DOCSLIB.ORG

The Evolution of Creative Synthesis

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Evolution of Creative Synthesis University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1971 Responsitivity : the evolution of creative synthesis. Richard Eugene Andre University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Andre, Richard Eugene, "Responsitivity : the evolution of creative synthesis." (1971). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 2498. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/2498 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. : RESPONSITIVITY THE EVOLUTION OF CREATIVE SYNTHESIS A Dissertation Presented By Richard Eugene Andre Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION September, 1971 Major Subject - Administration RESPONSITIVITY: THE EVOLUTION OF CREATIVE SYNTHESIS A Dissertation By Richard Eugene Andre Approved as to style and content by: September, 1971 ii © Richard Eugene Andre, 1971 All rights Reserved iii PREFACE When a person (or a group of people) is simul- taneously responsive, sensitive, and creative he or she is being responsitive or acting responsitively. The process designed to enable people to manifest these qualities is called RESPONSITIVITY. The reader may experience difficulty in accepting the bases for this dissertation as well as some oper- ating assumptions that the author makes concerning the nature of the universe. A continued investigation of ways in which the intended universality of the concept of responsitivity can be clarified is a recognized and accepted responsibility of .the author. The process of responsitivity is one of continual exploration, and as such, is in a state of flux. The author will continue to investigate ways in which re- sponsitivity can be expanded and consolidated. Subject to continuous investigation and discernment are the premises forming the basis of the concept. The reader is therefore encouraged to peruse this presentation with a discerning eye. v Two appendices have been incorporated into this dissertation to aid those readers wishing to continue the advancement of the process of respon- sitivity. Appendix B is intended to provide a basis for future related research. Appendix B is a series of historical papers which lead to the initial con- ceptualization of responsitivity. vi : ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The conceptualization and development of responsitivity would not have been possible without the aid, support, encouragement and enthusiasm of many people. So many, in fact, that it is impossible to acknowledge all of them here. However, I would particularly like to thank the following persons for their cooperation and assistance Diane Andre, Lynne McCoy, Maxine Rossman, Mark Rossman, Ron Klein; my Committee members, Nathan Rutstein, David Flight, Horace Reed, and Roland Wiggins. I would also like to thank my friends in the Amherst Bahai Community and the REL group. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv PREFACE v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi Chapter I. RESPONSITIVITY : THE EVOLUTION OF CREATIVE SYNTHESIS 1 Purpose of the Dissertation 4 Conceptual and Developmental Basis of Responsitivity 5 Possible Concerns of the Reader . 7 Some Thoughts on Possible Limitations 9 Other Presentations of Responsitivity and Possible Future Developments 10 II. RESPONSITIVITY AND THE NATURE OF CHANGE 12 Change 12 The Process of Change..... 12 Leadership for Change 1^ Creative Followership 16 Group Process and Change 17 Change Through Responsitivity 19 The Individual 20 Strengths and Lesser Strengths 21 vii Chapter Page The Support Group 21 Human Resource Utilization 22 Attitudes and Operating Behavioral Principles 23 Service vs. Manipulation 24 Cooperation 25 Synergy 27 Ego Separation 28 Deferred Judgement 29 Positive Orientation 29 Threat to Opportunity Process 31 III. RES PONS ITT. VI TY AND THE PROGRESS OF PROBLEM SOLVING 33 Personal Attribute Listing. 34 Creative Problem Solving 37 Brainstorming 40 Check-Listing 43 Bionics 45 Other Creative Problem Solving Techniques.. 47 Functional Visualization 48 Morphological Synthesis, Strip Sorting, Programming Cards, and Juxtaposition ,49 Attribute Listing ,50 Synectics .51 Decision Making .52 Consultation .54 Description of the Elements of Consultation .55 viii Chapter Page Consultation and Creative Followership . .62 IV. RES PONS ITIVITY AND OUR CREATIVE HUMAN POTENTIAL 64 Values and Community 66 Valuing in the Support Group 68 Valuing in the Process Components of Responsitivity 71 Value Clarification . 76 Value Modification 80 Value Maturation and Value Actualization. .. 81 Our Creative Human Potential - The Process of Becoming 82 V. RESPONSITIVITY AMD ONENESS: THE RECOGNITION OF UNIVERSALITY THROUGH WORLD CONSCIOUSNESS .. 86 One World - Oneness... 90 The Nature of Man 92 Man as a Universal Being 95 VI. RESPONSITIVITY: APPLYING THE PROCESS TO SOCIETAL PROBLEMS 97 Part I - Responsitivity as a Model for Inservice and Preservice Teacher Education 97 Comprehensive Program Goals 101 Conceptual Framework 102 Program Process Components 103 Part II - Responsitivity as a Comprehensive Curriculum Guide for Universal Education 109 Universality Process Components HO ix Chapter Page Universal Education and Society ill Summary ;q^ Part III - Other Possible Societal Applications 116 APPENDICES Appendix A Appendix B - Related Resources Appropriate for Future Research 120 Appendix C - Exercises Appropriate for Stimulating Reflection and Developing Skills and Understanding in Various Aspects of Responsitivity 130 Appendix D - Historical Papers Leading to the Conceptualization and Development of Responsitivity .. 