Most theories of semantic competence in natural language implicitly assume the Language of Thought Hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, all human cognition consists in the deployment of a language of thought. This language of thought is supposed to be independent of natural language, yet at the same time, it is supposed to be semantically isomorphic with natural language. Given this assumption, it is easy to answer basic questions regarding semantic competence in natural language. What are semantic properties of natural language, (...) and how did they originate? Natural language inherits the semantic properties of the language of thought it is used to express. What does semantic competence consist in? It consists in knowing how to translate items in one's language of thought into a public medium. ;The starting point of this dissertation is the rejection, by some prominent paradigms in cognitive science, of the view that human cognition consists in the deployment of a language of thought that is, at the same time, independent of natural language, yet semantically isomorphic with it. The dissertation constitutes a fledgling attempt to explore an alternative approach to explaining semantic competence in natural language, an approach that is compatible with this rejection of the Language of Thought Hypothesis. ;Rather than conceive of natural language as a tool for expressing items in a pre-existing, semantically isomorphic, language of thought, I urge that language be conceived of as a norm-governed social practice. On this view, the semantic properties of natural language are determined by the inferential norms governing linguistic performances. In order to explain the origin of its semantic properties, one must explain the origin of the inferential norms that govern language. In order to explain what semantic competence consists in, one must explain how individuals learn to abide by these inferential norms. The bulk of the dissertation is devoted to showing that neither of these explanatory projects requires endorsing the Language of Thought Hypothesis. I do this by sketching the form that such explanations might take, and showing that they are consistent with much current research in ethology, comparative psychology, developmental psychology, and evolutionary biology. (shrink)

The Description for this book, Understanding Rawls: A Reconstruction and Critique of A Theory of Justice, will be forthcoming.

[Editor's introduction: The following are excerpts from three talks given at the conference "Policies and Publics for Science and Technology, " London, April 1990. They introduce a British research initiative in public understanding of science and point to early results. The program was developed and coordinated by the Science Policy Support Group. At the meeting, a new journal for specialists in this area was launched: Public Understanding of Science, to be edited by John Durant, Science Museum, London SW7 (...) 2DD, UK. The first issue of the journal is expected to appear in April 1991. Science, Technology, & Human Values reaffirms its long commitment to publishing research on public attitudes toward science and particularly welcomes articles on this topic of general interest to the field of science and technology studies.]. (shrink)

Includes a chapter on visual perception.

Nietzsche's critiques of traditional modes of thinking, valuing and living, as well as his radical proposals for new alternatives, have been vastly influential in a wide variety of areas, such that an understanding of his philosophy and its influence is important for grasping many aspects of contemporary thought and culture. However Nietzsche's thought is complex and elusive, and has been interpreted in many ways. Moreover, he has influenced starkly contrasting movements and schools of thought, from atheism to theology, from (...) existentialism to poststructuralism, and from Nazism to feminism. This book charts Nietzsche's influence, both historically and thematically, across a variety of these contrasting disciplines and schools of interpretation. It provides both an accessible introduction to Nietzsche's thought and its impact and an overview of contemporary approaches to Nietzsche. (shrink)

The present essay aims to throw light on the study of dialectical thinking from a cultural-historical perspective. Different forms of dialectic are articulated as ideal types, including the Greek dialectic, the Hegelian dialectic, the contemporary German negative dialectic, the Chinese dialectic, and the Indian negative dialectic. These influential cultural products in the history of the East and the West, articulated as ideal types, serve as constellations that could facilitate further empirical studies on dialectical thinking. An understanding of the complexity (...) of these constellations reveals the pitfalls of investigating dialectical thinking without an appropriate conceptualization of the research target. With the ideal types of dialectic as "figure," and Vygotsky's thesis of the cultural-historical origin of higher psychological processes as "ground," we explore possibilities for further lines of inquiry on dialectical thinking. Adhering to the Scribnerian multilevel scheme that reconstructs Vygotsky's thesis, and returning to the core ideas of Vygotsky himself, we discover new, meaningful questions about the study of dialectical thinking. In the research area of "culture and cognition," consideration of a cultural-historical perspective appears to be both necessary and promising. (shrink)

