Psychology: Volume 5

This survey of research on psychology in five volumes is a part of a series undertaken by the ICSSR since 1969, which covers various disciplines under social science. Volume Five of this survey, Explorations into Psyche and Psychology: Some Emerging Perspectives, examines the future of psychology in India. For a very long time, intellectual investments in understanding mental life have led to varied formulations about mind and its functions across the word. However, a critical reflection of the state of the disciplinary affairs indicates the dominance of Euro-American theories and methods, which offer an understanding coloured by a Western world view, which fails to do justice with many non-Western cultural settings. The chapters in this volume expand the scope of psychology to encompass indigenous knowledge available in the Indian tradition and invite engaging with emancipatory concerns as well as broadening the disciplinary base. The contributors situate the difference between the Eastern and Western conceptions of the mind in the practice of psychology. They look at this discipline as shaped by and shaping between systems like yoga. They also analyse animal behaviour through the lens of psychology and bring out insights about evolution of individual and social behaviour. This volume offers critique the contemporary psychological practices in India and offers a new perspective called ‘public psychology’ to construe and analyse the relationship between psychologists and their objects of study. Finally, some paradigmatic, pedagogical, and substantive issues are highlighted to restructure the practice of psychology in the Indian setting.

Ramus ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Rowan Beye

The following is an investigation of the nature of women in the Homeric poems. It is generally accepted that epic figures are typical rather than individual, idiosyncratic personalities. So it is reasonable to assume that the women of the two poems represent the general conception of female behaviour held by Homer's audience. Even if the poems represent a tradition which was a long time in the making, it remains true that what appears within the poems must have made sense somehow to Homer's contemporary audience. And that is the sense we must seek.There has been very little said about the role of women in the Homeric epics. Discussion is bound to be uneven; women are glimpsed infrequently in the Iliad, whereas they are everywhere in the Odyssey. But this in itself perhaps offers insights into the nature of the difference between the two poems. In addition an analysis of the part women play in these poems helps to explain the continual appeal of the Iliad and the Odyssey. For the poems, like all truly great pieces of literature, say things that we humans need and want to hear. As is true of other facets of the poems the female characters are extraordinarily authentic. They manifest moods and psychological states which are true to women, at least in the Western world. Moreover the poems, especially the Odyssey, show with great profundity some important truths of male-female relationships. Whether these are inherent and never-changing or it is because women's situation has not much changed through the millenia is hard to say.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Logsdon

While scholars have provided some insight into Penny Dreadful, no one has addressed the relationship of the piece’s overall design to the writer’s vision. Indeed, Penny Dreadful is offered as a warning of a darker age to come. Accordingly, writer John Logan sets his series in a late Victorian, Gothicized London that serves as a microcosm for a contemporary Western world experiencing a psychological and spiritual disintegration that touches the individual and the larger culture. Logan calls attention to the anxieties generated by this disintegration by incorporating into his series characters from late Victorian Gothic fiction: Frankenstein and his creature, Dracula, the Wolf Man, Dorian Gray, and Dr. Jekyll. The individual and cultural anxieties suggested by these characters’ “monstrous” behaviors have their basis not only in their sexual dysfunctions but in their despair over God’s absence. This crisis is centered in sexually adventurous Vanessa Ives, whose attempts to return to the Christ Who has rejected her hold the series together. In the series’ final episode, just before her death, Vanessa has a vision of Jesus. In response to Vanessa’s death, most of the remaining characters are seized by an ennui that has its counterpart in our own culture. The suggestion is that Logan uses Vanessa Ives as a symbolic representation of a dying world view, which, somewhat ironically, provided for her remaining friends a hope that sustained them.


Author(s):  
Iris Berent

Do newborns think? Do they know that 3 is greater than 2? Do they prefer right to wrong? What about emotions? Do newborns recognize happiness or anger? If they do, then how are our inborn thoughts and feelings encoded in our bodies? Could they persist after we die? Going all the way back to ancient Greece, human nature and the mind–body link are the topics of age-old scholarly debates. But laypeople also have strong opinions about such matters. Most people believe, for example, that newborn babies don’t know the difference between right and wrong—such knowledge, they insist, can only be learned. For emotions, they presume the opposite—that our capacity to feel fear, for example, is both inborn and embodied. These beliefs are stories we tell ourselves about what we know and who we are. They reflect and influence our understanding of ourselves and others, and they guide every aspect of our lives. In a twist that could have come out of a Greek tragedy, Berent proposes that our errors are our fate. These mistakes emanate from the very principles that make our minds tick: Our blindness to human nature is rooted in human nature itself. An intellectual journey that draws on philosophy, anthropology, linguistics, cognitive science, and Berent’s own cutting-edge research, The Blind Storyteller grapples with a host of provocative questions, from why we are so infatuated with our brains to what happens when we die. The end result is a startling new perspective on our humanity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-53
Author(s):  
Deni Irawan ◽  
Zarul Arifin

