Theory of modality

Multimedia technology is increasingly being used as an alternative way of delivering instruction. According to researchers, the success of multimedia is due to the dualcoding aspect of the information processing theory. In applying dual-coding principles, different information has to be coded in different media in order for people to learn effectively. Designers of interactive multimedia applications are faced with thousands of different combinations of input and/or output modalities of information representation. Each single modality or multimodal combination has its own specific capabilities and limitations for representing or conveying information. It is important to be able to select the right combination of modalities for a given application. This paper describes Modality Theory and how it can be used to guide designers developing interactive multimedia applications. Given any particular set of information which needs to be exchanged between the user and system during task perf...

Kit Fine has proposed a new solution to what he calls 'a familiar puzzle' concerning modality and existence. The puzzle concerns the argument from the alleged truths 'It is necessary that Socrates is a man' and 'It is possible that Socrates does not exist' to the apparent falsehood 'It is possible that Socrates is a man and does not exist'. We discuss in detail Fine's setting up of the 'puzzle' and his rejection, with which we concur, of two mooted solutions to it. (One of these uses standard, Kripkean, notions, and the other rests on work done by Arthur Prior.) We set out, and reject, the philosophy of modality underlying Fine's new solution, and we defend an alternative response to the alleged puzzle. Our solution follows the work of David Wiggins in distinguishing between the sentential operator 'It is necessary that' and the predicate modifier 'necessarily'. We briefly provide this distinction with a possible-world semantics on which it is neither a necessary truth, in some sense, that Socrates exists nor true, in some sense, that Socrates necessarily exists.

The current study tested gender differences in the developmental transition from drawing cubes in two- versus three dimensions (3D), and investigated the underlying spatial abilities. Six- to nine-year-old children (N = 97) drew two occluding model cubes and solved several other spatial tasks. Girls more often unfolded the various sides of the cubes into a layout, also called diagrammatic cube drawing (object design detail). In girls, the best predictor for drawing the cubes was Mental Rotation Test (MRT) accuracy. In contrast, boys were more likely to preserve the optical appearance of the cube array. Their drawing in 3D was best predicted by MRT reaction time and the Embedded Figures Test (EFT). This confirmed boys' stronger focus on the contours of an object silhouette (object shape). It is discussed whether the two gender-specific approaches to drawing in three dimensions reflect two sides of the appearance–reality distinction in drawing, that is graphic syntax of object design features versus visual perception of projective space.

[If you refer to the paper, please send me a message.] The textbook-like history of analytic philosophy is a history of myths, re-ceived views and dogmas. Though mainly the last few years have witnessed a huge amount of historical work that aimed to reconsider our narratives of the history of ana-lytic philosophy there is still a lot to do. The present study is meant to present such a micro story which is still quite untouched by historians. According to the received view Kripke has defeated all the arguments of Quine against quantified modal logic and thus it became a respectful tool for philosophers. If we accept the historical interpreta-tion of the network between Quine, Kripke and modal logic, which is to be presented here, we have to conclude that Quine’s real philosophical animadversions against the modalities are still on the table: though Kripke has provided some important (formal-logical) answers, Quine’s animadversions are still viable and worthy of further considera-tion.

This study aims to demonstrate the detailed treatment of modal commixture adopted by Illuminato Aiguino in his two treatises, namely La Illuminata of Tutti i Tuoni di Canto Fermo (Venice, 1562) and Il Tesoro Illuminato di Tutti i Tuoni di Canto Figurato (Venice, 1581), from an alternative perspective compared to the theoretical codification approach that underpins Zarlino’s twelvefold system (after Glarean). The persistence of an expanded modal proposal of the octonary tradition post-Zarlino can also denote an option for the codification of sound spaces of polyphonic pieces with characteristics that are understood to be modally inconsistent in view of the eight-mode system. Therefore, in the final part of this study, two motets cited by Zarlino as belonging to Mode 9 and 10 (Sancta et immaculata Virginitas by Morales and Flete oculi by Willaert, respectively) will be observed from the prism of Aiguino’s theory making it possible to compare and contrast from a perspective of both modal systems identifying their differences and similarities.

Storytelling has successfully been used in language teaching at all levels of proficiency. This paper commences with suggestions of the kinds of tales that can be employed in the classroom, story selection criteria, practical tips, techniques as well as other recommendations illustrated with concrete tried and tested examples, and the numerous advantages of such activities.
Subsequently we consider the dualistic Cartesian approach that has characterised much of even twentieth-century thought: in this ‘traditional’ view, going back to Descartes, cognition has been seen as manipulation of symbolic, mental representations, with the brain conceived of as an input-output processor running abstract, generalised computational programs which enable us to process incoming data into a perception and interpretation of the outside world. Language, too, has for a long time been viewed as a system operating largely independently from the body (articulatory-perceptual organs notwithstanding).
A rich and diverse inventory of heterogeneous evidence against such a view is finally presented, addressing the issue of the link between cognition, language, body, and environment. The paper ends with implications for language instruction that enhances acquisition and retention thanks to storytelling which invites learner to actively use their body in the process, or at least observe the teacher doing so, thus activating their mirror neurons.

