SOBIG: A Symposium on Belief in God

The following is a fictional account of a symposium on the age-old topic of belief in God. Organized by faculty members at a religion-based academy called the “Immutable Creeds University” (ICU), the goal of the Symposium was to generate candid discussion on two major questions of interest to both traditional theology and the contemporary cognitive sciences: (1) Why do people believe in God? and (2) Is that belief justified? Responses to these questions were posed and discussed by representatives of: (a) Pre-scientific creedal Christianity, (b) Scientifically informed Christian theology, and (c) Comprehensive naturalism. These three points of view also represent the succession of stages experienced by the author in his personal (and occasionally turbulent) worldview journey. For this reason, some readers may wish to read the author's closing remarks first.     

Development of specialization scales for the MSPI: A comparison of empirical and inductive strategies

An empirical measurement model for interest inventory construction uses internal criteria whereas an inductive measurement model uses external criteria. The empirical and inductive measurement models are compared and contrasted and then two models are assessed through tests of the effectiveness and economy of scales for the Medical Specialty Preference Inventory (Zimney, 1979). The empirical results clearly demonstrate the advantages of using an empirical model for occupational interest inventory construction, whether alone or in conjunction with an inductive model. Furthermore, the results indicated that the empirical model may be used to resolve the long-standing problems in constructing predictive inventories for specialty choice within an occupation.     

Normativity in the Philosophy of Science

This paper analyzes what it means for philosophy of science to be normative. It argues that normativity is a multifaceted phenomenon rather than a general feature that a philosophical theory either has or lacks. It analyzes the normativity of philosophy of science by articulating three ways in which a philosophical theory can be normative. Methodological normativity arises from normative assumptions that philosophers make when they select, interpret, evaluate, and mutually adjust relevant empirical information, on which they base their philosophical theories. Object normativity emerges from the fact that the object of philosophical theorizing can itself be normative, such as when philosophers discuss epistemic norms in science. Metanormativity arises from the kind of claims that a philosophical theory contains, such as normative claims about science as it should be. Distinguishing these three kinds of normativity gives rise to a nuanced and illuminating view of how philosophy of science can be normative.     

Latent pattern analysis of conscious cooperation for developing sustainable transport

• This study explores the emerging pattern of conscious cooperation in travel mode selection for developing sustainable transport. A conceptual model for investigating the formation of conscious cooperation is examined based on a multi-factor latent cluster analysis of the survey data from Chinese cites. The study identifies three dominant patterns including the diversity average pattern, the pro-social pattern and the pro-environment pattern. An analysis of such patterns reveals that improving mobility and accessibility is more important than increasing availability of transport facilities for enhancing conscious cooperation. It finds out that there is much more to be done in addressing the concern of travelers on social equity and environment for sustainable transport development. These findings above provide better understanding of the formation of conscious cooperation for developing sustainable transport.

     

Is critique possible in the study of lived religion? Anthropological and feminist reflections

ABSTRACT

This article, based on the author’s fieldwork in a Catholic context, aims to theorise the dilemmas of taking seriously religious worlds at precisely those moments when they may be in tension with academic worldviews in terms of epistemology and ontology. The lived religion approach has emerged as a critical enterprise which serves as a corrective to more text-based or macro-sociological approaches, developing a form of radical non-reductionism and a preference for ethnographic approaches. This article aims to explore this critical edge of the lived religion approach further to address the modernist legacy in the study of religion. It will do so by bringing two anthropological approaches into the conversation that both challenge, albeit in different ways, the modernist underpinnings of studying religion within anthropology: phenomenological anthropology and what is called ‘the ontological turn’. The second part of the article centres on the question whether critique is possible in the pursuit of a non-reductionist approach to studying lived religion, taking up the question ‘is critique secular?’ posed by Talal Asad et al. This article suggests ways to take the impossibility of critique forward by following up some directions within the anthropological approaches already presented and linking this with feminist thinking on the status and role of academic knowledge.     

