“The end of history ” and the fate of the philosophy of history

The “end of history” by Fukuyama is mainly based on Hegel’s treatise of the end of history and Kojeve’s corresponding interpretation. But Hegel’s “end of history” is a purely philosophical question, i.e., an ontological premise that must be fulfilled to complete “absolute knowledge.” When Kojeve further demonstrates its “universal and homogeneous state,” Fukuyama extends it into a political view: The victory of the Western system of freedom and democracy marks the end of the development of human history and Marxist theory and practice. This is a misunderstanding of Hegel. Marx analyzes, scientifically, the historical limitation of Western capitalism and maintains, by way of a kind of revolutionary teleology, the expectation of and belief in human liberation, which is the highest historical goal. His philosophy of history is hence characterized by theoretical elements from both historical scientificalness and historical teleology.     

Towards a pattern-based logic of probability judgements and logical inclusion “fallacies”

Probability judgements entail a conjunction fallacy (CF) if a conjunction is estimated to be more probable than one of its conjuncts. In the context of predication of alternative logical hypothesis, Bayesian logic (BL) provides a formalisation of pattern probabilities that renders a class of pattern-based CFs rational. BL predicts a complete system of other logical inclusion fallacies (IFs). A first test of this prediction is investigated here, using transparent tasks with clear set inclusions, varying in observed frequencies only. Experiment 1 uses data where BL makes dominant predictions; Experiment 2's predictions were less clear, and we additionally investigated judgements about the second-most probable hypotheses. The results corroborated a pattern-probability account and cannot be easily explained by other theories of CFs (e.g. inverse probability, confirmation). IFs were not limited to conjunctions, but rather occurred systematically for several logical connectives. Thus, pattern-based probability judgements about logical relations may constitute a basic class of intuitive but potentially rational probability judgements.     

Towards a synthesis of Art,Science and Spirituality—Notes on transdisciplinarity

This article, originally meant for an Auroville publication, consists mainly, besides the quotations, of a wide range of suggestions related to a transcultural approach to various questions raised by transdisciplinary research. All these suggestions converge on a central focus; the virtual reality of a subject/object interaction that eludes narrow disciplinary restrictions as well as rigid cultural definitions. Here, significantly, etymology seems to lead towards mythical cultural watersheds, just as philology has been offering clues to some fundamental philosophical discoveries, from Nietsche to G. Colli. The recent impact of Orientalist studies leads further into the same initiatic dimension, wherein metaphysics, ontology, aesthetics, linguistics, cosmology and psychology, all blend in a continuum of psychic experience, while variations of conscious awareness could only be described, and not sharply differentiated.

All this would point, not only to the emergence of new cognitive methods, but also to correspondingly adequate means of expression. A transcultural approach could, moreover, provide vital links between today's originality and the spiritual traditions of the past, adding thus a sense of cultural continuity to our endeavours in understanding evolution.     

The extra mile—Case history of a homicide

This detailed case history is intended to stimulate psychological and theological reflection. Written in the style of a novella, it dramatically illustrates the effects of a client's murder on a pastoral psychotherapist.     

“Generalized imitation” on a nonimitative task: Effects of modeling and task history

Two experiments investigated characteristic generalized imitation procedures on a nonimitative successive visual discrimination task. In Experiment I, no discriminative behavior was obtained though a number of procedures designed to enhance discrimination were employed. The introduction of a differential modeling procedure after nine or 10 sessions of nondifferential performance was ineffective in producing differential responding for three of four Ss. In the second experiment, the differential modeling procedure was introduced as an initial manipulation and was successful in establishing discriminative performance in all Ss. After several sessions of differential responding, the observation of a model performing nondifferentially was relatively ineffective in altering the pattern of responding. These results suggest (1) that modeling may be functional in altering a S's behavior depending on what point in the procedures the manipulation is introduced and (2) that certain procedural variables may define a functional response class characterized by the failure to develop discriminative responding.     

Where “culture wars” and therapy meet: Exploring the intersection between political issues and therapeutic practice

In the era of “culture wars,” instances where client and practitioner discuss political issues in therapy may become more frequent. This paper introduces the way in which “culture wars” manifest in today's societies and highlights the importance of therapeutic practitioners to engage with and explore their own views in relation to these polarising political debates. In doing so, this paper reflects upon the existing research focussing on the way in which “culture wars” enter the therapeutic encounter and highlights the feelings of anxiety and conflict that arise when practitioners are tasked with “talking politics” with clients. It considers the implications for practice and policy and concludes with recommendations for future scholarship, arguing for more culturally specific studies that examine how “culture wars” issues impact therapeutic work in a variety of international settings.     

