The Kalām Cosmological Argument and the Infinite God Objection

In this article, we evaluate various responses to a noteworthy objection, namely, the infinite God objection to the kalām cosmological argument. As regards this objection, the proponents of the kalām argument face a dilemma—either an actual infinite cannot exist or God cannot be infinite. More precisely, this objection claims that God’s omniscience entails the existence of an actual infinite with God knowing an actually infinite number of future events or abstract objects, such as mathematical truths. We argue, however, that the infinite God objection is based on two questionable assumptions, namely, (1) that it is possible for an omniscient being to know an actually infinite number of things and (2) that there exist an actually infinite number of abstract objects for God to know.     

Disentangling perceptual and response bias in unilateral neglect: a methodological proposal

Bisiach and his colleagues have developed a new version of Milner's "landmark task" for the purpose of separating "perceptual" and "response" biases in neglect patients. Subjects are required to decide which is the longer (or the shorter) of the two portions of a pre-bisected horizontal line. The authors proposed two indices to measure perceptual and response bias respectively. However, these indices are not mathematically independent of one another. Moreover, they do not exploit all of the information available in the data, since they do not consider the effect of the different transection locations across trials. We now propose an alternative means of analyzing data from the revised Landmark task, which generates independent estimates of perceptual and response biases. The method and its theoretical foundation are summarized, and illustrative data obtained from brain damaged patients and control subjects are presented.     

An attentional approach to study mental representations of different parts of the hand

The aim of this study is to investigate whether the fingers are represented separately from the palm. An exogenous spatial orientation paradigm was used where participants had to detect a tactile stimulus that could appear on the palm, the middle finger or the ring finger of the left hand. The tactile target was preceded by a non-predictive cue using different stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOA). We observed a Facilitation Effect in the palm and Inhibition of Return (IOR) for fingers using a short cue-target SOA, whereas the IOR was found in fingers and palm in long cue-target SOA. Also we observed a ‘Cue above Target’ effect (facilitation effect when the Cue had appeared distal to the target location in a vertical line) at the long SOA. Together, we suggest that the general pattern of results supports the proposed hypothesis about the different mental representation of fingers and palms, but with a considerable and hierarchical interrelation between them.     

Convergent,Discriminant, and Incremental Validity of the Pictorial Attitude Implicit Association Test and the Picture Story Exercise as Measures of the Implicit Power Motive

The Pictorial Attitude Implicit Association Test (PA‐IAT) has recently been proposed as new measure of implicit motives. We report a study that provides the first evidence for the convergent validity of the PA‐IAT by showing that the PA‐IAT correlates significantly with a standard measure of implicit motives [i.e. the Picture Story Exercise (PSE)]. Discriminant validity of the PA‐IAT was verified in the sense that the PA‐IAT shared virtually no common variance with explicit motive measures. Our analyses revealed that the PA‐IAT and PSE can best be conceived as related but distinct measures. We further showed that the PA‐IAT had incremental validity in predicting performance on a memory recall task over and above the PSE. In general, our results confirm that the PA‐IAT is a valid measure of implicit motives and can serve as valid alternative to the PSE. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prim?r- und Sekund?rprozess bei Angst und Depressivit?t im psychoanalytischen Erstinterview Eine quantitativ-inhaltsanalytische Ost-West-Untersuchung mit dem ?Regressive Imagery Dictionary“

