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)

In this paper we show that being blameworthy for not blaming and being blameworthy for victim blaming are structurally similar. Each involve the two traditional contours of moral responsibility: a knowledge condition and a control condition. But interestingly, in these cases knowledge and control are importantly interrelated. Being in a relationship with another person affords us varying degrees of knowledge about them. This knowledge in turn affords agents in relationships varying degrees of influence over one another. Cases where an agent (...) is especially blameworthy for failing to blame a friend, a close colleague, or a spouse highlight this. The interdependence of these two conditions in interpersonal relationships sheds (partial) light on why victim blaming is morally wrong. We argue that victim blamers suffer from a kind of moral myopia by only focusing on what the victim could do, in virtue of their being in a relationship of some sort with their abuser, to avoid abuse. We focus specifically on cases where such moral myopia is fueled by misogynistic and hierarchical gender schema and scripts. (shrink)

Janette Dinishak’s work has helped shed critical light on the scientifically questionable and ethically troubling tendency in psychology and philosophy of mind to theorize autistic people as deficient empathizers. In a recently published reply on the Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective, Dinishak (2024) brings her important perspective on this topic to bear on our paper “AAC Technology, Autism, and the Empathic Turn” (2022). Dinishak is largely sympathetic to our view while also raising a number of rich and thoughtful (...) philosophical questions. Since each of these questions is capable of jumpstarting a lengthy exchange, we focus our response on those questions that, we hope, are particularly fruitful for advancing further conversation. With this aim in mind, we also engage with some of Dinishak’s own insights from her 2016 chapter “Empathy, Like-mindedness, and Autism.” … [please read below the rest of the article]. (shrink)

The issue of climate change poses an important problem that requires immediate collaboration from everyone, including individuals, governments, and businesses. While consumption culture constitutes a significant proportion of greenhouse gas emissions, most of these emissions are caused by the consumption of the wealthiest. In this article, we will explore the challenges that consumer culture has exacerbated regarding climate change and propose that transitioning to a simpler and more sustainable lifestyle could be an effective solution in the fight against climate change. (...) Such transitions can be leveraged through the inspiration of celebrities (e.g., Keanu Reeves, Chow Yun-fat, Kristen Bell, Leonardo DiCaprio) that pursue simple, non-glamorous lifestyles that do not promote excessive consumerism. (shrink)

Prolonged use of corticosteroids like dexamethasone reduces immune cells through oxidative stress, leading to splenic parenchymal changes such as reduced size and relative volume densities of white pulp areas. Curcumin, an antioxidant found in turmeric, may protect against these effects. This study evaluated the spleen's parenchymal changes in male rats after dexamethasone and curcumin administration, emphasizing white and red pulp areas. Twenty-six male Wistar rats (aged two months) were studied. The control group received standard chow and water (n=6), while (...) experimental groups were administered dexamethasone or dexamethasone with curcumin (n=20). Dexamethasone was injected daily at 0.6 mg/kg for 14 days, and curcumin was given orally at 200 mg/kg. Rats were sacrificed on days 7 and 14. Spleens were processed and stained using hematoxylin and eosin, and histo-morphological changes were quantified using Fiji Image J. Dexamethasone administration led to significantly lower white pulp volumetric density [0.34 vs. 0.26, p=0.002] compared to the controls. The ratio of white pulp to red pulp volumetric density decreased significantly [0.64 vs. 0.51, p<0.001], with these changes becoming more pronounced by day 14. The red pulp volumetric density remained relatively unchanged (p=0.256). Curcumin administration alongside dexamethasone lessened the white pulp damage, with white pulp volumetric density on day 14 showing no significant difference compared to the control [0.35 vs. 0.34, p=0.887]. Thus, dexamethasone significantly impacts the spleen's white pulp with minimal effects on the red pulp. Curcumin mitigates dexamethasone-induced white pulp damage. (shrink)