Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Roaring Lion Of Berlin: The Life, Thought, And Influence Of Eugen Dühring, Arden Roy

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The life and influence of 19th-century German polymath Eugen Dühring remain but a mere footnote in the history of ideas, being primarily relegated to the status of little more than a theoretical rival to Marxism in the German socialist movement and the occasional object of Freidrich Nietzsche's rhetorical flogging. Despite the current consensus on the subject, Eugen Dühring was a scholar of vast, remarkable learnedness, contributing greatly to philosophy, economics, and the natural sciences. The aim of this talk will be to clear the fog surrounding the life and work of the controversial blind scholar and give an account of …

Algorithmic Bias: Causes And Effects On Marginalized Communities, Katrina M. Baha

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Individuals from marginalized backgrounds face different healthcare outcomes due to algorithmic bias in the technological healthcare industry. Algorithmic biases, which are the biases that arise from the set of steps used to solve or analyze a problem, are evident when people from marginalized communities use healthcare technology. For example, many pulse oximeters, which are the medical devices used to measure oxygen saturation in the blood, are not able to accurately read people who have darker skin tones. Thus, people with darker skin tones are not able to receive proper health care due to their pulse oximetry data being inaccurate. This …

What Is A Number?, Nicholas Radley

HON499 projects

This essay is, in essence, an attempt to make a case for mathematical platonism. That is to say, that we argue for the existence of mathematical objects independent of our perception of them. The essay includes a somewhat informal construction of number systems ranging from the natural numbers to the complex numbers.

Symbolic Logic, Tony Roy

Books

Textbook for symbolic logic, beginning at a level appropriate for beginning students, continuing through Godel's completeness and incompleteness theorems. The text naturally divides into two volumes, the first for reasoning in logic, the second for reasoning about it.

The first volume includes parts I and II of the text. Part I introduces the complete classical predicate calculus with equality, including both axiomatic and natural derivation systems. Part II transitions to methods for reasoning about logic, including direct reasoning from definitions and mathematical induction.

The second volume includes parts III and IV of the text. Part III develops basic results in …

Murder On The Vr Express: Studying The Impact Of Thought Experiments At A Distance In Virtual Reality, Andrew Kissel, Krzysztof J. Rechowicz, John B. Shull

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Hypothetical thought experiments allow researchers to gain insights into widespread moral intuitions and provide opportunities for individuals to explore their moral commitments. Previous thought experiment studies in virtual reality (VR) required participants to come to an on-site laboratory, which possibly restricted the study population, introduced an observer effect, and made internal reflection on the participants’ part more difficult. These shortcomings are particularly crucial today, as results from such studies are increasingly impacting the development of artificial intelligence systems, self-driving cars, and other technologies. This paper explores the viability of deploying thought experiments in commercially available in-home VR headsets. We conducted …

What’S So Artificial And Intelligent About Artificial Intelligence? A Conceptual Framework For Ai, Rebekah L. H. Rice

SPU Works

There is currently a good deal of attention being focused on artificial intelligence, broadly speaking, and deep learning, specifically. The attention is warranted, as these technologies are predicted to affect our collective lives in innumerable ways even beyond their already expansive social reach. There is much to consider regarding the benefits and potential harms of AI. And of course there are the apocalyptic musings about super-intelligent machines running amok, bringing science fiction scenarios uncomfortably close to anticipated reality. But productively engaging in discussions about the ethical and social implications of AI, and about which sorts of futures it is reasonable …

Wittgenstein On Miscalculation And The Foundations Of Mathematics, Samuel J. Wheeler

Philosophy Faculty Publications

In Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics, Wittgenstein notes that he has 'not yet made the role of miscalculating clear' and that 'the role of the proposition: "I must have miscalculated"...is really the key to an understanding of the "foundations" of mathematics.' In this paper, I hope to get clear on how this is the case. First, I will explain Wittgenstein's understanding of a 'foundation' for mathematics. Then, by showing how the proposition 'I must have miscalculated' differentiates mathematics from the physical sciences, we will see how this proposition is the key to understanding the foundations of mathematics.

