Truthlikeness and the Lottery Paradox via the Preface Paradox

In a 2017 AJP paper, Cevolani and Schurz (C&S) propose a novel solution to the Preface Paradox that appeals to the notion of expected truthlikeness. This discussion note extends and analyses their approach by applying it to the related Lottery Paradox.     

Pleasure and Illusion in Plato

Plato links pleasure with illusion, and this link explains his rejection of the view that all desires are rational desires for the good. The Protagoras and Gorgias show connections between pleasure and illusion; the Republic develops these into a psychological theory. One part of the soul is not only prone to illusions, but also incapable of the kind of reasoning that can dispel them. Pleasure appears good; therefore this part of the soul (the appetitive part) desires pleasures qua good but ignores reasoning about what is really good. Hence the new moral psychology of the Republic , not all desires are rational, and thus virtue depends on bringing one's non-rational desires under the control of reason.     

Oculomotor programming disturbances in the dementia syndrome

Three types of oculomotor programming disturbances are described in patients with the dementia syndrome. This report describes two of these abnormalities, poorly regulated gaze patterns and a programming type of gaze perseveration. All patients showed poorly regulated gaze patterns in contrast to the normal controls, whereas on the whole only the moderately affected patients showed the programming type of gaze perseveration. The third type of oculomotor programming disturbance is efferent perseveration of gaze (a hypokinetic, "staring" type of gaze pattern) and can be seen with severe dementia. The possible significance of these findings is discussed.     

Oculomotor adjustments in darkness and the specific distance tendency

Two experiments were performed to investigate the relationship between the oculomotor adjustments assumed in total darkness and perceived distance under reduced visual conditions. Experiment I compared the dark focus of accommodation with the perceived distance of a monocular light point presented in a dark environment. Experiment II compared the convergence angle assumed in darkness (dark convergence) with the perceived distance of the light point. Both accommodation and convergence were found to assume intermediate values in darkness. Perceived distance of the monocular light point was significantly correlated with dark convergence and unrelated to the dark focus of accommodation. It was suggested that ocular vergence is a major determinant of perceived distance under reduced visual conditions, and thus provides a possible mechanism for the specific distance tendency.     

Power and the Illusion of Transparency in Negotiations

This study examines how the illusion of transparency in negotiation differs depending on whether one is the powerful or less powerful negotiator. The illusion of transparency is the tendency for individuals to overestimate the extent to which their internal states and intentions are apparent to an outside observer. Thus, this illusion equals the difference between perceived and actual transparency. We predict that less powerful negotiators experience more perceived transparency than do powerful negotiators and that powerful negotiators exhibit greater actual transparency than do less powerful negotiators. The main hypothesis that the illusion of transparency is greater for less powerful negotiators than for powerful negotiators was supported.     

道德悖论视阈中的德福悖论

德行与幸福的关系问题是道德哲学的重要问题.德行是否与幸福保持一致直接影响到人们对某种道德理论的判断和评价.运用道德悖论理论可以帮助我们从一种新的视角来分析、理解二者之间的关系.现代德性伦理所追求的提升道德主体的整体德性,对于克服功利主义和单纯义务论对德福关系的简单理解.正确理解德福悖论具有借鉴意义.     

Oculomotor tonus and visual adaptation

The contribution of oculomotor efference to visual perception and performance can be clarified by considering the functions of tonus. Accommodation and vergence typically ‘relax’ at an intermediate distance, reflecting tonic innervation of the ciliary and extraocular muscles, which varies widely among individuals who have normal vision. In many situations, especially when stimulation is degraded, fixation and focusing responses are biased toward the individual's resting state. Moreover, unusual circumstances, such as alteration of the relation of eye position and distance or prolonged exposure to near work, induce adaptive modification of the resting posture. These normal variations of oculomotor toms affect the accuracy and the effort required to fixate objects, and they may help explain problems of space perception and visual fatigue.     

