Drawing upon philosophy and social theory, Social Theory of International Politics develops a theory of the international system as a social construction. Alexander Wendt clarifies the central claims of the constructivist approach, presenting a structural and idealist worldview which contrasts with the individualism and materialism which underpins much mainstream international relations theory. He builds a cultural theory of international politics, which takes whether states view each other as enemies, rivals or friends as a fundamental determinant. Wendt characterises these roles as 'cultures of anarchy', described as Hobbesian, Lockean and Kantian respectively. These cultures are shared ideas which help shape state interests and capabilities, and generate tendencies in the international system. The book describes four factors which can drive structural change from one culture to another - interdependence, common fate, homogenization, and self-restraint - and examines the effects of capitalism and democracy in the emergence of a Kantian culture in the West.

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Social Theory of International Politics

I TRUTH 1 Aristotle on the Law of Non-Contradiction 2 Theories of Truth 3 Trivialism II NEGATION 4 Contradiction 5 Boolean Negation 6 Denial and Rejection III RATIONALITY 7 Rational Belief 8 Belief Revision 9 Consistency and the Empirical Sciences IV LOGIC 10 Logic and Revisability 11 Validity 12 Logical Pluralism

Doubt truth to be a liar

Since 2002 we have been testing and refining a methodology for ontology development that is now being used by multiple groups of researchers in different life science domains. Gary Merrill, in a recent paper in this journal, describes some of the reasons why this methodology has been found attractive by researchers in the biological and biomedical sciences. At the same time he assails the methodology on philosophical grounds, focusing specifically on our recommendation that ontologies developed for scientific purposes should be constructed in such a way that their terms are seen as referring to what we call universals or types in reality. As we show, Merrill's critique is of little relevance to the success of our realist project, since it not only reveals no actual errors in our work but also criticizes views on universals that we do not in fact hold. However, it nonetheless provides us with a valuable opportunity to clarify the realist methodology, and to show how some of its principles are being applied, especially within the framework of the OBO (Open Biomedical Ontologies) Foundry initiative.

/pdf/ontological-realism-a-methodology-for-coordinated-evolution-29fv8k727h.pdf

Ontological realism: A methodology for coordinated evolution of scientific ontologies

An Essay on Free Will

Higher-Order Evidence

Examen critique de la theorie causale de la reference, en particulier sur le cas des termes theoriques Se concentrant sur l'hypothese d'une fixation originelle de la reference (et laissant de cote l'idee d'une "transmission" de la reference parmi les utilisateurs d'une langue donnee), l'A montre l'inadequation de ce qu'il appelle la "directive causaliste" pour determiner la maniere dont a ete fixee la reference, et, en ce qui concerne d'abord les termes theoriques, la remplace par le principe de la "surdetermination de la reference par la theorie" (s'inspirant en partie de T S Kuhn, il prend l'exemple du phlogistique, dont la reference depend clairement du succes ou de l'echec d'une theorie physique) Il etend ensuite son analyse aux termes ordinaires (non theoriques)

Theoretical terms and the causal view of reference

Scott Soames, Beyond Rigidity: The Unfinished Semantic Agenda of Naming and Necessity, New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp ix + 379, US$4995 (cloth), US$2750 (paper) Scott Soames has lo

Beyond Rigidity: The Unfinished Semantic Agenda of Naming and Necessity

entity; and similarly for the other words.18 No such problem confronts the modal realist view. Secondly, a sentence like: (3) Holmes is much cleverer than Poirot

Make-Believe and Fictional Reference

Post-mortem Sperm Retrieval (PMSR) is seldom requested in Australasia. The retrieval of sperm is permitted only by prior written consent or by order of the court. Sperm should be retrieved within 24 h following death; however, collection within 36 h may still be successful. The clinical response to such a request must be mindful of complex ethical and legal considerations. Clear, accessible and consistent law in this area would benefit medical, legal and societal stakeholders.

Post-mortem sperm retrieval in Australasia

This paper suggests that quantified negative existentials about fiction - statements of the form There are some / many / etc. Fs in work W who don't exist - offer a serious challenge to the theorist of fiction: more serious, in a number of ways, that singular negative existentials. I argue that the temptation to think that only a realist semantics of such statements is plausible should be resisted. There are numerous quantified negative existentials found in other areas that seem equally true but where a realist semantics imports ontological commitments that few would want to embrace. In the final part of the paper I sketch an alternative pretense account of one such quantified negative existential, and suggest that the account gives us some reason to believe that quantified negative existentials in general, including quantified negative existentials about fiction, can also be understood in pretense terms.

Frederick Kroon

Papers

Theoretical terms and the causal view of reference

Beyond Rigidity: The Unfinished Semantic Agenda of Naming and Necessity

Make-Believe and Fictional Reference

Post-mortem sperm retrieval in Australasia

Quantified negative existentials