Michael Potter – författare

What is the nature of mathematical knowledge? Is it anything like scientific knowledge or is it sui generis? How do we acquire it? Should we believe what mathematicians themselves tell us about it? Are mathematical concepts innate or acquired? Eight new essays offer answers to these and many other questions. Written by some of the world''s leading philosophers of mathematics, psychologists, and mathematicians, Mathematical Knowledge gives a lively sense of the current state of debate in this fascinating field.

Wittgenstein''s philosophical career began in 1911 when he went to Cambridge to work with Russell. He compiled the Notes on Logic two years later as a kind of summary of the work he had done so far. Russell thought that they were ''as good as anything that has ever been done in logic'', but he had Wittgenstein himself to explain them to him. Without the benefit of Wittgenstein''s explanations, most later scholars have preferred to treat the Notes solely as an interpretative aid in understanding the Tractatus (which draws on them for material), rather than as a philosophical work in their own right. Michael Potter unequivocally demonstrates the philosophical and historical importance of the Notes for the first time. By teasing out the meaning of key passages, he shows how many of the most important insights in the Tractatus they contain. He discusses in detail how Wittgenstein arrived at these insights by thinking through ideas he obtained from Russell and Frege. And he uses a challenging blend of biography and philosophy to illuminate the methods Wittgenstein used in his work. The book features the complete text of the Notes in a critical edition, with a detailed discussion of the circumstances in which they were compiled, leading to a new understanding of how they should be read.

This volume of newly written chapters on the history and interpretation of Wittgenstein''s Tractatus represents a significant step beyond the polemical debate between broad interpretive approaches that has recently characterized the field. Some of the contributors might count their approach as ''new'' or ''resolute'', while others are more ''traditional'', but all are here concerned primarily with understanding in detail the structure of argument that Wittgensteinpresents within the Tractatus, rather than with its final self-renunciation, or with the character of the understanding that renunciation might leave behind. The volume makes a strong case that close investigation, both biographical and textual, into the composition of the Tractatus, and into the variousinfluences on it, still has much to yield in revealing the complexity and fertility of Wittgenstein''s early thought. Amongst these influences Kant and Kierkegaard are considered alongside Wittgenstein''s immediate predecessors in the analytic tradition. The themes explored range across the breadth of Wittgenstein''s book, and include his accounts of ethics and aesthetics, as well as issues in metaphysics and the philosophy of mind, and aspects of the logical framework of his account ofrepresentation. The contrast of saying and showing, and Wittgenstein''s attitude to the inexpressible, is of central importance to many of the contributions. By approaching this concern through the various first-level issues that give rise to it, rather than from entrenched schematic positions, thecontributors demonstrate the possibility of a more inclusive, constructive and fruitful mode of engagement with Wittgenstein''s text and with each other.

How do we account for the truth of arithmetic? And if it does not depend for its truth on the way the world is, what constrains the world to conform to arithmetic? Reason's Nearest Kin is a critical examination of the astonishing progress made towards answering these questions from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. In the space of fifty years Frege, Dedekind, Russell, Wittgenstein, Ramsey, Hilbert, and Carnap developed accounts of the content of arithmetic that were brilliantly original both technically and philosophically. Michael Potter's innovative study presents them all as finding that content in various aspects of the complex linkage between experience, language, thought, and the world. Potter's reading places them all in Kant's shadow since it was his attempt to ground arithmetic in the spatio-temporal structure of reality that they were reacting against; but it places us in Gödel's shadow since his incompleteness theorems supply us with a measure of the richness of the content they were trying to explain. This stimulating reassessment of some of the classic texts in the philosophy of mathematics reveals many unexpected connections and illuminating comparisons, and offers a wealth of ideas for future work in the subject.

