A new method for analyzing aesthetic preferences: Some theoretical considerations

The aesthetic preferences of a group of persons are obtained from their orders of sets of pictures and patterns according to “liking.” The same pictures are ordered independently by a team of experts, according to certain artistic criteria such as naturalism, composition, color, rhythm, etc. The orders of preference and orders according to the criteria are compared by correlation and matrices of correlation formed from (1) correlations between the persons' orders of preference; (2) correlations between the orders of preference and orders according to artistic criteria; and (3) correlations between the criterion orders. These matrices are symbolised byR _p ,R ₀, andR _c , respectively, and combined to form a single matrix

$$\left[ \begin{gathered} R_p R_o \hfill \\ R'_o R_c \hfill \\ \end{gathered} \right]$$     

Multiple rectilinear prediction and the resolution into components: II

Given a battery ofn tests that has already been resolved intor orthogonal common factors andn unique factors, procedures are outlined for computing the following types of linear multiple regressions directly from the factor loadings: (i) the regression of any one test on then?1 remaining tests; (ii) all then different regressions of ordern?1 for then tests, computed simultaneously; (iii) the regression of any common factor on then tests; (iv) the regressions of all the common factors on then tests computed simultaneously; (v) the regression of any unique factor on then tests; (vi) the regressions of all the unique factors on then tests, computed simultaneously. Multiple and partial correlations are then determined by ordinary formulas from the regression coefficients. A worksheet with explicit instructions is provided, with a completely worked out example. Computing these regressions directly from the factor loadings is a labor-saving device, the efficiency of which increases as the number of tests increases. The amount of labor depends essentially on the number of common factors. This is in contrast to computations based on the original test intercorrelations, where the amount of labor increases more than proportionately as the number of tests increases. The procedures evaluate formulas developed in a previous paper (2). They are based essentially on a shortened way of computing the inverse of the test intercorrelation matrix by use of the factor loadings.     

Reliability coefficients in a correlation matrix

Givens fallible testst ₁,t ₂, ?t _s , the problem is to express their intercorrelations in terms of the average correlations between a varying number of parallel forms contained within each test. A new correlation determinant Δ′ is derived containingd _ii instead of unity as an element on the principal diagonal, where

$$d_{ii} = [1 + (m_i - 1)\bar r_{ii} ]/m_i ,$$     

Tables of the standard error of tetrachoric correlation coefficient

Tables are given forσ _r √N for the tetrachoric correlation coefficient for the following values of the correlation in the population: .00, ±.10, ±.20, ..., ±.80, ±.90, ±.95.     

A preferential matching problem

A matching method proposed by Dr. C. E. Stuart is presented in some detail and the essentials for a test of significance are derived. This method differs from the older matching methods in that partial credit is allowed for a near miss. A slight variation of the method permits the matching of one item withM sets ofn traits.     

A seven-decimal table of the area (a) under the unit normal curve,for abscissae expressed in terms ofP.E.

A seven-decimal table is presented of the area under the unit normal curve, for abscissae expressed in terms of the “probable error” orPE. From the method of calculation, the partial verification by means of other tables, and the safeguards taken in the routine of computation, it is safe to consider the table reliable. Errors in previously published tables are pointed out.     

Current misuse of the factorial methods

Papers involving factorial methods appearing in current literature often misuse factorial methods. These meaningless results are reached because of neglect of certain conditions basic to factor theory. The conditions are:

1. (1)
   The number of basic factors must be smaller than the number of tests.     
   
   

Psychoanalysis and healing by faith

It would be preposterous to assume that this brief chapter out of my book tells all that can be said about the relationship of religious faith to science in general, to the therapeutic process, and to psychoanalysis in particular. The most that we can claim for it is that without cluttering it up with the excess verbal baggage of philosophical rationalization, it has stated simply some of the issues as honest men must face them. Certainly the history of the world has proved again and again that science and religion can both be perverted to amoral ends; but it is equally true that science and religion can both express man's search for the good life. The critical issue is whether they can carry on that search hand in hand, or whether their basic premises and their essential techniques are irreconcilably opposed. It was once the fortune of the author to hear a great religious teacher say in the pulpit that religion is a search for truth; but that as soon as any religion thought that it had found the truth, it ceased to be a religion. With such a concept of religion every scientist will find himself in full agreement. Unfortunately, however, among men of religion as among scientists, there are those whose spirits are so meager that they cannot live without absolutes; and in both camps they tend to aggregate to themselves a predominance of power. Apart from theoretical issues, this practical fact may make a confict between opposing totalitarians irreconcilable.     

