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Status Reports - Status: Summary (2018 - March)

Rationale for this Report


Projects in Progress
Planning and Actuals
Detailed Interim Activities

Plans for the Near Future24

1. Personal Identity25
  1. Continue with my Thesis26; in particular fill out those sections that I can write something on without further research.
  2. Make progress on specific Chapters, using the materials below →
  3. Chapter 227 (What Are We?). Focussing on:-
    1. Human Beings: "Johnston (Mark) - 'Human Beings' Revisited: My Body is Not an Animal".
    2. Selves:-
      1. "Dainton (Barry) - Self: Philosophy In Transit",
      2. "O'Hear (Anthony), Ed. - Mind, Self and Person".
  4. Chapter 528 (Persistence and Time). Focussing on:-
    1. "Botros (Sophie) - Truth, Time and History: A Philosophical Enquiry",
    2. "Miller (Kristie) - Issues in Theoretical Diversity: Persistence, Composition, and Time",
    3. "Wiggins (David) - Continuants: Their Activity, Their Being, and Their Identity",
    4. Complete "Lebens (Samuel) & Goldschmidt (Tyron) - The Promise of a New Past", and send to Sophie Botros & Michael J. Alter,
    5. Complete running through relevant pages from Robert O. Doyle.
  5. Chapter 629 (Animalism). Focussing on:-
    1. "Olson (Eric) - The Human Animal - Personal Identity Without Psychology", my core text,
    2. "Merricks (Trenton) - Objects and Persons",
    3. "Bailey (Andrew M.) - The Elimination Argument",
    4. "Olson (Eric) - On Parfit's View That We Are Not Human Beings",
    5. "Olson (Eric) - The Metaphysical Implications of Conjoined Twining",
    6. "Olson (Eric) - The Role of the Brainstem in Personal Identity",
    7. "Shoemaker (Sydney) - Persons, Animals, and Identity",
    8. "Snowdon (Paul) - Persons, Animals, Ourselves",
    9. Review the work of Elselijn Kingma.
    10. Complete "Rodger (Daniel), Blackshaw (Bruce P.) & Wilcox (Clinton) - Why arguments against infanticide remain convincing" and other works on infanticide.
  6. Chapter 730 (The Constitution View):-
    1. Start a serious review of "Baker (Lynne Rudder) - Persons and Bodies: A Constitution View", my other core text.
    2. Read and review "Corcoran (Kevin) - Rethinking Human Nature: A Christian Materialist Alternative to the Soul".
    3. Write a Note on "Loose (Jonathan) - Constitution and the Falling Elevator".
  7. Chapter 1031 (Thought Experiments):-
    1. Investigate Transhumanism32.
    2. In particular,
      1. Briefly review "O'Connell (Mark) - To be a Machine",
      2. Read "Bostrom (Nick) - Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies",
      3. Review "Rowson (Jonathan) - Deep Thinking?",
      4. Complete "Silver (David), Etc. - Mastering Chess and Shogi by Self-Play with a General Reinforcement Learning Algorithm" and related papers,
      5. Detailed review of "Graziano (Michael) - Endless fun".
      6. Complete:-
        → "Midgley (Mary) - Biotechnology and Monstrosity: Why We Should Pay Attention to the 'Yuk Factor'",
        → "Price (Huw), Cave (Stephen), Iida (Fumiya), Etc. - Preparing for the future: artificial intelligence and us: Part 1",
        → "Price (Huw), Cave (Stephen), Iida (Fumiya), Etc. - Preparing for the future: artificial intelligence and us: Part 2",
  8. Chapter 1133 (Resurrection):-
    1. Start a thorough review of "Martin (L. Michael) & Augustine (Keith) - The Myth of an Afterlife: The Case against Life After Death",
    2. Start a review of "Luper (Steven), Ed. - The Cambridge Companion to Life and Death", especially
      → "Olson (Eric) - The Nature of People",
    3. Start a review of "Bradley (Ben), Feldman (Fred) & Johansson (Jens) - The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Death", especially
      → "Zimmerman (Dean) - Personal Identity and the Survival of Death",
    4. Read and review
      → "Baker (Lynne Rudder) - Death and the Afterlife", and
      → "Corcoran (Kevin) - Dualism, Materialism and the Problem of Post Mortem Survival".
    5. Write a file-note on "Barua (Ankur) - Revisiting the Rationality of Reincarnation-Talk".
  9. As background tasks:-
    1. Convert old PDF-précis, Etc34 to Notes,
    2. Complete cataloguing the books downloaded from Springer,
    3. Continue with "Marshall (Richard) - Philosophy at 3:AM: Questions and Answers with 25 Top Philosophers",
    4. Complete "Erber (Joan T.) & Szuchman (Lenore T.) - Great Myths of Aging",
    5. Continue reading "Harari (Yuval Noah) - Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind",
    6. Write a file-note on "Kazez (Jean) - The Philosophical Parent: Asking the Hard Questions About Having and Raising Children",
    7. Complete my Note on "Smith (Martin) - Why Throwing 92 Heads in a Row Is Not Surprising" and discuss with Pete & Mike.
    8. Continue reading and reviewing35 papers issued by Aeon,
    9. Attend Oliver Black’s Salon,
    10. Keep up with the Journals via JSTOR & Cambridge Core36.

2. Web-tools37
  1. Own Website: Priority 1 Items By Category:-
    • Architecture
      1. Complete XRef-re-engineering project:-
        1. Ensure all links and link-pages use the new XRef table, and pension off the old tables.
        2. Check all link-types still work and fix any errors.
        3. Complete the auto-triggering of regeneration of “associated” link pages.
        4. Fix update bug in Convert_Webrefs.
        5. Fix Bug whereby PaperSummary pages seem to have “Works-” and “Books/Papers-” Citings that refer to the same link-pages.
      2. Review effectiveness of hyperlinking method in the light of PhD and Philosophy of Religion experience.
    • Authors
      1. Authors Narrative: enable footnotes.
    • Books/Papers
      1. Investigate whether multiple Subject/Topic/Subtopic usage leads anywhere (ie. are just the first (of 3) actually used). Fix anything amiss.
    • Documenter
      1. Provide Functional Documentation for Website Generator (using Notes)
    • Education
      1. Investigate Bootstrap.
      2. Plan what to do with "Sitepoint (Learnable) - Sitepoint Learnable Web Development Courses" and the eBooks in my possession.
      3. Read "PC Pro - Computing in the Real World".
      4. Read "Barnes (Russell), Ed. - Web Designer".
      5. Re-start "Harvard University - CS50 Introduction to Computer Science" (consider accreditation).
      6. Understand Bitcoin & Blockchain better
    • Footnotes
      1. Enable the re-use of Footnotes in the same Note38. Currently, they appear twice.
    • Infrastructure
      1. Migration of Website from UKServers to Namesco. Test out.
    • Notes
      1. Allow the option to concatenate Notes in the Printed version (ie. linearly embed them essay-style), rather than treating the hyperlinks as footnotes – but still keep the hyperlink & cross-referencing in place.
        1. For use as "disclaimers" - eg. for "Plug Notes".
        2. For Thesis / essays: the difficulty here is the need for linking passages to make the text run smoothly.
      2. Create automatic39 key-word referencing (ie. to Notes in the Notes-Group "Personal Identity")
      3. Ensure FN referencing within Notes and referencing between Abstracts and Notes works for archived Notes.
      4. Investigate Note_Links: needs versioning, and section of calling Note
      5. Investigate Note_Links: Section references seem to be incorrect
      6. Printable Notes: fix the bug whereby the “private” flag is round the wrong way.
      7. Suppress the publication of the Printable versions of Temp Notes
    • Papers
      1. Create password-protected area to hold pdfs, and links thereto.
    • Process
      1. Determine why Recalculation & Changed Book/Papers produce unneeded regeneration.
    • Spider
      1. Spider keeps generating WebRefs. Suspect it's where I change the URL in the WebRefs table - the Spider creates another WebRef with the superceded URL. Procedurally, this ought not to be possible.
    • Status
      1. Add extra items to Functors to facilitate Quarterly Reporting.
    • WebRefs
      1. Documentation & Bug-fixes: Phase 2
        1. Re-document the procedures in the light of recent changes.
        2. Resolve issues generated / revealed by the spider.
        3. Investigate - and fix where possible - broken links.
  2. Other Websites: Priority 1 Items By Category:-
    • Bridge
      1. Create "Small Sites" database for Alaric
      2. Run Eve Goblets - if asked!
    • Enigma
      1. Termly updates to the Enigma Ensemble (http://www.enigmaensemble.co.uk/) Website.
    • Sophie
      1. Periodic updates to Sophie Botros: Live Site (http://www.sophiebotros.com/)

3. Philosophy of Religion40
  1. Philosophy of Religion:
    1. Continue reading "Antony (Louise M.) - Philosophers without Gods: Meditations on Atheism and the Secular Life",
    2. Review "Oppy (Graham) - An Argument for Atheism From Naturalism".
    3. Continue reading the Blog "Ferguson (Matthew) - Κέλσος".
  2. Resurrection: Read "Knohl (Israel) - Messiahs and Resurrection in 'The Gabriel Revelation'" and associated papers.
  3. Background:
    1. Read appropriate items from Aeon41.
    2. Attend OBT Conference: “How to Read the Bible with Greater Confidence” on 14th April (Link (http://www.obt.org.uk/events?product_id=716)).

4. Consciousness42
  1. Re-read and write notes on "Papineau (David) - Introducing Consciousness",
  2. Re-read and review notes on "Crane (Tim) - Elements of Mind - An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind",
  3. Read appropriate papers from Aeon43.

5. Languages44
  1. Italian: for trip to Otranto in May/June 2018.
    → "Freeth (Mariolina) & Checketts (Giuliana) - Contatti 1: A First Course in Italian",
    → "BBC - Italianissimo: Beginners Teacher's Edition", and
    → "Lonely Planet - Italian (Lonely Planet Fast Talk)",

6. Music45
  1. Oboe:-
    1. Practice the oboe for one or two 30-minute sessions each and every day – focussing on the items below and …
    2. Occasionally combine into one hour-long session to build up stamina further.
    3. Attend the 6 sessions of The Enigma Ensemble.
    4. Run through the Enigma Ensemble portfolio, practicing the active pieces.
    5. Work through, and perfect, scales & arpeggios for Grades I-VI, using
      → "Trinity Guildhall - Trinity Guildhall Scales & Arpeggios for Oboe (Grades 1–8)", and
      → "ABRSM - Scales and Arpeggios for Oboe, Grades 1-8 (ABRSM Scales & Arpeggios)".
    6. Catch up on Grade VI pieces, in particular Boni’s Sonata in G.
    7. Read and apply oboe practice techniques recommended by Martin Schuring.
    8. Read "Caplan (Stephen) - Oboe: The Breathing Book".
  2. Piano: Try to develop some competence as an aid to theory, so:-
    1. Complete working through "Rhodes (James) - How to Play the Piano", and
    2. Try to play by ear, using for inspiration:-
      → "Cannel (Ward) & Marx (Fred) - How to Play the Piano Despite Years of Lessons: What Music Is and How to Make It at Home".
  3. Theory: Prepare for Grade 5 Theory, so study:-
    → "Taylor (Eric) - The AB Guide to Music Theory - Part 2",
    → "Taylor (Eric) - Music Theory in Practice: Grade 1": do the exercises
    → "Taylor (Eric) - Music Theory in Practice: Grade 2",
  4. Aural:
    1. Run through "ABRSM - Aural Training In Practice: Book 1 - Grades 1-3"
    2. Get a grip on the process of ear-training by reading:-
      → "Wikipedia - Absolute Pitch, Relatice Pitch & Ear Training" and
      → "Deutsch (Diana) - Absolute Pitch", and related material46.

7. Mathematics47
  1. Read papers from Aeon as they arise.
  2. Browse "Gowers (Timothy), Barrow-Green (June) & Leader (Imre), Eds. - The Princeton Companion to Mathematics",
  3. Complete reading "Shapiro (Stewart) - Thinking about Mathematics - The Philosophy of Mathematics".

8. HiQ48
  1. ISPE

9. Bridge49
  1. Hand over residual responsibilities to Petra.
  2. Read "Reading - Bridge - Magazines".

10. Chess50:
  1. Read new copies of, and review old copies of, "Chess - Chess Magazine"; work through the “How Good Is Your Chess” articles.


In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 1:
  • Since the contents of the groups changes over time, this justification for their segregation isn’t entirely accurate.
Footnote 9:
  • Mind you, the mathematical bits didn’t function very well in my youth, so what hope is there now?
Footnote 13:
  • Due to administrative confusion, I needlessly took their latest entrance test. After chasing them up I was told I “passed with flying colours”, but could get no more information.
Footnote 14:
  • Something of an exaggeration, of course.
  • Coxes Farm hails from the 16th century, or possibly earlier, and is very “wonky”, requiring continual maintenance.
  • In December 2017, a base to roof crack appeared in the render at the front. It’s been stable since then, with a temporary mastic repair, but is most likely symptomatic of weakness in a supporting post on account of ingress of water.
Footnote 15: Footnote 19:
  • The 58 hours / week scheduled last time was far too optimistic, given the risk of disruptive events.
  • While I managed about 40 hours / week on my projects when working 3 days a week in 2007, there must have been quite a following wind!
Footnote 20:
  • 10 hours / week on music required too much zeal.
Footnote 21:
  • As my purchasing has now dropped to a relative trickle, I’ve extended the selection range to cover the last 6 months.
  • Some of these are random purchases from charity shops, or presents. Others are selectively purchased in support of my various projects.
  • Poverty and lack of space is severely curtailing my purchasing power.
Footnote 22:
  • Or at least those recently added to my database, in the case of electronic items that sometimes arrive too fast to be catalogued immediately.
Footnote 24:
  • In the light of the segregation of my projects into three tiers, items for tertiary projects are only to be addressed if everything of higher priority is in shape.
Footnote 35:
  • Try to keep up to date, but only read those that are strictly relevant – ignore the rest!
  • At present I have a relatively small reading-backlog, and a much larger reviewing-backlog.
  • Try to add a brief comment for each paper – maybe at the expense of reading the full text!
Footnote 38:
  • This occurs in these reports, but possibly elsewhere.
Footnote 39:
  • This is complicated for a number of reasons:-
    1. There will be false positives, so there needs to be a way of "proofing" what's to be done before doing anything.
    2. There will be times where it is inappropriate (eg. in quoted work by other authors).
    3. The referencing differs depending on whether the term is in a Footnote or not.
    4. I'd need to check for already-existing links, variant grammatical forms, etc.
  • Maybe try this out using the case of "Supervenience".
Footnote 46: Ie. The following:-

Note last updated: 21/04/2018 20:05:17

Footnote 2: (Status: Personal Identity (2018 - March))

Rationale for this Project

  • I am researching the subject of Personal Identity primarily because of its intrinsic interest and importance. It is really a sub-topic in my Philosophy of Religion project, with its penultimate chapter considering the metaphysical possibility of resurrection.
  • While I’m interested in the topic of my research in its own right, I think when I’ve sorted it out a bit, and have something to say, I’ll want to engage with other philosophers active in this field – and re-starting a PhD at Birkbeck or elsewhere might be the only effective way to do this.
  • While a PhD is not an end in itself, and certainly not the ultimate aim of my doing philosophy, it’s still true that a PhD would teach me research techniques, provide focus and direction, and furnish a professional qualification should I want to publish any results in this or any other area of philosophy.
  • The jumping-off point for my thesis is here, and a progress dashboard is here. Maybe a better place to find my current views is here.

