Instrumentalism about practical reason: not by default

Instrumentalism is the view that all requirements of practical reason can be derived from the instrumental principle, that is, from the claim that one ought to take the suitable means to one's ends. Rationalists, by contrast, hold that there are requirements of practical reason that concern the normative acceptability of ends. To the extent that rationalists put forward these requirements in addition to the instrumental principle, rationalism might seem to go beyond instrumentalism in its normative commitments. This is why it is sometimes thought that rationalism is stronger than instrumentalism in a way that entails that instrumentalism is the default view, while rationalists carry the burden of proof. In this paper, I explore and discuss different ways of spelling out this idea. I argue that rationalism is not stronger than instrumentalism in a way that has implications for matters of justification and differences in prima facie defensibility of the two sorts of views.     

The Analytic Principle and Attitude: Mobilizing Psychoanalytic Knowledge to Maximize Social Work Students' Practice Competence

Although psychoanalytic approaches have been marginalized in the foundations of contemporary clinical social work practice, there are core themes in various psychoanalytic theories that can be made accessible to maximize students’ practice competence. We elucidate the psychoanalytic principle of unconsciousness as well as the analytic attitude of inquisitive listening and its components. Using vignettes, we demonstrate how we teach this attitude in bachelor's in social work (BSW) and master's in social work (MSW) classrooms. This approach can help students begin to think and listen psychoanalytically. It offers them a way to better understand the person beyond the symptoms.     

开展活体器官移植的伦理学思考

活体器官移植起源于器官移植技术的最初阶段,目前已经成功开展了肾脏,肝脏,肺脏、小肠、脾脏等器官的活体移植手术,事实表明该技术不仅有其科学依据,而且有其伦理学依据,即以人类自身伟大的奉献精神来关爱他人。但开展这一技术时务必需要遵循知情自愿原则,生命价值原则,利益和风险并存原则。当然在积极肯定这一技术的同时,也应该看到这一技术也存在一些伦理学方面尚未解决的问题。     

学前儿童用“人为不介入原理”区分生物、非生物能力的发展

本研究采用访谈法,考查4～6岁儿童对生物的“人为不介入原理”的理解。研究结果表明：1．学前儿童没有表现出明显的“泛灵论”倾向。2．学前儿童对“人为不介入原理”的理解随年龄增长而呈现提高趋势,多数6岁儿童已经能够利用这一原理区分生物和非生物。3．学前儿童对不同领域刺激物的认知表现出不平衡性,对动物的认知优先发展,植物次之,对人造物认知的发展落后于对生物认知的发展。4．学前儿童表现出初步的分类概念。     

个体危机干预中的伦理学问题

在现代社会中,越来越多的人陷入了不同程度的心理危机中,个体危机干预技术正在得到越来越广泛的应用。个体危机干预是一种短程的心理治疗,在危机干预过程中,对干预对象的隐私权、知情同意权等问题尚未形成相应的伦理规范。为促进危机干预工作的健康发展,对这两个方面的伦理学问题加以讨论,尝试提出一些能够指导个体危机干预工作实践的伦理规范。     

《周易》古经"明德慎罚"观辨析

"明德慎罚"是西周初年周公提出的重要法律思想。从《周易》古经中的类似表述来看,其已有明显的"明德慎罚"观。"明德"思想反映在《恒》九三、《益》九五等爻辞中;《临》卦中有对人民实施德教的内容。《周易》古经的"慎罚"观在西周刑罚适用原则中也有体现。西周的"以德配天"、"明德慎罚"的法制思想后来深深扎根于中国传统政治和法律理论之中。研究《周易》古经中"明德慎罚"的法律观,探究它所涉及的西周法制,不仅能为我们研究西周法制提供宝贵的史料,也能更好的梳理商末周初法律思想的变化脉络,进一步印证这一思想对西周社会、政治和法制的影响。     

A case for a duty to feed the hungry: GM plants and the third world

This article is concerned with a discussion of the plausibility of the claim that GM technology has the potential to provide the hungry with sufficient food for subsistence. Following a brief outline of the potential applications of GM in this context, a history of the green revolution and its impact will be discussed in relation to the current developing world agriculture situation. Following a contemporary analysis of malnutrition, the claim that GM technology has the potential to provide the hungry with sufficient nourishment will be discussed within the domain of moral philosophy to determine whether there exists a moral obligation to pursue this end if and only if the technology proves to be relatively safe and effective. By using Peter Singer's duty of moral rescue, I argue that we have a moral duty to assist the third world through the distribution of such GM plants. I conclude the paper by demonstrating that my argument can be supported by applying a version of the Precautionary Principle on the grounds that doing nothing might be worse for the current situation.     

汉语口语词汇产生的音韵编码单元：内隐启动范式的ERP研究

本研究中选择英语水平低的汉语母语者, 排除作为二语的英语音韵编码单元(音素)可能对汉语口语词汇产生过程的影响后, 运用事件相关电位技术, 考察了汉语口语产生过程中音节和音素效应的时间进程。实验采用内隐启动范式, 要求被试看到提示词之后说出对应的目标词。事件相关电位分析结果发现, 音节效应出现在线索词呈现后的100~400 ms之间, 音素效应出现在500~600 ms之间, 波形表现为相关条件比无关条件的波形更正。这表明在词汇选择之后的音韵编码阶段讲话者首先提取的单元是音节, 而音素效应出现的时间窗口可能是音韵编码阶段后期或者是语音编码阶段, 结果验证了合适编码单元假说的观点。     

Traits and Adaptations: A Theoretical Examination and New Empirical Evidence

We investigated the distinction between traits (also labelled basic tendencies or dispositions) and (characteristic) adaptations, two related features of the personality system postulated to influence how personality manifests throughout the lifespan. Traits are alleged to be universal, causal, and enduring entities that exist across cultures and through evolutionary time, whereas learned adaptations are acquired through sustained interaction with cultural, physical, and social environments. Although this distinction is central to several personality theories, they provide few measurable criteria to distinguish between traits and adaptations. Moreover, little research has endeavoured to operationalize it, let alone test it empirically. Drawing on insights from four frameworks—the Five-Factor Theory, Cybernetic Big Five Theory, Disposition–Adaptation–Environment Model, and New Big Five—we attempted to investigate the distinction both theoretically and empirically. Using various experimental rating conditions, we first scored 240 questionnaire items in their degrees of definitionally reflecting traits and/or adaptations. Next, we correlated these definitional ratings with the items' estimates of rank-order stability, consensual validity, and heritability—criteria often associated with personality traits. We found some evidence that items rated as more trait-like and less adaptation-like correspond to higher cross-rater agreement and stability but not heritability. These associations survived controlling for items' retest reliability, social desirability, and variance. The theoretical and empirical implications of these findings are discussed. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology