Tosh Demands and Generative Thinking: What Changes and What Remains the Same?

Generative thinking can be characterized as the development of novel instantiations of existing concepts. Using this framework, the present study examined the impact of three conditions on the way subjects generated ideas about imaginary extraterrestrials. Control subjects developed alien animals but were given no special instructions. Those in the Wildly Different Condition were asked to generate creatures that were as wildly different from Earth animals as they could be. Both groups were highly and equally likely to imagine creatures that were symmetric and possessed standard senses and appendages, but the latter introduced significantly more novel variations, particularly on the number of sense organs and appendages. A third group was asked to imagine and describe things that might live on another planet, but were not initially instructed to provide drawings or limit themselves to considering living things that would be considered to be animals. This last group also preserved symmetry, but was significantly more likely to develop creatures without standard senses and appendages. Even so, 75% of this group developed creatures with standard senses and appendages. The results are discussed in terms of constraints on innovation, ways of overcoming those constraints, and the general tendency for new ideas to preserve many of the central properties of existing concepts.     

The Zygote Argument Is Still Invalid: So What?

Philosophia - In “The Zygote Argument is Invalid: Now What?”, Kristin Mickelson argues that Alfred Mele’s original Zygote Argument is invalid: its two premises tell us merely that...     

Teaching science at the university level: What about the ethics?

Ethics in science is integrated into an interdisciplinary science course called “Science, Technology and Society” (STS). This paper focuses on the section of the course called “Societal Impact on Science and Technology”, which includes the topics Misconduct in Science, Scientific Freedom and Responsibility, and the Use of Human Subjects in Research. Students in the course become aware not only of the science itself, but also of the process of science, some aspects of the history of science, the social responsibilities of scientists, and the ethical issues in science. Teaching techniques include the instructor sharing experiences as a scientist with the students, sharing books and resources with students, utilizing current sources of information like the weekly “Science Times”, inviting guest speakers, and utilizing portfolios to assess student learning. This paper was delivered orally at the National Academy of Sciences’ “Convocation on Scientific Conduct”, 6–7 June 1994.     

What After Pluralism? Ulysses Still on the Road

In this work I intend to convey from an autobiographic perspective what it meant for me to become an analyst in a small Latin American country, in an especially turbulent moment in its history. When I graduated from medical school and began my psychoanalytic training, there were marked contrasts in Uruguay. In the political arena there was a long military dictatorship during which human rights and freedom of expression were not respected, while within the Psychoanalytic Association of Uruguay a cultural ambience of pluralism and freedom of thought rich with European tradition could be felt. The existence of multiple approaches—both theoretical and technical—is a positive thing, depending on the way the differences are dealt with. I will reveal some characteristics of the coexistence of various perspectives in Uruguay and reflect on the conditions that made our pluralistic situation a fostering factor for psychoanalysis.     

Getting to the Core of Close Reading: What do we Really Know and What Remains to be Seen?

Due to the Common Core State Standards, close reading is becoming a common practice in today’s elementary and middle school classrooms. Qualitative content analysis of journal publications was used to determine the (a) prevalence of close reading in the existing literature, (b) knowledge about close reading from the research literature, (c) themes about close reading in practitioner-oriented articles and (d) questions about close reading in the elementary and middle grade language arts classroom. Results reveal that the majority of articles on close reading are situated in the practitioner literature, with a notable lack of research on close reading.     

Peer Interaction: What Causes What?

Peer interaction is examined as a source of behavior change in children and adolescents. The dynamics of peer influence are discussed in terms of six issues: characteristics of the influence source; characteristics of the child or adolescent being influenced; the relationship existing between influence source and the individual being influenced; developmental change; processes underlying peer influence; and constraints deriving from the behavior domain being examined. Research shows that contact with peers has complex effects on individual behavior, and numerous moderators and mediators must be considered in order to account for them. The discussion is linked to the papers included in this special issue.     

Empirically Supported Treatments and Efficacy Trials: What Steps Do We Still Need to Take?