Summary of Progress during January – March 2018
  1. I spent 330 hours in 1Q18 on my Thesis or Thesis-related work (638 hours YTD, where for “YTD” – Year to Date – I mean the (academic) year that commenced in October 2017). That’s 103% of the planned effort (105% YTD). Overall, 53% of my Project effort in the Quarter was directed towards this project (making 48% YTD) – as against 43% planned (42% YTD).
  2. My planned effort is now 25 hours / week: approximately what I’d expect to put in to a part-time PhD. And, for once, I managed to exceed it, and that mostly on relevant items!
  3. Relatively little time was spent on Aeon reading irrelevant to my research. Indeed, I’ve not had time to read Aeon regularly.
  4. The main focus of the quarter was that I updated almost all my Notes on Personal Identity. As noted last time, I’ve decided to change my approach in the short term. Rather than spending ages researching the reading lists, I’ll just list those books / papers on the relevant topic that I’ve actually read, and supply brief text. As a second pass I’ll use what I’ve read to update that text. I approximated to this plan – updating all my Notes to reflect the new format – but didn’t quite have time to add all the items read, though I did research some of the reading lists for those I did add the items read.
  5. Read "Barua (Ankur) - Revisiting the Rationality of Reincarnation-Talk", which needs a file-note.
  6. Started reading
    → "Harari (Yuval Noah) - Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind", recommended by Naomi.
    → "Midgley (Mary) - Biotechnology and Monstrosity: Why We Should Pay Attention to the 'Yuk Factor'".
    → "Price (Huw), Cave (Stephen), Iida (Fumiya), Etc. - Preparing for the future: artificial intelligence and us: Part 1".
    → "Price (Huw), Cave (Stephen), Iida (Fumiya), Etc. - Preparing for the future: artificial intelligence and us: Part 2".
    → "Rodger (Daniel), Blackshaw (Bruce P.) & Wilcox (Clinton) - Why arguments against infanticide remain convincing".
  7. Carried out further work on "Olson (Eric) - Personal Identity - Oxford Bibliographies Online"; enough for now.
  8. Finished reading "O'Neill (Cathy) - Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy", required reading for all new King’s Cambridge entrants.
  9. Finished reading "Kazez (Jean) - The Philosophical Parent: Asking the Hard Questions About Having and Raising Children", which requires a file-note.
  10. Read "Edmonds (David) & Eidinow (John) - Wittgenstein's Poker".
  11. Catalogued a few more of the books downloaded from Springer at the end of 2015.
  12. The detailed list below reflects the Notes updated together with associated papers where I could be bothered to record time against these separately.
  13. Progress between reports can be obtained from the relevant section of my Summary Task List. More detail follows:-
Thesis (Total Hours = 257.75)
  1. Thesis - Reading / Writing (Total Hours = 248.5)
  2. Thesis - Discussions
  3. Thesis - Research Repositioning (Total Hours = 8)

Thesis Background (Total Hours = 62)
  1. Thesis Background - Reading / Writing (Total Hours = 36.5)
  2. Thesis Background - Books Admin (Total Hours = 19.75)
  3. Thesis Background - Status

Thesis (Aeon) (Total Hours = 10.75)

Plans for the Near Future – Top Priority Tasks
Summary of Progress to Date

This was hived off to a separate Note back in 2010, and hasn’t changed much since.



In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 6:
  • Hopefully, I may complete, or get stuck, earlier.
  • By “current academic year”, I mean the period ending on my 65th birthday – ie. 13/11/2018. This is not to slip!
  • On the plus side, I’m already much further advanced than would be expected of someone commencing a PhD.
  • On the minus side, I want to go into much greater depth, and have other projects on the go – most notably Music, Philosophy of Religion and my Web-tools project.
  • The reason for deferring to my 65th birthday is that this is when I get my State Pension. This may not be much, but it’ll make a significant contribution towards the fees and expenses, which I can’t currently afford.
Footnote 7:
  • This used to say “complete a thesis …”, which is obviously impossible, given that my idea of a thesis is way in excess of what is required.
Footnote 10:
  • This is obviously far too long, and keeps getting items “carried forward” tacked on to it.
  • Maybe I’ll prune it next time.
Footnote 20:
  • Try to keep up to date, but only read those that are strictly relevant – ignore the rest!
  • At present I have a relatively small reading-backlog, and a much larger reviewing-backlog.
  • Try to add a brief comment for each paper – maybe at the expense of reading the full text!

Note last updated: 21/04/2018 20:05:17

Footnote 3: (Status: Web-Tools (2018 - March))

Rationale for this Project

  • This Project was alluded to briefly in a footnote on research methodology in my original Research Proposal under the head Research - Internet Technology. When last at Birkbeck, I wrote a more extensive paper defending the Project and describing its rationale. Now that my PhD is in suspense, I have decided to take this Project further. There’s a lot to do: still quite a few items on the “wish list”. It is fairly critical as an enabler for my research, so I need to get a move on as I want it all out of the way before I re-start4 formal research.
  • For documentation on my website (currently password protected) follow the links below:-
    1. Functional5 Documentation.
    2. Technical7 Documentation.
  • Other Websites
    1. About 10 years ago, I created a website for Dr. Sophie Botros (Sophie Botros: Live Site (http://www.sophiebotros.com/)), one of my supervisors at Birkbeck. I’ve now taken it back on and spruced it up a bit, though it requires more work.
    2. I created and / or ran a multitude of bridge websites, but as of January 2018 I have either handed them over or mothballed them9:-
      1. I established the Hutton Bridge Club (http://www.bridgewebs.com/hutton.html) Website in 4Q11 using the standard Bridgewebs service, but with a couple of competitions using my own routines.
      2. In 1Q15, I took over the support and development of the Essex Contract Bridge Association (http://www.bridgewebs.com/essex/) (ECBA) website, which also uses Bridgewebs, but is very much larger. I wrote a lot of code10 to make this job less tedious.
      3. For several years, I collected data on bridge activity in the Billericay / Brentwood area (needed for a project to set up a new consolidated club) – by “scraping” data off web pages, consolidating it into a database and modelling it in various ways – I have agreed to share this data sometime early in 201811.
      4. I used this data to generate websites with a multitude of ladders for small clubs (Essex Bridge Results (http://www.essexbridgeresults.org.uk/)). These are now mothballed.
      5. I created and maintained a new website for the First Class Bridge (http://www.bridgewebs.com/firstclassbridge/) Academy, giving it “small clubs” ladders as these were easy to maintain with little intervention.
      6. In 3Q16 I revived the Mountnessing Bridge Club Archive (http://mountnessing.theotodman.com/index.shtml) website.
    3. I’ve created and continue to maintain a small website for a music group Julie and I attend – the Enigma Ensemble (http://www.enigmaensemble.co.uk/).
    4. I created a website for displaying the textual and grammatical analyses and appendices of Pete’s PhD on the Acts of the Apostles. It exists in two versions: Acts: Live Site (http://www.acts-research.website/) and Acts: Test Site (http://www.theotodman.com/Petes_PhD/index.htm).
  • I did consider returning to work part-time as an MS Access/Excel developer, with a spin-off into website generation, but have done nothing about it so far.

Summary of Progress during January – March 2018
  1. This project retained its prominence as in recent quarters. During 1Q18 I expended 164 hours on this project (360 hours YTD, where for “YTD” – Year to Date – I mean the academic year that commenced in October 2017). That’s 91% of planned effort, 95% YTD. Overall, 26% of my project effort in the Quarter was directed towards this Project (making 27% YTD) – as against 24% planned (26% YTD).
  2. Unfortunately, I made no progress at all on the course put out by Harvard - "Harvard University - CS50 Introduction to Computer Science". I still intend to make a serious attempt to complete it in 2018 (I will need to re-start).
  3. However, I did manage to spend almost 130 hours developing my own site. Completed items included12:-
    1. Bridge: Corrected format of Links from Bridge Page
    2. Documenter: Documenter Bug-fixes: Objects in Comments, MsgBoxs & Debugs
    3. Documenter: Create consolidated Development Log, and update "Progress to Date" and "Outstanding Developments" Reports
    4. Notes: Extended deduction of Note links to Papers, and Papers with embedded Notes.
    5. Notes: Notes Functor13 Processing: Phase 1
      1. Basic processing to interpret comments in HTML code
      2. 01: Quarterly Report: Activity insert
      3. 02: Development Log report - Completed Items by Date
      4. 03: Development Log report - Outstanding Items by Priority
      5. 04: Development Log report - Outstanding Items by Category
      6. 05: Development Log report - Completed Items by Category
      7. 06: Quarterly Report: Priority 1 Outstanding Developments by Category
    6. Notes: Automated format-change of old tables in Notes and Notes_Archive
    7. Notes: Removed old "Printable Notes" links from Archived Notes
    8. Papers: Correction of narratives on Note time-recording pseudo-papers
    9. Process: Improved efficiency of daily changes regeneration (removed msgboxes)
    10. Process: Wrote a routine to update a set of .htm files, replacing text in them all
    11. WebRefs: Documentation & Bug-fixes: Phase 1
      1. Completed "as is" functional documentation so I could see what's going on.
      2. Re-engineered so it made sense and ran efficiently without bugs
      3. Fixed the obvious data errors that confused the statistics - ie. where the returned URL differs from that requested and https issues.
      4. Wrote / improved diagnostic reports (web pages)
    12. WebRefs: Determined & reported usage directly using embedded +WnnnW+ encoding rather than via the Spider. Reconciled the two methods.
  4. The following items were initiated or progressed:-
    1. Initiated a project to automatically hyperlink pages together based on personal identity key-words.
    2. Started to investigate why the Backups and Spider take such a long time.
    3. Fixed a few bugs with the Note-XRef deduction routines.
  5. I also made the termly update to the Enigma Ensemble (http://www.enigmaensemble.co.uk/) Website.
  6. I applied some further changes to Sophie Botros: Live Site (http://www.sophiebotros.com/) related to Sophie’s new book.
  7. Full details for 1Q18 are given below:-
Website (Total Hours = 159.25)
  1. Website - Development (Total Hours = 129.75)
    • Website - Bridge Page - Update & Correct Link formats (2.75 hours)
    • Website - Correction of narratives on Note time-recording pseudo-papers (1.25 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Automate links to Notes (3.75 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Automated format-change of old Notes tables (2.75 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Automated format-change of old tables in Archived Notes (2.25 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Decode documentation links in Archived Note FNs (0.25 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Delete Old Code & Re-document (0.5 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Document / Fix "Referencing" functions (1.75 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Documenter Bug-fixes: Objects in Comments, MsgBoxs & Debugs (2.75 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Improve Documenter jump table (0.5 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Improve efficiency of daily changes regeneration (3.5 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Investigate Backup Run-time (3 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Investigate Spider Run-time (0.75 hours)
    • Website - Generator - New "Recent Acquisitions" Book List (0.25 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Notes Functor Processing (3.5 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Output all Abstracts with Embedded Notes (0.5 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Produce consolidated Development Log (27.75 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Remove "Printable Notes" links from Archived Notes (2.5 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Residual problems with Note referencing (5 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Simplify Note XRef procedure (deduce link) - fix Bug when embedded in Paper (3.25 hours)
    • Website - Generator - Tweaks to Thesis Dashboard (0.5 hours)
    • Website - Generator - WebRefs - Correction of errored URLs (10.5 hours)
    • Website - Generator - WebRefs - Documentation & Bug-fixes (37 hours)
    • Website - Generator - WebRefs - Investigate Empty Error report (1.75 hours)
    • Website - Generator - WebRefs - Map Usage (10.5 hours)
    • Website - Updated "Websites-maintained" page (1 hour)
      → See "Software Development - Website - Development"
  2. Website - Education (Total Hours = 3.75)
  3. Website - Infrastructure (Total Hours = 18)
    • Commission new power-supply (0.25 hours)
    • Domain move - ZoomSearch failure (2.25 hours)
    • Increase iCloud Storage (0.25 hours)
    • Julie's Laptop - Plan + Commisssioning (1.25 hours)
    • Julie's PC - Decommission (0.75 hours)
    • Microsoft Windows 10 / MS Office - Lexmark Driver Problems (0.5 hours)
    • Microsoft Windows 10 / MS Office - Releases & Bugs (3.5 hours)
    • Mouse - Fix USB Driver failure (failed!) (2.5 hours)
    • Mouse - Replace with Bluetooth version (0.5 hours)
    • Naomi's new laptop (0.75 hours)
    • PC Backups / OneDrive (1.5 hours)
    • Scanner - connectivity problems (0.5 hours)
    • theotodman.com domain name renewed until Feb 2023 (0.25 hours)
    • Toshiba Docking Station Investigations (0.25 hours)
    • Website - Transfer from UKServers to Namesco (3 hours)
      → See "Software Development - Website - Development"
  4. Website - Maintenance (Total Hours = 7.75)
    • 1Q18 Status Reports (0.5 hours)
    • 4Q17 Status Reports (2.5 hours)
    • Website - Periodic Full Regeneration (2.75 hours)
    • Website - Run Web Spider (1 hour)
    • Website - ZoomSearch database refresh (1 hour)
      → See "Software Development - Website - Development"

Website Others (Total Hours = 4.5)
  1. Website Others - Bernie's Website Development
  2. Website Others - ECBA Maintenance (Total Hours = 0.75)
  3. Website Others - Enigma Ensemble
  4. Website Others - Joint Project Data Analysis
  5. Website Others - Sophie Botros


Plans for the Near Future

To balance the books, I’ve further reduced the planned weekly effort on this project by a couple of hours to 12 hours. My intention for the rest of this academic year is to focus on sorting out my website, together with updating my technical competence. The Plan below is taken automatically from the Priority 1 items on my Development Log, as published in my Outstanding Developments Report.
  1. Own Website: Priority 1 Items By Category:-
    • Architecture
      1. Complete XRef-re-engineering project:-
        1. Ensure all links and link-pages use the new XRef table, and pension off the old tables.
        2. Check all link-types still work and fix any errors.
        3. Complete the auto-triggering of regeneration of “associated” link pages.
        4. Fix update bug in Convert_Webrefs.
        5. Fix Bug whereby PaperSummary pages seem to have “Works-” and “Books/Papers-” Citings that refer to the same link-pages.
      2. Review effectiveness of hyperlinking method in the light of PhD and Philosophy of Religion experience.
    • Authors
      1. Authors Narrative: enable footnotes.
    • Books/Papers
      1. Investigate whether multiple Subject/Topic/Subtopic usage leads anywhere (ie. are just the first (of 3) actually used). Fix anything amiss.
    • Documenter
      1. Provide Functional Documentation for Website Generator (using Notes)
    • Education
      1. Investigate Bootstrap.
      2. Plan what to do with "Sitepoint (Learnable) - Sitepoint Learnable Web Development Courses" and the eBooks in my possession.
      3. Read "PC Pro - Computing in the Real World".
      4. Read "Barnes (Russell), Ed. - Web Designer".
      5. Re-start "Harvard University - CS50 Introduction to Computer Science" (consider accreditation).
      6. Understand Bitcoin & Blockchain better
    • Footnotes
      1. Enable the re-use of Footnotes in the same Note21. Currently, they appear twice.
    • Infrastructure
      1. Migration of Website from UKServers to Namesco. Test out.
    • Notes
      1. Allow the option to concatenate Notes in the Printed version (ie. linearly embed them essay-style), rather than treating the hyperlinks as footnotes – but still keep the hyperlink & cross-referencing in place.
        1. For use as "disclaimers" - eg. for "Plug Notes".
        2. For Thesis / essays: the difficulty here is the need for linking passages to make the text run smoothly.
      2. Create automatic22 key-word referencing (ie. to Notes in the Notes-Group "Personal Identity")
      3. Ensure FN referencing within Notes and referencing between Abstracts and Notes works for archived Notes.
      4. Investigate Note_Links: needs versioning, and section of calling Note
      5. Investigate Note_Links: Section references seem to be incorrect
      6. Printable Notes: fix the bug whereby the “private” flag is round the wrong way.
      7. Suppress the publication of the Printable versions of Temp Notes
    • Papers
      1. Create password-protected area to hold pdfs, and links thereto.
    • Photos
      1. Add photos of Tom
      2. Develop software & procedure to make adding more content to the photos pages easier to undertake.
    • Process
      1. Determine why Recalculation & Changed Book/Papers produce unneeded regeneration.
    • Spider
      1. Spider keeps generating WebRefs. Suspect it's where I change the URL in the WebRefs table - the Spider creates another WebRef with the superceded URL. Procedurally, this ought not to be possible.
    • Status
      1. Add extra items to Functors to facilitate Quarterly Reporting.
    • WebRefs
      1. Documentation & Bug-fixes: Phase 2
        1. Re-document the procedures in the light of recent changes.
        2. Resolve issues generated / revealed by the spider.
        3. Investigate - and fix where possible - broken links.
  2. Other Websites: Priority 1 Items By Category:-
    • Bridge
      1. Create "Small Sites" database for Alaric
      2. Run Eve Goblets - if asked!
    • Enigma
      1. Termly updates to the Enigma Ensemble (http://www.enigmaensemble.co.uk/) Website.
    • Sophie
      1. Periodic updates to Sophie Botros: Live Site (http://www.sophiebotros.com/)

Summary of Progress to Date

This is hived off to various separate documents, which have now been harmonising and / or consolidated:-
  1. Summary of Progress to Date.
  2. Outstanding Developments,
  3. Functional Documentation,
  4. A summary of time expended across the years developing my website26 is at "Software Development - Website - Development".




