Hick's interpretation of religious pluralism

Conclusion There is no question that Hick's theory rests upon multiple assumptions about a singular, transcendental grounding and the fundamental equality of the various religions that cannot be inductively verified beyond all doubt. That need not mean, however, that the attractiveness of his theory derives solely from the peculiar charm of supposing that the One and the Many are no more at odds in the realm of religion than anywhere else. For Hick's assumptions are not just an exercise in wishful thinking or wild speculation. They are based upon experience from within what he calls the benign circle of faith. Because the reality experienced is ambiguous, acceptance or rejection of his views will, of course, be a matter of choice. And, admittedly, this choice will be dictated not so much by a weighing of empirical evidence that might prove the various religions to be exactly as he sees them, as by a consideration of what we have been surveying in the preceding pages, namely, the import of seeing things as Hick does.

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Social epistemology as a rhetoric of inquiry

Fuller's program of social epistemology engages a rhetoric of inquiry that can be usefully compared and contrasted with other discursive theories of knowledge, such as that of Richard Rorty. Resisting the model of conversation, Fuller strikes an activist posture and lays the groundwork for normative knowledge policy, in which persuasion and credibility play key roles. The image of investigation is one that overtly rejects the storehouse conception of knowledge and invokes the metaphors of distributive economics. Productive questions arise as to how notions of creation and distribution might guide this rhetoric.     

Reality in analytic group psychotherapy: Beyond transference and countertransference

This study reports the results of a questionnaire, applied to therapists and their patients in 14 analytic therapy groups. It was found that the patients studied had an accurate perception of the group reality in the following dimensions: therapists' preferences for the members in their groups; power position held by each member in the group; and therapeutic benefit achieved by members in the group. Support was given to the existence of a relation among popularity, power position and therapeutic benefit; members who rated high in one of these variables generally were assigned a high position in the other two, and vice versa. These results suggest that patients in analytic group psychotherapy can be objective in their perceptions of the group reality, and that these perceptions are not always distorted by transference. The idea that, no matter how low-disclosing therapists remain, the patients in their groups will perceive their attitudes and feelings was supported by patients' accuracy in perceiving their therapists' preferences for members in their groups. These findings indicate the important role played by reality and the real relationship in psychoanalytic group psychotherapy.     

Traces of Terror: Subliminal Death Primes and Facial Electromyographic Indices of Affect

Previous research has found that both explicit and implicit reminders of one's mortality provoke hostile reactions to those who threaten one's worldview, but do not create conscious negative affect or electrodermal arousal. This study was conducted to investigate subtle affective reactions to subliminal death primes as indexed by measures of facial electromyography (EMG). Fifty-four participants were exposed to masked presentations of either the word dead or pain, and then to a worldview threatening essay. Facial EMG was recorded throughout. Analyses found the expected increase in worldview defense following mortality primes. Analyses also uncovered a novel finding with greater corrugator EMG specifically during exposure to the subliminal death but not subliminal pain primes, pointing to the sensitivity of facial EMG to unconscious cognition. However, there was little evidence for a mediating role of affect on worldview defense following exposure to death primes. Implications for understanding terror management processes and the effects of unconscious cognition on emotion are briefly discussed.     

Religion,personality, and clinical assessment

Religion is an integral part of every person's life and occupies a central place in every personality. Viewing religion as referring to that which is of primary importance in one's life, one sees it as performing an integrative function, consolidating and ordering all of the inputs to personality, and giving consistency to one's behavior. Thus, an understanding of the individual and an assessment of his religion are necessary for a complete understanding of his problems.     

Moral Philosophy and the Ontology of Relations

The essay undertakes to explore the possibilities of mutually fruitful dialogue between moral philosophy and ontology, in particular, the ontology of relations. The latter copes with the question of how relations relate, whereas moral philosophy often ignores the ontological implications of such crucial relations as love and interpersonality. The paper proceeds as follows. First, the ontology of relations is discussed. Second, various examples are analysed. From this, a conception of relation instantiation emerges, according to which to determine which relation actually obtains, one has to take into account (a) the context, (b) the specific content or meaning of the relation, and (c) some action or decision or mode of existence of the relata. This conception suggests that relation instantiation cannot be explained by a single formula. By the help of this conception, Hume's thesis of the identity of killing relations between human and nonhuman beings is questioned. Then, the relation of love is analysed. It is shown that love as a moral relation is perfectly explicable in terms of ontology. Moreover, its essence is best captured by the interrelation of the particulars, the relation of love as a universal, and by the relating action of the particulars. Finally, the alleged relation of universal fraternity (interpersonality as such), linking up each human being to all other human beings, is discussed.     

Thomas Kuhn revisited: Near-death studies and paradigm shifts

Near-death studies can be viewed within a theoretical framework of paradigms and paradigm shifts as explicated by Thomas Kuhn (1962). Assuming the validity of Kuhn's model, I hypothesize that the paradigm of today's normal science is shifting to a new paradigm to accommodate data from near-death studies.     

