Fischer and Ravizza on Moral Responsibility

The author argued elsewhere that a necessary condition that John Fischer and Mark Ravizza offer for moral responsibility is too strong and that the sufficient conditions they offer are too weak. This article is a critical examination of their reply. Topics discussed include blameworthiness, irresistible desires, moral responsibility, reactive attitudes, and reasons responsiveness.     

Multiple pathways from stress to suicidality and the protective effect of social support in Hong Kong adolescents

Two theoretical models were constructed to illustrate how stressful events, family and friends support, depression, substance use, and death attitude mutually influence to create cumulative risks for suicide. The models were evaluated using structural equation modeling. Results showed that suicidality was strongly predicted by death attitude, depression, and substance use which together form a dangerous combination of risk factors at the personal level. Within the adolescent's social environment, stressful events increased suicidality through intensifying depression, substance use, and death acceptance, whereas family and friends support lowered it, partly through reducing stress and death acceptance. The effect (direct and indirect combined) of family support was much stronger than that of friends support. Enhancing stress coping ability, promoting positive family relationships, and attacking attitudes supportive of death might be the best strategies to prevent youth suicide.     

Cross‐Functional Team Organizational Citizenship Behavior in China: Shared Vision and Goal Interdependence Among Departments1

This study proposes that a shared organizational vision develops cooperative interdependence among departments that, in turn, facilitates cross‐functional teams' organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Team members indicated their organizations' shared vision, and leaders indicated the goal interdependence among departments and the OCB of the teams. Structural equation analysis suggested that a shared organizational vision shapes goal interdependence among departments that, in turn, affected the OCB of 101 cross‐functional teams. The analysis suggested combining independent and competitive goals, and this combined measure negatively predicted team OCB. These results suggest that a shared organizational vision and cooperative goals among departments are important foundations for cross‐functional teams to contribute to the effective working of organizations through citizenship behavior.     

Noninstrumental Rationalizing

A central notion in Donald Davidson's philosophy of mind and action is "rationalization," a species of causal explanation designed in part to reveal the point or purpose of the explananda. An analogue of this notion - noninstrumental rationalization - merits serious attention. I develop an account of this species of rationalization and display its utility in explaining the production of certain desires and of motivationally biased beliefs.