Social anthropology and the philosophy of religion

The pursuit of linguistic analysis should mean that philosophers pay attention to the facts: in particular, the philosophy of religion cannot ignore the comparative study of religion, social anthropology, etc. A main aim should be to discover a ‘grammar’ of religious experience, which may help to illuminate the reasons for certain patterns of religious belief, etc. Here it is necessary to resist the functionalist views of some social anthropologists, stemming from the conviction that religion is an illusion and from a conflation of reasons and causes. But in so far as a functionalist approach applies, it can help to exhibit the accidental and ‘non‐religious’ features of a given religion.     

Ibsen's truth, family secrets, and family therapy

In certain Ibsen plays a character (would-be family therapist) enters during a crisis revolving around family secrets. Taking two such plays as models, this paper examines family processes and clinical issues surrounding secrets and myths. In Ghosts, Ibsen demonstrates the tragic foreclosure visited upon the Alvings' lives by a generation of secrecy. For contrast, in The Wild Duck the would-be reformer Gregers brings out the truth, to expose and correct consequences of his father's past machinations. The biographical roots of Ibsen's obsession with truth and illusion are explored. Lastly, the notion that Ibsen and early family therapist were reformers is viewed in historical perspective.     

Personhood,culture and family therapy

This paper argues that ideas about personhood and relationships vary cross-culturally and that although it is not always obvious or easy to discover, this variation is particularly salient to family therapy. This argument is supported by a dual definition of culture emphasizing both continuity of cultural themes (generative aspect) and the reconstitution, redefinition and change of such themes through interaction and communication (interactive aspect). The effectiveness of interventions which are isomorphic with ideas which families themselves hold about personhood is demonstrated through work with two families, one Punjabi and one Bangladeshi.     

Social behavior as discriminative stimulus and consequence in social anthropology

A behavior analysis is provided for three topics in social anthropology. Food, social relations, and ritual behaviors can enter into contingencies both as functional consequences and as discriminative stimuli for the reinforcement of behaviors through generalized social consequences. Many "symbolic" behaviors, which some social anthropologists believe go beyond an individual material basis, are analyzed as the latter. It is shown how the development of self-regulation to bridge remote consequences can undermine a group's generalized social control. It is also shown that rituals and taboos can be utilized to maintain generalized social compliance, which in turn can maintain both the community's verbal behavior and other group behaviors that bridge indirect and remote consequences.     

Family therapy and anthropology: a case for emotions

The idea that emotions are socially constructed challenges traditional views in both family therapy and anthropology and also opens the possibility for further collaboration. This paper reviews the traditional position of orthodox family therapy theory with respect to motivation and emotions. It argues that a social constructionist position can build on original family therapy insights about the connectedness of family members and offer a view which transcends mind-body dualism. Bateson's concept of ethos is seen as a forerunner of this view and, with the increasing interest in meaning and cross-cultural issues, Bateson's ideas deserve renewed attention. Implications of a social constructionist view of emotions for family therapists are outlined.     

Poverty,state, and the family: A challenge for family therapy

Much family therapy writing has focused on work with discrete presenting problems in circumscribed clinical practice settings. This paper takes a broader focus of poor families which do not fit easily into the one-hour therapy schedule, in the context of the powerful forces of politics and economics. If the prevailing political attitudes and economic realities are ignored, direct practice with families may fail to meet them at their point of experience. Examples of political views, and therapeutic and research thinking which do not pay attention to these aspects, are used to highlight the author's point of view.     

Power,family therapy,and the systemic-organismic paradigm

How is the concept of power integrated into the systemic organismic paradigm? Power concepts, especially Kantor and Lehr's six dimensions of distance regulation mechanisms, are related to several models of family therapy. Power is found to be a part of the Gestalt formation process of Perls, a process of dynamic selfregulation. Each family therapy model is regarded as part of an integrating process. A theory of conflict strategy and of integration strategy in therapy is developed. The article is intended to promote comparison and exploratory discussion around different models of family therapy.     

Postmodern ontology,anthropology, and religion

This article analyses some changes produced in the contemporary ‘postmodern’ self and its consequences for the anthropological study of religion. In this regard, these changes influence deeply the way we westerners represent our ontological structure, and approach other religious systems and ontologies, due to the current processes of globalisation and transnationalisation, the notion of Self often fluctuates between an old stable, autonomous, maximiser (condensed) self and a dispersed, multivocal one. It is argued here that traditional anthropological analyses of religion lack this critical and reflexive awareness. For that reason, cultural phenomena such as shamanism, sorcery, and many forms of religious and cosmological syncretisms, are frequently approached from a distant, naturalistic viewpoint In this paper a more existential view of religion is proposed; it approaches the observer to the observed, opening up his/her assumptions about the ‘order of things’. A collection of notions, such as critical hermeneutics, critical intersubjectivity, dialectics, and ontological language is discussed, to build a fresh inquiry into the realms of numinous life.     

Culture,ethnicity, and mental health

Conclusion This is the important point, I think, both in the research field and in the research-policy-administrative-political field that might be characterized by the collective interests of people in these fields. Our discussions do not suggest unalterable directions for our efforts, and whatever answers we may come up with do not suggest final conclusions. If we are able to trust one another and our institutions-and I feel that trust is one of the key issues in any discussion about mental-health topics—then we have to admit that perhaps we are all correct. And our progress in the area of ethnicity, culture, and mental health will be promoted by our continued co-operation.the National Institute of Mental Health, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.This paper is the substance of an address given at the Conference on Culture and Ethnicity-Mental Health Services for a Pluralistic Society held under the sponsorship of the Institute on Pluralism and Group Identity, American Jewish Committee of New York, and the Maurice Falk Medical Fund of Pittsburgh, at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, on October 13, 1976.     

Re-editing family mythology during family therapy

Family mythology includes false or edited beliefs about the present which may be coupled with family legends which support those beliefs. Families are particularly likely to use their histories dys-functionally if they either see the present as an exact replication of the past or, in contrast, deny that the past has any relevance whatever. Re-editing myths involves enabling families to alter their relationships and their self perceptions. This allows a fresh exploration of the past; a process which can support and encourage further change. Case material is used to illustrate this.     

Medical family therapy: an emerging arena for family therapy

This paper describes an important recent development in American family therapy. Medical family therapy uses a biopsychosocial systems model to work with families who have a member with a chronic illness or disability. The authors maintain that family therapy has tended to embrace the mind–body split and to view itself too narrowly as a mental health specialty. Medical family therapists work collaboratively with physicians and other health professionals to help families achieve a sense of agency and communion in facing some of the greatest challenges that life brings.