How Simple is it for Science to Acquire Wisdom According to its Choicest Aims?

Focusing on Nicholas Maxwell’s thesis that “science, properly understood, provides us the methodological key to the salvation of humanity”, the article discusses Maxwell’s aim oriented empiricism and his conception of Wisdom Inquiry as advocated in Maxwell’s (2009b, pp.1–56) essay entitled “How Can Life of Value Best Flourish in the Real World?” (in Science and the Pursuit of Wisdom: Studies in the Philosophy of Nicholas Maxwell 2009, edited by Leemon McHenry) and in Maxwell (2004 & 2009a).     

The effect of anxiety,reinforcement, and intelligence on the learning of a difficult task

The effects of anxiety, reinforcement, and intelligence were studied on the learning of a difficult task (paired associates with 1% association values) in 252 subjects studying in class IX in Chandigarh schools (mean age, 14.7 years). A 2 × 3 × 3 factorial design was used with two anxiety groups (high and low), three reinforcement conditions (praise, reproof, and praise + reproof), and three levels of intelligence (high, middle, and low). In general, the results were in line with the Sarasonian theoretical framework that anxiety shows its debilitating effects under certain conditions, but not all. At upper levels of intelligence, neither anxiety nor reinforcement was found significant. At lower levels of intelligence, anxiety was found to interfere with learning under all the reinforcement conditions. It was found further that the most affected group was the middle intelligencehigh anxiety group. This group performed better under praise than under praise + reproof and reproof alone.     

Age differences in acquisition and retention of one-way avoidance learning in C57BL/6NNia and autoimmune mice

Acquisition and 48-h retention of a step-up active avoidance response were studied in separate age groups of C57BL/6NNia mice (aged 1.5, 3.5, 6, 12, or 26 months) and five strains of genetically autoimmune mice differing in life span. The C57BL/6NNia mice showed no change in ability to acquire the avoidance response between 1.5 and 3.5 months, but showed a steady decline in that ability thereafter. Mouse strains with early-onset autoimmune disorder (NZB/B1NJ, MRL/MpJ-lpr, and BXSB/MpJ) showed declines in acquisition capability between 1.5 and 3.5 months of age, whereas mouse strains with mild, late-onset autoimmune disorder (MRL/MpJ- + and NZBWF1/J) showed stable or improved acquisition during that period. Both the C57BL/6NNia and NZB/B1NJ mice showed age-dependent declines in 48-h retention performance by 12 months of age. These findings suggested that while 48-h retention performance deficits were most related to chronological age, avoidance acquisition deficits were related to development of autoimmunity.     

Belief in a zero-sum game and subjective well-being across 35 countries

Current Psychology - This article presents a short research report on the relationship between perceived antagonism in social relations measured using the Belief in a Zero-Sum Game (BZSG) scale,...     

Does cost–benefit analysis or self‐control predict involvement in two forms of aggression?

The main aim of this research was to assess the relative association between physical aggression and (1) self‐control and (2) cost‐benefit assessment, these variables representing the operation of impulsive and reflective processes. Study 1 involved direct and indirect aggression among young Indian men, and Study 2 physical aggression to dating partners among Spanish adolescents. In Study 1, perceived benefits and costs but not self‐control were associated with direct aggression at other men, and the association remained when their close association with indirect aggression was controlled. In Study 2, benefits and self‐control showed significant and independent associations (positive for benefits, negative for self‐control) with physical aggression at other‐sex partners. Although being victimized was also correlated in the same direction with self‐control and benefits, perpetration and being victimized were highly correlated, and there was no association between being victimized and these variables when perpetration was controlled. These results support the theory that reflective (cost‐benefit analyses) processes and impulsive (self‐control) processes operate in parallel in affecting aggression. The finding that male adolescents perceived more costs and fewer benefits from physical aggression to a partner than female adolescents did is consistent with findings indicating greater social disapproval of men hitting women than vice versa, rather than with the view that male violence to women is facilitated by internalized patriarchal values. Aggr. Behav. 36:292–304, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Perelman's rhetorical foundation of philosophy

This article is a Gadamer-Perelman's debate. The author points out the limits of the gadamerian's hermeneutic conception of philosophy and criticizes this conception from Perelman's new rhetoric point of view. Instead of speaking of truth as an ontological originary experience, the rhetorical foundation of philosophy allows us to say that in philosophy the important is the contrastation and the confrontation of criteria and that, for that reason, philosophy is above all characterized by discussibility.Philosophical argumentation, like juridical argumentation, constitutes applications, to different domains, of a theory of argumentation which we consider as a new rhetoric.By identifying this theory with the general theory of persuasive speech, which seeks to obtain the intellectual as well as the emotional adherence of an audience, no matter which, we state that all speeches which do not aspire to an impersonal validity proceed from rhetoric. (Ch. Perelman,L'empire rhétorique, p. 177).But, if one does not admit that the philosophical thesis may be founded on evident intuitions, it will be necessary to reccur to argumentative technics to make them prevail. The new rhetoric then becomes the indispensable tool of philosophy. (Ch. Perelman,L'empire rhétorique, p. 21).     

Gandhi's Universal Ethic and Feminism: Shared Starting Points but Divergent Ends

Like the dominant moral philosophers in the Western tradition, Mahatma Gandhi reaches moral conclusions that emphasize universality, impartiality, and detachment. This is in apparent contrast to feminist philosophers who have put forth a scheme for reaching moral conclusions that gives centrality to feeling, experience, and interdependence. In the following, I show that Gandhi shares significant agreement with feminists in spite of the kinds of moral conclusions he reaches. The crucial difference between Gandhi and the feminist critics lies in how the distinctiveness of the other is understood. For Gandhi, I show, that the distinctiveness of others which evokes our affection is significant only in so far as it is a starting point that aides us in reaching the highest form of moral concern—a kind of agape (unselfish love for all).     

Measurement Invariance of Personal Well-Being Index (PWI-8) Across 26 Countries

This report examines the measurement invariance of the Personal Well-being Index with 8 items (PWI-8). University students (N = 5731) from 26 countries completed the measure either through paper and pencil or electronic mode. We examined uni-dimensional structure of PWI and performed a Multi-group CFA to assess the measurement invariance across the 26 countries, using conventional approach and the alignment procedure. The findings provide evidence of configural and partial metric invariance, as well as partial scalar invariance across samples. The findings suggest that PWI-8 can be used to examine correlates of life satisfaction across all included countries, however it is impossible to compare raw scores across countries.