Consciousness, Ethics and Dostoevsky's
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Brain, Psyche, and Self: a Dialectic Between Analytical Psychology and Neuroscience
BRAIN, PSYCHE, AND SELF: A DIALECTIC BETWEEN ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE A dissertation submitted by KESSTAN C. BLANDIN to PACIFICA GRADUATE INSTITUTE in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in DEPTH PSYCHOLOGY This dissertation has been accepted for the faculty of Pacifica Graduate Institute by: •ennis P. Slattery, Chair Jennifer L.~Selig, Reader (/tyjz Susan E. Mehrtens, PhD External Reader UMI Number: 3519792 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. DiygrMution UMI 3519792 Published by ProQuest LLC 2012. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ii JANUARY 25, 2011 Copyright by KESSTAN C. BLANDIN 2011 iii ABSTRACT Brain, Psyche, and Self: A Dialectic Between Analytical Psychology and Neuroscience by Kesstan Blandin Although much of C. G. Jung's work is not compatible with neuroscientific methods or perspectives, his ideas on the structure of the psyche and self overlap with attempts to understand the phenomenon of a self in consciousness through mapping correlates with brain functions and processes. They are therefore appropriate to engage in dialogue with neuroscience. Through these dialogues we can further understand the construction of the self and identity in light of current findings in neuroscience and the theories of C. -
Leadership, Followership, and Evolution Some Lessons from the Past
Leadership, Followership, and Evolution Some Lessons From the Past Mark Van Vugt University of Kent Robert Hogan Hogan Assessment Systems Robert B. Kaiser Kaplan DeVries Inc. This article analyzes the topic of leadership from an evo- Second, the literature focuses on leaders and tends to lutionary perspective and proposes three conclusions that ignore the essential role of followers (Hollander, 1992; are not part of mainstream theory. First, leading and Yukl, 2006). Third, research largely concentrates on prox- following are strategies that evolved for solving social imate issues of leadership (e.g., What makes one person a coordination problems in ancestral environments, includ- better leader than others?) and rarely considers its ultimate ing in particular the problems of group movement, intra- functions (e.g., How did leadership promote survival and group peacekeeping, and intergroup competition. Second, reproductive success among our ancestors?) (R. Hogan & the relationship between leaders and followers is inher- Kaiser, 2005). Finally, there has been little cross-fertiliza- ently ambivalent because of the potential for exploitation of tion between psychology and disciplines such as anthro- followers by leaders. Third, modern organizational struc- pology, economics, neuroscience, biology, and zoology, tures are sometimes inconsistent with aspects of our which also contain important insights about leadership evolved leadership psychology, which might explain the (Bennis, 2007; Van Vugt, 2006). alienation and frustration of many citizens and employees. This article offers a view of leadership inspired by The authors draw several implications of this evolutionary evolutionary theory, which modern scholars increasingly analysis for leadership theory, research, and practice. see as essential for understanding social life (Buss, 2005; Lawrence & Nohria, 2002; McAdams & Pals, 2006; Nettle, Keywords: evolution, leadership, followership, game the- 2006; Schaller, Simpson, & Kenrick, 2006). -
Beowulf and Competitive Altruism,” P
January 2013 Volume 9, Issue 1 ASEBL Journal Association for the Study of Editor (Ethical Behavior)•(Evolutionary Biology) in Literature St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. Gregory F. Tague, Ph.D. ~ Editorial Board ~▪▪~ Kristy Biolsi, Ph.D. THIS ISSUE FEATURES Kevin Brown, Ph.D. Wendy Galgan, Ph.D. † Eric Luttrell, “Modest Heroism: Beowulf and Competitive Altruism,” p. 2 Cheryl L. Jaworski, M.A. † Dena R. Marks, “Secretary of Disorientation: Writing the Circularity of Belief in Elizabeth Costello,” p.11 Anja Müller-Wood, Ph.D. Kathleen A. Nolan, Ph.D. † Margaret Bertucci Hamper, “’The poor little working girl’: The New Woman, Chloral, and Motherhood in The House of Mirth,” p. 19 Riza Öztürk, Ph.D. † Kristin Mathis, “Moral Courage