In _The Formation of Reason_, philosophy professor David Bakhurst utilizes ideas from philosopher John McDowell to develop and defend a socio-historical account of the human mind. Provides the first detailed examination of the relevance of John McDowell's work to the Philosophy of Education Draws on a wide-range of philosophical sources, including the work of 'analytic' philosophers Donald Davidson, Ian Hacking, Peter Strawson, David Wiggins, and Ludwig Wittgenstein Considers non-traditional ideas from Russian philosophy and psychology, represented by Ilyenkov and (...) Vygotsky Discusses foundational philosophical ideas in a way that reveals their relevance to educational theory and practice. (shrink)

A human who open their eyes to life finds themselves within a religious tradition and culture. They encounter religious objects and places, meets religious people and live in communication with them. They learn about religion from their family and their surroundings; they see people who perform their religious worship, and from time to time, they themselves participate in these worships. They ask questions, do research, and turn to the use of religious words and concepts. Childhood period has a significant impact (...) on the formation of religious belief, attitudes and behaviours in adulthood, in other words, on the construction of religious identity. The study examined the origins of individual and collective religious identity, religious experiences from childhood to adulthood and cultural contexts. Thus, it was investigated that how participants constructed their religious identities by making sense of the reference frameworks that they acquired from religious narratives and traditions. In this context, the factors that shape and define the construction of religious identity have been analysed in two dimensions, theoretical and field research. 60 participants aged 25 to 75 living in Kahramanmaraş were interviewed in between 2021 and 2022. The study analysed findings about how adult religious individuals build their religious identities using phenomenological patterns from qualitative data collection methods. In the study, the participants were selected with the purposeful sampling method identified with the phenomenological pattern and the study conducted 40-160 minutes of face-to-face in-depth interviews with semi- structured questions prepared separately for 5 main and 13 sub-categories. The data obtained was analysed and categorised using the MAXQDA 12 package program. At this point in our research, the question of what are the factors that influence the formation and maintenance of a person’s religious identity is sought in the framework of the research findings. According to the findings obtained as a result of the study which is based on the basic approaches of role theory it has been observed that the family factor is prominent in building an individual’s religious identity. In addition to the influence of parents on family members in shaping religious identity, it has been observed that some participants are influenced by extended family members such as grandparents. On the other hand, it has been found that schools and courses attended under the referral of the family or the society, the religious officials and religious groups met, and media programmes followed are factors that influence the building of the individual’s religious identity after the family. It has been determined that religious texts and folkloric elements provide stereotyped roles in making choices such as the style of clothing eating and drinking, which are symbolically reflected in the individual’s life, in the implementation of religious orders and moral principles, in short, the construction of religious identity. (shrink)

Two studies examined the link between social dominance and male waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Groups of four men interacted in a leaderless group discussion. In both studies, men with higher WHRs (associated with current and long-term health status) were rated by other group members as behaving more leader-like when an observer was present, and rated themselves as being more assertive. In Study 2, men with higher WHRs were rated by independent observers as behaving more dominantly, but only when the evaluator was (...) present. These results are discussed in terms of evolutionary models of health, attraction, and intrasexual competition. (shrink)

The purpose of the paper is to consider genesis and approaches to forming a security culture of tourism and hospitality enterprises that are superstructures of economic, industrial, professional, household, ecological, psychological and social security. In the research, apart from general scientific methods, we used the collection and analysis of primary information obtained from the survey of 220 respondents. Three areas that have a decisive influence on the security of tourism and hospitality enterprises have been identified: organizational culture, decision-making responsibility, and (...) competitiveness. The decision-making methods for different leadership styles were identified. There were conceptualized connection and strength of correlation between types of strategic decisions, leadership styles and organizational culture of tourism and hospitality enterprises. It has been proposed the factors’ configuration relevant to the security of tourism and hospitality enterprises, which focuses on the economic security formation as a function of organizational culture, responsibility for decision making and competitiveness. The styles of leadership and decision-making styles have been revealed, which determine the effectiveness of economic security of tourism and hospitality enterprises. (shrink)

