The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein cites the Gestalt psychologist Wolfgang Koehler almost as often as he cites William James in his posthumously published writings on the philosophy of psychology. Yet, few treatments of the Wittgenstein–Koehler relation in the philosophical literature could be called sustained discussions. Moreover, most of them treat Koehler as a mere whipping boy for Wittgenstein, one more opportunity to criticize the practice of psychologists. This article emphasizes how much the two thinkers agreed, and the extent to which some (...) of Wittgenstein’s work not only agreed with but also has a logical structure parallel to some of Koehler’s text. Both thinkers hold that the theoretician should strive to recognize and resist the impulse to step in and purify, distill, streamline, or exclude phenomena: common, everyday experience for Koehler and common, everyday uses of words for Wittgenstein. They both aim to counteract the tendency to discount and disparage what is ordinary and common. (shrink)

An English translation of Pierre Bayle's posthumous last book, Entretiens de Maxime et de Themiste (1707), in which Bayle defends his skeptical position on the problem of the evil. This book is often cited and attacked by G.W. Leibniz in his Theodicy (1710). Over one hundred pages of original philosophical and historical material introduce the translation, providing it with context and establishing the work's importance.

This paper investigates what it is to understand human differences in terms of deficits and examines criticisms of this approach. In the past few decades, across many fields of inquiry and outside the academy there has been a surge of interest in critiquing "the deficit view" of all manner of group differences and deviations from the norm. But what exactly is meant by "deficit view" and related terms when they figure in accounts of human differences? Do critics of the deficit (...) view claim that they are never appropriate or that particular applications of the approach are inappropriate? The aim of this paper is twofold: to identify and articulate some of the conceptual issues at the heart of debates about deficit approaches and to examine how these issues matter. Autism is my focus case. As we will see, many critiques of the deficit view of autism tend to characterize what is problematic about taking a deficit view in terms of the personal and social harm that deficit views can or do effect. One important upshot of my discussion, I argue, is that there is another kind of drawback to deficit thinking that is independent of the deficit view's potential negative personal and social consequences, a drawback that deserves serious consideration and sustained critical attention: in some instances, at least, deficit views impede scientific and philosophical progress in our understanding of the phenomena themselves. Thus, articulating and assessing deficit approaches is of practical and theoretical importance. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Asian Students in Changing Australian Educational Contexts The CHC Student: From Deficit to Surplus Value The CHC Student and ‘Deep Learning’ Assumed Values of Western Education ‘Critical Thinking’ and Other ‘Western’ Values Implications for Teachers References.

Pierre Bayle was one of the most important sceptical thinkers of the seventeenth century. His work was a major influence on the development of the ideas of Voltaire (who acclaimed it for its candour on such subjects as atheism, obscenity and sexual conduct), Hume, Montesquieu and Rousseau. Banned in France on first publication in 1697, Bayle's Dictionnaire Historique et Critique became a bestseller and ran into several editions and translations. Sally L. Jenkinson's masterly new edition presents the reader with a (...) coherent path through Bayle's monumental work (which ran to seven million words). This is the first volume in English to select political writings from Bayle's work and to present its author as a specifically political thinker. Sally L. Jenkinson's authoritative translation, careful selection of texts, and lucid introduction will be welcomed by scholars and students of the history of ideas, political theory, cultural history and French studies. (shrink)

Bayle's Dictionary is one of the best known and most influential works of the eighteenth century. Banned in Catholic France on first publication in 1697 it became a bestseller and ran into several editions and translations. Its merciless scientific and philosophical enquiring challenged all assumptions and blind reverence for authority, setting new standards for all future encyclopedists. This second English edition is enlarged from the fourth French edition, which in turn had been much enlarged from Bayle's manuscripts. Edited and with (...) a life of Bayle by the highly esteemed Pierre Desmaizeaux, this edition represents the most comprehensive English edition available. (shrink)