in The Runaway Jury,” p. 22 Eric Platt, Ph.D. † William Bamberger, “A Labyrinthine Modesty: On Raymond Roussel Michelle Scalise Sugiyama, and Chiasmus,” p. 24 Ph.D. ~▪~ Editorial Interns † St. Francis College Moral Sense Colloquium: - Program Notes, p. 27 Tyler Perkins - Kristy L. Biolsi, “What Does it Mean to be a Moral Animal?”, p. 29 - Sophie Berman, “Science sans conscience n’est que ruine de l’âme,” p.36 ~▪~ Kimberly Resnick † Book Reviews: - Lisa Zunshine, editor, Introduction to Cognitive Cultural Studies. Gregory F. Tague, p. 40 - Edward O. Wilson, The Social Conquest of Earth. Wendy Galgan, p. 42 ~▪~ ~ Contributor Notes, p. 45 Announcements, p. 45 ASEBL Journal Copyright©2013 E-ISSN: 1944-401X *~* [email protected] www.asebl.blogspot.com ASEBL Journal – Volume 9 Issue 1, January 2013 Modest Heroism: Beowulf and Competitive Altruism Eric Luttrell Christian Virtues or Human Virtues? Over the past decade, adaptations of Beowulf in popular media have portrayed the eponymous hero as a dim-witted and egotistical hot-head. -
Do Parents Matter? Judith Rich Harris and Child Development by Malcolm Gladwell
August 17, 1998 The New Yorker ANNALS OF BEHAVIOR Do Parents Matter? Judith Rich Harris and child development by Malcolm Gladwell 1. The idea that will make Judith Rich Harris famous came to her, unbidden, on the afternoon of January 20, 1994. At the time, Harris was a textbook writer, with no doctorate or academic affiliation, working from her home in suburban New Jersey. Because of a lupus-like illness, she doesn’t have the strength to leave the house, and she’d spent that morning in bed. By early afternoon, though, she was at her desk, glancing through a paper by a prominent psychologist about juvenile delinquency, and for some reason a couple of unremarkable sentences struck her as odd: “Delinquency must be a social behavior that allows access to some desirable resource. I suggest that the resource is mature status, with its consequent power and privilege.” It is an observation consistent with our ideas about what it means to grow up. Teen-agers rebel against being teen-agers, against the restrictions imposed on them by adults. They smoke because only adults are supposed to smoke. They steal cars because they are too young to have cars. But Harris was suddenly convinced that the paper had it backward. “Adolescents aren’t trying to be like adults--they are trying to contrast themselves with adults,” she explains. “And it was as if a light had gone on in the sky. It was one of the most exciting things that have ever happened to me. In a minute or two, I had the germ of the theory, and in ten minutes I had enough of it to see that it was important.” If adolescents didn’t want to be like adults, it was because they wanted to be like other adolescents. -
1 December 19, 2019 the Psychology of Online Political Hostility
The Psychology of Online Political Hostility: A Comprehensive, Cross-National Test of the Mismatch Hypothesis Alexander Bor* & Michael Bang Petersen Department of Political Science Aarhus University August 30, 2021 Please cite the final version of this paper published in the American Political Science Review at https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055421000885. Abstract Why are online discussions about politics more hostile than offline discussions? A popular answer argues that human psychology is tailored for face-to-face interaction and people’s behavior therefore changes for the worse in impersonal online discussions. We provide a theoretical formalization and empirical test of this explanation: the mismatch hypothesis. We argue that mismatches between human psychology and novel features of online environments could (a) change people’s behavior, (b) create adverse selection effects and (c) bias people’s perceptions. Across eight studies, leveraging cross-national surveys and behavioral experiments (total N=8,434), we test the mismatch hypothesis but only find evidence for limited selection effects. Instead, hostile political discussions are the result of status-driven individuals who are drawn to politics and are equally hostile both online and offline. Finally, we offer initial evidence that online discussions feel more hostile, in part, because the behavior of such individuals is more visible than offline. Acknowledgements This research has benefitted from discussions with Vin Arceneaux, Matt Levendusky, Mark Van Vugt, John Tooby, and members of the Research on Online Political Hostility (ROHP) group, among many others. We are grateful for constructive comments to workshop attendees at the Political Behavior Section of Aarhus University, at the NYU-SMAPP Lab, at the NYU Social Justice Lab, at the Hertie School, and to conference audiences at APSA 2019, HBES 2019, and ROPH 2020. -
