How to become an idealist: Fichte on the transition from dogmatism to idealism

In Religion Within the Boundaries of Mere Reason, Kant claims that all human beings are originally and radically evil: they choose to adopt a ‘supreme maxim’ that gives preference to sensibility over the moral law. Because Kant thinks that all agents have a duty to develop good character, part of his task in the Religion is to explain how moral conversion is possible. Four years after Kant publishes the Religion, J. G. Fichte takes up the issue of conversion in slightly different terms: he is interested in how people he characterizes as ‘dogmatists’ (those who minimize or deny their status as free agents) become ‘idealist’ (those who recognize and exercise their freedom). Against recent interpreters, I argue that Fichte characterizes the choice to convert from dogmatism to idealism as one that is grounded in a non-rational choice. Along the way, I consider Daniel Breazeale and Allen Wood’s recent arguments to the contrary, alternative accounts of what it might mean for a conversion to count as ‘rational’, and how well my conclusion harmonizes with Fichte’s views on education.     

The ‘transition’ from Feuerbach to Marx: A re-interpretation

Studies in East European Thought -     

A transition of Chinese humanism and aesthetics from rationalism to irrationalism

Chinese people attach importance to intuition and imagery in ways of thinking that are quite sensible, but the result, i.e. the thoughts that are popularized in virtue of political power, are rather rational. These rational thoughts, which were influenced by Buddhism and continually became introspective, had been growing more irrational factors. Up to the middle and late Ming Dynasty, when the economy was developed, they merged with the growing emphasis on daily needs of food and clothes and the envisagement to the utilitarian circumstances, and finally broke through the threshold of rationalism. Under the attack of Geng Dingxiang, Li Zhi who emphasized these thoughts was forced beyond his previous boundaries and led a whole variation in how he viewed a series of issues including values, humanity, ethics and aesthetics. This indicated a historical change from rationalism to irrationalism in Chinese humanism and aesthetics thoughts. Translated by Huang Deyuan from Xueshu Yuekan 学术月刊 (Academic Monthly), 2006, (11): 103–112     

The transition from therapist to executive coach

A growing number of clinicians are making the transition from therapist to executive coach. High-powered executives are exceptionally receptive to the very straightforward and pragmatic approach of REBT. However, to be successful, even a REBT trained clinician had best adapt his approach to the executive client. The primary focus needs to be on more effective and efficient job performance, not on helping the client feel better. Although these executives believe many of the same irrational beliefs as one’s clinical clients, the REBT coach can effectively illustrate how each of these beliefs contributes to specific job related problems which the executive had best resolve. Teaching executives to challenge their ideas, then assigning work-related action plans, usually results in enhanced performance, which convinces even skeptical executives that coaching is a useful endeavor. Coaching has an advantage over therapy in that the coach can observe their client in numerous work situations (meetings, presentations, performance reviews) and give constructive feedback, and actually monitor additional progress. It is an exciting field that many clinicians find extremely challenging and stimulating. Dr. William D. Criddle, MBA is a managerial psychologist and executive coach in independent practice, based in Seattle, WA, USA. He is a Fellow of the Albert Ellis Institute in New York City.     

The transition from synchronization to continuation tapping

The present study examined changes in timing at the transition from synchronization to continuation tapping and the role played by knowledge of the transition. Three experiments employed a pseudo-synchronization paradigm: At the transition, the pacing tones were replaced by identical feedback tones. In Experiment 1, participants were not informed when the transition would occur. Immediately following the transition, an acceleration of tapping was observed. In Experiment 2, participants were informed about the exact position of the transition, which was in addition marked by a pitch change. Nonetheless, the same acceleration occurred. Experiment 3 dissociated the actual from the expected position of the transition, without changing the results. In addition, the delay of the feedback tones was manipulated and was found to affect the rate of tapping in the continuation phase. A single delayed tone at the transition had no lasting effect, however. The results are interpreted in light of the synchronization-continuation model of Vorberg and Wing [Vorberg, D., & Wing, A. (1996). Modelling variability and dependence in timing. In H. Heuer, & S. W. Keele (Eds.), Handbook of perception and action, Vol. 2 (pp. 181-262). San Diego: Academic Press], with the added assumption that the synchronization tapping strategy is maintained in the continuation phase.     

Job orientations and the transition from school to work: A longitudinal study

This paper is concerned with the factors that influence career choice, job stability and job satisfaction. It uses longitudinal data collected from 450 grammar and secondary-modern schoolboys interviewed at ages 14 and 25 years. Examining job expectations at age 14 and initial career choice, it finds that school plays a major role, its importance deriving from structural rather than idiosyncratic considerations. Home, personal and chance factors are less important, mattering more in the case of secondary-modern than grammar pupils: they make their maximum impact at critical choice points when the school's influence is relatively weak. In adult life, the occupational structure takes over the role of school, job stability and satisfaction being largely associated with the training and career opportunities offered by particular jobs. An attempt is made throughout to identify the crucial periods and critical choice points where good counselling might make maximum impact.     

Spacing and the transition from calculation to retrieval

Many arithmetic problems can be solved in two ways—by a calculation involving several steps and by direct retrieval of the answer. With practice on particular problems, memory retrieval tends to supplant calculation—an important aspect of skill learning. We asked how the distribution of practice on particular problems affects this kind of learning. In two experiments, subjects repeatedly worked through sets of multiple-digit multiplication problems. The size of the trained problem set was varied. Using a smaller set size (with shorter average time between problem repetitions) showed faster responses and an earlier transition to retrieval during training. However, in a test session presented days later, the pattern reversed, with faster responses and more retrieval for the large set size. Evidently, maximizing the occurrence of direct retrieval within training is not the best way to promote learning to retrieve the answer. Practical implications are discussed.     