In the Western studies of the texts of Mozi, three distinctive views have surfaced in the past few decades: (1) Mozi is inconsistent because he seems to have been committed to both a Utilitarian standard and a divine command theory; (2) Mozi is a divine command theorist who argues that it is right to benefit the world because it is the will of heaven; and (3) Mozi is a utilitarian thinker who has based morality on the criterion of whether actions (...) benefit the world. In this paper, I will argue that the whole debate about whether Mozi is a divine command theorist or a utilitarian is misguided, because it is based on an incorrect understanding of the fundamental cultural perspective associated with the notion of Tian. An adequate understanding of the notion of Tian will reveal its fundamental difference from the Western notion of heaven. Such an understanding will enable us to put Mozi's moral philosophy in the ancient Chinese perspective in which a tension and potential conflict between ‘the will of heaven’ and ‘the benefit of the world’ simply cannot arise. (shrink)

A quintessential challenge for any perceptual system is the need to focus on task-relevant information without being blindsided by unexpected, yet important information. The human visual system incorporates several solutions to this challenge, one of which is a reflexive covert attention system that is rapidly responsive to both the physical salience and the task-relevance of new information. This paper presents a model that simulates behavioral and neural correlates of reflexive attention as the product of brief neural attractor states that are (...) formed across the visual hierarchy when attention is engaged. Such attractors emerge from an attentional gradient distributed over a population of topographically organized neurons and serve to focus processing at one or more locations in the visual field, while inhibiting the processing of lower priority information. The model moves towards a resolution of key debates about the nature of reflexive attention, such as whether it is parallel or serial, and whether suppression effects are distributed in a spatial surround, or selectively at the location of distractors. Most importantly, the model develops a framework for understanding the neural mechanisms of visual attention as a spatiotopic decision process within a hierarchy and links them to observable correlates such as accuracy, reaction time, and the N2pc and PD components of the EEG. This last contribution is the most crucial for repairing the disconnect that exists between our understanding of behavioral and neural correlates of attention. (shrink)

Previous studies have confirmed that individual waste management behavior is influenced by both rational-based and altruistic-oriented beliefs and attitudes. Scholars incorporated personal norms in Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior and confirmed its usefulness in predicting waste management behavior. However, limited attention has been paid to the interactions between the variables in the model. Scholars also commented that the cognitive dimension was largely neglected in the current socio-psychological framework of waste management behavior. This study intends to address this issue by incorporating (...) environmental concern and environmental knowledge in the model and examining the psychological paths linking these variables to waste management behavior within the expanded model of planned behavior. Based on a cross-sectional survey among 434 university students in China, the results showed that subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, personal norms, and environmental knowledge were essential predictors of waste management behavior, whereas the direct effect of attitude was not statistically significant. Environmental concern and subjective norms could influence waste management behavior through personal norms. Environmental knowledge could influence waste management behavior indirectly through environmental concern, personal norms, and perceived behavioral control. Moreover, perceived behavioral control served as a mediator between the relationship of personal norms and waste management behavior. (shrink)

