Explanatory Exclusion and Causal Exclusion

Given Kim’s principle of explanatory exclusion (EE), it follows that in addition to the problem of mental causation, dualism faces a problem of mental explanation. However, the plausibility of EE rests upon the acceptance of a further principle concerning the individuation of explanation (EI). The two methods of defending EI—either by combining an internal account of the individuation of explanation with a semantical account of properties or by accepting an external account of the individuation of explanation—are both metaphysically implausible. This is not, however, to reject the problem of mental explanation, for EE can be replaced with a far weaker principle, which does not require the acceptance of EI, but which generates a similar problem for dualism.

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Keeping Out Extremists: Refugees,Would-Be Immigrants,and Ideological Exclusion

Many people want to live in liberal democracies because they are liberal and democratic. Yet it would be mistaken, indeed naïve, to assume that this applies to all would-be residents. Just as some inhabitants of liberal democracies oppose one or more fundamental liberal-democratic values and principles (e.g. the rule of law, freedoms of conscience and speech, rights to private property and to political participation), so there are foreign would-be residents who do so, who might include individuals with e.g. Jihadist, Neo-Nazi, and radical anarchist views. Proceeding on the assumption that there exists no unconditional moral right to immigrate, this article asks whether it is ever morally permissible for liberal democracies to deny residence to nonnationals based on evidence that they personally hold extremist views. I argue that this is sometimes the case. Specifically, my contention is that even if we adopt a cosmopolitan perspective on which states are not allowed to prioritise the interests of their own citizens and residents over those of foreign nonresidents, there are two conditions under which such exclusions are justified even when refugees are being refused admission (although, as I suggest, states might be morally required in such cases to admit other refugees instead).     

Exclusion,intergroup hostility,and religious fundamentalism

The goal of the present study was to examine whether exclusion leads to increased intergroup hostility and stronger fundamentalist religious beliefs. Using Cyberball, we examined how adolescents from different ethnic groups in the Netherlands (of Moroccan, Turkish, and Dutch descent with either Muslim, Christian, or secular beliefs) responded to being included or excluded by ethnic in- and outgroup members. We expected that exclusion by ethnic outgroup members would represent a categorization threat and would result in greater hostility. We hypothesized that exclusion by ethnic ingroup members would represent an acceptance threat and would result in responses that reduce uncertainty and increase one's chances of being accepted by others (e.g., a stronger endorsement of fundamentalist religious beliefs). The results revealed that among all ethnic groups, exclusion by ethnic outgroup members led to more hostility toward the co-players and the co-players' ethnic group than exclusion by ethnic ingroup members. This was mediated by the extent to which people attributed their exclusion to the racist attitudes of their co-players. Among Muslims and Christians, exclusion by ethnic ingroup members led to more support for fundamentalist beliefs. We discuss the theoretical extension that these results provide, and practical issues raised regarding the consequences that may occur through the marginalization of religious and ethnic groups.     

Intrafamily Aggression in Turkey: Frequency,Instigation, and Acceptance

Abstract

The present study was designed (a) to determine the frequency of aggression within different pairs of family members, (b) to define actions that may be construed as instigations of intrafamily aggression when committed by different members of the family, and (c) to investigate acceptance rates for different types of aggression from and toward different family members as reactions to different instigations. Questionnaires were administered verbally to 185 Turkish men and women between the ages of 14 and 75. The reported frequency of aggression was highest in mother-child relationships. Reported frequencies were higher for milder acts of aggression than for harsher acts. Content analyses of definitions of different actions that could be construed as instigations for aggression varied, depending on the person performing the act. Variations were consistent with power differences within the family and with gender stereotypes. The acceptance rate for intrafamily aggression was higher for verbal than for physical aggression and showed variations, depending on the nature of the instigation. Discussion focused on the relationship between intrafamily aggression and control.     

Acceptance and commitment therapy: model, processes and outcomes

The present article presents and reviews the model of psychopathology and treatment underlying Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is unusual in that it is linked to a comprehensive active basic research program on the nature of human language and cognition (Relational Frame Theory), echoing back to an earlier era of behavior therapy in which clinical treatments were consciously based on basic behavioral principles. The evidence from correlational, component, process of change, and outcome comparisons relevant to the model are broadly supportive, but the literature is not mature and many questions have not yet been examined. What evidence is available suggests that ACT works through different processes than active treatment comparisons, including traditional Cognitive-Behavior Therapy (CBT). There are not enough well-controlled studies to conclude that ACT is generally more effective than other active treatments across the range of problems examined, but so far the data are promising.     

Exclusion,still not tracted

Karen Bennett has recently articulated and defended a “compatibilist” solution to the causal exclusion problem. Bennett’s solution works by rejecting the exclusion principle on the grounds that even though physical realizers are distinct from the mental states or properties that they realize, they necessarily co-occur such that they fail to satisfy standard accounts of causal over-determination. This is the case, Bennett argues, because the causal background conditions for core realizers being sufficient causes of their effects are identical to the “surround” conditions with which the core realizers are metaphysically sufficient the states or properties that they realize. Here we demonstrate that the background conditions for the causal sufficiency of core realizers for their effects are not identical to the core realizer’s surrounds, nor do backgrounds necessitate such surround conditions. If compatibilist solutions to exclusion can be defended, a different argument will be needed.     