''As a text in developmental psychology the book is excellent, and this lower-priced paperback version will be snapped up by psychology students.'' -European NeurologyOne of the most dramatic areas of development in early human life is that of vision. Whereas vision plays a relatively minor role in the world of the newborn infant, by 6 months it has assumed the position as a dominant sense and forms the basis of later perceptual, cognitive, and social development. From a world leader in (...) the study of visual development in human infants comes a major new work, condensing a lifetime of work in this area - The developing visual brain. Drawing on over 20 years of cutting edge research in the Visual Develoment Units in Cambridge and University College London, the book provides the definitive account of what we know about the developing visual system, and the problems that can occur during development. The book reviews, evaluates, and sets in context the exciting progress being made in this area, and additionally suggests new areas for research. Written to be accessible for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers in psychology, the neurosciences, optometry, and visual science, The developing visual brain represents an important new addition to the literature on vision. (shrink)

Discourses of ‘internationalisation’ of the curriculum of Western universities often describe the philosophies and paradigms of ‘Western’ and ‘Eastern’ scholarship in binary terms, such as ‘deep/surface’, ‘adversarial/harmonious’, and ‘independent/dependent’. In practice, such dichotomies can be misleading. They do not take account of the complexities and diversity of philosophies of education within and between their educational systems. The respective perceived virtues of each system are often extolled uncritically or appropriated for contemporary economic, political or social agendas. Critical thinking, deep learning, lifelong (...) and lifewide learning are heralded as the outcomes of Western education but these concepts are often under‐theorised or lack agreed meanings. Equally fuzzy concepts such as ‘Asian values’ or ‘Confucian education’ are eulogised as keys to successful teaching and learning when Asia prospers economically. They are also used to explain perceived undesirable behaviour such as plagiarism and uncritical thinking when Asian economies do not do so well. We argue that in general, educationists should be aware of the differences and complexities within cultures before they examine and compare between cultures. This paper uses the Confucian‐Western dichotomy as a case study to show how attributing particular unanalysed concepts to whole systems of cultural practice leads to misunderstandings and bad teaching practice. (shrink)

Two studies examined children’s developing understanding of Aesop’s fables in relation to reading comprehension and to theory of mind. Study 1 included 172 children from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 6 in a school-wide examination of the relation between reading comprehension skills and understanding of Aesop’s fables told orally. Study 2 examined the relation between theory of mind and fables understanding among 186 Junior (4-year-old) and Senior (5-year-old) Kindergarten children. Study 1 results showed a developmental progression in fables understanding with children’s (...) responses becoming increasingly decontextualized as they were able to extract the life lesson. After general vocabulary, passage comprehension predicted fables understanding. Study 2 results showed a relation between young children’s theory of mind development and their understanding of fables. After general vocabulary, second-order theory of mind predicted children’s fables understanding. Findings point to the importance of developing mental state awareness in children’s ability to judge characters’ intentions and to understand the deeper message embedded in fables. (shrink)

This paper examines epistemic injustice in knowledge production concerning autism. Its aim is to further our understanding of the distinctive shapes of the kinds of epistemic injustices against autists. The paper shows how Ian Hacking’s work on autistic autobiography brings into view a form of hermeneutical injustice that autists endure with respect to their firsthand accounts of their experiences of autism. It explores how understanding the distinctive shape of this hermeneutical injustice can help us further appreciate dangers and harms of (...) using interpretive frameworks for autistic experience that neglect autists’ own contributions to the formation of words and concepts for capturing their experiences. In particular, the paper argues that even when autists are included in knowledge production concerning autistic experience, they remain vulnerable to forms of hermeneutical marginalization that can stifle the coming into being of autistic experience. (shrink)

