‘Now I can go on:’ Wittgenstein and our embodied embeddedness in the ‘Hurly-Burly’ of life

Wittgenstein is not primarily concerned with anything mysterious going on inside people's heads, but with us simply going on with each other; that is, with us being able to inter-relate our everyday, bodily activities in unproblematic ways in with those of others, in practice. Learning to communicate with clear and unequivocal meanings; to send messages; to fully understand each other; to be able to reach out, so to speak, from within language-game entwined forms of life, and to talk in theoretical terms of the contacts one has made., as an individual, with what is out there; and so on — all these abilities are, or can be, later developments. Wittgenstein's investigations into our pre-individual, pre-theoretical, embodied, compulsive activities are utterly revolutionary. They open up a vast new realm for empirical study to do with the detailed and subtle nature of the bodily activities in the background to everything that we do. The relational character of such pre-theoretical, Ur-linguistic, spontaneous bodily activities—and the way in which they display us as seeing connections from within a synopsis of trivialities — is explored through the paradigm of currently fashionable 3–13 random dot autostereograms.     

‘Am I a Ceadas child?’: exploring the nature and experience of shame in the psychotherapy of an adolescent boy

Although shame is a central affect running through all phases of psychosexual and social development, it is usually masked by guilt and therefore it is not readily recognised, explored, and understood within the therapeutic situation. Moreover, there is a tendency to treat all shame manifestations as if they operate at the same level. The author proposes the need to distinguish between two qualitatively discrete manifestations of shame states which, albeit intertwined, operate at different levels and require different understanding and technique: a primary, unconscious kind based on psychobiological survival and triggered by a condition of psychic and physical danger, and a secondary, social shame, mainly conscious, based heavily on vision and evoked in social situations. The natural, primary form of shame becomes pathological after catastrophic chronic exposure of the primitive ego to unthinkable anxieties. Such premature rupture of primary skin containment may result in omnipotence-based pathological organisations impeding or precluding acceptance of guilt and need for reparation. Pathological primary shame predisposes the individual to states of pathological secondary shame. When initial traumatic conditions are re-activated and re-experienced in therapy, they may trigger re-enactments and, possibly, a negative therapeutic reaction. Recognising variations and mixed states of primary and secondary shame states, especially when shame is compounded with guilt, can provide guidance in the assessment of the fragility of the ego, and therefore inform our technique and the therapeutic process. This theoretical position is discussed with the help of clinical material from a twice-weekly psychotherapy of a 16-year-old boy imbued with shame compounded with guilt, related to transgenerational objectification and dehumanising experiences.     

The ‘I’ and the ‘Me’ in self-referential awareness: a neurocognitive hypothesis

The nature of the ‘self’ and self-referential awareness has been one of the most debated issues in philosophy, psychology and cognitive neuroscience. Understanding the neurocognitive bases of self-related representation and processing is also crucial to research on the neural correlates of consciousness. The distinction between an ‘I’, corresponding to a subjective sense of the self as a thinker and causal agent, and a ‘Me’, as the objective sense of the self with the unique and identifiable features constituting one’s self-image or self-concept, suggested by William James, has been re-elaborated by authors from different theoretical perspectives. In this article, empirical studies and theories about the ‘I’ and the ‘Me’ in cognition and self-related awareness are reviewed, including the relationships between self and perception, self and memory, the development of the self, self-referential stimulus processing, as well as related neuroimaging studies. Subsequently, the relations between self and different aspects of consciousness are considered. On the basis of the reviewed literature and with reference to Block’s distinction between phenomenal and access consciousness, a neurocognitive hypothesis is formulated about ‘I’-related and ‘Me’-related self-referential awareness. This hypothesis is extended to metacognitive awareness and a form of non-transitive consciousness, characteristic of meditation experiences and studies, with particular reference to the notion of mindfulness and other Buddhist constructs.     

‘Believe in me,and I will too’: a study of how teachers’ expectations instilled confidence in Grade 10 students

Social Psychology of Education - Teacher expectation research has continued to establish an association between what teachers expect of their students and what students accomplish academically....     

‘I quit’ versus ‘I’m sorry I used’: A preliminary investigation of variations in narrative ending and transportation

A narrative experience can partly depend on how a narrative ends or concludes. This study examined prevention effects of personal drug use narratives varying by type of ending and gender of protagonist. Additionally, the role of transportation in the persuasion process, particularly the association between transportation and cocaine use intentions, both directly and indirectly, through the mediation of anti-drug and pro-drug expectancies was assessed. A total of 500 undergraduate students at a large northern university in the UK participated in the experiment which was a 2?×?2?×?2 mixed design with ending (progressive vs. regressive) and gender of protagonist (male vs. female) as within-participants factors and participant gender (male vs. female) as between-participants factors. The results demonstrated significant main effects for ending, gender of protagonist in the narrative and participant gender, but no interaction effects. Finally, greater transportation was associated with stronger anti-cocaine expectancies, which were further associated with lower cocaine use intentions. Important theoretical and empirical implications are discussed.     

