The Meaning of Meaning-Fallibilism

Much discussion of meaning by philosophers over the last 300 years has been predicated on a Cartesian first-person authority (i.e. “infallibilism”) with respect to what one’s terms mean. However this has problems making sense of the way the meanings of scientific terms develop, an increase in scientific knowledge over and above scientists’ ability to quantify over new entities. Although a recent conspicuous embrace of rigid designation has broken up traditional meaning-infallibilism to some extent, this new dimension to the meaning of terms such as “water” is yet to receive a principled epistemological undergirding (beyond the deliverances of “intuition” with respect to certain somewhat unusual possible worlds). Charles Peirce’s distinctive, naturalistic philosophy of language is mined to provide a more thoroughly fallibilist, and thus more realist, approach to meaning, with the requisite epistemology. Both his pragmatism and his triadic account of representation, it is argued, produce an original approach to meaning, analysing it in processual rather than objectual terms, and opening a distinction between “meaning for us”, the meaning a term has at any given time for any given community and “meaning simpliciter”. the way use of a given term develops over time (often due to a posteriori input from the world which is unable to be anticipated in advance). This account provocatively undermines a certain distinction between “semantics” and “ontology” which is often taken for granted in discussions of realism.     

儿童绘画与语言关系的发展研究综述

儿童绘画与儿童语言的关系,是儿童绘画心理及符号认知发展研究中的重点和难点问题。文章在简要回顾儿童绘画心理相关研究的基础之上,从绘画与语言都是符号、二者在发生和发展过程中的相似性以及二者心理发展阶段的一致性等方面介绍了儿童绘画与语言相互关系的研究。这些研究的结果表明,不同符号系统之间联系的焦点在于意义,意义是沟通两个符号系统的纽带。儿童绘画与语言的关系随着儿童的发展而变化。文章还分析了这些研究中存在的不足并提出了今后研究的思路。     

Varieties of Reasoning: Assessing Adequacy

Helmut Reich's theory of relational and contextual reasoning is a courageous initiative for the resolution of cognitive conflicts between apparently incompatible or incommensurable views. Built upon Piagetian logico‐mathematical reasoning, cognitive complexity theory, and dialectical and analogical reasoning, it includes the development of a both/and logic inclusive of binary either/or logic. Reich provides philosophic, theoretical, and even initial empirical support for the development of this form of reasoning along with a heuristic for its application. A valuable step beyond the limits of binary, static, and formal reasoning, it takes relationship, context, and perspectival variations seriously in an explicitly reflective and iterative system. We can and do address conflicts not resolvable by conventional appeals to logic or evidence, including those at epistemic boundaries or produced by belief‐commitment differences. Although this form of reasoning has real promise, including stepping beyond complementarity in the religion‐science dialogue, it seems better directed to causally explanatory theories than to other forms of rendering meaning. Finally, its coextension requirement may render it problematic where functionally coherent explananda cannot be identified or are themselves produced or constituted by a belief system.     

Meaning in the Lives of Caregivers of Individuals with Parkinson's Disease

This study explores the contribution of finding meaning in general and finding meaning specific to caregiving as potentially important explanatory variables in predicting well-being in caregivers of individuals with Parkinson's disease. Fifty-eight caregivers of individuals diagnosed with Parkinson's disease were provided self-report questionnaires to assess well-being and meaning (general and specific). Results showed a significant proportion of the variance of positive affect (PASS) and negative affect (DYS) related to well-being, as assessed by the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist – Revised. Purpose and Existential Vacuum (two subtests of the Life Attitude Profile – Revised used to assess general meaning) predicted well-being. Purpose predicted 41.8% of the variance related to PASS; Existential Vacuum predicted 30.8% of the variance related to DYS. Meaning related specifically to caregiving (Finding Meaning Through Caregiving Scale) did not explain any additional variance. Our results suggest that finding meaning, beyond meaning specifically associated with caregiving, is the key to understanding well-being among caregivers of individuals with Parkinson's disease. The positive construct of finding meaning in general can empower researchers and professionals working with caregivers to better understand the variability in caregiver outcomes as well as assess and intervene more effectively.     

