Kotarbiński As A Scientific Realist

Tadeusz Kotarbiski is widely recognized as a major philosopher of theLvov–Warsaw school. His reism, which is a contribution to semantics andontology, is still discussed and debated, and his most original creation, praxiology,has grown into an entire research field. However, Kotarbiski's philosophy ofscience has not received much attention by later commentators. This paper attemptsto correct this situation by considering the hypothesis that Kotarbiski succeededalready in 1929 in formulating a position that can be regarded as an early version ofscientific realism. Unlike most other ``scientific philosophers' before the mid-thirties,he was able to combine ontological realism (by defending a form of physicalism andnominalism) and semantical realism (by defending the classical correspondence theoryof truth). He was also a critical epistemological realist. Further, in spite of theinstrumentalist flavour of his reductionist programme in eliminating terms apparentlyreferring to abstract entities, Kotarbiski accepted theories as statements with truth values and theoretical entities as long as they can be understood as physical bodies.     

The ‘Medical Body’ As Philosophy's Arena

Medicine, as Byron Good argues, reconstitutes thehuman body of our daily experience as a medical body,unfamiliar outside medicine. This reconstitution can be seen intwo ways: (i) as a salutary reminder of the extent to which thereality even of the human body is constructed; and (ii) as anarena for what Stephen Toulmin distinguishes as theintersection of natural science and history, in which many ofphilosophy's traditional (and traditionally abstract) questionsare given concrete and urgent form.This paper begins by examining a number of dualities between themedical body and the body familiar in daily experience. Toulmin's epistemological analysis of clinical medicine ascombining both universal and existential knowledge is thenconsidered. Their expression, in terms of attention,respectively, to natural science and to personal history, isexplored through the epistemological contrasts between themedical body and the familiar body, noting the traditionalphilosophical questions which they in turn illustrate.     

‘As if’ Reasoning in Vaihinger and Pasch

Hans Vaihinger tried to explain how mathematical theories can be useful without being true or even coherent, arguing that mathematicians employ a special kind of fictional or “as if” reasoning that reliably extracts truths from absurdities. Moritz Pasch insisted that Vaihinger was wrong about the incoherence of core mathematical theories, but right about the utility of fictional discourse in mathematics. This essay explores this area of agreement between Pasch and Vaihinger. Pasch’s position raises questions about structuralist interpretations of mathematics.     

As We Forgive—Case History of a Burglary

In 1979, Pastoral Psychology published the first of a series of articles I wrote based on non-risk-free research. The last was The Extra Mile—Case History of a Homicide (1993) and in it a point was stressed: Ministers who practice psychotherapy will profit prophetically if pastoral theology accepts the responsibility to (1) articulate contemporary ultimateconcerns, (2) clarify healthy avenues for compensation, and (3) tell stories about the hopeful revelations of God's providence in a broken world. As We Forgive is also a case study—wrapped in a novella—and it illustrates these three ingredients with an emphasis on spiritual self-awareness and thereality of Providence.     

Maimon’s Theory of Differentials As The Elements of Intuitions

Abstract

Maimon’s theory of the differential has proved to be a rather enigmatic aspect of his philosophy. By drawing upon mathematical developments that had occurred earlier in the century and that, by virtue of the arguments presented in the Essay and comments elsewhere in his writing, I suggest Maimon would have been aware of, what I propose to offer in this paper is a study of the differential and the role that it plays in the Essay on Transcendental Philosophy (1790). In order to do so, this paper focuses upon Maimon’s criticism of the role played by mathematics in Kant’s philosophy, to which Maimon offers a Leibnizian solution based on the infinitesimal calculus. The main difficulties that Maimon has with Kant’s system, the second of which will be the focus of this paper, include the presumption of the existence of synthetic a priori judgments, i.e. the question quid facti, and the question of whether the fact of our use of a priori concepts in experience is justified, i.e. the question quid juris. Maimon deploys mathematics, specifically arithmetic, against Kant to show how it is possible to understand objects as having been constituted by the very relations between them, and he proposes an alternative solution to the question quid juris, which relies on the concept of the differential. However, despite these arguments, Maimon remains sceptical with respect to the question quid facti.     

Is Cohabitation As Good As Marriage for People’s Subjective Well-Being? Longitudinal Evidence on Happiness and Life Satisfaction in the British Household Panel Survey

This study investigates changes in happiness and life satisfaction associated with transitions into cohabitation and marriage in 12 waves from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) collected between 1997 and 2009. Theory suggests that happiness is an emotional state that is linked to one’s physiological reactions to life events, whereas satisfaction is a cognitive evaluation that also depends on social comparisons with other important reference groups as well as the individual’s desires, expectations and hopes. A longitudinal (fixed effects) analysis that controls for time-invariant variation in subjective well-being indicates that entering cohabitation is as beneficial for people’s happiness as entering marriage. Entering marriage is slightly more satisfying than cohabitation but only among previously never-married individuals. This is true for men and women and across age and cohorts. These findings indicate that cohabitation provides similar benefits to marriage with regard to happiness but not how previously never married individuals view their overall satisfaction with their lives.     