The aim of the study was to explore the experiences of homosexual men connected with the formation of their sexual orientation in adolescence. A comparative study of 27 young adult homosexual men and 28 heterosexual men of similar age used a categorised interview questionnaire consisting of two parts: the first with questions regarding sexual dreams, fantasies and erotic encounters; the second with questions on family and social circumstances. The study yielded an abundance of interesting data on the psychological circumstances (...) of homosexual men during the formation of sexual orientation and its awareness as well as differences and similarities in that area between homosexual and heterosexual men. For instance, it revealed experience patterns concerning the formation of sexual identity and personal attitudes toward one’s sexual orientation characteristic of homosexual persons. The study verified the main hypothesis that mental-internal experiences precede behavioural-external ones both in homosexual and heterosexual persons. (shrink)

When I decided to explore the question of Witz, or wit, with you this year, I undertook a small enquiry. It will come as no surprise at all that I began by questioning a poet. This is a poet who introduces the dimension of an especially playful wit that runs through his work, as much in his prose as in more poetic forms, and which he brings into play even when he happens to be talking about mathematics, for he is (...) also a mathematician. I am referring to Raymond Queneau. While we were exchanging our first remarks on the matter he told me a joke. It’s a joke about exams, about the university entrance exams, if you like. We have a candidate and we have an examiner. – “Tell me”, says the examiner, “about the battle of Marengo.” The candidate pauses for a moment, with a dreamy air. “The battle of Marengo...? Bodies everywhere! It’s terrible... Wounded everywhere! It’s horrible...” “But”, says the examiner, “Can’t you tell me anything more precise about this battle?” The candidate thinks for a moment, then replies, “A horse rears up on its hind legs and whinnies.” The examiner, surprised, seeks to test him a little further and says, “In that case, can you tell me about the battle of Fontenoy?” “Oh!” says the candidate, “a horse rears up on its hind legs and whinnies.” The examiner, strategically, asked the candidate to talk about the battle of Trafalgar. The candidate replies, “Dead everywhere! A blood bath.... Wounded everywhere! Hundreds of them....” “But my good man, can’t you tell me anything more precise about this battle?” “A horse...” “Excuse me, I would have you note that the battle of Trafalgar is a naval battle.” “Whoah! Whoah!” says the candidate. “Back up, Neddy!” The value of this joke is, to my mind, that it enables us to decompose, I believe, what is at stake in a witticism. (Extract from Chapter VI). (shrink)

Many governments promote the concept of multi-destination tourism to attract foreign visitors to stay longer in a region. This study constructs a higher-order multi-destination image model to examine how the unique cognitive images of Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangzhou collectively constitute the overall cognitive image of China’s Greater Bay Area. Then, it further examines how this overall cognitive image builds affective, overall, and conative images of the GBA. The results of an online survey of non-Chinese tourists from Guinea, Japan, New (...) Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States show that cognitive images of three cities in the GBA take different weighting in constructing the overall cognitive image of the GBA. The overall cognitive destination image significantly influences the formation of the affective, overall, and conative images of the GBA region. For constructing the conative image, the affective image shows the greatest impact, overall cognitive image follows; the impact of the overall image is less. This study proposes theoretical implications for future regional tourism studies. Practical recommendations are also proposed. (shrink)

This is the first of four online Companions to Velmans, M. (ed.) (2018) Consciousness (Critical Concepts in Psychology), a 4-volume collection of Major Works on Consciousness commissioned by Routledge, London. Each of the Companions presents a pre-publication version of the introduction to one of the Volumes and, for Volume 1, it also sets the stage for the entire, printed collection. As the collection forms part of a Critical Concepts in Psychology series, this selection of major works focuses mainly (...) on works that have a direct psychological relevance. From the mid 19th Century onwards, psychology began to separate itself from philosophy, and the development of psychological thought about consciousness links intimately to the development of psychology itself. In order to trace this development, the four volumes of this collection follow a rough, historical sequence. Volume 1 deals with The Origins of Psychology and the Study of Consciousness. Volumes 2 and 3 deal with contemporary Cognitive and Neuropsychological Approaches to the Study of Consciousness. And Volume 4 focuses mainly on New Directions: Psychogenesis, Transformations of Consciousness and Non-reductive, Integrative Theories, which deal with issues likely to expand current, mainstream thought in potentially novel, and, sometimes, challenging directions. -/- The printed, 4-Volume collection presents 89 major readings (or salient extracts from major readings) drawn from the entire field of Consciousness Studies, along with these introductions and an extensive index. It also introduces 5 additional readings that were selected for inclusion, but could not be reprinted for the reason that reprint permissions were prohibitively expensive. Although these online Companions cannot substitute for the 2000 page hard copy, they do provide a wealth of additional resources in the form of online links to supplementary readings (marked in pink) and to the readings themselves (marked in blue). In many cases the online sources are freely available or available through institutional subscriptions. Links are also provided for some of the readings that require access to complex colour plates, thereby making the four Companions complementary to the collection itself. -/- This Companion to Volume 1 focuses on the selection criteria for the collection, the problems presented by consciousness and how to organize these into groups, the ancient history of thought about consciousness, mind and soul, the emergence of psychology as the empirical study of consciousness and mind, the emergence of behaviorism, cognitive psychology and the re-emergence of the study of mind, initial ideas about the role of consciousness in human information processing, the strengths of functionalist accounts of mind, the weaknesses of functionalist accounts of consciousness, competing psychological theories about the nature and function of consciousness, interdisciplinary influences, and the formation of Consciousness Studies. (shrink)

