Philosophical today. Part I. Splendida vitia

What I Learned Today

. . (3/20/17) Today I learned that every if R is a ring and if S ⊂ R is a multiplicative subset of R not containing 0, then the prime ideals of R whose intersection with S is empty are in one to one correspondence with the prime ideals of RS , the ring localizing S. The way I look at this is to think, well, if I want a prime ideal in RS from an ideal in R, say, I, if I ∩ S = ∅, then you really ...

Philosophical Aspects of Quantum Field Theory: I

This is the first of a two-part introduction to some interpretive questions that arise in connection with quantum field theories (QFTs). Some of these questions are continuous with those familiar from the discussion of ordinary non-relativistic quantum mechanics (QM). For example, questions about locality can be rigorously posed and fruitfully pursued within the framework of QFT. A stark disana...

Part] I I

Philosophical Problems in Medicine and Psychiatry, Part III

40 Lake—Philosophical Problems in Medicine and Psychiatry This is the third in a 4-part series on philosophical problems in medicine and integrative medicine. The article reviews basic questions pertaining to the evidence base in science and medicine in general. Most conventional and non-conventional medical approaches are used without compelling evidence for their postulated mechanisms of acti...

Philosophical Issues in Medicine and Psychiatry, Part IV

This article, the last in a 4-part series on philosophical problems in conventional and integrative medicine, focuses on problems related to deriving methodologies for identifying integrative assessment and treatment approaches. Methodologies used to verify claims made for a particular conventional or nonconventional approach can be regarded as empirically derived, consensus-based, or intuitive...