H. G. Wells and B. F. Skinner on the superorganism

In Skinner's Walden Two, the central character Frazier refers to the superorganism and how to build it, but without elaboration. An examination of some parallels between the work of H. G. Wells and B. F. Skinner, however, casts light on that reference and other aspects of Skinner's views, such as multiple selves. Both Wells and Skinner wrote in similar ways about what the composition of such a superorganism would be and the conditions for its development. In particular, attention is directed to the ways in which their forecasts of the conditions for producing the superorganism changed over time, from determinism-based conditions to more evolutionary or selection-based conditions.     

Tolman and Tryon. Early research on the inheritance of the ability to learn.

Few psychologists today are aware of the seminal role played by learning theorist Edward C. Tolman in the early development of the field of behavior genetics. Tolman was the first to publish a study of selective breeding for maze-learning ability in rats. He continued to foster research in this field by supporting the work of his students, particularly Robert C. Tryon. Tryon carried out the first major long-term study of maze-bright and maze-dull rats. This article focuses on Tolman's early years at Berkeley and the events culminating in the inheritance project, as well as on the evolution of this research under Tryon's direction.     

Observations on the abuse of women and children.

From ancient times to the present the abuse of women and children has occurred in societies that have had a structure hostile to other societies (e.g., war is glorified), hostile punitive attitudes to its own population (e.g., few civil liberties and rejection of the underclass), and depreciation of women. The psychological characteristics of the abusers show depression, poor impulse control, and difficulty in loving. Psychological characteristics of the abused include depression and feeling unloved. The abused, depressed little girl grows up to be the depressed mother. Therefore, short-term planning will produce little or no benefit. Attention must be paid to the most important person in the world, the mother-to-be, the newborn female child.     

A note on the influence of F. M. Alexander on the development of gestalt therapy

Fritz Perls ascribes a significant place in the development of Gestalt theory to his book Ego, Hunger, and Aggression. This note describes the unrecognized influence of F. Matthias Alexander on that work.     

C.S. Peirce on Mathematical Practice: Objectivity and the Community of Inquirers

Topoi - What understanding of mathematical objectivity is promoted by Peirce’s pragmatism? Can Peirce’s theory help us to further comprehend the role of intersubjectivity in...     

The face of the state on the U.S.-Mexico border

In recent years, feminist geopolitics and the turns toward emotional and affective geography have resulted in new perspectives on theories of power, embodiment and subjectivity. Other recent trends have considered non-human objects as important for state theory, insofar as state practice often relies upon the force of objects in everyday life. This article works to bring together object-oriented and emotional geographies for a new perspective on the state. It does so by drawing on another theoretical tradition that has been less familiar for political geography: psychoanalytic theory. Findings from ethnographic research with residents living near the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona help illuminate the presence and spectral circulation of what we call the “face of the state” as a psycho-emotional entity in everyday life for these residents. Surveillance objects enter the psyche through the face of the state, insofar as they are imagined and felt as a visual and embodied experience. The force of the object, then, extends beyond its own materiality and into the psycho-social dimensions of life through which state power operates, thereby empowering the border to gaze at the subject population in powerful new ways.     

Group process and group phenomena on the Internet.

This article identifies group processes and group phenomena in discussion lists on the Internet and examines the differences and similarities with the processes in small and large groups. Group dynamics and phenomena, such as boundaries, cohesion, transference, scapegoating, and the leader's role are addressed. Large group features, such as alienation, vulnerability, and the vast amount of issues discussed in parallel are described. There are similarities between the discussion list and small groups on issues of cohesion and group norms, and in the psychological mechanisms of transference and scapegoating. There are differences regarding the contract, boundaries, leaving the group, and extra-group socialization. Although many of the phenomena described resemble a large group, a discussion list on the Internet maintains the illusion of being a small group and frequently acts like one. While a virtual therapy group would be somewhat different from a real group, it could nonetheless be useful.