Pastoral theology in a pluralistic age

The article presents a theological and normative response to the question, “What is Pastoral Theology?”. The primary task is to bring together theological ethics and the social sciences to provide a normative vision of the human life cycle for a pluralistic setting with diverse religio-cultural assumptions. Introduces a clinical case to suggest the range of questions with which Pastoral Theology should be concerned and presents four propositions informed by a theological ethic and a dynamic perspective.     

Physicians in literature: Emotional approaches to patients

As evidenced in literature, physicians vary in their emotional devotion to patients. John Steinbeck's physicians are aloof. The doctors of William Carlos Williams and Richard Selzer form strong, complicated, emotional attachments to their patients. These attachments allow them to live fuller, more sensuous lives, without interfering with their proper functioning as healthcare providers. F. Scott Fitzgerald's Dr. Diver overly commits himself to a patient and suffers the consequences. The present-day physician can help modulate his own emotional connections to patients by examining these literary models.     

Narrative philosophy of religion: apologetic and pluralistic orientations

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion - Recent decades have witnessed a growing interest in narrative both in certain areas of philosophy and in the study of religion. The philosophy of...     

Intentional binding and the sense of agency: a review

It is nearly 10 years since Patrick Haggard and colleagues first reported the 'intentional binding' effect (Haggard, Clark, & Kalogeras, 2002). The intentional binding effect refers to the subjective compression of the temporal interval between a voluntary action and its external sensory consequence. Since the first report, considerable interest has been generated and a fascinating array of studies has accumulated. Much of the interest in intentional binding comes from the promise to shed light on human agency. In this review we survey studies on intentional binding, focusing, in particular, on the link between intentional binding and the sense of agency (the experience of controlling action to influence events in the environment). We suggest that, whilst it is yet to be fully explicated, the link between intentional binding and the sense of agency is compelling. We conclude by considering outstanding questions and future directions for research on intentional binding.     

Hooking up: Gender differences, evolution, and pluralistic ignorance

"Hooking-up" - engaging in no-strings-attached sexual behaviors with uncommitted partners - has become a norm on college campuses, and raises the potential for disease, unintended pregnancy, and physical and psychological trauma. The primacy of sex in the evolutionary process suggests that predictions derived from evolutionary theory may be a useful first step toward understanding these contemporary behaviors. This study assessed the hook-up behaviors and attitudes of 507 college students. As predicted by behavioral-evolutionary theory: men were more comfortable than women with all types of sexual behaviors; women correctly attributed higher comfort levels to men, but overestimated men's actual comfort levels; and men correctly attributed lower comfort levels to women, but still overestimated women's actual comfort levels. Both genders attributed higher comfort levels to same-gendered others, reinforcing a pluralistic ignorance effect that might contribute to the high frequency of hook-up behaviors in spite of the low comfort levels reported and suggesting that hooking up may be a modern form of intrasexual competition between females for potential mates.     

Respecting the margins of agency: Alzheimer's patients and the capacity to value

1 Quoted in Oliver Sacks, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales (New York: Summit Books, 1985), p. 32. Philosophy & Public Affairs 28, no. 2.

     

Moral psychiatry: Justice in the modern world,in Hebraic civilisation and in psychiatric practice,Part 4

In the previous sections of this monograph, the author discussed and illustrated the principles and problems of applying justice in psychiatric practice and in other contexts. Here the author concludes his discussion of justice, and describes a 15-item test and a scheme for classifying responses to the test.     

Moral psychiatry: Justice in the modern world,in Hebraic civilization and in psychiatric practice,Part 1

Abstract

The question is raised whether justice is possible. Attitudes to justice are described, and examples of justice and injustice in French psychiatric practice before and during World War II are presented and discussed.     

Belief in an unjust world: when beliefs in a just world fail

Belief in a just world, where people get what they deserve, has been hypothesized to underlie a variety of psychological phenomena (Lerner, 1965). Close inspection of individual difference measures of this belief, however, has indicated repeatedly that just world beliefs are not a unidimensional construct. The purpose of this investigation was to elaborate upon the conceptualization of unjust world beliefs as a related but separate construct from just world beliefs. In two studies, the Unjust World Views scale (UJVS) was developed and its reliability and validity examined. The UJVS demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity and accounted for more variability in related outcomes than just world beliefs. Further, belief in an unjust world was related to defensive coping, anger, and perceived future risk. These findings contribute to theory development and suggest that a belief in an unjust world may serve a self-protective function. Clinical implications are discussed as unjust world views also were found to be potentially maladaptive.