Evolution of Leadership
Running Head: EVOLUTION OF LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP, FOLLOWERSHIP, AND EVOLUTION Some Lessons from the Past Mark Van Vugt Robert Hogan University of Kent Hogan Assessment Systems Robert B. Kaiser Kaplan DeVries Inc. Abstract This paper analyzes the topic of leadership from an evolutionary perspective and proposes three conclusions that are not part of mainstream theory. First, leading and following are strategies that evolved for solving social coordination problems in ancestral environments, including in particular the problems of group movement, intragroup peace-keeping, and intergroup competition. Second, the relationship between leaders and followers is inherently ambivalent due to the potential for exploitation by leaders. Third, modern organizational structures are sometimes inconsistent with aspects of our evolved leadership psychology, which might explain the alienation and frustration of many citizens and employees. The authors draw several implications of this evolutionary analysis for leadership theory, research, and practice. Key Words: EVOLUTION, LEADERSHIP, FOLLOWERSHIP, GAME THEORY, MISMATCH HYPOTHESIS Manuscript # 2006-0958RR in press at American Psychologist Please do not cite or circulate without permission from the authors 11 December, 2007 Author notes Mark Van Vugt is professor of social psychology at the University of Kent; Robert Hogan is the President of Hogan Assessment Systems; Rob Kaiser is the Director of Research & Development and a Partner with Kaplan DeVries Inc. The authors contributed equally to this paper. We are indebted to Rob Kurzban for his intellectual input and to Robin Dunbar, Dominic Johnson, Muhammad Ghufran Ahmad, and Peter Richerson for their comments on previous drafts. We also acknowledge constructive criticism from William C. Howell and three anonymous reviewers. -
Barnes Et Al
DEMONSTRATING THE VALIDITY OF TWIN RESEARCH IN CRIMINOLOGY∗ J. C. BARNES,1 JOHN PAUL WRIGHT,1,6 BRIAN B. BOUTWELL,2 JOSEPH A. SCHWARTZ,3 ERIC J. CONNOLLY,4 JOSEPH L. NEDELEC,1 and KEVIN M. BEAVER5,6 1School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati 2School of Social Work, Saint Louis University 3School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Nebraska at Omaha 4Criminal Justice Department, Pennsylvania State University, Abington 5College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University 6Center for Social and Humanities Research, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia KEYWORDS: assumptions, behavior genetics, biosocial, empirical, quantitative, twins In a recent article published in Criminology, Burt and Simons (2014) claimed that the statistical violations of the classical twin design render heritability studies useless. Claiming quantitative genetics is “fatally flawed” and describing the results generated from these models as “preposterous,” Burt and Simons took the unprecedented step to call for abandoning heritability studies and their constituent findings. We show that their call for an “end to heritability studies” was premature, misleading, and entirely without merit. Specifically, we trace the history of behavioral genetics and show that 1) the Burt and Simons critique dates back 40 years and has been subject to a broad array of empirical investigations, 2) the violation of assumptions in twin models does not in- validate their results, and 3) Burt and Simons created a distorted and highly misleading portrait of behavioral genetics and those who use quantitative genetic approaches. “The flaws of twin studies are not fatal, but rather seem no worse (and may be better) than the flaws of the typical causal study that relies on observational data.” (Felson, 2012: ii) Behavioral genetic research has existed for more than 100 years (Maxson, 2007). -
The Mirror-Neuron Paradox: How Far Is Sympathy from Compassion, Indulgence, and Adulation?