149 BIBLIOGRAPHY 171 x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Illustration Page 1. Spectrum Policy 30 2. Resultant Attitudes, Behaviors, Concepts and Processes 75 3. Resultant Values .....77 4. A Possible Juxtaposition of Values with Attitudes, Behaviors, Concepts and Processes 78 5. Universal System of Education. Ill 6. Illustration: Appendix A 119 7. The Fractured "T" Puzzle 141 8. Student/Teacher Interaction Outline 142 9 . Student/Teacher Wheel 143 10. Communication Mediums for Professionals 144 11. Responsitivity: A Process for Guiding Change - A research Proposal 157 12. Human/Organizational Interrelationships 164 13. Evaluation Questionnaire 170 xi : RESPONSITIVITY THE EVOLUTION OF CREATIVE SYNTHESIS CHAPTER I RESPONSITIVITY: THE EVOLUTION OP CREATIVE SYNTHESIS Almost any newspaper, magazine or current news report will assuredly convince anyone that all is not right with human beings and their world. This observation needs no documentation. We have, as a society proven our ability to inventory, identify and categorize man's problems, at least what they appear to be on the surface. Because there are no precedents for the condition or situation in which we now find ourselves, the solutions to the problems that con- front mankind are seemingly very slow in coming. The assumption made in the development of this dis- sertation is that the problems facing mankind can be reduced to the way in which man relates to his fellow man. It is to this relationship that the concept and process of respon- sitivity is directed. The title of this dissertation is, "Responsitivity: The Evolution of Creative Synthesis." An examination of this title should help to convey its intent and purpose more clearly. The word RESPONSITIVITY is intended to simultaneously convey three human qualities, attitudes or capacities which themselves provide the word's origin. These are graphically 2 depicted as they relate to the origin of the word respon- sitivity. RESPONSIVE RESPONSITIVITY SENSITIVE CREATIVITY Responsitivity is, therefore, a process which seeks to develop the capacity for people to simultaneously become responsive, sensitive and creative beings. The next word of significance is EVOLUTION. When something is in the process of evolution or evolving, it is open-ended, flexible to change and continually improving. In the world of nature, the evolution of its elements is always characteristically progressive. When something be- comes regressive or static it soon becomes useless or extinct. In order to insure its useability, responsitivity is inher- ently open-ended. It is itself a process and a concept that is "in the process of becoming." For something to be CREATIVE implies that it has its origins in certain processes that relate to words like spontaneity, expressiveness, imagination, ingenuity and inventiveness . "Creativeness not only relates to products but also to people in a characterological way, and to activ- ities, processes, and attitudes." (40: 129) There is defi- nitely a certain distinct and positive quality that is conveyed in the word "creative." The dissertation title ends with the word SYNTHESIS. A SYNTHESIS is a complex whole consisting of a combination of complementary elements that are brought together which . 3 were previously unassociated with one another in that par- ticular complementary way. Responsitivity, in effect, is a synthesis, for it brings together many components which have been previously unassociated with one another in this particular way that is, as a process a process of unfoldment No claim is made or suggested that the elements of responsitivity are
Load more

Recommended publications
  • JTE-2010-Netzer
    Journal of Transformative Education http://jtd.sagepub.com/ Inquiry into Creative and Innovative Processes: An Experiential, Whole-Person Approach to Teaching Creativity Dorit Netzer and Nancy Mangano Rowe Journal of Transformative Education 2010 8: 124 DOI: 10.1177/1541344611406905 The online version of this article can be found at: http://jtd.sagepub.com/content/8/2/124 Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com Additional services and information for Journal of Transformative Education can be found at: Email Alerts: http://jtd.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://jtd.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Citations: http://jtd.sagepub.com/content/8/2/124.refs.html Downloaded from jtd.sagepub.com at INST OF TRANSPERSONAL PSYCH on June 30, 2011 Journal of Transformative Education 8(2) 124-145 ª The Author(s) 2010 Inquiry into Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1541344611406905 Creative and http://jted.sagepub.com Innovative Processes: An Experiential, Whole-Person Approach to Teaching Creativity Dorit Netzer1 and Nancy Mangano Rowe1 Abstract This article highlights the transformative nature of an online master’s level course titled, Inquiry into Creative and Innovative Processes. The authors emphasize the importance of whole-person, imaginative, and intuitive experiences in adult stu- dents’ unique, scholarly development. They describe their process of adapting intuitive inquiry,atranspersonalresearchmethod,as a supportive structure for this online course on creativity. A creative and innovative approach to teaching in itself, the course facilitated a flexible learningcontainer,wherestudentswereguided toward integrating their academic learning and personal discovery in embodied and deeply conscious ways.