Construal Level and Social Exclusion: Concrete Thinking Impedes Recovery From Social Exclusion

Social exclusion is a painful experience. Recent research has shown, however, that coping with exclusion can be facilitated by favorable conditions. In the current research, we investigated whether construal level affects recovery from social exclusion. We hypothesized that an abstract vs. concrete mindset would moderate coping with exclusion. Indeed, lower compared to higher concrete thinking (Study 1) and abstract compared to concrete thinking (Study 2) bolstered the basic need of belonging when excluded. Priming of abstract thinking, moreover, increased participants’ sense of belonging both in response to exclusion and inclusion relative to no priming (Study 3). Our results are the first to establish a relationship between construal level and social exclusion, thereby suggesting an alleviating “abstraction discount” effect for the consequences of social exclusion.     

Causal Closure,Causal Exclusion,and Supervenience Physicalism

This article considers the recent defense of the supervenience approach to physicalism due to Jaegwon Kim. Kim argues that supervenience supports physical causal closure, and that causal closure supports physicalism – indeed, a kind of reductive physicalism – and thus that supervenience suffices for physicalism. After laying out Kim's argument, I ask whether its success would truly vindicate the role of supervenience in defining physicalist positions. I argue that it would not, and that insofar as Kim's defense of supervenience physicalism succeeds, it does so by showing that supervenience physicalism is not a unique, nonredundant way to be a physicalist.     

Acceptance, inference, and the multiple-conclusion sequent

This paper offers an interpretation of multiple-conclusion sequents as a kind of meta-inference rule: just as single-conclusion sequents represent inferences from sentences to sentences, so multiple-conclusion sequents represent a certain kind of inference from single-conclusion sequents to single-conclusion sequents. The semantics renders sound and complete the standard structural rules of reflexivity, monotonicity (or thinning), and transitivity (or cut). The paper is not the first one to attempt to account for multiple-conclusion sequents without invoking notions of truth or falsity??but unlike earlier such efforts, which have typically helped themselves to primitive notions of both acceptance and rejection, the present one makes do with the former alone. For technical reasons, the treatment is limited to sequents with non-empty succedents.     

Hegal's Internationalism: World History and Exclusion

Philosophies sometimes claim international authority by claiming to be the expression of rationality that is universal in character or validity. This paper attacks Hegel's internationalism of universal spirit and world history for unjustly excluding the philosophical value of non-European cultures and races: Africans, Asians, Arabs, Jews, and Native Americans. Hegel's Eurocentric internationalism also displays a particularly strong nationalist pride in German philosophical superiority. One cannot simply excuse the prejudices of Hegel's historical context for his exclusionary attitudes. For Hegel's contemporary Goethe displayed a more truly international spirit in his inclusionary concept of world literature.     

Producing Solidarity,Inequality and Exclusion Through Insurance

Res Publica - The article presents two main arguments. First, we claim that in contemporary societies, insurance enacts peculiar kinds of solidarities as well as inequality and exclusion....     

Acceptance, avoidance, and ambiguity: conflicting social values about childhood disability

Advances in medical technology now permit children who need ventilator assistance to live at home rather than in hospitals or institutions. What does this ventilator-dependent life mean to children and their families? The impetus for this essay comes from a study of the moral experience of 12 Canadian families--parents, ventilator-dependent child, and well siblings. These families express great love for their children, take on enormous responsibilities for care, live with uncertainty, and attempt to create "normal" home environments. Nevertheless, they experience social isolation, sometimes even from their extended families and health care providers. Their lives are constrained in many ways. The challenges faced by parents of technology-dependent children raise questions of justice within society and within families.     

Acceptance of Tinnitus: Validation of the Tinnitus Acceptance Questionnaire

Internet‐based interventions with therapist support have proven effective for treating a range of mental health conditions. This study examined whether frequency of therapist contact affected treatment outcomes. Fifty‐seven people with panic disorder (including 32 with agoraphobia) were randomly allocated to an 8‐week Internet‐based cognitive behavioural treatment intervention (Panic Online) with either frequent (three e‐mails per week) or infrequent (one e‐mail per week) support from a psychologist. Posttreatment, intention‐to‐treat analyses revealed that both treatments were effective at improving panic disorder and agoraphobia severity ratings, panic‐related cognitions, negative affect, and psychological and physical quality of life domains, with no differences between conditions. High end‐state functioning was achieved by 28.6% of the frequent and infrequent participants, respectively. Therapist alliance, treatment credibility, and satisfaction also did not differ between groups, despite significantly greater therapist time invested in the frequent contact condition. The results provide evidence that the effectiveness of Internet‐based mental health interventions may be independent of the frequency of therapist support and may, therefore, be more cost‐effective than previously reported.