본 논문은 명대 왕양명의 심에 보이는 심의 신성神性과 성성聖性을 규명하는 데 그 목적을 두고 있다. 필자는 왕양명이 말하는 심에는 신성과 성성이 내재하고 있다는 것을 규명함으로써, 먼저 그가 말하는 심에는 궁극적 실재가 내재하고 있다는 것을 이해하고자 하는 것이며. 다음으로 그 궁극적 실재가 왕양명의 심이 종교적인 의미를 지니게 한다는 점을 살펴보고자 한다. 필자는 본 논문에서 왕양명의 이러한 심을 신성과 성성으로 나눠서 검토함으로써, 심에 궁극적 실재가 내재하고 있고, 그러한 심이 종교적인 의미를 지닌다는 점을 살펴본다. 왕양명은 심의 신성에 대한 정당성을 보장받기 위하여 심의 권위를 (...) 하늘ㆍ상제ㆍ천명과 같은 위치에 둔다. 왕양명이 심과 하늘ㆍ상제ㆍ천명을 동일시함으로써, 심은 자연적으로 생리적ㆍ심리적ㆍ피동적ㆍ유한적인 차원을 뛰어넘는다. 그래서 심은 초월적인 궁극적 실재가 존재하는 형이상학적 본체로서 궁극적 진리와 지혜의 원천이 된다. 이러한 심의 신성은 주로 두 가지 측면에서 검토한다. 하나는 우주 자연의 모든 이치를 담고 있는 심이라는 점이다. 다른 하나는 천지만물을 순리적으로 인식하고, 그들에 대해 천리天理의 지혜를 창출해내는 심이라는 것이다. 이렇게 두 가지 측면에서의 심의 신성을 살펴봄으로써, 심에 궁극적 실재 혹은 궁극적 진리가 내재하고 있다는 점을 밝힌다. 심의 성성에 대해서는 두 가지 측면에서 살펴본다. 첫째 ‘마음이 순수한 천리의 상태에 있다[心純乎天理]’는 것이 곧 성스러움[聖]이라는 것이며, 둘째 ‘생각이 성스러움을 만든다[思曰睿, 睿作聖]’는 것이다. 첫째는 주체가 마음을 순수한 천리의 상태가 되도록 함으로써 하늘이 부여한 궁극적 실재인 성性을 회복하고 실현하게 된다는 것이다. 이런 경지가 바로 성스러움[聖]을 얻은 경지라는 점을 밝힌다. 둘째는 양지에서 발하여 작용하는 생각[思]은 천리 아닌 것이 없으며, 이것은 곧 성스러움[聖]을 만들어 내는 동인이라는 것을 밝힌다. 따라서 하늘의 천명인 양지를 실현하게 되면, 성스러움[聖]은 자연히 나타나게 된다는 것을 살펴본다. 결론적으로 왕양명에게 있어서 오로지 심이 절대자이고 삶의 최고의 심판관이다. 왕양명의 이런 심에 대한 인식과 믿음은, 초월적인 신이나 인격신을 믿는 자가 어느 날 별안간 종교적인 체험을 하고 나서 그의 삶과 인생관이 완전히 바뀌는, 그런 종교적인 고백과 같은 확신에 차 있는 것이었다. 왕양명은 심에 궁극적 실재[天理]가 내재하고 있음을 분명하게 통찰한 것이다. 왕양명이 볼 때, 그 궁극적 실재는 몸과 마음이 하나가 되게 하고, 인간과 인간이 서로 사랑할 수 있게 하고, 인간과 우주가 하나가 되게 하는 궁극적 진리와 같은 것이었다. 이러한 심 안의 궁극적 실재ㆍ궁극적 진리를 깨닫게 됨으로써, 그는 심의 완전한 진리와 지혜를 신앙하게 되었고, 그러한 심을 통해서 개인 구원과 사회 구원도 이룰 수 있다고 확신한 것이다. 따라서 왕양명의 심에 대한 확신은 유신론자가 신과 신의 계시를 확신하는 그런 신앙적인 믿음과 서로 유사성이 있다고 볼 수 있다. 왕양명은 유신론적인 신의 타자성이나 영적 타계성을 목표하고 설정하지 않았을 뿐이지, 심 안의 절대자ㆍ심 안의 궁극적 실재를 확신하고 있었던 것이다. (shrink)

Providing comprehensive sexuality education in schools is a work in progress in many countries throughout the world. In some countries, the journey is just beginning; in others, investments in this field have been made for many years. It is and has been difficult in Pakistan to implement and promote reproductive health, women’s empowerment, and CSE. In Pakistan, previous implementation efforts revealed the critical role of community influencers in propagating misleading information about the initiatives, inciting organized community resistance, and provoking backlash. (...) This paper looked at several aspects of community resistance, as well as approaches for overcoming the resistance for increasing community engagement in the implementation of CSE in Islamabad, Pakistan. To analyze community perceptions of CSE implementation in Islamabad, the community readiness assessment questionnaire was adapted. Questions and prompts for discussion included leadership, current initiatives, community knowledge, resource availability, community support, and implementation strategies. A total of 35 in-depth interviews were conducted. Data was analyzed and interpreted using qualitative content analysis to explore community perspectives that contribute to resistance around CSE, as well as implementation options. Using inter-code relationship data, network analysis was conducted to provide a graphical representation of the analyzed qualitative data. The study reveals community resistance to CSE being implemented in schools. Misconceptions, a lack of awareness, a lack of priority, and the lack of dedicated resources are just a few of the primary implementation challenges to consider when implementing CSE in practice. Network analysis identified, based on modularity class, five distinct clusters of highly connected nodes/codes: non-governmental organizations, misconceptions, resources and policy, strategies and community support, and personal social and health education and current efforts. In conservative environments and when confronted with resistance, innovative marketing and rebranding are critical for priority setting and community engagement, especially when developing curriculum and implementing CSE. Some of the suggested strategies for implementation include community sensitization through strategic awareness campaigns, involving already established infrastructure and NGOs, endorsement by all major stakeholders, particularly decision-makers, and the use of creative digital platforms for better dissemination. (shrink)