This book presents a series of case studies and reflections on the historiographical assumptions, methods, and approaches that shape the way in which philosophers construct their own past. The chapters in the volume advance discussion of the methods of historians of philosophy, while at the same time illustrating the various ways in which philosophical canons come into existence, debunking the myth of analytical philosophy's ahistoricism, and providing a deeper understanding of the roles historiographical devices play in philosophical thought. More importantly, (...) the contributors attempt to understand history of philosophy in connection with other historical and historiographical approaches: contributors engage classical history of science, sociology of knowledge, history of psychology and historiography, in dialogue with historiographical practices in philosophy more narrowly construed. Additionally, select chapters adopt a more diverse perspective, by making place for non-Western approaches and for efforts to construe new philosophical narratives that do justice to the voice of women across the centuries. Historiography and the Formation of Philosophical Canons will be of interest to researchers and advanced students working in history of philosophy, meta-philosophy, philosophy of history, historiography, intellectual history, and sociology of knowledge. (shrink)

The major stages of development of cosmic pedagogy have been researched. Based on the achievements of the modern neurosciences as well as of psychology, cosmology, and philosophy, the authors provide their reasoning for the cosmic education and its outlooks for the educational systems of the world. Through the studies of how important human mind is for the Earth and the cosmos and by researching the evolution of human mind within the structure of the Universe, the authors create a more (...) advanced scientific and philosophic basis for the cosmic education where the subject is a comprehensive process of formation and directed progress of both an individual mind and a conglomerate of minds called the "psychospace". The cosmic education researches the permanent progress of the intelligent matter of the Earth. The purpose of the cosmic education has been determined as formation of a planetary and cosmic personality. According to the authors, a planetary and cosmic personality is a harmony of mind, soul, and body, and such harmony is directed to usethe internal creative potential of mind to the benefit of the intelligent matter of the entire Earthand the cosmos. The properties of such a planetary and cosmic personality are being improved continuously; they are a sample (the ideal) of the cosmic pedagogy and the image of a human being of the future. Through the usage of the entire potential and art of upbringing and educating, the cosmic pedagogy is called to embody the major properties of the image of a human being of the future in the new generations of minds and to form a planetary and cosmic personalitycapable of self-actualization to the benefit of the permanent progress of the intelligent matter. (shrink)

Mind and environment evolve in tandem—almost a platitude. Much of judgment and decision making research, however, has compared cognition to standard statistical models, rather than to how well it is adapted to its environment. The author argues two points. First, cognitive algorithms are tuned to certain information formats, most likely to those that humans have encountered during their evolutionary history. In par ticular, Bayesian computations are simpler when the information is in a frequency format than when it is in a (...) probability format. The author investigates whether fre quency formats can make physicians reason more often the Bayesian way. Second, cognitive algorithms need to operate under constraints of limited time, knowledge, and computational power, and they need to exploit the structures of their environments. The author describes a fast and frugal algorithm, Take The Best, that violates standard principles of rational inference but can be as accurate as sophisticated "optimal" mod els for diagnostic inference. Key words: Bayes' theorem; bounded rationality; infor mation format; probabilistic reasoning; satisficing; training; medical education. (shrink)

