SPACE AND TIME FROM A NEO‐WHITEHEADIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russell Stannard distinguishes between objective time as measured in theoretical physics and subjective time, or time as experienced by human beings in normal consciousness. Because objective time, or four‐dimensional space‐time for the physicist, does not change but exists all at once, Stannard argues that this is presumably how God views time from eternity which is beyond time. We human beings are limited to experiencing the moments of time successively and thus cannot know the future as already existing in the same way that God does. I argue that Stannard is basically correct in his theological assumptions about God's understanding of time but that his explanation would be more persuasive within the context of a neo‐Whiteheadian metaphysics. The key points in that metaphysics are (1) that creation is contained within the structured field of activity proper to the three divine persons of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and (2) that the spontaneous decisions of creatures are continually ordered and reordered into an ever‐expanding totality already known in its fullness by the divine persons.     

ETERNITY,TIME, AND SPACE

Abstract. The concepts of space and time are important in physics and geometry, but their definition is not the exclusive prerogative of those sciences. Space and time are important for ordinary human experience, as well as for philosophy and theology. Samuel Clarke, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Isaac Newton, Immanuel Kant, and Albert Einstein are important figures in shaping our understandings of space, time, and eternity. The author subjects their arguments to critical examination. Space is neither an infinite and empty receptacle (Newton) nor a system of relations in the mind (Leibniz). Infinite space and time can be interpreted as expressing God's eternity and omnipresence in relating to the creation (Clarke), but such an interpretation is enhanced by Kant's thinking, to clarify that even though time and space are differentiated in individual events, the whole is at the same time present. Even human experience recognizes this wholeness, and for God eternity is the simultaneous presence and possession of the wholeness. The temporal existence of finite entities is also related to a future participation in God's eternal life. Concepts of contingency are brought into the discussion as well.     

SPACE,TIME, AND CAUSALITY

The characters of space, time, and causality are issues that are constrained by physics but that require also acts of metaphysical decision. Relativity theory is consistent both with the idea of an a temporal block universe and with a temporal universe of true becoming. Science's account of causal properties is patchy and does not imply the closure of the universe to other forms of causal influence. Intrinsic unpredictabilities offer opportunities for metaphysical conjecture concerning the form that such additional causal principles might take. Different theological understandings of how God relates to time afford legitimate criteria for differing metaphysical decisions about the nature of temporality.     

以跨越时空的崭新目光来审视--儒家视角中的欧洲

我的首次观光之旅最有价值的发现在于,中世纪欧洲是基督教世界的中心,基督教是西方的标志。我惊讶地发现,欧洲展示了许多过去的东西,而这种经历是我过去在美国做学生或是当经济学教授时从未有过的。当目光瞥及西方时,我发觉自己对儒家文明有了新的认识,同时意识到自己尽管出生在朝鲜的一个长老会教家庭,但在很大程度上仍是属于儒家的———毕竟,当时朝鲜是一个最尊崇儒家的国家。首次旅行之后对西方所产生的好奇之心,使我一有闲暇便游历欧洲,去寻找西方的意义。在欧洲旅行时,我的思绪常常跳回到早年在朝鲜和日本的岁月。令我吃惊的是,中世纪…     

ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHENOMENAL SPACE AND PHENOMENAL VELOCITY

The hypothesis that changing the phenomenal distance traversed by a moving spot, while keeping the physical distance constant, should affect the phenomenal velocity in a like direction was tested by having the stimulus motion path bounded by Müller-Lyer figures. It was found that while these affected motion path length judgements in the same direction as static length judgements, they did not have a corresponding effect on velocity judgements. The Müller-Lyer figure producing a decreased length judgement was actually found to increase velocity judgements. Two possible explanations of this result were tested and the conclusion drawn that this increase could be due to the enclosing nature of the Müller-Lyer figure in question.     

A REAPPRAISAL OF LEIBNIZ'S VIEWS ON SPACE, TIME, AND MOTION

Leibniz has been widely praised for maintaining against the Newtonians of his day the view that space and time are relative. At the same time, he has been roundly criticized for allowing that we can distinguish absolute from merely relative motion. This distribution of applause and criticism, I will argue, is in a measure unjustified. For on the one hand, those arguments, found in his correspondence with Clarke, by which Leibniz seeks to reject the view that space and time are "something absolute" are for the most part unsatisfactory, and on the other hand, Leibniz was not so naive as his critics have supposed in allowing absolute motions. Sections I - V of this essay will be concerned with the former issue; Leibniz's views on motion will be taken up in Section VI. The chief interest in all of this for present-day philosophers may lie, not so much in the historical issues concerning Leibniz and the Newtonians, but in a meta-philosophical question which inevitably arises from the historical issues, namely, the question whether developments in science can undermine the soundness of philosophical arguments which appeal to ordinary usage.     