This paper examines the appeal, made by some philosophers, to Wittgenstein’s notion of aspect-blindness in order to better understand autistic perception and social cognition. I articulate and assess different ways of understanding what it means to say that autists are aspect-blind. While more attention to the perceptual dimensions of autism is a welcome development in philosophical explorations of the condition, I argue that there are significant problems with attributing aspect-blindness to autists. The empirical basis for the attribution of aspect-blindness to (...) autists is questionable, but, even if it turns out that future empirical work on autistic perception and social cognition decisively supports the attribution of some forms of aspect-blindness to autists, the descriptive and explanatory fruitfulness of the notion of aspect-blindness is limited in important ways. To better capture autistic experience, we should broaden our framework to include conceptualizing autists as engaging in forms of aspect-perception. (shrink)

Discourses of ‘internationalisation’ of the curriculum of Western universities often describe the philosophies and paradigms of ‘Western’ and ‘Eastern’ scholarship in binary terms, such as ‘deep/surface’, ‘adversarial/harmonious’, and ‘independent/dependent’. In practice, such dichotomies can be misleading. They do not take account of the complexities and diversity of philosophies of education within and between their educational systems. The respective perceived virtues of each system are often extolled uncritically or appropriated for contemporary economic, political or social agendas. Critical thinking, deep learning, lifelong (...) and lifewide learning are heralded as the outcomes of Western education but these concepts are often under‐theorised or lack agreed meanings. Equally fuzzy concepts such as ‘Asian values’ or ‘Confucian education’ are eulogised as keys to successful teaching and learning when Asia prospers economically. They are also used to explain perceived undesirable behaviour such as plagiarism and uncritical thinking when Asian economies do not do so well. We argue that in general, educationists should be aware of the differences and complexities within cultures before they examine and compare between cultures. This paper uses the Confucian‐Western dichotomy as a case study to show how attributing particular unanalysed concepts to whole systems of cultural practice leads to misunderstandings and bad teaching practice. (shrink)

The principle of employment-at-will (EAW) holds that in the absence of an explicit agreement of contractually binding terms of employment, the employment relationship exists so long as both parties will it to continue. In practice, this means that the employer may terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any reason, thus giving rise to cases of wrongful termination. Just cause policies, on the other hand, require that employers follow both substantive and procedural due process in terminating a person’s employment. (...) Most institutions of higher education, public and private, at least implicitly accept the principle of EAW and carry it out in practice. I argue that because of their heritage of Catholic social thought, Catholic universities are obligated to replace the principle and practice of EAW with a just cause policy. I also point out that the very principles underlying Catholic social thought that lead to a rejection of EAW are principles that any highly educated person of good will should accept. (shrink)

This book is perfect for anyone wondering where hope fits into our lives during these troubling times.

The Classical Athenians were careful to separate the spaces of men from the spaces of gods. Yet when we look at the Athenian house, religious areas cannot be distinguished. This paper offers an investigation of how religious boundaries may be created by action and perception rather than bricks and mortar. Scholars of ancient Greek religion should not expect to see the permanence of public cult mirrored in domestic settings. One single, domestic space could host many activities; its meaning could be (...) changed by ritual behaviour. The temporary nature of domestic space allowed the residents of the Athenian house the freedom to use their domestic spaces according to their needs, thus integrating the lives of gods and men in one location.Les Athéniens de la période classique prenaient bien soin de séparer les espaces des humains de ceux des dieux. Or, lorsqu’on regarde la maison athénienne, les zones religieuses ne peuvent être distinguées. Cet article explore la manière dont les limites religieuses peuvent être crées par un geste et une perception davantage que par des briques et du ciment. Les historiens de la religion grecque ancienne ne devraient pas s’attendre à voir la permanence du culte public se refléter dans les implantations domestiques. Un seul espace domestique pouvait accueillir de nombreuses activités; sa signification pouvait être trans­formée par un comportement religieux. La nature provisoire de l’espace domestique autori­sait les habitants de la maison athénienne à user librement des espaces domestiques selon leurs besoins, mêlant dès lors la vie des dieux et celle des hommes en un seul lieu. (shrink)

