Open Problems in the Philosophy of Information

Abstract: The philosophy of information (PI) is a new area of research with its own field of investigation and methodology. This article, based on the Herbert A. Simon Lecture of Computing and Philosophy I gave at Carnegie Mellon University in 2001, analyses the eighteen principal open problems in PI. Section 1 introduces the analysis by outlining Herbert Simon's approach to PI. Section 2 discusses some methodological considerations about what counts as a good philosophical problem. The discussion centers on Hilbert's famous analysis of the central problems in mathematics. The rest of the article is devoted to the eighteen problems. These are organized into five sections: problems in the analysis of the concept of information, in semantics, in the study of intelligence, in the relation between information and nature, and in the investigation of values.     

信息哲学的若干问题

编者按:信息哲学的研究纲领在国际哲学界已经得以确立.英国牛津大学哲学系弗洛里迪的两篇文章《什么是信息哲学?》(本刊2002年第4期)与《信息哲学的若干问题》(Open Problems in the Philosophv of Information)可被视为信息哲学诞生的标志性与奠基性的工作.     

Aggressive and prosocial children's emotion attributions and moral reasoning

Aggressive and prosocial children's emotion attributions and moral reasoning were investigated. Participants were 235 kindergarten children (M=6.2 years) and 136 elementary-school children (M=7.6 years) who were selected as aggressive or prosocial based on (kindergarten) teacher ratings. The children were asked to evaluate hypothetical rule violations, attribute emotions they would feel in the role of the victimizer, and justify their responses. Compared with younger prosocial children, younger aggressive children attributed fewer negative emotions and were more likely to provide sanction-oriented justifications when evaluating rule violations negatively. Furthermore, age-, gender- and context-effects in moral development occurred. The context-effects included both effects of transgression type (i.e., prosocial morality vs. fairness) on emotion attributions and moral reasoning and the effects of the context of moral evaluation and emotion attribution on moral reasoning. Findings are discussed in terms of the role of emotion attributions and moral reasoning as antecedents of children's aggressive and prosocial behavior.     

Western literature on Soviet psychology and physiology of behavior: A selected bibliography

The present bibliography includes the most important writings which have appeared in Western countries about Soviet psychology, and the translations (into English, French, German, Spanish and Italian) of monographs and anthologies of Soviet psychologists. The references were collected in connection with the preparation of a work on the diffusion of Soviet psychology in Western countries.     

Effects of the Acquisition of Prerequisite Behavior on the Learning of Nonvocal Verbal Behavior and Vocal Imitation in Children With Severe Retardation

The effects of acquisition and maintenance of prerequisite interactions, such as attending behavior, nonverbal imitative behavior, and disruptive behavior, on the learning of nonvocal verbal behavior and vocal imitation were evaluated. Four severely retarded children were selected on the basis of low level or absence of the target behaviors (nonvocal verbal behavior and vocal imitation) and failure to reach the acquisition criterion on prerequisite behavior. The results were evaluated visually and by time series analysis. Findings indicated that the acquisition of prerequisite interactions led to superior performance and fewer trials to reach criteria in this language intervention.

     

Of scapegoats,strawmen, and scarecrows

The thesis of this paper is that much pathology derives from our inability to deal with our feelings of hurt. The inability to deal with hurt results in the externalization of responsibility which in turn creates victims and dysfunctional behavior. The drama of the externalization of responsibility involves the same individual, the victim, or identified patient, playing three successive dysfunctional roles: the scapegoat, the strawman, and the scarecrow. This view of pathology is basically transactional because the process occurs in a familial context where all the parts of the system are intrinsically related in producing a victim.     

Individual differences in self-reported thought control: the role of the repressive coping sytle

The purpose of the present research is to assess differences between repressors and non repressors in some aspects associated with conscious thought control. Thus, Sixty-three Spanish university students with different combinations of trait anxiety and defensiveness completed the Thought Control Ability Questionnaire (TCAQ) and the White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI). Data analysis showed that subjects with low anxiety (repressors and low anxious) reported higher perceived ability to control unpleasant thoughts and less tendency to suppress than did subjects with high anxiety (high anxious and defensive high anxious). Implications of these results are discussed in relation to recent researches that have explored the association between repression and thought suppression.     

One-year follow-up of pharmacotherapy-resistant patients with panic disorder treated with cognitive-behavior therapy: Outcome and predictors of remission

Non-response to pharmacotherapy for panic disorder (PD) is a well-documented problem. However, little information exists to guide next-step strategies for these non-responders. In addition to pharmacologic augmentation strategies, several studies support the efficacy of cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) for these patients, although data on long-term outcomes has been lacking. In this study, we provide one-year outcomes on a sample of 63 patients who completed group CBT for PD after failing to respond adequately to previous pharmacotherapy. Sustained significant benefit was found for all dimensional outcome scores, and nearly two-thirds of the sample met remission criteria. This occurred with reductions in medication use over the follow-up period. Negative predictors of remission status included comorbid dysthymia, social phobia, and generalized anxiety disorder. These results provide additional evidence for the efficacy of CBT for medication non-responders with PD.