Marc Lange
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195328134
- eISBN:
- 9780199870042
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328134.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
Laws of nature have long puzzled philosophers. What distinguishes laws from facts about the world that do not rise to the level of laws? How can laws be contingent and nevertheless necessary? In what ...
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Laws of nature have long puzzled philosophers. What distinguishes laws from facts about the world that do not rise to the level of laws? How can laws be contingent and nevertheless necessary? In what sense are the laws necessary like the broadly logical truths, yet not as necessary as those truths? What are the “lawmakers”: the facts in virtue of which the laws are laws? This book offers provocative and original answers to these questions. It argues that laws are distinguished by their necessity, which is grounded in primitive subjunctive facts (expressed by counterfactual conditionals). This view avoids the notorious circularity afflicting the view that the laws are the truths that would still have held had things been different in any fashion that is logically consistent with … the laws! While recognizing that natural necessity is distinct from logical, metaphysical, and mathematical necessity, the book explains how natural necessity constitutes a species of the same genus as those other varieties of necessity. The book discusses the relation between laws and objective chances, the completeness of the laws of physics, and the laws' immutability, as well as meta-laws such as the symmetry principles so prominent in contemporary physics. It is argued that David Lewis's Humean approach to law fails to do justice the laws' necessity, and that scientific essentialist approaches fail to accommodate the way certain laws transcend the details of others.Less
Laws of nature have long puzzled philosophers. What distinguishes laws from facts about the world that do not rise to the level of laws? How can laws be contingent and nevertheless necessary? In what sense are the laws necessary like the broadly logical truths, yet not as necessary as those truths? What are the “lawmakers”: the facts in virtue of which the laws are laws? This book offers provocative and original answers to these questions. It argues that laws are distinguished by their necessity, which is grounded in primitive subjunctive facts (expressed by counterfactual conditionals). This view avoids the notorious circularity afflicting the view that the laws are the truths that would still have held had things been different in any fashion that is logically consistent with … the laws! While recognizing that natural necessity is distinct from logical, metaphysical, and mathematical necessity, the book explains how natural necessity constitutes a species of the same genus as those other varieties of necessity. The book discusses the relation between laws and objective chances, the completeness of the laws of physics, and the laws' immutability, as well as meta-laws such as the symmetry principles so prominent in contemporary physics. It is argued that David Lewis's Humean approach to law fails to do justice the laws' necessity, and that scientific essentialist approaches fail to accommodate the way certain laws transcend the details of others.
Price V. Fishback
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195067255
- eISBN:
- 9780199855025
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195067255.003.0012
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
Coal mining offered the opportunity to earn money quickly during booms, but it was a dirty, dangerous job often located in isolated little towns. To protect themselves against exploitation by ...
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Coal mining offered the opportunity to earn money quickly during booms, but it was a dirty, dangerous job often located in isolated little towns. To protect themselves against exploitation by employers, coal miners exercised both voice and exit. The voice came in the form of collective action either through the formation of labor unions or labor strikes. The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) enhanced the welfare of their members in several ways. Within the coal industry, miners obtained higher wages by joining the union and striking. The union did not necessarily lead to a better situation in all phases of the job, however. Accident rates were no lower in union than in non-union mines, nor was the quality of sanitation better, holding other factors constant. Blacks were welcomed into the union in the mining areas where they had long been located, but a number of union locals in the North treated blacks as pariahs. The UMWA was crushed along with the coal operators by the deterioration of the industry in the late 1920s and early 1930s.Less
Coal mining offered the opportunity to earn money quickly during booms, but it was a dirty, dangerous job often located in isolated little towns. To protect themselves against exploitation by employers, coal miners exercised both voice and exit. The voice came in the form of collective action either through the formation of labor unions or labor strikes. The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) enhanced the welfare of their members in several ways. Within the coal industry, miners obtained higher wages by joining the union and striking. The union did not necessarily lead to a better situation in all phases of the job, however. Accident rates were no lower in union than in non-union mines, nor was the quality of sanitation better, holding other factors constant. Blacks were welcomed into the union in the mining areas where they had long been located, but a number of union locals in the North treated blacks as pariahs. The UMWA was crushed along with the coal operators by the deterioration of the industry in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Joseph Pilsner
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199286058
- eISBN:
- 9780191603808
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199286051.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
A circumstance is an attendant property of an action. In murder, for instance, one might take note of the time, the type of weapon, or the perpetrator’s height. Although Aquinas in some contexts ...
