中国人的左右利手分布

在利手与大脑语言优势半球的研究中,尚缺乏中国人左右利手的基本数据。本研究从全国各地调查了18,593名男女正常人和1,748名神经精神病患者的利手分布。正常人包括幼儿园、小学、中学、大学学生,同卵和异卵双生子,以及各种职业的成人。同时还调查了七个少数民族的利手分布。调查结果表明,中国人的左利率仅为0.23％,远远低于西方国家的左利手数值。     

基诺族左右利手分布的再调查

1981年,全国利手研究协作组对基诺族的左右利手分布作了首次调查。这次调查的结果是,基诺族全部是强右利手。这是一个非常特殊的结论。为此,一九八九年我们对基诺族的左右利手分布又作了一次调查。调查发现,基诺族并不都是强右利手,他们当中既有一般的右利手,也有混合利手,还有左利手,甚至有1.79％的强左利手。基诺族的左利率高于汉族,但与其他少数民族接近。基诺族的左利率偏高占其传统文化有关。全国利手研究协作组的调查结果应该修正。     

BASIC REASONS AND FIRST PHILOSOPHY: A COHERENTIST VIEW OF REASONS

This paper develops and defends a coherentist account of reasons. I develop three core ideas for this defense: a distinction between basic reasons and noninferential justification, the plausibility of the neglected argument against first philosophy, and an emergent account of reasons. These three ideas form the backbone for a credible coherentist view of reasons. I work toward this account by formulating and explaining the basic reasons dilemma. This dilemma reveals a wavering attitude that coherentists have had toward basic reasons. More importantly, the basic reasons dilemma focuses our attention on the central problems that afflict coherentist views of basic beliefs. By reflecting on the basic reasons dilemma, I formulate three desiderata that any viable coherentist account of basic beliefs must satisfy. I argue that the account on offer satisfies these desiderata.     

THE WAY, THE RIGHT, AND THE GOOD

This article argues that Kongzi's religious ethics suggests an alternative way of understanding the relationship between the right and the good, in which neither takes clear precedence in terms of being more foundational for ethics. The religious underpinnings of Kongzi's understanding of the Way are examined, including the close relationship between tian ("Heaven") and the Way. It is shown that following the Way is defined primarily by the extent to which one's actions express certain virtues, and not whether one's actions are conducive to the best overall outcome or whether they are inherently right irrespective of consequences. It is then argued that the Way is seen as constitutive of both the right and the good, and that this understanding of the right and the good has important implications for contemporary virtue ethics, religious ethics, and political philosophy.     

DESIRES, VALUES, REASONS, AND THE DUALISM OF PRACTICAL REASON

In On What Matters Derek Parfit argues that facts about reasons for action are grounded in facts about values and against the view that they are grounded in facts about the desires that subjects would have after fully informed and rational deliberation. I describe and evaluate Parfit's arguments for this value-based conception of reasons for action and find them wanting. I also assess his response to Sidgwick's suggestion that there is a Dualism of Practical Reason. Parfit seems not to notice that his preferred value-based conception of reasons for action augurs strongly in favour of a view like Sidgwick's. ¹     

MORALITY AND THE LAW: BOWERS AND THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY

This article examines the right of privacy with emphasis on the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of Bowers v. Hardwick, as this case illustrates issues that arise in the context of government interference with citizen’s actions and with the broader context of morality and the law. I argue specifically that the Supreme Court erred in its ruling on the Bowers case by failing to recognize that the moral value of autonomy in this case outweighs the right of a state to establish statutes based on the perceived moral attitudes of its constituencies. I argue generally that moral principles can inform decisions about the ordering of the right of privacy and the moral claims that aim to limit the right.     

THE EXPERIENCE OF GOD AND THE WORLD: CHRISTIANITY'S REASONS FOR CONSIDERING PANENTHEISM A VIABLE OPTION

What reasons and resources can Christian theology find for developing a panentheist position that is also able to engage with contemporary science? By taking its point of departure in basic human experiences, Christian theology can, even in a Trinitarian fashion, be developed as a way to understand God's presence in the world as a presence where the actual occurrences point towards God's own work. This point is especially related to the experience of love. Furthermore, God's presence can be understood as sacramental in the Augustinian sense. Moreover, the contributions of the Danish philosopher of religion Knud E. Løgstrup on God's presence and transcendence, as well as Niels Henrik Gregersen's elaborations on deep incarnation. Prove to offer important reasons for considering panentheism a viable option for the articulation of Christian theology.