Rules of Engagement: Architecture Theory and the Social Sciences in Frank Duffy’s 1974 Thesis on Office Planning

This paper addresses the broad shift that took place in architectural theory and education in the 70s, where models of the discipline asserting the autonomy of architecture eclipsed models privileging architecture’s ties to other disciplines, particularly technology and the social sciences. With Frank Duffy's Princeton thesis on open office planning (1974) as a focus, the paper explores the theoretical and institutional contexts of this shift and offers a critical reappraisal in light of contemporary issues facing architecture.architectural theory, office space, planning, architectural education

When Deduction leads to Belief

T h e paper questions the common assumption that rational individuals believe all propositions which they know to be logical consequences of their other beliefs: although we must acknowledge the truth of a proposition which is a deductive consequence ofour beliefs, we may not genuinely believe it. This conclusion is defended by arguing that some familiar counter- examples to the claim that knowledge isjustified true belief fail because they involve propositions which are not really believed. Beliefs guide conduct or issue in assertion by answering questions which arise in the course of deliberation and conversation, but the troublesome cases present proposi- tions which do not present the agent's answer to any question. The paper concludes by sketching the conditions under which the deductive conse- quences of our beliefs can be believe

Making it explicit and clear: From ‘strong’ to ‘hyper-’ inferentialism in Brandom and Peirce

This article explores how Robert Brandom's original "inferentialist" philosophical framework should be positioned with respect to the classical pragmatist tradition. It is argued that Charles Peirce's original attack (in "Questions Concerning Certain Faculties Claimed for Man" and other early papers) on the use of "intuition" in nineteenth-century philosophy of mind is in fact a form of inferentialism, and thus an antecedent relatively unexplored by Brandom in his otherwise comprehensive and illuminating "tales of the mighty dead." However, whereas Brandom stops short at a merely "strong" inferentialism, which admits some non-inferential mental content (although it is parasitic on the inferential and can only be "inferentially articulated"), Peirce embraces a total, that is, "hyper-," inferentialism. Some consequences of this difference are explored, and Peirce's more thoroughgoing position is defended

James’s Epistemology and the Will to Believe

William James’s paper “The Will to Believe” defends some distinctive and controversial views about the normative standards that should be adopted when we are reflecting upon what we should believe. He holds that, in certain special kinds of cases, it is rational to believe propositions even if we have little or no evidence to support our beliefs. And, in such cases, he holds that our beliefs can be determined by what he calls “passional considerations” which include “fear and hope, prejudice and passion, imitation and partisanship, the circumpressure of our caste and set” (1897: 9). On most occasions “we find ourselves believing, we hardly know how or why.” When James allows passional considerations a major role in determining the rationality of belief and argues that it is rational to form beliefs in advance of the evidence, he can easily be understood as holding that belief can be responsible when it is not warranted by epistemological norms. Belief can be rational and responsible when the reasons which support it are entirely prudential or practical. The question I am concerned with here is: how far can James’s argument in “The Will to Believe” be understood as an application of some views which are genuinely epistemological? One question we can ask about these views is: how far are they an application of a distinctively pragmatist approach to epistemological concerns about when belief is justified? One possibility is that James is making some original contributions to epistemology which may have echoes in contemporary epistemology. I shall argue that this interpretation of James’s argument is more plausible than it at first appears

A Máxima Pragmática e a Prova do Pragmatismo (3): Hábitos e Interpretantes

The paper explores a strategy for defending  the pragmatist maxim which Peirce discussed in a manuscript from 1907 (MS 318). It tries to show that propositions are linked to habits of action by showing that such habits serve as ultimate logical interpretants of concepts or propositions. After analyzing the arguments employed, the paper identifies gaps in their defence of the pragmatism maxim. It then speculates about how the discussion of interpretants could be connected to a defence of the pragmatism maxim.O artigo explora uma estratégia para defender a máxima pragmatista que Peirce discute em um manuscrito de 1907 (MS 318). O manuscrito tenta mostrar que proposições são ligadas a hábitos de ação, mostrando que tais hábitos servem como interpretantes lógicos finais de conceitos ou proposições. Depois de analisar os argumentos empregados, o artigo identifica falhas na sua defesa da máxima pragmatista. Especula-se, então, sobre como a discussão de interpretantes pode ser ligada a uma defesa da máxima pragmatista

What are the needs and challenges of breastfed medically complex infants and children in the paediatric setting?