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A circumstance is an attendant property of an action. In murder, for instance, one might take note of the time, the type of weapon, or the perpetrator’s height. Although Aquinas in some contexts denies that any circumstance can give form and species to a human action, in other contexts, he asserts that at least some circumstances do, as when the ‘sacredness’ of a stolen chalice further defines ‘theft’ as ‘sacrilege’. The key to understanding this apparent contradiction lies in recognizing that a human action can be viewed from two perspectives. The very same property in an action can be incidental when an action is considered apart from a comparison to right reason, but essential when this standard is invoked. For instance, the fact that an item being stolen happens to be ‘sacred’ is just one circumstance among many until the action is compared to right reason; then this property ‘sacred’ is recognized as part of what constitutes sacrilege and essential to its object. When speaking with greater precision, Aquinas admits that a property essential in a comparison to right reason (such as ‘sacred’ in sacrilege) even deserves a new name, instead of a ‘circumstance’ it should be called a ‘condition’ or ‘difference’ of an object.Less
A circumstance is an attendant property of an action. In murder, for instance, one might take note of the time, the type of weapon, or the perpetrator’s height. Although Aquinas in some contexts denies that any circumstance can give form and species to a human action, in other contexts, he asserts that at least some circumstances do, as when the ‘sacredness’ of a stolen chalice further defines ‘theft’ as ‘sacrilege’. The key to understanding this apparent contradiction lies in recognizing that a human action can be viewed from two perspectives. The very same property in an action can be incidental when an action is considered apart from a comparison to right reason, but essential when this standard is invoked. For instance, the fact that an item being stolen happens to be ‘sacred’ is just one circumstance among many until the action is compared to right reason; then this property ‘sacred’ is recognized as part of what constitutes sacrilege and essential to its object. When speaking with greater precision, Aquinas admits that a property essential in a comparison to right reason (such as ‘sacred’ in sacrilege) even deserves a new name, instead of a ‘circumstance’ it should be called a ‘condition’ or ‘difference’ of an object.
Lynne Dale Halamish and Doron Hermoni
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- November 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195325379
- eISBN:
- 9780199999811
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195325379.003.0003
- Subject:
- Palliative Care, Patient Care and End-of-Life Decision Making, Palliative Medicine and Older People
This chapter discusses issues concerning the security of children following parental death, describing the case of a 12-year-old Jewish boy, Jordan, whose father died in a car accident. It explains ...
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This chapter discusses issues concerning the security of children following parental death, describing the case of a 12-year-old Jewish boy, Jordan, whose father died in a car accident. It explains that after a family or group trauma it is helpful to go over all of the details together, in order to clarify what happened, normalize grief reactions, and to avoid the isolation of any member.Less
This chapter discusses issues concerning the security of children following parental death, describing the case of a 12-year-old Jewish boy, Jordan, whose father died in a car accident. It explains that after a family or group trauma it is helpful to go over all of the details together, in order to clarify what happened, normalize grief reactions, and to avoid the isolation of any member.
Lynne Dale Halamish and Doron Hermoni
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- November 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195325379
- eISBN:
- 9780199999811
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195325379.003.0013
- Subject:
- Palliative Care, Patient Care and End-of-Life Decision Making, Palliative Medicine and Older People
This chapter examines the concept of freedom in relation to the experience of 25-year-old Judah, who took the responsibility of caring for her girlfriend Sarah after they had a car accident and she ...