In this bachelor thesis, I give an interpretation of Spinoza’s statement that everything is necessary, so possibility and contingency are only errors of our knowledge. By understanding modality as ‘the way things might/must be,’ I also consider Spinoza’s thoughts on miracles as a kind of modality. In chapter 1, I offer some standard readings on Spinoza’s necessitarianism to give a background for his account of falsity in the following chapters. In chapter 2, I abroad the terms possibility, contingency, and miracle, as defects of our knowledge through Spinoza’s philosophy of mind and truth theory. I also briefly discuss the conciliation between metaphysical necessitarianism and the capacity to produce modal judgments. In chapter 3, I focus on what in literature is known as the errors of thinking, that is, knowing something and believing its negation. In this chapter, I consider the extra-epistemic means by which we make modal judgments since our modal thinking is not merely rational but also psychological insofar as we have ideas that ensure and promote our existence.

En esta tesis de licenciatura ofrezco una interpretación sobre la afirmación de Spinoza de que todo es necesario y que la posibilidad y la contingencia sólo son defectos de nuestro conocimiento (E1/33&e1). Entendiendo por modalidad “cómo son las cosas”, también considero los juicios de Spinoza sobre los milagros como una especie de modalidad. En el primer capítulo, ofrezco algunas lecturas estándar del necesitarismo de Spinoza a fin de tener un trasfondo de la falsedad en los siguientes capítulos. En el segundo capítulo, abordo los términos modales de posibilidad, contingencia y milagro, como defectos de nuestro conocimiento atendiendo a la filosofía de la mente y la teoría de la verdad de Spinoza, habiendo un espacio al final para discutir la conciliación entre el necesitarismo metafísico y la capacidad de generar juicios modales. En el tercer capítulo, me enfoco a lo que en la literatura se conoce como los “errores” del pensamiento, i.e., saber algo, y aún así negarlo; en este capítulo se ofrece una consideración de los elementos extra-epistémicos por los cuales formamos juicios modales, ya que la modalidad no es un asunto meramente racional sino también psicológico en tanto que tenemos ideas que aseguran y promueven nuestra existencia.

Beyond the religious-political discourse of Le Jeune’s musical publications, current academics regard his work as a key to elements of sixteenth-century compositional practice in the twelve-mode system. Le Jeune was highly regarded among his contemporaries for his modal compositions – a reputation that he purposefully exploited through the publication of modally-organized works.

In the current discourse on the theory and practice of mode during the Renaissance, scholars frequently cite Le Jeune’s Dodecacorde as an example of the Zarlinian theoretical-practical mixture of modal theory.An explicit analysis of Le Jeune’s application of Zarlinian dodecacordal theory, however, has not yet appeared in the academic literature. A comparison of excerpts from the Dodecacorde with polyphonic examples from Zarlino’s Institutione will illustrate the specific ways that Le Jeune adapts these modal practices. In attempting such a study, this paper will not only present a perspective on the concreteness of Zarlino’s modal conceits, but it will also clarify the degree to which these regulations were practically (i.e., how or whether they could be applied to contemporary composition) or speculatively based.

While not examining the broader relevance of Le Jeune’s application of the Zarlinian system in his psalm-settings, this paper will initiate the theoretical study of modality in the Dodecacorde in relation to Zarlino’s practical-speculative theory.

Several psychological theories of perception claim that the possible is something we perceive. Typically, the ecological approach holds that perception provides direct access to opportunities for action potentiated by the structures of the environment. Is such a claim legitimate? Can we actually perceive the possible? If perception plugs our mind into reality, should we not be freed from perception to gain access to possibilities? Therefore, shouldn’t the possible be conceived rather than perceived, something we have knowledge of, not something we see?
Answering these questions requires examining whether the thesis that the possible is perceived is consistent with: (a) the phenomenological structure of the perceived object, (b) our models of the perception mechanisms, especially the standard causal model. This inquiry will show that if, in a strict phenomenological sense, the possible is not something appearing in the same way as perceived objectities, it nevertheless contributes to determine the organization and semantics of the perceived environment. The possible as such is not seen, but it gives structure, form and meaning to the world that appears in perception.

