scholarly journals Using Matching “Smarts” and Interest to Successfully Address Depression Caused by Existential Crisis

Author(s):  
Michael Lamport Commons ◽  
Mansi Jitendra Shah ◽  
Mark Hansen Keffer
Keyword(s):  
2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-339
Author(s):  
Kate Averis

This article examines Nancy Huston's writing of female ageing in light of her intellectual and personal trajectory as a feminist thinker. It identifies women's ageing as an integrative and ubiquitous phenomenon in Huston's œuvre, tracing the presence of this thematic and theoretical concern to her very first published works, and outlining its development until her most recent works, before examining a key instance of her fictional treatment of female ageing in Lignes de faille. Drawing on a literary, philosophical and sociological theoretical framework, it argues that Huston furthers feminist approaches to female senescence by inscribing women's experiences of later life not in terms of existential crisis but rather as part of the continuous process of change and transformation inherent to subjective development. The analysis aims to address pressing questions surrounding the intersections of gender and age that are at the forefront of Huston criticism and feminist studies.


2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-98
Author(s):  
Adina B. Newberg

Israelis who have until now viewed themselves as "secular" in the rigid Israeli dichotomy between "religious" and "secular" are finding new ways of creating communities of meaning that connect to Jewish sources and yet stay aligned to values of pluralism and humanism.These communities that do not follow the letter of the halakhah are developing in highly "secular" environments such as Tel Aviv and Nahalal and create Shabbat and holiday services combining live music, traditional prayers, and newly created prayers. By doing this, they come nearer to finding a closer echo and a truer mirror to their concerns and spiritual searches while, at the same time, finding spiritual expressions to their deep longing for connection to Judaism. Beyond the services and the communities that are forged, a new identity that bridges aspects of secularism, humanism, and spirituality is being created.The article analyzes the reasons for this relatively new phenomenon in the context of Israeli religious and political life, and the existential crisis that has evolved as a result. The article also describes in detail two such communities as examples of this development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-172
Author(s):  
Michael Witter

The Caribbean has experienced an overlapping and interconnected series of challenges, including economic, social, and environmental, which pose an existential threat to the region. This article focuses on the nature of this threat as it evolved before and during the pandemic crisis. Under neoliberal globalization, Caribbean economies transformed themselves rapidly into service providers, most having resorted to developing a tourism sector, while some moved into oil production. In all cases, traditional agricultural exports declined with the loss of protected markets where they earned preferential prices. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the Caribbean’s existential crisis and revealed the inextricable links among the environment, economy, and public health. This article focuses on these links and suggests a way forward for public policy in the short, medium, and long term.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Philipp Klar ◽  
Georg Northoff

The existential crisis of nihilism in schizophrenia has been reported since the early days of psychiatry. Taking first-person accounts concerning nihilistic experiences of both the self and the world as vantage point, we aim to develop a dynamic existential model of the pathological development of existential nihilism. Since the phenomenology of such a crisis is intrinsically subjective, we especially take the immediate and pre-reflective first-person perspective’s (FPP) experience (instead of objectified symptoms and diagnoses) of schizophrenia into consideration. The hereby developed existential model consists of 3 conceptualized stages that are nested into each other, which defines what we mean by existential. At the same time, the model intrinsically converges with the phenomenological concept of the self-world structure notable inside our existential framework. Regarding the 3 individual stages, we suggest that the onset or first stage of nihilistic pathogenesis is reflected by phenomenological solipsism, that is, a general disruption of the FPP experience. Paradigmatically, this initial disruption contains the well-known crisis of common sense in schizophrenia. The following second stage of epistemological solipsism negatively affects all possible perspectives of experience, that is, the first-, second-, and third-person perspectives of subjectivity. Therefore, within the second stage, solipsism expands from a disruption of immediate and pre-reflective experience (first stage) to a disruption of reflective experience and principal knowledge (second stage), as mirrored in abnormal epistemological limitations of principal knowledge. Finally, the experience of the annihilation of healthy self-consciousness into the ultimate collapse of the individual’s existence defines the third stage. The schizophrenic individual consequently loses her/his vital experience since the intentional structure of consciousness including any sense of reality breaks down. Such a descriptive-interpretative existential model of nihilism in schizophrenia may ultimately serve as input for future psychopathological investigations of nihilism in general, including, for instance, its manifestation in depression.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026732312199953
Author(s):  
Paul K Jones

