A DEFENSE OF THE NECESSARY UNITY OF PHENOMENAL CONSCIOUSNESS

Some argue that split-brain cases undermine the thesis that phenomenal consciousness is necessarily unified. This paper defends the phenomenal unity thesis against Michael Tye's (2003 ) version of that argument. Two problems are identified. First, his argument relies on a questionable analysis of the split-brain data. Second, his analysis leads to the view that in experimental situations split-brain patients are not single subjects – a result that would render the analysis harmless to the phenomenal unity thesis.     

MORAL PSYCHOLOGY AND THE UNITY OF THE VIRTUES

The ancient Greeks subscribed to the thesis of the Unity of Virtue, according to which the possession of one virtue is closely related to the possession of all the others. Yet empirical observation seems to contradict this thesis at every turn. What could the Greeks have been thinking of? The paper offers an interpretation and a tentative defence of a qualified version of the thesis. It argues that, as the Greeks recognized, virtue essentially involves knowledge – specifically, evaluative knowledge of what matters. Furthermore, such knowledge is essentially holistic. Perfect and complete possession of one virtue thus requires the knowledge that is needed for the possession of every other virtue. The enterprise of trying to reconcile the normative view embodied in this conception of virtue with empirical observation also serves as a case study for the field of moral psychology in which empirical and normative claims are often deeply and confusingly intertwined. ¹ 1 I owe thanks to audiences at the University of Arkansas, Rice University, the University of Texas, Princeton University, Yale University, Oxford University, the Australian National University, and Monash University, and more particularly to Robert Adams, John Cooper, and Jerome Schneewind for their extremely helpful and illuminating comments on an earlier version of this paper.
     

ALBERT EINSTEIN: THE METHODOLOGICAL UNITY UNDERLYING SCIENCE AND RELIGION

Strange is our situation here upon the earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose.¹     

SOCIAL NEUROSCIENCE AND THEISTIC EVOLUTION: INTERSUBJECTIVITY,LOVE, AND THE SOCIAL SPHERE

After providing a brief overview of social neuroscience in the context of strong embodiment and the cognitive sciences, this paper addresses how perspectives from the field may inform how theological anthropology approaches the origins of human persons‐in‐community. An overview of the Social Brain Hypothesis and of simulation theory reveals a simultaneous potential for receptive/projective processes to facilitate social engagement and the need for intentional spontaneity in the form of a spiritual formation that moves beyond simulation to empathy and love. Finally, elements of a virtue science that draws on Dietrich Bonhoeffer's relational imago Dei are shown to be helpful in framing and motivating theological approaches to human origins.     

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION THEORY AND THE SATIR MODEL: TOWARD A SYNTHESIS

Abstract

This article synthesizes social construction theory and the Satir approach to family therapy in terms of therapy as a process of cocreation of reality, the use of language and narrative, and the therapist's role as a participant-facilitator. Social constructionism has a tremendous impact on the present ideological shift in family therapy. The Satir model is a powerful approach to family therapy and has had a wide influence on generations of therapists. Although existing literature has well documented the influence of social construction theory on the postmodern school of thinking in family therapy, there is no literature exploring the compatibility of the Satir model with social construction theory. This research presents a theory-building process of the Satir approach to family therapy.     

有关西方心理学分裂与整合问题的再思考

在心理学的分裂与整合问题上 ,西方心理学家一直争论不休。该文认为 ,心理学的确存在着分裂的危机 ,因为心理学至今没有一个共同的基础和出发点 ,且心理学的分化导致了心理学机构解体的危机。但是心理学内部各种矛盾冲突的观点是可比的 ,可公约的 ,因此整合是有希望的。在迈向整合的过程中 ,主要存在着两个障碍 ,其一是客观主义 ,客观主义力主以自然科学为楷模 ,通过严格客观方法的应用 ,实现心理学的大一统。客观主义由于压抑了不同的声音 ,阻碍了对话 ,给心理学的整合造成障碍。其二是相对主义 ,相对主义在“怎么都行”原则的指导下 ,认为任何一种理论观点和思想方法相对于它所产生的背景都是正确的、合理的 ,没有任何外在于话语群体的标准作为最终的尺度。相对主义的观点导致了理论观点和思想方法的无原则多元化 ,使得西方心理学分裂危机进一步加深。该文主张心理学的整合应该是在一个共同基础上的多元化的整合 ,即允许多元化和多样性成分的存在 ,但不同成分之间是互补的 ,而不是冲突的