Towards a postmodern ethics: Sir Isaiah Berlin and John Caputo

Conclusions It may seem to their opponents that they are trying to have their cake and eat it too. Postmodernists admit that their own paradigm must be and will be placed into question by future thinkers. But if they can anticipate an eventual reaffirmation of their paradoxical stand in an ongoing oscillating debate, then cannot it be said that they have arrived at a truth that transcends their time and place in history? And, if so, is not their fallibilist stance in fact self-referentially inconsistent? The response of postmodernists is the claim that each reaffirmation of a fallibilist epistemology and ethics throughout history is in fact sui generis. And this is the case because each reaffirmation has its own unique context within which it is made. Modernists will of course argue that these contextual differences are nonessential and irrelevant. And the debate over the problem of the One and the Many is once again launched in a new context. Thus far from running away from the paradoxical position that what they assert is both true and false, postmodernists revel in such inconsistencies.But does not such an ethical stance resemble the Sisyphean nightmare of being condemned to roll a heavy stone up a cliff only to have it keep falling back to the bottom ad infinitum? If no decision is innocent of doing some harm in the world, why should we bother to play the moral game at all? Indeed, what possible help is a postmodernist ethics when it comes to making some of the complex and crucial decisions we face today if it refuses to say anything substantial beyond the recommendations that we be cautious and balanced?And the postmodernist can only reply that we are letting our neurotic need for solid foundations frighten us. For ethics is an art not a science. There are no absolute rules. If we do not like the way the game is set up, then we are simply revealing our ultimate hubris in the face of a mystery requiring deep humility.     

Adjustment to hemodialysis treatment through behavioral controls

The present study was conducted to examine the hypothesis that compliant chronically ill patients, typically described as adjusted, reinforce more positive social environments using behavioral controls than noncompliant patients, typically described as maladjusted. Specifically, it is hypothesized that diet-compliant chronic hemodialysis patients emit significnatly more active involvement-in-treatment behaviors and more social behaviors than diet-noncompliant chronic hemodialysis patients. Subjects, who ranged in age from 30 to 77 years, were outpatients at a kidney center. Behavioral observations were conducted to assess the occurrence or frequency of (1) four involvement-in-treatment behaviors that are routinely taught to all patients and (2) two social behaviors, which were patient verbalizations and smiles. The results showed that compliant patients emitted significantly more involvement-in-treatment behaviors and smiles than noncompliant patients. Results support the proposed control framework that compliant, in contrast to non-compliant, chronically ill patients have recourse through positive behavioral controls when adjusting to the stresses of illness. It was proposed that through these controls, compliant patients reinforce positive environments rather than simply respond to life circumstances as given.     

The role of the accessory and main olfactory systems in maternal behavior of the primiparous rat

The objective of this study was to analyze the respective roles of the main and accessory olfactory systems in the development of maternal behavior in the primiparous Wistar rat. Females underwent one of the following treatments: vomeronasal nerve section (VN), irrigation of nasal cavities with 5% ZnSO4 solution (ZN), surgical control, saline irrigation control, and normal control. Surgical or first irrigation were done before mating occurred. Irrigations were done every 7 days thereafter. The dams and their litters were observed from the day the litter was born (Day 1) through Day 16. Pup weights and temperatures were recorded daily. Home cages were checked daily for changes in nest location and number of times pups were found out of the nest. Retrieving tests were conducted on Days 4, 7, 10, and 13. The following behavioral items were observed: number of pup retrievals , number of times mother nosed or licked pups, percentage of litter returned to nest by end of test, dam self-grooming, dam climbing or rising, and dam digging or burrowing in shavings. The VN dams and their litters were not significantly different from the control dams and their litters on any of the measures taken. The ZN dams and their litters were not significantly different from their controls on all measures except for pup body temperature which was slightly lower from Day 13 through day 16 and pup body weight which was slightly lower from Day 12 through Day 16. Since these differences are very small, they do not seem to indicate a serious deficiency in maternal behavior. The results indicate that adequate maternal behavior develops with either of the two systems intact.     

Parity,moral options,and the weights of reasons

The (moral) permissibility of an act is determined by the relative weights of reasons, or so I assume. But how many weights does a reason have? Weight Monism is the idea that reasons have a single weight value. There is just the weight of reasons. The simplest versions hold that the weight of each reason is either weightier than, less weighty than, or equal to every other reason. We'll see that this simple view leads to paradox in at least two ways. We must complicate the picture somehow. I consider two candidate complications. The first, Parity Monism, is inspired by Ruth Chang's suggestion that parity is a fourth comparative beyond the traditional three (>, <, =). This view complicates the single weight relation by allowing that the weights of reasons can be on a par. Unfortunately, Parity Monism resolves only one of the two paradoxes that afflict simple versions of Weight Monism. To resolve both paradoxes, we need our second candidate complication, Weight Pluralism. This view holds that reasons have at least two weight values (e.g., justifying weight and requiring weight) and these two values aren't always equivalent. Parity is no substitute for Pluralism.     

The development of ethnic identity and ethnic role taking skills in children from different school settings

The current studies were designed to investigate the influence of variations in type of school setting on the development of role-taking skills and ethnic identity. We were interested in groups of school children in grades 1 to 5 inclusive from three different types of language programs: (1) instruction in the native language (English in this case); (2) total instruction in a second language (French); and (3) partial instruction in a second language (French). All children were native-English speaking, and came from perdominantly middle class families with monolingual English-speaking parents. The children from each program were equated at each grade level on age, and verbal and non-verbal I.Q. It was expected that (1) children in the second language programs would develop identity with their native language reference group later and less consistently than children in the native language programs; because (2) the second language children would identify more with the second language ethnic group; (3) the second language children would be able to understand at an earlier grade level than the native language group the principle of reciprocity in role-taking; and (4) these difference would be more pronounced for the totally than for the partially immersed second language children. The children were required to rate a number of ethnic dolls on a 20 point rating scale according to (1) how much each would be desired as a personal friend, (2) how much each would be desired as a friend for a member of another specific ethnic group, and (3) how similar each doll was to the child. The results indicated general support for hypotheses (1), (2) and (4), particularly among the primary school samples (1, 2), but a lack of support for hypothesis (3). These results demonstrate the influence of socio-cultural factors on the development of ethnic identity and ethnic role-taking skills.