Mahesh Ananth - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Mahesh Ananth
Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, Jun 1, 2015
ABSTRACT Coverage of discrete structures is necessary for any computer science curriculum. More b... more ABSTRACT Coverage of discrete structures is necessary for any computer science curriculum. More broadly, teaching skill in critical thinking is essential to providing a well-rounded college education. We describe our experience with incorporating a 'critical thinking module' (CTM) into a discrete structures (DS) course.
Human Evolution, 2021
ReviewJohn P. Jackson Jr. and David J. Depew, Darwinism, Democracy, and Race: American Anthropolo... more ReviewJohn P. Jackson Jr. and David J. Depew, Darwinism, Democracy, and Race: American Anthropology and Evolutionary Biology in the Twentieth CenturyRoutledge, New York, NY, 2017, 240 pp.ISBN: 978-1138628175, $140.00 (Hbk)
In Defense of an Evolutionary Concept of Health, 2017
Foreword Preface Introduction: topic of study, method of study, focus of study Naturalism and the... more Foreword Preface Introduction: topic of study, method of study, focus of study Naturalism and the concept of health Normativism and the concept of health The function debate Boorse on health Boorse and his critics An evolutionary concept of health Bibliography Index.
Issues in law & medicine, 2017
Albert Jonsen and Stephen Toulmin have argued that the best way to resolve the complex issues in ... more Albert Jonsen and Stephen Toulmin have argued that the best way to resolve the complex issues in medical settings is to focus on the actual details of cases and then determine what to do in the given cases. This approach to medical decision-making, labeled "casuistry," has met with much criticism. In response, Carson Strong has attempted to save much of Jonsen and Toulmin's version of casuistry. This analysis reveals that Strong's recent salvage efforts fail to deflect the major criticisms. The upshot of this analysis is that Jonsen and Toulmin's version of casuistry is not an appropriate framework from which to resolve complex issues in clinical settings.
Handbook of the Philosophy of Medicine, 2016
Defenders of evolutionary medicine claim that medical professionals and public health officials w... more Defenders of evolutionary medicine claim that medical professionals and public health officials would do well to consider the role of evolutionary biology with respect to the teaching, research, and judgments pertaining to medical theory and practice. An integral part of their argument is that the human body should be understood as a bundle of evolutionary compromises. Such an appreciation,
International Journal of Art and Art History, 2014
Jonathan Lear argues that the established purgation, purification, and cognitive stimulation inte... more Jonathan Lear argues that the established purgation, purification, and cognitive stimulation interpretations of Aristotle's concepts of catharsis and tragic pleasure are off the mark. In response, Lear defends an anti-cognitivist account, arguing that it is the pleasure associated with imaginatively "living life to the full" and yet hazarding nothing of importance that captures Aristotle's understanding of catharsis and tragic pleasure. This analysis reveals that Aristotle's account of imagination in conjunction with his understanding of both specific intellectual virtues and rational emotions of an educated citizen not only tells against Lear's anti-cognitivist construal, but also divulges an alternative cognitive stimulation reading.
Psyche
John Searle offers what he thinks to be a reasonable scientific approach to the understanding of ... more John Searle offers what he thinks to be a reasonable scientific approach to the understanding of consciousness. I argue that Searle is demanding nothing less than a Kuhnian-type revolution with respect to how scientists should study consciousness given his rejection of the subject-object distinction and affirmation of mental causation. As part of my analysis, I reveal that Searle embraces a version of emergentism that is in tension, not only with his own account, but also with some of the theoretical tenets of science. I conclude that Searle has offered little to motivate scientists to adopt his proposal.
What Would the Man of Steel Do?, 2013
Teaching Philosophy, 2009
The Journal of Value Inquiry, 2014
Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Springer Science +B... more Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Springer Science +Business Media Dordrecht. This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be selfarchived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your article, please use the accepted manuscript version for posting on your own website. You may further deposit the accepted manuscript version in any repository, provided it is only made publicly available 12 months after official publication or later and provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The final publication is available at link.springer.com".
Acta Biotheoretica, 2005
This paper defends the position that the supposed gap between biological altruism and psychologic... more This paper defends the position that the supposed gap between biological altruism and psychological altruism is not nearly as wide as some scholars (e.g., Elliott Sober) insist. Crucial to this defense is the use of James Mark Baldwin's concepts of "organic selection" and "social heredity" to assist in revealing that the gap between biological and psychological altruism is more of a small lacuna. Specifically, this paper argues that ontogenetic behavioral adjustments, which are crucial to individual survival and reproduction, are also crucial to species survival. In particular, it is argued that human psychological altruism is produced and maintained by various sorts of mimicry and self-reflection in the aid of both individual and species survival. The upshot of this analysis is that it is possible to offer an account of psychological altruism that is closely tethered to biological altruism without reducing entirely the former to the latter.
Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, Jun 1, 2015
ABSTRACT Coverage of discrete structures is necessary for any computer science curriculum. More b... more ABSTRACT Coverage of discrete structures is necessary for any computer science curriculum. More broadly, teaching skill in critical thinking is essential to providing a well-rounded college education. We describe our experience with incorporating a 'critical thinking module' (CTM) into a discrete structures (DS) course.
Human Evolution, 2021
ReviewJohn P. Jackson Jr. and David J. Depew, Darwinism, Democracy, and Race: American Anthropolo... more ReviewJohn P. Jackson Jr. and David J. Depew, Darwinism, Democracy, and Race: American Anthropology and Evolutionary Biology in the Twentieth CenturyRoutledge, New York, NY, 2017, 240 pp.ISBN: 978-1138628175, $140.00 (Hbk)
In Defense of an Evolutionary Concept of Health, 2017
Foreword Preface Introduction: topic of study, method of study, focus of study Naturalism and the... more Foreword Preface Introduction: topic of study, method of study, focus of study Naturalism and the concept of health Normativism and the concept of health The function debate Boorse on health Boorse and his critics An evolutionary concept of health Bibliography Index.
Issues in law & medicine, 2017
Albert Jonsen and Stephen Toulmin have argued that the best way to resolve the complex issues in ... more Albert Jonsen and Stephen Toulmin have argued that the best way to resolve the complex issues in medical settings is to focus on the actual details of cases and then determine what to do in the given cases. This approach to medical decision-making, labeled "casuistry," has met with much criticism. In response, Carson Strong has attempted to save much of Jonsen and Toulmin's version of casuistry. This analysis reveals that Strong's recent salvage efforts fail to deflect the major criticisms. The upshot of this analysis is that Jonsen and Toulmin's version of casuistry is not an appropriate framework from which to resolve complex issues in clinical settings.
Handbook of the Philosophy of Medicine, 2016
Defenders of evolutionary medicine claim that medical professionals and public health officials w... more Defenders of evolutionary medicine claim that medical professionals and public health officials would do well to consider the role of evolutionary biology with respect to the teaching, research, and judgments pertaining to medical theory and practice. An integral part of their argument is that the human body should be understood as a bundle of evolutionary compromises. Such an appreciation,
International Journal of Art and Art History, 2014
Jonathan Lear argues that the established purgation, purification, and cognitive stimulation inte... more Jonathan Lear argues that the established purgation, purification, and cognitive stimulation interpretations of Aristotle's concepts of catharsis and tragic pleasure are off the mark. In response, Lear defends an anti-cognitivist account, arguing that it is the pleasure associated with imaginatively "living life to the full" and yet hazarding nothing of importance that captures Aristotle's understanding of catharsis and tragic pleasure. This analysis reveals that Aristotle's account of imagination in conjunction with his understanding of both specific intellectual virtues and rational emotions of an educated citizen not only tells against Lear's anti-cognitivist construal, but also divulges an alternative cognitive stimulation reading.
Psyche
John Searle offers what he thinks to be a reasonable scientific approach to the understanding of ... more John Searle offers what he thinks to be a reasonable scientific approach to the understanding of consciousness. I argue that Searle is demanding nothing less than a Kuhnian-type revolution with respect to how scientists should study consciousness given his rejection of the subject-object distinction and affirmation of mental causation. As part of my analysis, I reveal that Searle embraces a version of emergentism that is in tension, not only with his own account, but also with some of the theoretical tenets of science. I conclude that Searle has offered little to motivate scientists to adopt his proposal.
What Would the Man of Steel Do?, 2013
Teaching Philosophy, 2009
The Journal of Value Inquiry, 2014
Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Springer Science +B... more Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Springer Science +Business Media Dordrecht. This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be selfarchived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your article, please use the accepted manuscript version for posting on your own website. You may further deposit the accepted manuscript version in any repository, provided it is only made publicly available 12 months after official publication or later and provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The final publication is available at link.springer.com".
Acta Biotheoretica, 2005
This paper defends the position that the supposed gap between biological altruism and psychologic... more This paper defends the position that the supposed gap between biological altruism and psychological altruism is not nearly as wide as some scholars (e.g., Elliott Sober) insist. Crucial to this defense is the use of James Mark Baldwin's concepts of "organic selection" and "social heredity" to assist in revealing that the gap between biological and psychological altruism is more of a small lacuna. Specifically, this paper argues that ontogenetic behavioral adjustments, which are crucial to individual survival and reproduction, are also crucial to species survival. In particular, it is argued that human psychological altruism is produced and maintained by various sorts of mimicry and self-reflection in the aid of both individual and species survival. The upshot of this analysis is that it is possible to offer an account of psychological altruism that is closely tethered to biological altruism without reducing entirely the former to the latter.