In and behind a Lenneberg paradigm

Lenneberg suggested that a chimpanzee's linguistic ability could be tested by presenting sentences containing two prepositional phrases joined by a conjunction. This would involve joining two semantic propositions, and thus represents a more complex test of chimpanzee syntactic competence than previously attempted. Jane, a five year-old language trained chimpanzee, was tested on her ability to both produce and comprehend sentences involving a preposition (in or behind) and a conjunction (and). The results from production and comprehension were substantially the same. Jane showed the ability to appropriately deploy and, behind and in, but displayed very little flexibility in their use. It is suggested that a chimpanzee may be able to learn some rules of syntax but is not able to be creative with that syntax.     

Probabilism and beyond

Richard Jeffrey has labelled his philosophy of probability radical probabilism and qualified this position as Bayesian, nonfoundational and anti-rationalist. This paper explores the roots of radical probabilism, to be traced back to the work of Frank P. Ramsey and Bruno de Finetti.     

Context and strategy in acquiring temporal connectives

There has been considerable debate over the role of comprehension strategies in the acquisition of temporal connectives. This study examined the role of caluse logic and interpretational strategies in the acquisition of temporal words; age-related changes were also considered. Thirty-two children between 3 and 5 years of age served as subjects. Sentences with a variety of temporal words were used to tap children's comprehension of before, after, when, while, just before that, and and after that. Clause logic was found to significantly improve the understanding of these sentences. However, the order of mention and main clause first strategies were used infrequently. Apparently, when children respond to sentences that describe information in a way that is consistent with that they normally hear, these strategies are seldom applied.I wish to express my thanks to Janice Bogen, who assisted in data collection, and to Erika Hoff-Ginsberg, who assisted in some of the data analysis.     

Theorizing Gender for Experimental Game Theory: Experiments with “Sex Status” and “Merit Status” in an Asymmetric Game

In experimental game-theoretic research, to the extent that sex has been considered at all, the approach has been to focus on the individual level of analysis. This paper reports the results of experiments designed to focus on sex/gender and to expand the level of analysis to include the institutional level. An asymmetric game was designed such that players in the male and female institutional locations had 3 and 2 alternatives, respectively. Players earned the institutional locations based on a test, so that top and bottom scorers respectively merited the 3- and 2-alternatives locations. Game-theoretic understandings of sex-of-player were compared to the expectations states theory concept of sex status; that is, men expect and are expected to perform more competently than women. Results indicated that top-scorer men and women behave similarly; bottom-scorer men resist their low merit status (behaving the most rationally of all player groups); bottom-scorer women accept their low merit status (behaving the most irrationally of all player groups). Whereas game theory cannot provide a coherent understanding of these findings, the concept of sex status helps to interpret the behavior of all four player groups and shows how judgments about rationality and irrationality depend critically on the interpretive framework used.     

Battered women's coping strategies and psychological distress: differences by immigration status

People are rarely passive, and battered women are no exception. This study investigated the types of coping strategies women of Japanese descent (both Japan-born and U.S.-born) chose and their perceived effectiveness in dealing with their partners' violence. Japan-born respondents were significantly less likely to use active strategies and perceived them to be less effective than did U.S.-born respondents. For the Japan-born, the more effective they perceived active strategies, the higher their psychological distress, whereas the more effective they perceived passive strategies, the lower their psychological distress. In contrast, for the U.S.-born, the higher the perceived effectiveness of active strategies, the lower their psychological distress, and the perceived effectiveness of passive strategies had little effect on their psychological distress. The complex relationship between individuals' country of birth, the choice and perceived effectiveness of coping strategies, and psychological distress calls for increased attention to the role of culture in studies of coping and domestic violence.     

Life Orientation and Work Attitudes of Israeli Males Who Make Atypical Career Choices

The article examines differences between male students who make gender-typical career choices and those who choose female-dominant careers in Israel, with emphasis on life orientations and attitudes toward various aspects of work. The sample consisted of engineering students (the gender typical group) and students of psychology and social work (the gender atypical group). The findings revealed several differences between the two groups. On the whole, the gender atypical group expressed a more masculine orientation toward work than their gender typical counterparts: The former attributed more importance to career success and competition, and derived more satisfaction from political activity than did the latter. In light of these results, the personal and social benefits of referring candidates with relevant vocational interests to atypical careers are considered.     

Tomboys and sissies: Androgynous children?

Psychological studies of masculinity-femininity in children have paralleled those done with adults, which often consider deviations from masculinity for males and femininity for females as abnormal and perhaps pathological. Children who demonstrate cross-sex behaviors, however, may become androgynous adults whose cross-sex behaviors mean flexibility, not pathology. This study had two purposes: (1) to identify potentially androgynous children as those labeled by their peers as tomboys and sissies; (2) to compare personality characteristics of androgynous children with those of peers. Subjects were 312 elementary school children in a midwestern city. Results indicate that the labels tomboy and sissy are not necessarily indicators of androgynous children, but important social behaviors are related to the labels. For males, the possibility of frustrated creativity was raised.     

