From Psychological Humanities to African Psychology: A Review of Sources and Traditions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Augustine Nwoye
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Black Psychology ◽  
Western Psychology ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Life Of The Mind ◽  
History Of ◽  
Postcolonial Africa ◽  
Psychological Knowledge ◽  
The Mind

The purpose of the article is to trace the intellectual history of the new postcolonial discipline of African psychology. African psychology as currently conceptualized in universities in the South and other regions of Africa is a proud heir to a vast heritage of sound and extensive intellectual traditions and psychological scholarship on Africa and its peoples found scattered in the multiple disciplines of the humanities (anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy, religion, etc.). Even before and after the critical evolution that led to the emergence of African psychology as a new discipline situated in the departments of psychology in some forward-thinking African universities, the different fields of the humanities offered legitimate research and writings on the nature of the life of the mind and culture in pre- and postcolonial Africa. The article reviews the variety and changing psychological themes that occupied the attention of the African and Western humanists and intellectuals within and outside Africa. However, the great limitation of all psychological research and writings which constitute psychological humanities is that they could not and, indeed, are not meant to replace the legitimate role being played by African psychology as a fledgling postcolonial discipline and center of thought and scholarship. This fledgling discipline came into being to argue against and partner with Western psychology and the black psychology popularized in North America, with a view toward the enrichment of both Western and black psychological knowledge with new perspectives for understanding the psychology of Africans in continental Africa. The purpose of the article is to elaborate on these issues.

“Knowing Movement, Wanting Order”: Michael O'Brien on the US South

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-514
Author(s):  
RICHARD H. KING
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
Literary History ◽  
Old South ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
The South ◽  
Us South ◽  
The Us ◽  
Life Of The Mind ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mind

It is easy to forget that interest in the intellectual history of the US South only fully emerged in the post-1960s years. Though there have been no outstanding southern philosophers or philosophers of the South to focus on, there have been plenty of talented literary and cultural critics and political and social thinkers, as well as historians, political scientists, and sociologists, whose work has significantly shaped the idea of the South and who thus deserve the interest of the intellectual historian. Works as varied as Clement Eaton's The Freedom-of-Thought Struggle in the Old South (1940) Rollin Osterweis's Romanticism and Nationalism in the Old South (1949), and William R. Taylor's Cavalier and Yankee (1961) were early examples of the effort to identify the intellectual and cultural issues central to the history of the region. By exploring the literary history of the South in the interwar years, what came to be called the Southern Renaissance, post-1945 literary historians such as Louis D. Rubin and Lewis Simpson undoubtedly also influenced those who tried to make sense of the life of the mind below the Mason–Dixon line.

"Dreams and Deeds" and other Dualities: Nielsen and the Two-Movement Sympony

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Fanning ◽  
Michelle Assay
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
History Of Ideas ◽  
Before And After ◽  
History Of ◽  
Yin And Yang ◽  
The Mind

It is well known that Nielsen’s two-movement Fifth Symphony is strongly dualistic in character. The composer himself commented that ‘A title such as “Dreams and Deeds” [Drøm og Daad] could maybe sum up the inner picture I had in front of my eyes when composing’. But it is by no means clear at what level that duality and others he mentioned are actually embodied in the work, or where it stands in relation to other two-movement symphonies composed before and after. Building on an essay by David Fanning in Carl Nielsen Studies 4, the present article fi rst considers these questions in the light of the model for symphonism proposed by the Russian scholar Mark Aranovsky. The Fifth Symphony and those two-movement symphonies found to contain the most fundamental and polarised dualities are then variously related to religious and philosophical traditions that stress dualism – from Zoroastrianism, through Yin and Yang, to Sufism, touching in passing on the philosophy of the mind and on Jung. The aim is to gain a richer and clearer picture of the uniqueness of Nielsen’s Fifth in relation both to symphonic tradition and to the history of ideas.

scholarly journals The Contemporaneity of ‘Counter-Enlightenment’. From the French Revolution to German Post-War Sociology

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 940-970
Author(s):  
Sonja Asal
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Intellectual History ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Before And After ◽  
History Of ◽  
Post War ◽  
German Sociology ◽  
The French Revolution

While resistance to Enlightenment thought occurring in the eighteenth century is often framed by the concept of ‘Counter-Enlightenment’, the term itself was not introduced before the twentieth century. The article first reconstructs the anti-Enlightenment polemic before and after the French Revolution to highlight that while the notion of Counter- Enlightenment is appropriate for the identification of hitherto unexplored strands of thought, in view of a broader and more differentiated approach to the intellectual history of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, it does not allow for a substantial definition. Subsequently, the article examines the history of the concept in French, English and German linguistic contexts, the German sociology of the interwar period and discussions about the legacy of the Enlightenment after World War II, to retrace how the different iterations have to be understood as a key for the self-reflection of modern societies throughout the twentieth century.

The Mind of the Negro: An Intellectual History of Afro-Americans.

