Bildung and Decline

My point of departure is the idea that Wittgenstein's work, especially his later work with its explicit emphasis on practices, seeks to engage a reader who is likely to come to philosophy with a certain cast of mind that includes unexamined commitments from a particular cultural context. I show how a substantial number of remarks by Wittgenstein in which he addresses cultural topics bring out the importance of the quite specific connections he saw between the philosophical problems with which he grappled and the historical cultural context in which those problems have arisen. Not only is a grasp of this aspect of his writing integral to a proper understanding of Wittgenstein as a thinker, bringing out these connections serves to put these remarks into a coherent conceptual framework. In assessing the relation of Wittgenstein's cultural concerns to his engagement with metaphysics, I show how his development of Spengler's thought is an important connecting link. Particularly important for this analysis will be my discussion of Wittgenstein's understanding and employment of the concept of a Betrachtungsform , as well as a few closely related concepts. I then offer an interpretation of what I believe to be the significance of the connection in his later thought between his philosophical activity and his views about the modern West.     

The CEO Selection Decision Process: Bounded Rationality and Decision Component Ordering

This paper presents a model of the basic components of the CEO selection decision process used by corporate boards of directors. It describes selection as a purposeful and boundedly rational process characterized by three key components: aspiration, judgment and justification. Each of these components is described in detail. In addition, the ordering of these elements is examined. Specifically, it is suggested that the exact ordering varies depending on a number of factors. Among the most important are (1) the performance of the organization, (2) the availability of qualified candidates and (3) the standardization of the CEO's office within the organization at the time of the succession decision. Examples are provided to help illustrate various order effects. Following this, sample research propositions are presented to assist researchers in future studies devoted to this topic.     

Religious Attendance and Social Support: Integration or Selection?

Although numerous studies have shown that religious attendance is associated with greater social support, concerns remain about selection into religious attendance and more supportive relationships. In this paper, we employ data collected from the 2011 Miami-Dade Health Survey (n?=?444) to assess the extent to which the association between religious attendance and social support is due to selection processes related to personality, health behavior, and health status. In our multinomial logistic regression of attendance, we find that the odds of weekly attendance are increased by extraversion and reduced by smoking. We also observe that religious attendance does not vary according to level of agreeableness, self-esteem, alcohol consumption, psychological distress, or physical health. In our regression of support, we find that respondents who attend religious services weekly or more tend to report more social support than respondents who never attend. This association persisted with adjustments for age, gender, race, immigrant status, interview language, education, employment status, household income, financial strain, marital status (parent and respondent), the presence of children, family difficulties, personality (agreeableness, extroversion, and self-esteem), health behavior (smoking, binge drinking, and substance use), and health status (psychological distress, activity limitations, and overall physical health). Across models, the association between weekly attendance and social support is attenuated by no more than 7%. This attenuation is due to personality (extraversion), not health behavior or health status. We conclude that the association between religious attendance and social support is primarily driven by integration processes rather than any selection processes we have considered.

     

Alcoff’s Rape and Resistance: A Précis

Philosophical Studies - This article summarizes Linda Martin Alcoff's Rape and Resistance (Polity, Cambridge, 2018). Alcoff's analysis centers on a political and philosophical defense of...     

Christianity,Family, Students,and COVID-19

Journal of Religion and Health - Four substantial topics are explored in this issue of the Journal of Religion and Health, namely: (1) Christianity, (2) family and faith dynamics, (3) the spiritual...