Negationless intuitionism

The present paper deals with natural intuitionistic semantics for intuitionistic logic within an intuitionistic metamathematics. We show how strong completeness of full first order logic fails. We then consider a negationless semantics à la Henkin for second order intuitionistic logic. By using the theory of lawless sequences we prove that, for such semantics, strong completeness is restorable. We argue that lawless negationless semantics is a suitable framework for a constructive structuralist interpretation of any second order formalizable theory (classical or intuitionistic, contradictory or not).     

Steps Towards a Proof-Theoretical Semantics

The aim of this paper is to reconsider several proposals that have been put forward in order to develop a Proof-Theoretical Semantics, from the by now classical neo-verificationist approach provided by D. Prawitz and M. Dummett in the Seventies, to an alternative, more recent approach mainly due to the work of P. Schroeder-Heister and L. Halln?s, based on clausal definitions. Some other intermediate proposals are very briefly sketched. Particular attention will be given to the role played by the so-called Fundamental Assumption. We claim that whereas, in the neo-verificationist proposal, the condition expressed by that Assumption is necessary to ensure the completeness of the justification procedure (from the outside, so to speak), within the definitional framework it is a built-in feature of the proposal. The latter approach, therefore, appears as an alternative solution to the problem which prompted the neo-verificationists to introduce the Fundamental Assumption.     

The Place of Comprehensive Doctrines in Political Liberalism: On Some Common Misgivings About the Subject and Function of the Overlapping Consensus

In this paper I argue that Rawlsians have largely misunderstood the idea of an overlapping consensus of reasonable comprehensive doctrines, thereby failing to delineate in an appropriate way the place of comprehensive doctrines in political liberalism. My argument rests on two core claims. The first claim is that (i) political liberalism is committed to three theses about the overlapping consensus. The first thesis concerns the subject of the overlapping consensus; the second thesis concerns the function of the overlapping consensus; the third thesis explains how the overlapping consensus can serve its function in accordance with political liberalism??s commitment to epistemic neutrality. The second claim on which my argument relies is empirical: (ii) Rawlsians typically deny at least one of the three theses to which political liberalism is committed. Based on (i) and (ii), I conclude that Rawlsians have hitherto provided unconvincing accounts of the place of comprehensive doctrines in political liberalism.     

Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Their Caregivers

A large number of studies have investigated a variety of psychological aspects in people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, but there is still considerable uncertainty concerning the actual morbidity, in particular for anxiety. We aim to evaluate depression levels and anxiety disposition in ALS patients and their caregivers, in comparison to healthy controls. We conducted a cross-sectional comparison between people with ALS, their caregivers and a non-clinical control group in order to evaluate anxiety and depression levels. 40 ALS patients, their caregivers and 40 healthy adult subjects completed the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory—Y2 scale (STAI). We compared overall and single item scores in order to find differences between the three groups. BDI-II scores were significantly different between groups. Depression scores were higher for patients than for healthy controls, in both somatic and psychological sub-scales. Caregivers presented higher levels of psychological depression in comparison with healthy controls, and lower scores of somatic depression in comparison to patients. No differences were found in trait anxiety levels comparing the three groups. ALS patients and their caregivers developed more depression related symptomatology than the non-clinical sample. However, susceptibility to anxiety for both patients and caregivers seemed to be at a normal level.     

An examination of attachment,religiousness, spirituality and well-being in a Baptist faith sample

The purpose of this research was to examine a mediational model of attachment, religiousness and spirituality in predicting well-being in people of Christian faith. One hundred and eighty-five participants were recruited from Baptist churches and 19 from a Baptist-based university. Whereas no support was found for a mediational model of attachment, religiousness and spirituality in predicting well-being, support was found for a path model whereby greater levels of insecure attachment to God were associated with lower levels of religious spirituality (RS). In turn, lower levels of RS were associated with greater levels of emotional distress (ED). Therefore, for this sample of Baptists, having a secure attachment to God was related to an increase in religious behaviours, fulfilment with one's prayer life and belief in a purpose for life. It seems that increases in these religious and spiritual variables are related to less ED. This suggests that heightened connection with God, both through religious behaviours and heightened spirituality, is a beneficial pursuit for people of Christian faith.     

