Against Absolutism

Russell’s Absolutism vs.(?) Structuralism

Along with Frege, Russell maintained an absolutist stance regarding the subject matter of mathematics, revealed rather than imposed, or proposed, by logical analysis. The Fregean definition of cardinal number, for example, is viewed as (essentially) correct, not merely adequate for mathematics. And Dedekind’s “structuralist” views come in for criticism in the Principles. But, on reflection, Rus...

The Moral Physician Miller’s Quest for Non-Melodramatic Absolutism

Enlightenment Approaches for Digital Absolutism. Diplomatic Stepping-Stones Between the Real and the Envisioned

The Lenné3D system is a prototype for a GIS-data based visualization tool for interactive exploration of three-dimensional landscapes. Lenné3D is primarily intended for use in landscape planning in order to enable scenarios and planned landscapes to be anticipated and explored by stakeholders and the general public. During preparation for the Lenné3D project in 1999, the development potential o...

Two Accounts of Moral Diversity: the Cognitive Science of Pluralism and Absolutism

Psychology is relevant to judging moral theories. Ever since G. E. Moore's discussion of the naturalistic fallacy (1903), many philosophers have denied this, but the charge of irrelevancy overlooks the fact that the assumptions on which a moral position rests often include non-moral elements. If the non-moral bits are wrong, the moral position will often be undermined. This paper concerns some ...

Racing Against Time Against Zika

Eight thousand microcephalic babies born, and many more to come. Seven months and counting: still no congressional response. The Olympics in Rio just around the corner. And overshadowing it all: millions of women, men, and families in 50 countries and territories living in fear. How long the fear will continue is hard to say. But at the time of this writing, time itself is a major actor in the ...