Oculomotor adjustments and size constancy

The effect on matched size of the oculomotor adjustments was determined by stimulation and relaxation of accommodation and convergence by means of spherical lenses. The normal coupling between accommodation and convergence was maintained by introducing the amount of convergence appropriate to the lens power and each S’s interpupillary distance. Data indicate that the oculomotor adjustments are adequate to account for size constancy up to approximately 1 m, beyond which their effect progressively decreases. The actual accommodation in force was assessed by means of the laser scintillation technique. It was determined that the magnitude of accommodation responds accurately to the spherical lens introduced up to about 1 m observation distance, beyond which underaccommodation was noted. Examination of the matched size as a function of the actual accommodation distance reveals a very close correspondence to the size constancy prediction up to about 1 m.     

Oculomotor adjustments and size-distance perception

The relationship between perceived size and distance and oculomotor adjustments were assessed in two experiments. In both experiments, Ss were required to make scalar linear size, angular size, and distance judgments of stimuli subtending a constant retinal image size at different levels of convergence. The results of the first experiment indicate that the perceived linear size, angular size, and distance of the stimulus decreased with increased convergence, the decrease in perceived linear size being greater than that of perceived angular size. While again showing a decrease in perceived linear and angular size, the results of the second experiment also show that there was a smaller decrease in perceived distance with increased convergence when Ss continued to view the stimulus as convergence was changed than when they did not view the stimulus as convergence was changed. The implications these results have for size and distance perception are discussed.     

被洞悉错觉中的锚定及其调节效应

根据锚定及其调节效应的理论解释,通过两个情境实验对被洞悉错觉产生过程中的锚定及其调节效应进行研究。研究表明,在紧张、愉快情绪状态下个体均倾向高估他人对自己内部状态的洞悉水平,即产生被洞悉错觉。内心感受强度,即锚定值对被洞悉错觉的产生有重要影响;而有无认知负荷,即认知状态在被洞悉错觉产生过程中与锚定值的调节水平无关,对被洞悉错觉是否发生亦没有明显作用。     

消费活动中品牌错觉产生和错觉类型的年龄特征的试验研究

本研究通过实验得出以下结论：(1)记忆错觉与消费者的年龄有关,老年组的错误率最高,青年组的错误率最低;(2)记忆错觉类型与年龄有关,老年组在英文和色彩项目上错误率最高,少儿在英文和汉字项目上错误最高,而对形状和色彩相对要敏感,青年组比较平均,是错误率最低的一组被试：(3)消费者记忆错觉的产生与消费者具体的消费实践有关,接触少的品牌产生错觉的概率高,接触得比较多的品牌错觉率相对要低。     

Oculomotor atypicalities in Developmental Coordination Disorder

Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) fail to acquire adequate motor skill, yet surprisingly little is known about the oculomotor system in DCD. Successful completion of motor tasks is supported by accurate visual feedback. The purpose of this study was to determine whether any oculomotor differences can distinguish between children with and without a motor impairment. Using eye tracking technology, visual fixation, smooth pursuit, and pro‐ and anti‐saccade performance were assessed in 77 children that formed three groups: children with DCD (aged 7–10), chronologically age (CA) matched peers, and a motor‐match (MM) group (aged 4–7). Pursuit gain and response preparation in the pro‐ and anti‐saccade tasks were comparable across groups. Compared to age controls, children with DCD had deficits in maintaining engagement in the fixation and pursuit tasks, and made more anti‐saccade errors. The two typically developing groups performed similarly, except on the fast speed smooth pursuit and antisaccade tasks, where the CA group outperformed the younger MM group. The findings suggest that children with DCD have problems with saccadic inhibition and maintaining attention on a visual target. Developmental patterns were evident in the typically developing groups, suggesting that the pursuit system and cognitive control develop with age. This study adds to the literature by being the first to systematically identify specific oculomotor differences between children with and without a motor impairment. Further examination of oculomotor control may help to identify underlying processes contributing to DCD. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/NinXa2KlB4M . [Correction added on 27 January 2017, after first online publication: The video abstract link was added.]     

Chain-Arguments and the Sorites Paradox

A finite chain of valid arguments can never lead from truth to falsehood. Call this the concatenation principle, or CP. Some propose to reject CP in response to the sorites paradox. I offer a justification of a restricted version of CP based on intuitively-appealing principles, all of which are already assumed in mathematics. The restricted version excludes soritical cases, but covers intuitively correct applications of CP in mathematics and elsewhere. The upshot is that the cost of rejecting the unrestricted CP is much lower than is often assumed.     

Imagination,Illusion and Experience in Film

Philosophical Studies -