The effects of the stimulus-reinforcer correlation in a discrete-trials IRT>t procedure

The correlation between a keylight and food in a discrete-trials, interresponse-time-greater-than 6-sec (IRT>6-sec) procedure was varied by manipulating the rate of response-independent food presentation in the intertrial interval. When the correlation was positive, the rates of pecking in the IRT>6-sec condition were high and food was obtained on only about 5% of the trials. Likewise, responding was maintained at a high rate in yoked birds that received the same presentations of the light and food as the birds in the IRT>6-sec condition. When the rate of reinforcement between trials was equated to or made greater than the rate of reinforcement within trials, the response rate decreased for all birds, and those decreases were considerably larger for the yoked birds. However, the percentage of trials in which reinforced responses occurred under the IRT>6-sec procedure did not increase substantially when the light and food were either uncorrelated or negatively correlated. The percentage of trials in which a reinforcer was obtained increased when the keylight was left on continuously and the discriminative stimulus was not presented on the key. The results show that the stimulus-reinforcer correlation affects responding in the discrete-trials IRT>6-sec procedure, but that the effects of the stimulus-reinforcer correlation vary as a function of whether reinforcement is response-dependent or response-independent. The differences between the effects of response-independent and response-dependent pairings and nonpairings of the light and food are best accounted for in terms of differences in the control of responding by background stimuli.     

Theoretizität im Logischen Empirismus und im Strukturalismus – erläutert am Fallbeispiel des Neurobiologischen Konstruktivismus

In this article I will compare two approaches for defining theoretical terms, that of Logical Empirism (especially the approach of R. Carnap) and that of Structuralism (according to the works of J. Sneed and W. Stegmüller). I will determine explicitly the accounts of theoreticity in both Logical Empirism and Structuralism, and compare them by means of a case study: a structuralistic reconstruction of Neurobiological Constructivism (according to the theory of G. Roth). I will point out that the structuralistic criticism on the account of theoreticity of Logical Empirism is insufficient and that the structuralistic criterion of theoreticity does not satisfy the requirements of demarcation for theoretical terms demanded by Logical Empirism.

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Rationales Handeln und historische Erklärung

Summary   Rational Choice and Historical Explanation. The dichotomy between narrative and causal approaches is one of the most discussed problems in historical explanation. The main problem seems to be that many philosophers and historians do not agree with the argument of analytical philosophy of history that explanations demand law-like assumptions. Even Arthur C. Danto, however, who is often regarded as the founder of narrative explanatory approaches, did not leave causality behind. Contrarily, he defended the covering-law-scheme against unfounded criticism and showed that causality and narration can be reconciled. But Danto did not say which laws should play a major role in historical explanations. This gap could be bridged by one of the most successful research programs in the social sciences over the last decades, the Rational Choice approach. This approach should, however, be reduced to its basic assumption, the presumption of subjective rationality (which principally corresponds an older hermeneutic tradition), and be integrated into the “model of a sociological explanation” (which is very popular among European sociologists). The result is a concept of a historical explanation that does justice to the linguistic turn (in its formulation by Willard Van Orman Quine), to the demands of the covering-law-scheme and to the ambitions of historians to narrate and explain a historical phenomenon at the same time.     

From Freudian narcissism to the Buddhist notion of anatman,via Jung's idea of identity

Starting from the question the youthful Carl Gustav pondered as he sat on ‘his’ stone – ‘Am I he who sits on the stone, or am I the stone on which he sits?’ – the author has attempted to show that, for Jung, the idea of identity is founded on a wilful non‐determination. This stance results in ethical and methodological repercussions that differentiate it both from the Freudian project and from Hindu and Buddhist thought, while at the same time having much in common with them. The paper refers to the notions of emergence and (Varela et al. 1992) enaction 2 2 According to the Wikipedia entry, the introduction of the term ‘enaction’ is attributed to Francisco Varela, Evan Thompson, and Eleanor Rosch (1992), who proposed the name to ‘emphasize the growing conviction that cognition is not the representation of a pre‐given world by a pre‐given mind but is rather the enactment of a world and a mind on the basis of a history of the variety of actions that a being in the world performs’.
and argues that the concept of the archetype, especially in relation to the self, merits a re‐evaluation in light of the new scientific paradigm.     

《易经·颐卦》考释

本文在对《颐卦》“口实”、《易传》“养”之义考释和对殷周之人对龟卜的态度进行考察的基础上,对《颐卦》卦爻辞进行解释。认为《颐卦》“口实”当取借口、依据之义,经传“养”当训为“象”、“相”,卦辞“观颐,自求口实”是“观察人的面部表情动作所传达的意见.为自己的行为寻找借口”之义,爻辞“朵颐”、“颠颐”、“拂经于丘颐”、“拂颐”、“拂经”、“虎视眈眈,其欲逐逐”等都是一些暗示人不同意见的面部表情语言、动作语言。全卦实际上反映了商周之际人们思想的转变以及在人意、龟卜结果之间取舍的矛盾复杂心态。     

Computersimulationen: Modellierungen 2. Ordnung

Summary  Es soll ein Beitrag zur epistemischen Charakterisierung von Computersimulationen als jenseits von Experiment und Theorie geleistet werden. Es wird argumentiert, dass die in der Simulationstechnik eingesetzten Verfahren nicht numerische L?sungen liefern, sondern deren Dynamik mittels generativer Mechanismen imitieren. Die Computersimulationen in der Klimatologie werden als systematisches wie historisches Fallbeispiel behandelt. Erst ,,Simulationsexperimente“ gestatten es, mittels Modellen eine Dynamik zu imitieren, ohne deren Grundgleichungen zu ,,l?sen“.     

The Primary and Secondary Factors That Promote Destructive Personalities

The ability of behavioral scientists to assist society deal competently with destructive behavior relies upon a recognition of its causes. Despite the pervasiveness of violence in American society, the roots of destructiveness are still poorly understood. Five primary and five secondary factors found in the developmental histories of people who have become involved in serious destruction are identified and discussed. The confluence of these factors in the steps toward destructive acts are traced.