The Western Coordinating Committee-204 (WCC-204) on animal bioethics is a multistate research committee that was formed through the cooperation of several university and government personnel having diverse backgrounds. The WCC-204 is pleased to provide this symposium to Poultry Science Association (PSA) members and invite their participation in the committee. Generic objectives of the committee...

Since Pascal introduced the idea of mathematical probability in the 17th century discussions of uncertainty and “rational” belief have been dogged by philosophical and technical disputes. Furthermore, the last quarter century has seen an explosion of new questions and ideas, stimulated by developments in the computer and cognitive sciences. Competing ideas about probability are often driven by ...

According to one theory, the brain is a sophisticated hypothesis tester: perception is Bayesian unconscious inference where the brain actively uses predictions to test, and then refine, models about what the causes of its sensory input might be. The brain’s task is simply continually to minimise prediction error. This theory, which is getting increasingly popular, holds great explanatory promis...

The first part of the talk will highlight the way in which assumptions widespread in the literature on reasoning about knowledge generate the traditional philosophical problem of scepticism. The problematic assumptions to be discussed here do not include logical omniscience, but are equally serious. My particular concern will be with the so-called Brouwerian axiom: p $ K~Kp (if p is false, an a...

abstract aesthetic viewpoints and philosophical concepts are effective factors which can conduct artistic movements. the impact of philosophical basis on the cultural, social, historical and artistic tendencies is to extent that the mentioned philosophical basis is specified as detailed and separated chapters. among the development and exposition of the philosophical concepts of art area, there...

A noticeable push toward using agricultural crops for ethanol production and for undertaking research to expand the range of possible biofuels began to dominate discussions of agricultural science and policy in the United States around 2005. This paper proposes two complementary philosophical approaches to examining the philosophical questions that should be posed in connection with this turn o...

The papers presented here offer great contrast to the usual philosophical discussions. They are rigorous treatments of philosophical problems that are fully informed about research in artificial intelligence, and are directly concerned with the specific logical and epistemological issues that arise in attempting to automate reasoning and represent knowledge. Each one speaks directly to the conc...