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This chapter examines the concept of freedom in relation to the experience of 25-year-old Judah, who took the responsibility of caring for her girlfriend Sarah after they had a car accident and she was seriously hurt with a head injury. Judah spent most his time caring for Sarah but later realized that he needed to earn money and decided to go to the Far East to sell imitation brand-name products. He was imprisoned for three months for selling illegal products, and when he returned to Sarah he learned to strike balance between caring for her and his personal life.Less
This chapter examines the concept of freedom in relation to the experience of 25-year-old Judah, who took the responsibility of caring for her girlfriend Sarah after they had a car accident and she was seriously hurt with a head injury. Judah spent most his time caring for Sarah but later realized that he needed to earn money and decided to go to the Far East to sell imitation brand-name products. He was imprisoned for three months for selling illegal products, and when he returned to Sarah he learned to strike balance between caring for her and his personal life.
Sean McKeever and Michael Ridge
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199290659
- eISBN:
- 9780191603617
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199290652.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Particularists often try to draw support for their view from the alleged context sensitivity of reasons, and more specifically holism. According to holism about reasons, a consideration that is a ...
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Particularists often try to draw support for their view from the alleged context sensitivity of reasons, and more specifically holism. According to holism about reasons, a consideration that is a reason in one context may not be similarly a reason in another context because of differences in the presence or absence of defeating and enabling conditions. This chapter distinguishes several versions of the argument from holism, and shows that despite wide currency, no version establishes any significant particularist thesis.Less
Particularists often try to draw support for their view from the alleged context sensitivity of reasons, and more specifically holism. According to holism about reasons, a consideration that is a reason in one context may not be similarly a reason in another context because of differences in the presence or absence of defeating and enabling conditions. This chapter distinguishes several versions of the argument from holism, and shows that despite wide currency, no version establishes any significant particularist thesis.
Terry Gourvish
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199250059
- eISBN:
- 9780191719516
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199250059.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business History
Britain's privatized railways continue to provoke debate about the organization, financing, and development of the railway system. This important book provides an authoritative account of the ...
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Britain's privatized railways continue to provoke debate about the organization, financing, and development of the railway system. This important book provides an authoritative account of the progress made by British Rail prior to privatization, and a unique insight into its difficult role in the government's privatization planning from 1989. Based on free access to the British Railway Board's archives, the book provides an analysis of the main themes: a process of continuous organizational change; the existence of a persistent government audit; perennial investment restraints; the directive to reduce operating costs and improve productivity; a concern with financial performance, technological change, service quality, and the management of industrial relations; and the Board's ambiguous position as the Conservative government pressed home its privatization programme. The introduction of sector management from 1982 and the ‘Organizing for Quality’ initiative of the early 1990s, the Serpell Report on railway finances of 1983, the sale of the subsidiary businesses, the large-scale investment in the Channel Tunnel, and the obsession with safety which followed the Clapham accident of 1988, are all examined. In the conclusion, the book reviews the successes and failures of the public sector, rehearses the arguments for and against integration in the railway industry, and contrasts what many have termed ‘the golden age’ of the mid-late 1980s, when the British Rail-government relationship was arguably at its most effective, with what has happened since 1994.Less
Britain's privatized railways continue to provoke debate about the organization, financing, and development of the railway system. This important book provides an authoritative account of the progress made by British Rail prior to privatization, and a unique insight into its difficult role in the government's privatization planning from 1989. Based on free access to the British Railway Board's archives, the book provides an analysis of the main themes: a process of continuous organizational change; the existence of a persistent government audit; perennial investment restraints; the directive to reduce operating costs and improve productivity; a concern with financial performance, technological change, service quality, and the management of industrial relations; and the Board's ambiguous position as the Conservative government pressed home its privatization programme. The introduction of sector management from 1982 and the ‘Organizing for Quality’ initiative of the early 1990s, the Serpell Report on railway finances of 1983, the sale of the subsidiary businesses, the large-scale investment in the Channel Tunnel, and the obsession with safety which followed the Clapham accident of 1988, are all examined. In the conclusion, the book reviews the successes and failures of the public sector, rehearses the arguments for and against integration in the railway industry, and contrasts what many have termed ‘the golden age’ of the mid-late 1980s, when the British Rail-government relationship was arguably at its most effective, with what has happened since 1994.
