Philosophy of science in Hungary

The report gives a survey of the Hungarian philosophy of science after 1973. The report throws some light on the history of Hungarian philosophy in the context of the political circumstances of the late sixties and seventies. It starts with the not so well-known history of persecution of philosophers in 1973. Then it treats the emergence of the philosophy of science focussing on the most significant representatives of this branch of philosophy, which was up to that time almost unknown in Hungary. Due to the fact that the important results in Hungarian philosophy of science run parallel with the reception and translation of the significant products of Western philosophy, such as Wittgenstein's, Popper's, Kuhn's, or Polanyi's works, the report gives relatively significant room to treat these achievements. The last part of the report presents a survey of the younger generation of the philosophers of science, concentrating on the most important insights.It is the sad duty of the editor to inform readers that Dr. Gabriella Ujlaki died shortly after finishing this Report.     

The role of structural consistency between categories and attributes in hierarchical category learning

This study investigated how consistency between categories and attributes determines attribute selection in hierarchical category learning. Participants learned six categories for which number and color were equally relevant attributes, followed by a transfer task, to test which attribute was used. Before that, half of them learned embedding higher-level categories for which numbers were likely to be used. Orthogonal to this factor, the hierarchical structure was made explicit for half of them by category labels. The results showed that participants used numbers in the prior learning, but that the use of numbers was inhibited in the subsequent six-category learning task. However, this inhibitory effect was reduced when the hierarchical structure was explicit. The pattern of results suggests that attribute selection is determined by structural consistency between categories and attributes, not by a prior use of an attribute.     

SEARCH FOR BELIEFS TO LIVE BY CONSISTENT WITH SCIENCE

Abstract. Instead of separating religion and science into "mutually incompatible realms," the new macromental paradigm of behavioral science permits integration of the two within a single consistent worldview. A new form of causal determinism combines conventional "bottom-up" with emergent "top-down" causation. Traditional materialist tenets are overturned, along with the science-values dichotomy, clearing the way for a science-based value/belief system. Intrinsic ethicomoral directives emerge in which a revised sense of the sacred would help protect the evolving quality of the biosphere, and the rights and welfare of future generations. Subsequent versions of today's changing worldview raise questions of which interpretation to believe. An analysis of "New Age" thinking is called for, and a brief attempt at such analysis is included.     

Aging and Autobiographical Memory: The Long and Bumpy Road

This article serves as an introduction to this special issue of Journal of Adult Development that deals with the topic of aging and autobiographical memory. Methodological issues, empirical findings, and theoretical frameworks that bear on older adults' autobiographical recall are discussed. Special emphasis is placed on an examination of the factors that underlie the offset of infantile amnesia and the reminiscence bump. An integrative approach to the study of aging and autobiographical memory is proposed that brings together paradigms from experimental psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and neuroimaging.     

选择性注意的ERP研究方法

注意理论的基本问题中,关于注意过滤器的位置,存在着早期与晚期选择的长期争论;关于自动加工与控制性加工,其机制与相互作用也有待明确。采用相同感觉通路的双耳分听和跨通路等实验范式,使ERP作为注意的客观电生理指标成为可能。但此类研究,涉及注意与非注意、听觉通路与视觉通路、标准刺激与偏差刺激等复杂的实验条件,并利用不同状态之间的相减技术以及由此而来的波幅测量问题.在当前国际上许多主要的ERP实验室均未能很好解决,尚处于摸索阶段。本文针对上述问题作一介绍,以供同行参考。1实验范式——刺激的设置1.1通路内的选择…     

部件启动对合体汉字字形识别的影响

本实验探索了部件启动对左右型合体汉字字形识别的影响,得到以下结果：（1）启动部件与目标字中左部件同形或相似（少一笔划或多一笔划）,会促进对目标字的字形识另询工,表现出正向启动效应;相反,异形部件对目标字加工有干扰作用,表现为负向启动效应;（2）各种启动刺激类型所产生的启动量随启动刺激呈现时间增长而变化。通过对各种实验条件下,启动量的分析,笔者认为：本实验为汉字相互作用激活模型提供了新的证据。     

一个临床医生所遭遇的尴尬

学习自然辩证法的好处之一,就是使得一个多年从事临床医疗实践的医生获得了一个宝贵的机会,可以静下心来从理性和哲学的高度来思考问题,而不是整日沉溺于病人、手术之类的繁琐事物中。然而,通过对医患关系的本质的思考,以及对医学临床当中一些现象的分析,比如,医生和病人对截肢术的不同想法,并上升到哲学高度对医学范式进行了讨论,竟引发出令人困惑的哲学尴尬。最终感到,“以人为本”的思想才是解决困惑的利器。     

Is pain-related fear a predictor of somatosensory hypervigilance in chronic low back pain patients?

Pain-related fear has been found to be associated with increased disability and increased pain perception in patients with chronic low back pain. A possible mechanism by which pain-related fear could lead to increased pain perception is heightened attention to somatosensory sensations. In the present study, chronic pain patients reporting either a high or low level of pain related fear and control participants performed an auditory reaction time task, while occasionally non-painful electrical stimuli--accompanied by threatening instructions--were given to the arm or back. In the primary task condition, participants had to perform the auditory task while ignoring the electrical stimuli. Next, the task was presented under dual task conditions in which participants had to respond both to tones as well as to detection of electrical stimuli. It was hypothesized that for the primary task, high fearful patients would show greater disruption of performance on the auditory task than low fearful patients and controls when stimuli were presented to the back. For the dual task, slower reaction times for the auditory task, in combination with faster detection of electrical stimuli was expected. The hypotheses were not confirmed but patients scoring high on pain-related fear did show an overall increase in reaction time for all conditions of the primary task, with or without simultaneous stimulation. Regression analyses demonstrated that high pain-related fear was associated with increased reaction time to tones both in patients and healthy controls, and that within patients pain-related fear was a better predictor of reaction time to tones than present pain intensity. The findings may be interpreted as showing that patients with elevated levels of pain-related fear habitually attend to somatic sensations, giving less priority to other attention-demanding tasks.     

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.