What student psychotherapists want from an experiential group

A study of four thirty-week experiential groups, involving two group conductors and forty-one other group members showed that 90 per cent of students' expectations of change were exceeded, indicating increase in interpersonal learning and, over a longer period, emotional change. the culture of the groups was consistently positive and expressive. There was some evidence that conductors had a similar style which corresponded to that predicted by the group analytic method, and that both showed behaviours which were indicators of ‘good quality' therapy. There were substantial correlations between a positive culture and better than expectation outcome at the end of term one, and good psychodynamic practice by the conductors and outcome at the end of the course.     

Resisting Explanation

Although explanation is widely regarded as an important concept in the study of rational inquiry, it remains largely unexplored outside the philosophy of science. This, I believe, is not due to oversight as much as to institutional resistance. In analytic philosophy it is basic that epistemic rationality is a function of justification and that justification is a function of argument. Explanation, however, is not argument nor is belief justification its function. I argue here that the task of incorporating explanation into the theory of rational inquiry poses a serious challenge to our basic concept of epistemic rationality as well as the a priori method of inquiry that still lies at the heart of analytic philosophy. Specifically, it pushes us toward a much stronger form of naturalism than is generally thought necessary, one in which argument and explanation are recognized as distinct and equally fundamental cognitive processes whose dynamic relationship is one of the central issues in the theory of rationality.     

‘Bound in a nutshell’: Thoughts on complexity,reductionism, and ‘infinite space’1

Pluralism is the hallmark of 21st century psychoanalytic discourse. Nevertheless, an unpleasant byproduct of pluralism is a tendency in some quarters to retreat into orthodoxy, stemming from a perceived need to shore up theoretical boundaries in the service of differentiating one theory from another. The delineation of borders places us at a risk of losing sight of the fact that genuine psychoanalytic thinking is fundamentally non‐reductionistic. Moreover, the core psychoanalytic notion of overdetermination, which Freud never abandoned throughout his career, has recently been neglected as authors argue in their communications that one point of view is better than another. Both analysts and their patients secretly are drawn to simple formulations that eschew complexity. The need to remain open to the ‘infinite space’ of meaning, motive, and causation should be a hallmark of clinical psychoanalytic practice. The author considers the implications for technique, and provides case material to illustrate some of the challenges inherent in approaching psychoanalytic work as a complex phenomenon.     

Three indications for the existence of God in causal metaphysics

With the emergence of modern physics a conflict became apparent between the Principle of Sufficient Cause and the Principle of Physical Causal Closure. Though these principles are not logically incompatible, they could no longer be considered to be both true; one of them had to be false. The present paper makes use of this seldom noticed conflict to argue on the basis of considerations of comparative rationality for the truth of causal statements that have at least some degree of philosophico-theological relevance and can be taken to indicate (not prove) the existence of God. The paper’s comparatively modest aim is to establish belief in the existence of God as a rational metaphysical option, not as a rational obligation. In its final section, enriched causal considerations lead to an indication (not proof) of God as that which guarantees the unified continuance of the physical world.     

Comments on Daniel E. Flage’s “Berkeley’s Contingent Necessities”

According to Daniel Flage, Berkeley thinks that all necessary truths are founded on acts of will that assign meanings to words. After briefly commenting on the air of paradox contained in the title of Flage’s paper, and on the historical accuracy of Berkeley’s understanding of the abstractionist tradition, I make some remarks on two points made by Flage. Firstly, I discuss Flage’s distinction between the ontological ground of a necessary truth and our knowledge of a necessary truth. Secondly, I discuss Flage’s attempt to show that, according to Berkeley, the resemblance relation does not constitute a necessary connection.

自闭症的性别差异及其与认知神经功能障碍的关系

儿童自闭症的发病率男性高于女性,已在世界各国的研究者中形成共识。自闭症患者在行为障碍,言语障碍和智力特征上的性别差异较为显著。这种性别差异的原因,显示自闭症的发症有其基因变异,以及神经生物学遗传因素所存在。神经生物学的障碍与自闭症儿童的认知神经功能障碍具有密切的对应关系。理解自闭症发生机制中的性别差异问题,对于探究自闭症的病因学,以及在今后诊断工具的开发和自闭症儿童的治疗、教育过程中,具有较高的临床应用价值。     

消费者健康促进行为的类型及形成机制

消费者健康促进行为是以促进个体身心健康为目标的消费行为, 主要包括食品消费、医疗消费、体育消费、旅游消费以及文化消费等类型。消费者健康促进行为的影响因素包括本因与近因。本因关注人类进化心理的影响, 表现为趋利避害的倾向; 近因则反映了现实性因素的影响。其中, 近因中的现实性影响主要从以下几个视角展开：生命历程视角关注童年期家庭经历对后续消费行为的累积影响; 生态机制探讨个体所处生态系统的层层渗透作用; 动力机制则阐述了健康驱力的内部形成过程。文章最后, 我们构建了消费者健康促进行为形成的综合模型, 并指出了未来的研究方向。     

评价和控制药物不良反应的认识与思考

用科学的世界观和方法论指导药物不良反应的评价和控制。从药物不良反应的发生机制、临床表现、因果关系的判定原则出发,与马克思主义哲学的基本观点相结合,提出了几点认识和思考。药物治疗作用与副作用既对立又统一;药物治疗效应向毒性反应的转变是量变到质变的过程;药物过敏反应的发生是内因外因相互作用的结果;药物与不良反应联系强度的判定必须符合前因后果性;药物与不良反应联系强度的判定必须排除混杂因素的干扰,找到内在的、本质的联系。     

血液透析患者在线血流量与Kt／V及尿素清除率因果关系分析

通过测定维持性透析患者血管通路血流量、Kt/V及尿素清除率(URR),利用自然辨证法中因果关系的复杂性探讨血流量与透析充分性之间的因果关系。选择维持性血液透析患者80例。设定血液透析开始后在线血流量,根据血流量不同分为三组,I组血流量300ml/min,Ⅱ组血流量250ml/min,Ⅲ组血流量200ml/min,计算各组Kt/V值与尿素减少率,观察血流量与Kt/V及尿素减少率之间的相关关系。三组之间Kt/V、URR比较P<0.001,差异均具有显著性;血流量与Kt/V、URR之间呈正相关(r1=0.448,P<0.001;r2=0.413,P<0.001;)随着血流量从300ml/min降到200ml/min,Kt/V、URR分别从1.33±0.33、(68.19±8.86)%降到0.99±0.31、(58.59±13.19)%。血液透析患者的血流量与Kt/V、URR密切相关,两者之间存在因果关系,较高的在线血流量是保证透析充分性的一项重要指标。