This dissertation demonstrates that Chu Hsi forged a compelling ethical theory out of his insights into the requirements of moral self-cultivation. These insights led him to realize that a person's mind forms his seat of volition and thus provides for his capacities of moral self-determination and responsibility. Understanding that a person's cultivation efforts must be focused largely on his mind, so as to transform his intentions and inform his sense of appropriateness, Chu Hsi developed his ethical theory. In ways similar (...) to Kant's, this ethical theory crystallized around the notion of moral will, constituted on the heavenly-principle invested in one's nature: To achieve moral worth, one must have anchored his volition in the feeling of ching and informed it with a knowledge of principle. ;Chapter I recounts Chu Hsi's early learning, youthful eclecticism and subsequent return to Confucianism. It presents his intellectual development to 1164, tracing his eclectic phase and transition to Confucianism in light of his poetry of the time. It concludes with a discussion of his new Confucian outlook. ;Chapter II elucidates Chu Hsi's theory of moral self-realization by tracing its development. It introduces the two-state model of consciousness central to Neo-Confucian moral psychology, then studies Chu Hsi's attempts to work within this model. Finally, it explains Chu Hsi's breakthrough to his dynamic mind-centered approach to moral self-realization. ;Chapter III examines Chu Hsi's resulting command conception of mind and explores his view of the relationship between mind and the nature. It then presents his cultivation theory against this background as a methodology by which a person can transform his mind into a moral will. ;Chapter IV, drawing upon Chu Hsi's command conception of mind, argues that Chu Hsi's ethical theory, like Kant's, crystallized around the notion of moral will, constituted on heavenly-principle. It indicates that this model revivified Confucian ethics and that it is suggestive for contemporary ethical discussion in virtue of Chu Hsi's organic conception of principle. (shrink)

In this book, Arnold Davidson elaborates a method for considering the history of concepts and the nature of scientific knowledge, a method he calls "historical epistemology." He applies this to the history of sexuality, with consequences for our understanding of desire, abnormality, and sexuality.

At its inception, the training model in the Graduate School of Clinical Psychology at George Fox University was informed by the approach inaugurated at Fuller Theological Seminary School of Psychology in the 1960s. In the original model, training in Christian religion/spirituality and theology accompanied training in professional psychology. In the interim, our culture, psychological knowledge, perceived psychological needs, and training programs have changed greatly. Here we report changes in religion/spirituality training and integration over the last two decades. (...) We describe our current spiritual formation structure and process, and program evaluation efforts. Over the past several years the GSCP has shifted from relying mainly on a cognitive approach involving Bible and theology courses toward a more personal-experiential approach that includes team teaching of the theology and religion courses, an individualized spiritual direction experience spread over two years, and more intentional integration of R/s and spiritual formation components throughout the program. We anticipate this may be an ongoing area for further development in coming years as we seek to meet the needs of a changing student body with greater R/s diversity and largely postmodern worldviews. (shrink)

The present article is an attempt to give - in the frame of the theory of the organism - environment system - a new interpretation to the role of efferent influences on receptor activity and to the functions of senses in the formation of knowledge. It is argued, on the basis of experimental evidence and theoretical considerations, that the senses are not transmitters of environmental information, but they create a direct connection between the organism and the environment, which makes (...) the development of a dynamic living system, the organism - environment system, possible. In this connection process the efferent influences on receptor activity are of particular significance, because with their help the receptors may be adjusted in relation to the parts of the environment which are most important in the achievement of behavioral results. Perception is the process of joining of new parts of the environment to the organism - environment system ; thus, the formation of knowledge by perception is based on reorganization of the organism - environment system, and not on transmission of information from the environment. With the help of the efferent influences on receptors each organism creates its own peculiar world which is simultaneously subjective and objective. The present considerations have far reaching influences as well on experimental work in neurophysiology and psychology of perception as on philosophical considerations of knowledge formation. (shrink)

Sue Campbell reinstates the personal as an important dimension in analytic philosophy of mind. She argues that the category of feelings has a unique role in psychological explanation: the expression of feelings is the attempt to communicate personal significance. To develop a model for affective meaning, the author moves attention away from the classic emotions to feelings that are more personal, inchoate, and idiosyncratic.

