Boskovic's unobservables

Boskovic treated unobservables in two different ways. During his earlier period (1741–48) the difference between observables and unobservables was a significant element of his specific semantic instrumentalism. The sentences of unobservables (such as absolute space, time and motions) were treated only as convenient tools conceived to provide for the empirical success of a theory. Later, especially in his Theory of Natural Philosophy (1763), Boskovic relativized this distinction by positing absolute properties (continuity and impenetrability), which are common to both observables and unobservables. As a scientific realist he was committed to his original unobservable entities, i.e. “points of matter”. Due to the intrinsic paradox contained in the concept of these points, his realist position was led to the absurd, which demands an anti‐realist interpretation of Boskovic's theory.     

Phenomenological approaches to personal identity

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences - This special issue addresses the debate on personal identity from a phenomenological viewpoint, especially contemporary phenomenological research on...     

An Elementary System of Axioms for Euclidean Geometry Based on Symmetry Principles

In this article I develop an elementary system of axioms for Euclidean geometry. On one hand, the system is based on the symmetry principles which express our a priori ignorant approach to space: all places are the same to us (the homogeneity of space), all directions are the same to us (the isotropy of space) and all units of length we use to create geometric figures are the same to us (the scale invariance of space). On the other hand, through the process of algebraic simplification, this system of axioms directly provides the Weyl’s system of axioms for Euclidean geometry. The system of axioms, together with its a priori interpretation, offers new views to philosophy and pedagogy of mathematics: (1) it supports the thesis that Euclidean geometry is a priori, (2) it supports the thesis that in modern mathematics the Weyl’s system of axioms is dominant to the Euclid’s system because it reflects the a priori underlying symmetries, (3) it gives a new and promising approach to learn geometry which, through the Weyl’s system of axioms, leads from the essential geometric symmetry principles of the mathematical nature directly to modern mathematics.     

A Note on Bisimulation and Modal Equivalence in Provability Logic and Interpretability Logic

Provability logic is a modal logic for studying properties of provability predicates, and Interpretability logic for studying interpretability between logical theories. Their natural models are GL-models and Veltman models, for which the accessibility relation is well-founded. That’s why the usual counterexample showing the necessity of finite image property in Hennessy-Milner theorem (see [1]) doesn’t exist for them. However, we show that the analogous condition must still hold, by constructing two GL-models with worlds in them that are modally equivalent but not bisimilar, and showing how these GL-models can be converted to Veltman models with the same properties. In the process we develop some useful constructions: games on Veltman models, chains, and general method of transformation from GL-models/frames to Veltman ones.     

Blood flow velocity changes in anterior cerebral arteries during cognitive tasks performance

Objective

Transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD) enables monitoring of blood flow velocities (BFVs) in basal cerebral arteries during different cognitive tasks performance with great temporal resolution. So far, BFVs changes during mental activity were monitored primarily in middle cerebral arteries (MCAs) and little is known about these changes in anterior cerebral arteries (ACAs).

Aim

To determine the effect of different cognitive tasks performance on BFV changes and hemispheric dominance in ACAs and to assess the most suitable activation test for monitoring of BFV changes in ACAs.

Methods

Fourteen right-handed, healthy subjects aged 20–26 were included in the study. BFVs in both ACAs were recorded simultaneously during performance of cognitive tasks designed to activate frontal lobes: phonemic verbal fluency test (pVFT), Stroop tests and Trail Making Tests (TMTs).

Results

A statistically significant BFV increase was recorded in both ACAs during performance of all cognitive tasks. Statistically significant right ACA dominance was found during performance of pVFT and TMTB. The most significant BFV increase was obtained during performance of TMTB.

Conclusion

Our result addressed cognitive tests with great activation potential for monitoring of ACAs that might be used in distinguishing of healthy individuals and patients with neurovascular or neurodegenerative diseases.     

