数学真理的问题

在当前数学实践中,数学知识（如果有这样的知识的话）是通过在定义和公理的基础上证明定理来获得的。问题在于该怎样理解证明中所得到的东西是如何构成知识的,具体而言,即是要给出一个关于数学真理和数学知识的统一的解释,该解释能够揭示两者的内在联系。此处的困难是,根据贝纳塞拉夫的为人熟知的论证,由于塔斯基语义学认为真与对象的联系（通过单称词项或通过量词）是不可消去的,因此在数学中无法将塔斯基语义学与完整的认识论相结合：数学知识要么是通过证明得到的,这种情况下数学知识与数学对象是无关的,因此我们就无法解释数学真理;要么数学对象是数学真理的构件,从而数学知识不是通过证明得到的,这种情况下我们就无从理解数学知识。接着,本文通过一系列阶段,将这些困难一直追溯到最基本的逻辑观念,即将之看作形式的和纯粹解释性的：如果数学是从概念出发仅仅使用逻辑的推理实践,依照康德,那么数学应该是分析的,也即,仅仅是解释性的,根本就不是通常意义上的知识。我认为,这对数学真理是真正困难的问题。本文概括了四种回应,其中仅有一个有希望解决我们的困难,也即皮尔斯和弗雷格的回应。根据他们的方案,逻辑是科学,因此是实验性的和可错的;符号语言是有内容的,尽管并不涉及与任何对象的关联;证明是构成性的,因此是富于产出的过程。通过充分发展这些观点,我们将有可能最终解决数学真理的问题。     

Siblings in South Asia

Journal of Child and Family Studies -     

Information processing in chronic pain disorder: A preliminary analysis

Researchers have alternately suggested selective attention, impaired stimulus filtering, and affective language deficiency models as accounting for multiple somatic complaints in persons with chronic pain disorder. The purpose of the present study was to establish the comparative usefulness of these three models for explaining somatic focus in a chronic pain population. Nine chronic pain patients evidencing high somatic focus (somatizing chronic pain patients), 10 chronic pain patients evidencing low somatic focus (nonsomatizing chronic pain patients), and 10 healthy control subjects were administered a computerized version of the emotional Stroop test as a test of these models. A total of 105 pain-, depression-, and neutral-content words were used as Stroop test stimuli. Stroop test color-naming response latencies were submitted to a two-way Group × Word Type mixed-model ANOVA, with Word Type as the repeated measure. Results reveal that neither the selective attention model nor the affective language deficiency model adequately explain Stroop test performance in somatizing chronic pain patients. Findings provide tentative support for the impaired stimulus filtering model, with somatizing chronic pain patients evidencing similar Stroop test response delays across all words. These results suggest that chronic pain sufferers misinterpret bodily sensations. Findings are discussed in terms of a bilevel approach for treatment of somatizing chronic pain patients that would include assisting the patient in accurate appraisal and interpretation of physical symptoms.     

Sexual fantasizing in males and females

Sexual fantasizing during intercourse, masturbation, and nonsexual activity was examined in 30 males and 30 females, American students at Tel-Aviv University. Each subject responded individually to questionnaires involving general background information, sexual activity, daydreaming frequency and attitudes toward daydreaming, and a sexual fantasy scale. The results indicated that virtually no man or woman denied having sexual fantasies. Any observable sex differences were in kind rather than amount of fantasy. Women had more submission fantasies, whereas men reported more performance fantasies. This difference was interpreted as reflecting social sexual stereotypes. In support of a cognitive skill model, it was found that sexual fantasizing proliferates along with increases in both sexual and daydreaming experience. Sexual passivity was related to a greater degree of fantasizing during sex. On the whole, the findings suggest that sexual fantasizing is a universal occurrence which in itself is not necessarily related to psychopathology.     

Intentions to select a given level of care when confronted with an ethical issue: the impact of a living will

The aim of this study is to evaluate the level of care nurses intended to select in a potential situation of overly aggressive therapy, whether the patient had or did not have a living will. MANOVA revealed that the presence of a living will had a significant impact on nurses' decision making when selecting a level of care ( p < .0001); this impact was noted for each construct in the theoretical framework ( p < .005). Multiple regression analysis indicated the 86% of the variance in nurses' intention was determined by the cognitive component of their attitude and perceived professional norm ( p < .0001). In summary, most of the nurses intended to respect the wishes expressed by the patient in a living will.     

