We hold these principles to be self-evident

"We hold these truths to be self-evident".

We Hold these Truths to be Self-Evident: but What do we mean by that?

At the beginning of Die Grundlagen der Arithmetik (§2) [1884], Frege observes that “it is in the nature of mathematics to prefer proof, where proof is possible”. This, of course, is true, but thinkers differ on why it is that mathematicians prefer proof. And what of propositions for which no proof is possible? What of axioms? This talk explores various notions of self-evidence, and the role the...

We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident: Engineering AFOs for Environmental Protection

Introduction The transition from on-farm to industrial-scale livestock and poultry production in the United States has increased the social stress at the rural-urban interface as a result of actual environmental impairments, perceived increases in environmental risk, demographic and cultural shifts within agricultural communities and disillusionment with the nature of the economic growth that h...

'We hold these truths to be self-evident': deconstructing 'evidence-based' medical practice.

Rationale, aims and objectives Evidence-based medicine (EBM) claims to be based on 'evidence', rather than 'intuition'. However, EBM's fundamental distinction between quantitative 'evidence' and qualitative 'intuition' is not self-evident. The meaning of 'evidence' is unclear and no studies of quality exist to demonstrate the superiority of EBM in health care settings. This paper argues that, d...

Self-evident & Trivial

In recent years, combinations of terms have become popular where one component is „computational“ or some relative of it, whereas the other is „aesthetics“ or „art“ or „creativity“, etc. The Dagstuhl seminar, to which this personal note owes its appearance, had the number 09291 and the title Computational Creativity: an Interdisciplinary Approach. Good old C. P. Snow would probably like such te...