The dream of dreams

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between the therapist's use of the dream and the patient's use of the dream, both inside and outside the formal therapeutic setting.     

Culture,religion, ethnicity and the meaning of work: Jews and Muslims in the Israeli context

The work values of Arabs in general, and of Muslims in particular, have not yet been studied in Israel. This study examines the meaning of work (MOW) of 1201 Jews and 219 Muslims, who work in the Israeli labour market. The findings reveal significant differences in the MOW dimensions and demonstrate different perceptions and internalisation of work values between the two ethno-religious groups. While the Jews have a higher economic and intrinsic orientation and a higher need for interpersonal relations than the Muslims, the Muslims have higher work centrality. The findings attributed to cultural differences, ethnic conflict, occupational discrimination and high degree of segregation.     

Strengths of character,orientations to happiness,and life satisfaction

Why are certain character strengths more associated with life satisfaction than others? A sample of US adults (N?=?12,439) completed online surveys in English measuring character strengths, orientations to happiness (engagement, pleasure, and meaning), and life satisfaction, and a sample of Swiss adults (N?=?445) completed paper-and-pencil versions of the same surveys in German. In both samples, the character strengths most highly linked to life satisfaction included love, hope, curiosity, and zest. Gratitude was among the most robust predictors of life satisfaction in the US sample, whereas perseverance was among the most robust predictors in the Swiss sample. In both samples, the strengths of character most associated with life satisfaction were associated with orientations to pleasure, to engagement, and to meaning, implying that the most fulfilling character strengths are those that make possible a full life.     

Sign,Image and Language in The Book of Changes CYijing 易经）

It is challenging to estimate the degree to which the system of the Trigrams and Hexagrams in The Book of Changes （Yijing） had an impact on the whole history of Chinese thought. The universal paradigm from which it was derived formed the basis of a semiotic theory of evolution which, because of structural analogies, was applied to all fields and aspects of human life where decision making and action in correspondence with a cosmic principle was required. To achieve that goal, countless commentaries on and interpretations of the Yijing have been written. They can be divided into two schools. The first used the Yijing as a book for divination, in combination with manifestations of the universe and nature. The second interpreted it with a philosophical background, making it part of the tradition of Confucian thought. Modem scholars have also contributed some new approaches to the Yijing. My paper is based on the assumption that the Trigrams and Hexagrams of the Yijing cannot be understood in a purely representational way. They do not represent things apart from their relation to human needs or consciousness. Because of the co-determination of text and reader as a task without determinate end-points, it proves to be a unique case of effective-history. In the Yijing, there is no real line between culture and nature, sign/image/language and fact, the universe of semiosis and other universes. With its use of signs, images and language, the Yijing confirms that the universe of semiosis is the universe of heaven, earth and man. Against this background, my explanations will not only focus on the Trigrams and Hexagrams. My paper will also deal with the following topics： （1） interpenetration of linguistic meaning and objective reality and （2） the social nature of verbal or literary expression.     

Predictors of rapid versus thoughtful judgments of meaning in life

As with other measures of subjective well-being, self-reports of meaning in life (MIL) can be influenced by transient, contextual factors. Further, the sources of information used in judging MIL can vary depending on their relevance and cognitive accessibility. This study examined the effects of differing instructions on the sources of information used to judge MIL. Participants (N?=?103) completed measures of positive affect (PA), religious commitment, and the satisfaction of the needs for competency, autonomy, and relatedness and then were randomly assigned to complete a measure of MIL rapidly, thoughtfully, or using typical instructions. Results showed that condition moderated reliance on PA, autonomy and social relatedness need satisfaction: PA was a stronger predictor of MIL in the thoughtful condition while autonomy and relatedness were more strongly related to MIL in the rapid condition. Implications for our understanding of MIL and future directions are discussed.     

Effects of positive interventions and orientations to happiness on subjective well-being

This study examined the effects of positive interventions and orientations to happiness on well-being. Participants were 218 self-selected adults randomly assigned to one of four positive interventions (pleasure, engagement, meaning or a combination), or daily events or no intervention control groups. Participants completed the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form and Orientations to Happiness Questionnaire. Analysis of variance results supported the hypothesis that well-being would significantly increase for participants in all intervention groups with those in the meaning, engagement, pleasure and combination groups showing larger increases than those in the control groups. Contrary to expectations, the control group also showed an increase in well-being. The prediction that participants’ dominant orientation to happiness would influence the success of the positive interventions in increasing well-being was supported at post-intervention but not at follow-up. Findings support the effectiveness of positive interventions in increasing well-being and underscore the importance of including individual difference factors such as Orientations to Happiness.     

Family as a salient source of meaning in young adulthood

Five studies demonstrated the role of family relationships as an important source of perceived meaning in life. In Study 1 (n?=?50), 68% participants reported that their families were the single most significant contributor to personal meaning. Study 2 (n?=?231) participants ranked family above 12 likely sources of meaning. Studies 3 (n?=?87) and 4 (n?=?130) demonstrated that participants’ reports of their closeness to family (Study 3) and support from family (Study 4) predicted perceived meaning in life, even when controlling for several competing variables. Study 5 (n?=?261) ruled out social desirability as an alternative explanation to the proposed relationship between family and meaning. We conclude that for young adults, family relationships are a primary source of meaning in life and they contribute to their sense of meaning.     

The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe): Relations to demographics and well-being

Shortfalls of widely used measures of meaning in life are described. Their use results in biased correlations and restriction of the complexity inherent in experiences of meaning. To qualify results, the Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe) is employed. It offers separate scales to measure a positive and a negative dimension of meaning: meaningfulness–a fundamental sense of meaning and belonging, and crisis of meaning–the evaluation of life as frustratingly empty and lacking meaning. Both intercorrelate moderately (?.38/?.35). Additionally, the SoMe assesses 26 sources of meaning. Based on a representative sample, relationships between meaningfulness, crisis of meaning, and sources of meaning with demographics are reported (Study 1). In Study 2, SoMe scales are correlated with positive (mood, satisfaction with life) and negative (neuroticism, anxiety, depression) indicators of well-being. SEM reveals that meaningfulness predicts positive well-being, but is not predictive of negative well-being. Crisis of meaning is a strong predictor for both positive and negative well-being.     

Schizophrenic troubles of personal identity: A cognitive model

A cognitive approach to the psychiatric clinic raises the problem of conceptual articulation between the pathological phenomena observed in clinic and models derived from cognitive sciences.

The theoretical approach of H. von Foerster linking communication, language and personal identity in a common formalism seems to constitute a pertinent framework for such articulation.     

The overall pattern of the evolution of information in dissipative,material systems

I have argued for the reality of a second law of infodynamics. That is, that the information carrying capacity in a system, as viewed from within, must continue to increase as long as the system supports internal observation. I will be concerned here with matters of scale, as well as with system senescence (rigidity produced by the asymptotic approach to maximum information storage within a system). My major categories derive from a view of system development, and are: immaturity, maturity and senescence. As an immature system grows in size, It deploys information over ever smaller scales as it transforms from the vagueness of immaturity toward ever more definite embodiment. This eventually results in an information overload, gradually eroding system adaptability as it increasingly inhibits the variety of system responses by limiting its ability to further qualify stored information;