Wittgenstein's philosophical career began in 1911 when he went to Cambridge to work with Russell. He compiled the Notes on Logic two years later as a kind of summary of the work he had done so far. Russell thought that they were 'as good as anything that has ever been done in logic', but he had Wittgenstein himself to explain them to him. Without the benefit of Wittgenstein's explanations, most later scholars have preferred to treat the Notes solely as an interpretative aid in understanding the Tractatus (which draws on them for material), rather than as a philosophical work in their own right.Michael Potter unequivocally demonstrates the philosophical and historical importance of the Notes for the first time. By teasing out the meaning of key passages, he shows how many of the most important insights in the Tractatus they contain. He discusses in detail how Wittgenstein arrived at these insights by thinking through ideas he obtained from Russell and Frege. And he uses a challenging blend of biography and philosophy to illuminate the methods Wittgenstein used in his work. The book features the complete text of the Notes in a critical edition, with a detailed discussion of the circumstances in which they were compiled, leading to a new understanding of how they should be read.

What is the nature of mathematical knowledge? Is it anything like scientific knowledge or is it sui generis? How do we acquire it? Should we believe what mathematicians themselves tell us about it? Are mathematical concepts innate or acquired? Eight new essays offer answers to these and many other questions. Written by some of the world's leading philosophers of mathematics, psychologists, and mathematicians, Mathematical Knowledge gives a lively sense of the current state of debate in this fascinating field.

How do we account for the truth of arithmetic? And if it does not depend for its truth on the way the world is, what constrains the world to conform to arithmetic? Reason's Nearest Kin is a critical examination of the astonishing progress made towards answering these questions from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. In the space of fifty years Frege, Dedekind, Russell, Wittgenstein, Ramsey, Hilbert, and Carnap developed accounts of the content of arithmetic that were brilliantly original both technically and philosophically. Michael Potter's innovative study presents them all as finding that content in various aspects of the complex linkage between experience, language, thought, and the world. Potter's reading places them all in Kant's shadow, since it was his attempt to ground arithmetic in the spatio-temporal structure of reality that they were reacting against; but it places us in Gödel's shadow since his incompleteness theorems supply us with a measure of the richness of the content they were trying to explain. This stimulating reassessment of some of the classic texts in the philosophy of mathematics reveals many unexpected connections and illuminating comparisons, and offers a wealth of ideas for future work in the subject.

A comprehensive philosophical introduction to set theory. Anyone wishing to work on the logical foundations of mathematics must understand set theory, which lies at its heart. Potter offers a thorough account of cardinal and ordinal arithmetic, and the various axiom candidates. He discusses in detail the project of set-theoretic reduction, which aims to interpret the rest of mathematics in terms of set theory. The key question here is how to deal with the paradoxes that bedevil set theory. Potter offers a strikingly simple version of the most widely accepted response to the paradoxes, which classifies sets by means of a hierarchy of levels. What makes the book unique is that it interweaves a careful presentation of the technical material with a penetrating philosophical critique. Potter does not merely expound the theory dogmatically but at every stage discusses in detail the reasons that can be offered for believing it to be true.

Michael Potter presents a comprehensive new philosophical introduction to set theory. Anyone wishing to work on the logical foundations of mathematics must understand set theory, which lies at its heart.Potter offers a thorough account of cardinal and ordinal arithmetic, and the various axiom candidates. He discusses in detail the project of set-theoretic reduction, which aims to interpret the rest of mathematics in terms of set theory. The key question here is how to deal with the paradoxes that bedevil set theory. Potter offers a strikingly simple version of the most widely accepted response to the paradoxes, which classifies sets by means of a hierarchy of levels.What makes the book unique is that it interweaves a careful presentation of the technical material with a penetrating philosophical critique. Potter does not merely expound the theory dogmatically but at every stage discusses in detail the reasons that can be offered for believing it to be true. Set Theory and its Philosophy is a key text for philosophy, mathematical logic, and computer science.