    [Show full text]
  • A Philosophical Investigation of Principlism and the Implications Raised by the Treatment of the Mentally Ill
    Aporia vol. 24 no. 1—2014 A Philosophical Investigation of Principlism and the Implications Raised by the Treatment of the Mentally Ill BENJAMIN FOSTER Introduction he objective of this investigation is to identify reasonable and relevant problems and issues posed for Principlism by the mentally T ill. Two concepts of Principlism will be presented: a normative con- ceptualization of the bioethical theory and a descriptive conceptualization. In reference to both, two philosophical questions will be asked: can we know the natures of other minds and, if so, how? These two questions have theoretical and practical implications for the treatment of the mentally ill. And, in so far as the questions have implications for the treatment of the mentally ill, they have implications for the bioethical theory of Principlism. There is a lack of concurrence on the meaning, nature, and function of mental phenomena, producing conceptual difficulties concerning the common morality that provides Principlism its normative authority. Similarly, a contradiction appears to arise when one considers the imaginative leap of predicting another’s desires, feelings, and thoughts, a maneuver that professionals participating in the treatment of the mentally ill must perform. There is also significant ambiguity surrounding the concept of mental illness, which produces pragmatic problems when professionals attempt to diagnose and treat an individual in conjunction Benjamin Foster graduated with a degree in philosophy and a minor in biology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. While there he served as president of the univer- sity’s philosophy club, The Socratic Society. His primary philosophical interests include ethics and epistemology. He currently plans to attend medical school.
    [Show full text]
  • Barriers to Creativity in Engineering Education: a Study of Instructors and Students Perceptions
    See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/245366675 Barriers to Creativity in Engineering Education: A Study of Instructors and Students Perceptions Article in Journal of Mechanical Design · July 2007 DOI: 10.1115/1.2739569 CITATIONS READS 158 2,294 2 authors, including: Kazem Kazerounian University of Connecticut 69 PUBLICATIONS 938 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Systematic Design and Analysis of Artificial Molecular Machines View project All content following this page was uploaded by Kazem Kazerounian on 21 September 2015. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Barriers to Creativity in Engineering Education: A Study of Instructors and Students Kazem Kazerounian Professor Fellow ASME Perceptions Stephany Foley This paper studies “creativity” in engineering education, by examining the perception of NSF Graduate Fellow instructors and students. We aim to identify factors that impede a creative environment (creativity blockers). The study entails a review of established research in the fields of Department of Mechanical Engineering, psychology and educational psychology to identify factors which create an educational University of Connecticut, environment conducive to creativity. These factors are formalized in the Ten Maxims of Storrs, CT 06269-3139 Creativity in Education, a set of criteria that constitute an educational environment conducive to fostering creativity in students. These maxims form the basis for our work in examining the contemporary engineering education. Extensive surveys are designed, cre- ated, distributed, and statistically quantified to study the perceptions of engineering edu- cators and students, in comparison to nonengineering educators and students.