The material memory of history: Edgar Zilsel’s epistemology of historiography

The paper focuses on the concept of matter and the material in Edgar Zilsel??s considerations about historiographical methods in the context of the Marxist debates on the materialist conception of history in the 1920s and 1930s (Gy?rgy Lukács, Max Adler). It sheds light on Zilsel??s understanding of matter as fluctuating, interfering processes in the lapse of time and the related concept of irreversible laws and relates it to Ernst Mach??s philosophy and to Richard Semon??s theory of mneme. Finally, it shows the practical consequences of the concept of materialism in Edgar Zilsel??s epistemology.     

Researching the “therapeutic relationship” in psychoanalysis,counselling psychology and psychotherapy—a qualitative inquiry

This paper reports the methodology of a research project based on and including a review of almost 1000 texts and more than 20 years of learning and supervised practice as clinician and supervisor in the psychotherapeutic professions on the nature of the therapeutic relationship. Following a pilot study by five years, the findings were reported in a 165,000 word document which encompasses poetry, personal experience, many textual extracts of theory or therapeutic dialogue, other research reports, theoretical considerations, clinical reflections, syllabus constructions—a postmodernist assemblage which nonetheless attempts coherence, validity and reliability. The findings have also been tested in the field for example by: (a) providing the framework for at least one four-year psychotherapy training course from which the first students have recently graduated by external assessment and (b) an independent psychotherapy accreditation process by a case study submission. It is argued that clinical practice or supervision should be inseparable from research—Particularly qualitative research in psychology.     

On Theoretical Edges and Exclusionary Borders: Towards a Genealogy of “Analyzability” in Jungian Psychoanalysis1

An oft-repeated and largely unexamined assumption in Jungian psychoanalysis is the notion of “analyzability”, that is, of an individual's ability or present capacity to think symbolically. It is often taught that if someone is unable to think symbolically, a depth analysis is not possible. Such an individual may be more aptly suited for supportive psychotherapy, the argument goes, an experience that may very well lead to the development of the ego's capacity for symbolic thought but is not, in and of itself, a Jungian analysis. While this sort of categorical thinking has, at times, crossed over into ontological claims about individuals and groups, the notion of analyzability encountered in psychoanalytic theory and praxis is often cloaked in facially neutral language. The impact, however, has been anything but neutral in effect. In this paper, I propose a softening of our theoretical edges through a genealogy of the category of analyzability within the broader history of psychoanalysis. Through this excavation, I explore the contingent nature of the category of analyzability, how it has constricted knowledge, perpetuated inequality, and, more broadly, obscured ways of knowing. In so doing, I recover the radically democratic potential that lies at the heart of Jungian psychoanalysis.     

Personality and culture: a comparison of Francophones and Anglophones in Québec

The authors compared the personality characteristics of Québec Francophones (25 women, 25 men) and Anglophones (25 women, 25 men) aged 16-64 years. Each participant completed a French or English version of 3 personality inventories that measured (a) extraversion (2 scales), (b) neuroticism (2 scales), (c) psychoticism, (d) lying, (e) openness to experience, (f) conscientiousness, (g) agreeableness, (h) conservatism, and (i) altruism. Francophones scored higher than did Anglophones on psychoticism and on 1 measure of extraversion, and Anglophones scored higher than did Francophones on conservatism, but the 2 groups did not differ on the other personality traits. Men scored higher than did women on psychoticism, and women scored higher than did men on conscientiousness and agreeableness. Conservatism and altruism increased with age. The authors discuss the results in the context of cross-cultural theory and research on personality.     

The “Working conditions and control questionnaire” (WOCCQ): Towards a structural model of subjective stress

This paper examined the structural model of subjective stress using the job control dimensions of the “Working conditions and control questionnaire” (WOCCQ), a psychosocial risk diagnosis widely used in French-speaking countries. Two research questions were investigated: (1) Do all the control facets influence subjective stress in the same way? and (2) Are certain control scales more important than others in the prediction of stress? The sample used includes 816 workers of a public employment agency. First, not all of the facets of job control influence stress in the same way. The control of resources dimension is important in indirectly influencing the stress process. Planning control is a partial mediator between control of resources and other dimensions of control. The model suggests considering future control as an exogenous variable. Finally, the direct effect of the four job control subscales on stress is identical in terms of R-square. These results are discussed not only with regards to the theoretical perspective of stress at work but also the stress intervention perspective.     

