HUME ON KNOWLEDGE,CERTAINTY AND PROBABILITY: ANTICIPATING THE DISINTEGRATION OF THE ANALYTIC/SYNTHETIC DIVIDE?

Abstract:  This paper contends that the first argument of Hume's "Of scepticism with regard to reason" entails that humans have no knowledge as Hume understands knowledge. In defending this claim, we also see how Hume's argument anticipates an important aspect of an extremely influential 20th century development: the collapse of the analytic/synthetic distinction.     

BRING BACK THE MAGIC

Abstract:  Magical ersatzism is the view that possible worlds are primitive abstract entities. In On the Plurality of Worlds , David Lewis presented what appeared to many to be a devastating argument against magical ersatzism. In this paper, I show that Lewis' central argument does not succeed. Magical ersatzism remains a viable theory of possible worlds.     

Translating Holiness: Forms of Word,Writ and Righteousness

This article reflects theologically on the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the English Bible under the rubric ‘translating holiness’. A first section examines the notion of theology as translation as well as the general challenge of translation: saying the same thing in other words. The second section examines the KJV as an essentially literal, nation‐building translation. The final section asks whether translation can be considered a fourth form of the Word of God and suggests that its proper dogmatic location is the triune economy of translation in which the Spirit communicates righteousness, forming Christ through the ministry of the Word.     

Forgiveness and Standing

Despite broad agreement that forgiveness involves overcoming resentment, the small philosophical literature on this topic has made little progress in determining which of the many ways of overcoming resentment is forgiveness. In a recent paper, however, Pamela Hieronymi proposed a way forward by requiring that accounts of forgiveness be “articulate” and “uncompromising.” I argue for these requirements, but also claim that Hieronymi’s proposed articulate and uncompromising account must be rejected because it cannot accommodate the fact that only some agents have the standing to forgive. I end by sketching an alternative account which, I claim, explains the phenomenon of standing.     

Effects of Academic Achievement and Gender on Academic and Social Self-Concept: A Replication Study

Female and male eighth-grade students representing very high, moderately high, and average levels of achievement were compared on measures of academic and social self-concept. Most of the differences were in academic self-concept, which was positively related to level of academic achievement. There also was an interaction of gender and academic achievement on academic self-concept. Average achieving girls had lower academic self-concept scores than all other groups of students. In addition, boys scored higher than girls on measures of academic self-concept and job competence. There were no significant differences on any of the social self-concept measures. The counseling implications of these findings for gifted students and girls of average achievement are discussed.     

PREDICTING JOB PERFORMANCE OF YOUTH TRAINEES UNDER A JOB TRAINING PARTNERSHIP ACT PROGRAM (JTPA): CRITERION VALIDATION OF A BEHAVIOR-BASED MEASURE OF WORK MATURITY

Current concepts of the construct of work maturity have focused on a cognitive developmental perspective. This study demonstrates the criterion-related validity of a behavior-based measure of work maturity. The work-maturity levels of 142 youth enrollees in a job training program sponsored by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) were measured using a locally relevant, behavior-based instrument. Through factor and linear regression analyses, the construct of work maturity was defined and related to later job performance. Two work-maturity factors (Time Consciousness and Sociability) were found to predict a weighted composite criterion composed of ten job performance dimensions. In addition, the ability of individual dimensions to predict job performance was also examined. Future studies of work maturity that combine cognitive and behavioral measures are suggested.     

A PROPOSED METHODOLOGY FOR DETERMINING SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES AMONG JOBS1

The determination of job similarities and differences is important for several reasons. First, to satisfy legal requirements concerning validity generalizations and second, to justify in some circumstances, collapsing across jobs for validational purposes. The proposed Analysis of Variance procedure allows researchers to test for significant differences among jobs. Moreover, the procedure permits the calculation of variance estimates to estimate the relative degree of similarities and differences among jobs. An example is presented.     

Effects of Community Service on Adolescent Personality Development

Community service programs have been implemented to promote positive personality development in adolescents. Theoretical and anecdotal evidence suggests that such programs are important in instilling values and nurturing development of positive personality and behavioral characteristics. The study sought to determine the effects of participation in community service activities on the personality development of high school students. We used quantitative and qualitative analyses to evaluate the research question. Quantitative analyses yielded limited evidence of positive change, but qualitative analyses indicated that community service produced strong positive effects for participants. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

MODESTY BIAS IN SELF-RATINGS OF PERFORMANCE: A TEST OF THE CULTURAL RELATIVITY HYPOTHESIS

Although self-ratings of performance are usually higher than ratings obtained from supervisors, Farh, Dobbins, and Cheng (1991) found that Taiwanese workers exhibited modesty bias (i.e., self-ratings that were lower than supervisory ratings). They explained their findings in terms of broad cultural differences between Taiwanese and Western workers. To test this cultural relativity hypothesis, we replicated their study using data from several organizations in mainland China. As is typically found in Western research, Chinese workers showed leniency in self-ratings (i.e., self-ratings that were higher than supervisor or peer ratings), which suggests that broad cultural factors do not explain the modesty bias reported by Farh et al.