FRENCH ABSTRACT
Différentes théories psychologiques de la perception soutiennent aujourd’hui que le possible est quelque chose que nous percevons. Pour l’approche écologique par exemple, la perception fournit un accès direct aux possibilités d’action potentialisées par les structures de l’environnement. Cette idée est-elle légitime ? Peut-on réellement percevoir le possible ? Si la perception nous branche sur le réel, ne faut-il pas justement se libérer de la perception pour accéder au possible ? Dès lors, le possible n’est-il pas plutôt pensé que perçu, l’objet d’un savoir et non pas d’un voir ?
Répondre à ces questions nécessite d’examiner si la thèse que le possible est perçu est en cohérence avec : (a) la structure phénoménologique de l’objet perçu ; (b) nos modèles du fonctionnement de la perception, en particulier le modèle causal standard. Cet examen permet de montrer que si, dans un sens phénoménologique strict, le possible n’est pas quelque chose qui apparaît sur le mode de l’objectité perçue, il contribue néanmoins à déterminer l’organisation et la sémantique de l’environnement perçu. Le possible comme tel n’est pas perçu, mais il confère structure, forme et sens au monde qui apparaît dans la perception.

This article presents an analysis, with complete transcription, of the piece "Spinning Plates" (2008) by the Broken Arm Trio, for cello, double bass and drums, in the light of the theoretical model of audiotactile music recently proposed by the author. One of the peculiarities of this composition / performance, stylistically attributable to post-bop experiences, is revealed in the formal conception that especially in the relationship between pre-composed theme and improvisations does not correspond to conventional criteria. The articulations of form and the consequent model/reference of improvised and extemporised conduct, in fact, do not appear here to be marked by architectural principles, but by a complex dialectic based on the relationships between energy-rhythmic instances (identified in the study as "groove articulations") and a syntagmatic modal type. The use of intensive modal practice as a morphological vector has prompted in the final section of the article an epistemological reflection on the nature of the modal conception, in terms of "comparative musicology", with reference to the categorization that has been made in the ethnomusicological literature and in the jazz studies.

Modal inquiry is plagued by methodological problems. The best-developed views on modal semantics and modal ontology take modal statements to be true in virtue of relations between possible worlds. Unfortunately, such views turn modal epistemology into a mystery, and this paper is about ways to avoid that problem. It looks at different remedies suggested by Quine, Blackburn and Peacocke and finds them all wanting. But although Peacocke’s version of the popular conceptualist approach fails to give a normative account of correct modal judgments, it goes a long way in suggesting how we come to make particular judgments of absolute necessity. Building on that suggestion, the paper explains how conceptualism can be transformed into a radically naturalist account of correct modal judgment that fits into a more general approach to naturalized semantics, represented by the writings of Richard Boyd and Ruth Millikan, and suggests some lessons for modal epistemology.

Il presente saggio, dopo un’esposizione sintetica di alcuni dei principali argomenti sulla modalità del repertorio gregoriano contenuti nel Lucidarium di Marchetto da Padova (ambito dei vari modi, perfetti, piuccheperfetti, misti), si concentra sulla questione dei modi commisti, cioè quelle melodie che presentano al proprio interno movenze tipiche di modi diversi rispetto a quello proprio di base. Il punto di partenza è la divisione degli ambiti scalari di ciascun modo in specie di quinta e di quarta, che segnano, nelle loro note estreme, dei riferimenti di orientamento strutturale melodico fonda-mentali nella riconoscibilità modale di un frammento melodico. Ma è soprattutto il concetto di in-terruptio, di articolazione interna della specie, che permette con maggior efficacia la riconoscibilità modale: fondamentale è analizzare il modo in cui un frammento melodico articola una specie di quinta o di quarta, cioè se con tutte le sue note costitutive o omettendone alcune. In base, dunque, al tipo di articolazione è possibile assegnare quel particolare frammento a un modo piuttosto che a un altro. Dal momento che Marchetto analizza le interruptiones solo in riferimento alla prima specie di quinta, si tenta qui di individuare alcuni principi di base per eventuali ulteriori interpretazioni modali delle interruptiones nelle altre specie, nella convinzione che il concetto di commistione sia un e-lemento essenziale nella comprensione di un repertorio, il gregoriano, che si fonda per buona parte proprio su raffinatissimi giochi di variazioni modali.

After a brief exposure about some of the main topics on the modal system of the Gregorian reper-toire contained in Marchetto of Padua’s Lucidarium (range of the modes, perfect, pluperfect, mixed), the article focuses on the question of modi commisti – those melodies presenting internally movements typical of other modes than just basic. The starting point is the division of the scalar range of each mode in species of fifth and fourth, that mark, in their extreme notes, melodic refer-ences to fundamental structural orientation in the modal recognition of a melodic fragment. But it is the concept of interruptio – internal articulation of the species – which allows more effectively the modal recognizability: it is essential to analyze the way in which a melodic fragment divides the species of fifth or fourth, that is, with all its constitutive or omitting some notes. Based, therefore, on the type of articulation, we can assign a particular fragment to a mode rather than to another. Since Marchetto analyzes the interruptiones only referring to the first species of fifth, we attempt here to identify some basic principles in view of further modal interpretations of the interruptiones in other species, in the belief that the concept of mixing is essential in understanding of Gregorian repertoire, which is often based on a refined play of modal variations.