In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 4:
  • Well, I’ve missed the boat, so will need to continue with both projects in parallel.
  • This was always likely to be necessary, as new features will always arise in use. It’s a prototype methodology, after all.
Footnote 5:
  • This is very tedious to produce and consequently is both incomplete and out of date.
Footnote 7:
  • This is much more fun, as it’s a purely technical task.
  • I’ve written a vastly-improved general-purpose technical documenter for MS Access.
Footnote 9:
  • It’s a shame to abandon the “mini websites” with all their ladders, as it’s rather well done.
  • However, I can’t waste time on these after I’ve abandoned bridge.
Footnote 10:
  • I cannot hand this code over, so the tedium will return, thugh not to me!
  • It’s undecided whether I’ll continue to run the ECBA “Victor Ludorum” competition.
Footnote 11:
  • But will wait until asked again, as I doubt it’ll be of any real use to anyone.
Footnote 12:
  • This list is manually cut from the automated list generated for the Progress to Date document.
  • Eventually I will automate this – but it currently requires augmentation with significant WIP tasks and a few other tweaks.
Footnote 13:
  • An eccentric use of this term.
  • By it I mean the extraction of data from a database, formatting it, and inserting the resulting text in line into a web-page.
Footnote 21:
  • This occurs in these reports, but possibly elsewhere.
Footnote 22:
  • This is complicated for a number of reasons:-
    1. There will be false positives, so there needs to be a way of "proofing" what's to be done before doing anything.
    2. There will be times where it is inappropriate (eg. in quoted work by other authors).
    3. The referencing differs depending on whether the term is in a Footnote or not.
    4. I'd need to check for already-existing links, variant grammatical forms, etc.
  • Maybe try this out using the case of "Supervenience".
Footnote 26:
  • As distinct from developing other peoples’ websites – time which is also recorded against this project, but not against this task.

Note last updated: 21/04/2018 20:05:17

Footnote 4: (Status: Philosophy of Religion (2018 - March))

Rationale for this Project

  • See my Christian page and onward links from there for an explanation of how I got in to and out of evangelical Christianity. This is still a live issue for me, and the reason I originally undertook formal philosophical training.
  • The connection to my current philosophical researches arises from the standard religious hope that resurrection – or some other form of post-mortem survival – is possible. This is a cornerstone of religious claims and expectations, at least in the Abrahamic religions, from those of suicide bombers to those of more pacific persons. I wish to go back to the considerations that originally motivated Locke and research the metaphysical possibility of resurrection for beings such as us. My current opinion is that resurrection for human beings is metaphysically impossible2, given that substance dualism is false.
  • In late September 2010 I took the Philosophy of Religion Module of a 2-year part time MA in Philosophy and Religion at Heythrop College (Link (http://www.heythrop.ac.uk/)), University of London. Follow the links for my Personal Statement, Interview Write-up, and Course Outline. I decided not to proceed with the MA but do intend to follow up on7 the many issues raised.
  • During 2016 I assisted with the Appendices of my friend’s PhD Thesis on the Narrative Structure of the Acts of the Apostles, building a website. See "Mansell (Peter) - Bottom Up Reading of Acts".
  • In August 2017 I was asked by Michael J. Alter to review pre-publication his book on the theology of the Resurrection. Unfortunately it turned out to be too much work, and I only commented on the first section.

Summary of Progress during January – March 2018
  1. I had planned 7 hours / week for this quarter, but achieved a mere 20% of that. The reason for this was basically that I’d planned far too much time this quarter across my various projects, and this project took the major hit, in that I decided that I would not be able to continue with a serious critique Michael J. Alter’s book.
  2. Consequently, I spent 18 hours on this project in 1Q18 (77 hours YTD, where by “YTD” – Year to Date – I mean the academic year commenced in October 2017). That’s 20% of the planned effort (60% YTD). Overall, 3% of my Project effort in the Quarter was directed towards this project (making 6% YTD) – as against 12% planned (9% YTD).
  3. The highlights of the quarter were:-
  4. Further details of activity in the last quarter are given below:-
Religion (Total Hours = 10.5)
Religion Background (Total Hours = 7.5)
  1. Religion Background - Admin
  2. Religion Background - Books Admin
  3. Religion Background - Discussions (Total Hours = 4.75)
    • Interaction - Discussion with Naomi (0.25 hours)
    • Interaction - Discussions with Mike & Sylvia (1 hour)
    • "Interaction - Discussions with Pete" (2.5 hours)
    • Interaction - Discussions with Pete & Caro; Julie (1 hour)


Plans for the Near Future

In order to balance the books – and retain focus on my Thesis and Web-tools projects – I’ve reduced the planned effort back to 2 hours a week.
  1. Philosophy of Religion:
    1. Continue reading "Antony (Louise M.) - Philosophers without Gods: Meditations on Atheism and the Secular Life",
    2. Review "Oppy (Graham) - An Argument for Atheism From Naturalism".
    3. Continue reading the Blog "Ferguson (Matthew) - Κέλσος".
  2. Resurrection: Read "Knohl (Israel) - Messiahs and Resurrection in 'The Gabriel Revelation'" and associated papers.
  3. Background:
    1. Read appropriate items from Aeon.
    2. Attend OBT Conference: “How to Read the Bible with Greater Confidence” on 14th April (Link (http://www.obt.org.uk/events?product_id=716)).

Summary of Progress to Date

I’ve hived off the history to a separate document, which still requires a major update.



In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 2: Footnote 7:
  • This pious hope has been sitting unactioned for 7 years now!

Note last updated: 05/04/2018 10:48:00

Footnote 10: (Status: HiQ (2017 - September))

Rationale for this Project

  1. I was very active in Mensa and ISPE in the years prior to taking up formal study of philosophy at Birkbeck in 2000. Thereafter I was too busy, and no longer felt the need to contribute, so I let my memberships lapse.
  2. When I retired from HSBC at the end of 2010, given that I was no longer involved in formal academic study, I re-joined both societies for a year to see how things were going, but then let my memberships lapse again. ISPE seemed no better than when I was involved last time. The Mensa SIGs seem active enough, but I didn’t have the time to contribute.
  3. I re-joined ISPE yet again for the calendar year 2017, to see what was going on.
  4. Society Details:-
    • For Mensa – see Link (http://www.mensa.org.uk/about-mensa) – I joined, or re-joined, a bundle of societies, but did nothing.
    • For ISPE – see Link (https://www.thethousand.com/) – I did nothing other than pay my dues and exchange friendly emails with a couple of old contacts.
    • For a site1 giving details of the tests used for entry to ISPE and “higher” societies, see “uncommonly Difficult IQ Tests” (Link (http://tthqi.free.fr/Uncommonly%20Difficult%20IQ%20Tests.php)).
    • See Link (http://www.polymath-systems.com/intel/hiqsocs/hiqsocs1.html) for a site that gives the admission tests for the various societies (and refers to the defunct site above-mentioned).
  5. Between 1997 and 2001 I edited a newsletter (Commensal - Past Issues) in my capacity as secretary of the Philosophical Discussion Group of British Mensa.
  6. I also edited "ISPE, Todman (Theo) - Under the Sycamore Tree: Correspondence Folder for the UK Members and Associates of ISPE" for a year.
  7. My intention has been to participate in these societies just so far as doing so would support my other projects by way of stimulation and the opportunity for interaction. As such, most of the time recorded against this project could equally be recorded against others.

Status as at end-September 2017
  • I re-joined ISPE. All that ought to have been required was that I pay my dues, but because of a mix-up I was asked to sit the latest version of their test, which I did. I didn’t, however, hear back – though I was re-instated OK. I’ve recently chased them up for the results2.
  • I spent 5 hours in the 2016/17 academic year, which was 38% of plan.
  • At the end of July 2017, I received the last print-copy3 of "ISPE - Telicom" (it was a bumper “full year” issue for 2016) and have read some of it. I was put off by the article recording the allocation of the ISPE Whiting Memorial Award to two members of the society. As usual, the academic status of society members is grossly overblown, but the thing that really disturbed me was the project for which they received their award, which was to replace Minkowski Space-Time by adding a third “substratum” so we have Space-Time-Consciousness. This sounds as misguided as you can get, but I’ve not investigated it. Further, one of the recipients was alleged to have solved Fermat’s Last Theorem in 1965, but “remarkably” only several pages long, as against the 170 pages of Andrew Wiles’s proof. Despite the claim that “tens of professional mathematicians” have failed to refute it, it’s bound to unsound, or we’d have heard of it4.

HiQ (Total Hours = 5)
Plans for the 2017/18 Academic Year
  • I’m an ISPE member until end-2017, and only thereafter if I pay my dues. We’ll see.
  • To provide focus for higher-priority projects, I do not plan to spend any significant time on this project in the near future. I may do so on an ad hoc basis, and have therefore allocated 1 hour / week. If so, actions will feature on the Summary_Task_List.
  • However, I do not intend to produce any more editions of this report until this time next year.
  • Possible Background Activities:-
    1. ISPE
    2. Mensa
      • Nothing planned – see previous versions of this report for possibilities.




In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 1: The reference given in previous reports is defunct. I think this is the same basic site.

Footnote 2: My rationale being set out in an email:
  • “On the test itself – it’s similar to, though not the same as – the first one I took, and leaves me feeling similarly uncomfortable. Theory is massively underdetermined by data, so – in a sense – “it depends what you want”. It’d be possible – no doubt – to think more and more deeply and come up with more and more Byzantine reasons for excluding particular items. But how would I know this is what is wanted? It wasn’t until I got the same percentile on the (much more satisfying but now sadly compromised) Mega Test that I trusted the ISPE test at all (actually, I was surprised that I didn’t do better on the Mega Test, and an inquest revealed I’d made at least 3 howlers that more care would have avoided).”
Footnote 3:
  • Hereafter Telicom will be published on-line only, except for those willing to pay a premium membership fee.
Footnote 4:
  • A quick Google only reveals self-published material, eg: Link (http://www.erclosetphysics.com/2015/11/news-about-my1965-proof-of-fermats-last.html).

Note last updated: 09/10/2017 23:25:26

Footnote 11: (Status: Bridge (2017 - September))

Rationale for this Project

  • I showed some natural talent for bridge in my youth, and wanted to see how far I could get with a bit of application (but – given the breadth my other interests – without fanaticism).
  • However, this project has always needed to be kept rigorously in hand, something that has rarely been the case since I returned to the game. Basically, Bridge is fun – and I do reasonably well, but not well enough.
  • I withdrew from the game2 for most of 2015, but returned in the final quarter. This absence allowed me to get things in perspective for a while - playing twice or three times a week, with the occasional tournament.
  • However, as from July 2017 I have now retired from the game again, though I still keep in touch with what’s going on via my bridge website activities.

Summary of Progress during July - September 2017
  1. Overview:
    • I had a very busy first 20 days of July, since when I’ve not played.
    • Results in general were rather depressing, and my rating dropped further from a K to a Q, when I called it a day.
    • The real crisis point was superficially a success, in the London Swiss Teams (see below). The problem was with the X-IMPS, which were flat for Albert and me, when we thought we’d had a good day. It was substantially down to one board where we correctly stopped in 5 of a major knowing there was an AK out against us in a side suit. Unfortunately, lots of pairs had been in small or even grand slams, sometimes doubled, and always making. So, we got a terrible X-IMPs score, while our partners got a good score for only letting through the small slam. This was in a field with a lot of international players. I decided the game was too silly to continue with, given the time it takes from other projects.
    • I spent only 41% of planned effort on this project; details below. This was due to my retirement mid-July.
  2. The Highlights of the quarter were:-
    • London Swiss Teams (YCBC, Sunday 16th July, with Albert; Peter & Pat as team-mates): 6th out of 27 in a very strong field. 1 GP gained
    • Essex “C” vs Cambs & Hunts (Sunday 2nd July): With David. Pretty abject. The team lost 0-20, and David and I were -32 Butler-IMPs, for no good reason.
  3. I’ve continued supporting the ECBA website (Essex Contract Bridge Association (http://www.bridgewebs.com/essex/)) and Bernie’s Website (First Class Bridge (http://www.bridgewebs.com/firstclassbridge/)) as well as various sites for small clubs (Essex Bridge Results (http://www.essexbridgeresults.org.uk/)).
  4. I spent a lot of time %age-wise on system and session reviews which, as always, needs to be kept in check. I was trying to determine what was going wrong, other than random fluctuations.
  5. Effort Expenditure: During 3Q17 I expended 87 hours on this project (870 hours YTD, where for “YTD” – Year to Date – I mean the (academic) year commencing in October 2016). That’s 41% of the planned effort, 101% YTD. Overall, 12% of my Project effort in the Quarter was directed towards this project (making 33% YTD) – as against 30% planned (32% YTD).
  6. Statistics: by partner and club-category can be obtained by following these links – for the last quarter and to date.
  7. Recent Results: Follow this link. Further information can be found from my Bridge Page.
  8. Local Points:
    • 33,768, bagged to date, including 1,175 Blue Points, 98.56 Green Points and 0.22 Gold Points4.
    • That makes me a National Master. My next aim – if I play again – will be to achieve Premier National Master status (40,000 LPs, including 100 GPs) – so just there as far as GPs are concerned5, but still a long way to go for local points.
    • I think I had about 5,000 LPs from my student days, but never registered any, more’s the pity.
  9. EBU Grading:
    • My rating continued to decline in 3Q17, and was down to a mid Q by the time I stopped playing.
    • See Link (https://www.ebu.co.uk/ngs/) for full details of the scheme, and the summary and previous reports for my detailed meanderings over time.
  10. Summary of Progress to Date: I’ve hived off the history to a separate document.
  11. Further Details: of time expenditure against task are given below, extracted from the relevant version of my Summary Task List (which is regularly updated between Quarterly Status Reports).

