Continuity of change in Kant’s dynamics

Since his Metaphysische Anfangsgründe der Naturwissenschaft was first published in 1786, controversy has surrounded Immanuel Kant’s conception of matter. In particular, the justification for both his dynamical theory of matter and the related dismissal of mechanical philosophy are obscure. In this paper, I address these longstanding issues and establish that Kant’s dynamism rests upon Leibnizian, metaphysical commitments held by Kant from his early pre-Critical texts on natural philosophy to his major critical works. I demonstrate that, throughout his corpus and inspired by Leibniz, Kant endorses the a priori law of continuity of alteration as a truth of metaphysics, according to which all alterations in experience must occur gradually through all intervening degrees. The principle thus legislates against mechanical philosophy’s absolutely impenetrable atoms, as they would would involve instantaneous changes of velocity in impact. This reveals the metaphysical incoherencies in mechanical philosophy and leaves Kant’s own dynamical theory of matter, grounded on material forces, as the only viable approach to physical explanation. Subsequently, I demonstrate that Kant nevertheless made conceptual space in his system for the theoretical consideration of mechanical explanations, which makes manifest one of the positive roles that the faculty of reason can play with respect to natural science.

     

Medical knowledge in a social world: Introduction to the special issue

Philosophy of medicine has traditionally examined two issues: the scientific ontology for medicine and the epistemic significance of the types of evidence used in medical research. In answering each question, philosophers have typically brought to bear tools from traditional analytic philosophy. In contrast, this volume explores medical knowledge from the perspective offered by social epistemology. While many of the same issues are addressed, the approach to these issues generates both fresh questions and new insights into old debates. In addition, the broader purview offered by social epistemology opens up opportunities to address new topics such as the role of consensus conferences, epistemic injustice, the value of medical knowledge, continuing medical education, and industry funding. This article situates and summarizes the contributions to this special issue.

     

Does Gender Nonconforming Behavior in Early Childhood Predict Adolescents’ Depressive Symptoms?

Sex Roles - Gender nonconforming behavior (GNB) is a risk factor for poorer psychological adjustment, but little is known about whether preschool-age children displaying GNB are at risk for...     

“THINGS COUNTER,ORIGINAL, SPARE,STRANGE”: DEVELOPING A POSTFOUNDATIONAL TRANSVERSAL MODEL FOR SCIENCE/RELIGION DIALOGUE

This second of three articles outlining the development and practice of a different approach to neurotheology discusses the construction of a suitable methodology for the project based on the work of J. Wentzel van Huyssteen. It explores the origin and contours of his concept of postfoundational rationality, its potential as a locus for epistemological parity between science and religion and the distinctive and unique transversal space model for interdisciplinary dialogue which he builds on these. It then proposes a further development of the model which has the potential to produce a very different type of additional and original dialogical outcome. While such “transversal” outputs may initially seem counter and strange they not only flow naturally from the models’ own inherent dynamics but also open up the possibility of a distinctively different form of neurotheology.     

“ÁLL TRÁDES,THEIR GEAR AND TACKLE AND TRIM”: THEOLOGY,COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE,AND PSYCHONEUROIMMUNOLOGY IN TRANSVERSAL DIALOGUE

This third of three articles outlining a different approach to science/religion dialogue generally and to engagement between theology and the neurosciences specifically, gives a brief account of the model in practice. It begins by introducing the question to be investigated—whether the experience of relational connection can affect health outcomes by directly moderating immune function. Then, employing the same threefold heuristic of encounter, exchange, and expression used previously, it discusses how the transversal model set out in these articles has been used to investigate this question and to develop a theoretical physiological model for the proposed link between relationality and health.     

Intending to Leave But No Place to Go: An Examination of the Behaviors of Reluctant Stayers

We extend recent conceptual work on withdrawal states and develop a framework to examine behavioral tendencies of reluctant stayers (i.e., employees who desire to leave but cannot). Although principles of self-interest suggest that these employees ought to behave appropriately to maintain employment, reactance theory suggests that the combination of high turnover intentions and low job alternatives may result in lower performance and greater deviance. Contrary to conventional wisdom but consistent with reactance theory, low perceived job alternatives strengthened the positive relationship between turnover intentions and deviance, as well as the negative relation between intentions to quit and task performance. Moderated-mediation analyses revealed that the indirect effect of work frustration (via turnover intentions) was stronger on task performance and deviance when perceived job alternatives were low rather than high.     

