The witch hunt as a structure of argumentation

The concept of a witch hunt is frequently invoked, in recent times, to describe a kind of procedure for deciding the guilt of a person against whom an accusation has been made. But what exactly is a witch hunt? In this paper, ten conditions are formulated as a cluster of properties characterizing the witch hunt as a framework in which arguments are used: (1) pressure of social forces, (2) stigmatization, (3) climate of fear, (4) resemblance to a fair trial, (5) use of simulated evidence, (6) simulated expert testimony, (7) nonfalsifiability characteristic of evidence, (8) reversal of polarity, (9) non-openness, and (10) use of the loaded question technique. The witch hunt, as characterized by these criteria, is shown to function as a negative normative structure for evaluating argumentation used in particular cases.     

Purity and danger in the solar temple

Based on research conducted in Québec, this study explores the shape of the social life, apocalyptic ideology and authority structure of the Ordre du Temple Solaire (OTS) or Solar Temple within the framework of Mary Douglas's typology of ‘group and grid’. The pollution fears and purity rituals of this controversial new religious movement are analysed as an important factor in their decision to orchestrate a religiously‐motivated mass suicide/homicide, explained in their suicide documents as a ‘transit’ (a magical feat of soul travel) to the Star Sirius. Douglas's insights into how the human body becomes a ‘natural symbol’ for small, persecuted groups, mirroring the social body and the vulnerability of its exits and entrances vis‐à‐vis the surrounding culture, are applied to the alternative patterns of sexuality and parenting in the OTS. It is suggested that the magical aspect of the mass suicide expressed a concern for purity and for protecting the boundaries of their community. It is also suggested that the ritual homicides in Morin Heights resemble the ‘witch‐hunts’ characteristic of Douglas's ‘small society’ that conceives of itself as the perfect, impermeable vessel.     

The bidirectional relation between positive mental health and psychopathology in a longitudinal representative panel study

Background: There is accumulating evidence that positive mental health and psychopathology should be seen as separate indicators of mental health. This study contributes to this evidence by investigating the bidirectional relation between positive mental health and psychopathological symptoms over time. Methods: Positive mental health (MHC-SF) and psychopathological symptoms (BSI) were longitudinally measured in a representative adult sample (N?=?1932) on four measurement occasions in nine months. A cross-lagged panel design was applied and evaluated with a latent growth model combined with an item response theory measurement model. Results: Psychopathological symptoms were longitudinally related to positive mental health and vice versa, controlling for initial levels. The changes over time were even more important than the absolute levels of psychopathological symptoms and positive mental health, respectively. Conclusions: The results underline the need for a comprehensive perspective on mental health, incorporating both the treatment of symptoms and the enhancement of well-being.     

A Historical and Theoretical Review of Cognitive Behavioral Therapies: From Structural Self-Knowledge to Functional Processes

This paper critically examines the historical conceptualization of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy approaches (CBT) as a direct clinical counterpart of the cognitive revolution. The main “second wave” cognitive psychotherapies, either standard cognitive therapy (CT) or constructivist, in spite of their differences, share a common conceptualization of psychopathological factors as superordinate structural cognitive content belonging to the self: self-beliefs, self-schemata, personality organizations and so on. On the other hand, rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) is an exception given that in REBT self-knowledge is not the core psychopathological tenet, being rather a derivate mechanism. Moreover, in non clinical cognitive science cognition is conceived as a regulatory function that operates retroactively and not in a hierarchically super- ordered fashion centered on the self. A historical review suggests that in both CT and constructivist model the structuralistic model of self-centered cognition may have emerged for both cultural and scientific reasons: self-centered cognitive models may be more readily understandable to clinicians as they allow for a straightforward identification of operationalizable self-beliefs. The emergence of new “third wave” process-centered CBT approaches may represent a comeback to functionalism, where cognition is considered again a regulatory function and not a structure. In addition, REBT’s interest in dysfunctional evaluations not focused on the self presaged this clinical and scientific turning point toward functionalism.     

Are gods really moral monitors? Some comments on Ara Norenzayan's Big Gods by a historian of religions

The assumption that moral monitoring is a widespread function of gods is not well supported by historical documentation. The further thesis, that ideas about monitoring gods increase prosocial behavior and thereby the capacity of societies for survival, is implausible in view of the historical evidence about successful societies.     

