What's the Point of Understanding?

What is human understanding and why should we care about it? I propose a method of philosophical investigation called ‘function-first epistemology’ and use this method to investigate the nature and value of understanding-why. I argue that the concept of understanding-why serves the practical function of identifying good explainers, which is an important role in the general economy of our concepts. This hypothesis sheds light on a variety of issues in the epistemology of understanding including the role of explanation, the relationship between understanding-why and knowledge, and the value of understanding-why. I conclude that understanding-why is valuable and yet knowledge plays more important roles in our epistemic life

The True Lender Doctrine: Function over Form as a Reasonable Constraint on the Exportation of Interest Rates

The exportation doctrine permits national and state banks to export interest rates that are legal in one state where they operate to any other state, thereby shielding the banks from liability resulting from state usury claims. The doctrine has expanded over the last forty years to permit state and national banks to preempt a variety of state consumer-financial-protection laws. The doctrine’s high-water mark is the emergence of the “rent-a-charter” arrangement, a scheme in which a nonbank lender uses a bank as a mere conduit to originate loans that are not subject to state usury laws. This Note argues that, at minimum, nonbank entities should not be allowed the benefit of the doctrine by temporarily occupying banks for the sole purpose of originating loans that are immune from state financial consumer protection laws. A series of courts have recently begun applying a more exacting standard to these arrangements. Under the “true lender” doctrine, courts disregard the form of the lending configuration in favor of a searching examination of its substance, considering a variety of factors designed to determine which entity is the actual, rather than nominal, lender. This Note argues that the true lender doctrine’s singular focus on substance over form, combined with judicial agility to examine each factual constellation and detect any obfuscating formalities implemented by rent-a-charter parties, is presently the most effective way to sensibly limit the reach of the exportation doctrine. And, to the degree that banks assume more substantive duties in the lending process and retain some measure of risk in seeking to comply with the doctrine, the results are broadly consistent with regulatory approaches that have been deployed in the wake of the financial crisis

UK innovation support for energy demand reduction

While significant reductions in energy demand can be achieved by deploying existing technologies and management approaches, innovation can unlock further opportunities in the longer term. Research, development and demonstration plays a key role in enabling the development of innovative products and services. Energy efficiency has traditionally accounted for a low proportion of UK public sector energy research and development spend, although funders are now placing an increasing emphasis on the demand side. This paper addresses two questions – what are the priority themes for demand-side research and how should research be conducted and supported in order to maximise the quality of its outputs? It draws on a series of expert workshops organised by the Research Councils UK Energy Strategy Fellowship during the development of its UK energy research and training needs prospectus. The following priority themes for UK energy demand research are identified: system-level and socio-technical perspectives on energy demand; energy use in non-domestic buildings; examination of how large-scale and incremental technological innovations could reduce energy demand. To develop these themes there is a need for interdisciplinary research, field trials, arrangements for data collection and sharing, and raising funding support to levels comparable to those for energy supply technologies. </jats:p

Assertion, action, and context

A common objection to both contextualism and relativism about knowledge ascriptions is that they threaten knowledge norms of assertion and action. Consequently, if there is good reason to accept knowledge norms of assertion or action, there is good reason to reject both contextualism and relativism. In this paper we argue that neither contextualism nor relativism threaten knowledge norms of assertion or action

Recent Work in the Epistemology of Understanding

The philosophical interest in the nature, value, and varieties of human understanding has swelled in recent years. This article will provide an overview of new research in the epistemology of understanding, with a particular focus on the following questions: What is understanding and why should we care about it? Is understanding reducible to knowledge? Does it require truth, belief, or justification? Can there be lucky understanding? Does it require ‘grasping’ or some kind of ‘know-how’? This cluster of questions has largely set the research agenda for the study of understanding in epistemology. This article will conclude by discussing some varieties of understanding and highlight directions for future research

Antimicrobial activity of an iron triple helicate

The prevalence of antibiotic resistance has resulted in the need for new approaches to be developed to combat previously easily treatable infections. Here we investigated the potential of the synthetic metallomolecules [Fe2L3]4+ and [Cu2(L’)2]2+ as antibacterial agents. Both molecules have been shown to bind DNA; [Fe2L3]4+ binds in the major groove and causes DNA coiling, whilst [Cu2(L’)2]2+ can act as an artificial nuclease. The work described here shows that only [Fe2L3]4+ is bactericidal for Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. We demonstrate that [Fe2L3]4+ binds bacterial DNA in vivo and, strikingly, that it kills B. subtilis cells very rapidly

Crowdsourcing the Worlds, Blog 4

Student blog posts from the Great VCU Bike Race Book