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45Disagreement. Edited by Richard Feldman and Ted A. Warfield. (Oxford UP, 2010. Pp. 291. Price $35.00.)Philosophical Quarterly 62 (247): 422-425. 2012.
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14Phase Space Portraits of an Unresolved Gravitational Maxwell DemonFoundations of Physics 32 (3): 441-462. 2002.In 1885, during initial discussions of J. C. Maxwell's celebrated thermodynamic demon, Whiting(1) observed that the demon-like velocity selection of molecules can occur in a gravitationally bound gas. Recently, a gravitational Maxwell demon has been proposed which makes use of this observation [D. P. Sheehan, J. Glick, and J. D. Means, Found. Phys. 30, 1227 (2000)]. Here we report on numerical simulations that detail its microscopic phase space structure. Results verify the previously hypothesiz…Read more
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97Phase Space Portraits of an Unresolved Gravitational Maxwell DemonFoundations of Physics 32 (3): 441-462. 2002.In 1885, during initial discussions of J. C. Maxwell's celebrated thermodynamic demon, Whiting (1) observed that the demon-like velocity selection of molecules can occur in a gravitationally bound gas. Recently, a gravitational Maxwell demon has been proposed which makes use of this observation [D. P. Sheehan, J. Glick, and J. D. Means, Found. Phys. 30, 1227 (2000)]. Here we report on numerical simulations that detail its microscopic phase space structure. Results verify the previously hypothesi…Read more
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98Steady-State Work by an Asymmetrically Inelastic Gravitator in a Gas: A Second Law Paradox (review)Foundations of Physics 30 (8): 1227-1256. 2000.A new member of a growing class of unresolved second law paradoxes is examined.(1–7) In a sealed blackbody cavity, a spherical gravitator is suspended in a low density gas. Infalling gas suprathermally strikes the gravitator which is spherically asymmetric between its hemispheres with respect to surface trapping probability for the gas. In principle, this system can be made to perform steady-state work solely at the expense of heat from the heat bath, this in apparent violation of the second law…Read more
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50A traditional line of inquiry in epistemology tried to analyze the concept of knowledge into its constituent components. In virtue of understanding these alleged more basic concepts, such as truth, justification, and belief, it was hoped that a complete and informative theory of knowledge would emerge. According to the revolutionary approach advocated here, one which originates in Timothy Williamson's Knowledge and Its Limits, better success can be achieved by reversing this conceptual analysis …Read more
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243Justification and the right to believePhilosophical Quarterly 60 (240): 532-544. 2010.Some philosophers have attempted to utilize the conceptual tools of ethics in order to understand epistemology. One instantiation of this understands justification in terms of having a certain kind of epistemic right, namely, a right to believe. In variations of this theme, some hold that justification involves having the authority to believe, or being entitled to believe. But by examining the putative analogies between different versions of rights and justification, I demonstrate that justifica…Read more
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97The Centralized-Use Compromise on Recreational Drug PolicyRes Publica 20 (4): 359-376. 2014.The current debate on recreational drug policy is roughly a contest between prohibition advocates and legalization advocates. This paper offers a third alternative that is a compromise between those two. The centralized-use compromise can secure the autonomy interests that are important to defenders of legalization, and it can prevent harms to others that are the focus of prohibition arguments. The centralized-use compromise also offers a possible way to reduce the black market while also reduci…Read more
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Texas A&M University - KingsvilleDepartment of History, Political Science & PhilosophyRegular Faculty
Kingsville, Texas, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Epistemology |
Applied Ethics |
Areas of Interest
Metaphysics |
Social and Political Philosophy |