Professor Baier on the truth of premises

Philosophical Studies -     

Insight into a logical relation

Two experiments are reported which aimed to investigate factors affecting the gain of insight into the logical relation of implication. In the first experiment, subjects had to make a series of inferences about either a conditional sentence or a quantified sentence, both of which had the same underlying logical form. Under one condition the sentences had to be proved true, and under another condition, false. Proving a sentence false facilitated gain of insight, but the linguistic form of the sentence exerted no significant effect on the main dependent variable. In the second experiment, implication was not expressed as a sentence but was inherent in the structure of the task. The experimental material differed in complexity and allowed the cognitive load imposed on the subject to be varied. Results suggested that insight was not all-or-none. It was spontaneously gained when the material was simple, but temporarily lost when it was complex.     

产前超声检查的相关伦理学思考

从中医学及其与热力学的关联分析角度来认识亚健康的现象和实质。“整体观念,以平为期”是中医学与热力学共同的理论基础。亚健康是人体处于“无序”的熵增状态,亚健康的干预就是人体从外界吸收“负熵流”,降低系统紊乱度,从而达到新的有序状态,恢复健康。亚健康状态可以用热力学基本状态函数刻画,运用中医学的思维模式和热力学的研究方法,可构建基于热力学的亚健康诊断方法,进而为亚健康研究提供一个新的视角。     

从热力学角度审视和研究亚健康

从中医学及其与热力学的关联分析角度来认识亚健康的现象和实质."整体观念,以平为期"是中医学与热力学共同的理论基础.亚健康是人体处于"无序"的熵增状态,亚健康的干预就是人体从外界吸收"负熵流",降低系统紊乱度,从而达到新的有序状态,恢复健康.亚健康状态可以用热力学基本状态函数刻画,运用中医学的思维模式和热力学的研究方法,可构建基于热力学的亚健康诊断方法,进而为亚健康研究提供一个新的视角.     

Bereavement after a Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Speculation Based on Theory

Despite the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the ban on physician-assisted suicide, the practice continues in the United States. A majority of Americans support physician-assisted suicide, and several surveys document its use by physicians and nurses. This article explores the anticipated bereavement experience of significant survivors following a physician-assisted suicide. Theoretical approaches to bereavement frame the discussion of possible reactions to suicidal death: (1) psychodynamic, (2) attachment theory, (3) crisis theory, and (4) cognitive theory. Three case scenarios illustrate potential survivor reactions, with suggested intervention approaches.     

Reassessing logical hylomorphism and the demarcation of logical constants

The paper investigates the propriety of applying the form versus matter distinction to arguments and to logic in general. Its main point is that many of the currently pervasive views on form and matter with respect to logic rest on several substantive and even contentious assumptions which are nevertheless uncritically accepted. Indeed, many of the issues raised by the application of this distinction to arguments seem to be related to a questionable combination of different presuppositions and expectations; this holds in particular of the vexed issue of demarcating the class of logical constants. I begin with a characterization of currently widespread views on form and matter in logic, which I refer to as ‘logical hylomorphism as we know it’—LHAWKI, for short—and argue that the hylomorphism underlying LHAWKI is mereological. Next, I sketch an overview of the historical developments leading from Aristotelian, non-mereological metaphysical hylomorphism to mereological logical hylomorphism (LHAWKI). I conclude with a reassessment of the prospects for the combination of hylomorphism and logic, arguing in particular that LHAWKI is not the only and certainly not the most suitable version of logical hylomorphism. In particular, this implies that the project of demarcating the class of logical constants as a means to define the scope and nature of logic rests on highly problematic assumptions.     

Correctional institution based sex offender treatment: a lapse behavior study

The correctional community has engaged in a surge of sex offender treatment programs, both within the confines of the correctional institutions as well as at the community level. While there has been an increase in efforts to assess the effectiveness of these programs the research has been hampered by inconsistency in appropriate outcome measures. The present study addresses these shortfalls, while focusing on the early behavioral lapse indicators. The study focuses on the premise that not all sex offenders lapse in similar manners, and that those with adult and statutory victims would show more impulsive-criminal trends in lapse behavior when compared to those with child victims. The results support the premise on several variables, but not on sexual deviancy.