Local axioms in disguise: Hilbert on Minkowski diagrams

While claiming that diagrams can only be admitted as a method of strict proof if the underlying axioms are precisely known and explicitly spelled out, Hilbert praised Minkowski??s Geometry of Numbers and his diagram-based reasoning as a specimen of an arithmetical theory operating ??rigorously?? with geometrical concepts and signs. In this connection, in the first phase of his foundational views on the axiomatic method, Hilbert also held that diagrams are to be thought of as ??drawn formulas??, and formulas as ??written diagrams??, thus suggesting that the former encapsulate propositional information which can be extracted and translated into formulas. In the case of Minkowski diagrams, local geometrical axioms were actually being produced, starting with the diagrams, by a process that was both constrained and fostered by the requirement, brought about by the axiomatic method itself, that geometry ought to be made independent of analysis. This paper aims at making a twofold point. On the one hand, it shows that Minkowski??s diagrammatic methods in number theory prompted Hilbert??s axiomatic investigations into the notion of a straight line as the shortest distance between two points, which start from his earlier work focused on the role of the triangle inequality property in the foundations of geometry, and lead up to his formulation of the 1900 Fourth Problem. On the other hand, it purports to make clear how Hilbert??s assessment of Minkowski??s diagram-based reasoning in number theory both raises and illuminates conceptual compatibility concerns that were crucial to his philosophy of mathematics.     

Tests of product and additive scaling axioms

A product axiom for ratio judgments and an additive axiom for difference judgments were tested for six Ss judging brightness. The product axiom was rejected for all six Ss whereas the additive axiom was accepted for two Ss. Power functions did not fit the data well, although somewhat better for difference judgments than ratio judgments. A two-stage model fitted somewhat better, but failed to satisfy one important implication of that model, previously confirmed for lifted weights. The data gave stronger support for a theory of brightness estimation based on an additive axiom for difference judgments than a product axiom based on ratio judgments.     

Becoming: A modest proposal

In this paper I attempt a new approach to an old technical term: becoming. I show how the theory that becoming is coming-to-be could be supported by a semantic derivation of the nominalization becoming from its verbal counterpart, by investigating the properties of the present progressive constructions in which becoming as a verbal appears. My theory denies that dates, or qualitative change, play an essential role in the analysis of becoming.     

Computers and girls: Rethinking the issues

A perspective is developed about emerging sex differences in the use of computer technology in education. Computers tend to be conceptually assimilated to the category of science/mathematics/technology, and thus acquire some of the traditional qualities of differentiated interest among boys and girls. Findings from several research projects are reported which point to patterns of difference in educational settings. It is argued that sex differences emerge in relation to the functions computers serve and the organization of learning settings of which they are a part.The preparation of this article and the research reported was supported by the Spencer Foundation, the Department of Education, and the National Institute of Education. The author would like to thank Kathy Clement, Carla Freeman, Peggy Heide, Moni Homolsky, Midian Kurland, Ron Mawby, Roy Pea, and Karen Sheingold for their comments and suggestions about the perspective presented here.     

隋炀帝与道教

隋炀帝对于道教多半是抱着功利主义目的。他关注道教,一是欲借助于道教为其政权效力,故想方设法拉拢延揽高道,给予其较高的政治地位,又调解缓和道佛关系,使道教不至于在政治上特别地感到压抑,然而他对道教的利用最终是失败的,道教中人积极参加了隋末改朝换代的政治活动,为其政权的崩溃作了大量的舆论宣传。二是大业中期,乃他崇重道术的高峰期,他借助于道教方术填补荒唐无耻的私生活,把道士作为宫廷的点缀品,任用道士作斋醮科仪为其祈福。但对于道教文化事业的建设特别是道经的搜集整理,他还是作了一些有益的工作。     

从物化到虚无:关联与重思

作为一个现代性反思的概念,"物化"应予以细分。分别对应Verdinglichung和Versachlichung的是"物化"与"物象化"("事化")。"物象化"("事化")是切入问题的关键,它意味着制度愈来愈成熟、规范、严格、见事(物)不见人。是着眼于其效率的提高还是对个性的压抑?无论如何,立场的选取,相应的认知方式,都会驱使"虚无"问题的呈现。"虚无主义"意味着一种现代化的方案,意味着一种整合各种价值的雄心,一种整体地把握世界的冲动,更意味着难以割舍的主体性立场。这个主体性立场规定着谈论"物化"与"虚无"的基本边界。     

Rethinking the Divide: Modules and Central Systems

In this paper I argue that the cognitive system is best viewed as a continuum of cognitive processing from modules to central systems rather than having these as discrete and wholly different modes of cognitive processing. I rely on recent evidence on the development of theory of mind (ToM) abilities and the developmental disorder of autism. I then turn to the phenomenology of modular processes. I show that modular outputs have a stronger force than non-modular or central system outputs. I then evaluate social cognitions and show them to occupy a middle ground with respect to phenomenal strength between modular and non-modular outputs. The evidence presented then seems to indicate a continuum of cognitive processing rather than the traditional division between modules and central systems.