Political communication studies has a long tradition of ‘crisis talk’ regarding the fate of public communication. Now, however, the field itself faces a kind of existential crisis as its core assumptions of ‘normal’ political communication are daily undermined. This ‘liberal normalcy’ shares much with orthodoxies in populism studies, most notably a tendency to bracket out demagogic communication, both in historical fascist regimes and democracies. Yet correcting these failings is not simply a matter of rejecting liberal models for left-populist ones. Rather, both fields need to broaden their historical parameters and deepen their theoretical frameworks. The article draws on the Weberian conception of modern demagogy and its revision in the wake of 'modern media' by Shils and Adorno. It further argues that a critical reworking of Hallin and Mancini’s media systems approach could benefit both fields. For Hallin and Mancini’s socio-historical use of Weberian ideal-typification complements Worsley’s never-completed plan for an ideal-typification of modes of populism and demagogic leadership.


Author(s):  
Nicole Boucher

ABSTRACTJacques Laforest provides an introduction to gerontology viewed as an interdisciplinary field of study and reflection on old age. Old age is defined from a developmental perspective as two opposite yet complementary processes: those of decline and growth. The final stage of life is marked by an existential crisis of one's identity, autonomy and belonging. Researchers and specialists from all disciplines are invited to contribute towards an understanding and a resolution of this crisis. The purpose of this publication is to initiate the process of integrating knowledge and reflections on gerontology. This goal is achieved.


Author(s):  
Brian Pham

Although climate change education strategies have succeeded in spreading awareness, they also create a sense of fear and urgency that not only fails to change environmentally unsustainable behavior but may increase this behavior. The failure of current strategies and the paradoxical increase of environmentally unsustainable behavior may be explained by a theory known as terror management theory. This theory posits that if people are faced with an existential crisis, like climate change, they may cling even tighter onto their current ways. A novel solution to alleviate terror management theory is inspiring and empowering people. Inspiration and empowerment will teach people to see environmentally sustainable behavior as a healthier alternative to their current ways rather than an existential crisis. Therefore, they are more likely to welcome change rather than fear it. My study aims to see if mindfulness, connection to nature, and differing undergraduate programs affects sustainable consumption behavior. These factors are thought to inspire and empower people. If these factors can affect sustainable consumption behavior, then they may inspire and empower people to fight climate change. I predict that individuals who are more mindful and connected to nature will also have more sustainable consumption behavior. Furthermore, programs that highlight environmental issues will allow students to have a better connection to nature and more sustainable consumption behavior. If there is evidence to support, my hypotheses then factors that influence sustainable consumption behavior should be taught in schools. These factors would not only increase environmental behavior but increase the student’s overall wellbeing.


2018 ◽  
pp. 115-137
Author(s):  
Joxerramon Bengoetxea

This paper addresses Europe’s existential crisis. It does so by suggesting that, notwithstanding the relevance of the institutional design, the essence of the project of European integration is persons and peoples rather than states. It then discusses two speeches of important personalities speaking about Europe’s existential crisis. Next, it deals with the question of diversity since the motto of the failed constitutional treaty was precisely “united in diversity”. But this requires explaining the centrality of the individual in practical reason, and the importance of normative systems. The centrality of the individual, related to the value of freedom, is then placed in the context of plurality and diversity, directly addressing the theme of backlash forces in Europe through a map of such plurality in Europe; the socalled multiculturalism or ethno-religious pluralism. The paper concludes by suggesting a version of cosmopolitanism, hermeneutic pluralism, as the normative position to address the balance between individual freedom and solidarity or between “persons” and “peoples”.Received: 15 January 2018 Accepted: 9 May 2018 Published online: 31 October 2018


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