This study investigated the consistency of the finding that family cohesion and adaptability are significant predictors of adolescent moral thought. To test this, 175 adolescents from a metropolitan population and 146 from an urban fringe population were administered White's revised Moral Authority Scale, Olson et al.'s Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale, and a family demographic questionnaire. A linear relation between family cohesion and family and equality sources of moral authority was found in both samples. However, the significant linear relation (...) between family adaptability and total source influence score found in Sample 1 was not found in Sample 2. This finding might result from the heterogeneity of sociocultural factors across the samples; post hoc analyses suggested that sociocultural factors might play an important moderating role in the relation between family adaptability and adolescent moral thought. (shrink)

Summary In his Theory of language, written in 1934, the psychologist Karl Bühler proposes applying the concept of Gestalt, developed at that time in philosophy and psychology, to the study of linguistic phenomena. This paper outlines and critically examines Bühler’s proposal. In particular, this paper highlights the two-sided approach that Bühler takes. Bühler shows that both the sound shape (Gestalt) and phonematic signalment (elements) are required for the recognition of linguistic phenomena. Accordingly, two methods of word recognition can be identified (...) in the speaker and listener. The questions that arise in this context about the content of the perception realized when a word is heard will be briefly presented in this paper. (shrink)

The principle of employment-at-will (EAW) holds that in the absence of an explicit agreement of contractually binding terms of employment, the employment relationship exists so long as both parties will it to continue. In practice, this means that the employer may terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any reason, thus giving rise to cases of wrongful termination. Just cause policies, on the other hand, require that employers follow both substantive and procedural due process in terminating a person’s employment. (...) Most institutions of higher education, public and private, at least implicitly accept the principle of EAW and carry it out in practice. I argue that because of their heritage of Catholic social thought, Catholic universities are obligated to replace the principle and practice of EAW with a just cause policy. I also point out that the very principles underlying Catholic social thought that lead to a rejection of EAW are principles that any highly educated person of good will should accept. (shrink)

Wolfgang Köhler made the following remark in Gestalt Psychology [1929]: “The ways of real life do not coincide with those of classification, and if, by abstraction, we unite the members of one class, we very probably cut the live bonds of dynamical reality at the same time. Perhaps, the most interesting forms of dynamical context occur between members of altogether different classes” [351]. This paper argues that reflection on Köhler’s remark serves to illuminate how Wittgenstein thought about classification and concepts (...) in his 1940s writings on philosophical psychology. In particular, it provides insight into what is at issue for Wittgenstein in how to characterize concepts connected to seeing and seeing aspects. (shrink)

In this paper I examine what autism can teach us about the role of like-mindedness in the achieving of interpersonal understanding. I explain how recent work on affective, sensory, perceptual, and cognitive atypicalities in people with autism underscores forms of like-mindedness that are largely neglected in contemporary discussions of interpersonal understanding. Autists and non-autists may have sensory, perceptual, and movement differences that make for pervasive differences in their perspectives on and ways of being in both the physical and social world. (...) Central to the paper is the idea that the forms of unlike-mindedness among autists and non-autists revealed by this research present the very live possibility that individuals without autism are unable to understand some autistic subjects as acting for reasons, or that if such understanding is available, it is available only through means other than those standardly emphasized in dominant theories of interpersonal understanding. I argue that this idea has significance for the case of autism itself as well as wider theoretical and practical importance for the study of interpersonal understanding. (shrink)

Le centre de l’article est consacré à la psychologie de la pensée élaborée par l’école de Würzbourg au début du XXe siècle. Il s’agit ici de montrer que cette école articule deux mouvements contemporains: le projet d’une psychologie d’un point de vue empirique de Brentano, et l’emploi de l’expérimentation au-delà de la sphère des perceptions. À partir des travaux de Karl Bühler est mise en question la légitimité de l’approche du psychologisme appliquée à toutes les écoles psychologiques participant à cette (...) époque au débat sur la nature de la pensée. L’idée bühlerienne d’un savoir actuel ayant pour but d’éviter un mentalisme localisationniste, si attirant pour une psychologie de la pensée, est également discutée. (shrink)