Shared emotions: a Steinian proposal

The aim of this paper is to clarify the notion of shared emotion. After contextualizing this notion within the broader research landscape on collective affective intentionality, I suggest that we reserve the term shared emotion to an affective experience that is phenomenologically and functionally ours: we experience it together as our emotion, and it is also constitutively not mine and yours, but ours. I focus on the three approaches that have dominated the philosophical discussion on shared emotions: cognitivist accounts, concern-based accounts, and phenomenological fusion accounts. After identifying strengths and weaknesses of these approaches and summarizing the elements that a multifaceted theory of shared emotions requires, I turn to the work of the early phenomenologist Edith Stein to further advance an approach to shared emotions that combines the main strengths of Helm and Salmela’s concern-based accounts and Schmid’s phenomenological fusion account. According to this proposal, the sharedness of a shared emotion cannot be located in one element, but rather consists in a complex of interrelated features.     

Self-awareness: A proposal for supervision

Summary Herein has been presented a questionnaire intended to encourage students in the helping professions to explore their feelings and attitudes and thereby to build self-awareness. I have suggested that such a questionnaire be utilized as a catalyst for small group discussion and interaction. In this way the student's self-awareness and personal and professional growth could be enhanced.     

Narrative self-shaping: a modest proposal

Decoupling a modestly construed Narrative Self Shaping Hypothesis (or NSSH) from Strong Narrativism this paper attempts to motivate devoting our intellectual energies to the former. Section one briefly introduces the notions of self-shaping and rehearses reasons for thinking that self-shaping, in a suitably tame form, is, at least to some extent, simply unavoidable for reflective beings. It is against this background that the basic commitments of a modest Narrative Self-Shaping Hypothesis (or NSSH) are articulated. Section two identifies a foundational commitment—the central tenet—of all Strong Narrativist proposals, those that posit a necessary link between narrative self-shaping and narrative self-experience. As will be shown, in the hands of Strong Narrativists the latter notion is unpacked in stronger or weaker ways by appeal to the notion of implicit Narrativizing. Section three reminds the reader of Strawson’s (2004a) challenge to Strong Narrativism. It is revealed that Strawson’s objections are most effective if they target Strong Narrativism’s central tenet construed as a phenomenological revelation about what is necessary for self-experience and not merely the psychological Narrativity thesis, construed as an empirical hypothesis about typical Narrativizing proclivities. Having set the stage, section four critically examines two different strategies, pursued by Rudd (2012) and Schechtman (2007) respectively, for escaping the horns Strawson’s dilemma poses for Strong Narrativism. In the end both strategies invoke the notion of implicit Narrativizing at a crucial juncture. Section five reveals that a substantive proposal about what implicit Narrativizing might be is lacking, hence we have no reason to believe that it actually occurs. It is concluded that, as things stand, Strong Narrativism has no way of avoiding the horns of Strawson’s dilemma. Brief concluding remarks in the final section are a reminder why, despite their modesty, softer versions of the NSSH—when coupled with a developmental proposal about the narrative basis of our folk psychological competence—are non-trivial and worthy of further development and investigation.     

王随及其《传灯玉英集》

景德元年,道原上进<景德传灯录>,宋真宗下诏编入大藏,此书成为宋代文人参禅的重要读本.而抄录<传灯录>也成为宋代士大夫参禅的重要方法,<传灯玉英集>正是王随抄录<传灯录>之作.本文详细考察了王随与佛教的关系,王随编集<传灯玉英集>的原则以及<传灯玉英集>的价值.     

Cold hearts and bleeding hearts: disciplinary differences in university students' sociopolitical orientations

Many people believe that a university education leads to the liberalization of students' worldviews. The author aimed to investigate whether such differences occur across disciplines and whether they are due to self-selection or socialization within disciplines. The author conducted 3 correlational studies of university students (N = 223, N = 531) and alumni (N = 143). The results clearly supported the self-selection hypothesis and suggested that students from all disciplines generally endorse liberal or left-wing attitudes. These findings have theoretical implications for the study of belief system development (primarily the impressionable years hypothesis), and they contribute to a greater understanding of how a university education affects the sociopolitical orientations of students.