Locke on Knowing Our Own Ideas (and Ourselves)

Locke defines knowledge as the perception of the agreement or disagreement of ideas. Nevertheless, he claims that we know particular things: the identity of our ideas, our own existence, and the existence of external objects. Although much has been done to reconcile the definition of knowledge with our knowledge of external objects, there is virtually nothing in the scholarship when it comes to knowing ideas or our own existence. I fill in this gap by arguing that perceptions of ideas are complex mental states that convey propositional knowledge due to agreeing elements therein.     

Trajectories of Suicidal Ideation from Sixth through Tenth Grades in Predicting Suicide Attempts in Young Adulthood in an Urban African American Cohort

The trajectory of suicidal ideation across early adolescence may inform the timing of suicide prevention program implementation. This study aimed to identify developmental trajectories of suicidal ideation among an urban cohort of community‐residing African Americans (AA) longitudinally followed from middle school through early adulthood (ages 11–19 years). Subtypes based on the developmental course of suicidal ideation from late childhood through mid‐adolescence were identified using longitudinal latent class analysis (LLCA) with 581 AA adolescents (52.7% male; 71.1% free or reduced school meals). The developmental trajectories of suicidal ideation were then used to predict suicide attempts in young adulthood. Our LLCA indicated two subtypes (i.e., ideators and nonideators), with 8% of the sample in the ideator class. This trajectory class shows a peak of suicidal ideation in seventh grade and a steady decline in ideation in subsequent grades. Additionally, suicidal ideation trajectories significantly predicted suicide attempt. Results of these analyses suggest the need for suicide prevention approaches prior to high school for AA youth.     

Book reviews

John Herman Randall, Jr. Plato: Dramatist of the Life of Reason. New York: Columbia University Press, 1970. Pp. xiv, 274. Indexed. $7.50.

Gottfried Martin. General Metaphysics: Its Problems and Method. Translated by Daniel O'Connor. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1968. Pp. 1–368. Indexed. $8.50.

Nicholas Rescher. Essays in Philosophical Analysis. Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1969. Pp. viii, 430. Indexed. $14.95.

Rollo Handy. Value Theory and the Behavioral Sciences. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C. Thomas, 1969. Pp. vii, 198. Indexed. $8.00.

Morris Lazerowitz. Philosophy and Illusion. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1968. Pp. 1–262. Indexed. $7.25.

K. T. Fann, Ed. Symposium on J. L. Austin. New York: Humanities Press, 1969. Pp. 486. Indexed. $11.00.

Robert E. Butts. William Whewell's Theory of Scientific Method. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1968. Pp. 1–352. Indexed. $8.50.

Robert J. Fogelin. Experience and Meaning: Studies in Analytical Philosophy. New York: Humanities Press, 1967. Pp. xi, 187. Indexed. $6.50.

Harry G. Frankfurt. Demons, Dreamers, and Madmen: The Defence of Reason in Descartes's Meditations. Indianapolis: Bobbs‐Merrill, 1970. Pp. 1–193. Indexed. $7.95.

Maurice Merleau‐Ponty. The Visible and the Invisible. Followed by Working Notes, edited by Claude Lefort. Translated by Alphonso Lingis. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1968. Pp. 1–275. Indexed. $9.50.     

The effects of widowhood on physical and mental health, health behaviors, and health outcomes: The Women's Health Initiative.

This study examined whether widowhood was associated with physical and mental health, health behaviors, and health outcomes using a cross-sectional (N=72,247) and prospective (N=55,724) design in women aged 50-79 years participating in the Women's Health Initiative observational study (85.4% White). At baseline, married women reported better physical and mental health and generally better health behaviors than widowed women. Whereas women who remained married over the 3-year period showed stability in mental health, recent widows experienced marked impairments and longer term widows showed stability or slight improvements. Both groups of widows reported more unintentional weight loss over the 3-year period. Changes in physical health and health behaviors were inconsistent, with generally small effect sizes. Findings underscore the resilience of older women and their capacity to reestablish connections, but point to the need for services that strengthen social support among women who have difficulty during this transition.