The Internal and External Problems of String Theory: A Philosophical View

String theory is at the moment the only advanced approach to a unification of all interactions, including gravity. But, in spite of the more than 30 years of its existence, it does not make any empirically testable predictions, and it is completely unknown which physically interpretable principles could form the basis of string theory. At the moment, “string theory” is no theory at all, but rather a labyrinthic structure of mathematical procedures and intuitions. The only motivations for string theory consist in the mutual incompatibility of the standard model of quantum field theory and of general relativity as well as in the metaphysics of the unification program of physics, aimed at a final unified theory of all interactions, including gravity. The article gives a perspective on the problems leading to and resulting from this situation.

Virtual reality in the treatment of spider phobia: a controlled study

This study explored whether virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy was effective in the treatment of spider phobia. We compared a treatment condition vs. a waiting list condition in a between group design with 23 participants. Participants in the VR treatment group received an average of four one-hour exposure therapy sessions. VR exposure was effective in treating spider phobia compared to a control condition as measured with a Fear of Spiders questionnaire, a Behavioural Avoidance Test (BAT), and severity ratings made by the clinician and an independent assessor. Eighty-three percent of patients in the VR treatment group showed clinically significant improvement compared with 0% in the waiting list group, and no patients dropped out. This study shows that VR exposure can be effective in the treatment of phobias.     

Sociologizing metaphysics and mind: A pragmatist point of view on the methodology of the social sciences

There are realist philosophers and social scientists who believe in the indispensability of social ontology. However, we argue that certain pragmatist outlines for inquiry open more fruitful roads to empirical research than such ontologizing perspectives. The pragmatist conceptual tools in a Darwinian vein—concepts like action, habit, coping and community—are in a particularly stark contrast with, for instance, the Searlean and Chomskian metaphysics of human being. In particular, we bring Searle’s realist philosophy of society and mind under critical survey in this paper and contrast it with a pragmatist, sociologizing approach. Drawing from Dewey, James, and recent antirepresentationalism, we propose for research work a methodological relationalism of its own kind, altogether detached from the ontologies of society and mind.

Type indeterminacy: A model of the KT(Kahneman-Tversky)-man

In this paper, we propose to use elements of the mathematical formalism of Quantum Mechanics to capture the idea that agents’ preferences, in addition to being typically uncertain, can also be indeterminate. They are determined (i.e., realized, and not merely revealed) only when the action takes place. An agent is described by a state that is a superposition of potential types (or preferences or behaviors). This superposed state is projected (or “collapses”) onto one of the possible behaviors at the time of the interaction. In addition to the main goal of modeling uncertainty of preferences that is not due to lack of information, this formalism seems to be adequate to describe widely observed phenomena of non-commutativity in patterns of behavior. We explore some implications of our approach in a comparison between classical and type indeterminate rational choice behavior. The potential of the approach is illustrated in two examples.     

Moving to higher ground: The dynamic field theory and the dynamics of visual cognition

In the present report, we describe a new dynamic field theory that captures the dynamics of visuo-spatial cognition. This theory grew out of the dynamic systems approach to motor control and development, and is grounded in neural principles. The initial application of dynamic field theory to issues in visuo-spatial cognition extended concepts of the motor approach to decision making in a sensori-motor context, and, more recently, to the dynamics of spatial cognition. Here we extend these concepts still further to address topics in visual cognition, including visual working memory for non-spatial object properties, the processes that underlie change detection, and the ‘binding problem’ in vision. In each case, we demonstrate that the general principles of the dynamic field approach can unify findings in the literature and generate novel predictions. We contend that the application of these concepts to visual cognition avoids the pitfalls of reductionist approaches in cognitive science, and points toward a formal integration of brains, bodies, and behavior.     

Sacred Indwelling and the Electromagnetic Undercurrent in Nature: A Physicist's Perspective

Wolfhart Pannenberg has related the concept of the physical field to the idea of God's divine cosmic field in all of creation. In this article I proffer a physicist's viewpoint by treating the subject from a more specific and focused perspective. In particular, I describe how electromagnetic interactions underlie the operation of all earthly nature, including human beings and their brains. I argue that this ubiquity constitutes a compelling physical analogy for the ubiquity of God's indwelling. The discussion includes the role of electromagnetism in quantum theory, concepts of time, and the evolution of life. I suggest the value of such analogical thought as an area of study to be exploited in the development of a theology of nature as well as a significant datum in the pursuit of a tenable natural theology. This article is intended to clarify, refine, and considerably expand upon an earlier article published in Zygon (Fagg 1996). Included also are discussions on the role of electromagnetism in our sense of evil and eternity.     

