Fancy Justice: Martha Nussbaum on the Political Value of the Novel

Abstract: Martha Nussbaum's Poetic Justice undertakes a defense of the novel by showing it to develop the sympathetic imagination. Three parts of her argument come in for criticism, with implications for other such political defenses. Nussbaum sometimes interprets the imagination practically, sometimes theoretically; the two forms have different effects on deliberation. Nussbaum credits the novelistic tradition with fostering the imagination; her example of Hard Times interferes with establishing this general point. Nussbaum suggests an aesthetic element in literature that produces its effect, but does not succeed in identifying that element so as to preserve the consequences of art while avoiding reductionism.     

A Typology of Burnout in Professional Counselors

The authors used a cluster analysis procedure and the Counselor Burnout Inventory (S. M. Lee et al., 2007) to identify professional counselors' burnout types. Three clusters were identified: well‐adjusted, persevering, and disconnected counselors. The results also indicated that counselors' job satisfaction and self‐esteem were good discriminators between the 3 clusters. Implications for counselors are discussed.     

TOTALITARIANISM – THE INTERNAL WORLD AND THE POLITICAL MIND1

This paper explores how totalitarianism can develop and become a stable structure both as a state of mind and as a political system. Using Shakespeare's Macbeth as an example the author draws attention to the universal nature of the temptations that power brings with it and which can lead to totalitarian domination. Aspects of Macbeth's mental life are compared with dictators such as Hitler and Stalin. A clinical example is then given which further illustrates and explores the phenomenon of totalitarian ways of thinking as encountered in the consulting room showing how individuals can assert their power through the use of omnipotent destructiveness. This type of destructiveness is more effective when the patient is freed from guilt and the mental mechanisms of psychic retreats are used to maintain their totalitarian systems.     

Epistemic Pluralism

In this paper epistemic pluralism concerning knowledge is taken to be the claim that very different facts may constitute knowledge. The paper argues for pluralism by arguing that very different facts can constitute the knowledge-making links between beliefs and facts. If pluralism is right, we need not anxiously seek a unified account of the links between beliefs and facts that partly constitute knowledge in different cases of knowledge. The paper argues that no good reasons have been put forward in favour of believing in a unified maker of knowledge. It then appeals to the role of knowledge in order to argue that we have positive reason to embrace pluralism.