Blake and the Bible: Biblical Exegesis in the Work of William Blake

Abstract:  William Blake's biblical interpretation relied on allusive, imaginative and even prophetic modes. Here this is explored through his vision of the divine in Europe: A Prophecy and by exploring his views on the relationships between the testaments. In the first part, a comparison of his vision with the book of Revelation shows similarities in imaginative attempts to subvert ingrained religious assumptions. In the second, Blake's ambiguous attitude towards the Old Testament, coloured by his sustained polemic against religion and law, is discussed. Finally, some thoughts on the continued relevance of Blake's imaginative exegesis are offered.     

Psychopathy: A psychobiological perspective

After critically examining the concept of psychopathy and reviewing the major existing theories of psychopathy in the light of a psychobiological conception of abnormal behaviour (Öhman, 1981), this paper attempts to present an integrated, psychobiological model of psychopathy. Essentially this analyses psychopathy in terms of the predisposing influences, the triggering environmental events which initiate psychopathic behaviour, and the neurophsychological mechanisms which mediate it. It is suggested that individuals who show chronic antisocial behaviour, conforming to the North American term ‘sociopath’, may demonstrate a maturational deficit but do not necessarily show a psychopathic personality disorder. The latter is said to be characterised, at a personality trait level, by high Impulsiveness and Psychopathy (Blackburn, 1982 a, b), reflecting interactive deficits in goal direction and affect. At a dynamic (state) level, a psychopathic personality disorder is said to be characterised by a lack of coping, reflecting either, in the case of the secondary psychopath, a deficit in primary appraisal, (over-perception of threat), or in the case of the primary psychopath, a deficit in secondary appraisal (low perceived control over aversive environmental events). It is further suggested that a genetic predisposition to social withdrawal and exposure to an uncontrollably aversive early environment may interact to predispose an individual to develop a psychopathic personality disorder in adulthood.     

Forgiveness and psychopathology: psychobiological and evolutionary underpinnings

We present a case of psychotherapy where a process of forgiveness occurs. Then we review the relevant cognitive-affective neuroscience and clinical implications. Resentment and forgiveness emerge within particular kinds of social interactions and can now increasingly also be conceptualized as embodied in particular neurocircuitry. There may be an association between increased psychopathology and decreased fogiveness, and the implications of this for assessment and treatment deserve further study. There may be gender differences in forgiveness;a highly speculative hypothesis suggests that these would reflect sexual divergence in the evolutionary origins of reconciliatory behavior.     

Social anxiety disorder: psychobiological and evolutionary underpinnings

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) also know as social phobia is increasingly recognized as a highly prevalent and disabling psychiatric disorder. SAD patients demonstrate cognitive-affective distortions in relation to social situations and abnormal activation patterns in limbic structures during functional imaging. Behavioral inhibition is an endophenotype that may be useful in understanding vulnerability to SAD, and that has specific imaging and genetic correlates. From an evolutionary perspective, it has been speculated that SAD represents a false appeasement alarm. It is notable that SAD responds to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and monoamine oxidase inhibitors, but not to most tricyclic antidepressants; this finding is consistent with the importance of serotonin and dopamine in mediating this disorder.     

Another psychobiological view of sexual differentiation

The major psychobiological theory of sex differences is based on the hypothesis that hormones induce sex differences in neural organization. Hormonally masculinized or feminized brains are thought to underlie subsequent behavioral sex differences. This theory and the constructs, arguments, and evidence used in its support are closely examined. Some conceptual problems with widely used arguments are identified and discussed. Behavioral, physiological, and anatomical evidence from studies of animal sexual behavior is reviewed. It is concluded that the evidence fails to support generally accepted views that early hormones affect behavior through direct effects on brain differentiation and that behavioral differences must be located in the brain. It is argued instead that hormones coact and interact with other factors throughout development, that brain differences may result from as well as cause functional differences, and that hormone-based sources of sex differences may be located throughout the body and in the social surround. Directions for new research are suggested and implications for interpretation of human sex differences are discussed.     

Transcendence techniques and psychobiological mechanisms underlying religious experience

In this paper the author explores the process by which the combined influence of specific cultural factors and individual transcendence techniques activates psychobiological mechanisms that, in turn, trigger the appearance of special states of consciousness, namely religious trance. Most of these religious and spiritual experiences rationalize a threat common to all cultures, namely the risk of losing one's Ego.

The activation of individual transcendence techniques paraphrases denial defence mechanisms insofar as it involves avoidance of the external reality to preserve homeostasis. The mentioning in psychoanalytic terms of a ‘death instinct’ (i.e. a drive opposite to the attachment/life instinct) as a possible source of detachment/transcendence phenomena is still worth considering.

The Freudian example of ‘the cotton-reel mother’, whom the child could make disappear and then reappear again, is a powerful one of the phenomenon of detachment dynamics.