The intention of the study was to identify predictable opportunities for teachers to scaffold middle year students’ philosophical learning. Such opportunities were identified in terms of students’ readiness to learn certain behaviours in the context of a ‘community of inquiry’. Thus it was hoped that the project would provide a useful resource for the teaching of philosophy to middle year students by ascertaining how amenable philosophical learning was to this approach. The study investigated the following questions: (i) what are the (...) indicators of the development under the influence of the COI?; (ii) do these indicators cluster in any particular way? and (iii) is it possible to identify any clustering of indicators that suggests developmental bands? (shrink)

The future of Philosophy for Children depends upon at least two factors: shared values with the educational policies of the society in question, and valid and user-friendly tools for monitoring growth in this area. As teachers internalise the requirements of the Victorian Education system policy statements, the use of the pedagogy of the Community of Inquiry, P4C is being recognised as a particularly powerful tool for delivering the outcomes. In addition, appropriate tools for curriculum development, and for the assessment and (...) monitoring of student progress (as critical, creative and caring thinkers) are being developed and circulated within the Department of Education. Thus we proceed with optimism and confidence. (shrink)

Metaphor—describing one thing in terms of another—is a common tool used to grasp what is unknown. Perhaps because we do not understand a lot about autism, many metaphors appear in both scientific and nonscientific descriptions of autism. The metaphor of mindblindness is especially pervasive in the scientific literature. We discuss three limitations of this metaphor: It obscures the fact that both autistic and non autistic individuals contribute to the social and communicative difficulties between them, it carries strong negative connotations, and (...) it may impede the recognition that some autistic behaviors are meaningful and adaptive. Researchers should be mindful of the potential consequences of metaphors. (shrink)

This thesis examines the relation between philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein’s 1940s writings on seeing and seeing aspects and Gestalt psychologist Wolfgang Köhler’s theory of perception as set out in his Gestalt Psychology (1929). I argue that much of the existing literature on the Wittgenstein-Köhler relation distorts Köhler’s ideas and thus also Wittgenstein’s engagement with Köhler’s ideas. This double distortion underrates Köhler’s insights, misconstrues Wittgenstein’s complaints against Köhler, and masks points of contact between the two concerning the nature and description of human (...) perceptual experience. In my view, Wittgenstein sympathizes with Köhler’s call to reflect on basic psychological categories such as “experience”, his respect for the “naïve” experience of the layperson, his method of “rediscovering” pervasive features of experience that escape our notice, and his efforts to identify intellectual prejudices that stymie inquiry. But a warning emerges from Wittgenstein’s discussions of seeing and seeing aspects: It is especially difficult to command a clear view of 'seeing' and its interrelations with other everyday, psychological concepts. I argue that Wittgenstein’s far-reaching criticism of Köhler is that the latter's account of visual “organization” overextends an analogy between seeing and seeing aspects and pushes aside other justifiable comparisons, for example between seeing and thinking and seeing and imagining. A consequence of Wittgenstein's criticism is that Kohler falls short of his aim to depict faithfully naïve visual experience. Moreover, despite Kohler's commitment to battling prejudices, the latter's emphasis on similarities between seeing and seeing aspects to the exclusion of their differences is a form of intellectual prejudice. For Wittgenstein various comparisons are justifiable by appeal to the interrelations between ‘seeing’ and other psychological concepts. A perspicuous view of the concept 'seeing' involves steady appreciation of the multitude of justifiable, criss-crossing comparisons. So although Wittgenstein does not deny Köhler’s claim that organization is a feature of visual experience rather than thinking, he does not unqualifiedly endorse it either. We have conceptual grounds for various ways of speaking about our experiences of aspects. (shrink)