The Human Being in the Context of Nature: Philosophical Anthropology and Natural Sciences in Hedwig Conrad-Martius

The most original aspect of Hedwig Conrad-Martius’ research is her interpretation of nature, performed through the phenomenological method. She pinpoints the very essences of the natural phenomena, discovering entelechies inside them and a trans-physical dimension. She reads the evolution of nature in a new way, against the deterministic interpretation of it. Inside nature one can discover many levels, qualitatively different. The human being participates to all of them, but his/her peculiarity is linked to the mental–spiritual life.     

Empirically Informed Moral Theory: A Sketch of the Landscape

This introduction to the special issue on empirically informed moral theory sketches the more important contributions to the field in the past several years. Attention is paid to experimental philosophy, the work of philosophers like Harman and Doris, and that of psychologists like Haidt and Hauser.     

Autonomy in Action: Linking the Act of Looking to Memory Formation in Infancy via Dynamic Neural Fields

Looking is a fundamental exploratory behavior by which infants acquire knowledge about the world. In theories of infant habituation, however, looking as an exploratory behavior has been deemphasized relative to the reliable nature with which looking indexes active cognitive processing. We present a new theory that connects looking to the dynamics of memory formation and formally implement this theory in a Dynamic Neural Field model that learns autonomously as it actively looks and looks away from a stimulus. We situate this model in a habituation task and illustrate the mechanisms by which looking, encoding, working memory formation, and long‐term memory formation give rise to habituation across multiple stimulus and task contexts. We also illustrate how the act of looking and the temporal dynamics of learning affect each other. Finally, we test a new hypothesis about the sources of developmental differences in looking.     

Authentic happiness theory supported by impact of religion on life satisfaction: A longitudinal analysis with data for Germany

Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Survey, this paper assesses the relationship between life satisfaction and religious practice. It is shown that individuals who become more religious over time record long term gains in life satisfaction, while those who become less religious record long term losses. This result holds net of the effects of personality traits, and also in fixed effects panel models. The paper has significant implications for the current paradigm theory in SWB research, namely set-point theory. This theory holds that the long term SWB of adult individuals is stable, because SWB depends on personality traits and other stable genetic factors. New evidence in this paper about the effects of consciously chosen life goals, including religious ones, on SWB is hard to reconcile with set-point theory. It is more in line with authentic happiness theory.     

Mereological nihilism: quantum atomism and the impossibility of material constitution

Mereological nihilism is the philosophical position that there are no items that have parts. If there are no items with parts then the only items that exist are partless fundamental particles, such as the true atoms (also called philosophical atoms) theorized to exist by some ancient philosophers, some contemporary physicists, and some contemporary philosophers. With several novel arguments I show that mereological nihilism is the correct theory of reality. I will also discuss strong similarities that mereological nihilism has with empirical results in quantum physics. And I will discuss how mereological nihilism vindicates a few other theories, such as a very specific theory of philosophical atomism, which I will call quantum abstract atomism. I will show that mereological nihilism also is an interpretation of quantum mechanics that avoids the problems of other interpretations, such as the widely known, metaphysically generated, quantum paradoxes of quantum physics, which ironically are typically accepted as facts about reality. I will also show why it is very surprising that mereological nihilism is not a widely held theory, and not the premier theory in philosophy.     

Rethinking the paradigm of enterprise: A global and evolutionary perspective

The most elementary law of nature, the principle that best explains how the world works, is that actions have consequences. The consequences of enterprise (or business) will be as profitable or detrimental as the actions behind them. The rapidly approaching new millennium forces society to assess where we are (the consequences) and how we got here (the actions). The standard of living in the western world is a direct consequence of past and present enterprise, but the actions taken to get to this plateau and their associated costs may far over‐shadow the gains. A major issue facing those who study the development and evolution of enterprise is whether past merits and mistakes can be used to develop a new paradigm that is more reflective of what is currently experienced and most likely to occur in the future.

This paper discusses some of the shortcomings in current economic thinking, how current developments in economic thinking need to become the norm and the future of socio‐ecologically behavior and patterns of growth for enterprise.     