The Task Force on the Promotion and Dissemination of Psychological Procedures sought to identify scientifically supported treatments in order to espouse their use and improve client outcomes in therapy. Nevertheless, the gap between scientists and practitioners persists, and there still remain some limitations to the manner in which this goal is carried out. The criteria specifying whether a treatment qualifies as empirically supported are too lenient. The research used in the search for empirically supported treatments does not take into account the full literature base. Efficacy trials provide practitioners with limited information. This paper proposes means through which the field can improve its search for scientifically supported treatments. Alterations to the criteria that assess empirically supported treatments, greater research transparency and external validity, and collaboration between investigators and clinicians will allow the field of clinical psychology to better answer the question, “How can we most successfully treat this client?”     

What Remains of the Fundamentum Inconcussum in Light of the Modern Sciences of Man?

Transcendental conceptions of subjectivity, beginning with Descartes and including Kant, Fichte, and Husserl as well as neo-transcendental accounts of the 20th century, try to explicate a subject’s subjectivity as a necessary condition for all theoretical and practical validity claims. According to this conception, only this subject-theoretical presupposition allows for an adequate foundation of terms of authorship of action (autonomy) and self-determination. However, the conceptual self-explication of this position faces some inherent difficulties, which has repeatedly been pointed out even by representatives of this school of thought themselves. Moreover, it seems as if the constitutional achievements of transcendental philosophy are increasingly being detached from philosophy: due to the development of the modern sciences of man, they are step by step conceived as objects of empirical research. This paper looks critically into this thesis of detachment.     

Contemporary Title VII Enforcement: The Song Remains the Same?

Equal employment opportunity (EEO) law is constantly evolving and many changes can happen in 50 years. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has always been the most comprehensive law related to workplace discrimination. Like all laws, Title VII has matured over time, including amendments by Congress, refinement by the courts, and creation and updates of regulations by enforcement agencies. However, there are several controversies that have endured during this maturation process, and this article focuses on four of them: (1) adverse impact theory, (2) reverse discrimination, (3) sexual harassment, and (4) retaliation. There are common issues across these controversies. However, for purposes of exposition, each one is treated as a separate entity. For each of the four controversies, we review historical context, recommend compliance strategies and share best EEO practice recommendations for practitioners and employers.     

Teaching counselling in universities: Match or mismatch?

University courses in counsellor training have mushroomed over the past decade. Questions are raised about the match between the culture of counselling and the culture of universities. A comparison is drawn between traditional university styles of pedagogy and the learning requirements of trainee counsellors. Issues relating to teaching methods and assessment procedures are examined. Kolb's model of experiential learning is offered as a framework for this comparison. Attention is drawn to the effect of moves towards the accreditation of prior learning upon the cohesion of student groups, and to the changes in curriculum occasioned by the move towards credit rating of university courses. On the other side of the coin, the niche which counselling has forged for itself in universities is seen as a vehicle for professional legitimation. It is concluded that the challenge faced by university counselling teachers is to find ways to resolve the tension between the two cultures     

Client Suicide: What Now?

The loss of a client to suicide is a painful personal and professional experience for mental health providers. Whether trainee or experienced professional, the affected clinician often reports feeling overwhelmed and unprepared for the experience of client suicide, together with significant emotional distress and diminished work performance. In this article, we present a brief overview of the literature on the impact of client suicide and ideas for coping with the psychological and professional issues that typically arise. We also provide suggestions for managing the associated practical and administrative tasks, as well as resources for obtaining professional support and guidance in the wake of this tragic event.     

The liar: What paradox?

Most philosophers believe that the Liar Paradox is semantical in character, and arises from difficulties in the predicate true. The author argues that the paradox is pragmatic, not semantic, and arises from violations of essential conditions that define statement-making speech acts. The author shows that his solution to the paradox will not only handle the classical Liar sentences that are necessarily or intrinsically paradoxical, but also sets of Kripke-sentences that are contingently paradoxical.     

Against the Disembraining Machine. What is Psychoanalysis (Still) Capable of?

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis - With the intensification of the practices of social networks and the phobia of the internal world, operationalist thinking ends up presenting itself as a...     

Is There Still Time?

In this article we intend to discuss the psychoanalysis of elderly patients and, also, to review certain prejudices that are based upon the psychoanalytic technique and theory.