Abstract: Islamic fundamentalism has often been accused as a source of conflict so that it should be ended immediately. And the radical movement should put forward a complete understanding of diverse religions. Likewise, in every movement, it is necessary to keep the political and economic interests away from religion, because such factors triggers inter-religious conflict. The brutal act by a group of people who claims the most righteous by displaying the most sinister and frightening face of Islam, is really far from Islamic values. Islam is rahmatan lil ‘alamin, especially towards fellow Muslims who believe in the truth of Islam based on the Koran and the Sunnah as the main and first source of Islamic teachings. If this motto is implemented seriously, the conflicts that have occurred will not be repeated. In its further development, fundamentalism undergoes a change, a shift, and is further away from its origin. The discussion of fundamentalism today is more associated with a negative impression that Islam is a religion of violence, anti-progress and establishment, conservative, antiWestern, and always takes violence to achieve its goals. This labeling and stigmatization of course has greatly marginalized Islam in international relations. This kind of stigmatization can be understood by Muslims so that they also hold counters in various ways, including counter discourse. However, the efforts made by Muslims have not been able to change the world view of Islam, especially the Western world. Islam to this day is still perceived as a violent religion. امللخص: كام يتم التعبري عنها يف كثري من األحيان يف شكل اتهامات ، بأن األصولية اإلسالمية مصدر للرصاع ويجب إنهاؤها عىل الفور. ويجب أن تعزز حركة الراديكالية الفهم الكامل ملختلف األديان. وباملثل يف كل حركة ، يجب إبعاد املحتوى السيايس واالقتصادي عن التنوع ، ألن هذا عامل يثري الرصاع باسم الدين. إن العمل الوحيش ملجموعة من األشخاص الذين يشعرون باألمان ويشعرون بالصالح من خالل إظهار الوجه األكرث رشاً وخوفاً لإلسالم بعيد كل البعد عن القيم اإلسالمية. اإلسالم هو رحمة لألمني ، وخاصة تجاه إخوانهم املسلمني الذين يؤمنون بحقيقة اإلسالم عىل أساس القرآن والسنة باعتبارها املصدر الرئييس واألول للتعاليم اإلسالمية. إذا تم طرح هذا ، فلن تتكرر النزاعات التي حدثت. يف التطورات الالحقة ، شهدت األصولية تغيريات وتحوالت وأبعدت عن أصلها. إن مناقشة األصولية يف الوقت الحايل مرتبطة أكرث باإلسالم بانطباع سلبي بأن اإلسالم دين عنيف ومعاد للتقدم ومؤسس ومحافظ ومعاد للغرب ويتخذ العنف دامئًا لتحقيق أهدافه. وبالطبع فإن هذا ً التوسيم والوصم يهمش اإلسالم حقا يف العالقات الدولية. ميكن للمسلمني أن يفهموا ويفهموا هذا النوع من الوصم حتى يتصدوا لها بطرق مختلفة ، مبا يف ذلك الخطاب املضاد. إال أن الجهود التي يبذلها املسلمون مل تكن قادرة عىل تغيري نظرة العامل اإلسالمي ، وخاصة ُنظر إىل اإلسالم عىل أنه دين عنف. العامل الغريب. حتى اآلن ، ال يزال يAbstrak: Seperti yang sering diungkapkan dalam bentuk tudingan, bahwa fundamentalisme Islam merupakan sumber konflik sehingga harus segera diakhiri. Dan gerakan radikalisme harus mengedepankan pemahaman yang utuh tentang beragam agama. Begitu pula dalam setiap gerakan, muatan politik dan ekonomi perlu dijauhkan dari keberagaman, karena inilah faktor yang memicu terjadinya konflik yang mengatasnamakan agama. Tindakan brutal sekelompok orang yang merasa paling aman dan merasa paling benar dengan menampilkan wajah Islam yang paling seram dan menakutkan, sungguh jauh dari nilai-nilai Islam. Islam adalah rahmatan lil ‘alamin, terutama terhadap sesama umat Islam yang meyakini kebenaran Islam berdasarkan Alquran dan Sunnah sebagai sumber utama dan pertama ajaran Islam. Jika ini dikedepankan maka konflik yang telah terjadi tidak akan terulang kembali. Dalam perkembangan selanjutnya, fundamentalisme mengalami perubahan, pergeseran, dan semakin jauh dari asalnya. Pembahasan fundamentalisme saat ini lebih banyak dikaitkan dengan Islam dengan kesan negatif bahwa Islam adalah agama yang kekerasan, anti kemajuan dan kemapanan, konservatif, anti Barat, dan selalu mengambil kekerasan untuk mencapai tujuannya. Pelabelan dan stigmatisasi ini tentu saja sangat memarjinalkan Islam dalam hubungan internasional. Stigmatisasi semacam ini dapat dipahami dan dipahami oleh umat Islam sehingga mereka pun mengadakan tandingan dengan berbagai cara, termasuk tandingan wacana. Namun upaya yang dilakukan oleh umat Islam belum mampu mengubah pandangan dunia Islam, khususnya dunia Barat. Islam hingga saat ini masih dipersepsikan sebagai agama kekerasan.