Message size constraints on discourse planning in synchronous computer-mediated communication

Three groups of 20 dyads planned the MTV Music Video Awards Show over computers. The groups varied in whether they could send 4-line, 10-line, or 18-line messages, in part to examine whether increased planning efficiency in computer-mediated communication reflects communication strategies associated with constraints on message size. The results demonstrate that increased efficiency is not a function of such design features as the maximum message that may be sent. However, the subjects in the 4-line condition sent shorter messages to one another, were less likely to engage in a strategy of making multiple suggestions that required a single assent, and were more likely to differ in the relative proportion of their contributions to the discourse. The subjects in the 10-line condition had shorter maximum messages (and proportionately more disfluencies) than did those in the 18-line condition, despite the finding that the maximum messages of the latter would have also fit within 10 lines. Thus, the results also support a claim that size of the text window may result in different discourse management strategies and may influence an initial discourse-planning stage.     

Social-Psychological Interventions for Intergroup Reconciliation: An Emotion Regulation Perspective

Intergroup reconciliation is a requirement for lasting peace in the context of intergroup conflicts. In this article, we offer an emotion regulation perspective on social-psychological interventions aimed at facilitating intergroup reconciliation. In the first section of the article, we conceptualize intergroup reconciliation as an emotion-regulation process involving positive affective change and offer a framework that integrates the emotion regulation and intergroup reconciliation literatures. In the sections that follow, we review social-psychological interventions that involve changes in beliefs and identity and assess their effects on specific intergroup emotions pertinent for intergroup reconciliation. More specifically, we focus our discussion on specific reconciliation-oriented intervention strategies and their relation to emotions pertinent for facilitating reconciliation, including intergroup hatred, anger, guilt, hope, and empathy. In the final section, we consider key implications and growth points for the field of intergroup reconciliation.     

Cross‐cultural Generalizability of the Alternative Five‐factor Model Using the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire

Several personality models are known for being replicable across cultures, such as the Five‐Factor Model (FFM) or Eysenck's Psychoticism–Extraversion–Neuroticism (PEN) model, and are for this reason considered universal. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the cross‐cultural replicability of the recently revised Alternative FFM (AFFM). A total of 15 048 participants from 23 cultures completed the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA‐PQ) aimed at assessing personality according to this revised AFFM. Internal consistencies, gender differences and correlations with age were similar across cultures for all five factors and facet scales. The AFFM structure was very similar across samples and can be considered as highly replicable with total congruence coefficients ranging from .94 to .99. Measurement invariance across cultures was assessed using multi‐group confirmatory factor analyses, and each higher‐order personality factor did reach configural and metric invariance. Scalar invariance was never reached, which implies that culture‐specific norms should be considered. The underlying structure of the ZKA‐PQ replicates well across cultures, suggesting that this questionnaire can be used in a large diversity of cultures and that the AFFM might be as universal as the FFM or the PEN model. This suggests that more research is needed to identify and define an integrative framework underlying these personality models. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology     

The HEXACO Personality Inventory: Validation and Psychometric Properties in the Serbian Language

The aim of this research is to validate the HEXACO model of personality in the Serbian language through psychometric validation of the 100–item version of the HEXACO–PI–R. The research was conducted on 2 independent samples, the first comprising 1,217 participants from a community sample (55.5% females; average age = 31.77 years), and the second 345 undergraduate students (65% females; average age = 21 years). Besides the HEXACO–PI–R, 2 questionnaires were applied for the purposes of convergent validation: the Big Five Plus Two (BF+2), measuring 7 lexical personality dimensions (applied in Sample 1), and the Big Five Inventory (BFI; applied in Sample 2). Factor structure of the HEXACO–PI–R is in line with model assumptions. Convergent validity is good, whereby Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Conscientiousness are highly correlated to their BFI and BF+2 counterparts. Honesty–Humility is most closely related to Negative Valence (BF+2), Emotionality to BFI Neuroticism, and Agreeableness to BF+2 Aggressiveness and BFI Agreeableness. The results point to the satisfactory validity of the HEXACO model and its measure in the Serbian language.