Art, Practical Knowledge and Aesthetic Objectivity

It seems often to have been assumed by art theorists and aestheticians that concepts of art and the aesthetic are related, if not actually identical. In recent times, however, David Best has criticized this widespread assumption in the interests of marking a quite radical distinction between artistic and aesthetic concerns. But this claim may be considered problematic in turn, not only in terms of its denial of the conventional conception of art as implicated in the production of aesthetic effects, but also because it obscures our understanding of the objectivity of aesthetic judgement – and hence, ultimately, of the rational basis of artistic appreciation and endeavour. In the light of some critical attention to Joseph Dunne's recent work on practical reason in Aristotle, the following paper argues that a suitably modified notion of phronesis may provide the key to understanding the relationship of aesthetic sensibility to artistic knowledge.     

Gender Differences in Memory Perspectives: Evidence for Self-Objectification in Women

This study tests Fredrickson and Roberts' (1997)assertion that cultural practices of sexuallyobjectifying women's bodies socialize women tointernalize an observer's perspective on their physicalselves. Autobiographical memories can contain imagesfrom two perspectives: the original, first personperspective (field images) and that of an outsideobserver (observer images) (Nigro and Neisser, 1983). We collected autobiographical memories for eventsin general and for specific, potentially objectifyingsituations from a predominantly European-American sampleof 138 female and 104 male students at a private university. Results demonstrated that femaleparticipants reported more observer imagery than maleparticipants both for memories in general and formemories of certain situations wherein women are likely to be sexually objectified. Women's and men'semotional responses to these situations were alsodifferent, with women reporting more negative affect,including shame and anxiety, and less positiveaffect.     

Dating Relationships and the Demand/Withdraw Pattern of Communication

This study examines whether afemale-demand/male-withdraw pattern occurs in datingrelationships and whether this response increases duringdiscussions of difficult topics. One hundred and eightindividuals (women = 60, men = 48) currently in a datingrelationship completed the Communication PatternsQuestionnaire, Short Form (CPQSF) regarding either adifficult or nondifficult discussion. The racialcomposition of the undergraduate student population at thetime the study was conducted was 68.8% Caucasian, 8.9%Hispanic, 8.9% International, 6.0% African American,5.6% Asian American, and 1.8% Native American (data on socioeconomic status were unavailable).Results show that dating couples do employ apredominantly female-demand/male-withdraw pattern, whichincreases in response to difficult discussions. However, this study also found that many dating couplesemployed male-demand/female-withdraw or equaldemand/withdraw patterns. Post hoc tests also showedthat couples exhibiting eitherfemale-demand/male-withdraw or male-demand/female-withdraw patterns weremore ingrained in specific negative behavior patterns,employed more demand/withdraw behaviors, and exhibitedless positive behaviors than couples with an equal demand/withdraw pattern.     

Encouraging counsellor reflection

The evolution of an 'attributes checklist' tool for assisting counsellor development is described. The attributes relate to characteristics of case-notes that indicate evidence of counsellor reflection and consideration of the counselling process. The checklist was initially tested among a sample of 19 counsellors employed by an organisational EAP and was subsequently refined. The final checklist tool was found to be both usable and useful in differentiating 'process' from 'content' notes. The purpose of the checklist tool is not to enable quantitative assessment of counsellor notes, but rather to facilitate counsellor development within a professional supervisory relationship. The findings of the study are discussed, and suggestions for future research in this area are made.     

Suicide and Attachment: Fear of Abandonment and Isolation from a Developmental Perspective

Suicide risk has been found to be associated with particular attachment styles. The purpose of this paper is to discuss suicide risk in terms of family dynamics, and the development of attachments with others. Theories of suicide and development, including those by Freud, Erikson, Bowlby, Richman, and Kaplan, and their clinical implications, are discussed. Literary works by Kafka and Plath are also discussed in the context of suicide and attachment. It is concluded that families characterized by excessive enmeshment and/or detachment often produce an atmosphere of isolation and intolerance which increases suicide risk.     

Should We Teach Patriotism?

This article examines a particular debate between Eamonn Callan and William Galston concerning the need for a civic education which counters the divisive pull of pluralism by uniting the citizenry in patriotic allegiance to a single national identity.The article offers a preliminary understanding of nationalism and patriotism before setting out the terms of the debate. It then critically evaluates the central idea of Callan that one might be under an obligation morally to improve one's own patriotic inheritance, pointing to the ineliminable tension between the valuation of one's own patria by its own terms and a detached critical reason.It concludes by suggesting that we are, in advance of our education, members of a particular patria and that any education must be particularistic. Finally, the danger is noted of presuming that, in each case, there is a single, determinate national tradition.     

Agency And Consciousness

In Intentionality and other works, John Searle establishes himself as a leading defender of the view that consciousness of what one is doing is always a component of one’s action. In this paper I focus on problems with Searle’s view to establish that there are actions in which the agent is not at all aware of what she is doing. I argue that any theory that misses this sort of action keeps us from important insights into autonomy, self-knowledge and responsibility. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Animalism versus Lockeanism: No Contest

In 'Animalism versus Lockeanism: a Current Controversy', The Philosophical Quarterly , 48 (1998), pp. 302–18, Harold Noonan examined the relation between animalist and neo-Lockean theories of personal identity. As well as presenting arguments intended to support a modest compatibilism of animalism and neo-Lockeanism, he advanced a new proposal about the relation between persons and human beings which was intended to evade the principal animalist objections to neo-Lockean theories. I argue both that the arguments for compatibilism are without force, and that Noonan's new neo-Lockean proposal is inadequate.
email : david.mackie@oriel.oxford.ac.uk