Connectivism: Adopting Quantum Holism In International Relations, Grant Randal Highland

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The current scientific context of both quantum science and an ever-increasingly connected global citizenry has set the conditions for a new perspective whereby the social sciences are on the cusp of adopting a quantum approach of probability and potentiality versus the clockwork mechanistic determinism of cause-and-effect Newtonian mechanics. While a scientific realist approach toward the application of quantum science to the social sciences is germane, there is a valid reason international relations should also consider and adopt the philosophical worldviews outside the genealogical canon of our early western forbears, as well as the philosophical explorations of consciousness and humanism which …

Solutions Human Centered Approach To Conservation, Illustration Department, History, Philosophy, + The Social Sciences Department

Illustration Course Work & Materials

"These essays were were written and illustrated by students at the Rhode Island school of Design in February, 2021. Their perspectives are entirely personal and reflect their efforts within a 5.5-week fused studio/seminar course that was centered on the Sixth Mass Extinction and how biodiversity is changing because of humans. Discovering that science communication is more than delivering just the facts, students were invited to research a topic of personal interest that is relevant to human impacts on biodiversity. Through analysis of data and other scientific information, each sought to synthesize their research and opinions on their topic through a …

Dimentia: Footnotes Of Time, Zachary Hait

Senior Projects Spring 2021

Time from the physicist's perspective is not inclusive of our lived experience of time; time from the philosopher's perspective is not mathematically engaged, in fact Henri Bergson asserted explicitly that time could not be mathematically engaged whatsoever. What follows is a mathematical engagement of time that is inclusive of our lived experiences, requiring the tools of storytelling.

Climate Change And Liberation In Latin America, Ernesto O. Hernández

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to propose the liberation movements in Latin America as alternative philosophical frameworks to the crisis of climate change. These movements have provided the grounds to identify inequities and injustices and have practiced ethical methodologies to overcome them. Additionally, the movements seek to represent and reflect the value of non-traditional philosophical agents in Latin America. The work focuses on four major Latin American ecological liberation movements; theology, philosophy, pedagogy, and feminism. Eco-Theology advances the role of Religion as the practice of Religação, reexamination, and resetting our relationship with nature by reconnecting with it. Eco-Philosophy of …

Tired: A Reflection On Asceticism And The Value Of Quantitative Assessment, Frances Dean

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

I have spent a lot of time thinking this past year and a half about the relationship between asceticism and success. As a mathematics student and a collegiate athlete, I have far too often gotten caught up in the pursuit of objective standards. This chase has left me burnt out and broken. Existential philosophy has been my greatest asset in discerning the true purpose of asceticism. I reflect on this journey and the nature of assessment in this short reflection.

"Being Mindful" And Becoming A "Harmony Worker" During Unsettling Times.Docx

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

Book Review: What Is A Mathematical Concept? Edited By Elizabeth De Freitas, Nathalie Sinclair, And Alf Coles, Brendan P. Larvor

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This is a review of What is a Mathematical Concept? edited by Elizabeth de Freitas, Nathalie Sinclair, and Alf Coles (Cambridge University Press, 2017). In this collection of sixteen chapters, philosophers, educationalists, historians of mathematics, a cognitive scientist, and a mathematician consider, problematise, historicise, contextualise, and destabilise the terms ‘mathematical’ and ‘concept’. The contributors come from many disciplines, but the editors are all in mathematics education, which gives the whole volume a disciplinary centre of gravity. The editors set out to explore and reclaim the canonical question ‘what is a mathematical concept?’ from the philosophy of mathematics. This review comments …

Incorporating Philosophy, Theology, And The History Of Mathematics In An Introduction To Proof Course, Steven Deckelman

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In this article I describe a project activity for an undergraduate introduction to proof course aimed at mathematics and computer science majors that combines logic and philosophy with a significant dimension of writing. Pedagogically, the project involves a broader range of critical thinking skills than is usual in such courses. Undergraduate students analyze Anselm of Canterbury's and Kurt Gödel's proofs of the existence of God using modal logic.

