Epistemic Presuppositions and their Consequences

Traditional epistemology has, in the main, presupposed that the primary task is to give a complete account of the concept knowledge and to state under what conditions it is possible to have it. In so doing, most accounts have been hierarchical, and all assume an idealized knower. The assumption of an idealized knower is essential for the traditional goal of generating an unassailable account of knowledge acquisition. Yet we, as individuals, fail to reach the ideal. Perhaps more important, we have epistemic goals not addressed in the traditional approach – among them, the ability to reach understanding in areas we deem important for our lives. Understanding is an epistemic concept. But how we obtain it has not traditionally been a focus. Developing an epistemic account that starts from a set of assumptions that differ from the traditional starting points will allow a different sort of epistemic theory, one on which generating understanding is a central goal and the idealized knower is replaced with an inquirer who is not merely fallible but working from a particular context with particular goals. Insight into how an epistemic account can include the particular concerns of an embedded inquirer can be found by examining the parallels between ethics and epistemology and, in particular, by examining the structure and starting points of virtue accounts. Here I develop several interrelated issues that contrast the goals and evaluative concepts that form the structure of both standard, traditional epistemological and ethical theories and virtue–centered theories. In the end, I sketch a virtue–centered epistemology that accords with who we are and how we gain understanding.     

Religious intellectual humility,attitude change,and closeness following religious disagreement

Abstract

This study explored the role of intellectual humility (IH) in promoting attitude change and relationship closeness in the context of religious disagreement. Participants (N = 174) completed a preliminary survey that assessed their attitude on several contentious religious issues (e.g. gay marriage, abortion). Participants who disagreed about a contentious religious issue were then paired and engaged in a 10-min discussion. After the discussion, participants completed a series of questionnaires. The greatest degree of attitude change was seen in pairs with mutually high levels of IH, in which the participant self-reported high levels of IH and also perceived the discussion partner to have high levels of IH. Higher perceptions of the IH levels of the discussion partner predicted higher levels of closeness and trust. We discuss limitations, areas for future research, and practical implications.     

FORMATION,GRACE, AND PNEUMATOLOGY: Or,Where's the Spirit in Gregory's Augustine?

Eric Gregory's Politics and the Order of Love takes up an audacious project: enlisting Saint Augustine in order to “help imagine a better liberalism.” This article first provides a summary of Gregory's argument, focusing on his emphasis on love as a “motivation” for neighborly care, and hence democratic participation. This involves tracing the theme of motivation in the book, which is tied to his articulation of liberal perfectionism and an emphasis on civic virtue. In conclusion I raise the question of whether his project has ignored a key aspect of Augustine's account of love, namely, the role of the Holy Spirit, thereby demarcating the limits of Gregory's “rational reconstruction” of Augustine.     

The usefulness of assessing suggestibility and compliance in prisoners with unidentified intellectual disabilities

Søndenaa, E., Rasmussen, K., Palmstierna, T. & Nøttestad, J. A. (2010). The usefulness of assessing suggestibility and compliance in prisoners with unidentified intellectual disabilities. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 434–438. This present study explored the relationship of interrogative suggestibility (n = 133) and compliance (n = 118) to intellectual functioning among prison inmates. The Norwegian versions of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS) and the Gudjonsson Compliance Scale (GCS) were used. The results supported previous findings of a negative correlation between the Gudjonsson scales and IQ, and the scales were found useful throughout the IQ range. The impact of a memory artifact was discussed in the light of recent studies and criticism of the scales.     

The A Posteriori Armchair

A lot of good philosophy is done in the armchair, but is nevertheless a posteriori. This paper clarifies and then defends that claim. Among the a posteriori activities done in the armchair are assembling and evaluating commonplaces; formulating theoretical alternatives; and integrating well-known past a posteriori discoveries. The activity that receives the most discussion, however, is the application of theoretical virtues to choose philosophical theories: the paper argues that much of this is properly seen as a posteriori.     