First-person thought and the use of ‘I’

The traditional account (TA) of first-person thought draws conclusions about this type of thinking from claims made about the first-person pronoun. In this paper I raise a worry for the traditional account. Certain uses of ‘I’ conflict with its conception of the linguistic data. I argue that once the data is analysed correctly, the traditional approach to first-person thought cannot be maintained.     

A functional analysis of personal autonomy: How restricting ‘what’, ‘when’ and ‘how’ affects experienced agency and goal motivation

Personal autonomy is central to people's experiences of agency and abilities to actively take part in society. To address the challenges of supporting autonomy, we propose a functional model of autonomy, according to which the experience of agency is a function of the opportunity to determine what to do, when to act and how to act in goal-pursuit. We tested the model in three experiments where the three goal-pursuit components could be constrained by another person or an artificial intelligence (AI) agent. Results showed that removing any of the three components from one's own decisions reduced experienced agency (Study 1a and 1b) and lowered motivation to pursue goals in organisational contexts (Study 2). In comparison to the strong and robust main effects, interactions between the components and the effects of the source of restriction (human vs. AI) were negligible. Implications for personal autonomy, algorithmic decision-making and behaviour change interventions are discussed.     

This White ‘I’: The Reciprocal Shame of Oppressor and Oppressed

Abstract

Vice’s answer to the question of this white ‘I’ who must try to live well in South Africa, configures shame, political silence and humble self-reconfiguration. I accept her insightful analysis of ‘whiteness’ in terms of the oppressor’s shame, but find that her specification of identity does not accommodate the multiplicity of privilege/oppression relations in which individuals participate. Since this implies that many South Africans, albeit unevenly, share the oppressor’s shame, her advice concerning ‘whites only’ political withdrawal seems inappropriate and curiously self-subversive. Focussing instead on her reflections concerning moral emotions in ethically-compromised selves, which should motivate self-reconfiguration, and drawing from Kristeva on ‘forgiveness’, I argue that compromised selves in privilege/oppression relations cannot reconfigure themselves independently, and should rather negotiate on-going forgiveness relationships. Further, since privileged and oppressed shoulder different but reciprocal ethical responsibilities, besides considering the privileged self who should appeal for forgiveness,¹ one must address a gap in Vice’s argument concerning the reciprocal shame of the oppressed.     

‘Between the woods and frozen lake’: a child psychotherapist’s experiences of developing a grant application for an RCT feasibility study

Drawing on the six stages identified by Henton and Midgley (2012) in the narratives of five child psychotherapists involved in the IMPACT study on their evolving attitudes towards participation in outcome research, this paper explores another child psychotherapist’s internal and external world experiences of writing a National Institute of Health Research grant application for a randomised controlled trial feasibility study. It makes use of the key associations that came to mind on first reading Henton and Midgley’s article, outlines the practical and emotional stages of developing the grant proposal and briefly considers some of the wider implications of this kind of work on a personal, organisational and professional level.     

‘I am of Popper’, ‘I am of Asante’: The Polemics of Scholarship in South Africa

Studies in Philosophy and Education - In this article, I examine the state of knowledge construction within the South African academe. This, I do by looking at how issues of epistemology and...     

‘Beyond forgetfulness’: How psychoanalytic ideas can help us to understand the experience of patients with dementia

We must cast ourselves forwards to a time when words must fail (Samuel Beckett, Happy days, 1961 Beckett, S. 1961. Happy days, London: Faber & Faber.  [Google Scholar]).

This paper approaches dementia and its care from a psychoanalytic perspective. It recognizes both the psychoanalytic literature on dementia and a biological understanding of neuro‐degenerative processes. Using neuro‐psychoanalysis to synthesize the two views, meeting points are found that may take the theoretical understanding of dementia processes a small step further, introducing the death instinct as one example. The mind and the brain are distinct entities which are also intimately related. A mind/brain model was proposed by Freud in his ‘project’ (1895). It pre‐dated his psychoanalytic work but was abandoned. None the less it runs as a rich vein throughout his work.

Although other causes exist there are two main types of dementia. Alzheimer's and vascular dementia have distinct differences and similarities in their respective clinical presentations. This paper explores the complex deterioration of brain and mind in both diseases and explains these in psychoanalytic terms. Developmental models of the mind are helpful, however dementia patients are adults, and are losing their minds in a non‐linear fashion. Dementia is not infant/child development in reverse order.

Three broad stages of dementia are proposed and psychoanalytic models of patient experience are suggested, as well as potentially offering ameliorating interventions. The first stage of dementia is dominated by anxiety and depression; also repression and denial and behavioural problems that may be akin to hysterical states. These seem to be amenable to analysis and psychoanalytically informed therapy. In the intermediate stages reality principle versus pleasure principle issues are patent, as are shame and humiliation (particularly around sexuality). Art and music therapies informed by psychoanalysis can be helpful as they depend less on words. In the final stages of extreme dependency, projective identification may be the most common method of communication. Understanding this phenomenon can assist sufferers and help carers to cope with unbearable states of mind. Some psychoanalytic ideas are already in use in some enlightened dementia services; there is room for more.     