Wittgenstein's philosophical career began in 1911 when he went to Cambridge to work with Russell. He compiled the Notes on Logic two years later as a kind of summary of the work he had done so far. Russell thought that they were 'as good as anything that has ever been done in logic', but he had Wittgenstein himself to explain them to him. Without the benefit of Wittgenstein's explanations, most later scholars have preferred to treat the Notes solely as an interpretative aid in understanding the Tractatus (which draws on them for material), rather than as a philosophical work in their own right. Michael Potter unequivocally demonstrates the philosophical and historical importance of the Notes for the first time. By teasing out the meaning of key passages, he shows how many of the most important insights in the Tractatus they contain. He discusses in detail how Wittgenstein arrived at these insights by thinking through ideas he obtained from Russell and Frege. And he uses a challenging blend of biography and philosophy to illuminate the methods Wittgenstein used in his work. The book features the complete text of the Notes in a critical edition, with a detailed discussion of the circumstances in which they were compiled, leading to a new understanding of how they should be read.

This volume of newly written chapters on the history and interpretation of Wittgenstein's Tractatus represents a significant step beyond the polemical debate between broad interpretive approaches that has recently characterized the field. Some of the contributors might count their approach as 'new' or 'resolute', while others are more 'traditional', but all are here concerned primarily with understanding in detail the structure of argument that Wittgenstein presents within the Tractatus, rather than with its final self-renunciation, or with the character of the understanding that renunciation might leave behind. The volume makes a strong case that close investigation, both biographical and textual, into the composition of the Tractatus, and into the various influences on it, still has much to yield in revealing the complexity and fertility of Wittgenstein's early thought. Amongst these influences Kant and Kierkegaard are considered alongside Wittgenstein's immediate predecessors in the analytic tradition. The themes explored range across the breadth of Wittgenstein's book, and include his accounts of ethics and aesthetics, as well as issues in metaphysics and the philosophy of mind, and aspects of the logical framework of his account of representation. The contrast of saying and showing, and Wittgenstein's attitude to the inexpressible, is of central importance to many of the contributions. By approaching this concern through the various first-level issues that give rise to it, rather than from entrenched schematic positions, the contributors demonstrate the possibility of a more inclusive, constructive and fruitful mode of engagement with Wittgenstein's text and with each other.

Gottlob Frege (1848-1925) was unquestionably one of the most important philosophers of all time. He trained as a mathematician, and his work in philosophy started as an attempt to provide an explanation of the truths of arithmetic, but in the course of this attempt he not only founded modern logic but also had to address fundamental questions in the philosophy of language and philosophical logic. Frege is generally seen (along with Russell and Wittgenstein) as one of the fathers of the analytic method, which dominated philosophy in English-speaking countries for most of the twentieth century. His work is studied today not just for its historical importance but also because many of his ideas are still seen as relevant to current debates in the philosophies of logic, language, mathematics and the mind. The Cambridge Companion to Frege provides a route into this lively area of research.

Gottlob Frege (1848-1925) was unquestionably one of the most important philosophers of all time. He trained as a mathematician, and his work in philosophy started as an attempt to provide an explanation of the truths of arithmetic, but in the course of this attempt he not only founded modern logic but also had to address fundamental questions in the philosophy of language and philosophical logic. Frege is generally seen (along with Russell and Wittgenstein) as one of the fathers of the analytic method, which dominated philosophy in English-speaking countries for most of the twentieth century. His work is studied today not just for its historical importance but also because many of his ideas are still seen as relevant to current debates in the philosophies of logic, language, mathematics and the mind. The Cambridge Companion to Frege provides a route into this lively area of research.

In this book Michael Potter offers a fresh and compelling portrait of the birth of modern analytic philosophy, viewed through the lens of a detailed study of the work of the four philosophers who contributed most to shaping it: Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Frank Ramsey. It covers the remarkable period of discovery that began with the publication of Frege's Begriffsschrift in 1879 and ended with Ramsey's death in 1930. Potter—one of the most influential scholars of this period in philosophy—presents a deep but accessible account of the break with absolute idealism and neo-Kantianism, and the emergence of approaches that exploited the newly discovered methods in logic. Like his subjects, Potter focusses principally on philosophical logic, philosophy of mathematics, and metaphysics, but he also discusses epistemology, meta-ethics, and the philosophy of language. The book is an essential starting point for any student attempting to understand the work of Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, and Ramsey, as well as their interactions and their larger intellectual milieux. It will also be of interest to anyone who wants to cast light on current philosophical problems through a better understanding of their origins.

