Some consequences ofThe New Rhetoric: A critical study

This review article examines some aspects of the legacy of Perelman'sThe New Rhetoric as reflected in two volumes of his collected essays in the new edition of his Works as well as in a memorial volume edited by Michel Meyer and the acts of a colloquium sponsored by Meyer's Center for Argumentation.     

突发事件中民众责任归因的心理需求与应对

突发事件发生后,通过责任归因对事件原因和责任归属进行推断是民众心理活动的重要特征之一。从民众心理需要来看,突发事件带来的不确定感驱使个体寻找事件的解释来实现认知闭合,控制感的不足则会让个体更加强调外部世界的秩序性,这两种需要也是事件中阴谋论传播和替罪羊效应的心理基础。相应地,在事件中负有责任的组织主体,也应当基于民众的心理需要采取适当的应对策略,来重塑组织形象和民众的信任,避免责任规避带来的负面效应。未来研究可以进一步从心理学视角补充整合性的实证证据,对突发事件的不同类型进行区分,关注责任归因与其他社会心理学变量之间的联系,以及探索适合中国社会的有效应对措施。     

Doing business: an obscure notion of the ethics of public associations in ordinary Chinese

Along with the notion of being a person (zero run 做人), the notion of doing business (zuo shi 做事) in ordinary Chinese is basically an over-all notion of the norms in the practical and associative activities, carrying typically obscure meanings on practice and association affairs in some external world. Ordinary Chinese not only distinguishes these two notions but also defines a dictionary order of them, with the affairs of the internal world prior to those of the external. The fact that the notion of doing business refers to business (shi 事) rather than person (ren 人) makes this order clear at a deeper level. It shows that this notion regards the practical affairs of the external world less important to the person itself than those of the internal. Except for these qualities, the notion of doing business holds some normative meanings, although contains no definite rules. These meanings indirectly relate to the notion of person that people form in their private associations and emerge as some mixture with a tactical attitude out of the need of earning a life. The notion of person gives birth to some obscure requirements, for instance, the requirement of ‘doing business in accordance with your conscience’ and that of ‘doing business seriously’. The core world of family is marginalized in the public transition of associations. There are reasons to anticipate that in this process the notion of doing business will undergo more radical changes than that of being a person. __________ Translated from Zhexue Yanjiu 哲学研究 (Philosophical Studies), 2005 (7)     

The Laozi Code

The term “dao” (道) has been playing the theoretically paradigmatic role in almost all East Asian philosophies, religions, and cultures. The meanings of the term “dao” in the Dao De Jing and other ancient East Asian texts have remained hermeneutically problematic up to this point in time. This article argues that one of the main causes of this hermeneutical problematic is the failure to establish a theoretically formal typology of the “dao.” It further suggests that a hermeneutically disciplined reading of the 76 uses of the term “dao” in the Dao De Jing accomplishes two important goals: (1) it demonstrates that a typological approach may enhance an understanding of the Laoian Dao, and (2) it provides some good data to begin reconstructing such a theoretically formal dao-typology.     

The Melancholy Boy and the Religion of Humor: The Case of S. S. Adams

Drawing on earlier writings (Capps, Men, religion, and melancholia: James, Otto, Jung, and Erikson, 1997, 2004) in which I argue that male melancholia has its origins in the boy’s emotional separation from his mother at age 3–5 years old, and that the three main forms of male religion—honor, hope, and humor—are responses to this loss, I focus in this article on S. S. Adams, the inventor of several practical jokes, as an illustration of the religion of humor. I suggest that Adams, son of Danish immigrants, coped with his melancholia through the invention of practical jokes, including the Dribble Glass, the Razzberry Cushion, and the Joy Buzzer. I contend that these inventions have similar iconic value in the religion of male melancholia to the prayer cards, rosary beads, and votive candles of traditional Christianity. I also propose that the S. S. Adams Factory in Neptune, NJ, USA may be viewed as a pilgrimage site for devotees of male melancholic religion.     

老庄哲学与上博竹书《恒先》

The bamboo slip essay Hengxian 恒先is historically valuable because it serves to further the ontological understanding and comprehension of issues related to the existence of the universe from the perspective of Laozi’s Daoist thought. Hengxian explores important propositions such as how “Qi originated and activated itself” and “they came out of the same source but differed in nature” from several aspects. The idea that “Hengxian is ‘being’ without any definiteness” responds to the issue of the relationship of difference and identity of all things in the world, and thus examines the interdependent relationships between subjects and objects. It proposes that humans can further understand the existence of the universe through cognitive activities and practices such as “analysis and comparison” in which objective realities are checked. The issues discussed in Hengxian are consistent with Laozi’s Dao de jing, the works of Zhuangzi, Huangdi sijing 黄帝四经 (The Four Classics from the Emperor Yellow) and other Daoist works, and deserve significant attention. Translated by Huang Deyuan from Daojia wenhua yanjiu 道家文化研究 (Research of Daoist Culture), 2007, (22): 539–563     