The (In)flexible self: Psychopathology,mindfulness, and neuroscience

Clinical and neuroscientific evidence indicates that transdiagnostic processes contribute to the generation and maintenance of psychopathological symptoms and disorders. Rigidity (inflexibility) appears a core feature of most transdiagnostic pathological processes. Decreasing rigidity may prove important to restore and maintain mental health. One of the primary domains in which rigidity and flexibility plays a role concerns the self. We adopt the pattern theory of self (PTS) for a working definition of self. This incorporates the pluralist view on self as constituted by multiple aspects or processes, understood to constitute a self-pattern, i.e. processes organized in non-linear dynamical relations across a number of time scales. The use of mindfulness meditation in the format of Mindfulness Based Interventions (MBIs) has been developed over four decades in Clinical Psychology. MBIs are promising as evidence-based treatments, shown to be equivalent to gold-standard treatments and superior to specific active controls in several randomized controlled trials. Notably, MBIs have been shown to target transdiagnostic symptoms. Given the hypothesized central role of rigid, habitual self-patterns in psychopathology, PTS offers a useful frame to understand how mindfulness may be beneficial in decreasing inflexibility. We discuss the evidence that mindfulness can alter the psychological and behavioral expression of individual aspects of the self-pattern, as well as favour change in the self-pattern as a whole gestalt.We discuss neuroscientific research on how the phenomenology of the self (pattern) is reflected in associated cortical networks and meditation-related alterations in cortical networks. Creating a synergy between these two aspects can increase understanding of psychopathological processes and improve diagnostic and therapeutic options.     

Historical Use of the Climate Sink

In this paper I discuss a popular position in the climate justice literature concerning historical accountability for climate change. According to this view, historical high-emitters of greenhouse gases—or currently existing individuals that are appropriately related to them—are in possession of some form of emission debt, owed to certain of those who are now burdened by climate change. It is frequently claimed that such debts were originally incurred by historical emissions that violated a principle of fair shares for the world’s natural resources. Thus, a suitable principle of natural resource justice is required to render this interpretation of historical accountability complete. I argue that the need for such a principle poses a significant challenge for the historical emission debt view, because there doesn’t appear to be any determinate answer to the question what a fair share of climate sink capacity would have been historically. This leaves the historical emission debt view incomplete and thus unable to explain a powerful intuition that appears to motivate the view: namely, that there is something unjust about how the climate sink has historically been used. I suggest an alternative explanation of this common intuition according to which historically unequal consumption of climate sink capacity, whether or not wrongful in and of itself, is a symptom of broader global injustice concerning control over and access to the world’s natural resources. This broader historical injustice will be harder to quantify and harder to repair than that which the historical emission debt purports to identify.     

The origins of the psychological 'interior'--evidence from imperial Roman literary practices and related issues

The pervasiveness in psychological literature of the assumption that mental events and psychology in general occur within the person-henceforth the psychological 'interior'- is introduced and the received view of its historical origin is presented. This account is challenged and classical historical source material from the period 100 to 400 CE is interpreted in relation to factors of literary practice and related issues (mode of reading, authority and format of text, mode of writing, and author's motivation). It is concluded that the 'interior' that emerges in the reflexive discourse of Imperial Rome develops in tandem with changes in literary practices and that there is consequently substantial evidence for positing an intimate relationship between these practices, subjective experience, and reflexive discourse.     

Juvenile Huntington chorea with persistent sexual deviance. A case report

A case of juvenile hereditary chorea is reported on in which there was repeated sexual delinquency. Our point of view in respect of psychopathological and forensic aspects of the disorder is set out.     

The role of the symptom in psychopathological states

Abstract.— Four approaches to the role of symptoms in psychopathological states are discussed. These are: Prepsychoanalytic psychiatry, psychoanalysis, family communication theory, and the view that symptoms as a sign of mental illness do not exist. The latter comprises labelling theory and social learning theory. Particular interest is attached to the contentions of symptom substitution and symptomatic treatment. Both are rejected as myths. A theory of action is briefly outlined, and on the basis of this, an alternative interpretationof phenomena ordinarily conceptualized as mental pathology is suggested. The concepts of "psychopathology" and "symptoms" are redefined in accordance with present knowledge, and the importance of formulating human action in an ethical frame of reference is pointed out.     

