The Cross

ABSTRACT

My aim is a philosophical understanding of sacrifice, and especially of the Christian conception of sacrifice. Initially distancing myself a little from the strictly ritual notion of sacrifice, I work with a concept of sacrifice as 1) a voluntary choice (2) to forgo or lose or give away (3) something costly, perhaps supremely costly, (4) as an expressive action, where (5) what is so expressed typically is or includes devotion or loyalty to something exalted. I consider three historical examples of political sacrifices, sacrifices made for a cause, and three literary examples of personal sacrifices, sacrifices made by one person for another. I note that in the Christian context it is very common for sacrifices either political or personal to be taken to be imitations of Jesus’ sacrifice as presented in the New Testament, and ask therefore how we are to understand that. My conclusion is that Jesus’ sacrifice can be seen as involving both a political and a personal aspect—but that in fact, it can only be made as intelligible as may be by understanding it, as the Letter to the Hebrews does, in ritual terms.     

Parenting Attitudes and the Self-Esteem of Young Children

Second-, third-, fifth-, and sixth-grade children evaluated relationship qualities of a self-nominated friend and a self-nominated very best friend over a 6-month school year period. Results demonstrated that 76% of the friend relationships and 50% of the very best friend relationships were maintained over the course of the study. Children in maintained friendships evaluated their relationships more positively and also reported having larger friendship networks in general compared with children whose friendships did not endure over time. Thus those with unstable relationships are having difficulty initiating new friendships as well. For very best friends, positive relationship qualities (e.g., caring) did not change over time for children in maintained relationships, while positive relationship qualities decreased over time for children in nonmaintained relationships. Further, no differences emerged between children in maintained and nonmaintained very best friendships on perceptions of negative relationship qualities (e.g., conflict).     

THEORIZING RELIGION AND QUESTIONING THE FUTURE OF ISLAM AND SCIENCE

Will there be any joint future for science and Islam? Although such questions have recently received considerable attention, more basic questions are often ignored. This article aims at addressing some of those more basic questions through exploring the assumptions that underlie different possible understandings of the question about the future of Islam and science. By investigating the relation between conceptualizations of religion and the question about the future of Islam and science, it will be argued that different understandings of the concept of religion (i.e., whether it denotes real objects, whether it is universal, and whether it is belief centered) lead to extremely different readings of the question. Besides, it will be argued that different answers to the question about the future of Islam and science can be understood in terms of the inference to best theological explanation; thus, the criteria that one assumes for the best theological explanation result in different criteria for evaluation of the answers.     

Contrast,inference and scientific realism

The thesis of underdetermination presents a major obstacle to the epistemological claims of scientific realism. That thesis is regularly assumed in the philosophy of science, but is puzzlingly at odds with the actual history of science, in which empirically adequate theories are thin on the ground. We propose to advance a case for scientific realism which concentrates on the process of scientific reasoning rather than its theoretical products. Developing an account of causal–explanatory inference will make it easier to resist the thesis of underdetermination. For, if we are not restricted to inference to the best explanation only at the level of major theories, we will be able to acknowledge that there is a structure in data sets which imposes serious constraints on possible theoretical alternatives. We describe how Differential Inference, a form of inference based on contrastive explanation, can be used in order to generate causal hypotheses. We then go on to consider how experimental manipulation of differences can be used to achieve Difference Closure, thereby confirming claims of causal efficacy and also eliminating possible confounds. The model of Differential Inference outlined here shows at least one way in which it is possible to ‘reason from the phenomena’.     

Narcissism, solitude, friendship: notes on the therapeutic alliance in the context of the Freud-Jung relationship

This paper deals with friendship and therapeutic alliance as a transformation of the libidinal love that structures the Oedipal complex. The author considers the relationship between Jung and Freud as a formidable test that may shed light on their personalities and on the relevance of the Oedipal complex for both of them and for their particular theories and practices. The author discusses the possibility that the Oedipal complex may be seen under a finalistic frame of reference and discusses which implicit goals it may express. Such a goal has not been reached by either Freud nor Jung, but might be the key to underline and recognize the fundamental importance of the 'therapeutic alliance' within the analytical situation, seen as a potential relationship between the selves of the patient and of the analyst springing from a transformation of libidinal love into 'friendship' as it was described by Friedrich Nietzsche.     

小学生同伴接纳对其人格发展的影响：友谊质量的多层级中介效应

以班级为单位选取1-6年级23个班级的小学生,通过最好朋友提名法,得到有互选朋友有效被试700人,采用同伴提名法、小学生友谊质量问卷、小学生人格发展教师评定问卷,运用多层线性模型（HLM）考察个体和班级两个水平上的同伴接纳、友谊质量对人格的影响,并在两个水平上检验友谊质量在同伴接纳对人格的影响上的多层中介效应。结果表明：（1）班级水平：班级平均友谊质量对外倾性、亲社会性、认真自控、情绪稳定性有预测作用;班级平均同伴接纳对情绪稳定性有预测作用。（2）个体水平：同伴接纳对人格5个维度均有直接影响;除情绪稳定性,友谊质量分别在同伴接纳对智能特征、外倾性、亲社会性、认真自控影响上有部分中介效应。     

社交网站中的自我表露与青少年生活满意度：一个有调节的中介模型

采用问卷调查法,以1556名中学生为研究对象,考察社交网站中的自我表露对青少年生活满意度的影响及其作用机制。结果显示：（1）社交网站中的自我表露与青少年生活满意度呈正相关;（2）友谊质量在社交网站中的自我表露对青少年生活满意度的影响中起部分中介作用;（3）扩展性社交倾向在社交网站中的自我表露通过友谊质量影响青少年生活满意度的作用中起调节作用。具体而言,上述中介作用仅存在于扩展性社交倾向较高的个体中。     

Integrating Fast and Frugal Heuristics with a Model of Memory‐based Cue Generation

Although the fast and frugal heuristics have been studied extensively, relatively little attention has been paid to how cues are generated to be used within the heuristics. The goal of this paper is to propose and test a memory‐based model of how cues are generated and used in cue‐based inferences. The current study advances theory by integrating the fast and frugal heuristics with HyGene, a memory‐based model of how decision makers generate and evaluate hypotheses. Using archival data in which memory retrieval variables were not directly manipulated, we demonstrate that participants' cue selection behavior is consistent with memory‐based retrieval. Further, by directly manipulating memory retrieval within a cue‐based stock‐forecasting task, we demonstrate that memory processes underlie cue use. Participants' cue use varied depending on the relationship between cue validity and the frequency with which the cues were seen during learning. The HyGene model provided the best account of the empirical data, providing further evidence for the critical role of memory in judgment and decision making. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.