Crossed Tracks: Mesolimulus, Archaeopteryx, And The Nature Of Fossils, Leonard Finkelman

Faculty Publications

Organisms leave a variety of traces in the fossil record. Among these traces, vertebrate and invertebrate paleontologists conventionally recognize a distinction between the remains of an organism’s phenotype (body fossils) and the remains of an organism’s life activities (trace fossils). The same convention recognizes body fossils as biological structures and trace fossils as geological objects. This convention explains some curious practices in the classification, as with the distinction between taxa for trace fossils and for tracemakers. I consider the distinction between “parallel taxonomies,” or parataxonomies, which privileges some kinds of fossil taxa as “natural” and others as “artificial.” The motivations …

Minerva 2018, The Honors College

Minerva

This issue of Minerva includes an article on the Honors Endeavor by recently retired faculty member, David Gross; an adaptation of Isaac Record's 2018 Distinguished Honors Graduate lecture; an article on 2018 Honors Read Just Mercy; and a wonderful farewell to beloved Honors College Administrative Specialist, Deb Small. Other highlights include a reflection by CLAS-Honors preceptor of philosophy, Hao Hong; and a look into 2018-2019 student thesis research.

Reason In Motion, Luke Francis

Student Works

This essay will explain the historical models of the solar system, which was the known universe for most of human history. There is far more to each model than simply positioning different celestial bodies at the center of the system, and the stories of the astronomers who derived the controversial theories are not discussed often enough. The creation of these theories is part of a much broader revolution in scientific thought and marked the start of a series of observational discoveries that would change the the philosophy of science for centuries to come.

Rudolf Laban's Dream: Re-Envisioning And Re-Scoring Ballet, Choreutics, And Simple Functional Movements With Vector Signs For Deflecting Diagonal Inclinations, Jeffrey Scott Longstaff

Journal of Movement Arts Literacy Archive (2013-2019)

Several methods of movement notation, forerunners of modern-day Labanotation/Kinetography were published by Rudolf Laban in his 1926 book Choreographie. One of these has been referred to as vector signs because they represent movement as orientations (slopes) of lines through space. This article begins by comparing Labanotation direction symbols with Laban's earlier vector signs by looking at differences when simple sequences are scored in both formats. Concepts of space within the vector signs are examined, particularly Laban's idea of deflecting inclinations where movements are categorized as mixtures of two fundamental contrasting spatial and dynamic tendencies: dimensional stability and diagonal mobility. This …

The Wolf And The Philosopher, Mark Rowlands

The Chautauqua Journal

Some years ago, I wrote a book called The Philosopher and the Wolf. It should really have been called The Wolf and the Philosopher. The wolf is the star, the philosopher an insignificant extra bumbling around in the background. The book is about many things, but fundamentally, I suppose, it is about growing up. I’ve recently finished a sequel of sorts. It’s called Running with the Pack and it’s a book about growing old. There is, I suspect, a natural trilogy to be written here, but I hope I don’t have to write the final part for some …

The Participating Mind In The Quantum Universe, Menas Kafatos, Keun-Hang Susan Yang

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The Orthodox interpretation of quantum mechanics, which followed the Copenhagen Interpretation but was enhanced by primarily Werner Heisenberg and John von Neumann into a fully developed theory, brought in, among others, the role of measurement, available choices and response of the quantum system. It is, more consistent and clear than other interpretations of quantum mechanics as it provides account of the interactions of observers with the external world. As such, the Orthodox interpretation does a lot more than just account for physical interactions in the atomic world, which was the original goal of quantum mechanics in the early part of …

Some Thoughts On The Epicurean Critique Of Mathematics, Michael Aristidou

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

In this paper, we give a comprehensive summary of the discussion on the Epicurean critique of mathematics and in particular of Euclid's geometry. We examine the methodological critique of the Epicureans on mathematics and we assess whether a 'mathematical atomism' was proposed, and its implications. Finally, we examine the Epicurean philosophical stance on mathematics and evaluate whether it was on target or not.