论健康伦理学及其基本理论架构——“九大理论”视野中的健康伦理

当代医学道德发展的走向理应是健康道德,后医学伦理学时代理应是健康伦理学。建设健康伦理学需要搭成一个基本理论架构。其组成至少应该有“九大理论”,即生命神圣论、生命质量论、生命价值论,医学人本论、医学功利论、医学公正论,医者美德论、医者义务(患者权利)论、医患和谐论。其间,按顺序由每三论构成一个“统一论”,将第一个“统一论”作为立论前提,将第二个“统一论”作为直接依据,将第三个“统一论”作为应用指南,如此,才能由三个“统一论”共同地更好地阐释全部健康伦理学问题。     

A human laboratory test of eysenck's theory of incubation: A search for the resolution of the neurotic paradox

A number of recent attempts have been made by neobehaviorists to resolve the neurotic paradox by incorporating a nontraditional learning principle. Eysenck's concept of incubation represents one of these attempts and is the subject matter of this paper. Incubation theory states that under certain conditions exposure to a fear-provoking conditioned stimulus (CS) can result in a substained growth of fear. This concept is used to explain extreme avoidance (symptom) maintenance in extinction. To test this theory, three conditions identified by Eysenck and considered critical to the development of incubation were manipulated in a classical conditioning paradigm: unconditioned stimulus (UCS) intensity, duration of CS exposure, and individual differences in neuroticism/introversion. Both physiological and self-report fear measures were taken. Results indicated that, contrary to incubation theory, fear extinguished in all groups. Long durations of CS exposure were found to be more effective than brief exposure in reducing fear of highly fearful subjects. Clinical implications for therapies using fear exposure such as flooding and implosion were discussed, as well as the resolution of the neurotic paradox via established learning principles.     

Negative Life Experiences and the Development of Cluster C Personality Disorders: A Cognitive Perspective

Early negative experiences have long been thought to play an important role in the development of personality disorders. Most of the literature regarding these early life experiences has focused on borderline personality disorder, with only occasional focus on other personality disorders. Utilizing cognitive theory of personality disorders (Beck et al., 2004), the authors conceptualize cluster C personality disorders (avoidant, dependent, and obsessive–compulsive). They then critically review the relevant literature on early negative life experiences and later development of these disorders to determine whether the theory is supported by the empirical data. The theory regarding avoidant and dependent personality disorders has limited support, whereas data relating to obsessive–compulsive personality disorder are much weaker. Implications and future research suggestions are discussed.     

熠熠生辉的"皮亚杰新形式化理论"——评李其维策划《皮亚杰发生认识论精华译丛》

皮亚杰新形式化理论涉及的是如何把思维机制加以形式化--心理逻辑学--这一特殊问题.本译丛向读者表达了皮亚杰新理论的两大学术贡献:(1)从群-格概念转向"态射-范畴论";(2)从外延取向的外延逻辑转向注重意义蕴涵的内涵逻辑.     

A new look at the syntax-discourse interface: the use of binding principles in sentence processing

Within Generative Grammar, binding constraints on co-reference are usually defined in syntactic terms. However, some researchers have pointed out examples in which syntactically defined binding constraints do not seem to apply, proposing instead that a complete account of linguistic co-reference needs to consider notions of discourse structure. There have been several proposals in the literature for the division of labor between syntax and discourse in the definition of binding constraints. In this paper, we review these proposals in the context of recent work that applies on-line techniques to explore the roles of syntactic and discourse preferences in terms of the time course with which they become active during sentence comprehension. Some of this research suggests that (syntactic) binding principles may be momentarily applied during processing, even in cases in which the final interpretation suggests otherwise. We end the paper by considering the theoretical and methodological implications of this view.     

Children's action-control behaviors (coping): A longitudinal validation of the behavioral inventory of strategic control

Abstract

Integrating multi-axial models with an action-theory perspective, we propose that children's coping strategies vary along four dimensions of strategic behavioral control: Direct Action, Indirect Action, Prosocial Action, and Antisocial Action. The Behavioral Inventory of Strategic Control (BISC) assesses these four general dimensions of strategic control. We contrast these four axial dimensions with six specific strategic combinations: Avoidance (Indirect-Antisocial), Emotional Support Seeking (Indirect-Prosocial), Social Exploitation (Indirect-Antisocial), Social Cooperation (Direct-Prosocial), Aggressive Individualism (Direct-Antisocial) and Hostility (Indirect-Antisocial). In a short-term longitudinal study (three occasions over four months) of 318 children (grades 2–6), we examined the validity of the BISC, showing that the hypothesized dimensional structure of children's strategic control behavior was strongly supported.