Literature,Ethics, and Richard Rorty’s Pragmatist Theory of Interpretation

This article considers the validity and strength of Richard Rorty’s pragmatist theory of interpretation in the light of two ethical issues related to literature and interpretation. Rorty’s theory is rejected on two grounds. First, it is argued that his unrestrained account of interpretation is incompatible with the distinctive moral concerns that have been seen to restrict the scope and nature of valid approaches to artworks. The second part of the paper claims that there is no indispensable relationship between supporting Rorty’s pragmatist theory of interpretation and the important place that is attached to literature in the liberal society outlined by him. A reading of Donald Davidson’s texts on literary language and interpretation implies that an intentionalist theory of interpretation can accommodate those features that Rorty values in literature as well.

The Normative Core Of Paternalism

The philosophical debate on paternalism is conducted as if the property of being paternalistic should be attributed to actions. Actions are typically deemed to be paternalistic if they amount to some kind of interference with a person and if the rationale for the action is the good of the person interfered with. This focus on actions obscures the normative issues involved. In particular, it makes it hard to provide an analysis of the traditional liberal resistance to paternalism. Given the fact that actions most often have mixed rationales, it is not clear how we should categorize and evaluate interfering actions for which only part of the rationale is the good of the person. The preferable solution is to attribute the property of being paternalistic not to actions, but to compounds of reasons and actions. The framework of action–reasons provides the tools for distinguishing where exactly paternalism lies in the complex web of reasons and actions.     

The Causal Theory of Perception Revisited

It is generally agreed upon that Grice’s causal theory of perception describes a necessary condition for perception. It does not describe sufficient conditions, however, since there are entities in causal chains that we do not perceive and not all causal chains yield perceptions. One strategy for overcoming these problems is that of strengthening the notion of causality (as done by David Lewis). Another is that of specifying the criteria according to which perceptual experiences should match the way the world is (Frank Jackson and Michael Tye). Finally, one can also try to provide sufficient conditions by elaborating on the content of perceptual experiences (Alva N?e). These different strategies are considered in this paper, with the conclusion that none of them is successful. However, a careful examination of their problems points towards the general solution that we outline at the end.

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A comparison of three measures of the motive to avoid failure:

Individual's motive to avoid failure has typically been assessed by one of three different measures, the Hostile Press scoring system, the Test Anxiety Questionnaire, and Resultant Achievement Motivation. The present research tested the ability of these three measures to predict the two major behavioral criteria of the motive to avoid failure: defensiveness on level of aspiration tasks, and choice of extreme (high or low) probability of success tasks rather than intermediate level of difficulty tasks. Subjects completed the Thematic Apperception Test, which was scored for need for Achievement and the Hostile Press measure of fear of failure. Subjects also completed the Test Anxiety Questionnaire, the Achievement Test Preference Questionnaire, and an anagram level of aspiration task. The results demonstrated that only the Hostile Press measure was significantly related to the two behavioral criteria, and led the authors to conclude that the Hostile Press measure should be used in future assessment of the fear-of-failure motive.     

Asymmetric population axiology: deliberative neutrality delivered

Two related asymmetries have been discussed in relation to the ethics of creating new lives: First, we seem to have strong moral reason to avoid creating lives that are not worth living, but no moral reason to create lives that are worth living. Second, we seem to have strong moral reason to improve the wellbeing of existing lives, but, again, no moral reason to create lives that are worth living. Both asymmetries have proven very difficult to account for in any coherent moral framework. I propose an impersonal population axiology to underpin the asymmetries, which sidesteps the problematic issue of whether or not people can be harmed or benefited by creation or non-creation. This axiology yields perfect asymmetry from a deliberative perspective, in terms of expected value. The axiology also yields substantial asymmetry for large and realistic populations in terms of their actual value, beyond deliberative relevance.     

Maternal sensitivity behavior and infant crying, fussing and contented behavior: the effects of mother's experienced social support

Maternal sensitivity behavior, mother's experienced difficulties, experienced social support, and the amount of infant's crying, fussing and contented behavior were studied when the infants were 3 and 12 months of age. Fifty-seven Finnish low-risk mothers' sensitivity behavior was assessed by the Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment method. Infant's crying behavior was assessed by the Baby's Day Record and by the Crying Patterns Questionnaire. The Social Support Questionnaires (SSQ 1 and 2) were used to evaluate mother's experienced difficulties and support. The infants of More Sensitive (MS) mothers were more contented than those with Less Sensitive (LS) mothers. The MS mothers experienced fewer difficulties with their infants and experienced more support from their best friend and their husband than LS mothers. In addition, some gender differences were found concerning infant behavior.     

Structure Disclosed. Replete Moments and Aesthetic Experience in Reading Novels

ABSTRACT

Despite the huge interest in different philosophical questions surrounding literature, particularly analytic philosophers have had relatively little to say about literature’s specifically aesthetic character. Peter Kivy has developed this antiaesthetic tendency furthest, ultimately denying that the reading of prose literature has any deep aesthetic content. Building on Alan Goldman’s and John Dewey’s work on aesthetic experience, I argue that a key literary feature of novels I single out – what I term a replete moment – has the potential to trigger in readers significant aesthetic experiences. Along with revealing aesthetic aspects in reading that Kivy’s position does not cover, my account shows that contemplation of the overall structure of the novel is not the sole, more substantial form aesthetic experience can take in the case of reading, as Kivy’s formalistic literary aesthetics assumes. This conclusion is argued to be significant also for the general philosophical discussion on aesthetic experience. An analysis of a key passage in John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany is an important part of the view of literary aesthetic experience put forth.     

Impression management in the forced compliance situation: Two studies using the bogus pipeline

Two studies were performed to assess the interpersonal concerns of subjects in the forced compliance paradigm. The first study counterposed dissonance and impression management theory predictions in a 2 × 2 design by varying the public versus private nature of the counterattitudinal behavior and by assessing attitudes with the usual pencil-and-paper method or with a bogus pipeline technique designed to create strong pressures toward sincere reporting. Attitude change occurred only in the Public/Pencil-and-Paper condition and thus supported an interpersonal or impression management interpretation. The second study examined the effect of measuring the critical attitude a second time in the mode not experienced in the first assessment. This three-group design (Pencil-and-Paper/Bogus Pipeline, Bogus Pipeline/Pencil-and-Paper, Control) demonstrated that attitude change occurred only in the Pencil-and-Paper/Bogus Pipeline condition and was maintained on the second assessment when measured by the bogus pipeline. A common-factor analysis of the secondary measures in the second study demonstrated that the Pencil-and-Paper/Bogus Pipeline subjects reported a great deal of negative arousal such as embarrassment and guilt, while the subjects in the Bogus Pipeline/Pencil-and-Paper condition reported feeling manipulated and constrained. The findings of both studies were interpreted as consistent with impression management theory.     

Maternal sensitivity behavior and infant behavior in early interaction

Maternal sensitivity behavior and infant behavior in early interaction were investigated among 57 Finnish mother–child pairs. Their interaction was video‐recorded at home in free‐play situation when the infants were 3 months and 12 months of age, and evaluated using the Parent–Child Early Relational Assessment Scale (PCERA). Maternal sensitivity behavior was mainly related to infant's positive aspects of mood, social and play behavior, and visual contact, both at 3 months and 12 months of age. Even though maternal sensitivity behavior correlated to infant behavior at 3 months and 12 months, infant behavior at 3 months of age contributed to later maternal sensitivity behavior. ©2001 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.