历史能是真实的吗？叙述主义、实证主义与“隐喻的转向”

20世纪历史哲学在上半叶由黑格尔式的思辨历史哲学转向历史认识论研究。之后 ,自 1 970年开始 ,它又经历了语言学转折。后者的表现便是叙述主义历史哲学的兴起。它注重分析历史文本的语言风格这类形式要素中表现的本质内涵 ,也在认识论的层面彻底消解了传统实在论意义上的历史客观性。人们对历史叙述过程诸要素有了越来越多的了解之后 ,对某一历史主题确立的目的和效果也就有了更有效的解析方法 ,进而为当代历史哲学重新深入历史本体 ,探讨宏大历史叙事与叙述权力创造了条件。当代历史哲学正以 2 0世纪历史认识论的成就为依据 ,在推进历史 /史学观念分析之时 ,也表现出一种重新步入思辨历史哲学领地的倾向。此时 ,具有前瞻性的世界史家也像当代历史哲学家那样 ,注意到了世界历史观念的现实意义。本栏选取的 4篇文章 (另外两篇将以后刊出 )便分别涉及到构成上述倾向的某些特定层面。     

Ethical Issues Raised by Epigenetic Testing for Alcohol,Tobacco, and Cannabis

Epigenetic testing is one of the most significant new technologies to provide insight into the behavioral and environmental factors that influence the development and reconfiguration of the human genetic code. This technology allows us to identify structural changes in the genome that occur due to exposure to a wide variety of substances including alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis. The information gained can be used to promote health but it also raises a variety of ethical, legal, and social issues. As society progresses in understanding the epigenetic mechanisms of substance use and addiction, there is an opportunity to use these use this knowledge to enable medical, behavioral, and environmental interventions to alleviate the burden of addiction. This article describes the ethical issues associated with use of epigenetic testing for alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis and the implications of this technology. A further review of the scientific basis for the relevance of epigenetics is found in the accompanying article by Philibert and Erwin in this issue. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural Stability within the Lateral Cerebellar Nucleus of the Rat Following Complex Motor Learning

Complex motor learning, but not mere motor activity, has been previously shown to induce structural modifications within the cerebellar cortex. The present experiment examined whether similar changes occur within one of the primary output targets of the region of the cerebellar cortex in which these structural changes were described, the lateral cerebellar nucleus (LCN; dentate nucleus). Adult female rats were randomly allocated to one of three training conditions. Acrobatic condition (AC) rats were trained to complete a complex motor learning task consisting of a series of elevated obstacles while motor control (MC) condition animals were forced to traverse a flat obstacle-free runway equal in length to the AC task. Inactive condition (IC) animals received no motor training. Unbiased stereological techniques and electron microscopy were used to obtain estimates of synapse number and postsynaptic density (PSD) length within the LCN. Results showed that neither synapse number nor PSD length was significantly altered as a function of training condition. These results indicate that complex motor skill learning is associated with structural plasticity within the cerebellar cortex and with structural stability within the lateral cerebellar nucleus.     

Facilitated Communication as an Ideomotor Response

Forty college students were taught facilitated communication via a commercially available training videotape. They were then asked to facilitate the communication of a confederate, who was described as developmentally disabled and unable to speak. All 40 participants produced responses that they attributed at least partially to the confederate, and most attributed all of the communication entirely to her. Eighty-nine percent produced responses corresponding to information they had received, most of which was unknown to the confederate. Responding was significantly correlated with simple ideomotor responses with a pendulum and was not affected by information about the controversy surrounding facilitated communication. These data support the hypothesis that facilitated communication is an instance of automatic writing, akin to that observed in hypothesis and with Ouija boards, and that the ability to produce automatic writing is more common than previously thought.     

Theology of the Cross and the Experience of God's Presence: A Lutheran Response to Pentecostal Wonderings

As Lutherans and Pentecostals begin an official international dialogue, the author, a Lutheran member of the dialogue, responds to two related sets of questions raised by a Pentecostal member of the dialogue during a preceding six‐year consultation between these traditions: whether there is a place in the Lutheran tradition for a “theology of glory,” considering the centrality of “a theology of the cross” for Luther; and how Lutherans speak about experiencing the presence of God, and the means through which one encounters God.     

Adolescents in Residential Treatment: Caregiver and Peer Predictors of Risk Behavior and Academic Performance

The purpose of this research was to better understand the substance use and sexual risk taking behavior among high-risk adolescent populations placed in residential treatment facilities, including those in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. The primary predictors considered in this study included caregiver support, caregiver closeness, other adult support, adolescent self-disclosure/communication with caregiver, caregiver expectations about sexual behavior, and peer influence regards to drugs/alcohol and sexual behavior. Participants included 120 adolescent females in grades 7 to 12 (median grade?=?10; mean age 15.7 years), primarily African American (57.2 %) and White (29 %), in a residential treatment setting in a large urban area in the Midwest. Caregiver support and self-disclosure/communication with caregivers predicted condom use at most recent intercourse, but variables related to substance use were most consistently predictive of sexuality variables including onset and frequency of behavior. None of these support variables significantly predicted onset and frequency of substance use. Caregiver support was the contributing variable in predicting academic achievement.