scholarly journals In the Darkness of this Time: Wittgenstein and Freud on Uncertainty

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorit Lemberger

Both Wittgenstein and Freud experienced the crisis of humanism resulting from the first and second world wars. Although they were both considered to be influential figures, they hardly investigated the ways in which people could cope with the consequences of these crises. However, Wittgenstein and Freud did suggest ways of understanding uncertainties caused by real life events, as well as by the nature of human thought processes. This article will explore the therapeutic ways of dealing with uncertainties common to both thinkers and the different concepts facilitating their methodologies. The central contention of this article is that both Wittgenstein and Freud developed a complex methodology, acknowledging the constant and unexpected changes humans have deal with, whilst also offering the possibility of defining “hinge propositions” and “language-games” which can stabilize our consciousness.

PMLA ◽  
1952 ◽  
Vol 67 (7) ◽  
pp. 1035-1053
Author(s):  
P. Albert Duhamel

Recent scholarship has tended to overstress Milton's adherence to Ramism and to overlook his significant deviations in both theory and practice. The distrust of the human thought processes in theoretical or practical deliberation and the faith in the immediate intuitive perception of logical relations, which is the ultra-spiritual epistemology implied throughout the Ramistic logics, were much more in keeping with the enthusiasm of the radical sects of the seventeenth century than with the rationalism of Milton. Milton was an independent thinker in logical matters as elsewhere and the balance of scholarly evaluation is in need of some readjustment.


2013 ◽  
Vol 95 (9) ◽  
pp. 292-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Brown

Many authors have published theories regarding the learning of practical (surgical) skills. Table 1 contains a useful summary of these theories. Simulation has been defined by Allery et al as 'a structured activity designed to reflect reality, real life and real situations',1 and good simulation has been defined by Gorman et al as 'represent [ing] simplified reality, free from the need to include every possible detail'.2 when discussing simulation in education, issenberg, et al stated: 'Simulations are not identical to real-life events. Instead simulations place trainees into lifelike situations that provide immediate feedback about questions, decisions and actions.'3


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna L Coffman ◽  
Xizhen Cai ◽  
Runze Li ◽  
Noelle R Leonard

BACKGROUND Ambulatory assessment of electrodermal activity (EDA) is an emerging technique for capturing individuals’ autonomic responses to real-life events. There is currently little guidance available for processing and analyzing such data in an ambulatory setting. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to describe and implement several methods for preprocessing and constructing features for use in modeling ambulatory EDA data, particularly for measuring stress. METHODS We used data from a study examining the effects of stressful tasks on EDA of adolescent mothers (AMs). A biosensor band recorded EDA 4 times per second and was worn during an approximately 2-hour assessment that included a 10-min mother-child videotaped interaction. The initial processing included filtering noise and motion artifacts. RESULTS We constructed the features of the EDA data, including the number of peaks and their amplitude as well as EDA reactivity, quantified as the rate at which AMs returned to baseline EDA following an EDA peak. Although the pattern of EDA varied substantially across individuals, various features of EDA may be computed for all individuals enabling within- and between-individual analyses and comparisons. CONCLUSIONS The algorithms we developed can be used to construct features for dry-electrode ambulatory EDA, which can be used by other researchers to study stress and anxiety.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Arel

In this paper, places of trauma, physical locations that reflect the Celtic spiritual concept of “thin places,” simultaneously represent real life events, possess symbolic meaning, and become places for active, engaged social activity related to memorialization. I explore how these places create a potential space for working through trauma, drawing on Judith Herman’s fundamental stages of recovery which she articulates as “establishing safety, reconstructing the trauma story, and restoring the connection between survivors and their communities.” I argue that memorial museums attending to trauma can guide the process of working through suffering to growth and transformation, thus benefiting witnesses, survivors and family members, and employees who immerse themselves in the stories they memorialize in order to facilitate empathy and emotional availability to visitors of all types. This community commemorating communal


