Ronald L. Hall,The Human Embrace: The Love of Philosophy and the Philosophy of Love; Kierkegaard,Cavell, Nussbaum

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion -     

The impact of politeness and relationship on perceived quality of advice about a problem

Advice is a common but potentially problematic way to respond to someone who is distressed. Politeness theory (Brown & Levinson, 1987) suggests advice threatens a hearer's face and predicts that the speaker‐hearer relationship and the use of politeness strategies can mitigate face threat and enhance the effectiveness of advice messages. Students (N=384) read 1 of 16 hypothetical situations that varied in speaker power and closeness of the speaker‐hearer relationship. Students then read 1 of 48 advice messages representing different politeness strategies and rated the message for regard shown for face and for effectiveness. However, neither speaker‐hearer relationship nor politeness strategies was consistently associated with perceived threat to face or perceived advice effectiveness. We suggest revisions to politeness theory and additional factors that may affect judgments of face sensitivity and advice effectiveness.     

Children and Spirituality in the Context of a Traditional Festival: Halloween

This paper examines some of the contemporary cultural practices associated with the traditional festival of Halloween as it is celebrated by children in Britain and the United States. Using ethnographic evidence from a variety of sources, the authors seek to explore the range of activities which constitute the modern Halloween, particularly as it is mediated to children through the forms of consumer culture. The paper analyses the changing social, historical and religious patterns which have displaced the celebration of Halloween onto children, and offers an account of them which points to the persistence of a coherent spirituality—what the authors term a ‘spirituality of boundaries‘—to be found in the symbolism of the festival and its interaction with the lives and representation of children.     

Atomic discourse inThe Feynman Lectures on Physics

We examine the compromises that are actually made in modern scientific discourse concerning atoms. We conclude that even the ideals of clarity and consistency can be legitimately compromised in order to obtain other advantages.     

Utility of the Mini-Mult with parents of emotionally disturbed children.

In order to determine the potential usefulness of the Mini-Mult as a screening instrument with parents of emotionally disturbed children, two studies were conducted. In the first study 128 MMPI profiles were rescored for the Mini-Mult and comparisons with MMPI were made. In the second study 50 parents were administered both the MMPI and the Mini-Mult. Results of both studies indicate that the Mini-Mult is not a good screening instrument with parents of emotionally disturbed children.