Terry Gourvish
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199250059
- eISBN:
- 9780191719516
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199250059.003.0010
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business History
This chapter discusses the increased attention on railway safety issues following the Clapham accident. Topics covered include the transformation of the safety culture, additional spending on safety, ...
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This chapter discusses the increased attention on railway safety issues following the Clapham accident. Topics covered include the transformation of the safety culture, additional spending on safety, automatic train protection, and improvements in the safety record.Less
This chapter discusses the increased attention on railway safety issues following the Clapham accident. Topics covered include the transformation of the safety culture, additional spending on safety, automatic train protection, and improvements in the safety record.
Robert D. Cooter and Ariel Porat
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151595
- eISBN:
- 9781400850396
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151595.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Comparative Law
This book examines how the law of torts, contracts, and restitution can be improved by showing how private law reduces the cost of accidents, lubricates bargains, and encourages unrequested benefits. ...
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This book examines how the law of torts, contracts, and restitution can be improved by showing how private law reduces the cost of accidents, lubricates bargains, and encourages unrequested benefits. It considers the two pervasive rules of tort law that provide incentives for actors to reduce accident costs: strict liability and negligence. It also explains how contract law achieves effiency through the remedy of damages and how restitution law allows benefactors to recover gains that their beneficiaries wrongfully obtained from them. The book makes three central claims: misalignments in tort law should be removed; in contract law, promisee's incentives should be improved; and the law should recognize some right of compensation for those who produce unrequested benefits. Each claim is based on the desire to reform private law and to make it more effective in promoting social welfare.Less
This book examines how the law of torts, contracts, and restitution can be improved by showing how private law reduces the cost of accidents, lubricates bargains, and encourages unrequested benefits. It considers the two pervasive rules of tort law that provide incentives for actors to reduce accident costs: strict liability and negligence. It also explains how contract law achieves effiency through the remedy of damages and how restitution law allows benefactors to recover gains that their beneficiaries wrongfully obtained from them. The book makes three central claims: misalignments in tort law should be removed; in contract law, promisee's incentives should be improved; and the law should recognize some right of compensation for those who produce unrequested benefits. Each claim is based on the desire to reform private law and to make it more effective in promoting social welfare.
Robert D. Cooter and Ariel Porat
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151595
- eISBN:
- 9781400850396
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151595.003.0005
- Subject:
- Law, Comparative Law
This chapter deals with lapses of attention, for example by a driver or a doctor, and explains how a negligence rule gives injurers an incentive to substitute activities with unavoidable accidents ...
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This chapter deals with lapses of attention, for example by a driver or a doctor, and explains how a negligence rule gives injurers an incentive to substitute activities with unavoidable accidents for activities with lapses. Under current tort law, a lapse of attention will always be considered negligence and trigger liability for the resulting harm. However, the chapter shows that it should not be the case. After providing an overview of lapse defenses in prevailing law, the chapter examines the openness of liability law to the lapse defense and some activities that substitute unavoidable harm for lapses. It also explains how a lapse defense is implemented and shows how the lapse defense dampens inefficient substitution and increases collection of supporting information.Less
This chapter deals with lapses of attention, for example by a driver or a doctor, and explains how a negligence rule gives injurers an incentive to substitute activities with unavoidable accidents for activities with lapses. Under current tort law, a lapse of attention will always be considered negligence and trigger liability for the resulting harm. However, the chapter shows that it should not be the case. After providing an overview of lapse defenses in prevailing law, the chapter examines the openness of liability law to the lapse defense and some activities that substitute unavoidable harm for lapses. It also explains how a lapse defense is implemented and shows how the lapse defense dampens inefficient substitution and increases collection of supporting information.
Robert D. Cooter and Ariel Porat
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151595
- eISBN:
- 9781400850396
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151595.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Comparative Law
This chapter deals with the problem of providing efficient incentives for the promisor and promisee simultaneously and repurposes the model of torts in a way that unifies tort law and contract law. ...