In this paper, I provide an overview of the Christian moral wisdom with respect to virtue formation and character cultivation. I focus in particular on some warnings issued by the great teachers on these topics with respect to the motivations one ought to have in the Christian life. I then discuss some findings of contemporary psychology on habit formation which seem to be at odds with the warnings in Christian moral wisdom. I argue that while there is (...) surface discord between the contemporary psychology of habit formation and Christian moral wisdom, there is in fact a deep concord between them. (shrink)

This article presents an attempt to analyze the specifics of ethical norms in the work of psychologists in Ukraine, with an analysis of historical preconditions, current challenges and cultural characteristics. Ukraine, as a modern developing country striving for integration into the European space, is intensively developing psychology and trying to overcome the problems that it has today. Having well-trained psychologists, psychology in Ukraine has many vulnerabilities, such as the lack of legislation in this field and licensing. Professional communities, (...) by virtue of their competencies, strengthen psychology in Ukraine through an attempt to implement ethical standards and highlight problematic topics. The article contains a review of Ukrainian psychologists’ understandings of confidentiality, informed consent and multiple relationships. This paper is an analysis and attempt to explain to the reader potential areas of growth and the unique cultural formations that we have in our practical work today. This exploration includes factors such as the features of importance in the relationship between a psychologist and a client in the Ukrainian context, and the historical, social, economic, cultural, and political factors that influence the perception of ethical standards among Ukrainian psychologists. (shrink)

It is proposed that psychologists need a working theory of knowledge for conceptual and discourse purposes. Arguments are made from a pragmatist view of science for a conception of inquiry practice that may resolve current paradigm conflicts and support a viable methodological pluralism. The suggestion is made that a naturalized approach to research practice, such as historical-descriptive case study, may illuminate the judgments and intentions constitutive of our applied epistemology and methodological choices. Implications of such meta-methodological understanding for research training (...) and a contingent theory of knowledge for psychological science are discussed. (shrink)

El artículo presenta un resultado parcial de una investigación doctoral realizada entre septiembre/2013 y julio/2015 sobre la formación de la competencia investigativa en el psicólogo. A partir del empleo de los métodos analítico-sintético, análisis documental y la modelación sistémico estructural funcional se realiza la descripción de la competencia investigativa del estudiante de Psicología, desde la complementariedad de enfoques metodológicos, a partir de la importancia que esta reviste para un desempeño profesional exitoso. La descripción de la competencia incluye su identificación/definición, la (...) explicación de sus componentes estructurales, así como el esbozo de las relaciones entre estos, los problemas contextuales a los cuales da respuesta, los indicadores o criterios de desempeño y las evidencias requeridas para evaluar el progreso de su formación. The paper presents a partial result of an investigation on the development of investigative competence in psychologists carried out from September/ 2013 to July/ 2015. The analytic-synthetic methods, documental analysis and functional structural systemic modeling were used to describe Psychology students' investigative competence. This study was based on the complementarity of methodological approaches, because of its importance to achieve professional competence. The description of competence includes its identification, definition and the explanation of its structural components, as well as an outline of the relationships among these aspects, the contextual problems they answer, performance indicators or criteria and the evidence required to evaluate its formation progress. (shrink)

Can the phenomena of the human mind be separated from the practices of spiritual formation? Research into the nature of moral and spiritual change has revived in recent years in both the worlds of psychology and theology. Rooted in a year-long discussion held by Biola University's Center for Christian Thought (CCT), this volume bridges the gaps caused by professional specialization among psychology, theology, and philosophy.

This paper argues for psychological realism in the conception of psychiatric disorders. We review the following contemporary ways of understanding the future of psychiatry: (1) psychiatric classification cannot be successfully reduced to neurobiology, and thus psychiatric disorders should not be conceived of as biological kinds; (2) psychiatric classification can be successfully reduced to neurobiology, and thus psychiatric disorders should be conceived of as biological kinds. Position (1) can lead either to instrumentalism or to eliminativism about psychiatry, depending on whether psychiatric (...) classification is regarded as useful. Position (2), which is inspired by the growing interest in neuroscience within scientific psychiatry, leads to biological realism or essentialism. In this paper we endorse a different realist position, which we label psychological realism. Psychiatric disorders are identified and addressed on the basis of their psychological manifestations which are often described as violations of epistemic, moral or social norms. A couple of examples are proposed by reference to the pathological aspects of delusions, and the factors contributing to their formation. (shrink)

