What can - and what can't - philosophy do? What are its ethical risks - and its possible rewards? How does it differ from science? In Philosophy as a Humanistic Discipline, Bernard Williams addresses ...these questions and presents a striking vision of philosophy as fundamentally different from science in its aims and methods even though there is still in philosophy something that counts as getting it right.Written with his distinctive combination of rigor, imagination, depth, and humanism, the book amply demonstrates why Williams was one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century. Spanning his career from his first publication to one of his last lectures, the book's previously unpublished or uncollected essays address metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics, as well as the scope and limits of philosophy itself.The essays are unified by Williams' constant concern that philosophy maintain contact with the human problems that animate it in the first place. As the book's editor, A. W. Moore, writes in his introduction, the title essay is a kind of manifesto for Williams' conception of his own life's work.It is where he most directly asks what philosophy can and cannot contribute to the project of making sense of things - answering that what philosophy can best help make sense of is being human. Philosophy as a Humanistic Discipline is one of three posthumous books by Williams to be published by Princeton University Press. In the Beginning Was the Deed: Realism and Moralism in Political Argument was published in the fall of 2005. The Sense of the Past: Essays in the History of Philosophy is being published shortly after the present volume.
This book is concerned with the history of metaphysics since Descartes. Taking as its definition of metaphysics 'the most general attempt to make sense of things', it charts the evolution of this ...enterprise through various competing conceptions of its possibility, scope, and limits. The book is divided into three parts, dealing respectively with the early modern period, the late modern period in the analytic tradition, and the late modern period in non-analytic traditions. In its unusually wide range, A. W. Moore's study refutes the tired old cliché that there is some unbridgeable gulf between analytic philosophy and philosophy of other kinds. It also advances its own distinctive and compelling conception of what metaphysics is and why it matters. Moore explores how metaphysics can help us to cope with continually changing demands on our humanity by making sense of things in ways that are radically new.
A policy case is made for a global project on artificial photosynthesis including its scientific justification, potential governance structure and funding mechanisms.
Lord Howe Island August ...2011-site of the first International Conference on a Global Artificial Photosynthesis (GAP) Project
Restoration of Large Damage Volumes in Polymers White, S. R.; Moore, J. S.; Sottos, N. R. ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
05/2014, Letnik:
344, Številka:
6184
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The regenerative power of tissues and organs in biology has no analog in synthetic materials. Although self-healing of microscopic defects has been demonstrated, the regrowth of material lost through ...catastrophic damage requires a regenerative-like approach. We demonstrate a vascular synthetic system that restores mechanical performance in response to large-scale damage. Gap-filling scaffolds are created through a two-stage polymer chemistry that initially forms a shape-conforming dynamic gel but later polymerizes to a solid structural polymer with robust mechanical properties. Through the control of reaction kinetics and vascular delivery rate, we filled impacted regions that exceed 35 mm in diameter within 20 min and restored mechanical function within 3 hours. After restoration of impact damage, 62% of the total absorbed energy was recovered in comparison with that in initial impact tests.
Summary Background High-volume prescribing of antibiotics in primary care is a major driver of antibiotic resistance. Education of physicians and patients can lower prescribing levels, but it ...frequently relies on highly trained staff. We assessed whether internet-based training methods could alter prescribing practices in multiple health-care systems. Methods After a baseline audit in October to December, 2010, primary-care practices in six European countries were cluster randomised to usual care, training in the use of a C-reactive protein (CRP) test at point of care, in enhanced communication skills, or in both CRP and enhanced communication. Patients were recruited from February to May, 2011. This trial is registered, number ISRCTN99871214. Results The baseline audit, done in 259 practices, provided data for 6771 patients with lower-respiratory-tract infections (3742 55·3%) and upper-respiratory-tract infections (1416 20·9%), of whom 5355 (79·1%) were prescribed antibiotics. After randomisation, 246 practices were included and 4264 patients were recruited. The antibiotic prescribing rate was lower with CRP training than without (33% vs 48%, adjusted risk ratio 0·54, 95% CI 0·42–0·69) and with enhanced-communication training than without (36% vs 45%, 0·69, 0·54–0·87). The combined intervention was associated with the greatest reduction in prescribing rate (CRP risk ratio 0·53, 95% CI 0·36–0·74, p<0·0001; enhanced communication 0·68, 0·50–0·89, p=0·003; combined 0·38, 0·25–0·55, p<0·0001). Interpretation Internet training achieved important reductions in antibiotic prescribing for respiratory-tract infections across language and cultural boundaries. Funding European Commission Framework Programme 6, National Institute for Health Research, Research Foundation Flanders.
