On Aquinas's Theological Reliabilism

In an essay titled Aquinas on the Foundations of Knowledge, Eleonore Stump rejects the idea that Aquinas's epistemology is foundationalist. I agree with Stump, and share in her conviction that the Angelic doctor developed instead what can be seen as a kind of theological reliabilism. In this article, I intend to take her position a step further. First, I would like to show that Thomistic reliabilism falls into a vicious circle if seen as based on a merely rational theism. Second, I am going to argue that for Aquinas such reliabilism depends instead on Christian faith, construed as the act of believing the revealed truth by virtue of the love relationship that God allows human beings to have with him.     

Duration of US Residence And Resource Needs In Immigrant Families With Young Children

Journal of Child and Family Studies - To mitigate the negative impact of resource needs on child health, practices serving low-income immigrant families have implemented screening programs to...     

Towards a dialethic theory of time-consciousness

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences - There is an eminent tradition of thought that sees in the phenomenon of time something contradictory. This tradition has been recently revived by some...     

Avoiding affect in intergroup relations: The roles of dispositional and intergroup empathy in the relationship between alexithymia and prejudice

Alexithymia, that is, difficulties in recognizing, communicating, and processing one's own emotions, is associated with poorer interpersonal relations. Emotional processes are key drivers and mechanisms of prejudice and its reduction, and alexithymia is thought to influence individuals' empathic responses. This research examined the relationship between alexithymia and prejudice, and the role of empathy in this relationship. Three studies were conducted in three intergroup contexts to test whether alexithymia is also associated with poorer intergroup relations with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender+ individuals (Study 1, N = 126 heterosexual late adolescents) and Asian British people (Study 3, N = 300 White adults) in the United Kingdom, and immigrants in Italy (Study 2, N = 381 Italian adults). Participants completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), measures on dispositional and intergroup empathic concern (EC) and perspective taking (PT) as well as measures of prejudice (anti-outgroup hostility, anti-outgroup attitudes, and anti-outgroup behavioral intentions). Lower dispositional EC (Studies 1, marginal effect in Study 2) and intergroup EC and PT (Study 3) mediated the relationship between the Externally Oriented Thinking subscale of the TAS-20 (i.e., avoiding emotions and affective thinking) and greater prejudice. The findings are important for understanding the challenges of late adolescents and adults with alexithymia in intergroup relations, highlighting the role of dispositional and intergroup empathy for individual differences such as alexithymia in endorsing prejudice.     

Trial-based psychotherapy and the efficacy of trial-based thought record in changing unhelpful core beliefs and reducing self-criticism

IntroductionThe best prevention against relapse results when patients are taught to restructure negative core beliefs (CBs). Efficacy of the trial-based thought record (TBTR) in decreasing the credit given by patients to negative CBs and corresponding emotions was evaluated.MethodPatients (n = 166) were submitted to a simulation of a legal trial to assess their adherence to negative CBs and corresponding emotions after each cognitive therapy technique incorporated by TBTR. RESULTS: Significant reductions existed in percent values after the first and second defense attorney pleas, as well as after jury's verdict and initial preparation for the appeal (p < 0.001), relative to the investigation phase. Significant differences also emerged between the defense attorney's first and second pleas and between the defense attorney's second plea and jury's verdict, as well as preparation for the appeal (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference between percentages presented by patients submitted to TBTR used in the empty chair format relative to the conventional format. Similarly, there was no difference between outcomes, regardless of therapists' level of exposure to TBTR.ConclusionTBTR may help patients reduce attachment to negative CBs and corresponding emotions. Outcomes were significantly favorable regardless of the format use and therapists' level of exposure to TBTR.     

Space coding for sensorimotor transformations can emerge through unsupervised learning

The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is fundamental for sensorimotor transformations because it combines multiple sensory inputs and posture signals into different spatial reference frames that drive motor programming. Here, we present a computational model mimicking the sensorimotor transformations occurring in the PPC. A recurrent neural network with one layer of hidden neurons (restricted Boltzmann machine) learned a stochastic generative model of the sensory data without supervision. After the unsupervised learning phase, the activity of the hidden neurons was used to compute a motor program (a population code on a bidimensional map) through a simple linear projection and delta rule learning. The average motor error, calculated as the difference between the expected and the computed output, was less than 3°. Importantly, analyses of the hidden neurons revealed gain-modulated visual receptive fields, thereby showing that space coding for sensorimotor transformations similar to that observed in the PPC can emerge through unsupervised learning. These results suggest that gain modulation is an efficient coding strategy to integrate visual and postural information toward the generation of motor commands.     

Rapid naming,not cancellation speed or articulation rate,predicts reading in an orthographically regular language (Italian)

This study examined the influence of rapid automatization naming (RAN) measures on various parameters of reading performance in children who were native speakers of a language with a shallow orthography (Italian). Participants included 281 children enrolled in first-to-sixth grade. They were given a Naming test, in which they had to name rapidly matrices of colors, objects, or digits, a Cancellation test, using the same stimulus materials, and an oral Articulation test. Performance on all tests improved steadily across ages tested. Performance on the Naming test, but not on the Cancellation and Articulation tests, predicted speed and accuracy in reading; none of these measures reliably predicted the reading comprehension measure. Data on a Blending test were also available for a subsample of first- and third-graders. Both RAN and phonological ability contributed independently to the prediction of reading ability (accuracy and speed) in these participants. The results extend observations on RAN to an orthographically shallow language (Italian) and suggest an element of continuity between languages with opaque and transparent orthographies.     

On the determination of the nature of misfit dislocations in semiconductor strained-layer heterostructures

Abstract

The study of the mechanisms of formation of misfit dislocations in latticemismatched semiconductor interfaces requires a comprehensive characterization of these dislocations. In particular the determination of the sense of their Burgers vectors by transmission electron microscopy makes it possible to show that they contribute to removing part of the mismatched-induced interfacial strain. Furthermore the nature (αorβ) of the dislocations can then be determined. The different methods of determination of the sense of Burgers vectors are reviewed and then applied to InGaAs/GaAs superlattices.     

The stability of the morning affect scale across age and gender

A limitation of the morningness–eveningness literature is the assumption that morningness is a ‘fixed’ construct. Morningness–eveningness scales are often developed on young adult samples, yet studies report that eveningness peaks in young adults with a shift to morningness from the age of 25 to 35 years of age. This age related change in morningness–eveningness may explain why these scales have limited success when applied in older samples. We tested this argument by developing a measurement model based on the Composite Scale of Morningness using a sample aged <30 years of age. Tucker’s congruence coefficient and confirmatory factor analysis indicated this solution was not a good fit in three older age groups. In contrast, we repeated this assessment using the ‘morning affect’ scale. This scale comprises items that measure morningness preference only. Model fit indicators suggested the ‘morning affect’ scale was a good fit across four age groups and gender.