A Counterexample to A

The Direct Argument is an important argument for demonstrating that moral responsibility is incompatible with determinism because it makes no presuppositions about the nature of free will. One of the inference rules employed in the Direct Argument is rule A: If a proposition is broadly logically necessary, then it is true and no one is, nor ever has been, even partially morally responsible for the fact that the proposition is true. While inference rule A is assumed by all parties to the debate, I demonstrate that the rule is invalid.     

A contingency approach to consistency: A challenge to prevalent views

Two types of consistency have been distinguished in the literature: internal consistency and person-environment congruence. It is generally assumed that the lower the consistency, the more dysfunctional the outcomes. This study challenged the prevalent unqualified approach to consistency by presenting a contingency approach based on activation theory. It predicted an interactive effect, that is, that in congruent situations internal consistency would be associated with higher individual outcomes compared to inconsistency, but in incongruent situations it would be associated with lower individual outcomes compared to inconsistency. Four individual career outcomes were used as dependent variables—organizational commitment, professional commitment, job satisfaction, and job involvement. The sample included 175 professionals from various occupations. The predicted interactive effects were found in the analyses which used a perceived P-E congruence scale. The analyses which used actual P-E congruence did not yield definite results. The findings are discussed in terms of differences in cognitive appraisals mediating the response to incongruence. It is suggested that the functionality of inconsistency and incongruence needs to be reestablished.     

A rejoinder to Pribram

Summary Contrary to Pribram's assertion, Köhler proposed a functional isomorphism between brain processes and phenomenal events; the sense organs are not implied in the isomorphism principle. With respect to the facts of the Köhler-Pribram collaboration reliance on the written record is recommended.     

"西天"漫记--印度访问考察十日记

2004年12月7日,我与平遥国际摄影大展代表团一行10人,应邀前往南亚的人口大国印度访问,并在班加罗尔市一所著名的美术学院举行了“中国五台山佛教艺术摄影展”开幕式。12月8日下午3点(当地时间)多,我们到了新德里,这里比我国晚两个半小时,气温比上海略热些。印度共和国位于南亚     

A failure to differentiate

The K. J. Rust and T. S. Kendler paper (1987, Developmental Review, 7, 326–362) makes two claims to publication: (1) it claims to show (and implicitly, to show for the first time) that a nonselective learning model such as Spence's can fit the basic phenomenon of independent subproblem learning, and (2) it claims two experimental tests of the nonselective theory versus the differentiation theory interpretations of independent subproblem learning. Neither claim is valid and both claims reflect a failure to differentiate the literature. Moreover, Kendler's basic assumption of a developmental difference in the nature of learning is questionable.