The Identity of,and the Difference between,Analytical and Continental Philosophy

This paper intends to invoke the spirit of Hegel as the éminence grise behind analytical and continental philosophy. Both movements can be seen to originate in, or to receive a strong impetus in their development from, a repudiation of Hegel. Even Russell's quest for a systematic logical analysis of language may be seen as an attempt at a quasi- or anti-Hegelian systematicity. The collapse of this systematicity has led to the celebration of difference in both the analytical and continental schools. Another feature of contemporary philosophy is the priority given to invention and creativity over discovery. In this respect, Nietzsche is the master-figure underlying all contemporary allegiance to, and indeed, obsession with, the twin idols of creation and difference.     

The Role of Rules

The question of rules is not an issue that separates the 'analytical' and 'Continental' traditions from one another; rather it is an issue that is a source of division within each tradition. Within Continental philosophy the problem of the rule-governed character of cognition goes back to Kant's dualism of sense and understanding. Many philosophers in the Continental tradition (notably, Nietzsche, Gadamer and Adorno) have retained a quasi-Kantian conception of judgement while rejecting the idea of it as rule-governed. But there have been exceptions to this within Continental philosophy, most prominently, Jürgen Habermas. The rules thesis was implicit in much of analytical philosophy as it was practised in Britain from the 1950s to the 1970s. The doctrine gave support to a conception of philosophy (so-called 'ordinary-language philosophy') as essentially an exercise in the articulation of certain kinds of tacit knowledge. It was advocated explicitly in such works as Searle's Speech Acts and Winch's The Idea of a Social Science . The equation of meaning and rules enjoyed further prestige, for it was taken by many philosophers to be the central doctrine to be extracted from Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations . A most striking feature of the receding of the rules thesis has been the transformation of previously accepted interpretations of Wittgenstein's later philosophy (for example, by Stanley Cavell and John McDowell). Both adherents and opponents of the rules thesis have shared a common concern. In emphasizing the discontinuity between language and the subject-matter of the natural sciences both sides offer reassuringly positive answers to one of the besetting problems of twentieth-century philosophy: does philosophy have a distinctive subject-matter of its own?     

Functional foibles and the analysis of social change

Functional analysis is the major theoretical perspective of contemporary sociology. Although many fruitful studies of social structure have resulted from the application of this perspective, it has been notably sterile in coping with questions of social change. Two major shortcomings of the functionalist view of change are here examined. The first type of shortcoming might be called ‘evolutionary hangovers’. Under this heading we may include ‘functional ahistoricism’ and a ‘commitment to progress’. The second major shortcoming refers to weaknesses of functional theory per se — namely, a confusion of causal analysis with functional analysis, a lack of a theory of deviance, and an over‐emphasis on stable equilibrium models.     

The Meaning of Rorschach Inkblots,Responses and Determinants as Perceived by Children

Fifteen semantic-differential scales were applied to the Rorschach inkblots, to nine common Rorschach responses representing various Rorschach determinants, and to two determinants not embodied in responses. Ss consisted of third, sixth, and ninth grade public school children separated by sex within each group. Children significantly differentiated the inkblots on the semantic scales, with older children differentiating the blots more sharply. Girls differentiated the blots at an earlier age than did boys. Individual cards differed widely in regard to their strongest connotations. Children significantly differentiated the majority of responses and determinants on the semantic scales for all age groups. The connotations of the cards, responses and determinants tended to be consistent with commonly held Rorschach interpretations. In general, the findings for children were consistent with the results previously reported for adults. The connotations of chromatic inkblots were found to differ significantly from those of achromatic blots for the third and ninth grades, but not for sixth grade children. Statistically significant clusters of meaning for three age groups of children were found to exist, based on the presence of movement determinants and on a combination of movement, shading and chromatic color. Only for the sixth and ninth grade girls did the semantic scales have a single hierarchy of importance for ordering or differentiating both inkblots and responses of determinants. A communality of connotative meaning between inkblots on the one hand, and responses and determinants commonly associated with the blots on the other, is found only for ninth grade children. Low intergroup agreement was found across grades in mean scale ranking for the inkblots, but high agreement in mean scale ranking of responses and determinants.     

Correlates of Rorschach Reality Adherence in the Assessment of Murderers who Plead Insanity

Reality adherence measured by Mayman's system of Rorschach form level scoring was applied to the protocols of 43 individuals all of whom were pleading insanity to a charge of murder. Reality adherence level correlated significantly with judgment of legal sanity, contributed importantly to a factor analysis dimension of reality functioning, and was extensively related to measures of primary process thought and impulse. Reality adherence further was related to intellectual functioning and areas of past history. These results suggest that Mayman's reality adherence measure has substantial validity and is importantly related to other personality variables.     

Personality Dimensions in Two Types of Learning-Disabled Children: A Rorschach Study

Children referred for psychoeducational assessment of learning disabilities (LDs) commonly receive the Rorschach test. Yet little is known about the impact of LD on Rorschach response patterns. This study investigated Rorschach response patterns in two groups of 9- to 12-year-old children (n = 41) classified by their respective intellectual abilities. Another group of 9- to 12-year-olds (n = 143) served as a nonclinical comparison group. Rorschach variables indicative of personality dimensions failed to discriminate between the two LD groups. Compared to the nonclinical group, the LD group exhibited several Rorschach characteristics—including problems in perceptual accuracy, inefficient visual scanning and problem-soving strategies, and avoidance of affect-laden stimuli—having implications for successful socioemotional adaptation.     

Effects of Aggressive and Nonaggressive Rock Songs on Projective and Structured Tests

The differences between hostility scores on projective and objective tests as a function of listening to aggressive or nonaggressive rock music were studied. While taking the Thematic Apperception Test (Cards 1, 3BM, 4, 9BM, and 10) and the Buss-Durkee (1957) Hostility Scale, subjects (N = 90) randomly assigned to one of three groups listened to a rock song with (a) nonaggressive music and non-aggressive lyrics, (b) aggressive music and nonaggressive lyrics, or (c) aggressive music and aggressive lyrics. TAT stories were scored for aggressive content according to Hafner and Kaplan's (1960) hostility rating scale. Hostility scores did not differ between groups. The findings are congruent with other investigators' reports that subjects do not pay attention to rock lyrics. Previous findings that music affects the emotional quality of TAT stories and hostility scores on the Buss-Durkee scale were not supported.     

Popular Versus Skinnerian Views on the Relation Between Human Freedom and Dignity

This study evaluated Skinner's (1971) contention that the function relating the degree to which a person's behavior is ascribed to voluntary choice and the level of dignity ascribed to that person originates at zero dignity for zero choice. In Study 1, 91 American college students answered questions about themselves, their beliefs about voluntary versus environmental control of behavior, and their bases for judging dignity. Then they attempted to describe their views of the functional relationship between perceived human dignity and perceived voluntary control of both prosocial and antisocial behaviors. Most indicated belief in voluntary choice, and some in intrinsic (unearned) dignity, but few could relate them quantitatively. A second study used 27 students in an advanced class, for whom the theoretical implications of various functional relationships were discussed before the functions were drawn. Both studies refuted Skinner's pragmatic argument against the concepts of freedom and intrinsic dignity.