This article relates to the CJEU’s understanding of the concept of the spouse in Case C-673/16 and its effect on the process of law application by Polish administrative courts. The authors considerations are based on the assumption that the CJEU’s interpretation of EU law in Coman and Others is of a dynamic-deliberative nature, based on functional rules, and that at the same it time takes into account a specific legal and socio-cultural context in which one of the fundamental freedoms (...) guaranteed by EU law is implemented. This judgment, as authors underline, confirms that a proper understanding of the current legal context of the concept of a spouse requires that the social and cultural context and the plurality of values arising from different lifestyles be taken into account in the application and interpretation of the law, all with a view to empowering the individual in his or her relationship with the State and raising the level of protection of human rights. Authors observe in the practice od Polish administrative courts that this CJEU’s judgment is important in the argumentative layer, but not decisive for the resolution of the case in specific situations where there is a need to address the effect of same-sex marriage in a case related to the implementation of the EU right to free movement. In this context authors consider whether the justification for rulings of administrative courts may be sought in John Gray’s concept of modus vivendi liberalism. (shrink)

In this paper, I consider the relationship between coming to understand why something must be the case and coming to understand why it actually is the case in some particular instance. Peter Lipton uses the possibility of coming to understand a phenomenon via a necessity proof as an argument that there can be understanding with no explanation. Lipton’s argument has come under criticism, at least partially because one might think that understanding why something must be the case has (...) a different object from understanding the actual phenomenon. In this paper, I argue that that under certain circumstances it is fairly straightforward to come to understand an actual phenomenon on the basis of knowing why it had to be the case. Rather than relying on brute intuitions, my primary strategy will be to show that on least some modern accounts of understanding we can validate Lipton’s general point with respect to a variety of possible necessity relations. (shrink)

This paper analyzes the kind of historical understanding presupposed in the writing of classical Chinese Ch'an Buddhist "transmission" narratives and places this historical understanding into comparative juxtaposition with modern Western historiographic practice. It finds that fundamental to Chinese Ch'an historical awareness are genealogical metaphors structuring historical time and meaning in terms of generations of family relations and the practices of inheritance. These metaphors link the Ch'an historian to the texts of historical study in ways that contrast with the (...) posture of modern historians. The essay outlines four basic differences between the self-understanding presupposed in Ch'an Buddhist historical writing and that assumed in modern historical research and concludes by suggesting how contemporary historical thinking might benefit from reflection on these differences. (shrink)

Unmanaged recreation presents a challenge to both researchers and managers of outdoor recreation in the United States because it is shrouded in uncertainty resulting from disagreement over the definition of the problem, the strategies for resolving the problem, and the outcomes of management. Incomplete knowledge about recreation visitors’ values and relationships with one another, other stakeholders, and the land further complicate the problem. Uncertainty and social complexity make the unmanaged recreation issue a wicked problem. We describe the wickedness inherent in (...) unmanaged recreation and some of the implications of wickedness for addressing the problem for the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Conclusions about the nature of the problem are based on a problem appraisal that included a literature review and interviews of key informants. Addressing wickedness calls for institutional changes that allow for and reward the use of trust building, inclusive communication, and genuinely collaborative processes. (shrink)

Bribery is an agreement to exchange something of value for an official act. According to the dominant view, bribery is wrong because this agreement violates the professional or positional duties of the official. This chapter argues that this duty-based account is flawed. Instead, the author argues that the key features of bribery, as compared to other sorts of exchanges, reside in the fact that goods or services of different types are exchanged.

This chapter discusses Wittgenstein's influence on Richard Rorty's approach to philosophy throughout his career and his relationship to the analytic tradition. In doing so, it highlights Rorty's tendency, as a pragmatist, to focus on what he regards as the practical consequences of Wittgenstein's later works, especially Philosophical Investigations. And, it concludes with a critical assessment of the use that Rorty makes of a putative distinction between therapeutic and pragmatic Wittgensteinians.