Terrance J. Quinn
Professor Emeritus (2018 – Present)
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37132 USA
Ihave published in pure and applied mathematics; science education; and the philosophy of science. In recent years, I have also been doing work in economics.
A collaborative enterprise that is mainly intended for students and early-career scholars is Bent on Futurology.
Of special importance to me are the writings of the 20th century Canadian scholar Bernard Lonergan (1904-1984). Among other things, I am working at both understanding and promoting three of his main achievements. There is what Lonergan called “generalized empirical method.” There is his later discovery, a normative eightfold division of labor (“functional specialization”) that will be found “to overcome, or at least counter-balance the endless divisions of field specialization.” There are also Lonergan’s discoveries in economics, which are remarkable for the fact that, unlike present-day standard models, they are verifiable in actual operations of businesses, corporations and economies, small, large and international.
Books
Advances in Heuristics of Two-Circuit Economics
This is a second book in two-circuit economics. Teachers, scholars and economists eventually will need to make progress in two-circuit economics, beyond elementary insights invited by already available introductory sources.
Seeding the Positive Anthropocene
There is a growing interest in the character and the challenge of the Anthropocene. Although efforts to pin down beginning dates of this epoch have been debated, there is a broad consensus that humanity is facing an unprecedented challenge to surviving on Earth, a challenge which humans have created ourselves. Undeniably, we have had and continue to have impacts on the planet as a whole. These include ravaging bushfires and unprecedented flooding caused by climate change, spiking levels of carbon dioxide levels, and widespread loss of biodiversity.
Basic Insights in Vector Calculus: With a Supplement on Mathematical Understanding
Basic Insights in Vector Calculus provides an introduction to three famous theorems of vector calculus, Green’s theorem, Stokes’ theorem and the divergence theorem (also known as Gauss’s theorem). Material is presented so that results emerge in a natural way. As in classical physics, we begin with descriptions of flows.
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Economics Actually: Today and Tomorrow. Sustainable and Inclusive. (Second Edition)
The Second Edition of Economics Actually briefly introduces two-circuit economics. Discovered by Lonergan in the 1930’s, it will become evident that the approach provides the scientific basis for a new standard model in economics.
The (Pre-)Dawning of Functional Specialization in Physics
The (Pre-)Dawning of Functional Specialization in Physics invites attention to data for each of the eight main tasks evident and self-evident in existing scholarship in modern physics. It makes preliminary efforts toward envisioning something of what functional collaboration will look like — in physics, the Academy and Society.
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Introduction: Foreshadowings of a Normative Division of Labor
Invitation to Generalized Empirical Method in Philosophy and Science
Bernard Lonergan identified the need and possibility of what he called “generalized empirical method” in science and philosophy. Implementation will be a future community achievement. This book enters into details of a selection of examples in the sciences and philosophy of science.
Sample Chapters
Introduction
Chapter 1: Space and Time