The points of concepts: their types,tensions, and connections

ABSTRACT

In the literature seeking to explain concepts in terms of their point, talk of ‘the point’ of concepts remains under-theorised. I propose a typology of points which distinguishes practical, evaluative, animating, and inferential points. This allows us to resolve tensions such as that between the ambition of explanations in terms of the points of concepts to be informative and the claim that mastering concepts requires grasping their point; and it allows us to exploit connections between types of points to understand why they come apart, and whether they do so for problematic ideological reasons or for benignly functional reasons.     

从卦爻辞的内容看其性质

根据卦爻辞的形式和内容,我们把它分为三类;直接表述吉凶等断辞的;记述象占的;单纯纪事,无吉凶等断辞的。从性质上来说,《易经》是一部老皇历式的著作。卦爻画表示的是日历。直接表述吉凶的卦爻辞记述的是时日占候。记述象占的卦爻辞表述的是一些行为禁忌,其中的某些卦爻辞也应和时日有关系。单纯纪事的卦爻辞情况则较复杂,有些卦爻辞可能是祈使句,表示此卦爻所当时日内应做某事,有些则是记述的某时日内“名人”“名物”的事迹,供后人参考,有些则可能是些“半拉子工程”。     

高中生文理分科刻板印象的实验研究

采用2×4×2的重复测量的实验设计,探讨了性别是否会引起对于文理分科期望的刻板化加工以及刻板印象的意识性抑制问题,同时验证目前占主导地位的对范畴信息信任的减弱会增强对个体化信息的信赖这一假说。结果表明:(1)性别刻板印象会影响对文理科这种社会范畴的判断;(2)刻板印象比较顽固,较难受到意识性的抑制;(3)与刻板化信息完全相反的个体化信息的作用大于刻板化信息的作用,对刻板化信息的作用产生了一定的抑制,但无法完全抑制;(4)刻板印象与个体化信息的加工通路是平行的,同时它们彼此之间也是相互联系和限制的。     

Scientific analysis of Buddhism and a comparative study of Buddhism and science

As Buddhism spread into China, the Mahayana (Dacheng) and Hinayana (Xiaocheng) schools, as well as the kong 空 (empty) or you 有 (being) schools, each developed separately, with all sorts of competing theories emerging. While Chinese Buddhism saw a revival in modern times, Western science also gained ground all over the country, and many scholars, technologists and monks sought to interpret the meaning of kong according the achievements and method of the natural sciences. They used science to interpret the content and methods of Buddhist teachings, ontology, and outlook on life. Of the scholars who did so, Wang Jitong (王季同) and You Zhibiao (尢智表) are the most excellent. __________ Translated from Pumen Xuebao 普门学报 (Universal Gate) Vol. 27, 2005 (5) by Kong Xiangzhen, Ma Tianxiang, and Andrew Herron     

A test of the distraction explanation of disfluency modification in stuttering

The distraction explanation of changes in stuttering rate was examined in the present experiment. Twelve stutterers were compared with 12 nonstutterers who were matched for age, sex, and level of education. Subjects were tested for disfluency production under conditions designed to reflect the dimension of distraction. These conditions were: (a) over attention to speech (counting speaking errors). (b) “normal” conditions (no additional task), and (c) distraction (pursuit tracking of an irregular target). The results showed no effect on stuttering rate that could be attributed to the distraction conditions. However, stutterers rated the difficulty of these conditions in concordance with the distraction theory. It was suggested that, while stutterers' perceptions may account for the popularity of the distraction explanation, evidence supporting the theory is lacking.     

Reaction times of severe Broca's aphasics to monaural verbal stimuli

Reaction times of nine subjects with severe Broca's aphasia were measured to verbal stimuli presented monaurally to their left or right ears. The aphasic subjects showed left-ear advantages in reaction times to verbal stimuli, paralleling dichotic findings among aphasic patients. The results are interpreted as consistent with right-hemisphere language processing.     

A cognitive-behavioral analysis of parental facilitation of children's social-cognitive problem solving

The present study used a case study framework to examine ways in which parental belief systems and parental teaching strategies interact to enhance children's social-cognitive problem solving and school adjustment. The focus of the investigation was to examine the robustness of several postulated typologies of interrelationship among the key variables, as well as antecedents and consequences of means-ends problem solving exhibited by children. Four intact families with second grade children were observed in the home as they participated in discussion and decision making concerning problematic social situations. The data suggested these major points: Parental behavior was generally consistent with their beliefs; parents could most effectively elicit means-ends verbalizations from children through direct questioning; families differed in the extent to which children's inputs into family decision making were valued and the degree of interparental discord concerning beliefs and strategies. The latter points suggest a reconceptualization of how parental variables can be linked to the development of social-cognitive and behavioral competence in children. Specific implications for theory and recommendations for research are discussed.     

Personality and problem-solving: The nature of individual differences in planning,scanning and verification

This study investigated the nature of individual differences in the time spent on different stages of a perceptual problem-solving task and the extent to which two task parameters (item complexity, goal setting) affected performance. A group of 24 Ss completed four sets of perceptual maze items as well as the EPI and AH5 tests. Perceptual mazes at two levels of item complexity were presented both with and without a computer-automated version. In addition to recording the overall solution time for each item, the program also records the time spent on the search, tracking and checking phases of maze-solving. The results indicated that the overall response speed is more closely related to intellectual ability (AH5 score) than to personality. In contrast, extraversion appeared to be more important in determining the relative amount of time spent on certain phases of maze-solving, particularly the initial period of scanning prior to making a response. The extent of these effects was found to depend on task parameters since the most striking differences were found on the most complex items presented without information as to the maximum solution obtainable.