Intentionalism,defeasibility, and justification

According to intentionalism, perceptual experience is a mental state with representational content. When it comes to the epistemology of perception, it is only natural for the intentionalist to hold that the justificatory role of experience is at least in part a function of its content. In this paper, I argue that standard versions of intentionalism trying to hold on to this natural principle face what I call the “defeasibility problem”. This problem arises from the combination of standard intentionalism with further plausible principles governing the epistemology of perception: that experience provides defeasible justification for empirical belief, and that such justification is best construed as probabilification. After exploring some ways in which the standard intentionalist could deal with the defeasibility problem, I argue that the best option is to replace standard intentionalism by what I call “phenomenal intentionalism”. Where standard intentionalism construes experiences as of p as having the content p, phenomenal intentionalism construes (visual) experiences as of p as having “phenomenal” or “looks contents”: contents of the form Lp (it looks as if p).     

Determination of the number of independent parameters of a score matrix from the examination of rank orders

Two ordinal consequences are drawn from the linear multiple-factor analysis model. First, the numberR(s, d) of distinct ways in whichs subjects can be ranked by linear functions ofd factors is limited by the recursive expressionR(s, d)=R(s?1,d)+(s?1)R(s?1,d?1). Second, every setS ofd+2 subjects can be separated into two subsetsS* andS ? S* such that no linear function ofd variables can rank allS* over allS ? S*, and vice versa. When these results are applied to the hypothetical data of Thurstone's “box problem,” three independent parameters are found. Relations to Thurstone's suggestion for a non-correlational factor analysis are discussed.     

The element of hostility in parish work

This article might well be read in conjunction with the question on Volunteers in Parish Work which is discussed in the Consultation Clinic of this issue. It was written at our request in order to explore more fully at least one facet of parish work. Other articles will follow. We will welcome our readers' comments as to the helpfulness of this material and suggestions for further exploration.     

Emotional maturity

According to the teachings of modern dynamic psychology, emotional maturity is characterized by ability to become interested in things and persons; to things for their own sake, to give love to other persons. In other words, capacity for altruism is one fundamental characteristic of emotional maturity. This fact supplies the biological foundation of Christian morality.     

Courage in <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Analects</Emphasis>: A genealogical survey of the confucian virtue of courage

The different meanings of “courage” in The Analects were expressed in Confucius’ remark on Zilu’s bravery. The typological analysis of courage in Mencius and Xunzi focused on the shaping of the personalities of brave persons. “Great courage” and “superior courage”, as the virtues of “great men” or “shi junzi 士君子 (intellectuals with noble characters)”, exhibit not only the uprightness of the “internal sagacity”, but also the rich implications of the “external kingship”. The prototype of these brave persons could be said to be between Zengzi’s courage and King Wen’s courage. The discussion entered a new stage of Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming dynasties, when admiration for “Yanzi’s great valor” became the key of various arguments. The order of “the three cardinal virtues” was also discussed because it concerned the relationship between “finished virtue” and “novice virtue”; hence, the virtue of courage became internalized as an essence of the internal virtuous life. At the turn of the 20^th century, when China was trembling under the threat of foreign powers, intellectuals remodeled the tradition of courage by redefining “Confucius’ great valor”, as Liang Qichao did in representative fashion in his book Chinese Bushido. Hu Shi’s Lun Ru 论儒 (On Ru) was no more than a repetition of Liang’s opinion. In the theoretical structures of the modern Confucians, courage is hardly given a place. As one of the three cardinal virtues, bravery is but a concept. In a contemporary society where heroes and sages exist only in history books, do we need to talk about courage? How should it be discussed? These are questions which deserve our consideration.     

Recalling what was where when seeing nothing there

So-called “looks-at-nothing” have previously been used to show that recalling what also elicits the recall of where this was. Here, we present evidence from an eye-tracking study which shows that disrupting looks to “there” does not disrupt recalling what was there, nor do (anticipatory) looks to “there” facilitate recalling what was there. Therefore, our results suggest that recalling where does not recall what.     

