Steven French articulates and defends the bold claim that there are no objects in the world. He draws on metaphysics and philosophy of science to argue for structural realism—the position that we live in a world of structures—and defends a form of eliminativism about objects that sets laws and symmetry principles at the heart of ontology.
The aim of this book is to show that the world, including human beings and their consciousness, is not originally a world of thing but a world of words; that fundamentally the world has the structure of a text; and that it is therefore possible to read it like a test (Georg Kühlewind). To realize this goal one must keep in mind three different approaches, or disciplines: epistemology, psychology, and linguistics. These are united by the phenomenology - "empiricism of consciousness" - used by the author, who always speaks from and toward experience. This is no ordinary text. It is a guide to philosophical experience - to the experience of cognition itself.
In this major, paradigm-shifting work, Kojin Karatani systematically re-reads Marx's version of world history, shifting the focus of critique from modes of production to modes of exchange. Karatani seeks to understand both Capital-Nation-State, the interlocking system that is the dominant form of modern global society, and the possibilities for superseding it. In The Structure of World History, he traces different modes of exchange, including the pooling of resources that characterizes nomadic tribes, the gift exchange systems developed after the adoption of fixed-settlement agriculture, the exchange of obedience for protection that arises with the emergence of the state, the commodity exchanges that characterize capitalism, and, finally, a future mode of exchange based on the return of gift exchange, albeit modified for the contemporary moment. He argues that this final stage—marking the overcoming of capital, nation, and state—is best understood in light of Kant's writings on eternal peace. The Structure of World History is in many ways the capstone of Karatani's brilliant career, yet it also signals new directions in his thought.
Developments in Geotectonics 8: The Structure of the Earth's Crust Based on Seismic Data covers the papers presented at an International Upper Mantle Committee (lUMC) symposium called ""Crustal Structure Based on Seismic Data"", held on July 30-31, 1971. The book focuses on the structure, composition, and characteristics of the earth's crust. The selection first offers information on the crustal structure of Central and Southeastern Europe by data of explosion seismology; structure of the earth's crust on the territory of the U.S.S.R.; and seismic studies of low-velocity layers and horizontal inhomogeneities within the crust and upper mantle on the territory of the U.S.S.R. The text also takes a look at the deep seismic investigations in the Baikal rift zone and crust of the arctic seas of Eurasia. Discussions focus on peculiarities of crustal structure, structure of the uppermost mantle, and method of investigation. The publication takes a look at the crustal structure of Japan as derived from explosion seismic data; crustal structure in the Matsushiro earthquake swarm area; and Soviet seismic studies of the earth's crust in the Pacific Ocean during the International Upper Mantle Project. The selection is a dependable source of information for readers interested in the structure of the earth's crust.
In a turbulent global economy, the popular idea of declining farms and factories is largely unfounded. UN and World Bank data show growing output everywhere, but it remains hidden by the faster-growing service sector. Engineers, programmers, surgeons, and pilots make up an increasing share of what is actually the service sector, showing that this sector is not in decline. There is no doubt that industries are shifting, but how does it all add up? Quantifying these technology-driven shifts is fundamental, yet such publication has lagged for years, with stale ideas about what makes a healthy economy persisting since the 1940s. In this new work, Atikian gives us a freshly updated overview countering our tired assumptions about off-shoring, low wages, and industrial decline and providing us with...some fact based confidence in the economy.
Amorphous solids (including glassy and non-crystalline solids) are ubiquitous since the vast majority of solids naturally occurring in our world are amorphous. Although the field is diverse and complex, this three-volume set covers the vast majority of the important concepts needed to understand these materials and their principal practical applications. One volume discusses the most important subset of amorphous insulators, namely oxide glasses; the other two volumes discuss the most important subsets of amorphous semiconductors, namely tetrahedrally coordinated amorphous semiconductors and amorphous and glassy chalcogenides. Together these three volumes provide a comprehensive set of theoretical concepts and practical information needed to become conversant in the field of amorphous materials. They are suitable for advanced graduate students, postdoctoral research associates, and researchers wishing to change fields or sub-fields.The topics covered in these three volumes include (1) concepts for understanding the structures of amorphous materials, (2) techniques to characterize the structural, electronic, and optical properties of amorphous materials, (3) the roles of defects in affecting the electronic and optical properties of amorphous materials, and (4) the concepts for understanding practical devices and other applications of amorphous materials. Applications discussed in these volumes include transistors, solar cells, displays, bolometers, fibers, non-volatile memories, vidicons, photoresists, and optical disks.
The World Atlas of Language Structures is a book and CD combination displaying the structural properties of the world's languages. 142 world maps and numerous regional maps - all in colour - display the geographical distribution of features of pronunciation and grammar, such as number of vowels, tone systems, gender, plurals, tense, word order, and body part terminology. Each world map shows an average of 400 languages and is accompanied by a fully referenced description of the structural feature in question. The CD provides an interactive electronic version of the database which allows the reader to zoom in on or customize the maps, to display bibliographical sources, and to establish correlations between features. The book and the CD together provide an indispensable source of information for linguists and others seeking to understand human languages. The Atlas will be especially valuable for linguistic typologists, grammatical theorists, historical and comparative linguists, and for those studying a region such as Africa, Southeast Asia, North America, Australia, and Europe. It will also interest anthropologists and geographers. More than fifty authors from many different countries have collaborated to produce a work that sets new standards in comparative linguistics. No institution involved in language research can afford to be without it.
Since 1750, the world has become ever more connected, with processes of production and destruction no longer limited by land- or water-based modes of transport and communication. Volume 7 of the Cambridge World History series, divided into two books, offers a variety of angles of vision on the increasingly interconnected history of humankind. The first book examines structures, spaces, and processes within which and through which the modern world was created, including the environment, energy, technology, population, disease, law, industrialization, imperialism, decolonization, nationalism, and socialism, along with key world regions.
Two issues are bothering the humanity at present. Firstly, the contemporary national and international scenarios in socioeconomic, political, ethnic, and cultural domains are throwing up many issues, problems, and challenges relating to development, environment, human rights, human security, communal harmony, peaceful coexistence among nations, and world peace and security. Secondly, existing global institutions are proving to be wanting in their structures and authorities in solving these problems. Alternatively, a new global independent organization with enforcing authority is needed to act upon and solve these issues. The need for replacement of UNO seems to be justified because of failure to solve global problems. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries witnessed revivals of proposals for world government that were fueled by positive developments, such as technological progress in travel and communications that enabled rapid economic globalization as well as negative developments such as the devastating impact of wars fought with modern technology. The author's approach of the formation of the world parliament is through proportional representation of nation's parliaments, thus avoids direct election process for its formation. All the nations and their people's representatives are involved in the formation of the World Parliament and the world government. Based on this line of thinking, the structure for a new federal world government and the new federal world constitution are presented in this book.
Describes some of the worldÕs most fascinating structures, including the tallest buildings, amazing bridges, magnificent castles and palaces, an underground city, and structures that are underwater and another that is orbiting Earth.
