Early attempts at combining multiple inheritance with nonmonotonic reasoning were based on straight forward extensions of tree-structured inheritance systems, and were theoretically unsound. In The Mathematics of Inheritance Systems, or TMOIS, Touretzky described two problems these systems cannot handle: reasoning in the presence of true but redundant assertions, and coping with ambiguity. TMOI...

" Doubtless," quoth the author of'Hudibras,' "the pleasure is as great of being cheated as to cheat." Is not this, in fact, the true philosophy of that dallying with the pseudo-marvellous which of late has been so much in vogue ? Credulity, indeed, as Dean Swift happily remarked, is a much more peaceful possession of the mind than Curiosity. It might have been supposed that, after the many expo...

Discussion of tacit knowledge shows much ambiguity over key aspects of the concept. Rather than turning to further theory, this paper examines how the phrase has been applied in empirical research. Eight different uses of the term are identified, six concerning individual level and two collective level notions. Focusing on individual level notions it is argued that some of these uses involve ex...

Open-mindedness is generally regarded as an intellectual virtue because its exercise reliably leads to truth. However, some theorists have argued that openmindedness’s truth-conduciveness is highly contingent, pointing out that it is either not truth-conducive at all under certain scenarios or no better than dogmatism or credulity in others. Given such shaky ties to truth, it would appear that ...

This book considers one of the less obvious (but arguably more important) passions – wonder – and the ways in which that emotion intersected with skepticism in the Middle Ages. Through an in-depth analysis of medieval responses to marvels, it thus builds upon earlier studies of wonder, most notably Caroline Walker Bynum’s seminal article on the topic, and a rich tradition of doubt scholarship.(...

Biomechanical modelling and simulation techniques offer some hope for unravelling the complex inter-relationships of structure and function perhaps even for extinct organisms, but have their limitations owing to this complexity and the many unknown parameters for fossil taxa. Validation and sensitivity analysis are two indispensable approaches for quantifying the accuracy and reliability of suc...

Following the Digital Revolution, we are witnessing an increase in number of manipulated sources information. For this reason, virtual environments can be a breeding ground for proliferation prejudices and stereotypes, resulting from spread racial fallacious news, known as ‘racial hoaxes’. Adolescents may more susceptible due to tense complicated relationship between their experience with digit...

The modal asymmetry between truth-telling and lying refers to the impossibility of a world in which everyone lies, while on contrary, tells truth is possible. This ethical issue relevant modern concerns about epistemic security, or safety knowledge. breakdown security leads erosion trust and, hence, an ‘impossible’ since willingness believe others essential for functioning society. Here, we exa...