The dominant theory of human nature in modern intellectual life is based on the doctrines of the blank slate, the noble savage, and the ghost in the machine; these doctrines are being challenged by the sciences of the mind, brain, genes, and evolution. Behavioral geneticists have found that all behavioral traits are partially heritable—challenging the doctrine of the blank slate. Evolutionary p...

The present study investigates the combination of an epistemological sensitization and two different critical thinking instructions, i.e., general infusion approach, in context change induced by presentation resolvable scientific controversies. In a randomized study, we tested hypothesis that controversies generally reduces absolutism multiplicism increases evaluativism. We assume these effects...

Cross-cultural research is marked by adopting one of two dominant epistemological paradigms: positivism or constructivism. By discussing strengths/weaknesses inherent in each paradigm, this paper argues that rather than contradictory and incommensurable; positivism and constructivism can be considered complementary epistemological orientations which correspond to two conceptual levels of cultur...

Epistemological holism is usually associated with linguistic holism, and sometimes the latter is inferred from the former. In this chapter I shall show how the view that the sense of a sentence be its immediate argumental role, though it conforms to the requirement of compositionality and hence involves a denial of linguistic holism, is perfectly compatible with epistemological holism. Thus, by...

This explorative pilot-study investigated the relationship between epistemological beliefs, prior knowledge and selfregulated learning with a hierarchical hypertext. Students who varied in their epistemological beliefs and prior knowledge learned about the topic of genetic fingerprinting. Logfiles and questionnaire data were collected. Results indicate that both epistemological beliefs and prio...