In this book Michael Potter offers a fresh and compelling portrait of the birth of modern analytic philosophy, viewed through the lens of a detailed study of the work of the four philosophers who contributed most to shaping it: Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Frank Ramsey. It covers the remarkable period of discovery that began with the publication of Frege's Begriffsschrift in 1879 and ended with Ramsey's death in 1930. Potter—one of the most influential scholars of this period in philosophy—presents a deep but accessible account of the break with absolute idealism and neo-Kantianism, and the emergence of approaches that exploited the newly discovered methods in logic. Like his subjects, Potter focusses principally on philosophical logic, philosophy of mathematics, and metaphysics, but he also discusses epistemology, meta-ethics, and the philosophy of language. The book is an essential starting point for any student attempting to understand the work of Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, and Ramsey, as well as their interactions and their larger intellectual milieux. It will also be of interest to anyone who wants to cast light on current philosophical problems through a better understanding of their origins.

Gottlob Frege (1848–1925) was unquestionably one of the most important philosophers of all time. He trained as a mathematician, and his work in philosophy started as an attempt to provide an explanation of the truths of arithmetic, but in the course of this attempt he not only founded modern logic but also had to address fundamental questions in the philosophy of language and philosophical logic. Frege is generally seen (along with Russell and Wittgenstein) as one of the fathers of the analytic method, which dominated philosophy in English-speaking countries for most of the twentieth century. His work is studied today not just for its historical importance but also because many of his ideas are still seen as relevant to current debates in the philosophies of logic, language, mathematics and the mind. The Cambridge Companion to Frege provides a route into this lively area of research.

Gottlob Frege (1848–1925) was unquestionably one of the most important philosophers of all time. He trained as a mathematician, and his work in philosophy started as an attempt to provide an explanation of the truths of arithmetic, but in the course of this attempt he not only founded modern logic but also had to address fundamental questions in the philosophy of language and philosophical logic. Frege is generally seen (along with Russell and Wittgenstein) as one of the fathers of the analytic method, which dominated philosophy in English-speaking countries for most of the twentieth century. His work is studied today not just for its historical importance but also because many of his ideas are still seen as relevant to current debates in the philosophies of logic, language, mathematics and the mind. The Cambridge Companion to Frege provides a route into this lively area of research.

In this book Michael Potter offers a fresh and compelling portrait of the birth of modern analytic philosophy, viewed through the lens of a detailed study of the work of the four philosophers who contributed most to shaping it: Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Frank Ramsey. It covers the remarkable period of discovery that began with the publication of Frege's Begriffsschrift in 1879 and ended with Ramsey's death in 1930. Potter—one of the most influential scholars of this period in philosophy—presents a deep but accessible account of the break with absolute idealism and neo-Kantianism, and the emergence of approaches that exploited the newly discovered methods in logic. Like his subjects, Potter focusses principally on philosophical logic, philosophy of mathematics, and metaphysics, but he also discusses epistemology, meta-ethics, and the philosophy of language. The book is an essential starting point for any student attempting to understand the work of Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, and Ramsey, as well as their interactions and their larger intellectual milieux. It will also be of interest to anyone who wants to cast light on current philosophical problems through a better understanding of their origins.

In this book Michael Potter offers a fresh and compelling portrait of the birth of modern analytic philosophy, viewed through the lens of a detailed study of the work of the four philosophers who contributed most to shaping it: Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Frank Ramsey. It covers the remarkable period of discovery that began with the publication of Frege's Begriffsschrift in 1879 and ended with Ramsey's death in 1930. Potter—one of the most influential scholars of this period in philosophy—presents a deep but accessible account of the break with absolute idealism and neo-Kantianism, and the emergence of approaches that exploited the newly discovered methods in logic. Like his subjects, Potter focusses principally on philosophical logic, philosophy of mathematics, and metaphysics, but he also discusses epistemology, meta-ethics, and the philosophy of language. The book is an essential starting point for any student attempting to understand the work of Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, and Ramsey, as well as their interactions and their larger intellectual milieux. It will also be of interest to anyone who wants to cast light on current philosophical problems through a better understanding of their origins.

