Scott Soames on Gilbert Ryle

In his exceptionally well‐received history of analytic philosophy,¹ Scott Soames presents accounts of the work of Wittgenstein and Ryle that rest on his acceptance of metaphysical preconceptions that these philosophers implicitly question in their writings. Their shared expressive third‐person treatments of the mind, for example, serve to emphasise the inadequacy of Soames's distinction between private mental states and physical states/behaviour, which he regularly employs in assessing their views. His treatment of Gilbert Ryle in particular, reflects the radically different conceptions held by Ryle and Soames of the nature of philosophical investigation. Soames charges Ryle with a failure to recognise the distinction between the necessary and the analytic. He also harbours a clear understanding that philosophical problems arise naturally and directly from “our ordinary ways of thinking,”² where these ways of thinking, the reader discovers, involve metaphysical preconceptions. This is at odds with Ryle's claim that certain category mistakes, playing the role, roughly, of Wittgenstein's misleading pictures, underlie some of the main problems of philosophy. The purpose of this paper is to assess how well Ryle, occasionally aided by Wittgenstein, can be seen to parry Soames's direct onslaught on his work in parts of Dilemmas and in The Concept of Mind.     

Ordinary language: The contributions of Gilbert Ryle and John Austin to the experimental analysis of behavior

The aim of this paper is to show how "conceptual analysis"-the philosophical method used by Gilbert Ryle and John Austin-can contribute to behavior analysis in general and in particular to the elucidation and development of views put forward by B. F. Skinner. One of the key requirements is a sensitivity to the precise circumstances in which particular combinations of words are uttered. Without such sensitivity, it is difficult to make informed decisions as to when ways of talking should be changed and when they should be left as they are.     

Ryle on knowing how: Some clarifications and corrections

I argue for an account of know‐how as a capacity for practical judgment—a view I derive from Gilbert Ryle. I begin by offering an interpretation of Ryle and by correcting a number of widespread misconceptions about his views in the current debate. I then identify some problems with Ryle's account and finally present my own view which, I argue, retains Ryle's insights while avoiding his mistakes.     

Sweet Gifts: A Jewish Response to Gilbert Meilaender

Judaism, like Gilbert Meilaender, analogizes food and sex. Traditionally, Judaism saw the primary purpose of sex as procreation, the fulfillment of a Biblical mandate. It did not, however, link sex to the Garden of Eden story, and it acknowledged that sex was also important for couples' bonding. While Meilaender sees bonding as a value co-equal with procreation, Judaism traditionally kept procreation as the primary goal. Couples were encouraged to have sex when infertile and were permitted contraception when pregnancy endangered life, but whenever possible, they were directed to also have sex for procreation. Many modern rabbis, in agreement with Meilaender, permit contraception in order to foster bonding as a separate goal of sex. However, reproductive technology is seen, in Judaism, as partnership with God, allowing for a process of birth that is as natural as the process of producing food by farming. Last, when sex is permitted, Judaism celebrate the joy attendant to sex as a Divine gift.     

Original Sin and the Hermeneutics of Charity: A Response to Gilbert Meilaender

Looking for a way to read the classic texts of Christian antiquity without treating them either as if they were written yesterday or as if they were archeological artefacts, the author endorses Meilaender's endeavor to develop the insights of Augustine in the modern context. He nevertheless suggests that a different way of drawing the analogy between sex and eating would better capture Augustine's distinctive way of joining theology and ethics and would enable a more vigorous defense of Augustine against modern critics of his treatment of sexuality.     

Translating External Knowledge to Team Creativity in Turbulent Environments: The Role of Absorptive Capacity and Knowledge Integration

In seeking to understand factors contributing to team creativity in dynamic environments, we explored the role of external knowledge search on team creativity through absorptive capacity and knowledge integration. We tested our hypotheses with a sample of 96 teams involving 421 employees in China. Results demonstrated that external knowledge search related positively to team creativity, fully mediated by both absorptive capacity and knowledge integration. In addition, environmental dynamism played a moderating role in the relation between external knowledge search and absorptive capacity, as well as in the relation between external knowledge search and knowledge integration. We discussed the implications of these findings for research and practice.     

马克思论权利与正义：答胡萨米

伍德重申他先前论文的观点--"对马克思来说,经济交易或社会制度中的正义与否依赖于其与既定的生产方式的关系",认为胡萨米将"正义不仅受生产方式所决定且受阶级立场所决定"的观点归于马克思是一种误解,认为马克思是从一种资本主义之后的正义标准去批判资本主义社会,更是对马克思文本的误读.在他看来,马克思对资本主义的批判是基于对社会生产分析的总体批判,其批判是基于自由、共同体和自我实现等非道德的善的批判,而不是基于权利或正义的道德的善的批判.     

未成年患者的同意能力研究

众所周知,医疗机构必须在取得成年患者的有效同意后才能实施医疗行为。而当患者是未成年人时,这种对医疗行为的同意是否有效呢?对此,国内外法学均未形成统一的定论。通过比较国外医事法学领域相对成熟的同意能力理论,初步建立我国未成年患者的同意能力理论体系,其中评估方法是关键。     

Distant Things: A Closer Look

In a discussion of the constitutive role of colour in our visual perceptual experiences, Wilhelm Schapp centrally argues that we cannot visually perceive certain distant things, like a house seen far down in the valley. My main contention is that, in cases relevantly similar to Schapp’s, we do perceptually experience distant things, viz., as drastically “decayed” things, which are part of distant scenes. In doing so, we adopt towards them a kind of conservative “attitude.” The ideas of decay and scenicness will be unpacked in terms of the Husserlian ideas of fulfilment, and fulfilment conditions, capturing the idea that we perceptually experience objects in terms of anticipated possibilities for further experiences of these objects. These ideas will also be considered in relation to Herbert Leyendecker’s notion of an attitude, e.g. of observing, searching for, or working with objects.     

未成年患者的同意能力研究

众所周知,医疗机构必须在取得成年患者的有效同意后才能实施医疗行为.而当患者是未成年人时,这种对医疗行为的同意是否有效呢?对此,国内外法学均未形成统一的定论.通过比较国外医事法学领域相对成熟的同意能力理论,初步建立我国未成年患者的同意能力理论体系,其中评估方法是关键.