Munich Personal RePEc Archive The Mirror-Neuron Paradox: How Far is Sympathy from Compassion, Indulgence, and Adulation? Khalil, Elias Monash University 11 June 2007 Online at https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/3599/ MPRA Paper No. 3599, posted 17 Jun 2007 UTC The Mirror-Neuron Paradox: How Far is Sympathy from Compassion, Indulgence, and Adulation? Elias L. Khalil1 ABSTRACT The mirror-neuron system (MNS) becomes instigated when the spectator empathizes with the principal’s intention. MNS also involves imitation, where empathy is irrelevant. While the former may attenuate the principal’s emotion, the latter paradoxically reinforces it. This paper proposes a solution of the contradictory attenuation/reinforcement functions of fellow-feeling by distinguishing two axes: “rationality axis” concerns whether the action is efficient or suboptimal; “intentionality axis” concerns whether the intention is “wellbeing” or “evil.” The solution shows how group solidarity differs from altruism and fairness; how revulsion differs from squeamishness; how malevolence differs from selfishness; and how racial hatred differs from racial segregation. Keywords: Adam Smith; David Hume; Fellow-Feeling; Desire; Paris Hilton; Crankcase Oil Problem; Comprehension; Understanding (empathy or theory of mind); Imitation; Status Inequality; Elitism; Authority; Pity: Obsequiousness; Racial Segregation; Racial Hatred; Rationality Axis; Intentionality Axis; Propriety; Impropriety; Revulsion; Social Preferences; Altruism; Assabiya (group solidarity); Fairness; Schadenfreude (envy/spite/malevolence/evil); Vengeance JEL Code: D01; D64 1 [email protected] Department of Economics, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia. The paper was supported by the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research (Altenberg, Austria). During my stay at the Konrad Lorenz Institute, I benefited greatly from the very generous comments and extensive conversations with Riccardo Draghi- Lorenz. -
Nudging Evolutionary Mismatched Behaviors
Evolutionary Mismatch 1 Nudging Evolutionary Mismatched Behaviors: Implications for Social Psychology and Public Policy Mark van Vugt Lianne P. De Vries Norman P. Li To appear in: J.P. Forgas, K. Fiedler, & W.D. Crano, Sydney Symposium of Social Psychology Draft: 26 April 2019 Word count: approximately 5000 (excl. references) Correspondence address: Mark van Vugt, Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, [email protected] Evolutionary Mismatch 2 Introduction Aliens visiting planet Earth would find Homo Sapiens a remarkable species. They would discover astonishing examples of human intelligence and ingenuity such as airplanes, skyscrapers, electricity, and the internet. At the same time, they would also witness our miserable failure in preventing poverty, violence, disease, and ecological disasters. Humans are both highly intelligent and highly stupid, the alien anthropologists would probably conclude. It is true, we humans are very good at some things but very bad at others. People are able to recognize the faces of persons they met many years ago, but they easily misremember the telephone numbers of their best friends. People are very patient in accumulating knowledge and training skills through a long period of intense education, but they are not patient enough to save money for their pension or resist the temptation of a Big Mac. And, although most people would be reluctant to steal from shopkeepers, these same individuals have no moral reservations to illegally download music and movies from the net. Why is it that humans are very good at some things but very bad at others? Why is it that we can learn some things much quicker and easier than others? What does this tell us about human psychology, and what can we learn from this for public policy? Here we argue that the human mind, with all its strengths and weaknesses, follows a logical, predictable pattern. -
CHILDREN DON't DO THINGS HALF WAY a Conversation with Judith Rich Harris [June 1999]