Cross-cultural research on the varieties of trance shows that Altered States of Consciousness can be induced by both collective and personal rituals that allow the subject to reach the altered states of consciousness by making the whole world appear or disappear in fantasy. While some of the highest forms of supernatural experience, such as ecstasy, mysticism and the communion with the Absolute, engender enough social approval to allow to believe that such experiences mitigate or prevent mental disorders, when the supernatural experiences occur in bizarre features they are indicators of a clear psychopathology.

The perspective of transcultural psychiatry offers the best method of outlining the great ethnographic variety of these experiences and, subsequently, making a comparative analysis of the links that exists among culture, psychopathology and the supernatural in a given situation.

From a clinical point of view, it becomes increasingly clear that psychiatrists need expertise to draw clinical inferences based on the specific patient's culture and his psychopathological presentation, especially when the patient's life history is characterized by the multi-faceted activity of transcendence techniques.     

Multiple drug use and dietary restraint in a Mr. Universe competitor: psychobiological effects.

A male bodybuilder was assessed for 20 weeks before, during, and after an international competition. Preparation included high-doses of three anabolic steroids, several nonsteroid drugs including synthetic growth hormone, prolonged training, and a severely reduced diet. Aggression and many other negative moods peaked precompetition, when these factors were most extreme.     

Hysteresis behaviour of psychobiological variables during exercise

ObjectivesThe rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and the heart rate (HR) have been widely studied and monitored during exercise, but their hysteresis behaviour is still unexplored. Our aim was to study the hysteresis behaviour of RPE and HR in triathletes and non-athletes.DesignCross-sectional study.MethodEighteen triathletes at different competitive levels (elite n = 9, non-elite n = 9) and ten students were tested while cycling and running, using a pyramidal protocol (incremental/decremental workloads). The hysteresis area, considered positive when values of the dependent variables (RPE and HR) at the same workload were higher in the decremental phase than in the incremental phase, and vice versa for the negative areas, was calculated in all tests. The Wilcoxon matched-pairs test and Kruskal Wallis ANOVA were applied to detect intra- and inter-group differences, respectively, of RPE and HR values during the incremental and decremental phases, as well as between cycling and running.ResultsThe following results were observed: a) an incoherent relationship of RPE with HR and workload, b) positive hysteresis areas of RPE and HR in all groups during cycling and running, c) a partial negative hysteresis area of RPE, but not of HR, in the triathlete groups, d) larger hysteresis areas of RPE and HR in students than in triathletes, and e) larger hysteresis areas in cycling than in running.Conclusionsthe study of the hysteresis behaviour of RPE and HR reveals the history dependency of both variables, highlights their incoherent or non-unique relationship during a pyramidal exercise, and questions their widely assumed linear association to workload intensity. The hysteresis area is proposed as a new non-invasive marker of exercise stress and tolerance that should be further investigated.     

"I WALK WEEPING IN PANGS OF A MOTHERS TORMENT FOR HER CHILDREN": Women's Laments in the Poetry and Prophecies of William Blake

Cross-cultural scholarship in ritual studies on women's laments provides us with a fresh vantage point from which to consider the function of women and women's complaining voices in the epic poems of William Blake. In this essay, I interpret Thel, Oothoon, and Enitharmon as strong voices of experience that unleash some of Blake's most profound meditations on social, sexual, individual, and institutional forms of violence and injustice, offering what might aptly be called an ethics of witness. Tracing the performative function of Enion, Jerusalem, Vala, and Erin in Blake's later epics, The Four Zoas and Jerusalem , I argue for the close connection between the female laments and the possibility of redemption, though in Blake such "redemption" comes at the cost of the very voices of witness themselves.     

Inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity: psychobiological and evolutionary underpinnings of ADHD

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is a prevalent and disabling disorder that is characterized by inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity, impairment in executive functions, structural and functional abnormalities in frontal-striatal circuitry, associations with particular catecholamine gene variants, and responsiveness to dopaminergic and noradrenergic agents. There is a growing integration of findings from basic and clinical studies, of data from different methods (eg, genetics and imaging), and of empirical data with hypotheses drawn from evolutionary thinking. Here we briefly summarize work on the cognitive-affective neuroscience of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.     

Gender and cardiovascular disease: a psychobiological and integrative approach

Coronary artery disease is the most common cause of morbidity, mortality, and economic loss in all industrialized countries. Although there are gender differences in the prevalence, causes, symptoms, treatment, and outcome of heart disease, the differences are complex and often misunderstood. These gender differences are a function of psychological influences, physiological influences, and an interaction of the two. Understanding these complex interactions and how they differentially influence the development and progression of heart disease will ultimately contribute to a greater understanding of how to integrate information from medicine and epidemiology with that from psychology and behavioral medicine. Ultimately, it is this integrated approach that will allow us to better understand heart disease in both men and women.