Consciousness-Raising Groups in the 1970's

Based on a 1974 nationwide survey, this paper describes the characteristics of 1, 669 women in consciousness-raising (CR) groups. Most women in the survey are white, middle- and upper-middle class women who joined their first CR group during the 1970's. They learned about CR groups primarily from women friends and joined a group with friends or through a women's organization. Sixty-five percent of the women considered themselves to be members of the women's movement prior to their joining a CR group. Most women identified themselves as liberal (58%) or radical (21%). Women's primary reason for joining a CR group was to learn from, share with, and gain support from other women; they joined to examine personal issues within the context of their common social roles. Sharing experiences and feelings as women was the most salient group process. Women in this survey were highly satisfied with their CR group experience and encouraged other women to join a CR group.     

NIELS BOHR AND THE MYSTICISM OF NATURE

Some authors have described Niels Rohr as “never being open to anything transcendental.” Wolfgang Pauli, on the other hand, spent many years trying to persuade Bohr to admit to a kind of’ mysticism. This study offers support to Pauli's claims. First, a distinction between what is vague on the one hand, and what is necessarily circular on the other, clarifies the work of Bohr. This discussion leads to comments on Bohr's attitude towards the mutuality of spirit and matter and of reason and mysticism. Finally, some reflections are made about the relevance of Bohr's covert transcendental philosophy for theological endeavors.     

Factor indeterminacy in the 1930's and the 1970's some interesting parallels

The issue of factor indeterminacy, and its meaning and significance for factor analysis, has been the subject of considerable debate in recent years. Interestingly, the identical issue was discussed widely in the literature of the late 1920's and early 1930's, but this early discussion was somehow lost or forgotten during the development and popularization of multiple factor analysis. There are strong parallels between the arguments in the early literature, and those which have appeared in recent papers. Here I review the history of this early literature, briefly survey the more recent work, and discuss these parallels where they are especially illuminating.Support by the NRC (Grant No. A4640) and the University of British Columbia (UBC Humanities and Social Sciences Grant 26-9508) is gratefully acknowledged.     

EXPLORING OLD AND NEW PATHS IN THEODICY

Christopher Southgate's work raises questions about God, evolution, and suffering. In this article, I begin by contributing an alternative to Southgate's “only way” argument and by offering a third option in speculations about the nature of nonhuman animals in heaven. The second half of the article starts with Southgate's approach of evolutionary theodicy as “an adventure in theology” and proposes a new path branching off his work. “Compassionate theodicy” is a reworking of the method and audience of traditional theodicy in the hope that it might become something that could offer theological resources to those who suffer.     

THE CHALLENGE TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN THE 1980s

Robert W. Gibson MD, is interviewed concerning the potential impact of restricted funding for mental health services in the 1980s, particularly as this applies to the practice of occupational therapy. Topics covered include the decreasing length of inpatient hospitalization; the possibility of a shifting emphasis lo the treatmcnt of the severely and chronically ill; increasing utilization of rehabilitative services; and suggestions to facilitate greater interprofessional collaboration. Thc establishment of measurable outcomes for continued or improved reimbursement of occupational therapy services is stressed, and the potential for multiprofession group practices as a cost-effective approach to reduced business and industry health care costs is suggested.     

HOW TO DEFEAT BELIEF IN THE EXTERNAL WORLD

Abstract:  I defend the view that there is a privileged class of propositions – that there is an external world, among other such 'hinge propositions'– that possess a special epistemic status: justified belief in these propositions is not defeated unless one has sufficient reason to believe their negation. Two arguments are given for this conclusion. Finally, three proposals are offered as morals of the preceding story: first, our justification for hinge propositions must be understood as defeatable, second, antiskeptics must explain our knowledge in the face of 'actual world' skepticism (like dreaming skepticism) as much as in the face of the usual sort (like brain-in-vat skepticism), and, finally, our justification for hinge propositions is basic (i.e. non-inferential).     

交叉于康德主义、现象学及新经验主义路径的先天、客观性和判断:向朱利奥·普雷蒂致敬

作者认为,意大利哲学家朱利奥·普雷蒂认识论思想的一个难能可贵的方面在于它汇集了来自诸多不同哲学思潮的主题,尤其关注康德主义、现象学和逻辑经验主义之间的相互关联。他对逻辑经验主义与康德主义之间所形成的多重关系进行了广泛的探究,对逻辑经验主义与现象学之间的关系程度进行了探究,阐明了贯穿于鲁道夫·卡尔纳普思想中的现象学要素,评价了石里克对胡塞尔的批判在其知识概念的创制中所产生的作用,进而在胡塞尔现象学与逻辑经验主义之间探寻一种理论综合的路径。作者以先天、客观性和判断作为线索,讨论了康德主义、现象学和新经验主义这些传统的历史异同,以及通过综合这些长期以来被视为不可调和的理论进路来构建客观性理论的可能性,最后指出对现象学、康德传统、新经验主义以及后实证主义进行综合或整合,从而确立一种以可能将真理的形式价值和真理的历史维度接合起来的客观性观念为轴心的科学和知识理论。