This project surveys biochemical practice and sets the record straight regarding which parts of protein classification are pluralist. Assuming an approach that attempts to draw metaphysical conclusions by analyzing how multifaceted practices of science work, I tie the results of my survey of protein classification practices to the debate over natural kinds. I address which classificatory practice is likely to pick out a natural kind. I defend the thesis that dynamics is a fundamental description of proteins as kinds. This view is widely held in biochemistry but is absent from philosophical literature on biochemical kinds. / Master of Arts / This project surveys biochemical practice and sets the record straight regarding which parts of protein classification are pluralist. Assuming an approach that attempts to draw metaphysical conclusions by analyzing how multifaceted practices of science work, I tie the results of my survey of protein classification practices to the debate over natural kinds. I address which classificatory practice is likely to pick out a natural kind. I defend the thesis that dynamics is a fundamental description of proteins as kinds. This view is widely held in biochemistry but is absent from philosophical literature on biochemical kinds.

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This study is about the relations between ¡§technology innovation kinds¡¨ and ¡§knowledge management kinds¡¨, and takes ¡§the performance of new product development¡¨ for measuring it. The concept of technology innovation kinds is by Henderson and Clark(1990), which depends on the ¡§Component knowledge¡¨ and ¡§Architectural knowledge¡¨ enhanced or destroyed, gets 4 kinds: incremental¡BArchitectural¡BModular¡Band Radical. On the other hand, concept of knowledge management kinds is developed by this study, which depends on ¡§the environment for sharing knowledge¡¨ formal or informal; ¡§the source of knowledge¡¨ from inside the company or outside, gets 4 kinds: database¡Bspace for communicate¡Bnetwork¡Band real time communicate. Besides 4 cases for explaining the relations, this study uses statistic for studying manufacturing industry, and finds: 1. Every of the technology innovation kinds prefers its own knowledge management kinds. Like: ¡¨ incremental¡¨ prefers ¡§ database¡¨¡B¡¨ Architectural¡¨ prefers ¡§space for communicate¡¨¡B¡¨Modular¡¨ prefers ¡§network¡¨¡Band ¡§Radical¡¨ prefers ¡§real time communicate¡¨. 2. The technology innovation kinds correspond to its own knowledge management kinds, and the performance of new product development will be higher. 3. The high-tech industry¡¦s new product development performance is higher than the traditional industry¡¦s as their innovation kinds correspond to its own knowledge management kinds. 4. The smaller company¡¦s new product development performance is higher than the larger one as their technology innovation kinds correspond to its own knowledge management kinds.

This paper challenges the notion that the social sciences require a fundamentally different methodology from the natural sciences due to the interactivity of human kinds. By examining the concept of classificatory looping and its impact on human kinds, the author argues that understanding the causal pathways and utilizing behavioral science can offer reliable generalizations about human kinds. The paper presents examples such as the Buraku of Japan and African Americans to demonstrate how behavioral science can be employed to predict changes in properties of social groups. It posits that the social sciences can operate in a manner similar to the natural sciences by examining generic human tendencies that hold broadly across diverse social contexts. This exploration ultimately supports the unity thesis, emphasizing that social sciences can indeed gain a scientific understanding of human kinds comparable to the knowledge offered by natural sciences. / Master of Arts / This paper explores the idea that social sciences, which study human behavior and societies, can use methods similar to those in natural sciences, which study the natural world. The challenge lies in the fact that human behavior can change based on how people are classified, making it difficult to establish reliable patterns. The author argues that by understanding the reasons behind these changes and applying insights from behavioral science, we can still make valid generalizations about human behavior. Real-life examples, such as the Buraku people of Japan and African Americans, are used to demonstrate how behavioral science can help predict changes in social groups. By focusing on common human tendencies that apply across different social contexts, the paper supports the idea that social sciences can gain valuable insights into human behavior, much like the natural sciences do.

Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding is considered by many to be the locus classicus of a number of influential arguments for conventionalism, according to which there are no objective, privileged ways of classifying things in the natural world. In the dissertation I argue that Locke never meant to reject natural kinds. Still, the challenge is to explain how, within a metaphysics that explicitly denies mind-independent essences, we can make sense of a privileged, objective sorting of substances. I argue that we do so by looking to Locke's conception of God as divine architect of created substances. / Philosophy

Definitions of sexual orientation are reflections of theoretical positions within the essentialist versus social constructionist debate. A cognitive sociological approach to analyzing the positions within this debate allows theorists and researchers to be aware of three distinct theoretical positions or thought communities: natural kinds thought community, social kinds thought community, and empty kinds thought community. Standard content analysis and grounded theory methods are used to analyze the principles, strategies, and practices each thought community uses to mark group membership into various sexual categories. The analysis reveals that each theoretical perspective is marking group membership differently.

I argue for the Expanded Cluster Account of art (ECA) by first inquiring as to whether “art” is best described by a cluster account and where ECA fits into the current landscape of theories of concepts. Second, I explicate the relevant aspects of Boyd’s theory of natural kinds and argue that his concepts of “disciplinary matrices” and “homeostatic property clusters” (roughly analogous to Gaut’s criterial properties for characterizing art, particularized for each individual kind) have relevant roles in a proper cluster account of art, thus explicating and expanding Gaut’s account in the process. Third, I defend the thesis that Boyd’s concept of “disciplinary matrix,” when applied to “art,” is fulfilled by George Dickie’s notion of “the Artworld.” Lastly, I consider objections to ECA and positively explain its heuristic and explanatory efficacy above and beyond other contemporary “anti-definitional” accounts.

Le fossile est le siège incontournable de la connaissance du passé du vivant et par conséquent de celui du présent.Il est épistémologiquement a-phénoménal, non-expérimentable, incomplet et historique. Cette nature épistémologique occasionne des contraintes importantes dans la manière de fabriquer l'histoire du vivant pour le paléontologue : l'historiographie du vivant. Comment,le fossile comme objet naturel et sa nature épistémologique vont-ils contraindre le processus épistémologique de la paléontologie et en définitive l'historiographie du vivant ? / The fossil is the essential seat of the knowledge of the past living beings and consequently of that of the present. It is epistemologically a-phenomenal, non-experimental, incomplete and historical. This epistemological nature causes important constraints in the way of making the history of the living beings for the paleontologist: the historiography of the living. How does the fossil as a natural object and its epistemological nature constrain the epistemological process of paleontology and ultimately the historiography of life?

In this thesis, I analyze the classical tripartite definition of knowledge. According to this definition there are three conditions for a knowledge claim to arise, namely, belief, truth and justification conditions. The main problem with this definition is even if these three conditions are satisfied one may not know a proposition p because of the fact that the justification of the proposition p may not be relevant in showing that p is true. Therefore, my primary purpose is to establish a strong conceptual connection between justification and truth conditions. To realize this, first, I defend a three-way interrelation between these three conditions. Second, I inquire as to which kind of justification should lead us to which kind of truth. To answer to this question, I postulate three kinds of realities, namely, Subjective Reality, Inter-Subjective Reality, and Allegedly Pure Reality. Furthermore, I re-define the justification condition in such way that there is a kind of whole justification and it requires both internal and external justification. According to this conception of reality and re-definition of justification there already exists a strong conceptual connection between internal justification and Subjective Reality which is completely subject-relative. And I defend the existence of such a connection also between the whole justification and Inter-Subjective Reality. Finally, I argue that no conception of justification can lead us to an Allegedly Pure Reality that the hardest version of skepticism claims to exist.

Types of civil proceedings written by Viktória Chromčíková Abstract This thesis deals with kinds of civil proceedings which have developed for protection of rights in private law sphere. Courts are the authorities that provide protection for rights. In civil proceeding they judge disputes in private law and other issues provided by special acts. There are several kinds of civil proceedings that have developed in time. The history of civil proceeding is described in the first chapter of this work. In the other chapters there are particular kinds of civil proceedings existing according to the present Czech law analyzed. Adversary proceedings resolve the usual dispute of two parties which obtains all that it takes - proceeding is initiated by a petition against a certain person. There must be a hearing held in the case where the both parties are heard (they have the same opportunity). Opposite to this procedure there are proceedings where there is no dispute in the case, but the decision of a court is obliged according to a special act. There is a special public interest on this judgment (decision). Therefore this kind of proceeding can be initiated in official duty and principle of investigation is applied. Execution is initiated only in private interest and is complied with different principles than the...