On the early history of male hysteria and psychic trauma

This paper discusses the influence of Jean-Martin Charcot's views on Sigmund Freud's early theory of hysteria and the notion of psychical trauma. We consider the early history of both psychical trauma and male hysteria, for in Charcot's view traumatic hysteria and male hysteria are identical. Freud's two 1886 lectures on male hysteria, delivered after his return from Paris, are crucial to the subject because they present Freud's first impressions of Charcot and his teaching. Some of the ideas presented in the two lectures foreshadow Freud's later generalization of the etiological role of trauma and his theory of the role of psychical trauma in the genesis of hysteria; that is, each hysterical symptom is due to a psychical trauma reviving an earlier traumatic event—the so-called principle of deferred action (Nachtraglichkeit). Several arguments substantiate the thesis that Freud's notion of psychical (sexual) trauma was developed in reference to Charcot's notion of traumatic hysteria, and that the early psychoanalytic theory of psychical trauma is clearly indebted to Freud's encounter with Charcot's male traumatic hysterical patients. The discussed Freudian development points out the major role of (physical) traumata in eliciting psychopathological pictures and in this way is of definite historical relevance for the present-day discussion on the traumatic nature of the so-called multiple personality syndrome and other dissociative disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorders.     

The myth of Freud's ostracism by the medical community in 1896-1905: Jeffrey Masson's assault on the truth

The story recounted by Jeffrey M. Masson of the medical community's outraged response to the seduction theory is treated as historical fact in some of the recent literature on Freud's early psychoanalytic experiences. In this article the evidence adduced by Masson in The Assault on Truth (1984) to buttress his account of Freud's supposed ostracism is critically examined. It is concluded that this evidence fails to substantiate Masson's version of events, that there is abundant evidence that refutes it, and that he has ignored the historical research that demonstrates that the notion that Freud's early psychoanalytic writings received an irrationally hostile reception is a myth.     

The dual aspect of fantasy: Flight from reality or imaginative realm? Considerations and hypotheses from clinical psychoanalysis1

This paper discusses the view that fantasizing, understood as a flight into fantasy, belongs to a type of mental functioning distinct from imaginative fantasy. From this the idea emerges, proposed by Winnicott, that withdrawal into fantasy assumes a dissociative quality, which is formed early on as a defensive solution following the loss of hope in object relations. Such a defence becomes the foundation for a dangerous enclave in which the individual ends up enclosing himself, experiencing an illusory self-sufficiency. In this perspective, the author maintains that the flight into fantasy must be understood as a risk factor for the draining of the self or for a crystallization into psychopathological structures, becoming an automatic activity of 'non-thought' that substitutes for the working-through processes necessary for the development of the mind. The paper investigates this psychopathological dynamic, which was already present in Breuer and Freud's writings, examining subsequent contributions of various authors. Clinical material (of both children and adults) illustrates how the flight into fantasy may take the form of an anti-relational realm of the mind, compromising the operations necessary to the integration of psychic life. There is also a discussion of which therapeutic tools may help the patient to gradually abandon the withdrawal in favour of an authentically nourishing relational nature.     

Attitudes toward women,violence, and rape: A comparison of convicted rapists and other felons

Literature in the area of rape has been dominated by the psychiatric perspective leading to the view of rape as an individualistic, ideosyncratic and psychopathological problem. This leads to a conception of the rapist as a special criminal who is somehow different from his fellow prisoners. This paper proposes to study rapists as emotionally average men who have been socialized to view aggressive sexual behavior as appropriate in various situations. A comparison of rapists’ attitudes toward women, violence and rape with that of other felons reveals that their rape relevant attitudes are more extreme. It is proposed that the prevailing rape myths that exist in the society at large serve the function of providing excuses and justifications for rapists.     