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This chapter deals with the problem of providing efficient incentives for the promisor and promisee simultaneously and repurposes the model of torts in a way that unifies tort law and contract law. In the basic torts model, the injurer and the victim can reduce the probability and severity of accidents by taking precautions. “Precaution” against accidents can be reinterpreted to fit contracts and other bodies of law. The chapter first considers forms of precaution and the paradox of compensation, showing that compensating victims is often inconsistent with double responsibility at the margin that is required in efficient incentives. It then examines three mechanisms that allow liability law to combine compensation and incentives for efficient precaution: the fault rule, invariant damages, and a coercive order from a court, such as an injunction against a nuisance.Less
This chapter deals with the problem of providing efficient incentives for the promisor and promisee simultaneously and repurposes the model of torts in a way that unifies tort law and contract law. In the basic torts model, the injurer and the victim can reduce the probability and severity of accidents by taking precautions. “Precaution” against accidents can be reinterpreted to fit contracts and other bodies of law. The chapter first considers forms of precaution and the paradox of compensation, showing that compensating victims is often inconsistent with double responsibility at the margin that is required in efficient incentives. It then examines three mechanisms that allow liability law to combine compensation and incentives for efficient precaution: the fault rule, invariant damages, and a coercive order from a court, such as an injunction against a nuisance.
Yasuo Onishi
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195127270
- eISBN:
- 9780199869121
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195127270.003.0004
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Biochemistry / Molecular Biology
This chapter discusses methods to determine dissolved and sediment-sorbed radionuclides in rivers, estuaries, coastal waters, oceans, and lakes under accidental and routine radionuclide releases. It ...
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This chapter discusses methods to determine dissolved and sediment-sorbed radionuclides in rivers, estuaries, coastal waters, oceans, and lakes under accidental and routine radionuclide releases. It provides simple but robust analytical solution models to determine site-specific radionuclide concentrations with minimum site-specific data. It has step-by-step instructions with all required information supplied by accompanying tables and figures. The chapter contains many sample calculations. It also discusses a theory of radionuclide transport and fate mechanisms in surface water. The Chernobyl nuclear accident is used to illustrate important mechanisms, radionuclide migration and accumulation, transport and fate modeling, aquatic impacts, and human health effects through aquatic pathways. Thus, this chapter connects the theory to its applications and to the actual Chernobyl nuclear accident assessment.Less
This chapter discusses methods to determine dissolved and sediment-sorbed radionuclides in rivers, estuaries, coastal waters, oceans, and lakes under accidental and routine radionuclide releases. It provides simple but robust analytical solution models to determine site-specific radionuclide concentrations with minimum site-specific data. It has step-by-step instructions with all required information supplied by accompanying tables and figures. The chapter contains many sample calculations. It also discusses a theory of radionuclide transport and fate mechanisms in surface water. The Chernobyl nuclear accident is used to illustrate important mechanisms, radionuclide migration and accumulation, transport and fate modeling, aquatic impacts, and human health effects through aquatic pathways. Thus, this chapter connects the theory to its applications and to the actual Chernobyl nuclear accident assessment.
Robert D. Cooter and Ariel Porat
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151595
- eISBN:
- 9781400850396
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151595.003.0011
- Subject:
- Law, Comparative Law
This chapter introduces the general theory of liability externalities and applies it to mandatory choices. “Liability externality” refers to costs and benefits conveyed to others that market prices ...
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This chapter introduces the general theory of liability externalities and applies it to mandatory choices. “Liability externality” refers to costs and benefits conveyed to others that market prices do not capture and liability law does not correct. In these circumstances, adjusting liability can improve incentives. The contrast between doctoring and driving illustrates the difference between actual and ideal law. According to actual law, a doctor who negligently breaks a patient's leg has the same liability as a driver who negligently breaks a pedestrian's leg. Ideally, however, the doctor's liability should be less than the driver's liability. The chapter considers suitable circumstances for applying the general theory of liability externalities, given limited information available to courts. It also discusses disgorgement damages for risk of accidents and the equalization principle, which states that the difference in expected social harm between mandatory alternatives should equal the difference in the actor's liability.Less
This chapter introduces the general theory of liability externalities and applies it to mandatory choices. “Liability externality” refers to costs and benefits conveyed to others that market prices do not capture and liability law does not correct. In these circumstances, adjusting liability can improve incentives. The contrast between doctoring and driving illustrates the difference between actual and ideal law. According to actual law, a doctor who negligently breaks a patient's leg has the same liability as a driver who negligently breaks a pedestrian's leg. Ideally, however, the doctor's liability should be less than the driver's liability. The chapter considers suitable circumstances for applying the general theory of liability externalities, given limited information available to courts. It also discusses disgorgement damages for risk of accidents and the equalization principle, which states that the difference in expected social harm between mandatory alternatives should equal the difference in the actor's liability.
