transaction costs. The situation in which this could be best exploited would be when there are plans to add one of these commodities to a portfolio, due to some strategic objective.In this case it would be advantageous to be aware of the effect and know exactly which day of the week the prices would be at their lowest. As I mentioned above, this anomaly will be tested against two base metals (commodities): copper and aluminum. Copper is the third most widely used metal in t he world, and is highly versatile. It is a base metal used in building construction, power generation, transmission, electronic product manufacturing, and the production of industrial machinery and transportation vehicles. Aluminum is a substitute for copper and is used in many of the same applications.Though the two metals are similar in application aluminum is a much cheaper alternative. When you familiarize yourself with the uses of both metals it becomes evident that they are essential to urban modernization. The demand for base metals is primarily fueled by economic growth, and though economic growth in the western hemisphere has slowed, countries such as China and India are experiencing a significant upward trend. Base metals are vital to this growth. On account of this demand, copper is in decreasing supply and due to uncertainty about future supply; this is likely to translate into price volatility.When making a purchase decision this volatility can be offset by the knowledg e of the price trends. Aluminum is still in good supply and due to its likeness to copper its demand is increasing. Method We have collected data on Copper and Aluminum prices, as reported on the London Metal Exchange, from January 2nd 2009 to February 15th 2013. The standard OLS method will be used to test the day-of-the-week effect in each of the commodities returns by regressing the data of the returns on the five daily dummy variables.The regression model below will be the base from which all analysis will take place. Essentially the commodity prices will be the dependent variables in the regression, while time will be the independent variable. Regression Model I: Ri=the daily yied of the asset D1=1 if Monday;=0 otherwise D2=1 if Tuesday;=0 otherwise D3=1 if Wednesday;=0 otherwise D4=1 if Thursday;=0 otherwise D5=1 if Friday;=0 otherwise **Null Hypothesis of Interest: Daily Return Equation Rt=(PtPt-1-1)*100 Descriptive Statistics The descriptive statistics reflect the fore menti oned metal profiles. On verage copper returns are 43% higher than that of Aluminum. In terms of standard deviation the returns for both are quite similar. Both graphs indicate increasing volatility of returns, yet this is much more prominent for copper. This pattern supports my previous statement indicating decreasing supply and increasing demand as a source of volatility. The large range given by the minimum and maximum returns is another indication of the volatility of returns for both metals Works Cited Berument, M. , and Nukhet Dogan. â€Å"Stock Market Return And Volatility: Day-Of-The-Week Effect. Journal Of Economics & Finance 36. 2 (2012): 282-302. Business Source Complete. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. Boudreaux, Denis, Spuma Rao, and Phillip Fuller. â€Å"An Investigation Of The Weekend Effect During Different Market Orientations. † Journal Of Economics & Finance 34. 3 (2010): 257-268. Business Source Complete. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. Derbali, Abdelkader, and Noureddine Khadraoui. â€Å"Day Of The Week Effect On Assets Return: Case Of The Stock Exchange Of Casablanca. † Journal Of Business Studies Quarterly 3. 1 (2011): 274-283. Business Source Complete.Web. 15 Mar. 2013. Hassan Chowdhury, Shah Saeed, and Rashida Sharmin. â€Å"Does Cross-Sectional Risk Explain Day-Of-The-Week Effects In Bangladesh Stock Market?. † International Research Journal Of Finance & Economics 93 (2012): 84-94. Business Source Complete. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. Ulussever, Talat, Ibrahim Guran Yumusak, and Muhsin Kar. â€Å"The Day-Of-The-Week Effect In The Saudi Stock Exchange: A Non-Linear Garch Analysis. † Journal Of Economic & Social Studies (JECOSS) 1. 1 (2011): 9-23. Business Source Complete. Web. 15 Mar. 2013.