Regions of response transition of color-coded retinal units and an attempted,analogy to behavioral response transition

Electrophysiological responses obtained from single color-coded red-green ganglion ceils of the goldfish retina were analyzed in terms of the spectral region within which response transitions occur. The data showed that criteria for response transitions can be characterized by a frequency change with the stipulation that the same number of “on” and “off” spikes occur to the same wavelength(s). The overall spectral band within which response transition occurs is 570–620 nm. The physiological response ranges were compared to psychophysical unique-yellow responses and other “yellow” judgments. The former were displaced towards the longer wavelengths as predicted by the different pigment peaks. The response characteristics of sharp boundaries and relative invariance with intensity changes provided the basis of an analogy of the two response systems.     

Realism in energy transition processes: an example from Bohmian quantum mechanics

In this paper we study in details a system of two weakly coupled harmonic oscillators from the point of view of Bohm’s interpretation of quantum mechanics. This system may be viewed as a simple model for the interaction between a photon and a photodetector. We obtain exact solutions for the general case. We then compute approximate solutions for the case where one oscillator is initially in its first excited state (a single photon) reaching the other oscillator in its ground state (the photodetector). The approximate solutions represent the state of both oscillators after the interaction, which is not an eigenstate of the individual hamiltonians for each oscillator, and therefore the energies for each oscillator do not exist in the Copenhagen interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. We use the approximate solutions that we obtained to compute Bohmian trajectories and to study the energy transfer between the oscillators. We conclude that, even using the Bohmian view, the energy of each individual oscillator is not well defined, as the nonlocal quantum potential is not negligible even after the coupling is turned off.     

Marcella: the transition from explosive sensoriality to the ability to think

The author discusses an analytic case in which it was necessary to first address the patient's need for containment of her protoemotions--her sensoriality--before the analysis could proceed along more standard lines, with interpretation of the transference, work on displacement and aspects of her childhood history, and so forth. Prior to treatment, the patient had resorted to a sort of affective autism in order not to experience dangerously overwhelming emotions, and her emotional lethargy in sessions at first engendered similar feelings in the analyst, making progress impossible until a container was established for her projective identifications.     

The transition from school to work: An organisational approach

The thinking which has been done on the development of the self-concept as a factor in careers guidance is now being supplemented by thinking about the contexts within which young people develop these self-concepts. Adults who engage in guidance and counselling need to understand what they do against the background not only of the class origins of their students but also of the organisational settings which are relevant to their work. The different assumptions lying behind the organisations of schools and work-places are of critical importance. If those providing careers guidance do not understand some of these differences, the advice they give may be more confusing than supportive: rather than helping, it may handicap young people who are trying to be creative and responsible for themselves. Drawing on research done by the Grubb Institute, this paper outlines some key points about the organisation of schools and firms which can be taken into account by teachers, employers or careers officers seeking to advise young people in transition. These are: the different kinds of groups found in work and in school, especially in terms of size, stability and behaviour; the related assumptions about authority and leadership found in each; and the effect of these upon each individual's relationship with the organisation to which he belongs. Some suggestions are made about courses of action implied by the findings discussed in the paper, including implications for the role of the careers teacher.     

Behavioral risks during the transition from high school to college

The transition from high school to college is an important developmental milestone that holds the potential for personal growth and behavioral change. A cohort of 2,245 students was recruited during the summer before they matriculated into college and completed Internet-based surveys about their participation in a variety of behavioral risks during the last 3 months of high school and throughout the 1st year of college. Alcohol use, marijuana use, and sex with multiple partners increased during the transition from high school to college, whereas driving after drinking, aggression, and property crimes decreased. Those from rural high schools and those who elected to live in private dormitories in college were at highest risk for heavy drinking and driving after drinking.     

Students' experience of the transition from school to tertiary college

The experiences of a group of students as they transferred from school to tertiary college at 16 were investigated. A number of issues are highlighted in relation to the transition period. In particular, a distinction is drawn between the curriculum-related aspects and the personal/social aspects of the students' concerns. Implications of the research findings for both policy and practice in post-16 education are discussed in the context of a recent HMI Report on the pastoral curriculum for the 13-19 age-group     

A simple electrode to record fetal EEG for optimal signal analysis

A simple EEG electrode for Intrauterine use In the human fetus is described. The stainless steel screw electrode possesses low noise characteristics, is constructed from commercially available material, and is easily attached to the fetal head during labor. Principles of optical signal analysis as an improved method of spectral analysis of the fetal EEG are also presented. The optical system provides visual display and hard copy output of the fetal EEG.     

the transition from school to vocational education and training: a theoretical model and transition support program

This study developed a theoretical model of the school‐to‐work transition and evaluated the effects of a transition support program designed to prepare compulsory school graduates to enter the Swiss dual vocational education and training system. A 13‐session program was designed to improve teenagers' views toward the world of work and enable them to sharpen their interpersonal skills. The intervention's effects were assessed through interviews with participants at the program's completion and 1 year later and with participants' teachers. Findings showed that participants improved their readiness to face the world of work. Implications for future research and programs are discussed.     

Income and support during transition from a military to civilian career

This study examined experienced military members (N= 136, average age 51 years) transitioning to a 2nd occupation, specifically K–12 teaching, and revealed correlations between the length of their transition to both perceived support and income. Perceived support from family and friends had a small, positive correlation with transition time (r= .31), while income had a small, negative correlation with transition time (r=?.28). The Career Transitions Inventory ( Heppner, 1991 ), the Satisfaction with Life Scale ( Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985 ), demographic questions, and open‐ended questions were used. Implications for career counselors working with transitioning military members are discussed, along with future implications for research and practice.