Caricatures,Myths, and White Lies

Pedagogical situations require white lies: in teaching philosophy we make decisions about what to omit, what to emphasise, and what to distort. This article considers when it is permissible to distort the historical record, arguing for a tempered respect for the historical facts. It focuses on the rationalist/empiricist distinction, which still frames most undergraduate early modern courses despite failing to capture the intellectual history of that period. It draws an analogy with Michael Strevens's view on idealisation in causal explanation to distinguish between myths and caricatures. Myths are distortions of the historical record that undermine students' understanding of the past, despite having other pedagogical benefits (being illuminative of some other period, or helping uptake of philosophical skills and methods). Caricatures are distortions that either increase or are indifferent to understanding of the past. Mythmaking, the article argues, is unjustified.     

Challenging the State: Teaching Alternative Historiographies in Early Modern Politics

This article argues that we can improve the way we teach early modern political philosophy if we introduce students to alternative views about the development of the state. First, it summarizes the work of contemporary philosophers and historians who are critical of the modern state. Second, it points out ways in which early social contract theorists take the state for granted. Third, it argues that alternative views about the development of the state can help students take a more critical perspective on standard works of early modern political philosophy. Fourth, it argues that these alternative views will help students better understand dissenting voices in early modern political philosophy.     

Teaching Early Modern Philosophy as a Bridge between Causal or Naturalistic and Conceptual Thought

It is a challenge in teaching early modern philosophy to balance historical faithfulness to the arguments and concerns of early modern philosophers and interpreting them as relevant to the kinds of thinking that contemporary undergraduate students find plausible. Early modern philosophy is unique, however, in applying modern scientific method directly to problems concerning nonphysical aspects of reality that our contemporary scientific thought, and with it mainstream contemporary culture, no longer find amenable in their own, independent right to reliable reasoned approaches. At the same time, early modern philosophy often also takes seriously purely conceptual or logically consequential thought in the investigation of these topics, as our mainstream contemporary culture does not. This kind of thought, we argue, is distinctive of philosophy in general and appropriate to nonphysical aspects of reality. Early modern philosophy, then, offers a bridge between the kind of reasoned, objective thought our mainstream culture finds plausible and thought about nonphysical reality or, in general, the thought that characterizes philosophy.     

One ring to rule them all: Master discourses of enlightenment—and racism—from colonial to contemporary New Zealand

We interrogated historical continuity and change in discourses of enlightenment and racism through the analysis of 160 years of New Zealand Speeches from the Throne (1854–2014, 163 speeches). Enlightenment discourses of benevolence and perfectibility were prevalent in all periods, much more so than racism. ‘Old‐fashioned’ racism took the form of an assumed civilizational superiority (including accusations of ‘barbarism’) during colonization, with ‘modern’ racism taking forms like blaming Māori for not ‘productively’ using the land. Both declined to almost zero by the 20th century, undermining the idea of ‘old‐fashioned’ versus ‘modern’ racism. Utilitarian discourses peaked in the late 19th to early 20th centuries as justification for Māori land alienation. ‘Master discourses of enlightenment’ consisted of a central core of social representations that changed at the periphery, with a gradual expansion of symbolic inclusion of Māori in discourses of national identity to the point where biculturalism is the dominant discourse for elites today.     

On the origin of worries about modern health hazards: Experimental evidence for a conjoint influence of media reports and personality traits

Objective: Worries about health threatening effects of potential health hazards of modern life (e.g. electric devices and pollution) represent a growing phenomenon in Western countries. Yet, little is known about the causes of this growing special case of affective risk perceptions termed Modern Health Worries (MHW). The purpose of this study is to examine a possible role of biased media reports in the formation of MHW.

Design: In two experiments, we investigated whether typical television reports affect MHW. In Study 1, 130 participants were randomly assigned to a film on idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI) or a control film about cystic fibrosis. In Study 2, 82 participants were randomly assigned to either a film on the dangers of electromagnetic fields or a control condition.

Main outcome measures: Increases in MHW after sensational media reports.

Results: In Study 1, only participants high on the personality trait of absorption revealed increased MHW after watching the IEI film. In Study 2, specifically worries about radiation were found to be elevated after watching the film on the dangers of electromagnetic fields compared to the control film.