Breastfeeding is known to provide optimal nutrition and immunological support to young children. There are many systems in place to facilitate and protect breastfeeding, such as policies, training programs and specialist practitioners employed within certain settings. However, the support and training are weighted towards the initiation of breastfeeding in healthy newborns, as well as supporting the preterm population. Paediatric settings do not have the same investment in training, policy, or staffing. Within paediatrics, different breastfeeding challenges exist, meaning that not only do staff often not have a baseline level of breastfeeding knowledge, but they also require more nuanced training to effectively support families to overcome difficulties. There is a paucity of research on this subpopulation, especially within the UK, therefore a systematic review was conducted and used to focus the research studies on the identified gaps. Two studies were conducted to identify the knowledge and skills of professionals, and the experiences of mothers breastfeeding their medically complex child in the paediatric setting. The first study was a national survey of 409 multidisciplinary healthcare and allied health professionals working in paediatrics. The second study recruited 30 mothers of children who had been inpatients on paediatric wards or paediatric intensive care units and explored their challenges, barriers and views using semi-structured interviews. The research found that many paediatric professionals have significant gaps in their knowledge and skills, reported several obstacles in terms of unsupportive ward cultures, and identified that current breastfeeding training does not meet the needs of these professionals working to support sick breastfed children in hospital. Furthermore, while some mothers are strongly motivated to breastfeed their sick child, they encounter a range of institutional, clinical and environmental barriers to breastfeeding. The findings suggest that nuanced paediatric-focused breastfeeding training along with a focus on providing family-centred, compassionate care and supportive environments is clinically justified to support families to reach their personal feeding goals and optimise health outcomes for children

'The John Millennium': John Stuart Mill in Victorian Culture

As one of the most well-known figures of the nineteenth century, John Stuart Mill was depicted extensively in journalism, pictures, life-writing and fiction. This thesis draws on a selection from these diverse and underexplored sources to offer a new perspective on Mill’s presence in Victorian cultural and emotional life. It shows how Mill figured in fierce debates about science and culture in the mid- to late-nineteenth century, and how ideas of Mill’s ‘femininity’ were used to both attack and commend him philosophically, politically and personally. Mill’s ‘Saint of Rationalism’ label continues to belie the extent to which he was associated with ideas of passion, sensitivity, tenderness, feeling, and emotion in the nineteenth century. This project explores how such terms were invoked in relation to Mill as a philosopher and politician, but also how they related to readers’ encounters with his works. More than any previous study, this thesis pays close attention to the interaction between verbal and visual depictions, and considers official images and caricatures of Mill alongside written accounts. Though much scholarship emphasises that Mill’s reputation went into decline after his death in 1873 (to be recovered in the late twentieth century), this thesis demonstrates the vitality and diversity of literary engagements with Mill in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. It offers case studies of three authors – Thomas Hardy, Mona Caird and Olive Schreiner – and reads both the form and content of their fiction as involved in recognisably Millian experiments in living. Exploring the Millian concepts that figure in novels by Hardy, Caird and Schreiner not only expands the sense of the philosophical context to their writings, but underscores the continued relevance of Mill to discussions of self-development and education, free discussion and intellectual independence. Finally, this thesis suggests ways in which work on representations of Mill could be developed to gain further insight into the cultural history of the philosopher, into interactions between philosophy and literature, and into the nineteenth-century definitions of liberal culture that inform twenty-first century debates

Finding a moral homeground: appropriately critical religious education and transmission of spiritual values

Values-inspired issues remain an important part of the British school curriculum. Avoiding moral relativism while fostering enthusiasm for spiritual values and applying them to non-curricular learning such as school ethos or children's home lives are challenges where spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development might benefit from leadership by critical religious education (RE). Whether the school's model of spirituality is that of an individual spiritual tradition (schools of a particular religious character) or universal pluralistic religiosity (schools of plural religious character), the pedagogy of RE thought capable of leading SMSC development would be the dialogical approach with examples of successful implementation described by Gates, Ipgrave and Skeie. Marton's phenomenography, is thought to provide a valuable framework to allow the teacher to be appropriately critical in the transmission of spiritual values in schools of a particular religious character as evidenced by Hella's work in Lutheran schools