The Problem of Necessary and Sufficient Conditions and Conceptual Analysis

In this article the standard philosophical method involving intuition‐driven conceptual analysis is challenged in a new way. This orthodox approach to philosophy takes analysanda to be the specifications of the content of concepts in the form of sets of necessary and sufficient conditions. Here it is argued that there is no adequate account of what necessary and sufficient conditions are. So, the targets of applications of the standard philosophical method so understood are not sufficiently well understood for this method to be dependable.     

The reality of the intuitive

According to current methodological orthodoxy philosophers rely on intuitions about thought experiments to refute general claims about the nature of knowledge, freedom, thought, reference, justice, beauty, etc. Philosophers working under the banner of ‘negative experimental philosophy’ have criticized more traditional philosophers for relying on this method. They argue that intuitions about thought experiments are influenced by factors that are irrelevant to the truth of their contents. Cappelen and Deutsch defend traditional philosophy against this critique by rejecting the picture of philosophical methodology it presupposes: philosophers do not really rely on intuitions. In this paper, I defend methodological orthodoxy by arguing that philosophers must rely on intuitions somewhere and that they do in fact often rely on intuitions about thought experiments. I also argue in favor of a reply to the negative experimental critique that is similar to at least part of Deutsch’s own.     

Experimental philosophers,conceptual analysts,and the rest of us

Abstract

Theories of personal identity purport to specify truth conditions for sentences of the form ‘x‐at‐t_i is the same person as y‐at‐t_j. Most philosophers nowadays agree that such truth conditions are to be stated in terms of psychological continuity. However; opinions vary as to how the notion of psychological continuity is to be understood. In a recent contribution to this journal, Slors offers an account in which psychological continuity is spelled out in terms of narrative connectedness between mental states.The present paper argues that Slors’ theory either is no theory of personal identity at all or is too weak.Towards the end of the paper, it is indicated how the problem uncovered for Slors’ theory may be avoided.     

Philosophical Methodology and Conceptions of Evil Action

There is considerable philosophical dispute about what it takes for an action to be evil. The methodological assumption underlying this dispute is that there is a single, shared folk conception of evil action deployed amongst culturally similar people. Employing empirical research the authors undertook, this article suggests that this assumption is false. There exist, amongst the folk, numerous conceptions of evil action. Hence, the authors argue, philosophical research is most profitably spent in two endeavours. First, in determining which (if any) conception of evil action we have prudential or moral (or both) reason to deploy and, second, in determining whether we could feasibly come to adopt that conception as the single shared conception given our psychological make‐up and the content of the conceptions currently deployed.     

Greatness and misery in the teaching of the psychology of learning

Overshadowed by more popular disciplines, the study of learning seems to have lost its prominent place in the undergraduate psychology curriculum. In the first part of this essay, we argue that one reason for this state of affairs is the current content of psychology of learning courses, namely, its disproportionate emphasis on facts, procedures, and everyday examples at the expense of functional and conceptual investigations. In the second part of the essay, we outline an alternative approach to the teaching of learning, one that emphasizes basic contents such as the conceptualization of learning as a biological adaptation or the study of temporal regulation, critical methodological issues such as the logic of experimental designs or the difficulties of measuring behavior, and broad epistemological problems such as the role of hypothetical constructs, the advantages of quantitative reasoning, or the origins of knowledge and its integration. By using learning as a means towards more fundamental ends, the splendor of the discipline and its prominent place in the undergraduate curriculum may be restored.     

A Surfeit of Naturalism

Philosophers have nothing to lose, and much to gain, by paying close attention to developments in the natural sciences. This insight amounts to a case for a tempered, eclectic naturalism. But the case for naturalism is often overstated. We should not overestimate the heuristic benefits of close attention to scientists’ claims, nor should we give up on traditional “armchair” philosophical methods. We should not draw solely on the natural sciences (at the expense of the humanities) when seeking to enrich and discipline our philosophical theorising. Finally, philosophers should not shy away from criticising some scientists’ claims, at the same time as they learn from others.     