‘I hope that I get old before I die’: ageing and the concept of disease

Ageing is often deemed bad for people and something that ought to be eliminated. An important aspect of this normative aspect of ageing is whether ageing, i.e., senescence, is a disease. In this essay, I defend a theory of disease that concludes that ageing is not a disease, based on an account of natural function. I also criticize other arguments that lead to the same conclusion. It is important to be clear about valid reasons in this debate, since the failure of bad analyses is exploited by proponents of the view that ageing is indeed a disease. Finally, I argue that there could be other reasons for attempting to eradicate senescence, which have to do with an evaluative assessment of ageing in relation to the good life. I touch on some reasons why ageing might be good for people and conclude that we cannot justify generalized statements in this regard.     

‘Everyone who wants to,can be a Körtti’: how young people negotiate the religious space of a revivalist movement

19th century Protestant revivalist movements have played an important role in Nordic societies at large. In this article, I explore young people’s socio-spatial construction of the Awakening movement, one of the largest traditional yet vibrant revivalist movements under the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. In doing so, I aim to reveal how youths define their collective religious identity in a time when non-institutional and private emphasis on religion prevails. In addition, vague membership, ritual-centred participation, and the significance of the annual gathering raise topical questions regarding belonging. I build my analysis on Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the production of social space. The research data consist of interviews with young people (aged 14–18) and the narratives the young people wrote themselves. These data are complemented with my observations from the movement’s summer gathering. The findings reveal the agency of the young people as ‘inhabitants’ (Lefebvre) of tradition-based religious space.     

Happiness,eudaimonia, and other holy grails: What can job loss teach us about ‘One-size-fits-all’ theories of well-being?

Abstract

Positive psychology has made significant advances in our understanding of well-being, yet agreement about the definition and nature of well-being remains elusive. This study explores the experience of well-being from a bottom-up, naturalistic point of view and compares these inductive notions with existing a priori theories. Using a qualitative-focused case study methodology, this paper explores how everyday people describe well-being in the context of job loss among a sample of 20 workers from the Ottawa, Canada technology sector. Findings support integrated conceptualizations of hedonia and eudaimonia while also potentially identifying new notions of well-being. Identified themes include (a) life evaluation, (b) transitory experiencing, (c) growth and grounding, (d) environmental mastery/stability, (e) mental ill-being/ill-health, and (f) motivational mindsets/conditions. This study shows well-being to be a rich, pluralistic construct which includes the non-dualistic notions of both subjectivity and objectivity as well as encompassing notions related to the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of well-being.     

‘And when you were a child?’: how therapists working with parents alongside individual child psychotherapy bring the past into their work

When a child is offered psychotherapy, it is common that regular meetings will be offered to the parents. However, there are debates in the literature about the degree to which such parent work should include a focus on the parents’ own childhood experiences. This study aimed to examine the way that those offering parent work as part of a study evaluating the treatment of adolescent depression dealt with this issue in their work with parents, both in the study and in routine clinical practice. Design: five therapists were interviewed on the subject of working with parents’ childhood experiences within parent work parallel to child psychotherapy. Data were analysed qualitatively, using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Findings: participants described the need to consider the different parameters of this work to individual adult therapy; in addition, participants felt that it was necessary to negotiate permission to work on the parents’ childhood experiences. They also spoke of making use of insight into the repetition of the parents’ history, the analysis of parental projections and offering containment within the relationship; this varies from the ‘transference work’ of individual therapy and a different style of interpretation was described. Conclusions: there is a need to give more attention to the neglected field of working with parents alongside individual child psychotherapy, especially at a time when such work is under threat within many public services. There are particular technical issues related to work with parents’ own childhood histories that are different to how one might work in individual therapy with a parent.     

‘I Interact Therefore I Am’: The Self as a Historical Product of Dialectical Attunement

Topoi - In this article, moving from being to becoming, we construe the ‘self’ as a dynamic process rather than as a static entity. To this end we draw on dialectics and Bayesian...     

The ‘Global Ethic’: Criticisms and the Possibilities of Post-secular Thinking*

This paper begins by considering the proposal of Hans Küng and others for a ‘global ethic’ (presented to the World Parliament of Religions in 1993). It briefly surveys some of the common critiques of the ethic before looking at the postmodern ethics of Zygmunt Bauman and recent philosophical and theological movements in Christian thinking that seek to move ‘beyond the secular’: e.g. Radical Orthodoxy. Following on from this, the paper considers the possible contribution of such ‘post-secular’ theological movements, particularly in terms of their ontologies of peace, beauty, and ‘participation’ in the divine. These narratives are contrasted with the ‘secular’ global ethic and the paper concludes by considering the possibility of a more fruitful trialogue between the Abrahamic religions on the basis of a post-secular discourse.