On reliving theWanderjahr: The many voyages of theBeagle

This is a study of constancy and change in the development of one adult's system of beliefs and way of thought. It compares two documents, two versions of Charles Darwin's account of the voyage of theBeagle, one written at an early stage in the development of his evolutionary thought, the other much later but still long before he wrote theOrigin of the Species. The second version was produced 7 years after Darwin developed the theory of evolution through natural selection. Although no explicit reference is made to that theory, both versions exhibit a style of thought and a pattern of beliefs that remained very stable throughout. Examination of the documents reveals 13 major themes: relation between food supply and population; struggle; extinction; the superfecundity of nature; the tangled bank; selection; variation and divergence; the law of the succession of types; biogeography; strange contrivances, maladaptations, and rudimentary organs; human imperfections and perfectibility; the transformation of creation; and psychology. The study concludes with a discussion of the relation between private thought and public discourse, and the bearing of this relationship on exchanges between Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.     

Responsible technoscience: The haunting reality of Auschwitz and Hiroshima

Auschwitz and Hiroshima stand out as two realities whose uniqueness must be reconciled with their inevitability as outcomes of highly rationalized processes of technoscientific progress. Contrary to Michael Walzer’s notion of “double effect”, whereby unintended consequences and the particular uses to which warfare may lead remain outside the moral purview of scientists, this paper endorses the commitment of the Society for Social Responsibility in Science to argue that members of the technoscientific community are always responsible for their work and the eventual uses made of it. In what follows four related views are outlined pertaining to modern situations within which the technoscientific community operates, so as to highlight the urgency of infusing a sense of responsibility for the products of their activities into this community. A provisional “code” is suggested that may serve as a guide for increased personal responsibility of individual technoscientists (academic scientists and industrial engineers).     

The Greek Roots of the Ad Hominem-Argument

In this paper, I discuss the current thesis on the modern origin of the ad hominem-argument, by analysing the Aristotelian conception of it. In view of the recent accounts which consider it a relative argument, i.e., acceptable only by the particular respondent, I maintain that there are two Aristotelian versions of the ad hominem, that have identifiable characteristics, and both correspond to the standard variants distinguished in the contemporary treatments of the famous informal fallacy: the abusive and the circumstancial or tu quoque types. I propose to reconstruct the two Aristotelian versions (see sections 1 and 2), which have been recognized again in the ninteenth century (sec. 3). Finally, I examine whether or not it was considered as a fallacious dialogue device by Aristotle and by A. Schopenhauer (sec. 4).     

Domestic public‐spiritedness,social public‐spiritedness

Like every social institution, the family is undergoing a process of contractualization. Family democracy is the product of constant negotiation, an interactive process that can be found at every level of society. This is a new social contract, one from which a new citizenship can perhaps be drawn.     

A Semiotic Comparison Between Mel Gibson’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Passion of the Christ</Emphasis> and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Gospel According to Saint Matthew</Emphasis>

The purpose of this article is to draw a comparison between Mel Gibsons and Pier Paolo Pasolinis filmic representations of the Passion of Jesus through semiotic instruments of analysis.University of Siena (Italy) and, in 2004, Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley (USA)     

Poisoning the Well

In this paper it is shown is that although poisoning the well has generally been treated as a species of ad hominem fallacy, when you try to analyze the fallacy using ad hominem schemes, even by supplementing with related schemes like argument from position to know, the analysis ultimately fails. The main argument of the paper is taken up with proving this negative claim by applying these schemes to examples of arguments associated with the fallacy of poisoning the well. Although there is a positive finding in this quest, in that poisoning the well is shown to be based on and associated with these forms of argument in interesting ways, the paper in the end is led to the conclusion that the fallacy is irreducibly dialectical. Poisoning the well is thus analyzed as a tactic to silence an opponent violating her right to put forward arguments on an issue both parties have agreed to discuss at the confrontation stage of a critical discussion. It is concluded that it is a special form of strategic attack used by one party in the argumentation stage of a critical discussion to improperly shut down the capability of the other party for putting forward arguments of the kind needed to properly move the discussion forward.     