    [Show full text]
  • Dance Into the Unknown. a Heuristic Inquiry
    Dance into the unknown. A heuristic inquiry. Jane Christophers A dissertation submitted to Auckland University of Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Psychotherapy Department of Psychotherapy Auckland University of Technology Supervisor: Dr Margot Solomon 2019 i Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... i List of Figures .................................................................................................................. iii Attestation of authorship .................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... v Abstract ............................................................................................................................ vi Chapter One: Introduction................................................................................................. 1 Dancing in the bush .................................................................................................................. 1 Salire – To leap ......................................................................................................................... 2 Dance and movement ................................................................................................................ 2 5Rhythms dance – Inviting spirit .............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Holism and Compositionality
    Holism and Compositionality Francis Jeffry Pelletier 1 Introduction A brief acquaintance with the web shows that the terms ‘holism’1 and ‘compositionality’ are used in many different fields, both academic and non-academic. And given any two academic fields, it is usually not obvious that the terms mean the same to the practitioners. Even just within philosophy and linguistics it seems that rather different conceptions are in play when we read any two different authors. We start, therefore, with a brief survey of some of the senses in which these terms are used. A little later we will make some more careful remarks about the notions. 1.1 Two Kinds of Compositionality A recent interdisciplinary conference revealed that there are (at least) two different things that are thought of when the issue of compositionality is considered. One concerns a (generalized) notion of “what is a complex item (of my theory) made of?” Here are a few places where this notion arose: Prototypes: Current prototype theory says that a prototype is a structure that has a number of attribute-value pairs. A question of interest in this area is: Given that prototype-1 has a structure [A: value-a; B: value-b; . ] and that prototype-2 has the structure [C: value-c; D: value-d . ], is the prototype of the “combined prototypes” (that is, the conceptual combination of the two proto- types) made up only from the material in the two component prototypes, that is, from the attribute-value pairs that are in one or the other of the prototypes? 1 ‘Whole’, and presumably also ’hole’, is derived from the Greek .
    [Show full text]
  • Creativity in the Metaphysics of Alfred North Whitehead
    CREATIVITY IN WIDTEHEAD'S l\1ETAPHYSICS CREATIVITY IN THE METAPHYSICS OF ALFRED NORTH WHITEHEAD By JEFFREY A. MCPHERSON, B.A.(Hons.) A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts © Copyright by Jeffrey A. McPherson, SEPTEMBER, 1996 MASTER OF ARTS (1996) McMaster University (Religious Studies) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: Creativity in the Metaphysics of Alfred North Whitehead. AUTHOR: Jeffrey A. McPherson, B.A.(Hons.) (York University) SUPERVISOR: Dr. J.C. Robertson, Jr. NUMBER OF PAGES: vi, 127 ii ABSTRACT This is a study of the role that creativity plays in the metaphysics of Alfred North Whitehead ( 1861-1947). As the title generally indicates, there are two parts to this project. The first part develops an understanding of Whitehead's metaphysics through the careful analysis of two key texts, namely Religion in the Making ( 1926), and Process and Reality (1929). The second part examines and carefully analyses the role that creativity plays within this metaphysic. The second part focuses on two questions. The first question considers the ontological status which creativity requires to perform the role which it is given within the metaphysical system. The second question discusses implications of this status for creativity's relationship to God. This second section further discusses the implications of such an understanding of "process theology" for Christian theology in general. Specifically it comments on the various responses of theology to creatio ex nihilo and the problem of evil. This thesis concludes that creativity functions as an ultimate explanatory principle in Whitehead's metaphysics.