Rumors And Gossip As Forms Of Bullying: Sticks And Stones?

When most people hear the word bullying, they often envision a physical form of aggression—often between schoolchildren. And yet, much of the bullying and other forms of relational aggression occur not only in the schoolyard, but among those schoolchildren's parents, as well as in boardrooms, in faculty lounges, and in other places where adults congregate. The transmission of rumor and gossip is an enduring feature of power dynamics in any small or large group, as both a way of trying to make sense of ambiguous situations and as a form of social control. This article examines the construction, maintenance, proliferation, and management of rumors, gossip, and hearsay from a psychoanalytic perspective.     

Dislocations in indented Ga0·7 Al0·3As

Abstract

Transmission electron microscope observations have been made of dislocations in Ga_0·7Al_0·3As after indentation of (001) surfaces at room temperature. Using two-beam imaging, in bright-field and weak-beam imaging, dissociated dislocations with extended stacking faults were observed both in the [110] and [110] directions. This is different from GaAs in which dissociated dislocations are seen in only one of these directions. These results are compared with published work on indented GaAs and considered in the light of possible mechanisms.     

Clients As Change Agents: What Color Could My Parachute Be?

Morrill and Forrest (1970) advocate an approach to career counseling (Type 4) that helps clients (a) understand career choice as a developmental process, (b) learn decision-making skills, and (c) become active change agents in their own lives. Referring to the Morrill and Forrest article as a benchmark statement about career counseling, Remer and O'Neill present a decision-making model that encompasses the tenets of Type 4 counseling. The model has 13 sequential steps; the authors indicate the role of the counselor and the objectives for the client at each. The article discusses the potential impact of this self-directed, decision-making model on career counseling. Specific counseling outcomes are discussed along with anecdotal evidence that supports the power of the model to create these outcomes.     

As Good as GOLD: Gram–Schmidt Orthogonalization by Another Name

Generalized orthogonal linear derivative (GOLD) estimates were proposed to correct a problem of correlated estimation errors in generalized local linear approximation (GLLA). This paper shows that GOLD estimates are related to GLLA estimates by the Gram–Schmidt orthogonalization process. Analytical work suggests that GLLA estimates are derivatives of an approximating polynomial and GOLD estimates are linear combinations of these derivatives. A series of simulation studies then further investigates and tests the analytical properties derived. The first study shows that when approximating or smoothing noisy data, GLLA outperforms GOLD, but when interpolating noisy data GOLD outperforms GLLA. The second study shows that when data are not noisy, GLLA always outperforms GOLD in terms of derivative estimation. Thus, when data can be smoothed or are not noisy, GLLA is preferred whereas when they cannot then GOLD is preferred. The last studies show situations where GOLD can produce biased estimates. In spite of these possible shortcomings of GOLD to produce accurate and unbiased estimates, GOLD may still provide adequate or improved model estimation because of its orthogonal error structure. However, GOLD should not be used purely for derivative estimation because the error covariance structure is irrelevant in this case. Future research should attempt to find orthogonal polynomial derivative estimators that produce accurate and unbiased derivatives with an orthogonal error structure.     

How does evidence-based practice in psychology work? – As an ethical demarcation

Evidence-based practice in psychology (EBPP) is ordinarily understood to demarcate between legitimate and illegitimate psychotherapy practice, based upon the epistemic demarcation distinguishing scientific from non-scientific knowledge. EBPP emphasizes the value of effective and efficient interventions identified through randomized controlled trials and cost-benefit analyses. Basing the template for choice of action or strategy on randomized controlled trials and cost-benefit analyses create a deceptive appearance of ethical neutrality. However, there is an implicit ethical demarcation at work in EBPP, which favors a non-articulated specific position in normative ethics. More particularly, evidence-based practice in psychology is structured according to a utilitarian framework, severely limiting the kinds of ethical perspectives available to assess psychotherapy practice. The latter point is illustrated through a new mode of delivering psychotherapy services called “Internet-based guided self-help” (IBGSH). In EBPP the only relevant ethical question is to what extent any intervention, such as IBGSH, is effective and efficient. Some of the limiting effects of the ethical, utilitarian, demarcation are showcased by presenting three alternative ethical perspectives by which psychotherapy practice in general and IBGSH in particular can be analyzed. The analysis concludes that EBPP is not suited to ethically regulate the practice of psychotherapy.     

‘As in a theatre’: scientific spectacle in Bacon's New Atlantis

Essay review of Reclaiming Reality, by Roy Bhaskar, London: Verso, 1989, 218 pages, pb £10.95.     