Vorgestellt wird eine quantitative inhaltsanalytische Untersuchung an 46 psychoanalytischen Erstinterviews, die mit Angstpatienten und depressiven Patienten in Düsseldorf und Magdeburg geführt wurden. Im Mittelpunkt der Methodik steht das Regressive Imagery Dictionary (RID), ein computergestütztes Verfahren mit 43 Einzelkategorien, die zu den drei Indikatoren primärprozesshafter Inhalt, sekundärprozesshafter Inhalt und Emotionalität zusammengefasst werden. Die durchgeführten Subgruppenvergleiche beziehen sich auf Unterschiede zwischen Angstpatienten und depressiven Patienten sowie ostdeutschen (Magdeburg) und westdeutschen (Düsseldorf) Patienten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen in den Texten der ostdeutschen Patienten ein höheres Maß an primärprozesshaften Inhalten, insbesondere in den Kategorien Passivität und regressive Kognition. Bezüglich der Diagnosegruppen zeigen die Angstpatienten gegenüber den depressiven Patienten ein höheres Maß an primärprozesshaften Inhalten in der Subkategorie Oralität. Es zeigt sich, dass in psychoanalytischen Interviews nicht nur diagnosespezifische Inhalte thematisiert werden, sondern auch kultureller Hintergrund, Geschlecht und Bildung von Bedeutung sind. Die Studie leistet einen Beitrag zur Identifizierung automatisch erfassbarer Textmerkmale, die charakteristisch für die in einer qualitativen Studie gefundenen idealtypischen nosologischen Konstrukte der neurotischen Depression und der phobisch-angstneurotischen Erkrankung sind. Hierbei ist der depressive Idealtypus durch eine Überidentifikation mit Werten, durch das Gefühl der Abhängigkeit von einer schädigenden Person, durch Selbstwertprobleme, Hemmung und den unerfüllten Wunsch, geliebt zu werden, gekennzeichnet. Der Angsttypus zeichnet sich durch ein klischeehaft positives Bild der eigenen Persönlichkeit aus sowie durch die Gefühle, falsch verstanden, ausgenutzt, nicht ernst genommen und zum Außenseiter gemacht zu werden, sodass er bei nachlassenden Kräften im Kampf um Leistung nicht mehr mithalten kann.     

Primär- und Sekundärprozess bei Angst und Depressivität im psychoanalytischen Erstinterview

Zusammenfassung Vorgestellt wird eine quantitative inhaltsanalytische Untersuchung an 46 psychoanalytischen Erstinterviews, die mit Angstpatienten und depressiven Patienten in Düsseldorf und Magdeburg geführt wurden. Im Mittelpunkt der Methodik steht das Regressive Imagery Dictionary (RID), ein computergestütztes Verfahren mit 43 Einzelkategorien, die zu den drei Indikatoren primärprozesshafter Inhalt, sekundärprozesshafter Inhalt und Emotionalität zusammengefasst werden. Die durchgeführten Subgruppenvergleiche beziehen sich auf Unterschiede zwischen Angstpatienten und depressiven Patienten sowie ostdeutschen (Magdeburg) und westdeutschen (Düsseldorf) Patienten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen in den Texten der ostdeutschen Patienten ein höheres Maß an primärprozesshaften Inhalten, insbesondere in den Kategorien Passivität und regressive Kognition. Bezüglich der Diagnosegruppen zeigen die Angstpatienten gegenüber den depressiven Patienten ein höheres Maß an primärprozesshaften Inhalten in der Subkategorie Oralität. Es zeigt sich, dass in psychoanalytischen Interviews nicht nur diagnosespezifische Inhalte thematisiert werden, sondern auch kultureller Hintergrund, Geschlecht und Bildung von Bedeutung sind. Die Studie leistet einen Beitrag zur Identifizierung automatisch erfassbarer Textmerkmale, die charakteristisch für die in einer qualitativen Studie gefundenen idealtypischen nosologischen Konstrukte der neurotischen Depression und der phobisch-angstneurotischen Erkrankung sind. Hierbei ist der depressive Idealtypus durch eine Überidentifikation mit Werten, durch das Gefühl der Abhängigkeit von einer schädigenden Person, durch Selbstwertprobleme, Hemmung und den unerfüllten Wunsch, geliebt zu werden, gekennzeichnet. Der Angsttypus zeichnet sich durch ein klischeehaft positives Bild der eigenen Persönlichkeit aus sowie durch die Gefühle, falsch verstanden, ausgenutzt, nicht ernst genommen und zum Außenseiter gemacht zu werden, sodass er bei nachlassenden Kräften im Kampf um Leistung nicht mehr mithalten kann.