Validation of a revised version of the Physical Self-Inventory – Very Short form for youth with intellectual disabilities (PSI-VS-ID-R): A Bayesian structural equation modeling approach

The objective of the current study was to investigate the psychometric properties of scores obtained on a revised version of the Physical Self-Inventory – Very Short form for youth with intellectual disabilities (PSI-VS-ID-R). A sample of 351 youth (M = 15.81 years) with mild to moderate levels of Intellectual Disabilities (ID) from Australia (N = 230) and Canada (N = 121) participated in this study. They respectively completed the English and French versions of the PSI-VS-ID-R, as well as additional measures of self-concept and physical fitness. Bayes structural equation modeling (BSEM) analyses provided support for the validity and reliability of the a priori nine-factor structure of scores obtained on the PSI-VS-ID-R. Moreover, additional BSEM analyses provided support for the comparability of responses obtained on the PSI-VS-ID-R (i.e., lack of differential item functioning or measurement equivalence) irrespective of linguistic versions and of participants’ age, body-mass index, ID level, sex and frequency of sport involvement. Additionally, latent mean level differences in PSI-VS-ID-R’s factors scores were also found across linguistic versions and as a function of youth’s ID level and frequency of sport involvement. Finally, the convergent validity of scores on the PSI-VS-ID-R factors was supported in relation to measures of self-concept and physical fitness.     

尊重:医疗实践中的德性意蕴

尊重是医学伦理学的核心范畴。医学伦理学的应用性与行动性使得尊重作为医疗生活的基础性道德价值蕴含于临床医疗领域,形成了多棱性的存在方式,不仅具有规范性意义,更具有德性意蕴。尊重的态度、情感、评价和行为构成尊重德性的内在要素。医疗实践中医者对患者保持时刻注意、审慎地关注和严肃地重视,即是其尊重态度的展现;医者搁置自己的人际偏好和欲望,遵从医学职业的价值观,对患者进行正性评价,是尊重的情感维度。透过临床医疗中的不尊重患者的现象,探求尊重被异化的根源,反思医疗实践中尊重行为的道德意义。     

Knowledge and success from ability

This paper argues that knowledge is an instance of a more general and familiar normative kind—that of success through ability (or success through excellence, or success through virtue). This thesis is developed in the context of three themes prominent in the recent literature: that knowledge attributions are somehow context sensitive; that knowledge is intimately related to practical reasoning; and that one purpose of the concept of knowledge is to flag good sources of information. Wedding these themes to the proposed account helps to explain a wide range of standard Gettier problems. It also helps to explain barn façade cases, which require a different kind of treatment.     

Higher-order exploratory factor analysis of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales with a referred sample

The factor structure of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS; [Reynolds, C.R., & Kamphaus, R.W. (2003). Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.]) was investigated with a large (N = 1163) independent sample of referred students (ages 6-18). More rigorous factor extraction criteria (viz., Horn's parallel analysis (HPA); [Horn, J.L. (1965). A rationale and test for the number of factors in factor analysis. Psychometrika, 30, 179-185.], and Minimum Average Partial (MAP) analysis; [Velicer, W.F. (1976). Determining the number of components from the matrix of partial correlations. Psychometrika, 41, 321-327.]), in addition to those used in RIAS development, were investigated. Exploratory factor analyses using both orthogonal and oblique rotations and higher-order exploratory factor analyses using the Schmid and Leiman [Schmid, J., and Leiman, J.M. (1957). The development of hierarchical factor solutions. Psychometrika, 22, 53-61.] procedure were conducted. All factor extraction criteria indicated extraction of only one factor. Oblique rotations resulted in different results than orthogonal rotations, and higher-order factor analysis indicated the largest amount of variance was accounted for by the general intelligence factor. The proposed three-factor solution was not supported. Implications for the use of the RIAS with similarly referred students are discussed.     

荀子对思孟“五行”说批判的再认识

荀子激烈批评思孟"五行"说的原因学界有过多种看法,而其深层、根本的原因却在于在荀子和思孟之间存在思维和哲学基础的根本差异,荀子所持有的是形而上学的二元论,而思孟"五行"说坚持的是天人合一、身心合一的前形而上学的存在论。因为在孟子所因循的子思代表的春秋文化和荀子所站立的战国后期文化之间,知识范型与符号体系发生了巨大的转变。这可以从"五行"说产生和流变的几个阶段中清楚地看到。