Progress in Myeloma: Biology of Myeloma is a collection of research studies dealing with the clinical and experimental plasma cell tumors. This work is composed of 14 chapters that provide a particularly advantageous basis for defining in biochemical and genetic terms the nature of critical alterations in the neoplastic transformation of immunoglobulin producing cells. The introductory chapters survey the epidemiology of multiple myeloma and related plasma cell disorders, as well as the mechanism of in vitro bone resorption by human myeloma cells. The subsequent chapters describe the clinical manifestations of the Waldenström''s macroglobulinemia in black and white South Africans; myeloma models to evaluate the activation and suppression of normal lymphocytes; and the cellular and molecular mechanisms of murine myeloma cell growth and differentiation regulation. These topics are followed by discussions of the characteristics of multiple myeloma as an immunodeficiency disease, the myeloma growth kinetics, and the extent of clonal involvement in multiple myeloma. A chapter explores the use of anti-idiotypic antibodies in the regulation of the myeloma tumor cell growth and non-neoplastic B cell clones. The concluding chapters look into the chromosomal changes, therapeutic trials, and genetic basis of myeloma. This book will prove useful to oncologists, cell biologists, immunologists, and researchers.

“An excellent analysis of the complex dynamics of inclusion in post-conflict societies: theoretically grounded, empirically rich, and with a well-informed set of policy-relevant insights and recommendations with implications far beyond the cases of Kosovo and Northern Ireland.”Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham, UK“Does the promotion of political accommodation between the contending parties in an ethno-nationalist conflict disadvantage other groups in society? This important question is at the heart of Michael Potter's nuanced study of post-settlement parliaments in Kosovo and Northern Ireland, in which he probes their record of representativeness, focusing on gender and ethnicity. His meticulous research, drawing on extensive fieldwork, shows that the domination of the parliaments by parties aligned to the conflict does indeed tend to marginalise other identities. His findings provide plenty of food for thought for practitioners in the field of conflict resolution. In particular, they underline the need for care in the design of institutional arrangements for deeply divided societies, so as to minimise potentially negative consequences that priority for accommodation and reconciliation may have for other issues and for the practice of inclusion.”Adrian Guelke, Queen’s University Belfast, UK“Identity is a central organising principle of politics in the 21st century. In this impressive book Michael Potter shows that a focus on gender and minority ethnic identities in newly-formed post-conflict assemblies provides a unique litmus test of the robustness of democratic politics. He analyses the cases of Kosovo and Northern Ireland with rigour and considerable insight. This book makes a highly original and lasting contribution to theory and practice in post-conflict settings world-wide.”Yvonne Galligan, Dublin Institute of Technology, IrelandThis book examines inclusion in post-conflict legislatures, using Northern Ireland and Kosovo as case studies and gender and minority ethnicity as indicators. The analysis uses an adapted framework developed by Yvonne Galligan and Sara Clavero to measure inclusion across a range of factors associated with deliberative democratic principles. The logic is that political systems designed to accommodate communities in conflict will prioritise certain identities over others. The aim of the book is to investigate how identities not directly associated with a conflict fare in a political system designed to manage identities in conflict. The book looks comparatively at the conflicts in Kosovo and Northern Ireland, then discusses approaches to conflict management, describing how political institutions were designed in those contexts. The themes of women and minority identities in those conflicts are then explored with a view to examining the extent of inclusion in the Northern Ireland and Kosovo Assemblies.

