The Conflation of Moral and Epistemic Virtue

Abstract: Accounts of virtue suffer a conflation problem when they appear unable to preserve intuitive distinctions between types of virtue. In this essay I argue that a number of influential attempts to preserve the distinction between moral and epistemic virtues fail, on the grounds that they characterize virtuous traits in terms of ‘characteristic motivation’. I claim that this does not distinguish virtuous traits at the level of value‐conferring quality, and I propose that the best alternative is to distinguish them at the level of good produced. It follows from this that a consequentialist account is best placed to avoid a conflation of moral and epistemic virtue.     

科技时代的替代经验与道德的个人亲证问题

人对自己生活于其中的科技时代的批判,是与人的自我意识一同发生的。当今世界,科技已越来越被当作自主的、异在于人的并沿着非人性化的惯性而展开的过程。如何对这一过程重新进行人化?如何使现代人具有科技进步时代的人的内容的清醒意识?这是每一个人文学者必须给予严肃关注的问题。从道德本性的角度视之,科技社会所制造的大量的替代经验对道德实践基础的蚕食和颠覆,具有根本的决定性的作用。因此,在科技社会中如何确立实践智慧、个人亲证在道德领域里的独立性,对于避免当代人的“道德孤儿”的命运,便具有头等重要的意义。     

多项式加工树模型在社会心理学中的应用

多项式加工树（multinomial processing tree, MPT）从理论模型出发,使用多项式模型来拟合行为数据并估计理论模型中各个加工过程发生的可能性。该模型能够有效分离和量化不同心理过程,被广泛应用于社会认知研究之中,如态度、刻板印象等。本文首先介绍该模型的基本原理及其实现,并以道德判断为例说明其在社会心理学中的最新应用。最后,总结其对社会心理学研究的意义,即可以作为一种方法提高研究的效度和精度,具有较高的实用价值,并指出其潜在不足。     

前瞻记忆意向后效应的年龄差异

前瞻记忆意向后效应会对日常生活产生负面影响,研究发现这种现象在老年人中尤其突出。近些年来,研究者们从内外两方面对影响前瞻记忆意向后效应年龄差异的因素进行了探讨,了解到认知老化所带来的抑制能力的衰退以及短时记忆缺陷是造成其年龄差异的主要原因。未来研究需进一步拓展对认知老化的机制和抑制控制能力的认识。另外,可以采用事件相关电位（Event-Related Potentials, ERPs）和功能性磁共振成像（Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, fMRI）等脑成像技术揭示前瞻记忆意向后效应年龄差异的加工机制及神经机制。     

The Neural Architecture of General Knowledge

Cognitive performance varies widely between individuals and is highly influenced by structural and functional properties of the brain. In the past, neuroscientific research was principally concerned with fluid intelligence, while neglecting its equally important counterpart crystallized intelligence. Crystallized intelligence is defined as the depth and breadth of knowledge and skills that are valued by one's culture. The accumulation of crystallized intelligence is guided by information storage capacities and is likely to be reflected in an individual's level of general knowledge. In spite of the significant role general knowledge plays for everyday life, its neural foundation largely remains unknown. In a large sample of 324 healthy individuals, we used standard magnetic resonance imaging along with functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging to examine different estimates of brain volume and brain network connectivity and assessed their predictive power with regard to both general knowledge and fluid intelligence. Our results demonstrate that an individual's level of general knowledge is associated with structural brain network connectivity beyond any confounding effects exerted by age or sex. Moreover, we found fluid intelligence to be best predicted by cortex volume in male subjects and functional network connectivity in female subjects. Combined, these findings potentially indicate different neural architectures for information storage and information processing. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Gratitude,revenge, and Mitleid: reading Nietzsche’s Daybreak 138

ABSTRACT

This paper analyses Daybreak 138 closely line by line in order to examine whether Nietzsche's conclusion that ‘there is something degrading in suffering and something elevating and productive of superiority in pitying (Mitleiden)’ truly holds. I shall argue that it does not. By way of objection to Nietzsche's conclusion, I am offering a counter example and also examine what, in the context of Daybreak 138, gratitude, revenge, and Mitleid have in common so that they can be used by Nietzsche to pursue together a common goal. I suggest that the feature gratitude, revenge and Mitleid have in common is their usefulness to establish or maintain equality.     