Who Does the Sounding? The Metaphysics of the First-Person Pronoun in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zhuangzi</Emphasis>

In classical Chinese wu 吾 is commonly employed as the first-person pronoun, similar to wo 我 that retains its use in modern Chinese. Although these two words are usually understood as stylistic variants of “I,” “me,” and “myself,” Chinese scholars of the Zhuangzi 莊子 have long been aware of the possible differences in their semantics, especially in the philosophical context of discussing the relation between the self and the person, as evinced by their occurrences in the much-discussed line “Now I have lost myself” (jin zhe wu sang wo 今者吾喪我) in the chapter “Discussion on Making All Things Equal” (“Qiwulun 齊物論”). In this essay, I first provide an exegesis of the proffered explanations of the semantical differences between wu and wo as an introduction to two ways of understanding them in the Zhuangzi literature, viz. the single-reference view and the double-reference view. Then I shall argue against these two views in favor of the no-reference view, meaning that both pronouns in “Now I have lost myself” do not function referentially, given the peculiarity of the verb “lose.” I believe the no-reference view has not been explicitly articulated and defended in the literature, although some scholars who want to read the no-self view into the Zhuangzi might have implied it. My argument is supported by a close reading of the targeted passage in the Zhuangzi, premised on the assumption that the part on the “piping of Heaven” (tian lai 天籟) immediately following the discussion of losing oneself is an indirect explanation rather than a digression. My explanation is framed within a similar discussion of “I” by the British philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe. This comparative interpretation, I believe, not only provides the grounds for understanding Zhuangzi’s ideal of attaining the state where “the ten thousand things are one with me,” but also demonstrates how metaphysics and the philosophy of language are two interwoven threads in Zhuangzi’s reasoning.     

The Multilevel Modality-Switch Effect: What Happens When We See the Bees Buzzing and Hear the Diamonds Glistening

Previous studies demonstrated that the sequential verification of different sensory modality properties for concepts (e.g., BLENDER-loud; BANANA-yellow) brings about a processing cost, known as the modality-switch effect. We report an experiment designed to assess the influence of the mode of presentation (i.e., visual, aural) of stimuli on the modality-switch effect in a property verification and lexical decision priming paradigm. Participants were required to perform a property verification or a lexical decision task on a target sentence (e.g., “a BEE buzzes”, “a DIAMOND glistens”) presented either visually or aurally after having been presented with a prime sentence (e.g., “the LIGHT is flickering”, “the SOUND is echoing”) that could either share both, one or none of the target’s mode of presentation and content modality. Results show that the mode of presentation of stimuli affects the conceptual modality-switch effect. Furthermore, the depth of processing required by the task modulates the complex interplay of perceptual and semantic information. We conclude that the MSE is a task-related, multilevel effect which can occur on two different levels of information processing (i.e., perceptual and semantic).     

Grounding and the explanatory role of generalizations

According to Hempel’s (Aspects of scientific explanation and other essays. The Free Press, New York, 1965) influential theory of explanation, explaining why some a is G consists in showing that the truth that a is G follows from a law-like generalization to the effect that all Fs are G together with the initial condition that a is F. While Hempel’s overall account is now widely considered to be deeply flawed, the idea that some generalizations play the explanatory role that the account predicts is still often endorsed by contemporary philosophers of science. This idea, however, conflicts with widely shared views in metaphysics according to which the generalization that all Fs are G is partially explained by the fact that a is G. I discuss two solutions to this conflict that have been proposed recently, argue that they are unsatisfactory, and offer an alternative.     

Hillel and Confucius: The prescriptive formulation of the golden rule in the Jewish and Chinese Confucian ethical traditions

A prospective convert asked Hillel to teach him the entire Torahwhile standing on one foot. Hillel replied, “What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. That isthe whole of Torah and the remainder is but commentary. Go and study it.” (Hillel:Shab. 31; emphasis added)Zigong: “Is there asingle word that can serve as a guide to conduct throughout one’s life?” Confucius said: “Perhaps the word ‘shu’, ‘reciprocity’: ‘Do not do to others what you would not want others to do to you’.” (Analects: 15.24; see alsoAnalects. 12 andZhongyong. 13.3; emphasis added)¹