社会焦虑的概念辨析与根源探究

基于文献分析的方法,梳理经典焦虑理论的演变历程,揭示焦虑的本质与根源,澄清社会焦虑的主体与性质,界定社会焦虑的概念内涵。同时结合概念界定对当代中国社会焦虑的根源做进一步的探究,认为主要原因在于：欲求向需求的快速转变,阶层流动的固化趋势,以及价值观的拮抗与迷失。最后提出社会焦虑的纾解之道,即充分发挥个人的建设性力量,积极应对时代挑战;坚持以人民为中心,全面推进公正与健康社会建设。

     

The Conceptual Complexity of Presidents Carter and Clinton: An Automated Content Analysis of Temporal Stability and Source Bias

Previous work on the measurement of leaders' foreign policy orientations by Margaret G. Hermann argues that spontaneous utterances should provide more useful indications of stable personality characteristics than prepared statements. This paper reconsiders this question for Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton through an automated coding system. A large number of spontaneous utterances and prepared statements by these presidents were compared in an effort to determine the stability of their conceptual complexity across source types and over time. The findings support the ability of Hermann's conceptual complexity measurement to capture robust differences between individuals; however, scores derived from spontaneous comments varied significantly from those derived from prepared remarks. In addition, the trait appears to be stable for some subjects (Carter) but not for others (Clinton).     

Qualitative tools and experimental philosophy

Experimental philosophy brings empirical methods to philosophy. These methods are used to probe how people think about philosophically interesting things such as knowledge, morality, and freedom. This paper explores the contribution that qualitative methods have to make in this enterprise. I argue that qualitative methods have the potential to make a much greater contribution than they have so far. Along the way, I acknowledge a few types of resistance that proponents of qualitative methods in experimental philosophy might encounter, and provide reasons to think they are ill-founded.     

Using Brief Experimental Analysis to Select Oral Reading Interventions: An Investigation of Treatment Utility

This study examined the treatment utility of brief experimental analysis for selecting skill-based oral reading interventions that targeted acquisition and fluency. Two second and one third grade student served as participants. The potentially most and least effective instructional packages identified from the brief experimental analysis for each student were alternated during an extended analysis phase. The instructional components that were compared were based on an ease of implementation hierarchy, with the brief experimental analysis used to select the hypothesized most effective instructional package for oral reading. Visual analysis of extended analysis data revealed that the hypothesized most effective combination of instructional components identified from the brief analysis produced greater initial gains in reading for two children (i.e., over 29 and 21 intervention days) and greater gains in reading throughout the extended analysis phase for the third child. Thus, the investigation provided preliminary evidence for the treatment utility of using brief experimental analysis to select effective and efficient oral reading instructional interventions. Implications, limitations, and future research topics are discussed.     

《医学与哲学:人文社会医学版》2001-2006年的论文作者分析

依据文献计量学原理,探讨《医学与哲学：人文社会医学版》杂志以及该杂志改版后的“人文社会医学版”（2005年9月）载文作者、机构及地区情况,客观地反映了我国医学哲学的研究现状和发展趋势。讨论《医学与哲学：人文社会医学版》发文各项统计数量的意义。《医学与哲学：人文社会医学版》的作者队伍分布范围广,具有一定的国际性质。     

Brief Experimental Analysis of Spanish Reading Fluency: An Exploratory Evaluation

Brief experimental analyses of reading fluency are useful for identifying effective interventions for improving reading fluency. The current study extends previous research by conducting an exploratory evaluation of brief experimental analyses of reading fluency for Spanish reading. A 10-year old Hispanic male presented with reading fluency deficits for English and Spanish reading. Brief experimental analyses of English and Spanish reading identified distinct interventions for each which increased oral reading fluency. Intervention procedures evaluated during brief experimental analyses included listening passage preview, repeated readings, and reward. Replication of analyses was conducted to examine changes in instructional need over time. For English reading, the intervention identified during the initial analysis (i.e., listening passage preview with repeated readings) was identified as the most effective when the analysis was replicated. For Spanish reading, listening passage preview was identified as the most effective intervention during the initial analysis, while repeated readings was identified as most effective when the analysis was replicated. Results are discussed in terms of future research given the exploratory nature of the current study.