According To The United States Census Bureau, The United

According to The United States Census Bureau, the United States population accounts for less than 5 percent of the world population. The United States, however, houses more than 20% of the world inmate population. From 1978 to 2014, there has been a sharp increase of the inmate population to the tune of over 400% - an alarming number that is not likely to decrease anytime soon (ACLU, n.d.). The United States government has placed tougher sanctions and punishments on criminals since the late 1970s, which has led to this massive growth in prison population, but are these harsh methods effective? Instead of a place for rehabilitation, prison is a breeding ground for criminal enterprises. Serious issues such as sexual assault, drugs abuse,†¦show more content†¦Donald Hutcherson, an Ohio sociologist put this into a financial prospective in one of his researches by comparing illegal earnings of ex-convicts and those without prior conviction. Hutcherson finds that the former earns an average of $1,070 in illegal income while the latter only manages $120 (Barnes, 2013). The higher earning average after a stint behind bar is a good indicator of how prison can help broaden criminal network and knowledge for some of these convicts. One of the most heinous crimes in the prison system is sex offense – rapist and child molester are placed in the bottom of the prison hierarchy. Prison life for sex offender, especially pedophiles can be hellish. Margot Bach, a spokeswoman for California Department of Corrections said Taking [a pedophile] out would gain [the killer] a lot more respect among the other inmates (James, 2003). The housing situation for sex offenders can be quite precarious. Inmate housing managers usually consult caseworkers to make an arrangement for a sex offender to stay in a sex offender-only housing unit for a purpose of treatment and education. One of the benefits of this living arrangement is for inmate safety since sex offenders are often subjected to ridicule, physical altercation, and sexual victimization. If the case is severe enough to be presented in the news media, a particular inmate will be placed in a protective custody unit – so called â€Å"PC up† to avoid physical abuse or even death.Show MoreRelatedA Survey Of The Windshield Survey1302 Words   |  6 Pagesentrance ramp and exit ramp to the interstate is on this road. Indirect Data The community of Valdosta, Georgia has a total population of 54,518 (United States Census Bureau, n.d.). Most the population is African American, 28,515 residents, and 24,299 residents are Caucasian (United States Census Bureau, n.d.). According to the United States Census Bureau (n.d.) the mean age for this community is 27 years old and 27% of the residents are between the ages of 20-29 years old, while 14.5% of the residentsRead MorePoverty Is The Lack The Scarcity And Safety Through Shelter And Money1333 Words   |  6 PagesPoverty in America Poverty is the lack the scarcity and safety through shelter and money. In the United stated this definition applies to over 13% percent of America’s population according to (U.S Census Bureau: 2014) Poverty has been an issue for years, it’s just not something that happened over night. For many people in the United States living in poverty means they live from paycheck to be able to survive each month without any savings, but in most cases living at the poverty line means throughRead MorePortland Is The Largest City For A Diverse Population, Culture, Recreation, And History Essay1149 Words   |  5 Pagescenter of Oregon, Portland is the largest city in the state and home to a diverse population, culture, recreation, and history† (Ash, Jylnne). It ranks 17th in terms of population of metropolitan areas in the United States (Park, Peter ). Portland is known for its character, as well as its environmental consciousness, top breweries, and food carts. In a 2009 P ew Research Center study, Portland ranked as the eighth most popular American city according to where participants would choose to live (For NearlyRead MoreMellanoma Case Study771 Words   |  4 PagesPrevention (CDC) online database â€Å"United States Cancer Statistics† for the year 2014. Age-adjusted incidence rates per 100,000 persons were obtained for 50 states. The rates are age-adjusted to the 2000 US standard population. The cancer rates range between 12.6 (Texas) and 42.3 (Utah) with the mean of 22.84 and the median of 21.9. David E. Elder (2006) describes pathology of melanoma and discusses various risk factors associated with this skin cancer. According to his analysis of different causesRead MoreNew Orleans : Orleans History816 Words   |  4 Pagesdifferences (History, 2016). According to Commander Albert, the parish of Orleans covers only the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Although, there is the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office (OPSO) the New Orleans Police Department has jurisdiction over all. The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office only services the courts and the parish’s correctional facilities. OPSO sheriff’s deputies do have the authority to write citations, although it is not their primary duty. The United States Census for the year of 2014 projectedRead MoreThe Town Of Hampstead : A Case Study917 Words   |  4 PagesHousing The Town of Hampstead is considered mostly Urban with the majority of single-family homes. According to City-Data (2017), the population of Hampstead in 2014 was 6,363 (99% urban and 1% rural). Estimated median household income in 2015 was $76,748. Estimated median house or condo in 2015 was $240,640. Mean price in 2015 of all housing unit was $277,944 and the detached house was $326,08. The average amount of bedrooms per house is four. Appendix B explains the median housing prices betweenRead MoreEssay on The Impact of Latin American Immigration on America1553 Words   |  7 Pagescountry (23). Throughout past centuries, immigration has been a means of discovery and exploration of new lands. In today’s culture, immigration to the United States is an avenue for individuals who wish to start new lives and take advantage of the capitalistic, entrepreneurial system. People from many countries have migrated into the United States. Most recently, the migrants have come from Centr al and South American countries. These Latin American countries influence America’s society culturallyRead MoreWhat Is The Total Population In The City Of Murphy, Texas?1628 Words   |  7 Pages The estimated total population in the â€Å"City of Murphy, Texas as of July1, 2016 was 20,482† (Bureau, U.C., 2017), compared to the â€Å"total population of Texas, which was 27,862,596 in the year 2016† (Bureau, U.C., 2017.) and the â€Å"United States population as of today, October 3, 2017 of 326,102, 454† (Bureau, U.C., 2017). There was data for The State of Texas on the United Census Bureau’s website, for July 1, 2016, but there was not a comparison for Murphy, Texas so the last comparison was AprilRead MoreCensus Bureau ( 2015 )1432 Words   |  6 PagesMissouri River in Leavenworth County, Kansas. According to the United States Census Bureau (2015), the population is approximately 12,000 people. Of the total population, approximately 23% are under the age of 18 and reside in a family household, while only 8% of the population is 65 years or older (United States Census Bureau, 2015). Lansing, Kansas has one high school (Lansing High School). The average household income is $86,059 (United States Census Bureau, 2015). Leavenworth, Kansas. LeavenworthRead MoreSouth Central Brooklyn : The Most Overpopulated Community Within Brooklyn Essay1583 Words   |  7 Pages14, 15 and 17. It mostly consists of densely populated African American, Hispanic and West Indian neighborhoods. According to the 2015 U.S census bureau, the population of Brooklyn stands at 2,504,700 out of which South-Central Brooklyn has approximately 804,982 residents and it is expected to have grown gradually through the one year-period that has elapsed (United States Census Bureau, 2014). This is more than double the amount of the total number of people that was living in South- Central Brooklyn