Being there when it happens: A novel approach to sampling reflectively observed experience

Examining a number of recently developed methods for acquiring first-person data on consciousness, we detect a lack of sensitivity for distinguishing the experiential moments in which the experiencing person was reflectively attending to her ongoing experience. In order to address this gap, we introduce a novel research format for obtaining data on lived experience, combining random sampling of experience with a subsequent retrospective examination of acquired samples in the form of dialogical phenomenological inquiry. The proposed approach aims at the examination of reflectively observed experiential moments and is based on researchers’ iterative cultivation of the phenomenological attitude. Drawing upon results from a longitudinal study of the potential of meditation as a tool for examining consciousness, we address the epistemological and methodological challenges of the proposed approach, discuss its applicability and research potential, as well as examine the characteristics and validity of phenomenal data thus acquired.     

Children’s solutions of logical versus empirical problems: What’s missing and what develops?

This research examined the development of the ability to differentiate logical from empirical problems and the different ways in which children solve these problems. Thirty-two 4- and 5-year-olds, thirty-four 8- and 9-year-olds, and thirty-five 11- and 12-year-olds were given five questions regarding an imaginary character’s predictions as to where a ball would land after being dropped through a ‘tautology machine’. The questions examined encoding and recall of problems, children’s understanding of when evidence was necessary, and children’s evaluation of form and evidence. Data were analyzed in two ways: (1) by comparing differences across participants on component questions and (2) an individual analysis examining the consistency of responses to component questions across the problem set. Overall, the results indicated that: (1) sixth graders tended to differentiate logical from empirical problems while preschool and third grade children rarely did; (2) young children tend to ignore both the logical connective and the second half of problems-termed a ‘cut;’ (3) these cuts are less frequent when a problem is compatible with one empirical possibility; (4) cuts do not stem from encoding or recall errors, but seem to be the product of incomplete problem processing and (5) from third to sixth grade, children’s understanding of logical form increased as the rate of cuts decreased.     

Practicing psychology without an empirical evidence-base: The bricoleur model

The scientist-practitioner-model is rejected, based on an earlier critique of the current paradigm for psychological research. Ten cases exemplifying a bricoleur type of practice without a discernible empirical evidence-base are briefly presented. In the absence of useful empirical scientific evidence, the bricoleur model is proposed as a possible rationale for professional psychological practice.     

Empirical Bayes Derivative Estimates

Abstract

A dynamic system is a set of interacting elements characterized by changes occurring over time. The estimation of derivatives is a mainstay for exploring dynamics of constructs, particularly when the dynamics are complicated or unknown. The presence of measurement error in many social science constructs frequently results in poor estimates of derivatives, as even modest proportions of measurement error can compound when estimating derivatives. Given the overlap in the specification of latent differential equation models and latent growth curve models, and the equivalence of latent growth curve models and mixed models under some conditions, derivatives could be estimated from estimates of random effects. This article proposes a new method for estimating derivatives based on calculating the Empirical Bayes estimates of derivatives from a mixed model. Two simulations compare four derivative estimation methods: Generalized Local Linear Approximation, Generalized Orthogonal Derivative Estimates, Functional Data Analysis, and the proposed Empirical Bayes Derivative Estimates. The simulations consider two data collection scenarios: short time series (≤10 observations) from many individuals or occasions, and long individual time series (25–500 observations). A substantive example visualizing the dynamics of intraindividual positive affect time series is also presented.     

The Cultural Turn: Empirical Studies and their Implications

This essay uses empirical studies to engage Richard Miller’s advocacy of a “cultural turn” in the study of religious ethics found in Friends and Other Strangers. The particular kind of empirical research I highlight here, cultural cognition, emphasizes the ways that belonging to a cultural group influences one’s reasoning when faced with controversial issues involving disputed facts. This approach underscores the significance of the cultural turn, but it also raises some important challenges for Miller’s accounts of moral psychology and public reason. I work to elucidate what those challenges are and point to some ways that taking cultural cognition seriously might open up fresh avenues for addressing perennial ethical issues.