“An excellent analysis of the complex dynamics of inclusion in post-conflict societies: theoretically grounded, empirically rich, and with a well-informed set of policy-relevant insights and recommendations with implications far beyond the cases of Kosovo and Northern Ireland.”Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham, UK“Does the promotion of political accommodation between the contending parties in an ethno-nationalist conflict disadvantage other groups in society? This important question is at the heart of Michael Potter''s nuanced study of post-settlement parliaments in Kosovo and Northern Ireland, in which he probes their record of representativeness, focusing on gender and ethnicity. His meticulous research, drawing on extensive fieldwork, shows that the domination of the parliaments by parties aligned to the conflict does indeed tend to marginalise other identities. His findings provide plenty of food for thought for practitioners in the field of conflict resolution. In particular, they underline the need for care in the design of institutional arrangements for deeply divided societies, so as to minimise potentially negative consequences that priority for accommodation and reconciliation may have for other issues and for the practice of inclusion.”Adrian Guelke, Queen’s University Belfast, UK“Identity is a central organising principle of politics in the 21st century. In this impressive book Michael Potter shows that a focus on gender and minority ethnic identities in newly-formed post-conflict assemblies provides a unique litmus test of the robustness of democratic politics. He analyses the cases of Kosovo and Northern Ireland with rigour and considerable insight. This book makes a highly original and lasting contribution to theory and practice in post-conflict settings world-wide.”Yvonne Galligan, Dublin Institute of Technology, IrelandThis book examines inclusion in post-conflict legislatures, using Northern Ireland and Kosovo as case studies and gender and minority ethnicity as indicators. The analysis uses an adapted framework developed by Yvonne Galligan and Sara Clavero to measure inclusion across a range of factors associated with deliberative democratic principles. The logic is that political systems designed to accommodate communities in conflict will prioritise certain identities over others. The aim of the book is to investigate how identities not directly associated with a conflict fare in a political system designed to manage identities in conflict. The book looks comparatively at the conflicts in Kosovo and Northern Ireland, then discusses approaches to conflict management, describing how political institutions were designed in those contexts. The themes of women and minority identities in those conflicts are then explored with a view to examining the extent of inclusion in the Northern Ireland and Kosovo Assemblies.

“An excellent analysis of the complex dynamics of inclusion in post-conflict societies: theoretically grounded, empirically rich, and with a well-informed set of policy-relevant insights and recommendations with implications far beyond the cases of Kosovo and Northern Ireland.”Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham, UK“Does the promotion of political accommodation between the contending parties in an ethno-nationalist conflict disadvantage other groups in society? This important question is at the heart of Michael Potter's nuanced study of post-settlement parliaments in Kosovo and Northern Ireland, in which he probes their record of representativeness, focusing on gender and ethnicity. His meticulous research, drawing on extensive fieldwork, shows that the domination of the parliaments by parties aligned to the conflict does indeed tend to marginalise other identities. His findings provide plenty of food for thought for practitioners in the field of conflict resolution. In particular, they underline the need for care in the design of institutional arrangements for deeply divided societies, so as to minimise potentially negative consequences that priority for accommodation and reconciliation may have for other issues and for the practice of inclusion.”Adrian Guelke, Queen’s University Belfast, UK“Identity is a central organising principle of politics in the 21st century. In this impressive book Michael Potter shows that a focus on gender and minority ethnic identities in newly-formed post-conflict assemblies provides a unique litmus test of the robustness of democratic politics. He analyses the cases of Kosovo and Northern Ireland with rigour and considerable insight. This book makes a highly original and lasting contribution to theory and practice in post-conflict settings world-wide.”Yvonne Galligan, Dublin Institute of Technology, IrelandThis book examines inclusion in post-conflict legislatures, using Northern Ireland and Kosovo as case studies and gender and minority ethnicity as indicators. The analysis uses an adapted framework developed by Yvonne Galligan and Sara Clavero to measure inclusion across a range of factors associated with deliberative democratic principles. The logic is that political systems designed to accommodate communities in conflict will prioritise certain identities over others. The aim of the book is to investigate how identities not directly associated with a conflict fare in a political system designed to manage identities in conflict. The book looks comparatively at the conflicts in Kosovo and Northern Ireland, then discusses approaches to conflict management, describing how political institutions were designed in those contexts. The themes of women and minority identities in those conflicts are then explored with a view to examining the extent of inclusion in the Northern Ireland and Kosovo Assemblies.