Author(s):  
Jane Hu

The term ‘stream of consciousness’ was first coined by psychologist William James in The Principles of Psychology in 1893, when he describes it thusly: "consciousness as an uninterrupted ‘flow’: ‘a ‘river’ or a ‘stream’ are the metaphors by which it is most naturally described. In talking of it hereafter, let’s call it the stream of thought, consciousness, or subjective life" (243). The term quickly came to mean a narrative mode that seeks to give the written equivalent of a character’s thought processes, and is sometimes described in terms of an ‘interior monologue’. As such, it differs from the ‘dramatic monologue’ or ‘soliloquy’ where the speaker addresses the audience or an implied receiver. Stream of consciousness style is often identified by fictional techniques such as lack of punctuation, long and sometimes agrammatical sentences, and a series of unrelated impressions. Stream of consciousness technique tries to represent a character’s general mental state before it is condensed, organized, or edited down into narrative coherence or sense. While stream of consciousness is often read as an avant-garde technique, its aims were to get closer to the ‘reality’ of human thought processes. As a narrative technique, stream of consciousness maintains affiliations with other modernist art forms, such as the visual art of German expressionism, Cubism, and modernist film.


2008 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 1319-1334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise M. Burke

Athletes are among the groups of people who are interested in the effects of caffeine on endurance and exercise capacity. Although many studies have investigated the effect of caffeine ingestion on exercise, not all are suited to draw conclusions regarding caffeine and sports performance. Characteristics of studies that can better explore the issues of athletes include the use of well-trained subjects, conditions that reflect actual practices in sport, and exercise protocols that simulate real-life events. There is a scarcity of field-based studies and investigations involving elite performers. Researchers are encouraged to use statistical analyses that consider the magnitude of changes, and to establish whether these are meaningful to the outcome of sport. The available literature that follows such guidelines suggests that performance benefits can be seen with moderate amounts (~3 mg·kg–1 body mass) of caffeine. Furthermore, these benefits are likely to occur across a range of sports, including endurance events, stop-and-go events (e.g., team and racquet sports), and sports involving sustained high-intensity activity lasting from 1–60 min (e.g., swimming, rowing, and middle and distance running races). The direct effects on single events involving strength and power, such as lifts, throws, and sprints, are unclear. Further studies are needed to better elucidate the range of protocols (timing and amount of doses) that produce benefits and the range of sports to which these may apply. Individual responses, the politics of sport, and the effects of caffeine on other goals, such as sleep, hydration, and refuelling, also need to be considered.


Author(s):  
Ronet Bachman ◽  
Ray Paternoster

Research has increasingly utilized surveys and intensive interviews to investigate the cognitive processes inherent in offenders’ decision making. Moreover, these methods have often been included in mixed-methods approaches that include life events calendars to enhance recall of past events and thought processes, or they have been included as part of experimental designs to elucidate causal mechanisms. This chapter provides a review of research that investigates offender decision making using samples from the general population of adolescents or young adults as well as samples of adolescents at a higher risk of offending. Survey research utilizing samples of adolescent and young adult offenders, called the Pathways to Desistance study, is also reviewed, along with survey research of adult offenders in specific correctional settings. Finally, recent inductive research that relies on intensive interviews is reviewed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 444-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renske Kruizinga ◽  
Iris D. Hartog ◽  
Michael Scherer-Rath ◽  
Hans Schilderman ◽  
Hanneke Van Laarhoven

ABSTRACTObjective:Throughout their lives, people are confronted with unexpected life events, which can be difficult to incorporate into their life narratives. Such a confrontation can result in an experience of contingency. Different ways of relating to contingency have been described by Wuchterl: denying, acknowledging, and “encounter with the Other.” In the present article, we aim to trace these theoretical distinctions in real-life experiences of patients.Method:We analyzed 45 interviews using the constant comparative method with a directed content analysis approach in the Atlas.ti coding program. The interviews originated from a randomized controlled trial evaluating an assisted reflection on life events and ultimate life goals. Seven spiritual counselors from six hospitals in the Netherlands conducted the interviews from July of 2014 to March of 2016. All 45 patients had advanced cancer.Results:We found four different modes into which relating to contingency can be classified: denying, acknowledging, accepting, and receiving. With denying, patients did not mention any impact of the life event on their lives. In acknowledging, the impact was recognized and a start was made to incorporate the event into their life. In accepting, patients went through a process of reinterpretation of the event. In receiving, patients talked about receiving insights from their illness and living a more conscious life.Significance of results:Our study is the first to investigate the different ways of relating to contingency in clinical practice. The defined modes will improve our understanding of the various ways in which cancer patients relate to their disease, allowing caregivers to better target and shape individual care.


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