Self-compassion promotes positive adjustment for people who attribute responsibility of a romantic breakup to themselves

Attributing responsibility for a romantic breakup to the self can have dual effects on psychological adjustment, exacerbating disruptive thoughts and feelings, yet also increasing the likelihood of positive changes. Three studies (N = 441) examined whether these dual effects associated with attributing responsibility for a romantic breakup to the self are moderated by self-compassion. Supporting this assertion, trait self-compassion predicted better romantic outlook (Studies 1 & 2), and induced self-compassion predicted greater intended future romantic partner appreciation (Study 3), among people who attributed greater responsibility of a breakup to themselves. In addition, higher trait (Study 2) and induced self-compassion (Study 3) boosted self-improvement motivation with regard to future relationships among participants who attributed responsibility of a romantic breakup to themselves. These adjustment-promoting tendencies associated with self-compassion held controlling for a range of variables known to impact romantic breakup adjustment (e.g., self-esteem, attachment styles, and prior relationship characteristics). We discuss possible mechanisms for these effects and broader implications for future self-compassion research.     

Teaching Ethical Decision Making: Designing a Personal Value Portrait to Ignite Creativity and Promote Personal Engagement in Case Method Analysis

The case method approach to introducing ethical issues is a traditional tool for applying critical thinking skills to a specific dilemma (Beauchamp &; Childress, 2001 Beauchamp, T. L. and Childress, J. F. 2001. Principles of biomedical ethics, 5th, New York: Oxford University Press.  [Google Scholar]). It allows for personal reflection and clarification of an individual's conceptual framework for deciding what is and is not ethical behavior. However, it also affords the student distance from the story line and may, through providing a retrospective critique, prevent sufficient challenge to the student to articulate and defend personal value assessments in addressing the ethical dynamics reflected in the case. Providing teaching exercises that encourage the creation of language to form that conceptual framework and a comfort in using that language allows the student to not only identify ethical issues but also recognize and more effectively communicate the struggles with molding a personal values portrait to apply to such cases.     

The debate on the yan-yi relation in Chinese philosophy: Reconstruction and comments

The debate on the yan-yi relation was carried out by Chinese philosophers collectively, and the principles and methods in the debate still belong to a living tradition of Chinese philosophy. From Yijing (Book of Changes), Lunyu (Analects), Laozi and Zhuangzi to Wang Bi, “yi” which cannot be expressed fully by yan (language), is not only “idea” or “meaning” in the human mind, but is also some kind of ontological existence, which is beyond yan and emblematic symbols, and unspeakable. Thus, the debate on the yan-yi relation refers firstly to metaphysics, secondly to moral philosophy, and then to epistemology and philosophy of language. Guided by this view, this paper recalls the source of the debate on the yan-yi relation to Yijing and Lunyu, distinguishes four meanings of “yi” in Chinese philosophy, and reconstructs three arguments. These arguments are the “yan cannot express yi fully” argument, “forget yan once you get yi” argument, and “yan can express yi fully” argument. Finally, this paper exposes and comments on those principles, methods and the general tendency shown in the debate from the following five aspects: starting point, value-preference, methodology, texts (papers and books), and influences. __________ Translated from Jianghai Xuekan 江海学刊 (Jianghai Academic Studies), 2005 (3)     

A longitudinal study of school adjustment in urban,minority adolescents: Effects of a high school transition program

Described an intervention program designed to prepare elementary school (K-8) eighth-grade students for their transition to high school the following year. Participants in the study were 145, predominantly Hispanic, inner-city public school adolescents. The experimental group received an augmented condition, consisting of Education and Peer Support Components. The control group received a minimal condition consisting of only the Education Component. While no group effects were observed, time effects indicated experimental and control students' improved perceptions of school readiness, but deteriorated perceptions of support from both home and school and diminished grade-point averages and attendance. Time effects also revealed variable changes in school perceptions. Findings are discussed in terms of a developmental perspective of the school transition process. Implications for high school transition programming with the target population and directions for future research are also addressed.     

The New Rhetoric’s Inheritance. Argumentation and Discourse Analysis

This paper aims at showing how the New Rhetoric’s insights allow for an integration of argumentation studies in linguistic investigation, and more specifically in discourse analysis. Claiming that argumentativity is a constitutive feature of discourse, it endeavors to explore logos as both reason and language by analyzing patterns of reasoning in their discursive actualization. In this approach, the attempt at influencing the audience’s representations is analyzed in the complexity of a discourse explored in its formal and socio-institutional dimensions.

大学生学校认同对责任感的影响:自尊的中介作用

为探讨大学生学校认同对责任感的影响及其机制,本研究采用问卷调查与实验相结合的方法,通过系列研究揭示二者之间的相关与因果关系,并检验了集体自尊和个体自尊的中介效应。结果发现:(1)大学生学校认同对其责任感具有显著的正向影响;(2)集体自尊在大学生学校认同对责任感的影响中发挥完全中介作用,而个体自尊无显著中介效应。这表明大学生学校认同通过形成集体自尊而提升其责任感。