Reconsideration of “Motherhood” in Contemporary Japan

In this paper, the author reconsiders motherhood in Japan. This reconsideration is based on Japanese psychoanalytic knowledge and a case study of a woman. As a child she was physically abused by her father, and struggled throughout her life with conflicts with her mother. The Japanese have historically idealized the concept of motherhood and maintained that it was possible for women to become the ideal mother for their children. The author maintains that motherhood is not dependent only on mothers, but is created and shared by fathers, children and all of society. In psychotherapy, the therapist provides a motherly energy to the client and shares the motherhood fantasy with the client to a certain extent. The therapist assists the client in the gradual process of abandoning the desire to be loved by the ideal mother and accept motherhood from other sources.Kiyoko Kamibeppu, R.N., Ph.D., Associate Professor, The University of Tokyo, Clinical Psychologist, Japanese Association for Clinical Psychology. Address correspondence to Kiyoko Kamibeppu, Department of Family Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Graduate School of Health and Nursing, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan; e-mail: kkamibeppu-tky@umin.ac.jp.     

On seeing oneself as “left out”: The chronically complaining patient in psychotherapy

A clinical observation regarding patients who complain about feeling left out and/or second best provides the framework for this paper. What is expressed is a form of separation anxiety coupled with a loser self-concept. It is suggested that these patients represent a milder form of the moral masochism. Early theoretical formulations include Freud and his emphasis on the superego and Reich's emphasis on the masochist's fear of being left alone. Kramer's little man phenomenon is an example of a more current theoretical formulation which takes account of the complexities of the ego, and composite self and identity in the clinical phenomena observed. A case of a latency-aged child is provided.     

Two Orientations to Sin in the Human Predicament

Two orientations to sin proposed in Valerie Saiving's feminine view of the human situation (1960) are analyzed and developed, suggesting different ways they can be manifested in the lives of both men and women. These ways (of trusting the world) are paired and contrasted with ways of trusting God in order to aid pastors in counseling and teaching about the human predicament.     

The Social Costs of Treatment Programs

The medicalization of deviance refers to the identification as diseases or illnesses of patterns of behavior that were previously considered in moral terms. Herbert Spencer viewed society as analogous to a living organism. A problem or disease in one part of the organism affects the entire organism. Early sociologists built on this idea and arrived at the conclusion that deviant behavior could be thought of as social disease and social pathology. The early social pathologists were concerned with crime, mental illness, drug abuse, and suicide. There is a tendency to treat such ailments in a hospital or clinical setting. The medicalization of deviance removes responsibility from the individual as well as from the society which continues to produce the problem. Treatment programs give the false impression that something worthwhile is being done about society's behavioral problems and turn the individuals treated back into the same social milieu in which the problem was incubated in the first place. The medicalization of deviance creates a vested-interest industry dependent upon the treatment of individuals. It has constructed a system of individualized microlevel treatment programs that can be beneficial on a limited basis for a few individuals and their families, but it tends to treat only the symptoms but not change the society of which they are but emanations.     

On some structural aspects of physical problems

Bachelard's concept of the problématique is used in order to classify physical problems and their interrelations. This classification is effectuated along two dimensions. Along the horizontal dimension, physical problems are divided into the kinds that the different modes of physics' development define. These modes are themselves determined by the interplay among the conceptual system, the object and the experimentation transactions specific to physics. Along the vertical dimension, physical problems are classified according to the different stages of maturation they have to undergo before the process of their solution is effectively undertaken. To determine these maturation stages, the Althusserian conception of ideology is used. The interrelations between physical problems are examined through the introduction and elaboration of the notion interdependence network.It is a pleasure to thank Marcello Pera and Kostas Gavroglou for their very helpful comments and criticisms.     

⊃E is Admissible in “true” relevant arithmetic

The system R## of true relevant arithmetic is got by adding the -rule Infer xAx from A0, A1, A2, .... to the system R# of relevant Peano arithmetic. The rule E (or gamma) is admissible for R##. This contrasts with the counterexample to E for R# (Friedman & Meyer, Whither Relevant Arithmetic). There is a Way Up part of the proof, which selects an arbitrary non-theorem C of R## and which builds by generalizing Henkin and Belnap arguments a prime theory T which still lacks C. (The key to the Way Up is a Witness Protection Program, using the -rule.) But T may be TOO BIG, whence there is a Way Down argument that produces a better theory TR, such that R## TR T. (The key to the Way Down is a Metavaluation, on which membership in T is combined with ordinary truth-functional conditions to determine TR.) The result is a theory that is Just Right, whence it never happens that A C and A are theorems of R## but C is a non-theorem.