Bridge (Total Hours = 87.25)
  1. Bridge - Reading / Writing
  2. Bridge - Admin (Total Hours = 11.75)
  3. Bridge - Play (Total Hours = 43.75)
    • Bridge - Bernie's (Albert) (3 hours)
    • Bridge - Bernie's (Colin) (3.5 hours)
    • Bridge - ECL vs Cambs & Hunts "C" (David Tennet) (4 hours)
    • Bridge - Hutton (David Tennet) (3.5 hours)
    • Bridge - Hutton / St Edith's (Colin) (3.25 hours)
    • Bridge - London Swiss Teams (Albert) (7.5 hours)
    • Bridge - Mayflower (David Tennet) (6.25 hours)
    • Bridge - Mountnessing (David Tennet) (9.75 hours)
    • Bridge - Woodham (Albert) (3 hours)
      → See "Admin - Bridge - Playing"
  4. Bridge - Study (Total Hours = 28.75)
    • Bridge - Question from Dennis (0.75 hours)
    • Bridge - Session Reviews (Albert) (4.5 hours)
    • Bridge - Session Reviews (Colin) (2.5 hours)
    • Bridge - Session Reviews (David Tennet) (9.75 hours)
    • Bridge - Systems Review (Albert) (3.75 hours)
    • Bridge - Systems Review (Colin) (1 hour)
    • Bridge - Systems Review (Strong Diamond) (6 hours)
      → See "Admin - Bridge - Study"
    • "Chawner (Marc) - Your Lead Partner" (0.5 hours)

Plans for the Near Future:
  1. I don’t intend to play in the coming academic year, so I’ve drastically reduced the schedule to a mere 2 hours a week throughout the coming quarter. I’m not sure whether I’ll produce another of these reports until this time next year – it’ll depend whether there’s anything interesting to report.
  2. Keep in touch with the Bridge scene, if possible.
  3. Probably attend the ECBA Committee meeting on 1st November.
  4. Bridge Study9:-




In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 2:
  • When not playing, I didn’t miss the game at all, but maybe this was mainly because acting as the Essex County Bridge Association (ECBA) Webmaster performed as a psychological substitute.
Footnote 4: These have been amortised over the years.

Footnote 5: Taking into account the BPs, which are converted at the rate 300 BPs = 1 GP.

Footnote 9:
  • There may not be time or enthusiasm for much of this!
  • However, it is essential if I want to improve.

Note last updated: 09/10/2017 23:25:26

Footnote 12: (Status: Chess (2017 - September))

Rationale for this Project

  • I occasionally think of returning to chess after a very long lay-off. I’ve hardly played since I left school, where I showed some aptitude – especially in my first season when, in the 3rd year at Grammar school, I won the North Gloucestershire under-15s championship1, but things never really took off. For instance, I performed very badly in the West of England under-15s and only ever came runner-up in the North Gloucestershire under-18s. I played in the local adult league while at school and my grade meandered up to 158, if I remember correctly. While at school, I played on a low board for Gloucestershire seniors and captained the Gloucestershire juniors, though not from top board. I played in a number of congresses at school and immediately after university, with mixed results.
  • Anyway, I effectively gave the game up and switched to bridge at Cambridge, playing chess on only three occasions for the King’s2 team.
  • My trouble with chess was, I think, that I had a natural ability to calculate variations which stood me in good stead against players who knew next to no theory – but against stronger players I never got into positions where calculation did more than tell me I was losing. I only ever used to play matches, never practice games, and have never actually read a chess book beyond the first few pages.
  • So, I don't want a repetition of any of that. If I return to the game, I'd like to learn to play properly. The question is how? I have a collection of (mostly old) books, but I've never been a keen reader of chess books – I can't easily envisage what's going on without either a lot of effort or setting the position up on the board.
  • I suspected some chess software might be the best way forward – what I need is something that's fairly interactive and which will get me to learn both the principles of positional play and some opening theory, as well as play some practise games, in as painless a manner as possible. After advice from The London Chess Centre (follow Link (http://shop.chess.co.uk/)), I purchased some software, as below. Unfortunately, the plan to make use of it hasn’t come to much.
  • A recent idea was to learn to play blindfold chess, and I started reading a book3, but that hasn’t come to much either.
  • The incentive to return to the game is that my brother-in-law runs a team in the Middlesex and London Leagues.
  • also, one of my bridge partners is also thinking of returning to Chess, having been of a similar standard to me, though having played more recently.
  • The chess scene in Billericay seems somewhat unexciting4.
  • See Link (http://www.essexchess.org.uk/) for the Essex Chess site.

Status as at End September 2017
  • I planned to spend 13 hours in the academic year 2016/17 and achieved 10.75 hours, leading to 83% of plan.

Chess (Total Hours = 10.75)
  1. Chess - Admin
    • 3Q16 Status Reports (1.75 hours)
    • Chess - Discussions with Chris (0.75 hours)
      → See "Admin - Chess - Admin"
  2. Chess - Play
    • Chess - Playing Zehra, Etc (1.5 hours)
  3. Chess - Reading / Writing
  4. Chess - Study

Plans for Near Future
Summary of Progress to Date
  1. Catalogued and categorised my Chess Book Collection.
  2. Started reading sundry of the above, and investigated various on-line material (Fritz, Rybka, Chess Mentor, etc) before contacting The London Chess Centre.
  3. Completed two runs through of "Martin (Andrew) - The Basics of Winning Chess".
  4. Installed "Aagaard (Jacob) - Basic Positional Ideas". Study commenced.
  5. Installed Chessmaster – Grandmaster Edition, but haven’t really got to grips with it yet.
  6. Subscribed to "Chess - Chess Magazine", and skimmed the March 2009 – September 2013 editions.
  7. Visited Billericay Chess Club on 6th April 2011 There was a club match, so I couldn’t play any of the better players, but played a rather sad young man who hadn’t make the cut. It was interesting to see how rusty I was, though I won all four games. I had a chat with one of the committee-members afterwards, and left my email address. I’ve not heard back, or been back. I don’t think I’ll pursue the club further, at least not in the near future.




In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 1:
  • And drew with the former British Champion – C.H. O’D Alexander (see Link (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conel_Hugh_O%27Donel_Alexander)) – in the 4-board simul at the prize-giving.
  • He sacrificed the exchange to force a draw. It seemed unnecessary – maybe he was trying to be encouraging, or simply wanted to go home!
  • The other “champions” lost.
Footnote 2:
  • On board 6 - averaging 50%.
  • We had a strong team – the second strongest in Cambridge – with a couple of overseas Grandmasters on the top two boards and the British under-21 Champion on board 3.
  • But this was a feeble team compared to Trinity, which had the then British Champion (Jonathan Mestel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Mestel)) allegedly on board 6.
Footnote 3: See "Hearst (Eliot) & Knott (John) - Blindfold Chess: History, Psychology, Techniques, Champions, World Records and Important Games".

Footnote 4:
  • The Billericay Club has an excellent website: see Link (http://www.billericaychessclub.org.uk/index.html).
  • They meet on Wednesdays at 19:30, now at Anisha Grange.
  • The website describes the club as “thriving” with about 14 members (though only 12 are listed) with teams in 3 divisions.
  • The club is not very strong, but one player is (as of October 2016) rated 175 – the other 11 being under 150, with 4 under 100.
  • At one time there was an IM (Richard Pert; main club Wood Green) rather loosely connected to the club by the look of things – but he’s no longer listed.
Footnote 6:
  • This is supposed to improve your sighted play.
  • Additionally, it’ll make reading chess magazines easier as – presumably – you’d no longer need a board in order to play through the games.

Note last updated: 09/10/2017 23:25:26

Footnote 18: (Status: Summary - Actual versus Plan (2018 - May))

This page shows the following tables (which are unlikely to be of any interest to anyone other than myself):-

  1. Plan versus Actual Effort Summary - Split (Previous Quarter & YTD)
  2. Plan versus Actual Effort Summary - Actual (Previous Quarter & YTD)
  3. Plan Summary (Next Quarter & Full Year)
  4. Actual & Plan Summary (2007 - Current Year)

Plan versus Actual Effort Summary - Split (Previous Quarter & YTD)


Summary figures against the QTD (April - June 2018) Plan, and for the YTD (2017/18) Academic Year, are as below. This table shows the actual %age split of work (YTD & QTD) as against the planned %age split of work. The second table below compares the amount of work done, as against plan:-

ProjectPlanned Weekly HoursPlanned QTD %ageQTD Actual %Planned YTD %ageYTD Actual %QTD Actual HoursYTD Actual Hours
Bridge  122325
Chess   1 15
Consciousness   21 16
HiQ   1  5
Languages  221618
Mathematics   1  8
Music7158151322200
Religion246861692
Thesis2554564450147785
Website122625262766425
Total461001001001002601578
Comparisons41 days223 days99% 92%2621720


All figures above are rounded to the nearest unit. The bottom row in the above table is non-standard. The first two columns show the number of days in the current reporting Quarter and YTD, and the last two columns show the hours planned (according to the latest quarterly plan) for the current reporting Quarter and pro-rata YTD. The middle non-empty columns show %age actual vs plan (actuals taken from the Total row) for the Quarter and YTD. In principle this allows monitoring of total effort vs plan, as well as the distribution of effort across projects.


Plan versus Actual Effort Summary - Effort (Previous Quarter & YTD)


Summary figures against the QTD (April - June 2018) Plan, and for the YTD (2017/18) Academic Year, are as below. This table shows the actual percentage against plan:-

ProjectQTD Planned HoursYTD Planned HoursQTD Actual HoursYTD Actual HoursQTD Actual % v PlanYTD Actual % v Plan
Bridge 26325 97
Chess 1315 35
Consciousness 26 16 61
HiQ 13 5 39
Languages 26618 70
Mathematics 13 8 58
Music40261222005477
Religion11141169213666
Thesis143754147785103104
Website68445664259695
Total2621718260157899%92%


All figures above are rounded to the nearest unit.


Plan Summary (Next Quarter & Full Year)


The plan for the distribution of effort, in hours / week, for the coming Quarter & Academic Year is as below. As the year goes by, estimates are replaced by actuals, and re-estimates are made. In the final quarter of the academic year (July - September) this table just shows the plan for the next academic year. In the light of the above "re-focusing" decisions, Secondary Projects have no time estimated for them:-

ProjectPlanned Hours / Week Next QtrPlanned %age Next QtrFull Year Planned %agePlanned Hours Next QtrFull Year Planned HoursFull Year Actual + Planned HoursComparison (%ages)
Bridge  1 262597
Chess  0 13535
Consciousness12113393692
HiQ  0 13538
Languages  1 261869
Mathematics  0 13858
Music714159240434285
Religion2472618213373
Thesis25514732912641292102
Website14292718471770999
Total491001006442698257295


All figures above are rounded to the nearest unit.


Actual & Plan Summary (2007 - 2018)


Below is a table showing the split amongst my various projects of time expended or planned over a 11-year period. :-

Project2007/08 (Actuals)2008/09 (Actuals)2009/10 (Actuals)2010/11 (Actuals)2011/12 (Actuals)2012/13 (Actuals)2013/14 (Actuals)2014/15 (Actuals)2015/16 (Actuals)2016/17 (Actuals)2017/18 (Actual + Plan)Total%age
Bridge776632757796106293494138066287025783430.06
Chess 29161466114961151540.59
Consciousness 41763015219161442363261.25
HiQ   1714811155520.2
Languages2343312322689525642929121813385.13
Mathematics2328845518628482260.87
Music63132144618323716817934210494.02
Religion9119841284920330524811610860133272310.45
Thesis6084533494771804027358965618281292678126.02
Website671981812043486514949471117664709558021.41
Total1862204222502718192823942542250725742675257226063100

Note last updated: 11/05/2018 15:24:29

Footnote 26: (Thesis - Outline)

The Thesis seems to fall naturally into three sections (other than the Introduction and Conclusion); namely, Chapters 2-5 (setting up the problem), chapters 6-9 (Olson and Baker’s views contrasted); and Chapters 10-11 (testing the preferred solution). Consequently, I anticipate my Thesis having the following chapters:-

  1. Chapter 01: Introduction
  2. Chapter 02: What are We?
  3. Chapter 03: What is a Person?
  4. Chapter 04: Basic Metaphysical Issues
  5. Chapter 05: Persistence and Time
  6. Chapter 06: Animalism and Arguments for It
  7. Chapter 07: The Constitution View and Arguments for It
  8. Chapter 08: Arguments against Animalism
  9. Chapter 09: Arguments against the Constitution View
  10. Chapter 10: Thought Experiments
  11. Chapter 11: Resurrection
  12. Chapter 12: Conclusion
I’ve started a Note listing “parked” future reading.

For convenience, brief abstracts (as currently intended) of the above chapters are given below. I have included hyperlinks in the above list to my initial thoughts on these topics (and to reading lists and plans for further research) by way of further clarification. I’ve also included links from the “Thought Experiment” abstract below, for the same reason. The reading lists are rather full, and I’ll need to whittle them down to those I actually intend to read (and, better, address).

Chapter abstracts
  1. Introduction: Something like this document, but in narrative form, maybe including a brief historical general survey of Personal Identity.
  2. What are We? : The topic “personal identity” has historically presupposed that we are (in the sense of “identical to”, or “most fundamentally”) persons, whereas I (along with other animalists) claim that we are identical to human animals. “We” requires explanation. This chapter will sort out the topic of discussion for the Thesis as a whole.
  3. What is a Person?: This Chapter will canvass the various views and consider how important issues in this area are to my main concern of our identity.
  4. Basic Metaphysical Issues: Substances and sortals are central to the persistence of anything, and in particular to my claim that persons are phase sortals of human animals (the substances). I need to address the concept of a SOUL as souls are the major counter-claim to the persisting entity being an animal; or at least popularly so. The question of Natural Kinds arises in considering whether PERSON is a natural kind concept.
  5. Persistence and Time: A number of thought experiments that feature in the following chapter seem to fail if perdurantism is true (because the reduplication objections fail). Depending on whether any of these are critical to my arguments, I may need to consider the impact of perdurantism. But this complex area may be a step too far within a fairly limited word-count. I’m also unsure whether it should feature before or after the account of Thought Experiments.
  6. Animalism and Arguments for it: This Chapter describes what Animalism is, with an excursus on animals and organisms and their persistence. It puts forward the arguments in favour of animalism, those against being reserved for a later Chapter. It focuses on the account of Eric Olson, the primary contemporary exponent of Animalism.
  7. The Constitution View and Arguments for it: This Chapter gives an account of Lynne Rudder Baker’s thesis that human persons are not identical to human animals, but are – temporarily at least – constituted by them.
  8. Arguments against Animalism: A discussion of the arguments against animalism, as given by those of anti-animalist persuasion and defended by the principal animalists (with a focus on Olson), with a critique.
  9. Arguments against the Constitution View: A discussion of the arguments against the Constitution View, focusing on the principal animalists, with a critique. In particular, I intend to critique Olson’s “thinking animal” argument against the Constitution View (though I think this argument is unnecessary for Olson to establish the case for Animalism).
  10. Thought Experiments: Any account of personal identity needs to give an account of what is going on in the various thought experiments that have been thought relevant to the topic. It’s also the area that’s most fun. Indeed, I think that the entire Thesis will be an exercise in inference to the best explanation. It needs to account for our intuitions (if there is a universal response) or explain them away as confused. I will firstly briefly consider the propriety of using thought experiments in this domain of enquiry, and then consider the usual suspects, such as:
    • Fission, fusion and replication in general
    • Commissurotomy
    • Multiple Personality Disorder
    • Brain-state Transfer
    • Brain Transplants
    • Teletransportation
    • Siliconisation
    • Etc?
  11. Resurrection: If mind-body substance dualism is false, and we are identical to human animals, then the only possibility for post-mortem existence is some form of bodily resurrection. Since the body is destroyed at death, it would seem that any resurrected individual could only be a copy of the original. It might think of itself as the resurrected pre-mortem individual, but it would be wrong. Consideration of arguments by Peter Van Inwagen in this respect. This chapter is likely to be controversial, so needs to be very carefully argued, and factually correct concerning what is actually believed by intellectually Christians and Muslims (unlike what seems to be the case with most swipes against religion). Maybe I should also cover reincarnation.
  12. Conclusion: Brief summary of the above;
    • We are human animals,
    • Human persons fall under phase sortals of the concept HUMAN ANIMAL,
    • The person is inseparable from the animal,
    • The animal is utterly destroyed at death,
    • Substance dualism is false, and
    • Consequently (given the sort of thing we are) resurrection or any other post-mortem survival is impossible for us.

