We investigate under what conditions contrary-to-duty (CTD) structures lacking temporal and action elements can be given a coherent reading. We argue, contrary to some recent proposals, that CTD is not an instance of defeasible reasoning, and that methods of nonmonotonic logics are inadequate since they are unable to distinguish between defeasibility and violation of primary obligations. We pro...

In visual search experiments we examined whether targets that are distinguished from distracting items solely by a contrary change in color can be sought spatially in parallel. Targets under time-varying illumination pop out if they present a contrary luminance signal; targets under space-varying illumination can be detected in parallel when they are isoluminant. The results suggest that neuron...

A well known challenge faced by any version of metaethical expressivism is to provide an adequate treatment of the so-called Frege-Geach problem. The task is to make sense of logically complex sentences like 'If I insulted the host then I ought to apologize', to do so by making sense of the states of mind such sentences would be used to express, and to preserve the validity of intuitively valid...

Those people who are dangerous often have personality disorders. Should these individuals be dealt with by criminal justice or mental health services? England (note not Scotland) has taken the mental health route with the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder Programme. Is this bold move wise or foolish? To answer this question we have both evidence and opinion - neither is conclusive.