Jacalyn Duffin
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195336504
- eISBN:
- 9780199868612
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195336504.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
An exploration of the problems resolved miraculously. The vast majority are cures from illness. The diseases amendable to miracle cure change through time according to medical science. Some ...
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An exploration of the problems resolved miraculously. The vast majority are cures from illness. The diseases amendable to miracle cure change through time according to medical science. Some conditions, such as cancer, appear consistently through time. Gradually, the cures were of specific organic ailments, with tuberculosis increasing in frequency. Cures of psychic disorders always were rare; from the nineteenth century forward, a diagnosis of hysteria could stop the process. Diseases unknown in past centuries, such as leukemia or multiple sclerosis, appear soon after descriptions in the medical literature. The illness must also have defied up-to-date medical care including surgery. In other words, suffering must be a problem that is thought to be beyond the control of the best medical art of the time.This chapter also examines the nonmedical miracles, including the incorruptibility of the saint’s corpse, preservation from accidental death, and multiplication of food.Less
An exploration of the problems resolved miraculously. The vast majority are cures from illness. The diseases amendable to miracle cure change through time according to medical science. Some conditions, such as cancer, appear consistently through time. Gradually, the cures were of specific organic ailments, with tuberculosis increasing in frequency. Cures of psychic disorders always were rare; from the nineteenth century forward, a diagnosis of hysteria could stop the process. Diseases unknown in past centuries, such as leukemia or multiple sclerosis, appear soon after descriptions in the medical literature. The illness must also have defied up-to-date medical care including surgery. In other words, suffering must be a problem that is thought to be beyond the control of the best medical art of the time.
This chapter also examines the nonmedical miracles, including the incorruptibility of the saint’s corpse, preservation from accidental death, and multiplication of food.
Michael Quinlan
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199563944
- eISBN:
- 9780191721274
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199563944.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter reviews a range of risks commonly believed, rightly or wrongly, to arise from the existence of nuclear weapons. It examines first the concept of stability, in two forms—deterrent ...
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This chapter reviews a range of risks commonly believed, rightly or wrongly, to arise from the existence of nuclear weapons. It examines first the concept of stability, in two forms—deterrent stability and crisis stability. There follows an extended section on the idea of nuclear escalation, bringing out that though the possibility cannot be wholly excluded and is indeed a component of deterrence, suppositions of its inexorability are unfounded. The next section discusses whether risks of nuclear war by accident, miscalculation, or misunderstanding are substantial, and argues that they are not. The final section looks at the risk of nuclear terrorism. It considers what hurdles a would-be terrorist would have to surmount, and notes ways of keeping such hurdles as high as possible.Less
This chapter reviews a range of risks commonly believed, rightly or wrongly, to arise from the existence of nuclear weapons. It examines first the concept of stability, in two forms—deterrent stability and crisis stability. There follows an extended section on the idea of nuclear escalation, bringing out that though the possibility cannot be wholly excluded and is indeed a component of deterrence, suppositions of its inexorability are unfounded. The next section discusses whether risks of nuclear war by accident, miscalculation, or misunderstanding are substantial, and argues that they are not. The final section looks at the risk of nuclear terrorism. It considers what hurdles a would-be terrorist would have to surmount, and notes ways of keeping such hurdles as high as possible.
Marilyn McCord Adams
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199591053
- eISBN:
- 9780191595554
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199591053.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Philosophy of Religion
This book is a work in historical theology and history of philosophy, combined. It focuses on how the theological data of real presence — that after the consecration of eucharistic bread and wine, ...
