What Happened to the Trolley Problem?

Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research - In this paper, I provide a general introduction to the trolley problem. I describe its birth as a philosophical thought experiment, then its...     

Embodied Knowing, Embodied Theology: What Happened to the Body?

As part of a larger project on human bodies and theological knowledge, this paper is a preliminary investigation into how biology and physicality shape human knowing. It asks whether, in the frequent use of the phrase embodied knowing or embodied theology, religion scholars have paid sufficient attention to actual bodies. It argues that there has been a lapse of attention to physical dimensions of bodies in the unreflective employment of such phrases, ironically among practical and pastoral theologians who have strong interest in understanding how theology operates on the ground. The paper traces evolving interest in embodiment across several disciplines, including theology, before exploring what might be learned from recent research on evolution, biology, and bodies in anthropology and the biological sciences.     

What Happened to Agency? Some Observations Concerning the Postmodern Perspective on Identity

I argue that Rattansi and Phoenix's (1997) postmodern perspective on identity perspective is insufficient because it (a) fails to differentiate among types of identity and (b) does not include a clearly defined role for the impact of the ego's agentic capabilities on identity formation. I conclude my discussion by offering a revision of their "key features of rethinking" about identity.     

Could Presentism in the Histories of Psychology Actually be Futuristic?

Disputes about the origins of psychology in the history of the discipline are functional not for our understanding of the past, but as normative signs that regulate the construction of ideas in the future. We introduce the notion of open-ended normativity that regulates the development of a given discipline towards its future. Hence the question of the cultural origins of psychology becomes contested in the 21st century as an important topic. It proves that the history of psychology is an active participant in the making of psychology, as it is creating its future.     

“What Just Happened?”

The author discusses experiences in analysis during the formation of an object relationship, which can give rise to a phase of experiential “wholeness” when a particular piece of unconscious analytic work has been completed. The question of wholeness is also considered from an ontogenetic perspective. The difficulties in achieving a good object relationship are considered, including with those who have had little or no experience of a good internal object. Three stages in the formation of a good internal object relationship are proposed.     

“What Happened Needs to Be Told”: Fostering Critical Historical Reasoning in the Classroom

Scholars often define historical reasoning as constructing defensible interpretations of past events. Drawing on critical theory, this article suggests that it also entails consciously framing one's topic of inquiry. The article examines an instructional unit that aimed to foster this expanded view of historiography. Forty students, ages 14–15, wrote histories of the Vietnam War from 12 primary accounts and compared their depictions to that of their textbook. After participating in the unit, students found the textbook factually accurate yet biased in its pattern of emphasis and omission, a conclusion that aligned with the unit's goal of helping them distinguish empirical integrity from interpretive frame. However, whereas critical theorists view all scholarship as partially subjective, the students sought to achieve objectivity by including “both sides” in their histories. The study suggests that educators should highlight the numerous dilemmas historians face, from framing their topic to selecting and analyzing evidence.     

What’s Going to Happen to Me? Prognosis in the Face of Uncertainty

Topoi - Reasoning in medicine requires the critical use of a clinical methodology whose validity must be evaluated as well as its limits. In the last decade, an increasing amount of evidence has...     

What Is the Role of Transparency in Cancellation?

A series of experiments is reported in which the cancellation axiom is investigated by manipulating the transparency of gamble option formulations. The findings suggest that previous demonstrations of violations of the cancellation axiom might not be conclusive. While violations in nontransparent conditions have led to substantial changes in expected utility (EU) theory, the present data suggest that violations in transparent conditions require a fundamental change in the models that have been suggested as alternatives to EU theory.     

What next in the psychology of musical measurement?

The Psychological Record -     

What in the world is weakness of will?

At least since the middle of the twentieth century, philosophers have tended to identify weakness of will with akrasia—i.e. acting, or having a disposition to act, contrary to one’s judgments about what is best for one to do. However, there has been some recent debate about whether this captures the ordinary notion of weakness of will. Richard Holton claims that it doesn’t, while Alfred Mele argues that, to a certain extent, it does. As Mele recognizes, the question about an ordinary concept here is one apt for empirical investigation. We evaluate Mele’s studies and report some experiments of our own in order to investigate what in the world the ordinary concept of weakness of will is. We conclude that neither Mele nor Holton (previously) was quite right and offer a tentative proposal of our own: the ordinary notion is more like a prototype or cluster concept whose application is affected by a variety of factors.     

What About the Victim? Neglected Dimensions of the Standing to Blame

The Journal of Ethics - This paper points out neglected considerations about the standing to blame. It starts from the observation that the standing to blame debate largely focusses on factors...     

What of the clients-eye view? A response to the millennium review

The BJGC 's (2000) symposium on guidance, psychotherapy and counselling reviewed the developments of these activities in the United Kingdom in the past and present, and then looked to the future at the turn of this millennium.The picture emerged of professionally dominated enterprises in which the client's point-of-view is obscure. This article explores why this is the case and how the client's perspective can reinforce the political as well as the therapeutic value of counselling, psychotherapy and guidance.