Hintikka’s Logical Revolution

Hintikka thinks that second-order logic is not pure logic, and because of Gödel’s incompleteness theorems, he suggests that we should liberate ourselves from the mistaken idea that first-order logic is the foundational logic of mathematics. With this background he introduces his independence friendly logic (IFL). In this paper, I argue that approaches taking Hintikka’s IFL as a foundational logic of mathematics face serious challenges. First, the quantifiers in Hintikka’s IFL are not distinguishable from Linström’s general quantifiers, which means that the quantifiers in IFL involve higher order entities. Second, if we take Wright’s interpretation of quantifiers or if we take Hale’s criterion for the identity of concepts, Quine’s thesis that second-order logic is set theory will be rejected. Third, Hintikka’s definition of truth itself cannot be expressed in the extension of language of IFL. Since second-order logic can do what IFL does, the significance of IFL for the foundations of mathematics is weakened.     

Theoretical Purity Versus Theoretical Layering in Marriage and Family Therapy

There seem to be two competing streams of thought about the use of theory in the marriage and family therapy literature: theoretical purity versus integrationism. We examined influence of theoretical orientation on client experience in therapy. Level of academic training (masters' versus doctoral degree) was investigated as a possible confounding variable. Results suggest that therapists in private practice are less inclined to practice pure forms of therapy.     

Toward an Integrative Theoretical Basis for Training Psychotherapists

The purpose of this paper is to describe a training program for integrative psychotherapy that is based on an as-yet-nonexistent integrative theory of psychotherapy. It is therefore to be considered a thought experiment. A partially integrative theory of psychotherapy is presented—a work in progress—which is used as the basis for planning a 3-year postdoctoral training program for advanced psychotherapists. The curriculum would include (1) several courses on specific pure-form therapies, (2) core courses in the integrative theory, (3) courses on the application of the integrative theory to a number of different classes of mental disorder, (4) a year of practicum during which the student therapist applies the integrative treatment to a substantial number of patients under supervision, and (5) a year-long internship-like experience during which the treatment will be applied to a much larger base of patients. Students would also attend a therapy-like group to explore feelings regarding the conduct of this therapy and a second case conference group to discuss their cases.