As the Twig Is Bent? The Myth of Child-Rearing Influences on Personality Development

Social scientists and laypersons alike believe that child-rearing styles and family environments are formative of personality traits such as shyness and activity level, intellectual traits such as IQ, and psychopathology. After 100 years of behavioral genetic research, however, including new studies of twins raised apart and together, little factual support for this “common sense” proposition can be found. Nonintellectual traits seem to be determined instead by genetic influences and by relatively specific environmental influences, most of which are not particularly tied to the family or parental treatments. Intellectual traits show modest family environmental influence, but that influence may diminish in importance after childhood. I conclude that parents should be given less credit for children who turn out well and should take less blame for children who turn out poorly. Counselors who blame parents less for children's behavioral outcomes—especially extreme traits and psychopathology—may find those parents to be more willing helpers in those intervention processes that have been shown to work.     

A Theory Of Irrationality As A ‘Reasonable’ Response To An Incomplete Specification

Suppose the principles explaining how the human mind (brain) reaches logical conclusions and judgments were different from – and independent of – thoseinvolved innormatively valid reasoning. Then such principles should affect both conclusion generation and recognition that particular conclusions are or are not justified. People, however, demonstrate a discrepancy between impaired performance in generating logical conclusions as opposed to rather impressive competence in recognizing rational (versus irrational) ones. This discrepancy is hypothesized to arise from often generating an incomplete specification of a logical or judgmental problem when attempting to solve it – versus a recognition of such incompleteness when it is pointed out. The basic argument is developed, with common examples, in the context of specifying or failing to specify all possible combinations in simple logical arguments and is then extended to probabilistic reasoning, where complete versus incomplete specification corresponds to attending to all or to only some components of Bayes theorem-based reasoning.     

Do Patients With Psychosis Experience Loss and Grief As a Result of Their Illness?

BACKGROUND: Depression and suicidality are frequently reported in patients with psychosis and schizophrenia, but the grief process that may be associated with this illness has not been systematically studied. In this study, we examined whether patients diagnosed with psychosis identify, grieve, and mourn losses engendered by the illness. METHOD: 24 patients diagnosed with psychosis in the past five years were surveyed to indicate whether their illness led to losses, and to describe their responses to the losses. Psychosis-related perceived losses were surveyed using three subscales of a loss and grief questionnaire (loss of self, self-care, and roles). Their relationship with beliefs about the illness, symptomatology, coping style, and self-efficacy and insight was studied. RESULTS: 23 (96%) patients named specific losses, and 16 patients (67%) reported feelings associated with grief and mourning. More than half reported loss of self-esteem at the onset of illness and only half saw themselves as having improved in the past month. Patients reported more loss within the past month than at the onset of illness. In the past month, patients with an intact sense of self experienced greater self-efficacy (r = .568, p < .004) while those with loss of self reported feelings of shame (r = ?.582, p < .003). Only patients with insight associated the onset of illness with loss. In the past month, most patients saw themselves as experiencing loss. DISCUSSION: The study results suggest that at some distance from diagnosis, patients still experience themselves as having much loss due to their illness. These unresolved feelings may indicate complicated mourning. Insight appears to be associated with the ability to look back at the onset of the illness and recognize that it engendered losses. Further study of the process of and barriers to grief and mourning is recommended. In clinical practice, the assessment of grief as a part of post-psychotic recovery could lead to providing more appropriate treatment and lead to a positive outcome.     

As Luck Would Have It: Thomas Hardy’s Bildungsroman on Leading a Human Life

In this essay, I demonstrate the value of the Bildungsroman for philosophy of education on the grounds that these narratives raise and explore educational questions. I focus on a short story in the Bildungsroman tradition, Thomas Hardy’s “A Mere Interlude”. This story describes the maturation of its heroine by narrating a series of events that transform her understanding of what it means to lead a human life. I connect her conceptual shift with two paradigms for leading a human life. One stresses the exercise of distinct human capacities like agency and autonomy, whereas the other stresses human vulnerability to fate or moral luck. I conclude by offering important reasons for educators to adopt the later paradigm over the former.     

“As Close as Possible to the Unlivable”: (Michel Foucault and Phenomenology)

This article aims at showing that in spite of Michel Foucault’s violent rejection of phenomenology, this discipline never ceased to bear a crucial significance for his archaeological and genealogical analyses, in that it can be construed as a symptom indicating the most serious challenge that the contemporary philosophy has to meet: thinking together Experience and Knowledge. The author intends to prove, by resorting to the Marxian concept of ‘objectively necessary appearance’, that Foucault’s main opposition to phenomenology stems from his original conception of the theory as a sort of experiment made by the philosopher on himself and on his own historical a priori.