It is commonly assumed that all propositions have modal profiles and therefore bear their truth-values either contingently or necessarily. In what follows, I argue against this commonly assumed view and in defense of amodalism, according to which certain true propositions are neither necessarily nor contingently true, but only true simpliciter. My defense of amodalism proceeds indirectly. I beg...

Antioxidants are assumed to provide numerous benefits, including better health, a reduced rate of aging, and improved exercise performance. Specifically, antioxidants are commonly "prescribed" by the media, supplement industry, and "fitness experts" for individuals prior to training and performance, with assumed benefits of improved fatigue resistance and recovery. This has provoked expansion o...

Empathy is commonly regarded as an essential attribute for doctors and there is a conviction that empathy must be taught to medical students. Yet it is not clear exactly what empathy is, from a philosophical or sociological point of view, or whether it can be taught. The meaning, role and relevance of empathy in medical education have tended to be unquestioningly assumed; there is a need to exa...

Unlike open-domain factoid questions, clinical information needs arise within the rich context of patient treatment. This environment establishes a number of constraints on the design of systems aimed at physicians in real-world settings. In this paper, we describe a clinical question answering system that focuses on a class of commonly-occurring questions: “What is the best drug treatment for ...