The article is devoted to the significance of the irrational in education processes and to the role of teacher as an actor of psychological influence on the formation of child’s personality. Unfortunately, teacher education programs at universities do not properly introduce to the students all the aspects (including unconscious ones) of the interaction between people, in particular in the “teacher – student” system. At the same time, in the pedagogical literature there are no special works related to this issue. (...) Psychological theories and methods of education, which are designed to form and develop a personality, can simply destroy the necessary qualities in a child that lead to his independence and self-affirmation. Teachers who are incompetent in pedagogical issues often defend themselves by appealing to the well-known names of scientists and their theories. The theories should not become a dogma and a main path in education. They should serve as an auxiliary instrument. The theory of education is obliged to revise the content and form of the organization of educational process in accordance with the understanding and sense of the rhythm of the New World, taking into account the integration of educational concepts that provide a balance of the rational and irrational in the cognitive activity of a student. This balance is necessary for the full and comprehensive development of child’s personality, for the formation of his/her identity. The author of the article believes that under the conditions of large-scale simulacrization, virtualization, digitalization of the educational space, it is necessary to strengthen the emotional component of the educational process to avoid the final elimination of the aura (W. Benjamin) of the class area from the sphere of human relations in the “teacher – student – teacher” system. (shrink)

El artículo presenta un resultado de investigación doctoral realizada entre septiembre/2013 y enero/2016, sobre la formación de la competencia investigativa en el estudiante de Psicología de la modalidad semipresencial de estudios universitarios. A partir del empleo de los métodos analítico-sintético, análisis documental y la modelación sistémico estructural funcional, se abordan las particularidades de la competencia objeto de análisis, cuya génesis se sitúa en el manejo de la diversidad de enfoques teórico-metodológicos disponibles en la ciencia para el estudio de la subjetividad, (...) como objeto de carácter complejo y singular. Se profundiza en la descripción ofrecida en un artículo anteriormente publicado en la revista y se agregan nuevas consideraciones que incluyen los niveles y patrones de logro, las cuales facilitan la formación y evaluación de la competencia por cada uno de sus ejes procesuales, constituyendo un valioso instrumento para el trabajo metodológico y la labor del profesor de la carrera. The article presents a result of doctoral investigation carried out among September/2013 and January/2016, on the formation of the investigative competence in the Psychology´s student of the semipresential modality of university studies. Starting from the employment of the analytic-synthetic methods, documental analysis and the functional structural systemic modelation, the particularities of the competence analysis object are approached whose genesis is located in the handling of the diversity of available theoretical-methodological focuses in the science for the study of the subjectivity, like object of complex and singular character. It is particularized in the description offered in an article previously published in the magazine and new considerations are added that include the levels and achievement patterns, which facilitate the formation and evaluation of the competence for each one of their axes processual, constituting a valuable instrument for the methodological work and the work of the professor of the career. (shrink)

The article reveals the value and contribution of A.I. Vvedensky in the formation of Russian neo-Kantianism on the example of a systematic and integrated review of his research. The author reveals the significance of A.I. Vvedensky critical methodology for the subsequent development of Russian neo-Kantianism in the first third of the XX century. The method of “logicism” is designated as an integral part of criticism, which consists in the elimination of dogmatic foundations from philosophical discourse. In turn, the critical (...) methodology, understood as a theoretical tool for constructing a holistic picture of the world on the principles of science, serves as the basis for identifying the problems of the correlation of the rational and the irrational. The indicated problem in the works of A.I. Vvedensky becomes the beginning of the formation of Russian neo-Kantianism, which is opposed to dogmatism and religious and philosophical research. Developing a critical methodology, the Russian philosopher turns to the consideration of the role of philosophy in the formation of ideological foundations. The contents of the article consistently reveal the key provisions of the philosophy of A.I. Vvedensky, from raising the question of the methodological foundations of criticism to identifying the specifics of philosophy in relation to scientific disciplines, on the example of experimental psychology, based mainly on empirical methods. In conclusion, the article indicates the prospect of further comprehensive study of the works of A.I. Vvedensky in order to establish a reliable understanding of the development of the national philosophy of thought. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to provide a methodological rather than, strictly speaking, a philosophical discussion of its subject, the logic of concept formation in psychology. But even a treatment of this kind cannot entirely avoid matters of a more general nature, some of them logical, some epistemological. By insisting on the limitations of this essay I merely wish to caution the reader in three respects. First, those more general matters, logical and epistemological, will be kept at (...) a minimum. Second, no attempt will be made to state them with the degree of precision and all the qualifications which are in order in a paper that addresses itself exclusively to logical analysts. Third, I shall for the most part content myself with stating them, without defending them in the way and in the sense in which a technical philosopher who speaks to his colleagues must defend what he asserts. (shrink)