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This book is a work in historical theology and history of philosophy, combined. It focuses on how the theological data of real presence — that after the consecration of eucharistic bread and wine, Christ's Body and Blood are really present where the bread and wine accidents still seem to be — provoked 13th and 14th century Aristotelians to remodel Aristotelian physics and metaphysics in ways that nevertheless allowed Aristotelian principles to describe the way things normally and naturally are. The core analyzes how Thomas Aquinas, Giles of Rome, and William Ockham explain what it is for Christ's Body to be present on earthly altars and what changes are needed to get it there. The most striking philosophical developments concern the metaphysics of bodies and their placement, varieties of essential causal dependence and their connections with causal powers, the independent existence and causal powers of accidents, and the fundamental kinds of change producible by natural vs Divine agency. An initial chapter reviews presupposed Aristotelian conceptual machinery, while Chapter 10 overviews the significant philosophical moves made. Three other chapters orient the theology of sacraments out of which the doctrine of real presence arose, and assess the degree of theological coherence achieved.Less
This book is a work in historical theology and history of philosophy, combined. It focuses on how the theological data of real presence — that after the consecration of eucharistic bread and wine, Christ's Body and Blood are really present where the bread and wine accidents still seem to be — provoked 13th and 14th century Aristotelians to remodel Aristotelian physics and metaphysics in ways that nevertheless allowed Aristotelian principles to describe the way things normally and naturally are. The core analyzes how Thomas Aquinas, Giles of Rome, and William Ockham explain what it is for Christ's Body to be present on earthly altars and what changes are needed to get it there. The most striking philosophical developments concern the metaphysics of bodies and their placement, varieties of essential causal dependence and their connections with causal powers, the independent existence and causal powers of accidents, and the fundamental kinds of change producible by natural vs Divine agency. An initial chapter reviews presupposed Aristotelian conceptual machinery, while Chapter 10 overviews the significant philosophical moves made. Three other chapters orient the theology of sacraments out of which the doctrine of real presence arose, and assess the degree of theological coherence achieved.
Alice C. Harris
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199298495
- eISBN:
- 9780191711442
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199298495.003.0003
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
This chapter argues that languages are ‘bundles of historical accidents’. It further argues that unusual or rare features are unusual or rare because they are the accidental result of many different ...
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This chapter argues that languages are ‘bundles of historical accidents’. It further argues that unusual or rare features are unusual or rare because they are the accidental result of many different circumstances or conditions that have been lined up in just the right way. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 3.2 discusses the structure of the argument and compares the explanation with other general approaches. Sections 3.3 and 3.4 describe a very rare structure in Georgian and in Udi, respectively, and show that each may be explained by the approach adopted here. Section 3.5 discusses the Uniformitarian Principle in this context, and Section 3.6 presents some conclusions.Less
This chapter argues that languages are ‘bundles of historical accidents’. It further argues that unusual or rare features are unusual or rare because they are the accidental result of many different circumstances or conditions that have been lined up in just the right way. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 3.2 discusses the structure of the argument and compares the explanation with other general approaches. Sections 3.3 and 3.4 describe a very rare structure in Georgian and in Udi, respectively, and show that each may be explained by the approach adopted here. Section 3.5 discusses the Uniformitarian Principle in this context, and Section 3.6 presents some conclusions.
David M. Wilkinson
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198568469
- eISBN:
- 9780191717611
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198568469.003.0010
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
The ecology of a planet is influenced by historical processes. At any stage in its development, the current conditions of life on a planet form the starting point from which new conditions develop. ...