The development of innovative molecular techniques such as pulse-field gel electro­ phoresis, cDNA subtraction libraries and chromosome hopping libraries coupled with the increasing popularity in the prospect of sequencing mammalian genomes, has triggered a resurgence of interest in finding and characterizing genes that playa role in modifying immune processes and diseases. Genetically defined strains of mice (e. g. , inbred strains and recently derived stocks of wild mice) provide ideal models for examining the genetic control of diseases as a result of their syntenic relationship with man in genetic composition as well as linkage conserva­ tion. Due to the relative ease of producing a specific genotype via appropriate breeding schedules, murine models may provide the only hope for unravelling those complex disease processes under mUltigenic control. This issue of CTMI is a collection of papers on the characterization and mapping of genes involved in mutations and dysregulated immune responses which produce disease phenotypes. These papers were presented at a workshop which was devoted to examining reverse genetic approaches at localizing, cloning and characterizing genes involved in a variety of developmental, autoimmune, neoplastic and infectious disease processes. In the first of three sections, a series of papers outline the most currently used methods of mapping and isolating genes whose products are unknown. The papers, following, are devoted to specific gene systems whose dysregulation is likely to produce mutant or disease phenotypes.

The development of innovative molecular techniques such as pulse-field gel electro­ phoresis, cDNA subtraction libraries and chromosome hopping libraries coupled with the increasing popularity in the prospect of sequencing mammalian genomes, has triggered a resurgence of interest in finding and characterizing genes that playa role in modifying immune processes and diseases. Genetically defined strains of mice (e. g. , inbred strains and recently derived stocks of wild mice) provide ideal models for examining the genetic control of diseases as a result of their syntenic relationship with man in genetic composition as well as linkage conserva­ tion. Due to the relative ease of producing a specific genotype via appropriate breeding schedules, murine models may provide the only hope for unravelling those complex disease processes under mUltigenic control. This issue of CTMI is a collection of papers on the characterization and mapping of genes involved in mutations and dysregulated immune responses which produce disease phenotypes. These papers were presented at a workshop which was devoted to examining reverse genetic approaches at localizing, cloning and characterizing genes involved in a variety of developmental, autoimmune, neoplastic and infectious disease processes. In the first of three sections, a series of papers outline the most currently used methods of mapping and isolating genes whose products are unknown. The papers, following, are devoted to specific gene systems whose dysregulation is likely to produce mutant or disease phenotypes.

Workshops on the mechanisms of B cell neoplasia have been organized alternatively in Bethesda and Basel since 1983. Prog­ ress in our understanding of the development and responses of B lymphocytes is presented and discussed with the aim and hope to understand what might go wrong when B lymphocytes are transformed into malignant cells. Such knowledge might lead to better diagnosis, prevention and even cure of these terri­ ble diseases. The presentations at the Bethesda workshops are published as papers in volumes of Current Topics in Microbiol­ ogy and Immunology, while the presentations and discussions in Basel were transcribed and published in Editions Roche. For the first time, a Basel workshop (held 4th-6th October 1998) that has been recorded and, in part, transcribed is being published as papers and discussions within Current Topics. This volume is the latest of a long series which documents the excitements of ground-breaking discoveries as well as the frustrations of our inability to fully understand the mechanisms leading to B cell neoplasia. The papers at the workshop are presented when possible in the sequence in which they were given. However, to facilitate the organization and reading of the book and to highlight gen­ eral topics and themes, the papers are organized into five sec­ tions: I B Cell and Plasma Cell Development II Chemokines and Chemokine Receptors III Chromosomal Translocations, DNA Rearrangements and Somatic Hypermutations IV Biology of Lymphomagenesis, B-CLL, Autoimmunity V Myeloma, Plasmacytomas and Related Subjects.