Summer Reading from the Archive CHILDREN DON'T DO THINGS HALF WAY A Conversation with Judith Rich Harris [June 1999] I'm prone to making statements like this one: how the parents rear the child has no long-term effects on the child's personality, intelligence, or mental health. I guess you could call that an extreme statement. But I prefer to think of myself as a defender of the null hypothesis. Introduction It was in the 1990s that I received a phone call from Steven Pinker who wanted to make the world aware of the work of Judith Rich Harris, an unheralded psychologist who was advocating a revolutionary idea which she discussed in her 1999 Edge interview, "Children don't do things half way: children don’t compromise," in which she said, "how the parents rear the child has no long-term effects on the child's personality, intelligence, or mental health." 1 From the very early days of Edge, Harris was the gift that kept giving. Beginning in 1998, with her response to "What Questions Are You Asking Yourself?" through "The Last Question" in 2016, she exemplified the role of the Third Culture intellectual: "those scientists and other thinkers in the empirical world who, through their work and expository writing, are taking the place of the traditional intellectual in rendering visible the deeper meanings of our lives, redefining who and what we are." Her subsequent Edge essays over the years focused on subjects as varied as natural selection, parenting styles, the effect of genes on human behavior, twin studies, the survival of friendship, beauty as truth, among others are evidence of a keen intellect and a fearless thinker determined to advance science-based thinking as well as her own controversial ideas. -
Harnessing Stone Age Psychological Biases to Foster Environmental Behavior
Naturally Green: Harnessing Stone Age Psychological Biases to Foster Environmental Behavior Mark van Vugt VU University and University of Oxford ∗ Vladas Griskevicius University of Minnesota P. Wesley Schultz California State University It is widely agreed that humans must reduce their environmental impact. We propose that an improved understanding of our evolved human nature can help to improve programs and policies to address environmental problems. Combining evolutionary and social psychological approaches, we argue that environmental problems are often caused or exacerbated by five evolutionarily adaptive psychological biases: Humans (1) value personal over collective outcomes (self-interest), (2) prefer immediate over delayed rewards (shortsightedness), (3) value relative over absolute status (status), (4) copy the behaviors of others (social imitation), and (5) ignore problems that we cannot see or feel (sensing). By considering how and why these five “Stone Age” biases continue to influence modern environmental practices, although acknowledging the role of individual and cultural differences, we present novel ways that human nature can be harnessed to develop intervention strategies to lessen resource depletion, restrain wasteful consumption, curb overpopulation, and foster green choices. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mark van Vugt, Professor of Psychology, Department of Social and Organizational∗ Psychology, VU University, van der Boe- chorsstraat 1, Room 1B-57, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Tel: +31205985323(8700); [e-mail: [email protected]]. Personal website (www.professormarkvanvugt.com) This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Van Vugt, M., Griskevicius, V., & Schultz, P. W. (2014). Naturally green: Harnessing “stone age” biases to foster environmental conservation behavior. Social Issues and Policy Review, 8, 1- 32. -
Do Parents Make a Difference in Children's Character Development?
DO PARENTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN CHILDREN’S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT? WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS Tom Lickona Center for the 4th and 5th Rs SUNY Cortland Fourth Annual Fall Character Education Seminar November 20, 1998 In its August 24, 1998 issue, Newsweek magazine devoted its cover story to a controversial new book, The Nurture Assumption: Why Children Turn Out the Way They Do by Judith Rich Harris. Ms. Harris does not claim to be a psychologist or expert in child development; she is a textbook writer. Nevertheless, she puts forth a startling thesis: Parents do not have much effect on how kids turn out. How kids turn out, Harris says, is mostly the result of genes and peers. Of course, we all know that heredity and peers play a part in kids' development. But is it true, as Harris says, that parents have little influence? If it's true that parents have little influence on their children, that's very bad news for schools, for schools would logically have even less influence. I'd like to argue that Harris is wrong and common sense is right: Parents do matter. Studies of childrearing reveal many things effective parents do that make a major impact on their children and especially on their character development. We should know this body of evidence for at least two reasons. First, so we can counter Harris's claim and communicate to parents what the research really shows, thereby bolstering their confidence that they do make a difference. A second reason is that good schools are like good families.