This paper looks at how we make decisions in the face of plural values, and explores its implications for our conception of practical reason. Specifically, the idea that our choice is governed by what I call “decision-theoretic rationality”, which has been influential among decision theorists and some “interpretationist” philosophers, will thoroughly be criticized as not being capable of explaining the difficulties characteristic of choosing among alternatives which bear different kinds of value. The paper concludes by suggesting that our understanding of practical reason needs to be reformed, in a way that appropriately captures those difficulties.
This paper discusses two interactive exhibits in the perspective of design and behavioral analysis. The first exhibit, Pool of Fingerprints, was created for the exhibition of The Definition of Self. The second exhibit, Arithmetik Garden, was exhibited at Mori Art Museum in 2007 and NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC] in 2008.
This article aims to draw a connection between organismic evolution and machine learning as recursive optimization processes. Optimization of complex systems presupposes certain forms or designs of the input-output functions. Recent literatures in evolutionary developmental biology have discussed various design features of the genotype-phenotype mapping, including neardecomposability, generative entrenchment, standardization, plasticity, canalization, and scaffolding as means to solve complex adaptive problems through recursive evolution. I point out similar problems and/or techniques exist in the machine learning literature, and sketch some common features in these two distinct fields.