With a new foreword by Jonathan Lear
'Remarkably lively and enjoyable...It is a very rich book, containing excellent descriptions of a variety of moral theories, and innumerable and often witty ...observations on topics encountered on the way.' - Times Literary Supplement
Bernard Williams was one of the greatest philosophers of his generation. Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy is not only widely acknowledged to be his most important book, but also hailed a contemporary classic of moral philosophy. Drawing on the ideas of the Greek philosophers, Williams reorients ethics away from a preoccupation with universal moral theories towards 'truth, truthfulness and the meaning of an individual life'. He explores and reflects upon the most difficult problems in contemporary philosophy and identifies new ideas about central issues such as relativism, objectivity and the possibility of ethical knowledge.
This edition also includes a commentary on the text by A.W.Moore.
At the time of his death in 2003, Bernard Williams was hailed by the Times as 'the outstanding moral philosopher of his age.' He taught at the Universities of Cambridge, Berkeley and Oxford and is the author of many influential books, including Morality; Descartes: The Project of Pure Enquiry (available from Routledge) and Truth and Truthfulness.
For culture and antimicrobial-susceptibility testing of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis,
results are typically available in 1 to 2 months. This report from Peru demonstrates that the ...microscopic-observation drug-susceptibility assay may be more sensitive for the detection of
M. tuberculosis
than the current standard techniques and that results are available in significantly less time (median, 7 days).
This report from Peru demonstrates that the microscopic-observation drug-susceptibility assay may be more sensitive for the detection of
M. tuberculosis
than the current standard techniques and that results are available in significantly less time.
Every year, 1.7 million people die of tuberculosis, a curable disease.
1
The poor are disproportionately affected, and tuberculosis further impoverishes individual people and societies. Goal 6 of the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations includes the halting and reversal of the rising incidence of tuberculosis, and the Stop TB Partnership aims to halve the prevalence of tuberculosis and resulting deaths by 2015.
2
Existing control strategies miss important opportunities to interrupt transmission. Improved tuberculosis detection and early identification of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis are key gaps.
Sputum-smear–based diagnosis under the Direct Observation of Therapy (Short Course) (DOTS) strategy of the World Health . . .
Objective
Ultrasound is widely regarded as an important adjunct to antenatal care (ANC) to guide practice and reduce perinatal mortality. We assessed the impact of ANC ultrasound use at health ...centres in resource‐limited countries.
Design
Cluster randomised trial.
Setting
Clusters within five countries (Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Kenya, Pakistan, and Zambia)
Methods
Clusters were randomised to standard ANC or standard care plus two ultrasounds and referral for complications. The study trained providers in intervention clusters to perform basic obstetric ultrasounds.
Main outcome measures
The primary outcome was a composite of maternal mortality, maternal near‐miss mortality, stillbirth, and neonatal mortality.
Results
During the 24‐month trial, 28 intervention and 28 control clusters had 24 263 and 23 160 births, respectively; 78% in the intervention clusters received at least one study ultrasound; 60% received two. The prevalence of conditions noted including twins, placenta previa, and abnormal lie was within expected ranges. 9% were referred for an ultrasound‐diagnosed condition, and 71% attended the referral. The ANC (RR 1.0 95% CI 1.00, 1.01) and hospital delivery rates for complicated pregnancies (RR 1.03 95% CI 0.89, 1.20) did not differ between intervention and control clusters nor did the composite outcome (RR 1.09 95% CI 0.97, 1.23) or its individual components.
Conclusions
Despite availability of ultrasound at ANC in the intervention clusters, neither ANC nor hospital delivery for complicated pregnancies increased. The composite outcome and the individual components were not reduced.
Tweetable
Antenatal care ultrasound did not improve a composite outcome that included maternal, fetal, and neonatal mortality.
Tweetable
Antenatal care ultrasound did not improve a composite outcome that included maternal, fetal, and neonatal mortality.
This essay is concerned with Bernard Williams’ contention in
Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy
that, in ethics, reflection can destroy knowledge. I attempt to defend this contention from the charge ...of incoherence. I do this by taking seriously the idea that ethical knowledge is knowledge from an ethical point of view. There nevertheless remains an issue about whether the contention is consistent with ideas elsewhere in Williams’ own work, in particular with what he says about knowledge in
Descartes
. In an earlier essay I argued that it is not. In a subsequent essay I indicated that I had changed my mind and gave a more sympathetic account of Williams’ contention. In this essay I set out the issues and say some more about my change of mind.
PDF