Note last updated: 24/04/2018 00:12:58

Footnote 27: (Thesis - Chapter 02 (What are We?))

Abstract

  1. The topic “personal identity” has historically presupposed that we are (in the sense of “identical to”, or “most fundamentally”) persons, whereas I (along with other animalists) claim that we are identical to human animals.
  2. “We” requires explanation. This chapter attempts to sort out the topic of discussion for the Thesis as a whole.
  3. I need to address the concept of a SOUL as souls are the major counter-claim to the persisting entity being an animal; or at least popularly so. The same goes for SELVES, and also for HUMAN BEINGS, insofar as these are supposed to be distinct from HUMAN ANIMALs.
  4. I also need to have some discussion of what is meant by the various other possibilities of what we are, but leave explications of PERSONs, BODIES and ANIMALs / ORGANISMs until later Chapters.
  5. I’m not quite sure where the possibility that we are BRAINs ought to go, but for the time being it’s here; and this leads on to the possibility (tacitly assumed in some TEs) that we might be individual CEREBRA.


Research Methodology
  • Follow this Link for a generic statement of how I intend to pursue each Chapter.
  • The method is broken down into 12, possibly iterative, stages.
  • Follow this Link for my progress dashboard on these tasks.
  • Progress on this Chapter is unusual in that it was the sample Chapter on which I was working with my Supervisor when registered for the PhD at Birkbeck.


Chapter Introduction
  1. This Chapter has the title “What Are We?”. The “We” is of some significance, as we will see in the course of this Thesis when we consider the social and reciprocal aspects of what it is to be a person. Nonetheless, should we not start with the singular, maybe even solipsist, question “What Am I?”, and expand out from there into the collective question? How we phrase our initial question has an impact on the course of our investigations, and may reflect our deepest presuppositions. The first-person question adopts the Cartesian stance of looking from the inside out, whereas the third-person question considers “us” collectively. The first-person question may presuppose that the answer to the question is that I am primarily a psychological being, whereas the third-person question may assume or expect the answer that I am fundamentally physical.
  2. Some of the potential answers to the question will be the same whether we phrase the question in the singular or the plural.
  3. Taking it in the plural for now, we need to distinguish, as candidates for what we might be on the physical side, (prefixing “human-” passim):-
    • Animals,
    • Organisms,
    • Bodies,
    • Beings, and
    • Brains.
  4. On the psychological side, I might be a self or, more popularly, a person. I might even be a non-essentially-embodied entity like a soul.
  5. I will consider all these options in due course; with the exception of a detailed discussion of the concept PERSON (which is reserved for the next Chapter), I will do so later in this chapter.
  6. Olson7 also considers whether we might be Humean bundles of mental states and events, and even the nihilist view that we don’t exist at all. I’m not sure I’ll have space for these, but need to remain aware of the possibilities and motivations for these positions.
  7. However, for the moment I want to consider some themes connecting the possible answers to our question. Firstly, does there have to be a single answer? I know that I, and presume that my readers also, fall happily under the concepts HUMAN ANIMAL, HUMAN ORGANISM and HUMAN BEING. I at least have a human body and a human brain, though I would initially feel reluctant to say that I am one of either of these things. I would certainly claim to be a SELF, and also a PERSON, as no doubt would my reader. So, cannot all these answers be correct?
  8. This raises the question of what I mean by saying what I am (or we are) something. In saying that I am any of these things, what sort of relation is the “am”? Am I using am in the sense of an identity relation, a constitution relation, ascribing a predicate, or have some other sense in mind?
  9. There are two kinds of questions I want to ask. Firstly, what sort of being am I identical to? Secondly, what sort of properties do I have; both metaphysically essential properties (those without which I would cease to exist), and those I merely consider essential (that is, “very important”, though I would continue to exist without them)?
  10. Any “is” that does duty for the identity relation inherits the formal properties of an equivalence relation; in particular, it is a transitive relation. Additionally, the “two” identical entities either side of the copula must satisfy Leibniz’s law; “they” share (at a time) all their properties; actual and modal, intrinsic and relational. So, if I am identical to a human animal, and also identical to a human person, then that human animal must be identical to that human person. This would mean that these “two” entities are really one. They co-exist at all times in all possible worlds where either of “them” exists, and share all their properties and relations, at any time and world. Everything that happens to “one” at a world and time happens to the “other” at those coordinates. This places strong logical constraints on how much cake I can have and eat. I may want to say that I am identical both to a human animal, and to a human person, yet claim that a human person has certain mental properties essentially, but deny that a human animal does. However, I am then claiming what is logically impossible, at least for the classical logic of identity that denies that such notions as relative identity are coherent. As we will see, this point is essential to the animalist case that we are not identical to human persons (given the claim that we are identical to human animals).
  11. My thesis addresses the topic of personal identity, but we might claim that what we’re really interested in is in our identity. Not that we have doubts as individuals as to which particular individual we are (as though I, as Bill Clinton, don’t know whether I am Bill Clinton or George W. Bush), but what sort of individual we are, together with worries about our persistence (how long we are going to last, and in what form). Historically, it has been a standard presupposition that what we are most fundamentally is persons, or at least that’s all we care about. So, concern about our identity has been elided with concern for personal identity, almost as though we thought that the two questions are the same. Animalists argue that the two questions are indeed different, but for convenience, and the historical continuity of the general topic under discussion, still say they are talking about personal identity.


Main Text
  1. To be supplied.


Links to Books / Papers to be Addressed9
  1. For this Chapter I have already worked on the various papers or book chapters under supervisory control. Where this is the case, for ease of reference, the analytical Note for each reference is hyperlinked directly.
  2. Additionally, I may need to consider other papers or book chapters in the following lists (together with some others referenced by these). There are doubtless many more that are relevant and which will be addressed in the course of the thesis, but these are probably sufficient to get us going. Some that I have considered have been culled or reserved for later.
  3. The General Question:-
  4. Brains / Cerebra
  5. Neurological Background
  6. Human Beings
  7. Selves36
  8. Souls38
  9. Nihilism
  10. Many aspects of these papers will need to be left for later chapters.


The Cut
  1. There had already been a lot of cutting in the various selections of the original reading list – the reading lists attached to the Notes run on and on – and these items just represent the works in my possession (though I have sought out all that I’ve heard of that look relevant).
  2. However, the items in the lists following were given some attention, and have been culled – at least temporarily – from the lists above, where they originally appeared. I’ve not always given a reason as I’ve not studied them sufficiently closely. But, you have to draw a line somewhere.
  3. The General Question
  4. Brains / Cerebra
  5. Human Beings
  6. Selves
  7. Souls


Links to Notes
  1. For an out-of-date skeleton giving a fuller reading list, follow this link.
  2. Candidates for what we are, considered in this Chapter:-
    • Human Beings,
    • Brains,
    • Cerebra,
    • Selves,
    • Souls,
    • Others to be Supplied?
  3. Candidates for what we are, considered in later Chapters:-
    • Animals,
    • Bodies,
    • Organisms,
    • Persons,
    • Nihilism.


Final Remarks
  1. This is work in progress.




In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 7: In "Olson (Eric) - What are We?"

Footnote 9:
  • See the section on Research Methodology for what is to be done with these.
  • The author’s surname is repeated in the text to make it easier for me to see what’s going on in the encoded text I work on.
Footnote 16: The excerpt from Brandom raises some questions about the community we call “we”.

Footnote 19: Baker often expresses indebtedness to Roderick Chisholm, who is reviewed on that account.

Footnote 21: An annoying book, but one I ought to study.

Footnote 25: The book. From my perspective, probably the most important source for this Chapter.

Footnote 26: See also the Chapters on Brains and Souls in the subsequent reading-lists.

Footnote 30: Useful historical background, maybe!

Footnote 32: Lockwood might deny that this is his view, but he seems committed to it, as far as I can see.

Footnote 33: This maybe ought to be categorised as an “anti-soul” view.

Footnote 34: Some of the papers by Puccetti will be reconsidered in (or maybe reserved for – a couple already have been) Chapter 10.

Footnote 36:
  • This list is rather long, and contains many whole books. I may have to cull several of these further down the line.
  • However, the Self is important, as it’s the root of Baker’s FPP, and the motivator for all psychological theories of PI, so understanding just what it is supposed to be is central to my concerns.
Footnote 37: Alexander thinks that we are Selves, and that Selves are tropes – abstract particulars – which by my lights is about as far from the truth as you can get, so I need to consider his arguments carefully.

Footnote 38:
  • The comment about the prolixity of the reading list applies even more to Souls than Selves, without the positive connection my primary thesis.
  • However, if we were to be souls, this would solve the resurrection problem; so I need to thoroughly understand the reasons why we might be – but most likely are not – souls.
Footnote 39: This looks interesting, but is somewhat off-topic for a priority reading-list.

Footnote 40: This is rather elementary, and ought to have been reviewed in Chapter 01.

Note last updated: 24/04/2018 00:12:58

Footnote 28: (Thesis - Chapter 04 (Basic Metaphysical Issues))

Abstract

  • I need to discuss the logic of identity, survival and persistence, and even whether identity matters in survival.
  • Substances and sortals are central to the persistence of anything, and in particular to my claim that persons are phase sortals of human animals (the substances).
  • The question of Natural Kinds arises in considering whether PERSON is a natural kind concept.
  • Certain four-dimensional approaches to persistence do away with the substance concept, but I discuss this issue in the next Chapter.


Research Methodology
  • Follow this Link for a generic statement of how I intend to pursue each Chapter.
  • The method is broken down into 12, possibly iterative, stages.
  • Follow this Link for my progress dashboard on these tasks.


Chapter Introduction
  1. The purpose of this chapter is to clarify my views on a number of logical and metaphysical issues that are central to the core of this Thesis.
  2. I will also consider Derek Parfit’s claim that “Identity is not what matters in survival” in this Chapter.
  3. The coverage in the Chapter itself will have to be very brief lest it consume the word-count for the entire thesis. Most information – and in particular the bulk of the justification for my views – will remain in the Notes.
  4. Three background issues, namely my views on:-
    • Persistence and Time,
    • Thought Experiments, and
    • Constitution
    are covered elsewhere (follow the links above).
  5. Other topics may be added as they arise.


Main Text
  1. To be supplied.


Links to Books / Papers to be Addressed6
  1. In this Chapter I will consider the following papers or book chapters (together with some others referenced by these). There are doubtless many more that are relevant and which will be addressed in the course of the thesis, but these are probably sufficient to get us going:-
  2. Basic Metaphysics7
  3. Logic of Identity (General)
  4. Relative Identity
  5. Vague Identity
  6. Indeterminate Identity
  7. Contingent Identity
  8. Occasional Identity
  9. Criteria of Identity
  10. Substances
  11. Sortals & Phase Sortals
  12. Kinds and Natural Kinds
  13. Metamorphosis
  14. Does Identity Matter?
  15. Many aspects of these papers will need to be either ignored or reserved for other chapters.
  16. The motivation for these works is as follows:-
    • To be supplied.


The Cut
  1. There had already been a lot of cutting in the various selections of the original reading list – the reading lists attached to the Notes run on and on – and these items just represent the works in my possession (though I have sought out all that I’ve heard of that look relevant).
  2. However, the items in the lists following were given some attention, and have been culled – at least temporarily – from the lists above, where they originally appeared. I’ve not always given a reason as I’ve not studied them sufficiently closely. But, you have to draw a line somewhere.
  3. I’m well aware that the cut has not been sufficiently rigorous. Further items beyond the items below are likely to be culled when I come to process them.
    • To be Supplied.


Links to Notes
  1. Logic of Identity, including:-
    • Relative Identity,
    • Vague Identity.
    • Indeterminate Identity,
    • Contingent Identity, and
    • Occasional Identity.
  2. Criteria of Identity,
  3. Substance,
  4. Sortals,
  5. Metamorphosis,
  6. Phase Sortals,
  7. Kinds,
  8. Natural Kinds,
  9. Does Identity Matter,
  10. Others to be supplied as they come up.


Final Remarks
  1. This is work in progress.




In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 6:
  • See the section on Research Methodology for what is to be done with these.
  • The author’s surname is repeated in the text to make it easier for me to see what’s going on in the encoded text I work on.
Footnote 7: There’s an endless amount of stuff in this area, so I’ve (for now) chosen a couple of contrasting approaches.

Footnote 8: Footnote 9:
  • Modality is important in my thesis, because modal questions come into persistence criteria.
  • That said, the last two essays in the book – by Hossack and Olson – are the most important, though of these two only that by Hossack really belongs to this Chapter.
Footnote 10: I’m not sure where this book should be parked, and not all of it is relevant.

Footnote 11: I doubt this paper is really about Relative Identity, but more about Brain Transplants).

Footnote 12: Read the Synopsis below first.

Note last updated: 24/04/2018 00:12:58

Footnote 29: (Thesis - Chapter 06 (Animalism and Arguments for It))

Abstract

    This Chapter describes what Animalism is, with an excursus on animals and organisms and their persistence.
  • It puts forward the arguments in favour of animalism, those against being reserved for a later Chapter.
  • It focuses on the account of Eric Olson, the primary contemporary exponent of Animalism.


Research Methodology
  • Follow this Link for a generic statement of how I intend to pursue each Chapter.
  • The method is broken down into 12, possibly iterative, stages.
  • Follow this Link for my progress dashboard on these tasks.


Chapter Introduction
  1. As we saw in Chapter 02, nothing is more obvious than that we are human animals.
  2. The disadvantages of whole-hearted acceptance of this seemingly obvious fact are firstly that it seems to demote human beings from their status of being made in the image of the God most people no longer believe in. There are two responses to this; either to deny that it does, or to accept that the differences between human beings and other animals are those of degree rather than kind.
  3. A second disadvantage is that accepting that we are human animals makes the prospects for post-mortem survival look bleak. This is addressed in Chapter 11.
  4. So, while saying that we are human animals might seem to be the default position – and so the burden is on others to demonstrate that we are not – the historical situation places a burden on the animalist to present the case for animalism with as much rigour as possible.
  5. Further text to be supplied.


Main Text
  1. To be supplied.


Links to Books / Papers to be Addressed5
  1. In this Chapter I will consider the following papers or book chapters (together with some others referenced by these). There are doubtless many more that are relevant and which will be addressed in the course of the thesis, but these are probably sufficient to get us going.
  2. As this is a “core” chapter, the coverage of the literature will be very complete, if not exhaustive, when it comes to Animalism itself.
  3. For background topics, it will be more selective6. Hence, I have divided the reading list into two.
  4. I’ve not been overly careful to segregate the reading-list of this Chapter from that of Chapter 8. I will address the segregation in due course. There will, in any case, be some overlap.
  5. Core Topics
  6. Background Material
  7. Many aspects of these papers will need to be either ignored or reserved for other chapters.
  8. The motivation for these works is as follows:-
    • To be supplied.