The emotional cost of charitable donations

Donations in support of a charitable cause can create a conflict between moral intuitions (e.g., fulfilling moral obligations and helping as many individuals in need as possible) and the cost entailed by following one's moral intuitions (e.g., spending money). The present paper investigates this conflict by putting people in a situation in which they must choose whether to help three women by giving more money or help one woman by giving less. In addition, the paper uses the attraction effect paradigm to counteract the single victim effect and reduce the conflict. Experiment 1 demonstrates that in a two-alternative context the majority of participants choose to help one woman by giving €150 instead of helping three women by giving €450. Experiment 2 replicates this finding and highlights the role of emotion regulation strategies in the management of the emotional conflict arising in the two-alternative condition. In both studies, the introduction of a third, dominated alternative reduces the conflict and makes it easier to choose the programme asking for a higher donation and helping three women. Implications for charitable donations and the role of the conflict between moral intuitions and economic costs are discussed.     

To Be is to Be the Object of a Possible Act of Choice

Aim of the paper is to revise Boolos’ reinterpretation of second-order monadic logic in terms of plural quantification ([4], [5]) and expand it to full second order logic. Introducing the idealization of plural acts of choice, performed by a suitable team of agents, we will develop a notion of plural reference. Plural quantification will be then explained in terms of plural reference. As an application, we will sketch a structuralist reconstruction of second-order arithmetic based on the axiom of infinite à la Dedekind, as the unique non-logical axiom. We will also sketch a virtual interpretation of the classical continuum involving no other infinite than a countable plurality of individuals.     

The Implicit and Explicit Effects of Negative Political Campaigns: Is the Source Really Blamed?

Despite the widespread use of negative campaigns, research has not yet provided unambiguous conclusions about their effects. So far studies, however, have mainly focused on very explicit measures. The main goal of the present work was to explore the effects of different types of negative campaigns on both implicit and explicit attitudes, as well as in relation to two basic dimensions of social perception, namely competence and warmth. Across a series of three studies, we basically showed that not all negative campaigns lead to the same consequences. Specifically, especially personal attacks toward the opposing candidate may backfire at the explicit level. More interestingly, at an implicit level, the reliance on negative messages was associated with more negative spontaneous affective responses toward the source, but also with a spontaneous conformity to such a source. Overall, it appeared that negative messages decreased the perceived warmth of the source while simultaneously increasing the perceived competence. Results are discussed by focusing on the importance of implicit measures in political psychology and on the crucial role of perceived competence.     

Burden, depression, and anxiety in caregivers of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by the degeneration of motor neurons. The burden for ALS caregivers is quite high. There are still few studies that have investigated the emotional impact of ALS care. We conducted a cross-sectional study among 40 ALS caregivers, assessing general worries, burden of care, depression, anxiety, perception of social support, and patients' severity of disease. Caregiver burden, depression, and anxiety were positively related with each other, and all these variables had a negative relation with social support. Patient's loss of physical functions was positively related with caregiver burden, anxiety, and somatic expression of depression. Caregivers expressed worries for their own health conditions. Given these results, we consider the hypothesis of an emotional-somatic impact of ALS care. The implications and limitations are discussed.     

The Impact of Impairment Criteria on Rates of ADHD Diagnoses in Preschoolers

Behaviors characteristic of ADHD are common among preschool children, and as such, their clinical significance is oftentimes difficult to ascertain. Thus a focus on impairment is essential in determining the clinical significance of these behaviors. In order to explore the impact of impairment criteria on rates of diagnoses in inattentive/hyperactive children aged 36 through 60-months-old, we first developed, and psychometrically evaluated, the Children's Problem Checklist (CPC) which was designed to assess psychosocial impairment associated with ADHD in a community sample of preschoolers (n = 394), and found its reliability and validity to be acceptable. We then examined the impact of the inclusion of various CPC-determined impairment criteria, over and above symptom criteria measured by the ADHD-RS-IV, using various cut points ranging from the 75th to 90th percentile of our community sample. This reduced the number of children meeting criteria for ADHD by 46-77%. These findings are discussed in terms of the importance of using impairment criteria, rather than just severity of inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity, when diagnosing ADHD in preschool children.