Objectives: Habitually instigated exercise is thought to increase health behavior maintenance. Previous research has explored several aspects of habit formation. However, there is a lack of longitudinal research investigating affective determinants, especially post-exercise affective states. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate a) if behavior frequency will enhance automaticity, b) if positive affect will enhance automaticity, and c) if positive affect will moderate the relationship between behavior frequency and automaticity. Methods: 226 participants (64% females, mean age 24 years) who (...) attended weekly sports and gym classes at two universities were followed for 13 weeks. Class attendance was documented on a weekly basis (behavior frequency) during the semester. Before, during and immediately after each class, participants filled in the Feeling Scale (affective valence). Furthermore, at the beginning of each class, they answered a question about their automaticity in arriving at the decision to attend the class (instigation habit). We used a two-level modeling approach to predict subsequent automaticity by the different constructs at the previous attendance. Results: The cumulative frequency of prior class attendance did not significantly enhance the automaticity of the decision to re-attend the class. There were significant effects of valence on automaticity on the between-subject level, i.e., a one-point higher mean valence score was associated with a 0.62 point increase in automaticity (p=.001). No moderation effects of affect on the association between behavior frequency and automaticity were observed. Conclusions: Behavior repetition, albeit not significant, and positive affective states at the end of an exercise class may be beneficial in building exercise instigation habits. Practitioners and researchers alike may thus want to emphasize the importance of behavior repetition and affective response for health behavior maintenance. (shrink)

The article presents the study of the effectiveness of pedagogical conditions of organizational culture formation of future border guard officers, as well as the essence and features of its content. It has been found out that organizational culture is a professionally important quality of future border guard officers, which covers knowledge about the mission and values of the border guard agency, ability to maintain and contribute to the harmonized work of the border guard unit and is expressed through adhering (...) to professional standards in interpersonal interaction and in performing border security tasks, as well as in self-organization and mobilization. In the conditions of higher military educational institution it is recommended to intensify the value-motivational attitude of cadets to learn current issues of organizational culture of the border guard officers; to develop their abilities and skills of team work by introduction of social and psychological training; to apply modern dialogic forms, methods and interactive technologies of training for the development of skills of professional communicative interaction; to develop cadets’ organizational abilities, managerial decision making skills and leadership by gradually introducing into the educational process professionally oriented situational tasks, gradually complicating content with each course. The results of the pedagogical experiment regarding formation of organizational culture of future border guard officers in the course of their professional training are described in detail. (shrink)

The project of naturalizing ethics has multiple contributions, from cognitive and moral psychology to primatology, neuroscience or evolutionary theory. One of the strategies for naturalizing ethics has been to argue that moral norms and values can be explained away if we focus on their causal history, if it is possible to offer both an ultimate and proximate causal explanation for them. In this article, I will focus on the contribution of cognitive and moral psychology as a way of (...) offering a proximate causal explanation for moral judgments. I am mostly interested in understanding to what extent these cognitive and psychological questions have some bearing in the fields of ethics and meta-ethics. Does this research programme put at stake the contention that ethics is a manifestation of human rationality? Is it true that finding the cognitive underpinnings of some of our moral judgments vindicates some meta-ethical position, namely some kind of reductionist naturalism? In the end, I will argue that even if scientific disciplines such as cognitive psychology give us a naturalized picture of the moral agent, there seem to be no reasons to think that from a naturalized perspective of the agent capable of perceiving value it must follow the naturalization of value itself. (shrink)

