Italian Adagio: Every Law has Its Loophole

Science and Engineering Ethics - The Italian law of December 2010 establishes new criteria and parameters for the evaluation of faculty members. The parameters are represented by the number of...     

Living Dogma and Marriage

The decision to get married, as well as choosing whom to marry, is of the utmost importance to most people. This decision consists of many amoral considerations, but an ethical relationship arises when a promise is made, especially a vow that binds for a lifetime and affects oneself, one’s spouse, one’s children, and society. This essay provides an account of ideal romantic marriage, arguing that John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty provides an excellent foundation for constructing such an account. Neither dead dogma nor living truth is a healthy model for marriage, so a hybrid model of marriage, living dogma, is developed. The importance of the marital vow becomes apparent as the living dogma account is revealed, and this examination yields a model for how to decide when and whom to marry.     

Every cloud has a silver lining: positive effects of deviant coworkers

Drawing on the labeling perspective of deviance, we investigate employee reactions to coworkers perceived as deviants. We look at two positive effects for employees in the presence of a deviant coworker. First, in comparison to a deviant individual, other employees can draw more positive conclusions about themselves; and second, a deviant can be informative about organizational norms, thereby improving employee role clarity. We also examine individual and situational moderators. For the purpose of the study, we developed a measure of the presence of a deviant. The hypothesized relationships were tested in two large samples using multiple regression analyses. The results revealed that in the presence of a deviant coworker, employees reported enhanced self-evaluation. The presence of a deviant coworker was associated with better role clarity only for employees with more interdependent jobs. We also discuss practical implications of the findings and future research directions.     

为一个教条辩护

在这篇论文中,格菜斯和斯特劳森试图为分析—综合区分辩护,他们认为奎因对该区分提出的批评不能为他对区分的拒绝提供辩护。两位作者的理由是:第一,分析—综合区分的存在有一个支持性的普遍前提,这个前提以分析性词组的日常用法和哲学用法为基础;第二,虽然分析性词组中的概念没有得到有效的形式定义,但通过对概念的语用分析,我们可以提出有效的非形式定义,而且任何定义都应当以语用实践为依据;第三,接受整体论与接受分析—综合区分是一致的,两者之间不存在矛盾。     

每一个非零的可计算可枚举强有界图灵度都具有反成杯性质

可计算Lipschitz图灵归约（c1-归约）是指用函数被x→x＋c约束的图灵归约,其中c是常数;而ibT归约则通过限制用函数为恒等函数得到。我们通称c1-,ibT-归约为强有界图灵归约。我们证明：对于r=cl,ibT,在可计算可枚举r-度构成的偏序结构（Rr,≤）中,每一个非零的a都具有反成杯性质。为此,我们证明一个新结论：对于每一个不可计算的可计算可枚举集合A,都存在一个不可计算的可计算可枚举B,使得对所有满足A≤wtt C的可计算可枚举集合C都有B≤ibT C。结合关于可计算偏移的已知性质,我们便可得到上述主要定理。     

Every cloud has a silver lining: interpersonal and individual differences determinants of anger-related behaviors

Two studies examined the effect of status and liking of the anger target on anger behavior and individual differences in anger-related behavior. Participants recalled anger instances in which the anger target was of higher/equal/lower status and/or liked/ unfamiliar/disliked; subsequently, they indicated which behaviors they had displayed. In both studies, anger behaviors could be grouped into behaviors that imply approaching the target (anger-out, assertion, reconciliation) and behaviors that reflect avoidance/anger-in or social sharing. The results demonstrated that approach behaviors more likely occur toward lower status or liked targets; avoidance behaviors and social sharing more likely occur when the target is of higher status or disliked. On an individual differences level, an approach and an avoid/social sharing person class were identified. The findings suggest that anger may motivate prosocial behavior or social sharing, depending on the individual and type of relation with the target. Only few gender differences were found.     

II—The Last Dogma of Type Confusions

In this paper I discuss a certain kind of 'type confusion' which involves use of expressions of the wrong grammatical category, as in the string 'runs eats'. It is (nearly) universally accepted that such strings are meaningless. My purpose in this paper is to question this widespread assumption (or as I call it, 'the last dogma'). I discuss a range of putative reasons for accepting the last dogma: in §II, semantic and metaphysical reasons; in §III, logical reasons; and in §IV, syntactic reasons. I argue that none of these reasons is conclusive, and that consequently we should be willing to question this last dogma of type confusions.     

Quine's Naturalized Epistemology and the Third Dogma of Empiricism

This essay reconsiders Davidson's critical attribution of the scheme‐content distinction to Quine's naturalized epistemology. It focuses on Davidson's complaint that the presence of this distinction leads Quine to mistakenly construe neural input as evidence. While committed to this distinction, Quine's epistemology does not attempt to locate a justificatory foundation in sensory experience and does not then equate neural intake with evidence. Quine's central epistemological task is an explanatory one that attempts to scientifically clarify the route from stimulus to science. Davidson's critical remarks wrongly assign concerns to Quine's view that it does not have and further obscures the status of his naturalized conception of epistemology.     

Every good counts

The first version of the present appeared as [Srzednicki 1988]. Thanks are due to the editors of that journal for the permission to publish the revised (English) version here.     

从繁殖力制约法则看现有肿瘤生长理论的不合理性

繁殖力受三个方面的因素制约,即寿命、形体和食物链的位置.寿命越长,繁殖力越弱;形体越大,繁殖力越弱;在食物链的位置越高,繁殖力越弱.繁殖力制约法则是维持生物界物种平衡和多样性的基本法则.现在的肿瘤生长理论中,肿瘤细胞一方面“抗凋亡”,另一方面却不断增殖,显然与这一法则相矛盾.     

神经科学领域百年教条被打破引发的思考和启示

有关成年脑组织神经元再生的研究是当前神经科学研究的热点内容。相关的研究使得成年脑神经元不能再生“百年教条”不断受到挑战并最终被打破,这一历程体现了科学理论发展的一般规律和特点,给我们带来许多有益的思考和启示。