社会知觉视角下道德诉求方式如何提升劝捐效果

如何有效地引导个体“慷慨解囊”一直是理论和实践都关注的热点。基于道德基础理论和刻板印象内容模型, 研究考察了在不同社会知觉(温暖型vs.能力型)的劝捐主体中, 两种道德诉求方式(个体人道诉求vs.群体规范诉求)对劝捐效果的影响及其内在机制。3个实验的结果显示：温暖型(能力型)劝捐主体与个体人道诉求(群体规范诉求)更为契合, 更有利于提升劝捐效果; 温暖型劝捐主体进行个体人道诉求主要通过唤起个体的自我效能而提升劝捐效果, 而能力型劝捐主体进行群体规范诉求则主要通过增强个体的反应效能而提升劝捐效果。     

Concept Creep: Psychology's Expanding Concepts of Harm and Pathology

Many of psychology's concepts have undergone semantic shifts in recent years. These conceptual changes follow a consistent trend. Concepts that refer to the negative aspects of human experience and behavior have expanded their meanings so that they now encompass a much broader range of phenomena than before. This expansion takes “horizontal” and “vertical” forms: concepts extend outward to capture qualitatively new phenomena and downward to capture quantitatively less extreme phenomena. The concepts of abuse, bullying, trauma, mental disorder, addiction, and prejudice are examined to illustrate these historical changes. In each case, the concept's boundary has stretched and its meaning has dilated. A variety of explanations for this pattern of “concept creep” are considered and its implications are explored. I contend that the expansion primarily reflects an ever-increasing sensitivity to harm, reflecting a liberal moral agenda. Its implications are ambivalent, however. Although conceptual change is inevitable and often well motivated, concept creep runs the risk of pathologizing everyday experience and encouraging a sense of virtuous but impotent victimhood.     

Conflict detection during moral decision-making: evidence for deontic reasoners’ utilitarian sensitivity

Moral dilemmas often force us to decide between deontological (harming others is wrong) and utilitarian (harming others can be acceptable depending on the consequences) considerations. Cognitive scientists have shown that utilitarian responders typically engage demanding deliberate thinking to override a conflicting intuitive deontological response. A key question is whether deontic responders also take utilitarian considerations into account and detect that there are conflicting responses at play. The present study addressed this issue by contrasting people's processing of moral dilemmas in which utilitarian and deontological considerations cued conflicting or non-conflicting decisions. Results showed that deontic responders were slower and less confident about their decision when solving the conflict (vs. no-conflict) dilemmas. This suggests that they are considering both deontic and utilitarian aspects of their decision and indicates that a deontic decision is more informed and less oblivious than it might appear.     

从信任违背到信任修复:道德情绪的作用机制

早期学者已经从认知的角度分析信任违背的原因及修复方式。近年来,情绪对信任修复的影响引起了重点关注,但是情绪在其中的作用机制并未得到解答。当前的研究主要从情绪影响信任的线索依赖效应和离散情绪(内疚、羞愧、愤怒、悲伤等)对信任修复的影响这两个角度着手研究情绪对信任修复的影响。通过文献梳理发现内疚和共情两种道德情绪是影响信任修复最重要的情绪因素:内疚能够促进受信方做出补偿行为,共情能够促进信任方宽恕他人。基于此构建了道德情绪的信任修复模型,并考虑了目标线索和信任方的特质性宽恕的调节作用。同时建议未来的研究进一步探讨其他离散情绪尤其是道德情绪对信任修复的作用,并关注情境与情绪的交互作用。