    [Show full text]
  • COGS 101B Slides Outline History Descartes
    COGS 101B Slides • Web Page • PDF version of Powerpoint slides available – http://www.cogsci.ucsd.edu/~coulson/101b/ on the course website • Instructor http://www.cogsci.ucsd.edu/~coulson/101b/ – Dr. Coulson – Email: coulson “at” cogsci.ucsd.edu – CSB 161 – Thursday: 12-2pm •TAs – Alan Robinson – Nate Harrison – Zack Weinberg Outline History •History • Philosophical Origins • Methods • Structuralism • Paradigms • Functionalism • Gestalt Psychology • Genetic Epistemology • Behaviorism • Cognitive Revolution Descartes • Epistemology • Radical Skepticism • Evil Demon • “Cogito ergo sum.” • Leap of Faith 1 Premises & Problems Rationalism vs. Empiricism Kant Locke, Hume • Knowledge begins • All knowledge originates Physical Neural Mental w/experience but is in experience Energy Activity Experience constructed by mind • Mind is a blank slate • Experience mediated by mental categories or qualia – “raw feels”, raises problem of how to relate physical schemata facts to mental facts Structuralism • Philosophical Motivation – Belief in reductionism – Consciousness can be broken down into basic elements • Goal – Discover basic structures of mental life • Methodology – Introspection Wundt Titchener • Founded first • Took introspection to new experimental psychology level laboratory • “Tell me your sensations • Not just sensations but of this rock” thoughts • BUT: Also did lots of • Tell me your reactions to psychophysics “green things” • Most introspection was people saying “yes” or • Unfortunately, “no” to targeted questions inconsistencies about
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to the Special Topic Section on Arts and Consciousness Dorit Netzer Hofstra University
    International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Volume 34 Article 8 Iss. 1-2 (2015) 1-1-2015 Introduction to the Special Topic Section on Arts and Consciousness Dorit Netzer Hofstra University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/ijts-transpersonalstudies Part of the Art Practice Commons, Philosophy Commons, Psychology Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Netzer, D. (2015). Netzer, D. (2015). Introduction to the special topic section on arts and consciousness. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 34(1-2), 65–69.. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 34 (1). http://dx.doi.org/10.24972/ ijts.2015.34.1-2.65 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. This Special Topic Introduction is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals and Newsletters at Digital Commons @ CIIS. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Journal of Transpersonal Studies by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ CIIS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Introduction to the Special Topic Section on Arts and Consciousness Dorit Netzer Hofstra University Hempstead, NY he arts have traditionally served a wide range of Culture and International Development (2015) is cogently social functions, from the utilitarian, political, reviewed by Judy Schavrien (p. 214), eloquently said: and entertaining, to the sacred, ritualistic, and The imaginary is not simply fantasy, although Treligious. As such, the arts have always been an integral fantasy plays a very important part in our emotional vehicle of transpersonal development, by uncovering and psychic lives as attested by many cultural forms the unconscious and raising consciousness, preserving from fairy tales and myths or utopias and science cultures, and propelling global transformation.
    [Show full text]
  • Cognitive Science: an Introduction to the Study of Mind
    FM-Friedenberg-4747.qxd 8/22/2005 10:17 AM Page i COGNITIVE SCIENCE FM-Friedenberg-4747.qxd 8/22/2005 10:17 AM Page ii FM-Friedenberg-4747.qxd 8/22/2005 10:17 AM Page iii COGNITIVE SCIENCE An Introduction to the Study of Mind Jay Friedenberg Manhattan College Gordon Silverman Manhattan College FM-Friedenberg-4747.qxd 8/22/2005 10:17 AM Page iv Copyright © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information: Sage Publications, Inc. 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 E-mail: [email protected] Sage Publications Ltd. 1 Oliver’s Yard 55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP United Kingdom Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd. B-42, Panchsheel Enclave Post Box 4109 New Delhi 110 017 India Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Friedenberg, Jay. Cognitive science : an introduction to the study of mind / Jay Friedenberg, Gordon Silverman. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN 1-4129-2568-1 (pbk.) 1. Cognitive science—Textbooks. I. Silverman, Gordon. II. Title. BF311.F743 2006 153—dc22 2005009522 050607080910987654321 Acquiring Editor: Jim Brace-Thompson Associate Editor: Margo Beth Crouppen Production Editor: Sanford Robinson Editorial Assistant: Karen Ehrmann Typesetter: C&M Digitals (P) Ltd. Indexer: Jeanne Busemeyer Cover Designer: Janet Foulger FM-Friedenberg-4747.qxd 8/22/2005 10:17 AM Page v Contents Preface xv Acknowledgments xxiii 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Interdisciplinarity in Ethics and the Ethics of Interdisciplinarity ANNE BALSAMO and CARL MITCHAM
    OUP CORRECTED PROOF – FINAL, 06/07/2010, SPi CHAPTER 18 Interdisciplinarity in ethics and the ethics of interdisciplinarity ANNE BALSAMO AND CARL MITCHAM This chapter explores interdisciplinarity dynamics in the context of ethics. It starts by observing the origins of ethics in the predisciplinary plentitude of philosophy followed by a historical overview of ethics in terms of signifi cant interdisciplinary formations broadly construed. Next is an extended discussion of interdisciplinarity in contemporary fi elds of applied ethics. A third section reverses the approach, to consider the possibility of ethical guidelines for the practice of interdisciplinarity, through refl ection on the character of knowledge production in the digital age. Ethics itself is constituted by systematic, critical reflection on human action with the aim of both increasing knowledge about and improving culturally or personally acceptable behavior. In that ethics involves critical reflection, it is distinct from moral- ity which exists largely independent of conscious thought. Because ethics bridges knowing and doing, it constitutes a site for multiple inter- and transdisciplinary engagements. Most commonly, however, it is identified as a major branch of the disci- pline of philosophy—alongside logic, epistemology, and metaphysics. Yet upon closer examination, ethics can be seen as drawing on a number of disciplines that may also be described as having emerged from it; disciplines such as psychology and anthro- pology, as well as politics and economics, significantly influence the domain of eth- ics. Especially in what are called its applied or practical versions, ethics takes form as hybridizations of disciplines and specialized concerns in the cases of biomedical ethics, environmental ethics, or computer ethics—each of which depends on multi- disciplinary interactions with other domains.
