A Model of Consciousness

Using a combination of reviewing the extensive relevant literature, the author's original scientific research, and exploring the boundaries of human experiences, this article develops a model for consciousness. As a consequence, consciousness is elevated in the scientific understanding of the structure of the Universe, possibly enabling easier interpretation of such concepts as the anthropic principle and quantum physics. The handling of information is a key, leading to a review of the Information Field theory, together with a preliminary attempt at striking the appropriate balance between mind and matter.     

High-resolution characterization of the precipitation behavior of an Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy

The metastable particles in an Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy have been examined at atomic-resolution using high-angle annular dark field (HAADF) imaging. In under-aged conditions, thin η′ plates were formed with a thickness of seven atomic planes parallel to the {111}_Al planes. The five inner planes of the η′ phase appear to be alternatively enriched in Mg and Zn, with two outer planes forming distinct Zn-rich interfacial planes. Similar Zn-rich interfacial enrichment has also been identified for the η phase, which is a minimum 11-plane thick structure. In rare instances, particles less than seven planes were found indicating a very early preference for seven-layer particle formation. Throughout the aging, the plate thickness appears constant, while the plate radius increases and no particles between 7 and 11 planes were observed. Based on the HAADF contrast, our observations do not support the η′ models previously set forth by other authors. Clear structural similarities between η′ and η were observed, suggesting that drawing distinctions between η′ and η phases may not be necessary or useful.     

Hemispheric Differences in the Processing of Words Learned Early Versus Later in Childhood

The research investigated whether there are hemispheric differences in processing for words acquired early in childhood (early AoA) and words acquired later in childhood (late AoA). We hypothesized that because of recent evidence suggesting that there is a right hemisphere dominance in early childhood, early AoA words would be represented in the right hemisphere, and late AoA words would be represented in the left hemisphere. This hypothesis differs from an early view that late AoA words would be represented in the left hemisphere, and early AoA words would be represented in both hemispheres (Gazzaniga, 1974). We report two experiments using the divided visual field (DVF) technique. The results showed that there was a right visual field (RVF)/left hemisphere (LH) advantage only for late AoA words. For early AoA words, there was a left visual field (LVF)/right hemisphere advantage (RH). Implications for theories of hemispheric differences in word processing are discussed.     

Sexual identity and choice of sexual object: From bisexuality to implicate order

Abstract

Stensson J. Sexual Identity and Choice of Sexual Object: From Bisexuality to Implicate Order. Int Forum Psychoanal 1992; 1:93-97. Stockholm. ISSN 0803-706 X

Freud's concept of bisexuality leads to contradictory consequences. Seeing choice of sexual object in the light of unconscious primal phantasies as coding systems, unfolds new possibilities. Taking the primal scene phantasy as a preconceptual code for mature sexuality, I make a limited and preliminary attempt to outline some possible outcomes of interactions between primal scene and oral phantasies, taking help from the theoretical physicist David Bohm's ideas on implicate order.     

Hemispheric specialization for emotional word processing is a function of SSRI responsiveness

Vulnerability to depression and non-response to Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are associated with specific neurophysiological characteristics including greater right hemisphere (RH) relative to left hemisphere (LH) activity. The present study investigated the relationship between hemispheric specialization and processing of emotional words using a divided visual field paradigm administered to never-depressed and previously-depressed individuals, who were subdivided into SSRI responders and non-responders. SSRI responders and never-depressed participants were similar in their left hemispheric lateralization for evaluating emotional words. In contrast, SSRI non-responders showed a relative shift towards RH processing of negative words, and a strong bias toward negative evaluation of words presented to the RH. The results are discussed within the context of a biological-cognitive model of vulnerability to depression.     

ON THE ROAD WITH RELIGION‐AND‐SCIENCE AND THE ROMANCE OF THE PAST

This essay responds to the question “Where Are We Going?Zygon and the Future of Religion‐and‐Science” and was first presented on 9 May 2009 at a symposium honoring Philip Hefner's editorship of Zygon. It offers four suggestions for the future of religion‐and‐science: Ask big questions; encourage cultural literacy in the public sphere; bring a critical voice to other academic disciplines; and include the history of philosophy.     

The Functional Complexity of Scientific Evidence

This article sketches the main features of traditional philosophical models of evidence, indicating idealizations in such models that it regards as doing more harm than good. It then proceeds to elaborate on an alternative model of evidence that is functionalist, complex, dynamic, and contextual, a view the author calls dynamic evidential functionalism (DEF). This alternative builds on insights from philosophy of scientific practice, Kuhnian philosophy of science, pragmatist epistemology, philosophy of experimentation, and functionalist philosophy of mind. Along the way, the article raises concerns about the total evidence condition, requirements of certainty or incorrigibility on evidence, and accounts that restrict the type of things that can serve as evidence (to, for example, sense data, facts about particulars). DEF can also help us see the special value of novel predictions and experiments as evidence, as well as help us think about how to critically evaluate the putative evidence to determine whether it is evidence.     

Religion,Race, and Discrimination: A Field Experiment of How American Churches Welcome Newcomers

This article reports the results of a nationwide audit study testing how Christian churches welcome potential newcomers to their churches as a function of newcomers’ race and ethnicity. We sent email inquiries to 3,120 churches across the United States. The emails were ostensibly from someone moving to the area and looking for a new church to attend. That person's name was randomly varied to convey different racial and ethnic associations. In response to these inquiries, representatives from mainline Protestant churches—who generally embrace liberal, egalitarian attitudes toward race relations—actually demonstrated the most discriminatory behavior. They responded most frequently to emails with white‐sounding names, somewhat less frequently to black‐ or Hispanic‐sounding names, and much less to Asian‐sounding names. They also sent shorter, less welcoming responses to nonwhite names. In contrast, evangelical Protestant and Catholic churches showed little variation across treatment groups in their responses. These findings underscore the role of homophily, organizational homogeneity, and the costs of racial integration in perpetuating the racial segregation of American religious life.     

THE ANTEROOM: A CAMERA OBSCURA FOR GRASPING ASPECTS INVISIBLE IN THE CLASSICAL SETTING

The anteroom ¹ , ² is not only an architectural space, but also a location in the field where analyst and patient meet in a different frame of mind from the therapeutic attitude that characterizes their relationship in the consulting room. Drawing a parallel with the variations in perception generated by the camera obscura in the experience of a painter, the author investigates how new aspects of the conscious and unconscious relationship between analyst and patient can emerge within a different setting. Observation of these variations suggests the possibility of regarding the setting no longer as an invariant of the field, but instead as one of the factors that can actively mold the analytic relationship.