Re-Interpretation in Historiography: John Dewey and the Neo-Humanist Tradition

Did John Dewey’s ‘new philosophy of education’ really try to dissolve the whole block of tradition or is his debt namely to educational core-concepts of neo-humanism deeper than he was prepared to acknowledge? After some general remarks on the process of reception as productive re-adaptation and its implication for historiography I will deal with Dewey’s own contexts that shape the interpretative grid through which he receives the tradition. Two case studies attempt to illustrate both continuity and discontinuity with a specific part of this tradition, namely two critical perspectives within German neo-humanism: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Johann Friedrich Herbart.     

Activity-Based Accounts of Mechanism and the Threat of Polygenic Effects

Accounts of ontic explanation have often been devised so as to provide an understanding of mechanism and of causation. Ontic accounts differ quite radically in their ontologies, and one of the latest additions to this tradition proposed by Peter Machamer, Lindley Darden and Carl Craver reintroduces the concept of activity. In this paper I ask whether this influential and activity-based account of mechanisms is viable as an ontic account. I focus on polygenic scenarios—scenarios in which the causal truths depend on more than one cause. The importance of polygenic causation was noticed early on by Mill (1893). It has since been shown to be a problem for both causal-law approaches to causation (Cartwright 1983) and accounts of causation cast in terms of capacities (Dupré 1993; Glennan 1997, pp. 605–626). However, whereas mechanistic accounts seem to be attractive precisely because they promise to handle complicated causal scenarios, polygenic causation needs to be examined more thoroughly in the emerging literature on activity-based mechanisms. The activity-based account proposed in Machamer et al. (2000, pp. 1–25) is problematic as an ontic account, I will argue. It seems necessary to ask, of any ontic account, how well it performs in causal situations where—at the explanandum level of mechanism—no activity occurs. In addition, it should be asked how well the activity-based account performs in situations where there are too few activities around to match the polygenic causal origin of the explanandum. The first situation presents an explanandum-problem and the second situation presents an explanans-problem—I will argue—both of which threaten activity-based frameworks.     

Decision science: from Ramsey to dual process theories

The hypothesis that human reasoning and decision-making can be roughly modeled by Expected Utility Theory has been at the core of decision science. Accumulating evidence has led researchers to modify the hypothesis. One of the latest additions to the field is Dual Process theory, which attempts to explain variance between participants and tasks when it comes to deviations from Expected Utility Theory. It is argued that Dual Process theories at this point cannot replace previous theories, since they, among other things, lack a firm conceptual framework, and have no means of producing independent evidence for their case.     

Modular Treatment for Children and Adolescents With Problematic School Absenteeism: Development and Description of a Program in Germany

Problematic school absenteeism is defined as absence from school occurring with a clinical-level mental disorder. It represents a higher-order term for school refusal, school truancy, and the combination thereof and is associated with an increased risk for school dropout, prolonged mental disorders, and unemployment. This article describes the manualized modular treatment of problematic school absenteeism (MT) by a multiprofessional team. The manual was developed to target a broad spectrum of mental disorders characterized by internalizing but also externalizing behavior. The therapeutic focus is on the reintegration into school and on the cognitive behavioral treatment of the mental disorder. The MT is based on a multilevel model of problematic school absenteeism. The treatment is informed by an extensive case-conceptualization and addresses motivational aspects by offering a low-threshold therapeutic design and motivational interviewing. Core interventions are represented in four modules: cognitive behavioral therapy, family counseling, school counseling, and a psychoeducational physical exercise program. A case vignette provides an illustration of the treatment and the specific graduated approach for school reintegration. The current modular approach is discussed in relation to other cognitive-behavioral manuals targeting a broad spectrum of mental disorders or school refusal.     

Preference for upright structure in memory-traces

Summary Rotation in reproduced drawings was investigated as a function of learning and prolonged forgetting (2 1/4 years). One hundred normal persons served as subjects. Using a control situation, a preference for rotating diagonal stimulus lines into upright positions was found. Rotation was most frequent at the first learning trial and disappeared gradually with practice. During forgetting rotation reappeared spontaneously and increased with time distance from learning. There was no significant correlation between rotation observed during learning and forgetting.

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Zusammenfassung In einem Gedächtnisexperiment wurden gezeichnete Reproduktionen auf Rotationseffekte untersucht, und zwar als Funktion des Lernens und prolongierten Vergessens (bis zu 2 1/4 Jahren). Einhundert normale Personen dienten als Versuchspersonen. Mit Hilfe einer Kontrollgruppe wurde eine ausgeprägte Tendenz einer Rotation diagonaler exponierter Reizlinien in aufrecht reproduzierte Linien gefunden. Die Häufigkeit dieser Rotation war bei der ersten Reproduktion am stärksten und verringerte sich zunehmend mit der Übung bis zu ihrer Auslöschung. Während des Vergessens trat der Rotationseffekt spontan wieder auf. Seine Häufigkeit erhöhte sich mit dem zeitlichen Abstand vom Lernexperiment. Es bestand keine bedeutsame Korrelation zwischen der Rotation während des Lernens und des Vergessens.

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The original experiments were conducted in the Institute of Psychology, University of Göttingen, which was then directed by Prof. Johannes von Allesch.     

Asylum for Sale: A Market between States that is Feasible and Desirable

The asylum system faces problems on two fronts. States undermine it with populist politics, and migrants use it to satisfy their migration preferences. To address these problems, asylum services should be commodified. States should be able to pay other states to provide determination and protection‐elsewhere. In this article, I aim to identify a way of implementing this idea that is both feasible and desirable. First, I sketch a policy proposal for a commodification of asylum services. Then, I argue that this policy proposal is not only compatible with the right to asylum, but also supported by moral considerations. Despite some undesirable moral features, a market in asylum facilitates the provision of asylum to those who need it.