ON THE RELIABILITY OF MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL VIRTUES

Abstract: I examine here whether reliability is a defining feature of (moral or intellectual) virtues. I argue (1) that reliability is not a defining feature of a virtue where virtues are conceived (as they often are) as “personal excellences,” but (2) that there is another (also intuitive and familiar) conception of a virtue according to which reliability is a defining feature. I also argue (3) that even on the former conception, a certain rational belief pertaining to reliability is essential and (4) that reliability itself, while not a defining feature of a virtue thus conceived, nevertheless is a concomitant of it.     

Comic Impossibilities

Magic and stand-up comedy have a lot in common. For example, when successful, both tend to elicit laughter, and many magicians regularly perform in comedy clubs. Nevertheless, the close relationship between magic and comedy is poorly understood. The goal of this article is to explore this relationship and to defend the thesis that magic is actually a form—arguably a limit case—of stand-up comedy. This requires first introducing definitions of both stand-up comedy and magic. The core argument then deploys one of today's best-developed philosophical theories of comic amusement to show that magic, when successful, is humorous. In this way, the article contributes to our understanding of both the emotional response to magic and the nature and scope of comedy. The article begins with an analysis of Steve Martin's 1968 TV debut on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, in which he performs a “socko-boffo comedy routine” that seamlessly integrates absurdist comedy with magic tricks.     

How Do People Conceptualize and Use Forgiveness? The Forgiveness Attitudes Questionnaire

This study was completed for 2 purposes: to explore how people use and conceptualize interpersonal forgiveness and to introduce the Forgiveness Attitudes Questionnaire (FAQ), an instrument designed to explore forgiveness. The instrument was administered to 155 students from 2 midwestern colleges. Results suggest that the FAQ shows early promise as an instrument for exploring interpersonal forgiveness, although further validity studies are required. The implications of the results are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Supervisors' Instrumental and Emotional Influences on Subordinate Help‐Seeking Behavior: An Exploratory Study

Research on subordinate help‐seeking in the workplace is limited. In the present research, we hypothesize that subordinates' help‐seeking behaviors will be influenced by 3 supervisor influences that are instrumentally and emotionally related to the subordinate: providing direct job‐related assistance and emotional support, and socializing with the supervisor outside of work. The results indicate that providing job‐related assistance and socializing are significant predictors of subordinates' help‐seeking behaviors. Dominance analysis reveals that socializing outside of work is the dominant factor influencing subordinates' help‐seeking behaviors. Implications from the findings and suggestions for future research are presented.     

A Four‐Country Study of the Relationship of Affect‐Based Trust to Turnover Intention

In this study, employees' affect‐based trust of their supervisor was used as the main predictor of turnover intention. It is hypothesized that affect‐based trust has a curvilinear U‐shaped relationship with turnover intention. The sample consisted of U.S., Polish, Russian, and Turkish participants, all with work experience. Regression results indicated that only the responses of the Russian sample supported the hypothesis, suggesting that Russian participants with either weak or strong affect‐based trust of the supervisor had higher intentions to the leave the organization. The Turkish, Polish, and U.S. results showed a negative linear relationship between affect‐based trust and turnover intention.     

The University and College Counseling Center and Malpractice Suits

This article provides the university and college counseling center with management suggestions for and discussion of malpractice suits regarding issues that refer to sexual abuse, potentially dangerous, and suicidal clients.