    [Show full text]
  • Common Sense and Common Nonsense a Conversation About Mental Attitudes, Science, and Society
    Common Sense and Common Nonsense A Conversation about Mental Attitudes, Science, and Society Daniel S. Levine Common Sense and Common Nonsense A Conversation about Mental Attitudes, Science, and Society Daniel S. Levine Published by Mavs Open Press Arlington, Texas ©2018 common sense and common nonsense Publication Info Mavs Open Press Arlington, Texas https://uta.pressbooks.pub/ © 2018 Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data Common sense and common nonsense: a conversation about mental attitudes, science, and society / Daniel S. Levine. p. cm. First edition ISBN: 978-0-8998-8783-0 (ebook) 1. Cognition. 2. Cognitive neuroscience. 3. Commonsense. 4. Technology – sociological aspects. Legal Notice This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License. ID Number ISBN: 978-0-8998-8783-0 (ebook) page ii common sense and common nonsense Contents Table of Contents . iii Preface 2018 . .v Acknowledgments . vii Preface 1998 . ix Part 1: Human Nature and Its Paradoxes . 1 Chapter 1: Beliefs Matter! 3 Chapter 2: Neural Networks:Not Just Clever Computers 15 Chapter 3: What Do People Really Want? 23 Chapter 4: Actuality versus Optimality 35 Part2: Cognitive Approaches to Self-Actualization . 45 Chapter 5: How We Make Categories and Constructs 47 Chapter 6: Remaining Open to Change 57 Chapter 7: Negotiating Cognitive Dissonance 67 Chapter 8: Self-Actualization as Creative Synthesis 81 Chapter 9: Therapy, for the Person and Society 93 Part 3: Where Can We Take Our Wisdom? . 107 Chapter 10: What You Get is More thanWhat You See 109 Chapter 11: Brain Science for Humanity 125 Chapter 12: The Compassionate Revolution 135 Glossary .
    [Show full text]
  • Creative Synthesis: a Model of Peer Review, Reflective Equilibrium and Ideology Formation ∗
    Creative Synthesis: A Model of Peer Review, Reflective Equilibrium and Ideology Formation ∗ Hans Noel Associate Professor Georgetown University [email protected] Department of Government Intercultural Center 681 Washington, D.C. 20057 August 24, 2015 Abstract The formation of ideology can be modeled as a communication game that combines actors' psychological predispositions and their rational self-interest. I argue that we can explain ideo- logical development by modeling the way in which political thinkers reason from first principles, and how they fail to ignore their own psychological and interest-based biases. I begin with a distributive model to provide a structure for people's interests and their psychological traits, and add in a model of reason (Rawls, 2001) to explain how those interests and traits will shape the development of ideology. The model develops the framework, based on the practice of peer review. This framework creates a tournament of potential ideologies and traces whether such a mechanism can explain the development of multiple competing ideologies. ∗Paper prepared for the American Political Science Association's Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., Sept. 3-6, 2015. I would like to thank Kathleen Bawn, Sean Gailmard, Alexander Hirsch, Ethan Kaplan, Ken Kollman, Jeff Lewis, Skip Lupia, Chlo´eYelena Miller, John Patty, Tom Schwartz, Brian Walker, John Zaller and seminar participants at the University of Michigan and Georgetown University for useful advice and comments on earlier versions of this project. \[T]he shaping of belief systems of any range into apparently logical wholes that are credible to large numbers of people is an act of creative synthesis characteristic of only a miniscule proportion of any population." { Philip Converse, The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Publics, 1964, p.
    [Show full text]