In the 12th century the "Book of the Soul" by the philosopher Avicenna was translated from Arabic into Latin. It had an immense success among scholastic writers and deeply influenced the structure and content of many psychological works of the Middle Ages. The reception of Avicenna's book is the story of cultural contact at an imipressively high intellectural level. The present volume investigates this successful reception using two approaches. The first is chronological, tracing the stages by which Avicenna's work was (...) accepted and adapted by Latin scholars. The second is doctrinal, analyzing the fortunes of key doctrines. The sense of the original Arabic text of Avicenna is kept in mind throughout and the degree to which his original Latin interpreters succeeded in conveying it is evaluated. (shrink)

There is a debate in philosophy and cognitive science over whether concepts – the building blocks of thought—are couched in a perceptual modality or are amodally represented. The empirical evidence so far collected seems not to have adjudicated this question yet, as reinterpretation of the same set of evidence by both supporters of modalism and amodalism have been provided. I offer a critique of such reinterpretations, arguing that they ultimately derive from theoretical problems in the definition of a modal representation. (...) In particular, I will review three criteria which have been offered to distinguish amodal concepts from modal ones: the isomorphism criterion, the neural location criterion, and the input specificity criterion. I will explain how these criteria often lack theoretical clarity, making it possible in most cases to propose a parsimonious explanation of the same set of data from both an amodalist and a modalist perspective. As a result, it becomes impossible to empirically discriminate between the two interpretations. My conclusion is that the main problem with the discussed criteria is that they frame the question on the format of concept as an either/or debate, by overlooking more interesting empirical questions. (shrink)

According to philosophical situationists, empirical psychology suggests that most people are not virtuous, and that we should be skeptical about the possibility of cultivating virtue. I argue against the second claim by offering an empirically informed model of character formation. The model begins with ancient formational wisdom emphasizing emotion education, the practice of spiritual exercises, self-monitoring, and willpower, and is confirmed, nuanced, and supplemented by insights from recent empirical psychology. Many ancient philosophers, recent social psychologists, and philosophers (...) of emotion agree that emotions are central to moral cognition. I defend a perceptual account of emotion, and show how this account suggests a practical upshot that empirical psychologists tend not to emphasize, but that the ancients would endorse: emotion education should be a primary focus of character formation. I dilate on this practical point using the remediation of inappropriate anger as a test case. Taking my remedial cues from the Stoic and Christian traditions, I argue that training the emotions through self-monitoring, willpower, and the use of “spiritual exercises”—practices of mind and body whereby one digests the doctrines of one’s philosophical school, so that those doctrines are not matters of mere notional understanding, but actually take up residence in one’s vision of the world—provides hope for meaningful movement in the direction of virtue. The rigorous practice of spiritual exercises involves difficult work. To have much success, the moral trainee will need at least the seeds of what I call “remedial virtues”: character excellences that enable an agent to do the demanding work of re-cultivating her character. The remedial virtues include self-vigilance and the virtues of willpower. I develop empirically informed philosophical analyses of self-vigilance and the virtues of willpower, and offer empirical evidence to support the claim that they can be cultivated. Then I show how the remedial virtues can help us resist temptation, leverage temptation in the interest of further growth in character, and correct for the subtle situational forms of moral interference that situationists emphasize. (shrink)

One of the main goals of multicultural education is to prepare young people to participate in meaningful pedagogical and social issues. To achieve this goal, educators need to cultivate the basic rudiments of compassion and goodwill in the younger generation, rooted in a sense of empathy for others. Without a sense of compassion, the younger generation is unlikely to be motivated to reflect and act on the needs of the people around them. Therefore, it is necessary to start by involving (...) students in getting to know different ethnic cultures, where they can show compassion not only to people, but also to certain situations. Such knowledge forms the basis for interaction with different points of view and worldviews, as well as with the causes of pedagogical, psychological and social problems and the ways taken to solve them. (shrink)

Abstract:This paper explores the formative role of substances of intoxication in the social and scientific establishment of the biological subject in late nineteenth-century Germany. Sourcing the emergence of substances of intoxication as "vital substances" from Brunonianism, this narrative traces their initial significance for Romantic physiology, followed by their rejection from neo-mechanical scientific physiology. Emphasis is placed on late nineteenth-century psychological research on the effects of intoxicants on the mind as the site of a dynamic encounter between theories of the mind (...) and the body, particularly through Kraepelin's concept of intoxication as model psychosis, and his related research. The biological subject, here, is anti-vitalistic, and, yet, conceptually distinct from neo-mechanism. (shrink)