Female Adolescents with Eating Disorders,Parental Psychopathological Risk and Family Functioning

Epidemiological studies on adolescents with eating disorders demonstrate a high prevalence of disordered eating behaviors, with a higher prevalence of eating disorders among girls. Several studies have recently demonstrated an association between female adolescents’ eating disorders, parental psychopathological risk, and an impaired family functioning with poor quality of the relationships among family members. On the basis of these premises, we conducted a cross-sectional study initially recruiting 243 families of female adolescents affected by anorexia nervosa (Group A), bulimia nervosa (Group B), and binge eating disorder (Group C) (average age 14–17) to assess their psychological profile (SCL90-R), specific representations of their family functioning (FACES-IV), and the possible effect of adolescents’ psychological profiles and parents’ psychopathological risk on family functioning. Our results indicate that adolescents and parents in Groups A, B, and C show an unequivocal psychopathological profile; in particular, adolescents with anorexia present the most severe psychopathological risk. Further, our results show that adolescents and their parents differ in their perception of their family functioning. More specifically, adolescents with anorexia perceive their family as highly disengaged, poorly interwoven, and rigid, in addition cohesion and communication qualities are perceived as low. Interestingly, parental psychopathological risk predicts adolescents’ specific perception of their family functioning. These findings may guide clinical interventions as they suggest that distinct maternal psychopathological symptoms can be associated with a variety of clinical configurations in their offspring, whereas paternal psychopathological risk may be present in adolescents suffering from all forms of eating disorders.     

发展:从“硬道理”、“第一要务”到“科学发展”

改革开放的三十年所取得的成功的经验之一,就是找到一个适合中国国情的发展观,即从“发展是硬道理”到“发展是第一要务”从而确立了科学发展观。“发展是硬道理”向我们表明,在发展过程中,“软道理”要服从“硬道理”,无论在何种情况下,我们都是坚持马克思主义历史观,把经济发展看作是社会发展的基础,同时在经济发展中兼顾其他各个方面的发展。     

Making Sense of the APA: A History of the Relationship Between Psychology and the Military

The American Psychological Association (APA) has been steadfast in its position that psychologists must have the right to participate in interrogations in U.S.-run illegal detention centers. One wonders why the APA is so resolute in this view especially in light of the opposition to involvement in these sites by all other relevant professional organizations. This paper offers an answer to this question by means of an exploration of the historical bond between American psychology and the military. It is demonstrated that the dramatic growth of psychology after World War II is attributable to resources supplied by the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency. It is argued that the historical and current dependency of psychology on the military for research funds as well as clinical training and treatment has resulted in a historical and current debt on the part of psychology to both of these organizations. This debt is repaid by an unquestioned endorsement of military policy, no matter how questionable its ethical or legal basis might be.     

Perfectionistic self-presentation in children and adolescents: development and validation of the Perfectionistic Self-Presentation Scale--Junior Form

Research on adults indicates that perfectionistic self-presentation, the interpersonal expression of one's perfection, is associated with a variety of psychopathological outcomes independent of trait perfectionism and Big Five traits. The current article reports on the development and evidence for the validity of the subtest score interpretations of an 18-item self-report measure of perfectionistic self-presentation for children and adolescents. Analyses conducted on data from two clinical samples and one nonclinical sample of children and adolescents found that the Perfectionistic Self-Presentation Scale--Junior Form (PSPS-Jr) reflected a multidimensional model of perfectionistic self-presentation with three subscales: Perfectionistic Self Promotion, Nondisplay of Imperfection, and Nondisclosure of Imperfection. The subscale scores were found to demonstrate internal consistency, and there was good evidence supporting the validity of the interpretation of subscale scores based on this new measure. The subscales were associated with maladaptive outcomes, but were not influenced unduly by biases that included social desirability and differential item functioning by gender. Overall, the PSPS-Jr appears to be a useful measure of the expression of perfection among youths and an important tool in attempting to understand the nature and the consequences of perfectionistic self-presentation in children and adolescents.     

Infinite barbarians

This paper discusses an infinite regress that looms behind a certain kind of historical explanation. The movement of one barbarian group is often explained by the movement of others, but those movements in turn call for an explanation. While their explanation can again be the movement of yet another group of barbarians, if this sort of explanation does not stop somewhere we are left with an infinite regress of barbarians. While that regress would be vicious, it cannot be accommodated by several general views about what viciousness in infinite regresses amounts to. This example is additional evidence that we should prefer a pluralist approach to infinite regresses.