The Cut
  1. There had already been a lot of cutting in the various selections of the original reading list – the reading lists attached to the Notes run on and on – and these items just represent the works in my possession (though I have sought out all that I’ve heard of that look relevant).
  2. However, the items in the lists following were given some attention, and have been culled – at least temporarily – from the lists above, where they originally appeared. I’ve not always given a reason as I’ve not studied them sufficiently closely. But, you have to draw a line somewhere.
  3. I’m well aware that the cut has not been sufficiently rigorous. Further items beyond the items below are likely to be culled when I come to process them.
    • To be supplied.


Links to Notes
  1. Animalism,
  2. Animalists,
  3. Bodies,
  4. Olson,
  5. Animals,
  6. Organisms,
  7. Life,
  8. Thinking Animal Argument,
  9. Other Arguments for Animalism18,
  10. Others to be supplied?


Final Remarks
  1. This is work in progress.




In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 5:
  • See the section on Research Methodology for what is to be done with these.
  • The author’s surname is repeated in the text to make it easier for me to see what’s going on in the encoded text I work on.
Footnote 6:
  • There are a few papers listed on the cognitive capacities of animals.
  • I got bored with listing these, so the sample may not be representative.
  • These are, in any case, probably more relevant to Chapter 9 – as an antidote to Baker’s attempted ontological separation of human persons from human animals – so I will move them there – and expand the list if necessary – in due course.
Footnote 8: A knowledge of genetics is important in arguments about the comings into being and identities of animals.

Footnote 9: What is this important book doing here?

Footnote 18: This needs a Note!

Note last updated: 05/04/2016 23:19:41

Footnote 30: (Thesis - Chapter 07 (The Constitution View and Arguments for It))

Abstract

  • This Chapter gives an account of Lynne Rudder Baker’s thesis that human persons are not identical to human animals, but are – temporarily at least – constituted by them.


Research Methodology
  • Follow this Link for a generic statement of how I intend to pursue each Chapter.
  • The method is broken down into 12, possibly iterative, stages.
  • Follow this Link for my progress dashboard on these tasks.


Chapter Introduction
  1. Baker’s account of constitution is not the standard mereological account, of some larger body being constituted by its parts, but is her own idea that requires explication.
  2. Baker also has a commitment to PERSONs being substances in their own right, rather than being an honorific title applied to substances that at other times might not deserve the honorific.
  3. She also reifies a useful idea – that of a First-person Perspective. It is the FPP that individuates persons, according to Baker, so the FPP requires explanation as well.
  4. Further detail to be supplied.


Main Text
  1. To be supplied.


Links to Books / Papers to be Addressed4
  1. In this Chapter I will consider the following papers or book chapters (together with some others referenced by these). There are doubtless many more that are relevant and which will be addressed in the course of the thesis, but these are probably sufficient to get us going.
  2. I’ve not been overly careful to segregate the reading-list of this Chapter from that of Chapter 9. I will address the segregation in due course. There will, in any case, be some overlap.
  3. Baker
  4. Constitution
  5. Mereology6
  6. Co-Location7
  7. First-Person Perspectives
  8. Constitution View
  9. Many aspects of these papers will need to be either ignored or reserved for other chapters.
  10. The motivation for these works is as follows:-
    • To be supplied.


The Cut
  1. There had already been a lot of cutting in the various selections of the original reading list – the reading lists attached to the Notes run on and on – and these items just represent the works in my possession (though I have sought out all that I’ve heard of that look relevant).
  2. However, the items in the lists following were given some attention, and have been culled – at least temporarily – from the lists above, where they originally appeared. I’ve not always given a reason as I’ve not studied them sufficiently closely. But, you have to draw a line somewhere.
  3. I’m well aware that the cut has not been sufficiently rigorous. Further items beyond the items below are likely to be culled when I come to process them.


Links to Notes
  1. Baker,
  2. Constitution,
  3. Constitution View,
  4. First-Person Perspective,
  5. Mereology,
  6. Dion and Theon,
  7. Others to be supplied?


Final Remarks
  1. This is work in progress.




In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 4:
  • See the section on Research Methodology for what is to be done with these.
  • The author’s surname is repeated in the text to make it easier for me to see what’s going on in the encoded text I work on.
Footnote 6: While Baker’s understanding of constitution is distinct from a mereological one, it is necessary to understand mereology.

Footnote 7: I’m not sure whether this section belongs here, but it must go somewhere!

Footnote 8: This may properly belong to one of the Chapters on Animalism.

Footnote 9: This Chapter has rather more to do with distributive ethics than personal identity or the FPP.

Note last updated: 05/04/2016 23:19:41

Footnote 31: (Thesis - Chapter 10 (Thought Experiments))

Abstract

  • Any account of personal identity needs to give an account of what is going on in the various thought experiments that have been thought relevant to the topic. It’s also the area that’s most fun. Indeed, I think that the entire Thesis will be an exercise in inference to the best explanation. It needs to account for our intuitions (if there is a universal response) or explain them away as confused. I will firstly briefly consider the propriety of using thought experiments in this domain of enquiry, and then consider the usual suspects, including the following:-
    1. Fission
    2. Fusion
    3. Replication
    4. Commissurotomy1
    5. Multiple Personality Disorder2
    6. Brain-state Transfer
    7. Brain Transplants3
    8. Teletransportation
    9. Siliconisation
    10. Transhumanism


Research Methodology
  • Follow this Link for a generic statement of how I intend to pursue each Chapter.
  • The method is broken down into 12, possibly iterative, stages.
  • Follow this Link for my progress dashboard on these tasks.


Chapter Introduction
  1. To be supplied.


Main Text
  1. To be supplied.


Links to Books / Papers to be Addressed6
  1. In this Chapter I will consider the following papers or book chapters (together with some others referenced by these). There are doubtless many more that are relevant and which will be addressed in the course of the thesis, but these are probably sufficient to get us going.
  2. I have segregated the papers by sub-topic, but some would fit into more than one category.
  3. Theory
  4. Brain State Transfers7
  5. Brain Transplants
  6. Commissurotomy
  7. Fission
  8. Fusion
  9. Multiple Personality Disorder
  10. Replication
  11. Siliconisation8
  12. Teletransportation
  13. Transhumanism10
  14. Many aspects of these papers will need to be either ignored or reserved for other chapters.
  15. The motivation for these works is as follows:-
    • To be supplied.


The Cut
  1. There had already been a lot of cutting in the various selections of the original reading list – the reading lists attached to the Notes run on and on – and these items just represent the works in my possession (though I have sought out all that I’ve heard of that look relevant).
  2. However, the items in the lists following were given some attention, and have been culled – at least temporarily – from the lists above, where they originally appeared. I’ve not always given a reason as I’ve not studied them sufficiently closely. But, you have to draw a line somewhere.
  3. I’m well aware that the cut has not been sufficiently rigorous. Further items beyond the items below are likely to be culled when I come to process them.


Links to Notes
  1. Propriety of Thought Experiments
  2. Principal Examples:-
    • Fission
    • Fusion
    • Replication
    • Commissurotomy
    • Multiple Personality Disorder
    • Brain-state Transfers
    • Brain Transplants
    • Teletransportation
    • Siliconisation
    • Transhumanism.


Final Remarks
  1. This is work in progress.




In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 1: This is more an experiment than a thought-experiment, as commissurotomies are actual.

Footnote 2:
  • Again, this is – allegedly – an existent pathology rather than a TE.
  • Moreover, it might be better situated in Chapter 9 (Click here for Note) as a critique of the idea of an individuating FPP.
Footnote 3: We need to distinguish Whole-Brain Transplants (WBTs) from single or double Cerebrum transplants, and these from brain-tissue transplants, which shade off into Brain State Transfers.

Footnote 6:
  • See the section on Research Methodology for what is to be done with these.
  • The author’s surname is repeated in the text to make it easier for me to see what’s going on in the encoded text I work on.
Footnote 7:
  • There must be many more papers than the classic one by Williams (and commentaries thereon) – I just haven’t got them correctly categorised.
  • Under this head should be included references to “Brain Zaps” and the like.
Footnote 8: Footnote 9:
  • Tye seems to be discussing brain-partition, with silicon transceivers. But he uses Unger’s term “zippering”.
  • He is indebted to Arnold Zuboff, who may be worth following up.
Footnote 10: Footnote 11: I’ve read this book, but it’s insufficiently philosophical for its arguments – such as they are – to be worth considering as a priority.

Footnote 12: Cover in the next Chapter.

Note last updated: 05/04/2016 23:19:41

Footnote 32: (Transhumanism)

Plug Note1





In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 1:
  • A number of my philosophical Notes are “promissory notes” currently only listing the books and papers (if any) I possess on the topic concerned.
  • I’ve decided to add some text – whether by way of motivation, or something more substantive – for all these identified topics related to my Thesis.
  • As I want to do this fairly quickly, the text may be confused or show surprising ignorance.
  • The reader (if such exists) will have to bear with me, and display the principle of charity while this footnote exists.

Note last updated: 02/07/2017 10:36:29

Footnote 33: (Thesis - Chapter 11 (Resurrection))

Abstract

  • If mind-body substance dualism is false, and we are identical to human animals, then the only possibility for post-mortem existence is some form of bodily resurrection.
  • Since the body is destroyed at death, it would seem that any resurrected individual could only be a copy of the original. It might think of itself as the resurrected pre-mortem individual, but it would be wrong.
  • Consideration of arguments by Peter Van Inwagen in this respect.
  • This chapter is likely to be controversial, so needs to be very carefully argued, and factually correct concerning what is actually believed by intellectually-aware Christians and Muslims (unlike what seems to be the case with most swipes against religion).
  • Maybe I should also cover reincarnation.


Research Methodology
  • Follow this Link for a generic statement of how I intend to pursue each Chapter.
  • The method is broken down into 12, possibly iterative, stages.
  • Follow this Link for my progress dashboard on these tasks.


Chapter Introduction
  1. While I wish in this chapter to consider seriously the religious hope of resurrection, I do not want to get side-tracked onto matters of Scriptural exegesis, or into evidential matters of whether particular resurrections – specifically of Jesus – happened or not. In this regard, I’m interested only in what they take resurrection to be, and whether they provide any detailed metaphysical account of how it is supposed to work.
  2. As in the chapter on Thought Experiments, this chapter is partly aimed at checking how (my version of) animalism copes with projected situations. As such, I may extend this to other posited versions of post-mortem survival, though most are ruled out by the essentially physical nature of the human person as proposed by animalism.
  3. While not wanting to get too far off topic, especially at the end of the thesis, I want to consider some of the ethical consequences of adopting Animalism with – I presume – the lack of hope of post-mortem existence. Hence the reading material on death itself and on “matters of life and death”.
  4. Further text to be supplied.


Main Text
  1. To be supplied.


Links to Books / Papers to be Addressed4
  1. In this Chapter I will consider the following papers or book chapters (together with some others referenced by these). There are doubtless many more that are relevant and which will be addressed in the course of the thesis, but these are probably sufficient to get us going.
  2. I have divided those on the core topic of resurrection into those that are from a religio-philosophical perspective, rather than pure philosophy. In general, those written by professional philosophers are in the latter section, even if addressed to a religious audience.
  3. As the topic of death in itself – and the ethical consequences of death without post-mortem survival - are important issues, I have reading lists for these as well.
  4. Finally, in order to diagnose death, we need to know what life is! I’ve not really investigated a reading-list for this.
  5. Life:
  6. Death:
  7. Death and Ethics6:
  8. Resurrection - Purely Philosophical:
  9. Resurrection - Religio-Philosophical:
  10. Many aspects of these papers will need to be either ignored or reserved for other chapters.
  11. The motivation for these works is as follows:-
    • Gasser is the most important work I need to address.
    • Wright’s big book (hopefully) supplies all there is from the Christian side – even though the focus is on a specific – and theologically and metaphysically special – resurrection.
    • Bynum and Gillman provide background information from the Christian and Jewish perspectives, respectively.
    • Badham is a rather elementary Christian discussion, and may be rejected.
    • Corcoran is an important survey, already included in the reading for a couple of other Chapters.
    • Edwards, Flew and Penelhum are useful surveys of older material, which is useful just to read for the appropriate background. There is some considerable overlap in the selections.
    • I suppose I need to discuss death itself, hence Kagan, McMahan, Regan & Wyatt – though skipping the ethical bits.
    • Perrett and Tippler may be a little off-centre, and I may reject them on closer inspection.
    • The other individual papers – especially those by van Inwagen and Shoemaker – are probably important, but justification is to be supplied.
  12. Books / Papers Rejected: There are a number of works that I have in my possession that I considered investigating, but in the end decided not to. They are listed here, with reasons for rejection. Of course, there are very many others less tempting that appear in the topical reading lists but are not specifically mentioned here.
    • To be supplied.


The Cut
  1. There had already been a lot of cutting in the various selections of the original reading list – the reading lists attached to the Notes run on and on – and these items just represent the works in my possession (though I have sought out all that I’ve heard of that look relevant).
  2. However, the items in the lists following were given some attention, and have been culled – at least temporarily – from the lists above, where they originally appeared. I’ve not always given a reason as I’ve not studied them sufficiently closely. But, you have to draw a line somewhere.
  3. I’m well aware that the cut has not been sufficiently rigorous9. Further items beyond the items below are likely to be culled when I come to process them.
    • To be supplied …


Links to Notes
  • A lot of my notes seem to mention resurrection and the Notes fall into at least two categories10:-
    1. Thesis:-
      1. Resurrection,
      2. Life,
      3. Death,
      4. Corpses,
      5. Immortality,
      6. Reincarnation,
      7. NDEs,
      8. Makropulos Case,
      9. Life after Death.
    2. Philosophy of religion:-
      1. Resurrection,
      2. Resurrection (Metaphysics),
      3. 1 Corinthians 15,
      4. Heythrop.


Final Remarks
  1. This is work in progress.




In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 4:
  • See the section on Research Methodology for what is to be done with these.
  • The author’s surname is repeated in the text to make it easier for me to see what’s going on in the encoded text I work on.
Footnote 6:
  1. The topic of “Death and Ethics” is already a bit tangential to my thesis, but there’s a set of questions – of which two are the most important, namely:-
    • Why is death bad (for the deceased)?, and
    • Can the dead be harmed (assuming they no longer exist)?
    – in which I have an interest, and on which I wonder whether my views on Personal Identity have anything to say.
  2. Therefore, I park here a bunch of papers on these topics (more on the second than the first) that may or may not get “processed”:-
Footnote 7:
  • Unlikely to have anything to do with resurrection, but I want an excuse for reading the book!
  • Maybe belongs to Chapter 8.
Footnote 8: Hardly philosophy, but important to have read!

Footnote 9: Especially as the list is currently empty!

Footnote 10: Write-up notes are accessible via the papers or books they are write-ups of.

Note last updated: 05/04/2016 23:19:41

Footnote 34: (Theo Todman's BA Papers)

Here are my BA writings. Currently these are mostly .pdf files only. I have started to convert them to my Notes format1 and (maybe) intend to update them in the light of greater understanding (if any). However, this is not a priority task. There are four groupings, the fourth of which links to another page on my site2:-

Final Year Essays Earlier Essays Book AnalysesPaper Analyses

Here are some final-year BA papers ...

