What Counts as Behavior? The Molar Multiscale View

Because the definition of behavior changes as our understanding of behavior changes, giving a final definition is impossible. One can, however, rule out some possibilities and propose some others based on what we currently know. Behavior is not simply movement, but must be defined by its function. Also, our understanding of behavior must agree with evolutionary theory. I suggest 4 basic principles: (a) only whole organisms behave; (b) behavior is purposive; (c) behavior takes time; and (d) behavior is choice. Saying that parts of an organism behave is nonsense, and, moreover, evolutionary theory explains the existence of organisms mainly through their adaptive behavior. Behavior is purposive in that behavior is shaped by its consequences, through an organism''s lifetime or through interactions with the environment across many generations of natural selection. Behavior takes time in that behavior is interaction with the environment that cannot take place at a moment. Moreover, at a moment in time, one cannot definitely identify the function of behavior. Identification of an activity requires a span of time. Behavior is choice in the sense that a suitable span of time always includes time spent in more than 1 activity. Activities include parts that are themselves activities on a smaller time scale and compete for time. Thus, behavior constitutes time allocation. An accounting problem arises whenever any behavior is attributed to multiple consequences. In the molar multiscale view, this raises the question of whether 2 activities can occur at the same time. The question remains open.     

Is “Latin American Thought” Philosophy?

Abstract: A durable question in Latin American thought is whether it could amount to a characteristically Latin American philosophy. I argue that if, as is now widely conceded, there is a role for philosophical analysis in thinking about problems that arise in applied subjects, such as bioethics, environmental ethics, and feminism, then why not also in Latin American thought? After all, the focus of Hispanic thinkers has often been upon the issues that arise in their own experiences of the world, and they make up a diverse group of peoples related by very idiosyncratic ethnic and historical connections. I believe that, given some appropriate criteria, the existing corpus of works by Latin American thinkers is a part of a distinctive philosophy.     

A simple trade-off condition for additive multiattribute utility

We show that only two simple trade-off judgments are sufficient to determine whether the multiplicative multiattribute model assumes its additive form, regardless of the number of attributes in the model. This additivity condition offers a useful alternative to the test based on multiattribute lotteries commonly presented in textbooks. It can make the determination of additivity easier and more reliable. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

老年人生命教育发展研究

老年人生命教育既包括生死教育,也包括生命健康教育。老龄社会为老年人生命教育发展提供难得的机遇,如老年人生命问题为其发展提出了现实要求,“以健康为中心”理念为其提供了理念基础,各种政策为其发展提供了依据。但是,由于我国社会传统中的重“生”观念、以“治疗为中心”的理念、教育体系不完备以及生命教育内容融入问题等,严重制约老年人生命教育开展。为此,应当以生活方式医学重构老年人的生命健康理念,并在个人、社会及政府三个层面探索相关措施以推进老年人生命教育。

     

Points of View

An adequate evaluation of argumentation requires identification of the object to which the argumentation pertains: the point of view. What are the distinguishing features of this object? In the pragma-dialectical argumentation theory, the object of argumentation is referred to by means of the notion ‘standpoint’. In other theories concerned with argumentation, reasoning, convincing or persuading, notions are used such as ‘thesis’, ‘conclusion’, ‘opinion’ and ‘attitude’. This paper is a survey of the characterisations of the object of argumentation given in the various theories. It discusses the pragma-dialectical argumentation theory, socio-psychological research on persuasion, cognitive research on reasoning, argumentative discourse analysis, two variants of informal logic, advocacy and debate, and the theory of communicative action. Next, it explores some relations between the notions used in these theories. Finally, it outlines some starting points for further research into the problems of identification.     

论张积中的三教观

自魏晋以来,儒释道三家思想并存发展成为了中国文化的显著特征之一。清末太谷学派作为流传于民间的一个学术派别,其三教观一直存在诸多争议。学派北宗传人张积中在山东肥城黄崖山聚徒讲学近十年,门人弟子遍及山左,现存遗著十九种,为太谷二传弟子中著述最多者。从张积中的三教观来看,他并非倡导三教合一,其三教观的核心是以弘扬儒家文化为基本理念,同时汲取佛道思想来完善其理论体系的太谷圣功之学,当属宋明"新儒家"思想在民间进行儒学传播的新尝试。     

略论《周易》史观

《周易》的形成出于占筮,古人以此来求知国之兴衰、人之穷通,具有一种“通古今之变”的思维倾向。所以它有别于其他类型的迷信,那蕴含其中的某种逻辑推演和理智分析的因素,被后来的易学及其哲学发展出一套《周易》的世界观、人生观和历史观。这些观点集中到一点就是:以阴阳变异的法则说明一切事物。本文主要从《周易》的特有思维模式及其古奥的言词来探讨其中所蕴含的历史观。并规约出两点:第一,《周易》所体现的历史演变方式;第二,《周易》史观中的历史动力。     

Verbalization of Decision Strategies in Multiple‐Cue Probabilistic Inference

In multiple‐cue probabilistic inference, people choose between alternatives based on several cues, each of which is differentially associated with an alternative's overall value. Various strategies have been proposed for probabilistic inference (e.g., weighted additive, tally, and take‐the‐best). These strategies differ in how many cue values they require to enact and in how they weight each cue. Do decision makers actually use any of these strategies? Ways to investigate this question include analyzing people's choices and the cues that they reveal. However, different strategies often predict the same decisions, and search behavior says nothing about whether or how people use the information that they acquire. In this research, we attempt to elucidate which strategies participants use in a multiple‐cue probabilistic inference task by examining verbal protocols, a high‐density source of process data. The promise of verbal data is in their utility for testing detailed information processing models. To that end, we apply protocol analysis in conjunction with computational simulations. We find converging evidence across outcome measures, search measures, and verbal reports that most participants use simplifying heuristics, namely take‐the‐best. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of priming self‐construals on self‐evaluations: Cultural game player perspective

This study examined the validity of situational view on culture‐specific behaviours focusing on self‐evaluation. Two experiments with American students as samples were conducted to examine whether priming their self‐construals would affect individuals' self‐evaluation. In Experiment 1, the participants' self‐evaluation was compared across different conditions of primed self‐contruals. In Experiment 2, the participants were split into 2 groups based on their initial default self‐consturals and, the self‐evaluations were compared across the 2 groups after priming self‐contruals. The results demonstrated that although the participants' self‐evaluation was initially in accord with their default self‐construal, it changed into accord with the primed self‐construals. The findings supported the proposed cultural game player view. Implications on situational view of self‐evaluation are also discussed.     

Adult Attachment Dimensions,World View Schemas,and the Psychological Health of Parents of Infants in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

This study reports the results of an exploration of the relationship of adult attachment dimensions (closeness, dependence, and anxiety) and world view assumptions (benevolence, meaningfulness, and worthiness) to psychological distress and psychological well-being in 142 parents (71 couples) of newborns recently hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit. The results of the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, hierarchical multiple regression, and mediation analyses showed that parents who were more comfortable with attachment-dependence and parents who held more positive beliefs about benevolence and worthiness had less psychological distress and more well-being. In addition, parents with partners who were more comfortable with attachment-dependence had less psychological distress and more well-being. Attachment-dependence partially mediated the relationships of benevolence and worthiness with psychological distress and the relationship of benevolence with psychological well-being, whereas worthiness had a direct relationship with psychological well-being.