Wie Natürlich ist das System der Natürlichen Deduktion?

How natural is natural deduction?– Gentzen's system of natural deduction intends to fit logical rules to the effective mathematical reasoning in order to overcome the artificiality of deductions in axiomatic systems (¶ 2). In spite of this reform some of Gentzen's rules for natural deduction are criticised by psychologists and natural language philosophers for remaining unnatural. The criticism focuses on the principle of extensionality and on formalism of logic (¶ 3). After sketching the criticism relatively to the main rules, I argue that the criteria of economy, simplicity, pertinence etc., on which the objections are based, transcend the strict domain of logic and apply to arguments in general (¶ 4). (¶ 5) deals with Frege's critique of the concept of naturalness as regards logic. It is shown that this concept means a regression into psychologism and is exposed to the same difficulties as are: relativity, lack of precision, the error of arguing from `is' to `ought' (the naturalistic fallacy). Despite of these, the concept of naturalness plays the role of a diffuse ideal which favours the construction of alternative deductive systems in contrast to the platonic conception of logic (¶ 6).     

浅谈《管子》中环境哲学思想

面对着日益严重的环境危机,今天的人们已经逐渐意识到问题的重要性和迫切性。然而,人们对环境问题的认识仍然存在着严重的局限考虑——自然环境。这种片面的认识是不利于环境问题的根本解决。面对今天复杂、多向的环境问题,《管子》可以提供我们一些有益的启示：以＂道＂为核心的有机整体主义自然观和具体的一些自然资源保护措施;包含着经济正义、法律正义等的社会环境思想;心灵和谐的人文环境思想;自然、社会、人文整体主义的＂一体之治＂思想等。     

The skillful means and meanings of philosophy: Attention and immersion in the philosophical art of writing

This response to Richard Shusterman's Philosophy and the Art of Writing focuses on his concern that philosophy is, first and foremost, a way of life, illustrated in the West by the Socratic ideal of the philosopher and in the East by the example of the scholar-artist-gentleman. This paper examines the process of Buddhist meditation and the process of creating novels, supplementing the authors Shusterman carefully examines with examples from Black American literature, the author's own teacher John Gardner, and artistic colleagues the author has known. The basic thrust of the response is that the skillful means used in writing can indeed be a form of self-creation, but it can also be a means of liberation from the self.     

Meaning and beauty

What place do experiences of beauty have in a meaningful life? A marginal one, at best, it would seem, if one looks at the current literature in analytic philosophy. Treatments of beauty within so-called “analytic existentialism” tend to suffer from four limitations: beauty is neglected, reduced to artistic production, saddled to theology, or taken as a mere application of a broader theoretical framework. These discussions fail to engage with the rich tradition of philosophical aesthetics. In this essay, I begin by responding to the contention that experiences of beauty cannot lend life meaning because they are passive. Drawing on work in philosophical aesthetics, I then argue that encounters with the beautiful count as genuinely meaning-conferring because they have features commonly taken as marks of meaningfulness.     

面孔审美加工的神经机制及个体差异

外显和内隐的面孔审美加工的脑成像研究表明,美的面孔比不美的面孔导致眶额皮层、伏隔核、杏仁核等奖赏脑区更大的激活。脑电研究则发现了与面孔审美加工有关的早期负波和晚期正成分。面孔审美加工有关的脑区活动也受到性别、生理周期等个体因素的调节。未来的研究需要比较美的面孔与其它奖赏刺激加工的神经机制,探讨面孔审美加工的不同阶段及时间进程,在面孔知觉的框架下形成合理的面孔审美加工的神经模型。     

On the Expressive Power of Monotone Natural Language Quantifiers over Finite Models

We study definability in terms of monotone generalized quantifiers satisfying Isomorphism Closure, Conservativity and Extension. Among the quantifiers with the latter three properties – here called CE quantifiers – one finds the interpretations of determiner phrases in natural languages. The property of monotonicity is also linguistically ubiquitous, though some determiners like an even number of are highly non-monotone. They are nevertheless definable in terms of monotone CE quantifiers: we give a necessary and sufficient condition for such definability. We further identify a stronger form of monotonicity, called smoothness, which also has linguistic relevance, and we extend our considerations to smooth quantifiers. The results lead us to propose two tentative universals concerning monotonicity and natural language quantification. The notions involved as well as our proofs are presented using a graphical representation of quantifiers in the so-called number triangle.     

Worlds within Worlds: Kabbalah and the New Scientific Paradigm

Beginning with relativity and quantum theory, the deterministic view that has dominated and shaped Western culture for more than 2,500 years has begun to unravel, leading to the emergence of a new paradigm. This new paradigm effectively reformulates the project of science, conceiving of existence as an interpenetrating web of coevolving, cocreative relationships. By exploring Kabbalah and the new scientific paradigm within the context of shared evolutionary principles, I seek to demonstrate a viable alternative to the prevailing deterministic worldview. By going beyond the limits of determinism and re–visioning existence as an evolutionary, emergent phenomenon, we can establish a new basis for an authentic dialogue between science and religion.     

大学生论文自然阅读的策略研究

本文探讨大学生论文自然阅读所采用的策略。包括两个实验,实验1对大学生在自然阅读,采用信息阅读策略与采用结构阅读策略等三种情况下把握文章信息的情况进行比较,探讨大学生自然阅读的策略特点;实验2对大学生在上述三种策略情况下把握文章重点信息的情况进行比较,进一步探讨大学生自然阅读的策略特点。研究结果表明,大学生自然阅读与采用信息阅读策略进行阅读两种情况下,无论是对文章一般信息还是文章重要信息的把握,都表现出基本相同的模式,而与采用结构阅读策略的结果不同,初步说明大学生论文自然阅读采用的策略是信息阅读策略而非结构阅读策略。     

Calvinist Metaphysics and the Eucharist in the Early Seventeenth Century

This paper wishes to make a contribution to the study of how seventeenth-century scholasticism adapted to the new intellectual challenges presented by the Reformation. I focus in particular on the theory of accidents, which Reformed scholastic philosophers explored in search of a philosophical understanding of the rejection of the Catholic and Lutheran interpretations of the Eucharist. I argue that the Calvinist scholastics chose the view that actual inherence is part of the essence of accidents because it was coherent with their theology. In this paper, I bring to attention the Reformed scholastic philosophy which was taught in the Scottish universities in the first half of the seventeenth century, an area so far neglected by scholars. In so doing, I compare Scottish scholasticism with coeval Calvinist sources, and highlight the differences from authoritative Catholic and Lutheran philosophers. The conclusion is that Calvinist scholasticism, both Scottish and Continental, brought about fundamental changes in seventeenth-century metaphysics, which are coherent with a humanist interpretation of Aristotle, and anticipate some themes of early modern philosophy.     

Trustworthiness Processing and Psychobiological Responses to Natural Disaster-Induced Distress in Adolescents

In this study, we examine the role of trust perceptions on psychological well-being and salivary cortisol levels of adolescents who were exposed to pervasive, noninterpersonal trauma, displacement, and relocation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Compared to demographically matched controls, affected adolescents reported higher perceptions of other people's trustworthiness, decreased externalizing behaviors, increased internalizing behaviors, greater desire for consolation from others, and lower cortisol activity. Follow-up analyses suggested that the relation between hurricane exposure and lower self-esteem might be mediated partly by increased trustworthiness perceptions. These results suggest that adolescents might respond to different types of stressors with varying patterns of distress and the manner in which the stressors alter trust processing might predict the development of internalizing or externalizing behaviors.