1.This is my BA Dissertation on the topic of Poverty of Stimulus arguments for the Innateness of Grammar. I enjoyed this investigation, and intend to use the kind of abductive arguments on which it is based as a model for my PhD thesis.Poverty of Stimulus
2.This is the first of three essays on Greek Philosophy. Despite my arguing that Greek Philosophy shouldn't be included in the BA, or at least not so early in the course, or not without a lot of motivation, this turned out to be my best paper. This essay is on the topic of fatalism. The Sea Battle
3.The second essay on Greek Philosophy asks whether the Third Man Argument refutes Plato's Theory of Forms. I have to admit that, but for the course, I wouldn't have looked into this subject, and those reading the essay should have a bottle of paracetamol to hand.The Third Man
4.The third essay on Greek Philosophy, asking whether Democritus was a sceptic. I have to ask who cares, but I did enjoy researching and writing the essay. Democritus a Sceptic?
5.This is the first of three essays on Modern Philosophy, and is an attempt to make the most of Locke's psychological view of personal identity. Locke on Personal Identity
6.A second essay on Modern Philosophy. It looks into Hume's Correspondence Theory between our 'ideas' (concepts) and 'impressions' (sense perception). Correspondence Theory
7.A third essay on Modern Philosophy, looking at two of Descartes's arguments that mind and body are distinct substances. Real Distinction
8.This is the first of three essays on Ethics. Caveat lector! I never got the hang of ethics. This essay discusses Mackie's Error Theory. Error Theory
9.This second ethical essay discusses whether moral relativism is absurd. Relativism Absurd?
10.This final ethical essay addresses utilitarianism. Can Mill successfully explain why it is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied?Higher Pleasures

Here are some earlier BA essays

They are of varying quality, but useful for me to have on-line ...

1.This is a rather feable and incomplete effort addressing Jackson's Knowledge Argument against physicalism in the philosophy of mind. The topic is sufficiently important to make the essay worth completing someday ...Knowledge Argument
2.This is an essay in the philosophy of psychology asking whether "The mind is in effect a Swiss-Army knife, full of specialised modules designed for special purposes."Mind Modular?
3.Another essay in the philosophy of psychology, asking whether the concept of innateness is incoherent or unnecessary. Innateness Incoherent?
4.An essay on the topic of free will. If it is said that I did something freely, is it implied that I could have done something different?Free Will
5.An essay on the border between modern philosophy and methodology, examining Hume's argument that we have no reason to expect the future to resemble the past.Future & Past
6.Another essay on the problem of induction, investigating Hempel's paradox of the ravens.Induction
7.An essay on the philosophy of language, looking at the different uses of definite descriptions.Definite Descriptions
8.First of three essays on bodily sensations in the philosophy of mind, asking whether pains are mental objects. Rather slavishly adherent to Tim Crane's ideas (garbled, no doubt).Pains as Mental Objects
9.Essay asking whether bodily sensations are perceptions of one's body.Sensations as Perceptions
10.Final essay on this topic, asking whether I could feel a sensation to be located in someone else's body.Extraneous Bodily Sensations

Finally, here are some notes taken during the BA course

For a while, I pursued the eccentric line of trying to precis whole books, as a way of attempting to take the subject seriously. This proved to be somewhat time-consuming, so I stopped early in the third year. However, having made the effort, here are the results...
1."Dancy (Jonathan) - An Introduction to Contemporary Epistemology". This is rather a full set. At 110 pages it's not much shorter than the book. Dancy – Epistemology
2."Crane (Tim) - Elements of Mind - An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind". A bit briefer this time at a mere 71 pages. It is graced by 153 footnotes showing where I disagreed with the esteemed author (or where I was confused, most likely). Crane – Elements of Mind
3."Fodor (Jerry) - The Modularity of Mind: An Essay on Faculty Psychology". Much shorter - only 23 pages; but then, it's only a little book. Fodor - Modularity of Mind
4."Kripke (Saul) - Naming and Necessity". Back to form. 73 pages and 156 footnotes. At least I have the justification that this is one of the "must read" philosophy books. Kripke - Naming & Necessity




In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 1: As an interim step, I now have “stub” Notes for them all, but these mostly still link to the pdfs.

Footnote 2:
  • This page seems to include almost everything I’ve written, categorised by sub-topic.
  • Many of these writings are still only in pdf form and require conversion to Notes.

Note last updated: 01/08/2017 00:11:31

Footnote 36: (Thesis - Journals)

Introduction1

  1. The reading-list for my Thesis is already too long to manage, and – I have no doubt – new material will always be coming up that I ought to be aware of.
  2. Nevertheless, I ought also to keep up to date with what’s going on in other areas of Analytic Philosophy, not to mention recent work relevant to my thesis.
  3. As a Cambridge Alumnus, I have access to JSTOR (http://www.jstor.org/) and thereby to most of the philosophical journals. The access to the text is not up-to-date, but I ought to inculcate a discipline to:-
    • Check the TOCs of the most recent issues, and mark them for future interrogation, and
    • Check the most recent issues with content, and briefly review what’s there, downloading where it looks useful.
  4. Cambridge has recently opened up Cambridge Core (https://www.cambridge.org/core/) to alumni:-
    • This allows up-to-date access to 17 philosophy journals, including those listed below.
    • There are also a great number of books available for download. I need to avoid distraction, but if there’s a book by CUP I need, and it’s here, then it’s a good place to go! Unfortunately, not all philosophy books published by CUP are available for free.
    • I need to adopt the same discipline as for JSTOR.

Relevant Cambridge Core Journals
  1. Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/dialogue-canadian-philosophical-review-revue-canadienne-de-philosophie)
  2. Episteme (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/episteme)
  3. Journal of the American Philosophical Association (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-american-philosophical-association)
  4. Philosophy (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/philosophy)
  5. Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/royal-institute-of-philosophy-supplements)
  6. Think (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/think)

Relevant JSTOR Journals2
  1. American Philosophical Quarterly (1964-2010)
  2. Analysis (1933-2008; 2009-2013)
  3. Behavior and Philosophy (1990-2010)
  4. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (1950-2006; 2007-2013)
  5. Canadian Journal of Philosophy (1971-2008)
  6. Erkenntnis (1975-2010; 2011-2013)
  7. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice (1998-2010; 2011-2013)
  8. Human Studies (1978-2010; 2011-2013)
  9. Hypathia (1986-2008; 2009-2012)
  10. International Journal for Philosophy of Religion (1970-2010; 2011-2012)
  11. The Journal of Ethics (1997-2010; 2011-2013)
  12. Journal of Philosophical Logic 91972-2010; 2011-2013)
  13. The Journal of Philosophy (1921-2008)
  14. Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes (1939-2010)
  15. Mind (1876-2006; 2007-2012)
  16. The Monist (1890-2008; 2009-2014)
  17. Noûs (1967-2003; 2004-2012)
  18. Philosophical Issues (1991-1998)
  19. Philosophical Perspectives (1987-1995)
  20. The Philosophical Quarterly (1950-2008; 2009-2012)
  21. The Philosophical Review (1892-2008; 2009-2011)
  22. Philosophical Studies (1950-2010; 2011-2013)
  23. Philosophy (1931-2008; 2009-2012)
  24. Philosophy and Phenomenal Research (1940-2008; 2009-2013)
  25. Philosophy & Public Affairs (1971-2008; 2009-2013)
  26. Phronesis (1955-2008; 2009-2013)
  27. Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association (1927-2010)
  28. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society (1887-2008; 2009-2013)
  29. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society: Supplementary Volumes (1918-2008; 2009-2013)
  30. Religious Studies (1965-2008; 2009-2013)
  31. The Review of Metaphysics (1947-2010)
  32. Synthese (1936-2010; 2011-2013)




In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 1:
  • This Note used to include a (rather short) list of “interesting” papers that I’d discovered from the journals below, but missed the cut as far as reading was concerned.
  • I’ve abandoned this idea as it’s too much work for little benefit.
Footnote 2:
  • The dates for which I have access to free Text appear in brackets, with a second date-range where appropriate, for papers that can be purchased (or borrowed in hard-copy).
  • This list hasn’t been updated since January 2015, so there may be new journals of interest, and the dates will have moved on by 3 years.

Note last updated: 05/04/2018 10:48:00

Footnote 41: (Aeon Papers - Summary Document)

Links to Topics on this Page

AestheticsAnimalsAstronomyComputingConsciousness
EducationEthicsEvolutionGeographyHistory
IslamLanguageLawLiteratureMathematics
MedicineMetaphilosophyMusicPersonal IdentityPolitics
PsychologyReligionScienceTranshumanism*** Pending ***
Introduction
  1. The Aeon1 eZine:-
    1. Covers a number of topics that I’m particularly interested in, from a semi-professional point of view.
    2. It also covers others that are of more general interest, for which I’ve read papers as they crop up but don’t really have much time to comment on.
    3. Finally, there are others – and particularly videos – which are not as relevant, and which I’ve ignored. In 2017 these were relatively few and far between (though in general I’ve ignored all the videos). Occasionally I’ve read or viewed them, but not incurred the overhead of logging them in my database.
  2. As with all papers, I categorise them by subject, topic and sub-topic: up to three of each. As such, it is possible to cross-refer the subjects under discussion. But as I have about 22,000 papers of one sort or another, this cross-categorisation leads to something of a morass.
  3. Consequently, I’ve decided to list the main topics that I’m interested in that have come up (this will be an on-going job, requiring occasional refinement), and to list the papers that fall under them. That way, it’ll be easier to see how the various authors address the same topics, and in particular how they disagree.
  4. The topics appear in the table above, with links to the lists. The topic of Personal Identity is further broken down in the list.
  5. Unfortunately, there is some need for cross-categorisation, but I’ll have to resist this and live with the deficiency. Multiple-listings will make the lists too long and confusing. Connections will need to be made between the papers themselves in such cases.
  6. I have now logged by category all the papers I’ve accessed since joining the list at the beginning of 2017 – hence developing the categories. I now need to add – usually brief – comments, making use of a disclaimer as necessary.
  7. Stimulating though this exercise is – I’ve found it’s taking too much time away from my research, so I’ve had to put it mostly on hold. What I decided to do in 4Q17 was just to categorise and read those items that really relate to my research. The others cannot for now be categorised or added to my database, but – as a weekly exercise – I added the authors, titles, dates and links in an uncategorised list.
  8. For 2018, I’ve decided that a further refocussing of effort will be required. From now on I’ll only add those papers that are strictly associated with my research, or are particularly interesting. I hope to comment on those papers already logged.
  9. I must also note here that I treat a few other articles I come across that are of similar standard to Aeon, and treat them as though they were Aeon, listing them in the cross-reference and filing them with the Aeon articles proper, for want of a better home. I note this against the individual papers.


Papers
  1. Aesthetics
  2. Animals / Animal Rights
  3. Astronomy / Cosmology
  4. Computing
  5. Consciousness
  6. Education
  7. Ethics7
  8. Evolution
  9. Geography
  10. History
  11. Islam & Philosophy
  12. Language / Linguistics
  13. Law
  14. Literature
  15. Mathematics
  16. Medicine / Health
  17. Metaphilosophy11
  18. Music
  19. Personal Identity13
  20. Politics / Economics / Sociology
  21. Psychology
  22. Religion
  23. Science
  24. Transhumanism40 / AI41


Pending Items
  1. Marcel Zentner, “Men want beauty, women want wealth, and other unscientific tosh”, 21 December, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/men-want-beauty-women-want-wealth-and-other-unscientific-tosh)
  2. Nadia Berenstein, “The flavour revolutionary”, 19 December, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/the-man-who-shook-the-united-states-by-its-tastebuds)
  3. Tage Rai, Piercarlo Valdesolo & Jesse Graham, “Our enemies are human: that’s why we want to kill them”, 13 December, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/our-enemies-are-human-thats-why-we-want-to-kill-them)
  4. Bruce Robbins, “How Orwell used wartime rationing to argue for global justice”, 12 December, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/how-orwell-used-wartime-rationing-to-argue-for-global-justice)
  5. Melissa Feinberg, “The other side of the curtain”, 11 December, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/cold-war-propaganda-the-truth-belonged-to-no-one-country)
  6. Samantha Muka, “Stop boycotting SeaWorld if you care about marine conservation”, 08 December, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/stop-boycotting-seaworld-if-you-care-about-marine-conservation)
  7. M M Owen, “Freud in the scanner”, 07 December, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/can-neuroscience-rehabilitate-freud-for-the-age-of-the-brain)
  8. Iason Athanasiadis, “Everyone in the world should be taxed on their energy footprint”, 06 December, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/everyone-in-the-world-should-be-taxed-on-their-energy-footprint)
  9. Lary Wallace, “Touching the sky”, 06 December, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/daredevilry-combines-sport-magic-and-machismo)
  10. Julia Christensen, Guido Giglioni & Manos Tsakiris, “‘Let the soul dangle’: how mind-wandering spurs creativity”, 05 December, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/let-the-soul-dangle-how-mind-wandering-spurs-creativity)
  11. André Spicer, “How to fight work bullshit (and keep your job and your dignity)”, 04 December, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/how-to-fight-work-bullshit-and-keep-your-job-and-your-dignity)
  12. Erik Linstrum, “The empire dreamt back”, 04 December, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/britains-imperial-dream-catchers-and-the-truths-of-empire)
  13. Tomas Engelthaler & Thomas T. Hills, “Porridge is funnier than oatmeal, and booby is funnier still”, 28 November, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/why-porridge-is-funnier-than-oatmeal-and-booby-is-funnier-still)
  14. Jens Jakob Andersen, “Why marathon runners in the United States are getting slower”, 21 November, 2017, Link - Defunct
  15. Philip Mirowski, “Against citizen science”, 20 November, 2017, Link - Defunct
  16. Massimo Pigliucci, “When I help you, I also help myself: on being a cosmopolitan”, 17 November, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/when-i-help-you-i-also-help-myself-on-being-a-cosmopolitan)
  17. Guy D. Middleton, “Do civilisations collapse?”, 16 November, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/what-the-idea-of-civilisational-collapse-says-about-history)
  18. Pavlo Shopin, “Rough, smooth or deep: why the sound of a voice is multisensory”, 15 November, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/rough-smooth-or-deep-why-the-sound-of-a-voice-is-multisensory)
  19. Julian Strube, “How socialism helped to seed the landscape of modern religion”, 14 November, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/how-socialism-helped-to-seed-the-landscape-of-modern-religion)
  20. Kimberley Brownlee, “Stop labelling people who commit crimes ‘criminals’”, 10 November, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/stop-labelling-people-who-commit-crime-criminals)
  21. David Sbarra, “Psychology’s power tools”, 09 November, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/this-is-why-cognitive-behavioural-therapy-works-so-well)
  22. Wendy Orent, “When evolution is not a slow dance but a fast race to survive”, 08 November, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/when-evolution-is-not-a-slow-dance-but-a-fast-race-to-survive)
  23. Benjamin C. Waterhouse, “The small business myth”, 08 November, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/what-does-small-business-really-contribute-to-economic-growth)
  24. Mark Kukis, “War once helped build nations, now it destroys them”, 07 November, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/war-once-helped-build-nations-now-it-destroys-them)
  25. Marc A Edwards & Siddhartha Roy, “Science is broken”, 07 November, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/science-is-a-public-good-in-peril-heres-how-to-fix-it)
  26. Scott Atran, “Alt-Right or jihad?”, 06 November, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/radical-islam-and-the-alt-right-are-not-so-different)
  27. Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis, “Music is not for ears”, 02 November, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/music-is-in-your-brain-and-your-body-and-your-life)
  28. Jeremy Adelman, “Why the idea that the world is in terminal decline is so dangerous”, 01 November, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/why-the-idea-that-the-world-is-in-terminal-decline-is-so-dangerous)
  29. Bryan W Van Norden, “Western philosophy is racist”, 31 October, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/why-the-western-philosophical-canon-is-xenophobic-and-racist)
  30. Chris Barker, “Should life in jail be worse than outside, on principle?”, 31 October, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/should-life-in-jail-be-worse-than-outside-on-principle)
  31. James McConnachie, “Be amazed”, 30 October, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/how-walking-a-labyrinth-can-trace-a-route-to-self-knowledge)
  32. Tonja Jacobi & Dylan Schweers, “How men continue to interrupt even the most powerful women”, 26 May, 2017, Link - Defunct
  33. Vicki Larson, “Marriage should not come with any social benefits or privileges”, 16 May, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/marriage-should-not-come-with-any-social-benefits-or-privileges)
  34. Skye C Cleary, “Simone de Beauvoir’s political philosophy resonates today”, 10 March, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/simone-de-beauvoirs-political-philosophy-resonates-today)
  35. Joel Mokyr, “How Europe became so rich”, 15 February, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/how-did-europe-become-the-richest-part-of-the-world)
  36. Richard W Orange, “Latte pappas”, 18 January, 2017, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/swedens-hands-on-dads-and-the-hormones-of-fatherhood)
  37. David Farrier, “Deep time’s uncanny future is full of ghostly human traces”, 31 October, 2016, Link (https://aeon.co/ideas/deep-time-s-uncanny-future-is-full-of-ghostly-human-traces)
  38. Joyce E Chaplin, “The hand-held’s tale”, 16 October, 2015, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/where-did-our-passion-for-the-handheld-device-originate)
  39. Ted Scheinman, “What lies beneath”, 28 July, 2015, Link - Defunct
  40. Dimitris Xygalatas, “Trial by fire”, 19 September, 2014, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/how-extreme-rituals-forge-intense-social-bonds)
  41. D. Watkins, “Stoop stories”, 26 June, 2014, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/these-are-my-two-baltimores-black-and-white)
  42. Sarah Scoles, “Galactic position system”, 20 May, 2014, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/do-you-know-where-you-are-in-the-milky-way)
  43. Thomas Wells, “Votes for the future”, 08 May, 2014, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/we-need-to-listen-to-our-future-citizens-here-s-how-to-tune-in)
  44. Peter Whiteley, “The fire burns yet”, 25 November, 2013, Link - Defunct
  45. Tim Parks, “Inner peace”, 26 July, 2013, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/is-the-sound-of-silence-the-end-of-the-self)
  46. Julian Baggini, “I still love Kierkegaard”, 06 May, 2013, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/happy-birthday-kierkegaard-we-need-you-now)
  47. Helen Macdonald, “Nest of spies”, 26 February, 2013, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/the-tale-of-a-spymaster-and-his-avian-double)
  48. John Quiggin, “This world is enough”, 15 January, 2013, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/we-can-end-world-poverty-without-destroying-the-planet)
  49. Stephen J Pyne, “The ice inferno”, 11 January, 2013, Link (https://aeon.co/essays/antarctica-a-place-of-wide-horizons-and-fragile-selves)




