A Note on Formality and Logical Consequence

Logic is formal in the sense that all arguments of the same form as logically valid arguments are also logically valid and hence truth-preserving. However, it is not known whether all arguments that are valid in the usual model-theoretic sense are truth-preserving. Tarski claimed that it could be proved that all arguments that are valid (in the sense of validity he contemplated in his 1936 paper on logical consequence) are truth-preserving. But he did not offer the proof. The question arises whether the usual model-theoretic sense of validity and Tarski's 1936 sense are the same. I argue in this paper that they probably are not, and that the proof Tarski had in mind, although unusable to prove that model-theoretically valid arguments are truth-preserving, can be used to prove that arguments valid in Tarski's 1936 sense are truth-preserving.     

Play enhances visual form perception in infancy–an active training study

Motor experiences and active exploration during early childhood may affect individual differences in a wide range of perceptual and cognitive abilities. In the current study, we suggest that active exploration of objects facilitates the ability to process object forms and magnitudes, which in turn impacts the development of numerosity perception. We tested our hypothesis by conducting a preregistered active exploration intervention with 59 8‐month‐old infants. The minimal intervention consisted of actively playing with and exploring blocks once a day for 8 weeks. In order to control for possible training effects on attention, we used book reading as a control condition. Pre‐ and post‐test assessments using eye‐tracking showed that block play improved visual form perception, where infants became better at detecting a deviant shape. Furthermore, using three control tasks, we showed that the intervention specifically improved infants' ability to process visual forms and the effect could not be explained by a domain general improvement in attention or visual perception. We found that the intervention did not improve numerosity perception and suggest that because of the sequential nature of our hypothesis, a longer time frame might be needed to see improvements in this ability. Our findings indicate that if infants are given more opportunities for play and exploration, it will have positive effects on their visual form perception, which in turn could help their understanding of geometrical concepts.     

D’un restaurant traditionnel à la mise en œuvre d’un restaurant « libéré » : impacts sur les métiers et le collectif de travail

The restaurant sector questions through the tensions and difficulties it encounters in order to retain employees. In order to cope with this, some managers are mobilizing managerial innovation. This action research exposes the effects on the trades and the work group of a reorganization of a traditional restaurant into a “freedom-form” company. Based on co-construction between researchers, employees and owners, and the use of qualitative methods (interviews, observations), the research presents the levers for more innovation and “happiness at work”. The study shows that the predispositions of the company and the attachment of employees to it were the essential motivating engine for imagining a new work organization.     

特征觉察器与康德的先验形式

康德主张对象必须符合主体的认识条件,即与特定的形式相符合,这与认知心理学上的特征觉察器相一致。特征觉察器是对特定的刺激物作出特定反应的高级神经元组织。康德的先验形式的问题可以用特征觉察器和特征捆绑等神经组织和神经过程来解释。特征觉察器可为审美先验形式提供生理心理基础,也可以使康德美学的主客之争得到相对缓解。     

人生终极的理性自觉——儒家"命"的观念

The Confucian idea of “ming 命 (destiny)” holds that in the course and culmination of human life, there exists some objective certainty that is both transcendent and beyond human control. This is a concept of ultimate concern at the transcendental theoretical level in Confucianism. During its historical development, Confucianism has constantly offered humanist interpretations of the idea of “destiny”, thinking that the transcendence of “destiny” lies inherently within the qi endowment and virtues of human beings, that the certainty of “destiny” is in essence contingency at the beginning of life and linear irreversibility towards its end, and that to live in light of ethics and physical rules — having a “commitment to human affairs” — means putting “destiny” into practice. As all these facts show, the Confucian ultimate concern regarding human life is full of rational awareness. __________ Translated by Huang Deyuan from Kongzi yanjiu 孔子研究 (Study on Confucius), 2008, (2): 4–11     

师范毕业生师范素质的调查与研究

采用自编问卷对师范毕业生的师范素质进行了调查,结果显示,测量总体在性别方面的方差分析结果无差异显著性。各系毕业生与中小学教师在教育机智、学业诊断、学生管理、教学策略以及总均分上,方差分析结果均呈显著性差异,表明师范毕业生的师范素质训练不容乐观。     

高等师范生成就动机取向特点的研究

本文以120名在校大学生为研究对象,分析了高等师范生的成就动机取向的特点。研究结果表明：1、高师生的个我取向成就动机明显高于社会取向成就动机;2、高师生成就动机取向的性别差异不明显;3、不同文化背景(城市与农村)学生的成就动机取向无明显差异;4、不同年级学生的成就动机取向无明显差异。     

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.     

Review of Nie Minli’s Being and Substance: On Aristotle’s Metaphysics Z1–9

In his new book Being and Substance: A Study of Aristotle’s Metaphysics Z1–9, Nie Minli, taking a holistic perspective, argues that the primary substance—that is, the individual in Categories—is identical to form, which is the primary substance in Metaphysics Z, and that Z3 has finished arguing what the real candidate of substance is and the inserted Z7–9 texts are the “core and key” of the entire book. In spite of his excellent scholarship and masterful interpretation of Metaphysics Z4–6, Z7, Categories 1–5 and Physics Α, Nie offers insufficient textual support for his interpretation of the primary substance in Metaphysics Z and the content of Z3. Although substance is the subject (hypokeimenon) and a “this” (tode ti) in Categories, it is the ultimate subject (hypokeimenon eschaton) and a “this” (tode ti) and separable (choriston) in Metaphysics. As the ultimate subject, substance is form and matter but not the individual. As a “this” (tode ti) and separable (choriston), substance is form; moreover, the primary substance is form. In my view, that form is substance in Z3 serves more as a plan or outline needed to prove in the following than as a definite conclusion. This article also points out that tode ti in Z8, 1033b21 refers to the individual but not the form. Homōnuma in Z9 cannot be understood as “sharing the same name but with different meaning,” but, rather, simply as “having the same name.”     

Tests of homogeneity of means and covariance matrices for multivariate incomplete data

Existing test statistics for assessing whether incomplete data represent a missing completely at random sample from a single population are based on a normal likelihood rationale and effectively test for homogeneity of means and covariances across missing data patterns. The likelihood approach cannot be implemented adequately if a pattern of missing data contains very few subjects. A generalized least squares rationale is used to develop parallel tests that are expected to be more stable in small samples. Three factors were varied for a simulation: number of variables, percent missing completely at random, and sample size. One thousand data sets were simulated for each condition. The generalized least squares test of homogeneity of means performed close to an ideal Type I error rate for most of the conditions. The generalized least squares test of homogeneity of covariance matrices and a combined test performed quite well also.Preliminary results on this research were presented at the 1999 Western Psychological Association convention, Irvine, CA, and in the UCLA Statistics Preprint No. 265 (http://www.stat.ucla.edu). The assistance of Ke-Hai Yuan and several anonymous reviewers is gratefully acknowledged.