Kung‐sun lung on the point of pointing: The moral rhetoric of names

Graham compares Kung‐sun Lung's “White Horse not Horse” [Graham, A.C. (1990) Studies in Chinese Philosophy and Philosophical Literature (Albany, SUNY Press)] loith the use of a synecdoche in English, “Sword is not Blade”. The Blade as part stands in here for the whole which is the Sword. But just as Sword as ‘hilt plus blade’ is more than blade, then via analogia, White Horse as ‘white plus horse’ is more than the part that is just ‘horse’. Graham had taken over this Part/Whole argument from Chad Hansen who argues that since Chinese does not require the word ma for ‘horse/horses’ to be used with prefixed articles or numerals, ma is a ‘mass‐noun’ similar to certain English mass‐nouns like ‘sand’ which also has no plural form unlike the count‐noun ‘horse’ [Hansen, Chad, (1983) Language and Logic in Ancient China (Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press)]. Hansen then equates “White Horse is not Horse” to the Mohist argument for “Ox Horse is not Horse”. Ox‐Horse is a ‘mixed herd’ of Ox and Horse that is not (just) that part that is Horse. The same it is with the mass‐sum that is White Horse. It is like saying in English “White Sand is not Sand”. Sand being this spread of sand on the beach, it is more than just a patch of that beach that is white. But this attribution of a Part/Whole logic to Kung‐sun Lung runs up against a basic dictum stated in his thesis on ‘Pointing and Thing’. There it is noted how all things can be pointed out except thing itself because the word “thing” leaves nothing to exclude for it to be stand out. Since that thesis is derived from the law of the excluded middle where a thing is either X or not X, it is not possible for Kung‐sun Lung to subscribe to a Part/Whole logic which basically argues for a thing being both X and not X.     

Book Reviews

Ibn Rushd (Averroes). Arabic Thought and Culture Series. DOMINIQUE URVOY, 1991. London, Routledge. 156 pp.

Logic and Aristotle's Rhetoric and Poetics in Medieval Arabic Philosophy Vol. VII. Islamic Philosophy and Theology Texts and Studies. DEBORAH L. BLACK, 1990. Leiden and New York, E. J. Brill. 290 pp.

Philosophy and Science in the Islamic World. C. A. QADIR, 1990. London, Routledge 1990. 218 pp.

Understanding the Chinese Mind: The Philosophical Roots. ROBERT E. ALLINSON, 1989. Hong Kong and Oxford, Oxford University Press. 316 pp.

On Justice: An Essay in Jewish Philosophy. L. E. GOODMAN, 1991. New Haven, Yale University Press. 288 pp.     

Book reviews

Facets of Buddhism Shotaro Iida, 1991 Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass 166 pp., Rs. 150 hb

Li Ao: Buddhist, Taoist, or Neo‐Confucian? T. H. Barrett, 1992 London Oriental Series, Vol. 39 Oxford, Oxford University Press x + 178 pp. £20

Spirituality & Emptiness Donald W. Mitchell, 1992 New York, Paulist Press, xvi + 224 pp. $12.95     

国内十个地区7—12岁儿童数学概念和运算能力发展的初步研究

本文综合了对我国十个地区959名7—12岁儿童的协作研究结果。探讨了儿童在认数、数序和系列、数的组成、运算和应用等四个方面的发展情况,并对儿童数学概念和运算能力发展中知识学习与数概念发展的关系、发展的过程、环境的影响、发展的阶段性等方面进行了讨论,也谈到了协作方法问题。     

Justification,excuse, and proof beyond reasonable doubt

The law requires criminal guilt to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. There are two different approaches to construing this legal rule. On an epistemic approach, the rule is construed in terms of justified belief or knowledge; on a probabilistic approach, the rule is construed in terms of satisfying a probabilistic threshold. An epistemic construction of the rule has this advantage over a probabilistic construction: the former can while the latter cannot excuse the state from blame for a false conviction. This claim rests on an understanding of legal rules, legal justification for a finding of guilt and the central purpose of a criminal trial.     

特质自我控制及其策略对主观幸福感的影响

探讨特质自我控制对主观幸福感的影响机制。多重中介模型揭示自我控制策略在特质自我控制(TSC)与主观幸福感(SWB)之间的作用。对924名大学生进行问卷调查,结果表明:情境选择、注意分配、认知重评均为TSC与SWB之间的中介变量。结论:解释了高特质自我控制个体SWB高的内在机制,也为自我控制过程模型提供实证支持。     

The Impact of Affective States and Affective Shifts on Creative Ideation and Evaluation

This study aims to examine the impact of affective states and affective shifts on ideation and evaluation of creativity. Affects were induced by a two‐stage imagination procedure of recalling autobiographical experiences. Three periods of divergent thinking were measured to represent the participants’ creative ideation at different times. Creative evaluation was measured by estimating the originality of each response provided by the participants. The results indicate that (a) during the initial period of ideation, groups with positive affect obtain better creative ideation than the groups with neutral or negative affect. (b) The ideation in positive affect groups gradually decreases over time, while the ideation in negative affect groups gradually increases over time. (c) During the evaluation of originality, groups with negative affect have a higher proportion of over‐estimates and a lower proportion of under‐estimates than groups with positive affect. The viewpoints of cognitive tuning theory, which posit that the affective state influences creativity, are supported.     

Health beliefs,optimism, and health‐related decisions: A study with Hong Kong Chinese

T he Health Belief Model (HBM; Rosenstock, 1966) is the most widely used psychological theory of health‐related behaviours but its applicability to non‐Western, especially Asian, populations has not been systematically studied. The main objective of the current study was to examine the effects of components of the HBM and dispositional optimism on preventive intention in two separate samples of 220 Hong Kong Chinese adults and 340 Hong Kong Chinese adolescents. Two HBM variables, benefits and barriers, were experimentally manipulated for an imaginary flu outbreak and a hypothetical vaccine. Optimism in the two samples was assessed using the Chinese revised Life Orientation Test (Lai et al., 1998). Participants indicated their intention to take the hypothetical vaccine after reading information for each of the treatment combinations defined by the two HBM variables. The order of the presentation of each of the six treatment conditions was counterbalanced. Results of ANOVA showed that the effects of the two HBM variables were similar in the two groups. Higher benefits and lower barriers were associated with stronger behavioural intention to take the vaccine. The two HBM variables interacted significantly in the adolescent but not the adult sample. Among the adolescents, the difference in intention scores between low and high barriers became larger when the benefits of taking the vaccine increased. In addition, optimism had significant effect on preventive intention only among the adolescents. These findings suggest that age may be an important factor moderating the effects of HBM components as well as optimism on preventive intention in Hong Kong Chinese. Implications of these findings to future research among Chinese were discussed.     

Not myself and the connected self: cases of youth depression and recovery in Malaysia

This study aims to explore the subjective experience of depressed young people in Malaysia. Twelve participants aged 20–24, who were diagnosed as suffering from depression but who had recovered, were interviewed. An adapted grounded theory approach guided our data collection and data analysis process. Two themes emerged which revealed the importance of the connectedness of individuals within their social environment. Coping with cultural norms and with rejection were found to be the most stressful precursors to depression. Depression is described as an alienating and involuntary experience. The recovery process requires a pivotal moment which enables reconnection with others. Implication of study will be discussed against the backdrop of the Malaysian context.     

Unspoken Skills and Tactics: Essentials for Immigrant Professionals in Integration to Workplace Culture

Skilled workers and their dependents are the largest group of economic immigrants in Canada, and their labour market integration is critical for immigrant well-being as well as host country economic productivity. However, immigrant professionals face significant barriers to workplace integration, including unfamiliarity with workplace norms and practices. Drawing on constructivist grounded theory, this qualitative study examined challenges associated with socio-cultural workplace interactions and etiquettes among immigrant professionals in Alberta, Canada, as well as strategies to facilitate workplace integration. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 32 immigrant professionals and 30 immigrant service providers and employers. Participants described challenges related to workplace communication and interactions, adaptation to new workplace cultures, recognition of qualifications and experience, and professional outcomes. They identified general professional values, skills, and capacities, and communication and relationships perceived as essential for workplace integration. Strategies for supporting workplace integration included continuing learning and education, training on cultural diversity and workplace skills, professional field experience, and professional mentorship. These findings have implications for practice and policies facilitating the workplace integration of immigrant professionals in Canada, including training and mentorship approaches.