of “An Algorithm to Compute the Stochastically Stable Distribution of a Perturbed Markov Matrix” by John R. Wicks, Ph.D., Brown University, May, 2009. Recently, some researchers have attempted to exploit state-aggregation techniques to compute stable distributions of high-dimensional Markov matrices (Gambin and Pokarowski, 2001). While these researchers have devised an efficient, recursive algo...

Classical theories of harmony have been used to explain phenomena like beauty, happiness, health, virtue, pleasure, peace, and even ecological sustainability. With the intent making these more accessible designers, this article reviews conception from about 500 BCE present. It begins with a brief overview in classical Chinese Greek philosophy. Then it examines role renaissance, scientific revol...

In the philosophy of science and epistemology literature, robustness analysis has become an umbrella term that refers to a variety of strategies. One of the main purposes of this paper is to argue that different strategies rely on different criteria for justifications. More specifically, I will claim that: i) robustness analysis differs from de-idealization even though the two concepts have oft...

This thesis considers the problem of how people should deal with moral change. I examine various conceptions of morality and induce the essence of morality, or the set of formal features that is fundamental to all moralities. In particular, I claim that the essence of morality consists of four features: (1) it performs some function (namely, solving the problem of cooperation); (2) it is prescr...

Much has changed in the ten years since I argued for Levinasian alternatives to the Law and Economics movements in one of the first articles on Levinas to appear in a U.S. law review. 1 Levinas scholarship has expanded considerably, especially with respect to the practical applications of his purposefully impractical philosophy. Despite his well-known aversion to the subject, Levinas' political...

Department of Anthropology and Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA Institute of Social Anthropology, FSEV, Comenius University, 820 05 Bratislava 25, Slovakia Social Sciences Subdivision, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137-6599, USA Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barb...

Are companies, churches, and states genuine agents? Or are they just collections of individual agents that give a misleading impression of unity? This question is important, since the answer dictates how we should explain the behaviour of these entities and whether we should treat them as responsible and accountable on the model of individual agents. Group Agency offers a new approach to that q...

Scholars in philosophy, law, economics, and other fields have widely debated how science, environmental precaution, and economic interests should be balanced in urgent contemporary problems such as climate change. One controversial focus of these discussions is the precautionary principle, according to which scientific uncertainty should not be a reason for delay in the face of serious threats ...