Internal health locus of control predicts willingness to track health behaviors online and with smartphone applications

Given rising technology use across all demographic groups, digital interventions offer a potential strategy for increasing access to health information and care. Research is lacking on identifying individual differences that impact willingness to use digital interventions, which may affect patient engagement. Health locus of control, the amount of control an individual believes they have over their own health, may predict willingness to use mobile health (mHealth) applications (‘apps’) and online trackers. A cross-sectional study (n = 276) was conducted to assess college students’ health locus of control beliefs and willingness to use health apps and online trackers. Internal and powerful other health locus of control beliefs predicted willingness to use health apps and online trackers while chance health locus of control beliefs did not. Individuals with internal and powerful other health locus of control beliefs are more willing than those with chance health locus of control beliefs to utilize a form of technology to monitor or change health behaviors. Health locus of control is an easy-to-assess patient characteristic providers can measure to identify which patients are more likely to utilize mHealth apps and online trackers.     

Secondary traumatic stress in emergency medicine clinicians

Previously called Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS), secondary exposure to trauma is now considered a valid DSM-5 Criterion A stressor for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Previous studies have found high rates of STS in clinicians who treat traumatically injured patients. However, little research has examined STS among Emergency Medicine (EM) physicians and advanced practice providers (APPs). The current study enrolled EM providers (N = 118) working in one of 10 hospitals to examine risk factors, protective factors, and the prevalence of STS in this understudied population. Most of the participants were physicians (72.9%), Caucasian (85.6%), and male (70.3%) with mean age of 39.7 (SD = 8.9). Overall, 12.7% of the sample screened positive for STS with clinical levels of intrusion, arousal, and avoidance symptom clusters, and 33.9% had at least one symptom cluster at clinical levels. Low resilience and a history of personal trauma were positively associated with positive STS screens and STS severity scores. Borderline significance suggested that female gender and spending ≥10% of one’s time with trauma patients could be additional risk factors. Findings suggest that resilience-building interventions may be beneficial.     

Self-Regulation in the Classroom: A Perspective on Assessment and Intervention

Il n’y a pas de définition simple et univoque du concept d’apprentissage autorégulé. Des théoriciens de psychologie de l’éducation ont réduit l’éventail des aptitudes des élèves à s’autoréguler en se focalisant sur le versant scolaire de l’éducation, à savoir l’acquisition des connaissances et les objectifs de réussite. Toutefois, le monde complexe de l’étude en classe engendre une situation où différents buts entrent en concurrence aux yeux des élèves. Le modèle d’autorégulation à double processus de Bookaerts montre que les deux objectifs que sont l’étude et le bien‐être interagissent. Nous estimons que lorsque les élèves ont accès à des stratégies autonomes bien au point se traduisant par de bonnes habitudes de travail, ils ont une plus grande probabilité de se motiver pour les études et de sauvegarder leur bien‐être quand une source de stress bloque l’apprentissage. There is no simple and straightforward definition of the construct of self‐regulated learning. Theorists in educational psychology have narrowed the scope of students’ capability to self‐regulate through a focus on the academic side of education, namely on learning and achievement goals. However, the messy world of classroom learning creates a situation in which different goals compete for students’ attention. Boekaerts’ dual processing self‐regulation model describes how learning goals interact with well‐being goals. We propose that when students have access to well‐refined volitional strategies manifested as good work habits, they are more likely to invest effort in learning and get off the well‐being track when a stressor blocks learning. Shifting definitions of SRL have led to changing measurement procedures; researchers moved away from decontextualised measures of SRL to domain‐specific measures and then on to context‐sensitive measures. The validity and reliability of the first generation of SR assessment has been limited and several issues remain. Recently, researchers have designed assessment packages including new instruments that better capture self‐regulation as a process (including for example traces of mental events, situational manipulations, and records of student work strategies). A combination of instruments is preferable over a single instrument for assessing self‐regulation as a process and the effects of interventions to improve students’ self‐regulatory capacity. At present, many sound SRL interventions exist and some general lessons can be learned about classroom intervention research.