Introduction to the Special Theme on Analytic Philosophy

Since the last decades of the 20th century,analytic philosophy has been undermined by many philosophers in many ways.Some have claimed that analytic philosophy effectively ended with Quine's attack on empiricist dogmas,moving in an alternative direction.Others have insisted that it endures,taking a specific approach to philosophical problems inspired by prior speculation.Still others have criticized it based on recent developments in such fields as neuroscience and computer science.Clearly,the present status and the nature of analytic philosophy has been disputed.Several international conferences have recently been held in China to reflect upon,and respond to,these controversies.     

Introduction to the Special Issue on Genetic Counseling: A Global Perspective

This special issue of the Journal of Genetic Counseling is focused on the global genetic counselling community and includes commentaries, original research and multiple brief reports describing both established formal genetic counselling services and training programs as well as services and programs that are currently in development.     

Introduction to the Special Theme "Daoist Philosophy and Philosophical Daoism: Conceptual Distinctions"

The concept of "Daoist philosophy" is well established in the academic institutional order today.Universities offer courses on Daoist philosophy,publications appear under this title,and congresses are held to present new research in the field.We are well familiar with this term-but what shall we say when somebody asks us what Daoist philosophy is.     

Introduction to the Special Issue on Grief

In the Introduction I present an overview of the changes that take place in conceptualizing the psychological purpose of the grief process following death of a loved one, and their effect on defining adaptive and maladaptive outcomes of grief. One of the most significant ones is the shift from breaking bonds to continuing bonds—the process of reorganizing the inner relationship with the deceased. New models of developmental grief have evolved. These are empirically-based and evidenced-based studies within which Cognitive Behavior Grief Therapy has gained significant reputation and the collection of articles in this special issue are representative of these changes. Also, a URL link of my article “Cognitive Behavioral Grief Therapy”, published in this journal in 1996 is provided for interested readers.     

Introduction to the Special Issue on Fallacies

This appearance condition of fallacies refers to the phenomenon of weak arguments, or moves in argumentation, appearing to be okay when really they aren’t. Not all theorists agree that the appearance condition should be part of the conception of fallacies but this essay explores some of the consequences of including it. In particular, the differences between committing a fallacy, causing a fallacy and observing a fallacy are identified. The remainder of the paper is given over to discussing possible causes of mistakenly perceiving weak argumentation moves as okay. Among these are argument caused misperception, perspective caused misperception, discursive environment caused misperception and perceiver caused misperception. The discussion aims to be sufficiently general so that it can accommodate different models and standards of argumentation that make a place for fallacies.