The Meaning of “Existence” and the Contingency of Sense

In this paper I argue first for a revisionary ontology, that is, for an understanding of “existence” as the property of a field not to be empty. In this context, I distinguish between “metaphysics” (the theory of totality or of fundamental reality) and “ontology” (the systematic investigation into the meaning of “existence”). In the second part, I provide a sketch for a corresponding revisionary theory of the modalities in light of the new ontology proposed.     

数学能力与决策的关系：个体差异的视角

即便在相同的情形中, 每个人所做的决策也有千差万别, 导致决策个体差异的因素之一就是数学能力。文章综述了算术能力、数量表征、概率推理能力以及数学认知启发式对各种决策的影响。目前这方面的研究或者采用相关范式将数学能力作为决策的外部关联因素, 或者采用成分范式确定决策过程所需要的特定数学认知成分; 观点上的主要争论在于是一般认知能力还是数学能力在预测决策表现, 以及数学能力是否总是对决策有积极作用; 此外, 双系统模型和模糊痕迹理论有望为决策的个体差异提供理论解释。今后研究应该澄清上述争论, 确定合适的研究范式和结果解释框架, 并探讨更多提高决策能力的措施。     

论中国古代儒家哲学的价值取向

儒家哲学是中国古代哲学的重要门派 ,其内容博大精深 ,影响广泛而久远 ,其基本精神和价值取向可归纳为“内圣外王之道”。对儒家“内圣外王”思想的阐释在古代和近代有所不同 ,涉及内修与外用、中学与西学等关系。“内圣外王”作为价值观 ,其本体论依据为天人关系论中的“天道”或“人道”本体论 ,其认识论依据为内在超越思路和“知行合一”观念。     

Religious Naturalism Today

Three questions are addressed. First, concerning the definition of naturalism, I accept the characterization by Rem Edwards (1972) but insist on a materialist or physicalist interpretation of these features. Second, the distinctive characteristic of my religious naturalism is an argument that although a theological position based on a physicalist ontology is constrained by physicalism, the ontology itself does not dictate theological content. Theological content can break free of ontology if this content is valuational rather than ontological. Such a valuational theism becomes possible when Rudolf Bultmann's and Fritz Buri's method of existentialist interpretation is wedded to Henry Nelson Wieman's naturalist conception of God. The knowledge of God in events of grace, therefore, is rooted in moments of creative transformation that are themselves always transformative. This approach makes possible a better approach to the problem of objectivity than Bultmann could achieve. Third, concerning the chief issues facing religious naturalism today, I argue that religious naturalists should more forthrightly confront the issue of ontological materialism and that the most pressing issue concerns thinking out more fully the religious or theological content to be ascribed to such a position after the nature of naturalism is resolved.     

A Return to Musical Idealism

In disputes about the ontology of music, musical idealism—that is, the view that musical compositions are ideas—has proven to be rather unpopular. We argue that, once we have a better grip on the ontology of ideas, we can formulate a version of musical idealism that is not only defensible, but plausible and attractive. We conclude that compositions are a particular kind of idea: they are completed ideas for musical manifestation.     

DANCING AROUND THE CAUSAL JOINT: CHALLENGING THE THEOLOGICAL TURN IN DIVINE ACTION THEORIES

Recent years have seen a shift in divine action debates. Turning from noninterventionist, incompatibilist causal joint models, representatives of a “theological turn” in divine action have questioned the metaphysical assumptions of approaches seeking indeterministic aspects of nature wherein God might act. Various versions of theistic naturalism (such as Thomism, panentheistic naturalism, and pneumatological naturalism) offer specific theological frameworks that reimagine the basic God–world relationship. But do these explicitly theological approaches to divine action take scientific knowledge and methodology seriously enough? And do such approaches adequately address the problem of how uncreated, immaterial realities could affect physical, material processes? This article examines various features of the theological turn in divine action—recognizing it as a welcome step in science and religion, while challenging its current adequacy.     

Pictorial depth: intensity and aesthetic surface

Philosophers seldom ask questions regarding how certain phenomena occur, because such questions tend to be the province of the sciences or of technology. However, the question how pictures have depth requires philosophical reflection because it takes place on the surface of pictorial objects and involves both physical and phenomenal, i.e. aesthetic, features of those surfaces. This essay examines how pictures have depth by first separating the aesthetic question from interpretive considerations, and thereby refining the question how pictures have depth. Next it explicates two sorts of conceptual tools required to understand the question: several complex concepts needed to understand surfaces, and the concept of intensity. These are then used to understand how pictures can have depth by showing how intensities produce both an aesthetic surface and depth within it.     

西方数学学习困难研究的综述

近十年来,西方心理学界对数学学习困难(MD)的研究不断地增加。本文阐述了MD研究的几个主要的方面：MD界定与鉴别的复杂性、工作记忆各个成分对MD的影响、MD数概念与计数知识的发展、MD算术策略的特征及发展。并在此基础上提出几点对MD研究的思考。     

The Uses of Argument in Mathematics

Stephen Toulmin once observed that ‘it has never been customary for philosophers to pay much attention to the rhetoric of mathematical debate’ [Toulmin et al., 1979, An Introduction to Reasoning, Macmillan, London, p. 89]. Might the application of Toulmin’s layout of arguments to mathematics remedy this oversight? Toulmin’s critics fault the layout as requiring so much abstraction as to permit incompatible reconstructions. Mathematical proofs may indeed be represented by fundamentally distinct layouts. However, cases of genuine conflict characteristically reflect an underlying disagreement about the nature of the proof in question.     

小学生数学问题解决中视觉空间表征的研究

本研究区分了两类数学应用题:非视觉化题目与视觉化题目,采用数学测验与个别访谈相结合的方法,考察了54名小学四、五、六年级不同学业水平学生的视觉空间表征。结果表明:图式表征在非视觉化题目与视觉化题目上都极大地促进了问题解决,图像表征妨碍非视觉化题目的解决但与视觉化题目的解决无关,并提出图式表征和图像表征在两类题目上有不同的含义。六年级学生的解题成绩及图式表征有显著的提高,但图像表征与年级因素无关。差生的图式表征能力很差,而在视觉化题目上使用图像表征显著地多于优生及中等生。在非视觉化题目的非视觉空间表征与图式表征之间的转换灵活性上,优生表现了明显的优势。