Visual information processing in hemispatial neglect

Hemispatial neglect is a complex neuropsychological disorder characterized by a severe attentional deficit that produces a lack of awareness for information appearing in contralesional hemispace. Despite this lack of phenomenal awareness, recent studies suggest that a great deal of visual information processing does occur and can influence the performance of patients in certain tasks. The current review will present this evidence and suggest a new theoretical framework that may help to direct future research into uncovering the underlying mechanism(s).     

Children's capacity to agree to psychological research: knowledge of risks and benefits and voluntariness

A series of studies investigated the capacity of children between the ages of 7 and 12 to give free and informed consent to participation in psychological research. Children were reasonably accurate in describing the purpose of studies, but many did not understand the possible benefits or especially the possible risks of participating. In several studies children's consent was not affected by the knowledge that their parents had given their permission or by the parents saying that they would not be upset if the children refused. In contrast, other studies found that children were much more likely to stop their participation if the experimenter said explicitly that she would not be upset if they stopped. We suggest that experimenters should pay more attention to describing the possible risks and benefits of participation in research, and that they should also make it clearer to children that they are free to stop once they have begun.     

Distributive justice and the minnesota health access initiative

As I have suggested, from the perspective of distributive justice MinnesotaCare's reforms are inadequate. But to coin (and alter slightly) a phrase of Kant's, if its authors do not deserve our moral esteem, perhaps they do merit our encouragement, and it is on a note of the latter that I will conclude. MinnesotaCare is an experiment in systemic incremental change being performed in a complex health care system, the only true laboratory for such an experiment. For this reason, it will provide us important information concerning the ethics, economics, [and] the politics of health care reform while improving the position of some Minnesotans in a significant way. Thus, while MinnesotaCare is susceptible to forceful moral criticism, as an experiment in reform it holds out the promise of providing us some of the data necessary for discovering a just solution.     

2001年的科学哲学

一种民主制度的最重要也是讨论最少的任务之一就是要保护它的成员免遭这种制度中的意识形态的伤害.必须正确地看待所有的意识形态.人们必须把它们当作神话故事来看待,它们能告诉人很多有趣的事,但也包含了很多谬误和令人生厌的谎言.当人们按照某一观点行动时,他们的态度也应该像密探一样,为了在一个陌生的国家里获得成功而采纳它的信仰并在细枝末节上按照这些信仰去做,但并不全盘接受.这一点适用于所有的信仰,适用于基督教上帝的存在这一信仰,适用于所有的人生来平等的信仰,也适用于科学.那么,这是否是一种陌生和荒谬的态度呢?科学当然总是处在与权威主义和迷信战斗的前沿.相对于宗教信仰而言,我们有了越来越大的思想自由,这应当归功于科学;人类从古代的僵硬思维方式中解放出来,也应当归功于科学.今天,这些思维方式仅仅是一些糟糕的