Conclusion: The results of both studies reveal a significant and specific influence of sensational short mass media reports on MHW. The influence of potential moderators such as absorption remains to be clarified.     

Luther congress in Wittenberg

The Reformation year 2017 provided an opportunity for numerous congresses and publications. This article reports on the World Congress for Luther Research in Wittenberg. In addition to the main lectures and other significant currents of scholarship, the article also highlights some recent publications and public debates around Martin Luther's person and work.     

A scoping review of predictors of driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) in young drivers

BackgroundRecreational and medical legalization of cannabis or marijuana use in countries and states continues to increase. Young adults aged 16–24 years have the highest prevalence rates of cannabis use. Young driver cannabis use is an incompletely understood traffic safety issue.ObjectivesThe purposes of this scoping review were to characterize the predictors of driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) among healthy young drivers and to identify research gaps.Inclusion criteriaA self-reported measure of DUIC and a correlation (r, odds ratio, risk ratio) to demographic or behavioral variables such as age, gender and frequency of use was required for inclusionSources of evidenceAPA PsycInfo, SPORTDiscus, Academic Search Complete, Google Scholar, MEDLINE Complete, Scopus, Embase, ERIC, TRID and POPLINE databases were searched using an a priori protocol.MethodsThe PRISMA-ScR methods and checklist were used to conduct the scoping review. After the removal of duplicates, abstract screening (N = 999), and full-text review (N = 173), 19 primary studies met inclusion criteria. Predictors were coded and mapped into four primary thematic categories: social, individual, driving and substance use.ResultsOf the included studies, a total of 52,197 respondents were surveyed in-person or online and 51.8 percent were males. The predominant predictors of DUIC included being a male, high school senior, with lower grades, having a younger ‘age of first cannabis use’, a higher frequency of consumption, a reduced perception of danger, repeatedly binge drinking, a history of driving under the influence of alcohol and living with fewer parents.Research gapsIdentified research gaps include methods used to study young drivers, cannabis edibles, chronic user tolerance, driver adaptation, passengers of drivers who consumed cannabis, combined use with other legal and illicit drugs, and combined smartphone and cannabis use.ConclusionThe results of this scoping review can be used to develop and target general and specific predictors of DUIC in novice, teen and young drivers. Additional research designs will be required to gain a more complete evidence-based understanding of the effects of cannabis on young drivers.     

类比比较样例对物理综合题学习迁移效果的影响

研究通过三个实验,比较了普通样例和类比比较样例在学习物理综合题中的效果,并在此基础上,进一步分析两种不同类型的类比比较样例对物理综合题学习的迁移效果以及“提示”这一样例设计方法的促进作用。结果发现:(1)通过类比比较样例学习物理综合题的效果优于普通样例;(2)相比于单综概念类比比较样例,综合概念类比比较样例能更好地提高物理综合题学习的近迁移成绩,但未提高其远迁移成绩;(3)提示能明显促进类比比较样例在物理综合题学习中的作用,但不同提示类型的影响无显著差异。该结果表明:类比比较样例是学习物理综合题的有效样例形式,而其中综合概念类比比较样例效果最佳;开放式提示和支架式提示均能较好地促进类比比较样例的学习。     

Are modern health worries associated with somatosensory amplification,environmental attribution style,and commitment to complementary and alternative medicine?

Relationship among modern health worries (MHWs), somatosensory amplification (SSA), and attributional styles was investigated in a cross-sectional questionnaire study. A total of 99 university students, 104 patients visiting their General Practitioners, and 102 future alternative therapists completed questionnaires assessing MHWs, SSA, negative affect (NA), and psychological, somatic and normalizing (environmental) attribution styles. Significant correlation between SSA and MHWs was found in all three samples. MHWs and psychological attribution style were significantly associated with Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)-orientation in the regression equation even after controlling for SSA, NA, and sociodemographic variables. MHWs were independent from any attribution styles in the student and patient samples, while significant correlations with all three styles were found in the CAM group. Previously described association between MHWs and SSA was replicated in three different samples. The connection between MHWs and CAM preference seems to be independent from SSA, NA or any particular attribution style.