“That reminds me of a story...”: The therapeutic use of cautionary tales

This story about stories illustrates two kinds of cautionary tales and attempts to account for why and how they are useful in therapy.     

Towards a new method for bridging the gap between “smart” infants and “dumb” preschoolers

Based on violation-of-expectation (VoE) paradigms, amazing cognitive competencies have been demonstrated in young infants, which could not be shown in toddlers or even preschoolers. This divergence might as much be caused by different research methods as by discontinuities in development. As looking-time measures are not readily applicable to older children, we suggest a new method that is suitable for children from two years of age onwards. In an empirical examination of this method, 26 children aged 2–7 years learned by trial and error to always find a target picture among a pair of pictures. Each target picture was an impossible version of the non-target picture. After reaching a learning criterion, children had to generalize the learned concept to pictures belonging to a different category. Results showed that even the youngest participants reached the learning criterion and were able to apply what they had learned to another category.     

Freud’s Three Theories of Neurosis: Towards a Contemporary Theory of Trauma and Defense

This paper explores the development of Freud’s thinking on the aetiology of the neurosis. It is shown that Freud in the years 1893 to 1897 formulated three distinct and mutually incompatible theories of neurosis centred respectively on (a) psychic trauma and defence, (b) sexual trauma (seduction), and (c) repressed sexuality (libido). For Freud the decisive step was the shift from the first to the second theory, not from the second to the third. It is examined how Freud gave priority to the libido/fantasy theory until he returned in 1926 to a general trauma theory with his second theory of anxiety. The fate of Freud’s theory of neurosis in later psychoanalytic thinking is described as a process of dilution rather than an exploration of what is right and what is wrong in the theory. It is argued that the basic fault common to Freud’s second and third theories is the insistence on an exclusive sexual aetiology of the neurosis. On the other hand, it is argued that Freud’s first theory, centred on emotional trauma and defence, has turned out to be basically right and is therefore well suited to constitute a basis for a contemporary theory of neurosis (non-neurological mental disorders).     

Report on work in progress: “Towards a new science of the human”

A multidisciplinary and global study of the evolutionary process of the universe in general and mankind in particular is proposed, drawing from both modern science, approached by taking into consideration its various interdependent aspects; and the study of western and eastern ancient traditions, which prove to have a common foundation that is the comprehension and the control of the evolutionary process itself.

Such a study will lead to the compilation of a “Corpus Unus” of the new science of the human, a science which does not belong to a race, a culture or an age, but is specific to the human being as such.

Such a science will imply the exploration of mankind and of the evolutionary process, and applying the results in a pragmatic way to the betterment of human beings, society, and universe.     

“Turning a blind eye” on sexual abuse,boundary violations and therapeutic practice

This article explores the themes related to ‘turning a blind eye’. This is first discussed in terms of the marvellous benefits of turning a blind eye and not seeing; this is followed with a discussion about the dangers of seeing and encountering the erotic. History and myth are referenced. Sex is special: the most powerful of all sensual experiences and therefore brings with it the power to transform or distort the mind. The link is made between pivotal developments in psychoanalysis and blindness to erotic manifestations in both patients and therapists. There follows a detailed discussion of the correspondence between Jung and Freud concerning the former’s severe boundary violations with Sabina Spielrein. From there, I discuss later developments within psychoanalysis which continues the theme of ‘turning a blind eye’. I bring this theme up to date with a clinical example of my own illustrating a multiple reluctance to see sexual abuse. The discussion concludes with thoughts about seeing and not seeing erotic material and/or sexual abuse prompted by the grave of Jimmy Savile. I conclude this article with some additional ideas stimulated by the discussion following my original lecture.     

Towards a systematic Qura’nic theory of personality

Based on hermeneutic interpretation of the Holy Qura’n and the theoretical suggestions of the eminent Muslim thinker Al-Ghazali, a Qura’nic theory of personality is articulated. Eight main interrelated concepts have been identified in the present analysis and serve as the building blocks of a Qura’nic theory of personality: nafs (psyche), nafs ammarah besoa’ (evil-commanding psyche), al-nafs al-lawammah (the reproachful psyche), roh (spirit), a’ql (intellect), qalb (heart), al-nafs al-mutmainnah (the serene psyche) and al-nafs al-marid’a (the sick psyche). The Qura’nic theory of personality is psychospiritual, structural, dynamic, topographic, holistic, and holds a largely negative view of human nature. The implications of this theory for research and practice are discussed.