Sisyphus,happiness and transcendence

What is the relation between transcendence and happiness? What type of transcendence can still be part of the concept happiness in our modern age? To answer these questions, I analyse the myth of Sisyphus from the existentialist perspective of Albert Camus, and investigate whether Sisyphus is (or can be) ‘truly’ happy and what role transcendence plays in this kind of happiness. This prompts a question about the relation between the concepts transcendence, meaning of life, and happiness. Taking Sisyphus as an exemplar, I argue that, although our contemporary culture has a flattening tendency regarding transcendence, various types of transcendence remain inextricably related to happiness.     

Comparing Idiothetic, Ipsative, and Normative Indices of Consistency

ABSTRACT Lamiell's (1981) “idiothetic” index has been praised for raising significant conceptual and methodological issues, but Paunonen and Jackson (1986a) indicated that it might not provide any unique information The current study demonstrates that the unique value of the idiothetic index relative to the ipsative, normative, and normative-ipsative indices is dependent in part upon what information is collected and how it is analyzed Subjects completed inventories on three occasions that assessed seven dispositional variables Interindividual analyses indicated a high correlation between the idiothetic method and two of the other models, whereas intra-individual analyses indicated a much lower degree of correlation Intra-individual analyses indicated that the idiothetic method produced higher temporal stability coefficients The idiothetic index provides information not contained in a normative index and it may be more useful to personality researchers for the assessment of temporal stability and for the assessment of traits with extreme base rates     

Self-Ratings of Personality: A Naturalistic Comparison of Normative, Ipsative, and Idiothetic Standards

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to examine some of the implicit standards that individuals may use when they rate themselves on personality dimensions Specifically, we compared ratings based on instructions that specified normative, ipsative, or idiothetic creteria with ratings obtained when subjects used their own (implicit) standards In a series of three studies, we found that each of the explicit ratings was highly similar to the implicit-standard ratings and that there were substantial individual differences in the relative similarity of each of the explicit ratings to the implicit ratings However, because the normative instructions elicited less extreme responses than any of the other instructions, there was a small but consistent tendency for them to be less similar to the ratings based on implicit standards than the ipsative or idiothetic ratings The implications of this research for personality assessment and self-evaluation are discussed     

The game of inquiry: the interrogative approach to inquiry and belief revision theory

I. Levi has advocated a decision-theoretic account of belief revision. We argue that the game-theoretic framework of Interrogative Inquiry Games, proposed by J. Hintikka, can extend and clarify this account. We show that some strategic use of the game rules (or ‘policies’) generate Expansions, Contractions and Revisions, and we give representation results. We then extend the framework to represent explicitly (multiple) sources of answers, and apply it to discuss the Recovery Postulate. We conclude with some remarks about the potential extensions of interrogative games, with respect to some issues in the theory of belief change.     

On the possibility of contextual-quantitative inquiry

The potential contributions of quantitative methods are rarely discussed in the qualitative research and theoretical literatures in psychology. However, it is possible that some forms of quantitative research can fit theoretically within an interpretive framework and provide useful methodological resources for contextual, interpretive inquiries. Such research, which would examine dynamic modes of existence and lived experience in context, would extend more flexible and diverse methodological resources to researchers. This article describes how some types of quantitative research can perform this function and suggests several caveats regarding their use.     

Computers in the training of inquiry

The era of microprocessors provides an opportunity for examination and restructuring of university-level education in psychology. Computers may aid in the development of environments based upon sustained and deepening inquiry on the part of students from their earliest contact with psychology. We have been developing a computerized system for the exercise of skills in psychological inquiry appropriate both as a teaching tool for beginning undergraduates and for the research of permanent and visiting professors. In this paper we discuss our philosophy, some aspects of the organizational and human factors problems involved, and issues of hardware and software design.     

Supporting development of the epistemology of inquiry

A sixth-grade class investigated the ecologies of two local retention ponds over the course of one school year. In this context, instruction assisted development as students designed models of the pond in one-gallon jars and attempted to stabilize these jars in sustainable ecosystems that could be used to study questions about the ponds. Unintended outcomes (e.g., algal blooms, bacteria colonies) became opportunities to learn how aquatic systems function. Efforts to model aquatic functioning were complemented by weekly research meetings that served as a forum for conjecture and test of relations between evidence and questions. At the end of the year students responded to individual interviews about their understandings of ecology and research design, along with their beliefs about the epistemology of inquiry. Results suggest that participation in carefully crafted, extended investigations transformed students’ views of the goals and purposes of inquiry and of the nature of science.     

无穷探索与终极答案——从两个有神论兼无神论的小故事看科学与神学的区别

科学承认人类还有很多未知领域,神学才宣称所有问题皆已有答案。科学只给出目前可以验证的答案,对尚验证不了答案的问题继续进行探索;而神学则认为自己给出的是最终的答案,不需要继续探究。用了神学方法,任何动脑筋的事情都可以省了。     

Relevant consequence and empirical inquiry

A criterion of adequacy is proposed for theories of relevant consequence. According to the criterion, scientists whose deductive reasoning is limited to some proposed subset of the standard consequence relation must not thereby suffer a reduction in scientific competence. A simple theory of relevant consequence is introduced and shown to satisfy the criterion with respect to a formally defined paradigm of empirical inquiry.Research support was provided by the Office of Naval Research under contract No. N00014-89-J-1725 to Osherson and Weinstein, Swiss National Science Foundation under contract No. 21-32399.91 and by a Siemens Corporation grant to Osherson.     

Synergic inquiry and evolution of consciousness

Challenged by overwhelming social and ecological problems and crises, a new alternative that re‐explains the world is called for to transform human consciousness. The author argues that an alternative should meet the following criteria: (1) corresponding to the total reality, (2) contributing evolution of consciousness, and (3) coming with an adequate action methodology. Based on an understanding of the coherent patterns—the processes of differentiation and integration—through which the universe evolves, the Synergy Principle of the universe is established. Dimensionality of consciousness—the visible, logical, and mythical—is also presented. Further, the Synergic Inquiry methodology designed to guide human action work for consciousness transformation at various levels of human systems is developed. Finally a few levels of synergy are also discussed.     

Genetic inquiry and ideological thought

It is customary to apply the term “ideology” to political statements and statements about politics believed to be saturated with irrational elements. Since more often than not it is applied to the political science and policies of parties of the extreme, one may suspect that this usage is itself colored by political interests. However, “ideology” can be redefined at the level of a meta‐science that reduces, though it cannot altogether eliminate, the partisan function of language about politics. Ideological thinking can then be shown to involve a logical error that is the counterpart of the genetic fallacy. Surprisingly, in this usage liberal political science, or that with liberal preconceptions, is a more frequent offender against the logic of science than a science of politics with illiberal preconceptions.     

An inquiry into the problem of evil

Paper presented as the invited keynote address at the Society of Clinical Psychologists of Chile Annual Conference, Santiago, Chile, November, 1992.