A Modest Solution to the Problem of Rule-following

A modest solution to the problem(s) of rule-following is defended against Kripkensteinian scepticism about meaning. Even though parts of it generalise to other concepts, the theory as a whole applies to response-dependent concepts only. It is argued that the finiteness problem is not nearly as pressing for such concepts as it may be for some other kinds of concepts. Furthermore, the modest theory uses a notion of justification as sensitivity to countervailing conditions in order to solve the justification problem. Finally, in order to solve the normativity problem, it relies on substantial specifications of normal conditions such as those that have been proposed by Crispin Wright and Mark Johnston, rather than on Philip Pettit's functionalist specification. This theory is modest in that it does not meet the demands of Kripke's sceptic in full. Arguments are provided as to why this is not needed.     

Prosocial behavior increases perceptions of meaning in life

Finding meaning in life is a fundamental personal need, and motivating prosocial behavior is a fundamental societal need. The present research tests whether the two are connected – whether helping other people can increase helpers’ perceptions of meaning in life. Evidence from a nationally representative data-set and two experiments support this hypothesis. Participants who engaged in prosocial behaviors – volunteering and spending money to benefit others – reported experiencing greater meaning in their lives (Studies 1–3). Study 3 also identifies increased self-worth as the mechanism – participants who spent money to benefit other people felt higher personal worth and self-esteem, and this mediated the effect of prosocial behavior on meaningfulness. The present results join other findings in suggesting that the incentives for helping others do not necessarily depend on the prospect of others’ reciprocity. Prosocial behavior can be incentivized through the psychological benefits it creates for prosocial actors.     

等值分数概念的理解

等值分数是表示具有相等值的分数,它建立在两个量具有确定比例关系的基础上。研究表明,儿童在接受正式教学之前,就具有了等值分数的非正式知识,但仍然在概念理解上存在很大的困难,主要有两方面的原因:一是受自身运算思维发展水平的制约,未获得乘法思维和守恒观念;二是缺乏对等值分数不同语义的理解。在今后研究中,需进一步探讨从非正式知识到正式概念之间的发展路径,尝试开展等值分数的早期教学实验,并需要结合多种语义背景来考查儿童的概念发展水平。     

The Anthropic Principle: Life in the Universe

The anthropic principle, that the universe exists in some sense for life, has persisted in recent religious and scientific thought because it derives from cosmological fact. It has been unsuccessful in furthering our understanding of the world because its advocates tend to impose final metaphysical solutions onto what is a physical problem. We begin by outlining the weak and strong versions of the anthropic principle and reviewing the discoveries that have led to their formulation. We present the reasons some have given for ignoring the anthropic implications of these discoveries and find these reasons wanting—a real phenomenon demands real investigation. Theological and scientific solutions of the problem are then considered and criticized; these solutions provide dead ends for explanation. Finally, we pursue the path that explanation must follow and look at the physical details of the problem. It seems clear that the anthropic principle has been poorly framed. Removing the ambiguities surrounding the meaning of "life" may lead to more profitable investigations.     

Synchronicity and meaning

It is usually thought that synchronicity, characterised as ‘meaningful coincidence’, is therefore understandable in relation to the concept of ‘meaning’. I will explore the largely unhelpful symbiotic relationship between ‘coincidence’ and ‘meaning’ by comparing synchronicity with synchoricity ‐ coincidence in space rather than time. These two concepts are often mixed together and I will attempt to describe a ‘pure’ synchronicity in order to sharpen our sense of how meaning is felt to arise from coincidence. It will then be suggested that the standard concept of synchronicity is mostly psychologically irrelevant and, when adjusted to remove elements which are explained quite naturally by evolutionary theory, we are left with a concept which has implications both for the metaphysical foundations of Analytical Psychology and the individualistic emphasis one commonly finds in the field.     

National Identity,Collective Events,and Meaning: A Qualitative Study of Adolescents’ Autobiographical Narratives of Flag Ceremonies in Finland

Although collective events are central to group identity processes, little is known about how young people experience and remember national ceremonies in which they have participated. This qualitative study analyzes 80 autobiographical narratives written by upper secondary school students about flag ceremonies from their past in Finland. The analysis reveals that the narratives fall into three categories ((Dis)honored, Deserved and Loved Flag) according to how the social context, participants’ actions, narrator’s role, and emotions are described, all of which combine to create a dense web of meanings associated with this common national ceremony. The results also indicate that different group contexts—family and peer group networks and the national context—are inextricably linked in the narratives and that the meanings associated with these contexts tend to fuse. The findings highlight the importance of analyzing national collective events and related autobiographical memories to better understand the sources of national identity’s emotional power.