COLOR SPACE OF NORMALLY SIGHTED AND COLOR-DEFICIENT OBSERVERS RECONSTRUCTED FROM COLOR NAMING

Abstract— An experimental procedure based an the color-naming method introduced by Boynton, Schafer, and Neun (1964) was used to study the color appearance of equilumtnant spectral stimuli in observers with congenital red-green color deficiencies, as well as in normal trichromats. Subjects' responses (choice of one or more labels from the set red, yellow, green, blue, and white) were converted to numeric scores, which were used to estimate subjective difference between pairs of colors Individual subjects' matrices were processed by means of multidimensional scaling. As in the direct rating of color dissimilarities in normal trichromats. (Sokolov & Izmatlov, 1983), and color-deficient observers (Paramei Izmailov, & Sokolov, 1991), these indirectly obtained measures yielded a color space in which three dimensions appear to be necessary and sufficient. The dimensions are interpreted as evidence for red-green, Mae-yellow, and achromatic (saturation) sub-systems. Based on the color-naming technique, three-dimensional spaces were reconstructed for the color-deficient observers. These results were compared with those obtained by Helm (1964). It is argued that retaining more than one (blue-yellow) dimension in the color spaces of such observers provider additional information indicating preservation of residual red-green discrimination accompanied by finer discrimination of chroma than in normal trichromats. The spherical model of color discrimination developed for normal trichromats (lzmailov & Sokolov, 1991) is shown to be valid for color-deficient subjects as well and may be useful as a framework for differentiating proton and deutan types of color deficiency. Color-naming functions, which seem not to reveal a differentiation between protans and deutans, provide results form which this differentiation can be extracted in reconstructed color spaces.     

SCALING THE EPISODIC FAMILIARITIES OF PICTURES AND WORDS

Abstract— Most current memory theories assume that judgments of past occurrence are based on a unidimensional familiarity signal In a test of this hypothesis, subjects studied mixed lists of pictures and words that occurred up to three times each They then were given two tests a forced-choice frequency discrimination test including all pairs of conditions (e g., picture seen twice vs word never seen) and a numerical frequency judgment test on individual items Forced-choice proportions for all pairings (picture-picture, word-word, and picture-word) were well fit by a one-dimensional scaling solution, suggesting a common basis of recognition and frequency judgments for both pictures and words Both forced-choice and numerical judgment data indicated that familiarities of pictures started lower than those of words but increased more rapidly with repetition Results are discussed in connection with the distinction between familiarity and recall, and the possible role of rescaling in the mirror effect.     

SUCCESSIVE INTERVALS SCALING WITH UNEQUAL VARIANCES AND COVARIANCES

The paper describes a solution for scale values in successive intervals scaling which does not assume equal covariances and variances. A more restrictive distribution assumption is made, however. Advantages and disadvantages of the method are discussed in relation to the two available conventional scaling techniques for scaling with unequal variances.     

A FURTHER STUDY OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT SCALING METHODS

The direct method of ratio estimation and the indirect method of pair comparisons were used to construct scales of the political importance of eleven Swedish monarchs. The scale from pair comparisons on the assumption of Case V was a logarithmic transformation of the ratio estimation scale. This is in line with the results obtained in several previous studies.     

语音与词义激活的相对时间进程:来自儿童发展的证据

本研究从儿童语言发展的角度．在已有研究基础上．进一步考察了汉语视觉字词加工中语音与词义激活的相对时间进程。运用启动命名技术,比较了三年级和六年级儿童在语音和语义启动中的表现。结果发现,三年级和六年级儿童都有语音和语义启动效应,且六年级儿童更为显著。但语义启动和同音启动的促进效应之间没有差异,而同音不同声调启动则可能产生抑制作用。文章探讨了这些发现对汉语视觉字词加工中词义信息提取不同观点的含义。     

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN ESTIMATES OF CONTENT AND CRITERION-RELATED VALIDITY VALUES

The correspondence between inferences made using two validation strategies–content and criterion-related–were examined in a specific personnel selection application. Empirical validity values and Law-she's (1975) content validity ratios (CVR) were obtained for items from three structured interview guides used in the selection of insurance agents. Ratings of each item by over 300 field managers were used to calculate the CVR values. Statistically significant, yet modest correlations were found between empirical item validities and content validities for an interview guide used to select applicants with prior insurance sales experience. No significant differences were found among these correlations by comparing job experts of different levels of managerial experience and experience in selection. Data for the interview guide used to select experienced applicants also indicated that a content validity approach can be useful in developing a selection instrument with an empirically valid composite rating. The hypotheses were not confirmed for interview guides used to select applicants with no prior insurance sales experience. The practical importance of these results are discussed, as are plans for future research.     

MULTIDIMENSIONAL RATIO SCALING AND MULTIDIMENSIONAL SIMILARITY OF SIMPLE GEOMETRIC FIGURES

The special case of purely qualitative multidimensional similarity was studied in four experiments concerned with simple geometric figures. A previously proposed equation did not describe the relation between subjective similarity and angular separation of the percept vectors. Factor analyses indicate that in the 'homogeneous' experiments (with parallelogram figures) there were two pairs of inversely related subjective attributes which vary as a function of the difference between the horizontal and vertical axes of the parallelogram, and that in the 'heterogeneous' experiments (different figures) there were four main independent subjective attributes.