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Primary and secondary processes in psychoanalytic first interviews with patients suffering from anxiety and depressionA regressive imagery dictionary content analysis study in West and East German patients

The present paper describes a study on the intake interview narratives of psychotherapy patients with computer assisted content analysis methods. 46 psychoanalytic first interviews of patients suffering from depression or anxiety disorders were analysed with the Regressive Imagery Dictionary (RID), a computer assisted content analysis method with 43 subcategories, which were sumed up to three main categories: Primary Process, Secondary Process, and Emotion. Comparisons between different subgroups of this sample were made: Anxiety vs. depressive patients, and East Germans (Magdeburg) vs. West Germans (Düsseldorf). Significant correlations were found between the Primary Process subcategories Passivity and Regressive Cognition, and East German patients, as well as correlations between the Primary Process subcategory Orality, and anxiety patients. The results confirm our hypothesis, that the psychotherapist-patient-interaction sequences, which are the basis of diagnostic categorization, enclose as well elements which are specific for the disorders under study as elements which are specific for sex and culture (east vs. west). The study contributes to the identification of specific text markers, which can be found in the narratives of patients suffering from neurotic depression vs. patients with phobia and panic disorders. The results of the study are compared with a previous qualitative study. Using the ideal-type concept, our qualitative content analysis study showed as characteristic features of depressed patients overidentification with social roles and norms, feeling of being dependent and injured by another person, problems of self-esteem, shyness, and unfulfilled wishes to be loved and accepted. In contrast, phobic patients characterized the own personality as normal and without any problems in a stereotype way, at the same time feeling misunderstood and exploited by other persons, feeling as an outsider and left alone, and being no more able to compete with others.

     

Legal Progress Through Pragma-Dialectics? Prospects Beyond Analogy and E Contrario

Pragma-dialectical approaches to legal argumentation seem to be rather different from traditional approaches appealing to standards of propositional logic. Pragma-dialectical analysis of arguments by analogy and e contrario seem to fall foul to the rigors of logical analysis, in which problems or even concepts of analogy and e contrario seem to disappear. The brunt of both types of special legal argumentation appears to be borne by often implicit general principles and an appeal to the system of the law as a whole. Still, pragma-dialectics and logical analysis of legal argument are best seen as fruitfully supplementing each other in ongoing research of ever evolving legal argument.     

Can I leave my hat on? A cross-level study of multiple team membership role separation

This article conceptualizes role separation in multiple team membership (MTM) (i.e., the extent to which a multiteamer's role within a focal team is different from his/her role in another team) as a key predictor of individual and team outcomes. Existing literature on MTM focuses primarily on the total number of concurrent teams that an individual contributes to, and thus largely ignores the potential diversity that may characterize MTM. In Study 1, we develop and validate a measure of MTM role separation that reflects differences in (a) expected work results; (b) team collaboration; (c) leader expectations; and (d) client and/or customer characteristics. In Study 2, we use field data to examine the cross-level implications of MTM role separation. As expected, we find that MTM role separation is positively related to a multiteamer's role ambiguity within a focal team and, by extension, harms the performance of the entire focal team. This indirect relationship is not observed when a focal team's teamwork quality (TWQ) is high. We discuss how these findings advance our understanding of the multifaceted and multi-level nature of MTM and help multiteamers, team leaders, and organizations deal with MTM's challenges.     

Determinants of cumulative successive contrast in saltiness intensity judgments

When all stimuli elicit the same taste quality, solutions preceded by a high concentration level are judged to be significantly less intense than solutions preceded by a low concentration level. After repetitious stimulation with a different tasting stimulus, the intensity of the present stimulus is overestimated. This phenomenon is called “successive contrast.” In the present study, the cumulative effects of three identical stimuli on the saltiness ratings for a test stimulus are investigated. The preceding stimuli are manipulated with regard to taste quality, saltiness intensity, total taste intensity, and complexity. Whether the size of the cumulative contrast effect is associated with the degree of dissimilarity between preceding stimuli and test stimulus, or with the saltiness or total taste intensity of the preceding stimuli, is investigated. The size of the contrast effect depends on the type of preceding stimulus, its intensity, and the type of test stimulus. No association was found with judgments of the degree of dissimilarity between the preceding stimuli and the test stimulus. For nonsalty preceding stimuli, the contrast effects are independent of concentration level. When the preceding stimuli taste at least partly salty, the total intensity appears to determine the size of the contrast for an unmixed salty test stimulus.