Perchance To Dream: Art, Mathematics, And Shakespeare, Randall E. Cone

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Visual representation of textual works has often aided in the understanding of sophisticated concepts. In the Digital Age this is particularly true, given the advent of natural language processing, the ubiquity of general programming languages, and the maturation of digital visualization. In this article, we eschew the traditional disciplinary boundaries to view and analyze Shakespeare’s works in various ways. Our point of departure is Hamlet, where we first examine the play as a unity — both graphically and analytically. We then focus on Act III, Scene 1, where we analyze one of the most famous passages in English Literature: …

Knowing How: A Computational Approach, Joseph A. Roman

Student Publications

With advances in Artificial Intelligences being achieved through the use of Artificial Neural Networks, we are now at the point where computers are able to do tasks that were previously only able to be accomplished by humans. These advancements must cause us to reconsider our previous understanding of how people come to know how to do a particular task. In order to unpack this question, I will first look to an account of knowing how presented by Jason Stanley in his book Know How. I will then look towards criticisms of this view before using evidence presented by the existence …

Badiou’S Logics: Math, Metaphor, And (Almost) Everything, Vladimir Tasic

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Mathematics plays a central role in the philosophical system of Alain Badiou. The aim of this essay is to situate this appeal to mathematics in the broader context of his work, including its literary and political elements.

The Philosophy And Physics Of Time Travel: The Possibility Of Time Travel, Ramitha Rupasinghe

Honors Capstone Projects

Time travel to the past is an alluring subject for many science fiction writers but is it really science fiction or is there a way to make it happen, possibly in the distant future? In the world of physics, time travel to the future has already been accomplished but time travel to the past seems to be a subject of controversy. Similarly, both philosophers and physicists cannot completely agree on one fundamental question about time: what is it? In this interdisciplinary project, I will explore the fundamental nature of time as a building block to help me understand time travel. …

Fundamental Awareness: A Framework For Integrating Science, Philosophy And Metaphysics, Neil D. Theise, Menas Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The ontologic framework of Fundamental Awareness proposed here assumes that non-dual Awareness is foundational to the universe, not arising from the interactions or structures of higher level phenomena. The framework allows comparison and integration of views from the three investigative domains concerned with understanding the nature of consciousness: science, philosophy, and metaphysics. In this framework, Awareness is the underlying reality, not reducible to anything else. Awareness and existence are the same. As such, the universe is non-material, self-organizing throughout, a holarchy of complementary, process driven, recursive interactions. The universe is both its own first observer and subject. Considering the world …

Better Together

DePaul Magazine

Faculty have taken full advantage of the university's innovative intercollegiate grant program, and the resulting research is as interesting and diverse as the collaborators themselves. What is resulting is research on "Patient and Primary Care Provider Perspectives on Recreational and Therapeutic Cannabis Use Within a Changing Socioculltural and Political Context;" a new minor in climate change science and policy; a new class, Communication, Coding and Entrepreneurship; brain inflammation research; and the project "Cosmology Meets Continental Philosophy: Natural Laws and Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing"

Rapture Of The Geeks, Derek Schuurman

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"If we are more than machines, what is it that defines our humanity? Is it our intelligence, creativity, or emotion?"

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the distinction between humans and artificial creatures from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/the-rapture-of-the-geeks/

Understanding Everyday Use Of The Computer: How Philosophy Can Be Practical, Nick Breems

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

The issues which must be considered when attempting to understand the totality of behavior when a human uses a computer are both multifarious and diverse. We thus have difficulties in gaining insight into the meaning that use of the computer creates in our lives, particularly in everyday use. Such understanding is important because insight based on holistic understanding is our best hope for exploiting the God-created potentials for human flourishing that is part of the promise of computing technology. As computer and internet technologies continue to embed themselves in the fabric of our everyday living, the number and complexity of …