1962 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winthrop D. Jordan ◽  
Earl E. Thorpe
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mind

scholarly journals A homoeopathic drug proving of Carcharhinus leucas 30CH and a subsequent comparison with that of Galeocerdo cuvier hepar 30CH

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Nalini Naidoo
Keyword(s):  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Materia Medica ◽  
Double Blind Placebo ◽  
Galeocerdo Cuvier ◽  
Carcharhinus Leucas ◽  
Before And After ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mind

Introduction The aim of this study was to conduct a homoeopathic proving of Carcharhinus leucas in the thirtieth centesimal potency (30CH) and to subsequently establish and describe the symptomatology in standard materia medica format and then compare this symptomatology to Galeocerdo cuvier hepar 30CH. Methodology The homoeopathic proving of Carcharhinus leucas 30CH was conducted at the Durban University of Technology and was accomplished by means of a randomised, double blind, placebo controlled trial. Carcharhinus leucas 30CH was manufactured by the researchers according to Method 6, Method 8a and 10 of the German Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia (Benyunes, 2005: 36-39). The homoeopathic proving was conducted in the form of a double blind placebo controlled study of Carcharhinus leucas 30CH with a total of 30 healthy provers. The prover sample was divided into two groups by a process of randomisation. Twenty four provers (80%) comprised the verum group and the remaining 6 provers (20%) comprised the placebo group. The identity of the proving substance and the potency used was not disclosed to provers. Provers documented their physical, mental and emotional status for one week preceding the administration of the proving remedy. A comprehensive physical examination and case history of every prover was taken before and after the proving period. Provers were instructed to ingest one powder three times a day for two days but were told to discontinue the powders once symptoms arose. The duration of the proving spanned 6 weeks and throughout the proving process, researchers were in constant communication with all the participants. Upon completion of the proving process, journals were collected and the information therein was translated into materia medica and repertory format. This was done in order to acquire the remedy picture of Carcharhinus leucas 30CH. Thereafter, the symptomatology of Carcharhinus leucas 30CH was compared to the symptomatology of Galeocerdo cuvier hepar 30CH. Results The proving of Carcharhinus leucas 30CH produced a total of 590 already existing rubrics and 43 new rubrics. The majority of these rubrics were located in the MIND (127), GENERALS (64), HEAD (55), EXTREMITIES (50), and EYE (34). In regard to the mind, prominent features were apparent such as anger, anxiety, cheerfulness, an aversion or amelioration within company, difficulty concentrating or increased focus, varying delusions and fears and irritability. Pertaining to the head, headaches were evident with varying concomitants and modalities, with headaches predominantly affecting the forehead and sides. Sensations included dryness, heat, heaviness, perspiration and shaking. The extremities displayed symptoms primarily in the forearms, legs and thighs and sensations included paralysis, shaking, swelling and weakness. In regard to the eye, eye pain with multiple modalities were apparent, with symptoms related to the canthi and eyelids. Sensations included heat, heaviness, inflammation, itching and photophobia as well as a visible discolouration of the eye. Analysis of the results presented an understanding of the similarities and differences between Carcharhinus leucas 30CH and Galeocerdo cuvier hepar 30CH. Conclusion As hypothesised, it was evident that administering Carcharhinus leucas 30CH to healthy individuals did yield observable symptomatology. Additionally, it was apparent that various correlations between Carcharhinus leucas 30CH and Galeocerdo cuvier hepar 30CH existed

scholarly journals Windows of the Soul in the Worldview of Philo of Alexandria

Perichoresis ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-20
Author(s):  
Aurelian Botica
Keyword(s):  
Paradigm Shifts ◽  
Alexander The Great ◽  
Philo Of Alexandria ◽  
Cultural Changes ◽  
The World ◽  
Life Of The Mind ◽  
History Of ◽  
Christian Thought ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Mind

Abstract One of the most important paradigm shifts in the history of Greek philosophy was the ‘rediscovery’ of transcendence in the movement of Intermediate Platonism. Less than a century before the birth of Hellenism (late 4th century BC), Plato had advocated an intentional preoccupation with the life of the mind / soul, encouraging the individual to avoid being entrapped in the material limitations of life and instead discover its transcendental dimension. The conquest of Athens by the Macedonians, followed by the invasion of the Orient by Alexander the Great, set in motion sociological and cultural changes that challenged the relevance of Platonic philosophy. The transcendental vision of Platonism left the individual still struggling to find happiness in the world created by Alexander the Great. This was the context in which the schools the of Cynicism, Stoicism, Epicureanism and Skepticism challenged Platonism with their call to happiness in this world and by means of the Hellenistic dominance and the rise of Roman supremacy stirred a renewed spiritual and philosophical effort to rediscover the world beyond; that is, the transcendental world of Plato. This was Middle Platonism and the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria was one of its most prolific writers. In this paper, we will examine the concept of the soul in the writings of Philo, with an emphasis on the role that the soul plays in the act of approaching God through the means of the external / material cult (Temple, sacrifices, priests, etc.). Philo offers a complex vision of the soul, one that remains critically relevant to understanding the Greek, Jewish, and Christian thought that emerged after Philo.

scholarly journals Method vs. Metaphysics

2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 203-218
Author(s):  
Han van Ruler
Keyword(s):  
Causal Factors ◽  
Scientific Status ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Life Of The Mind ◽  
Huge Impact ◽  
Causal Operators ◽  
Metaphysical Interpretation ◽  
Natural Change ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This article discusses Descartes’s preferred focus on morally and theologically neutral subjects and points out the impact of this focus on the scientific status of theology. It does so by linking Descartes’s method to his transformation of the notion of substance. Descartes’s Meditations centred around epistemological questions rather than non-human intelligences or the life of the mind beyond this world. Likewise, in his early works, Descartes consistently avoided referring to causal operators. Finally, having first redefined the notion of substance in the Principia, Descartes would completely abandon making use of this notion in his later years. Indeed, in contrast to many authors before and after him, Descartes never showed any interest in the long-established metaphysical interpretation of substances as being causal factors of natural change. With God, nature, and mind commonly serving as instances of substantial causality, Descartes’s philosophy had a huge impact on the place of God in science and discreetly excluded theology as a subject to which his method might be applied.

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