The enduring scandal of deduction

The Scandal of Deduction - Hintikka on the Information Yield of Deductive Inferences

This article provides the first comprehensive reconstruction and analysis of Hintikka’s attempt to obtain a measure of the information yield of deductive inferences. The reconstruction is detailed by necessity due to the originality of Hintikka’s contribution. The analysis will turn out to be destructive. It dismisses Hintikka’s distinction between surface information and depth information as b...

Semantic Information and the Trivialization of Logic: Floridi on the Scandal of Deduction

In this paper we discuss Floridi’s views concerning semantic information in the light of a recent contribution (in collaboration with the present author) [1] that defies the traditional view of deductive reasoning as “analytic” or “tautological” and construes it as an informative, albeit non-empirical, activity. We argue that this conception paves the way for a more realistic notion of semantic...

The stillbirth ‘scandal’

The scope of stillbirth has been overlooked by many, few would estimate that in high income countries that, late stillbirths (pregnancies 28 weeks or later) occurs twice as often as death due to HIV/ AIDS; ten times more common than deaths due to Hepatitis B; twice a common as deaths due to congenital anomalies; twice as common as deaths due to preterm complications, and ten times more common t...

The great medicines scandal.

The suspensions scandal.

The process by which senior hospital doctors are disciplined within the National Health Service is analysed. The mechanisms used are discussed and a number of faults are identified. Many of these faults give an unfair advantage to management and are contrary to the rules of 'Natural Justice'. These faults lead to an excessive number of doctors being wrongfully suspended for an unnecessarily lon...