SLOTE ON RATIONAL DILEMMAS AND RATIONAL SUPEREROGATION

The so-called optimising conception of rationality includes (amongst other things) the following two claims: (i) that it is irrational to choose an option if you know there is a better one, and (ii) there are no situations in which an agent, through no practical fault of her own, cannot avoid acting irrationally. As part of his ongoing attempt to explain why we need to go beyond the optimising conception, Michael Slote discusses a number of examples in which it seems that (i) and (ii) are inconsistent. According to Slote, these situations seem to involve the existence of rational supererogation (a denial of (i)), or rational dilemmas (a denial of (ii)). The purpose of this paper is to examine Slote's arguments for these claims, and to propose an alternative solution to the problem he presents.     

THE CHANGING WORLDS OF EUROPEAN PSYCHOLOGY: IMPRESSIONS AND DILEMMAS1

Two interrelated outcomes have emerged after a year's research on the nature of European scientific communication: on a tangible level, this research has led to an extensive analysis of the conditions related to communication and productivity in European psychology (See Krantz, in press, for a report of some initial findings); less concretely, the study has generated many impressions, unanswered questions, and dilemmas about the state of European and American psychology. These more ephemeral outcomes of the research provide the basis of the following discussion.     

BRONFENBRENNER'S MORAL DILEMMAS IN BRITAIN: CHILDREN,THEIR PEERS AND THEIR PARENTS

Le test des dilemmes moraux d'Urie Bronfenbrenner met les enfants en ptésence d'un certain nombre de situations naturelles dans lesquelles le choix des réponses possibles représente un conflit entre les normes de conduite qui sont approuvées par les adultes, altruistes et “correctes” et les normes de conduite qui relèvent de L'intérêt personnel ou de L'affiliation et qui sont “incorrectes”. Les sujets répondent au test dans trois conditions: une condition de base ou neutre, dans laquelle on leur dit que seuls les expérimentateurs auront connaissance de leurs réponses, et deux conditions expérimentales dans lesquelles on leur dit que les résultats seront portés à la connaissance de leurs parents ou de leurs camarades de classe. Cette méthode permet d'estimer dans une certaine mesure à quel niveau se situent les enfants dans le domaine “moral” ainsi que L'influence relative qu'exercent la pression des pairs ou celle des adultes dans les processus de socialisation, et la direction de cette influence. Les données recueillies en URSS et aux Etats-Unis ont montré que les deux types de pressions extérieures entrent en conflit aux Etats-Unis, mais qu'il existe en URSS un accord entre les normes. Devereux et Bronfenbrenner ont suggéré L'idée qu'en Grande-Bretagne le niveau des normes de conduite approuvées par les adultes était moindre et la pression des pairs particulièrement forte et source de situations conflictuelles. Deux cent soixante-quatorze enfants anglais de douze ans, choisis dans un large éventail d'écoles, ont subi les tests. Les résultats ont été analysés dans une perspective de comparaison inter-nation d'une part et de comparaisons entre les différents types d'écoles d'autre part. i. Les résultats ne confirment pas L'hypothése selon laquelle la conduite serait en général moins influencée par les adultes; 2. La comparaison entre type de pressions sociales confirme que les enfants britanniques ont en commun une “culture de pairs”, plutôt autonome et qu'ils ne répondent pas à la pression des adultes d'une manière simple et prévisible.     

ORIGINLESS SIN: RATIONAL DILEMMAS FOR SATISFICERS

Suppose you have an infinite past. If you had banked the spare dollar you have always had, then the interest would have made you rich by now. Your procrastination is inexcusable. But what should you have done? At any time at which you invest the dollar you would regret not investing it earlier. Satisficers can solve prospective puzzles involving infinite choice but cannot solve this retrospective puzzle about regret. A moral version of the puzzle suggests that there can be inevitable moral failure. It does so without appeal to moral luck, moral dilemmas or original sin.     

GOD, DISEASE, AND SPIRITUAL DILEMMAS: READING THE LIVES OF WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER

To write about the disease of breast cancer from both scientific and spiritual perspectives is to reflect upon our genetic and spiritual ancestry. We examine the issues involved in breast cancer at the intersections of spirituality, technology, and science, using the fundamental thing we know about being human: our bodies. Our goal in this essay is to offer close readings of women's spiritual and bodily journeys through the disease of breast cancer. We have discovered that both illness and health come within the stories of particular people and particular disciplines. And to learn more about breast cancer, both scientific and spiritual aspects, one must be attentive to such particularities. Medicine and religion are bodily experiences, and being a body-self is what it means to be human.     

PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL SERVICES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN THE ORIENT: CURRENT STATUS,PROBLEMS, AND SOME REMEDIES*

Utilizing information obtained through an international survey and existing literature, patterns in the practices, research, and preparation of professionals who deliver psychoeducational services to children and youth in six Oriental countries (i.e., China, Hong Kong ¹, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand) are described. Services are provided by many professional groups. While few formal programs exist for the preparation of psychologists to work in schools, those providing such services have at least a bachelor's degree. Services commonly provided include assessment, vocational and educational guidance, counseling, parent education, and teaching. School psychological services generally are not governed by legislation or professional standards. Research tends to be applied and directed toward the construction and translations of tests and toward the needs of the mentally retarded, learning disabled, and behaviorally disordered. Ten major problems creating barriers for the delivery of psychoeducational services are identified. Three suggestions to help resolve these problems are offered.