Author Archives: Brian Hopkins

A value lays down what is valued by an individual or society such that the value ‚aabinds‚aa anyone committed to it. This  ‚aabind‚aa (Greek ‚aadeontic‚aa) has normative properties. To accept that veracity is a value is to be committed to telling the truth, and this is to rule out a commitment to lying . See …

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The view that different values are accepted by different individuals or societies in the way in which tastes and preferences differ. From this, it follows that values are subjective . See Relativism (or cultural relativism)

Such a difference arises in two ways 1. either the same value may be accepted by some and rejected by others, or two values may ranked in one order by some, but in the converse order by others.

The view that different sets of values are binding on different individuals or societies, but with their objectivity preserved.

The degree to which a study accurately reflects or assesses the specific concept one is attempting to measure.  It is important to note that a method can be reliable (i.e., it consistently measures the same thing), but not valid.  See also Construct validity, Discriminant validity, Internal validity, Multitrait-multimethod matrix, Reliability

The view that one set of values is binding on all people in all societies in the way in which the question ‚aaWhat is 2 + 2?‚aa has one true answer such that no other answer could be true. It is in this sense that values are objective.

One of the most multifunctional nerves in the body, it is the longest cranial nerve and contains both afferent and efferent fibbers. The only cranial nerve to enter the trunk, it passes through the neck, thorax and abdomen to supply sensory information to part of the ear, tongue, larynx and pharynx, and efferent discharges to …

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A crystalline solution in the urine of mammals and other urotelic animals (e.g., amphibians, fish).  It is also a source of stimulation for fatal taste and olfactory receptors.  See Gustation, Olfaction

Complete phrasal groups in conversations that map up partially to grammatical sentences, but which may have many omissions and discontinuities.  See Cognitive-functionalist approach, Conversations, Psycholinguistics, Pragmatics

A pyrimidine base that is part of RNA, where it pairs with adenine during the process of transcription.  This process involves a strand of messenger RNA (mRNA) produced against a strand of DNA that acts a template.  In DNA, uracil is replaced by thymine.  See DNA, Nucleotide, Pyridimines, RNA, Thymine