In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 1: Footnote 7:
  • I don’t have a Note on Ethics per se, but
  • I do have a Note on the allegation that Personal Identity is a Forensic Property of the individual.
  • I’ve also included those topics – like “the good life” – that tend to feature in ethics courses.
Footnote 11:
  • This will probably include general philosophy until a get a critical mass for further categories.
Footnote 13:
  • This is a bucket-list for those items under the topic of Personal Identity that aren’t broken out under other categories.
  • See the full Jump Table here.
Footnote 22:
  • I don’t yet have a note for sexual Identity.
  • Some of these Papers may really belong under Politics.
Footnote 40:
  • The main Note is this one.
  • However, I intend to include such matters as Neuroscience and AI under this head, where they are relevant to hopes of Transhumanism.
Footnote 41:
  • I’ll need to re-house those items that are nothing to do with Transhumanism.
  • Currently, anything to do with computing or the internet appears here.

Note last updated: 12/05/2018 14:22:34

Footnote 42: (Status: Consciousness Studies (2017 - September))

Rationale for this Project

  • This is a philosophical topic that has interested me for many years. It would have been my primary area of research, had it not been so difficult and so heavily populated with philosophers.
  • It can be considered as a supporting project for two of my other projects.
    1. Personal Identity (because of consciousness of self) and
    2. Philosophy of Religion (as phenomenal consciousness gives prima facie difficulties for materialism).
  • This project remains in mothballs, except insofar as topics are required explicitly to support my other projects.

Summary of Progress During July - September 2017
  1. In all, I spent 13 hours in 3Q17 on this project (42 hours YTD, where by “YTD” – Year to Date – I mean the (academic) year commenced in October 2016). That’s 99% of the planned effort (80% YTD). Overall, 2% of my Project effort was directed towards this project (2% YTD) – as against 2% planned (2% YTD).
  2. Not much progress to be expected, and not much achieved. Basically, just items from Aeon as and when they turned up, and spent a few hours reviewing Crane’s chapter on consciousness.
  3. Otherwise, I converted a few old Philosophy of Mind essays from pdfs to Notes.
  4. Further details follow:-

Consciousness (Total Hours = 13)
Plans for the Near Future
  1. This project is a central part of the background to my Thesis, in elaborating what matters in the first-person perspective, but I can only plan to spend 1 hour a week in the coming year.
  2. So,
    → Re-read and write notes on "Papineau (David) - Introducing Consciousness",
    → Re-read and review notes on "Crane (Tim) - Elements of Mind - An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind",
    → Read appropriate papers from Aeon.
  3. I don’t intend to write another of these reports until this time next year, unless my priorities change radically.

Priority Reading Material

The priority books are given below.
  1. "Baars (Bernard), Banks (William) & Newman (James) - Essential Sources in the Scientific Study of Consciousness"
  2. "Block (Ned), Flanagan (Owen) & Guzeldere (Guven) - The Nature of Consciousness"
  3. "Carruthers (Peter) - Phenomenal Consciousness"
  4. "Chalmers (David) - The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory"
  5. "Churchland (Paul) - The Engine of Reason, the Seat of the Soul: Philosophical Journey into the Brain"
  6. "Crick (Francis) - The Astonishing Hypothesis - The Scientific Search for the Soul"
  7. "Dennett (Daniel) - Consciousness Explained"
  8. "Gray (Jeffrey) - Consciousness: Creeping up on the Hard Problem"
  9. "Hodgson (David) - The Mind Matters - Consciousness and Choice in a Quantum World"
  10. "Levine (Joseph) - Purple Haze: The Puzzle of Consciousness"
  11. "Marcel (Anthony J.) & Bisiach (Edoardo) - Consciousness in Contemporary Science"
  12. "McGinn (Colin) - The Problem of Consciousness: Essays Towards a Resolution"
  13. "Noe (Alva) - Out of Our Heads: Why You Are Not Your Brain, and Other Lessons from the Biology of Consciousness"
  14. "Papineau (David) - Introducing Consciousness"
  15. "Papineau (David) - Thinking About Consciousness"
  16. "Penrose (Roger) - The Emperor's New Mind"
  17. "Penrose (Roger) - Shadows of the Mind"
  18. "Searle (John) - The Rediscovery of the Mind"
  19. "Smith (Quentin) & Jokic (Aleksandar) - Consciousness: New Philosophical Essays"

Additionally, I’ve started to catalogue my back-issues of Journal of Consciousness Studies, for which the link below is the jumping-off point:-

→ "JCS - Journal of Consciousness Studies (Consolidated List)"


Other Material

Note last updated: 09/10/2017 23:25:26

Footnote 44: (Status: Languages (2017 - September))

Rationale for this Project

  • I don’t claim to have any linguistic ability, and am usually too shy to utter anything in public in a language other than English – partly because of an obsession with accuracy, but also because of a lack of interest in the use of language for basic communication, leading to a lack of command of everyday speech.
  • I’m interested in how languages function, and in particular how languages in related or unrelated groups compare as far as their grammar and vocabulary are concerned.
  • I’m also interested in nativist theses about the innate hard-wiring of human brains for the acquisition of natural languages at critical phases of psychological development (see my BA Philosophy dissertation “Poverty of Stimulus Arguments for Innate Grammar”).
  • Anyway, at various times of my life I have made forays into various languages by formal or informal study.
  • This used to involve listening on my iPod while walking to and from the station, when exercising down the gym, or in the car to and from music lessons. Now these opportunities have mostly gone. I do have the opportunity when walking Henry the dog, but prefer to let my mind wander.
  • Another problem is that, while initially progress seems rapid, after a while repeated listening to a very limited conversational CD doesn’t lead to any further progress in vocabulary and grammatical understanding – for this, reading and careful study is required.
  • However, Classical Greek, Hebrew and maybe Syriac, Arabic and Latin should be of use in my theological studies, and Brazilian Portuguese, Turkish and (potentially) Thai are important with family-members as native speakers.
  • This project has varied in priority over recent years, but is now almost completely moth-balled. This is to provide focus for my major projects, but also reflects the fact that time spent on occasional forays into language-learning is effectively wasted.

Status as at end-September 2017
  1. I planned to spend very little time on this project in the last academic year. In all, I spent 12.5 hours on this project in the academic year ending September 2017. That’s 96% of the planned effort. This effort was expended on:-
    1. Languages - Admin (Total Hours = 2.75)
      • 3Q16 Status Reports (0.75 hours)
      • Updating "Languages - Materials for Use" web-page (2 hours)
        → See "Admin - Languages - Admin"
    2. Languages - Spanish
    3. Languages - Thai (Total Hours = 7.25)
    4. Languages - Turkish
  2. The Spanish was for a trip to Mallorca, and the Thai for Nat’s Thai girlfriend, should she obtain a visa to come to this country.
  3. Additionally, I spent some 37.5 hours in the early months of the academic year immersed in NT Greek, completing Pete’s PhD Appendices website – see "Mansell (Peter) - Bottom Up Reading of Acts" and Acts: Live Site (http://www.acts-research.website/). The time for this was booked to my Web-Tools Project.

Plans for the 2017/18 Academic Year
Materials for Use

These can be followed up here.

Note last updated: 09/10/2017 23:25:26

Footnote 45: (Status: Music (2018 - March))

Rationale for this Project

  • Music is one of the few interests Julie and I have in common – so is worth cultivating on that account.
  • I don’t consider myself to have any particular musical talent, but enjoy listening to music; and communal playing, provided it is with at least minimal competence, is pleasurable enough.
  • I played the oboe for a couple of years at school, starting age 14, and while I got to Grade 5 within a year, I soon lost interest. I also scraped an ‘O’ Level in music.
  • I started learning the piano in mid-2008, and until September 2010 I had a periodic combined oboe + piano lesson lasting an hour with my oboe-teacher in Westcliffe-on-Sea. Since then, this aspect of the project has been mostly in abeyance, though since July 2017 I’ve started to pick it up again.
  • Since moving to Billericay over 25 years ago, we occasionally played in a scratch quartet with a couple of friends (piano and recorder) with me on the oboe and Julie on the violin. These friends moved to Shropshire in February 2011, so this occasional pleasure has come to an end with the exception of the occasional visit.
  • However, Julie and I have, since March 2015, been members of a group calling itself The Enigma Ensemble. It is rather chatty and of a poor standard, but enjoyable enough and keeps me practising. I have set up its website: Enigma Ensemble (http://www.enigmaensemble.co.uk/).
  • Julie is a member of the Billericay-based Choir For All Seasons. I did consider joining, but you can’t do everything.

Summary of Progress During January – March 2018
  1. I spent 90 hours in 1Q18 on this project (178 hours YTD, where by “YTD” – Year to Date – I mean the (academic) year commenced in October 2017). That’s 70% of the planned effort (81% YTD). Overall, 14% of my Project effort in the Quarter was directed towards this project (making 14% YTD) – as against 17% planned (15% YTD).
  2. As can be seen, I took this project seriously this quarter, but couldn’t – or at least didn’t – put in quite the hours I’d planned. I intend to make some real progress, and when I have will consider re-starting my oboe lessons (though probably not piano).
  3. I’m continuing to improve my stamina as an oboist, and can now fairly comfortably play for 30 minutes. My aim is two of these sessions a day, and I achieved that occasionally towards the end of the period.
  4. I’ve continued studies of music theory, completing a read-through of "Taylor (Eric) - The AB Guide to Music Theory - Part 1".
  5. Aural again didn’t get look in.
  6. The excellent Yamaha P-45 Electric Piano with deluxe earphones at last got some usage, and I’ve now managed to play Bach’s Prelude – using "Rhodes (James) - How to Play the Piano" – with some competence.
  7. The rescheduled concert at Abbeyfield eventually took place, but Julie and I couldn’t make it as Henry had been ill and we were collecting him from doggie hospital.
  8. Further details follow:-
Music (Total Hours = 89.5)
  1. Music - Administration (Total Hours = 7.25)
    • 4Q17 Status Reports (1.5 hours)
    • Enigma Ensemble Admin (1 hour)
    • Julie's Singing Group Concert (1 hour)
    • Music Copying / Filing (3 hours)
    • Oboe Reeds (0.25 hours)
    • Wikipedia re Bach Toccata & Fugue in d minor (0.5 hours)
  2. Music - Aural
  3. Music - Oboe (Total Hours = 60.75)
  4. Music - Piano (Total Hours = 11.75)
  5. Music - Theory (Total Hours = 7.75)


Plans for the Near Future
Progress to Date

The lists of items performed is cumulative, so I’ve hived off the history to a separate document.



In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 1: Ie. The following:-

Note last updated: 05/04/2018 10:48:00

Footnote 47: (Status: Mathematics (2017 - September))

Rationale for this Project

  • This is rather an eccentric activity, partly an attempt to exorcise some ancient demon – the rather bruising experience of reading mathematics at King’s College Cambridge back in the mid 1970’s.
  • However, any modern educated person should be reasonably up to date with the mathematical sciences, and statistical and probability theory are essential tools for evaluating evidence, and are useful in Bridge! If only advanced mathematics wasn’t such a difficult subject.
  • This project is diverging from Mathematics per se to the Philosophy of Mathematics and other related subjects. For instance, Philosophy of Mathematics features in Philosophy of Religion by providing an analogy or model of the sort of necessary existence that God is supposed to have.

Project Status, end-September 2017
  • I didn’t plan to spend any time during the 2016/17 academic year, and in fact spent 4.5 hours as given below.
  • Several items were papers from Aeon.

Mathematics (Total Hours = 4.5)
  1. Mathematics - Reading / Writing
  2. Mathematics - Admin
    • 3Q16 Status Reports (0.5 hours)

Plans for the 2017/18 Academic Year
Mathematical Resources



In-Page Footnotes

Footnote 2:
  • This has been a vain hope for some years now!
Footnote 3:
  • As noted above, a decent knowledge of statistics is essential to many of my projects, so I ought to get back into it. This is a gentle introduction.
Footnote 4:
  • These are not left over from my Cambridge days as these few books were given away to my sister’s high-school in Gloucester by my mother during my brief sojourn with the Carthusians.
  • Rather, I found them going cheap in bulk at a local second-hand bookshop.
  • They are accessible via …this link.

Note last updated: 09/10/2017 23:25:26


Text Colour Conventions

  1. Black: Printable Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2018
  2. Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2018

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Timestamp: 12/05/2018 14:44:32. Comments to theo@theotodman.com.