Yes, we still need Universal Grammar

In a recent paper [Lidz, J., Gleitman, H., & Gleitman, L. (2003). Understanding how input matters: Verb learning and the footprint of universal grammar. Cognition, 87, 151-178], we provided cross-linguistic evidence in favor of the following linked assertions: (i) Verb argument structure is a correlate of verb meaning; (ii) However, argument structure is not directly available to learners as a cue for reconstructing verb meaning, owing to the complexity of form-meaning mappings within and across languages; (iii) A major correlate of argument-structure, namely, noun phrase number, is statistically available on the surface in all languages, and serves as a quasi-universal derivative cue to the meanings of verbs; (iv) this cue is privileged, in the sense that it is used early and selectively by learners, despite within- and cross-language differences in its availability. Goldberg [Goldberg, A. (2004). But do we need Universal Grammar? Comment on Lidz, Gleitman and Gleitman 2003. Cognition] suggests that this cue is not linguistic, that it is too sicklied o'er with exceptions and provisos to be useful to learners, and that conversational conspiracies can in any case serve as the alternative theoretical framework for a theory of predicate learning, and language acquisition more generally. In the present reply, we review and further explicate our original position, to wit: A large part of any generative grammar is a formal statement of the complex alignments between predicate-argument structures and the surface forms (linear strings of words) of sentences. Because the several rules for alignment interact, the surface outcomes reveal individual systematicities only abstractly. Therefore, learning would be impossible if infants could not analyze probabilistically available patterns to recover their principled linguistic sources. This statistics-based discovery procedure is in certain relevant regards specific to language learning. Finally, we argue that while pragmatics and theory of mind properties in learner and tutor necessarily frame language acquisition, that these have not been shown—and probably cannot be shown—to be sufficient to this computational problem.     

The Problem of Ontotheology: Complicating the Divide Between Philosophy and Theology

This paper examines the problem of ontotheology as it was defined by Martin Heidegger, and how it has subsequently been approached by those philosophers and theologians who have followed in his wake. It argues that Heidegger's initial analysis of the onto-theological condition was mistaken by its presumption of a radical divide between philosophy and theology. Furthermore, many of the key thinkers who have followed after Heidegger have merely reinscribed this supposed divide between thought and faith, rather than genuinely questioning the terms Heidegger thought self-evident. The result, even among some of the most radical and influential contemporary thinkers such as Emmanuel Levinas, John Caputo, and Jean-Luc Marion, has been a contemporary philosophy deprived of questions of faith and a theology unaccountable to its place in the world. In response to this shortcoming of contemporary philosophical and theological thought, Jacques Derrida has approached the problem of ontotheology from the dual perspective of both thought and faith, and thereby, has provided a new path of thought beyond the problem of ontotheology and towards a renewed appreciation for the possibilities for a genuine philosophical theology.     

Exploring evaluative conditioning using a working memory task

Johnsrude, Owen, Zhao, and White (1999) demonstrated that evaluative conditioning (EC) can occur even while participants conduct a working memory task. This is consistent with claims that EC can occur outside awareness, and hence is an automatic process. In their study, three abstract patterns were paired differentially with a candy reinforcer: 90, 50, or 10%. On reinforced trials a red ball was presented in one of three locations on a computer screen. Participants were instructed to keep a tally for each location. We argue that if EC is automatic, then it will not consume cognitive/attentional resources, and hence co-occurrence of red ball and reinforcer should be irrelevant. Results from four experiments indicate that learning is only evident when the red ball and reinforcer co-occur or when the complexity of the working memory task is reduced. Together, the results suggest that EC is governed by specific attentional constraints on working memory. This interpretation questions the automatic nature of EC.     

Kuczynski on Partial Knowledge and the Paradox of Analysis

John–Michael Kuczynski says the "paradox of analysis" can be resolved with the proper definition of "partial knowledge." He says that this definition will not do: (K) S has partial knowledge of x = _df S knows some, but not all, of x 's parts. He offers an alternative account of incomplete or partial knowledge. I argue here that: (a) Kuczynski's chief criticisms of (K) are defective; (b) his proposed solution to the paradox of analysis has no clear application to the paradox in its familiar forms; and (c) his solution may not avoid the puzzle about partial knowledge it was designed to resolve.     

An Anthropologist at Ground Zero, or How I Applied My Group Perspective to the 9/11 Organizational Relief Effort

This paper, originally presented November, 2001 at the Plenary Session of the Annual Conference of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society in New York, describes the application of group psychodynamics to organizations under stress. The presentation illustrates the system sensitivity required of consultants assisting organizations traumatized by the 9/11 terror attacks. The author's comments and recommendations were shaped by his experience overseeing the consulting work provided by EGPS Members to Wall Street in the aftermath of the attacks.     

Film Review

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

Boundary Management for Cognitive Behavioral Therapies

In recent years, the scholarship regarding professional boundaries has increased significantly in a variety of areas. Despite many advances in this line of research, less attention has been devoted to the question of boundary maintenance and its relationship to theoretical orientation. In this article we examine these issues for cognitive-behavioral therapies. After a brief historical review of the evolution of the concept of boundaries, we select three procedures integral to cognitive-behavioral practice and discuss how they may create boundary problems for practitioners. We conclude with recommendations for practice.     

Psychosocial environment and affective outcomes in technology-rich classrooms: testing a causal model

Research investigated classroom environment antecedent variables and student affective outcomes in Australian high schools. The Technology-Rich Outcomes-Focused Learning Environment Inventory (TROFLEI) was used to assess 10 classroom environment dimensions: student cohesiveness, teacher support, involvement, investigation, task orientation, cooperation, equity, differentiation, computer usage and young adult ethos. A sample of 4,146 high school students from Western Australia and Tasmania responded to the TROFLEI and three student outcome measures: attitude to the subject, attitude to computer use and academic efficacy. Confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL supported the 10 scale a priori structure of the instrument. Structural equation modeling using LISREL was used to test a postulated model involving antecedent variables, classroom environment and outcomes. The modeling indicated that: improving classroom environment has the potential to improve student outcomes, antecedents did not have any significant direct effect on outcomes, and academic efficacy mediated the effect of several classroom environment dimensions on attitude to subject and attitude to computer use.