Nous avons l'art pour vivre dans la vérité

The paper aims at sketching the outline of a phenomenology of the artwork on the basis of the short analyses devoted to the topic by Hannah Arendt in a few texts. In order to overcome the mostly allusive and even superficial character of these texts, the paper refers to Kant's teaching in theCritique of Judgment and to Arendt's interpretation of it in several essays. We have tried to pursue as far as possible, in the direction of a philosophy of art, the path opened by her political interpretation of the thirdCritique. We have also endeavoured to develop, beyond what she writes explicitly but in an attempt to make her thought as consistent as possible, the marginal suggestions provided by the book onThinking about the relations between judgment and thought and the theses stated byThe Human Condition about the work of art as a reified thought. Accordingly, the artwork appears to be, in the realm of artefacts, what is the best, appropriated to provide to a human world its stability; since the artwork is the most enduring product of thehomo faber, while escaping the means-end categories as well as any usefulness. Hence the artwork is able to display within the realm of human artefacts the meaning of a human world; namely, a home on the earth, a dwelling to be shared in their being-together. While being useless and merely appearing in the world, the work is also what calls for a judgment of taste such as Kant describes it. This means a judgment of common sense based upon a sharing of the world by fellow-people, and aiming at a standard which is thesensus communis as the very condition of possibility of such a sharing. Moreover, the artwork is a thought made into a thing. Again, as a thought which appears in the world, it calls for judging; for a judgment is a thought which renouncing solitude comes back to the human community. Therefore it turns out that the artwork unifies the human community in its sharing of a common world. Indeed, by requesting that we judge it, the artwork appeals in ourselves to asensus communis through which our thought takes into account the point of view of the others. Moreover, as a thought embodied in a hand-made thing, the artwork makes meaning present and publicly appearing in the sensible world.     

Do obsessional beliefs discriminate OCD without tic patients from OCD with tic and Tourette's syndrome patients?

There is considerable overlap in symptomatology between Tourette's syndrome (TS) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Increased rates of tics are found in OCD and up to 60% obsessive-compulsive symptoms in TS. However, in OCD obsessive-compulsive symptoms are more often anxiety-related and, as a consequence, aimed at anxiety-reduction, whereas in TS these symptoms are more stimulus-bound. Therefore, it is of clinical interest to study whether these phenomenological differences are reflected in differences between dysfunctional cognitions accompanying OC symptoms in OCD with or without tics and TS. Current cognitive theory of OCD ascertains that specific dysfunctional beliefs are important in the etiology and maintenance of OCD. To assess these beliefs, the obsessive-compulsive beliefs questionnaire-87 (OBQ-87) has been developed. In the present study, OBQ-87 scores of OCD patients without tics, OCD with tics, and TS (without OCD) patients were compared to those of normal controls. Results: OCD without tic patients exhibited higher OBQ-87 scores than TS patients. No differences were found between OCD with or without tic patients on any of the OBQ-87 subscales. These results suggest that: (1) dysfunctional beliefs have no discriminative power with respect to OCD with or without tic patients; (2) the direct relationship between types of OC symptoms and specific dysfunctional beliefs is questionable. Therefore, one can doubt the specificity of cognitive theory of OCD to explain specific OC behavior.     

The role of self-efficacy in predicting rule-following behaviors in shelters for homeless youth: a test of the theory of planned behavior

Through a prospective study of 70 youths staying at homeless-youth shelters, the authors tested the utility of I. Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behavior (TPB), by comparing the constructs of self-efficacy with perceived behavioral control (PBC), in predicting people's rule-following behavior during shelter stays. They performed the 1st wave of data collection through a questionnaire assessing the standard TPB components of attitudes, subjective norms, PBC, and behavioral intentions in relation to following the set rules at youth shelters. Further, they distinguished between items assessing PBC (or perceived control) and those reflecting self-efficacy (or perceived difficulty). At the completion of each youth's stay at the shelter, shelter staff rated the rule adherence for that participant. Regression analyses revealed some support for the TPB in that subjective norm was a significant predictor of intentions. However, self-efficacy emerged as the strongest predictor of intentions and was the only significant predictor of rule-following behavior. Thus, the results of the present study indicate the possibility that self-efficacy is integral to predicting rule adherence within this context and reaffirm the importance of incorporating notions of people's perceived ease or difficulty in performing actions in models of attitude-behavior prediction.     

The effects of sleep disruption on the treatment of a feeding disorder

We evaluated the effects of sleep disruption on the mealtime behavior of a young boy with developmental disabilities. Results showed that bite acceptance was less likely to persist during meals following disrupted sleep, but only when escape extinction was not implemented. Findings are discussed in terms of establishing operations and the effects of sleep disruption on the assessment and treatment of feeding problems.     

Understanding the Covariation Among Childhood Externalizing Symptoms: Genetic and Environmental Influences on Conduct Disorder,Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,and Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms

Conduct disorder (CD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) are common childhood externalizing disorders that frequently co-occur. However, the causes of their comorbidity are not well understood. To address that question, we analyzed data from > 600 Finnish twin pairs, who completed standardized interviews at age 14. Behavior genetic methods were used to examine how genetic/environmental factors contribute to each disorders symptoms and to their covariation. We found significant genetic effects on each disorder with only modest evidence of shared environmental influences. Our data suggest the comorbidity among CD, ADHD, and ODD is primarily explained by shared genetic influences; however, each disorder was also under unique genetic influence, supporting the distinction of each disorder.