The papers in this book were presented at the 14th Mechanisms in B-cell Neoplasia meeting that was held in Bethesda, Maryland October 21-23, 1996. In 1995 the organizers decided that the format of the meeting would be changed and that specific topics relevant to B-cell neoplasia would be discussed. This year''s topic is on the c-myc oncogene in B-cell neoplasia which has been discussed in virtually every previous meeting. Some of the presentations announced for the first time dramatic advances in our understanding of c-myc and because this subject has become highly complex it was thought that devoting the whole meeting to this theme would be appropriate. The book, therefore, repre­ sents a review of many aspects of the myc problem but by no means is truly comprehensive. In a recent Medline search there were 8,505 references to myc, fully illustrating the magnitude of the interest and depth of this field. The organizers of the meeting have each contributed review chapters that summarize different aspects of the meeting. We thank the National Cancer Institute for sponsoring this workshop and the staff of Cygnus, Inc. , for their outstanding organizational assistance. The organizers are most grateful to Vickie Rogers for assembling the book and dealing with the edi­ torialization of the manuscripts. MICHAEL POlTER FRITZ MELCHERS Table of Contents M. POlTER and K. B. MARCU The c-myc Story: Where We''ve Been, Where We Seem to be Going. With 2 Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I F.

Workshops on the mechanisms of B cell neoplasia have been organized alternatively in Bethesda and Basel since 1983. Prog­ ress in our understanding of the development and responses of B lymphocytes is presented and discussed with the aim and hope to understand what might go wrong when B lymphocytes are transformed into malignant cells. Such knowledge might lead to better diagnosis, prevention and even cure of these terri­ ble diseases. The presentations at the Bethesda workshops are published as papers in volumes of Current Topics in Microbiol­ ogy and Immunology, while the presentations and discussions in Basel were transcribed and published in Editions Roche. For the first time, a Basel workshop (held 4th-6th October 1998) that has been recorded and, in part, transcribed is being published as papers and discussions within Current Topics. This volume is the latest of a long series which documents the excitements of ground-breaking discoveries as well as the frustrations of our inability to fully understand the mechanisms leading to B cell neoplasia. The papers at the workshop are presented when possible in the sequence in which they were given. However, to facilitate the organization and reading of the book and to highlight gen­ eral topics and themes, the papers are organized into five sec­ tions: I B Cell and Plasma Cell Development II Chemokines and Chemokine Receptors III Chromosomal Translocations, DNA Rearrangements and Somatic Hypermutations IV Biology of Lymphomagenesis, B-CLL, Autoimmunity V Myeloma, Plasmacytomas and Related Subjects.

The papers in this book were presented at the 14th Mechanisms in B-cell Neoplasia meeting that was held in Bethesda, Maryland October 21-23, 1996. In 1995 the organizers decided that the format of the meeting would be changed and that specific topics relevant to B-cell neoplasia would be discussed. This year's topic is on the c-myc oncogene in B-cell neoplasia which has been discussed in virtually every previous meeting. Some of the presentations announced for the first time dramatic advances in our understanding of c-myc and because this subject has become highly complex it was thought that devoting the whole meeting to this theme would be appropriate. The book, therefore, repre­ sents a review of many aspects of the myc problem but by no means is truly comprehensive. In a recent Medline search there were 8,505 references to myc, fully illustrating the magnitude of the interest and depth of this field. The organizers of the meeting have each contributed review chapters that summarize different aspects of the meeting. We thank the National Cancer Institute for sponsoring this workshop and the staff of Cygnus, Inc. , for their outstanding organizational assistance. The organizers are most grateful to Vickie Rogers for assembling the book and dealing with the edi­ torialization of the manuscripts. MICHAEL POlTER FRITZ MELCHERS Table of Contents M. POlTER and K. B. MARCU The c-myc Story: Where We've Been, Where We Seem to be Going. With 2 Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I F.