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The ecology of a planet is influenced by historical processes. At any stage in its development, the current conditions of life on a planet form the starting point from which new conditions develop. This means that over time, an ever increasing number of historical accidents will be incorporated into the system and so the role of past history will become increasingly important. This happens across a range of scales, from the chance long distance dispersal of seeds, to the survival of mass extinction events. Gould's interpretation of the Burgess Shale is discussed as a well-known example of the potential importance of historical contingency. The idea of historical contingency is a simple one and yet it is crucially important in understanding much of ecology. This constrained the possible subsequent trajectories of ecological development on Earth.Less
The ecology of a planet is influenced by historical processes. At any stage in its development, the current conditions of life on a planet form the starting point from which new conditions develop. This means that over time, an ever increasing number of historical accidents will be incorporated into the system and so the role of past history will become increasingly important. This happens across a range of scales, from the chance long distance dispersal of seeds, to the survival of mass extinction events. Gould's interpretation of the Burgess Shale is discussed as a well-known example of the potential importance of historical contingency. The idea of historical contingency is a simple one and yet it is crucially important in understanding much of ecology. This constrained the possible subsequent trajectories of ecological development on Earth.
Richard Cross
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198269748
- eISBN:
- 9780191683787
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198269748.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Theology
This chapter begins by introducing Aristotle's scheme for classifying the kinds of predicates according to substance, quality, quantity, relation, ...
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This chapter begins by introducing Aristotle's scheme for classifying the kinds of predicates according to substance, quality, quantity, relation, time, place, position, state, action, and passion. All but the first of these are accidental categories. The discussion is firstly concerned with some of the general claims which Scotus makes about the accidental categories, and secondly, with relations. Scotus divides the list of accidents into two groups: non-relational accidents, where quantity and quality belong; and relational accidents, where the remaining seven accidents belong. The chapter also examines the reasons for thinking that accidents are individuated independently of the subjects to which they are united, Scotus's account of non-relational accidents and accidental unity, his account of relations, and the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic relational accidents.Less
This chapter begins by introducing Aristotle's scheme for classifying the kinds of predicates according to substance, quality, quantity, relation, time, place, position, state, action, and passion. All but the first of these are accidental categories. The discussion is firstly concerned with some of the general claims which Scotus makes about the accidental categories, and secondly, with relations. Scotus divides the list of accidents into two groups: non-relational accidents, where quantity and quality belong; and relational accidents, where the remaining seven accidents belong. The chapter also examines the reasons for thinking that accidents are individuated independently of the subjects to which they are united, Scotus's account of non-relational accidents and accidental unity, his account of relations, and the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic relational accidents.
Marilyn McCord Adams
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199591053
- eISBN:
- 9780191595554
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199591053.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Philosophy of Religion
Experience shows that after consecration, the eucharistic accidents are still extended on the altar and that what remains continues to be causally interactive in all of the ways that bread would be. ...
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Experience shows that after consecration, the eucharistic accidents are still extended on the altar and that what remains continues to be causally interactive in all of the ways that bread would be. But theological consensus held that after consecration, the bread-substance does not remain. Two sets of problems arise: from an Aristotelian point of view, independently extant accidents seem to be metaphysically impossible; and if they did exist, they would not fit the profile of Aristotelian agents and patients. How could they act and be acted upon? This chapter charts Aquinas' and Giles' solutions. If it became common place to redraw the distinction between substance and accidents in terms, not of actual but of aptitudinal independence and inherence, Aquinas and Giles insist that quantity alone is capable of independent existence because sensible qualities depend for their individuation on quantity as their proximae subject. Aquinas notes special problems for changes resulting in new substances, while Giles worries about what will persist through quantitative changes in the eucharistic accidents.Less
Experience shows that after consecration, the eucharistic accidents are still extended on the altar and that what remains continues to be causally interactive in all of the ways that bread would be. But theological consensus held that after consecration, the bread-substance does not remain. Two sets of problems arise: from an Aristotelian point of view, independently extant accidents seem to be metaphysically impossible; and if they did exist, they would not fit the profile of Aristotelian agents and patients. How could they act and be acted upon? This chapter charts Aquinas' and Giles' solutions. If it became common place to redraw the distinction between substance and accidents in terms, not of actual but of aptitudinal independence and inherence, Aquinas and Giles insist that quantity alone is capable of independent existence because sensible qualities depend for their individuation on quantity as their proximae subject. Aquinas notes special problems for changes resulting in new substances, while Giles worries about what will persist through quantitative changes in the eucharistic accidents.
