VAN FRAASSEN ON THE NATURE OF EMPIRICISM

Abstract: A traditional view is that to be an empiricist is to hold a particular epistemological belief: something to the effect that knowledge must derive from experience. In his recent book The Empirical Stance, and in a number of other publications, Bas van Fraassen has disagreed, arguing that if empiricism is to be defensible it must instead be thought of as a stance: an attitude of mind or methodological orientation rather than a factual belief. In this article I will examine his arguments for this claim in detail. I will argue that they do not succeed and that empiricism is, contrary to van Fraassen's claim, better thought of as a truth‐evaluable doctrine than as a stance.     

VISIONARY COMMUNICATION QUALITIES AS MEDIATORS OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NARCISSISM AND ATTRIBUTIONS OF LEADER CHARISMA

This study seeks to answer questions that have been raised regarding the precise nature of the relationship between narcissism and charismatic leadership. Specifically, we test a model that portrays the roles of socialized vision and visionary boldness as mediators in the relationship between narcissism and attributions of leader charisma. Our findings suggest that narcissism is positively related to vision boldness but negatively related to socialized vision. In turn, both aspects of vision are positively associated with attributions of leader charisma. These results add clarity to the literature regarding the personal basis of charismatic leadership by providing insight into how aspects of visionary communication may mediate the indirect relationship between narcissism and attributions of charismatic leadership.