Robotica ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 739-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjana Filipovic ◽  
Miomir Vukobratovic

SUMMARYThe paper is concerned with the relationship between the equation of elastic line motion, the “Euler-Bernoulli approach” (EBA), and equation of motion at the point of elastic line tip, the “Lumped-mass approach” (LMA). The Euler–Bernoulli equations (which have for a long time been used in the literature) should be expanded according to the requirements of the motion complexity of elastic robotic systems. The Euler–Bernoulli equation (based on the known laws of dynamics) should be supplemented with all the forces that are participating in the formation of the bending moment of the considered mode. This yields the difference in the structure of Euler–Bernoulli equations for each mode. The stiffness matrix is a full matrix. Mathematical model of the actuators also comprises coupling between elasticity forces. Particular integral of Daniel Bernoulli should be supplemented with the stationary character of elastic deformation of any point of the considered mode, caused by the present forces. General form of the elastic line is a direct outcome of the system motion dynamics, and can not be described by one scalar equation but by three equations for position and three equations for orientation of every point on that elastic line. Simulation results are shown for a selected robotic example involving the simultaneous presence of elasticity of the joint and of the link (two modes), as well the environment force dynamics.


Author(s):  
A. David Redish ◽  
Joshua A. Gordon

Psychiatry faces a number of challenges due largely to the complexity of the relationship between mind and brain. Starting from the now well-justified assumption that the mind is instantiated in the physical substrate of the brain, understanding this relationship is going to be critical to any understanding of function and dysfunction. Key to that translation from physical substrate to mental function and dysfunction is the computational perspective: it provides a way of translating knowledge and understanding between levels of analysis (Churchland and Sejnowski 1994). Importantly, the computational perspective enables translation to both identify emergent properties (e.g., how a molecular change in a receptor affects behavior) and consequential properties (e.g., how an external sociological trauma can lead to circuit changes in neural processing). Given that psychiatry is about treating harmful dysfunction interacting across many levels (from subcellular to sociological), this chapter argues that the computational perspective is fundamental to understanding the relationship between mind and brain, and thus offers a new perspective on psychiatry.


2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 692-721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Madden ◽  
Sheila Webber ◽  
Nigel Ford ◽  
Mary Crowder

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between preferred choice of school subject and student information behaviour (IB). Design/methodology/approach Mixed methods were employed. In all, 152 students, teachers and librarians participated in interviews or focus groups. In total, 1,375 students, key stage 3 (11-14 years) to postgraduate, responded to a questionnaire. The research population was drawn from eight schools, two further education colleges and three universities. Insights from the literature review and the qualitative research phase led to a hypothesis which was investigated using the questionnaire: that students studying hard subjects are less likely to engage in deep IB than students studying soft subjects. Findings Results support the hypothesis that preferences for subjects at school affect choice of university degree. The hypothesis that a preference for hard or soft subjects affects IB is supported by results of an analysis in which like or dislike of maths/ICT is correlated with responses to the survey. Interviewees’ comments led to the proposal that academic subjects can be classified according to whether a subject helps students to acquire a “tool of the Mind” or to apply such a tool. A model suggesting how IB may differ depending on whether intellectual tools are being acquired or applied is proposed. Practical implications The “inner logic” of certain subjects and their pedagogies appears closely linked to IB. This should be considered when developing teaching programmes. Originality/value The findings offer a new perspective on subject classification and its association with IB, and a new model of the association between IB and tool acquisition or application is proposed, incorporating the perspectives of both teacher and student.


Information ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Rao Mikkilineni

Making computing machines mimic living organisms has captured the imagination of many since the dawn of digital computers. However, today’s artificial intelligence technologies fall short of replicating even the basic autopoietic and cognitive behaviors found in primitive biological systems. According to Charles Darwin, the difference in mind between humans and higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind. Autopoiesis refers to the behavior of a system that replicates itself and maintains identity and stability while facing fluctuations caused by external influences. Cognitive behaviors model the system’s state, sense internal and external changes, analyze, predict and take action to mitigate any risk to its functional fulfillment. How did intelligence evolve? what is the relationship between the mind and body? Answers to these questions should guide us to infuse autopoietic and cognitive behaviors into digital machines. In this paper, we show how to use the structural machine to build a cognitive reasoning system that integrates the knowledge from various digital symbolic and sub-symbolic computations. This approach is analogous to how the neocortex repurposed the reptilian brain and paves the path for digital machines to mimic living organisms using an integrated knowledge representation from different sources.


Author(s):  
Bahare Ghasemi ◽  
Aligholi Rowshan

Given the growth and role of entrepreneurship today, it is becoming increasinglyimportant to understand how new entrepreneurial opportunities get developed. Discussions of the emergence of new entrepreneurial opportunities often include “eureka” moments, but our understanding of how new opportunities get brought forward is limited. We attribute the difference to a loosely defined quality that Kirzner called “entrepreneurial alertness”. Other market actors do not have the responsibility to create innovative market opportunities although they do have an obligation to consider such opportunities once they are available in the marketplace. Consequently, understanding the opportunity identification processrepresents one of the core intellectual questions for the domain of entrepreneurship. So the question of this paper is how are market environments represented and interpreted in the mind of the entrepreneur such that opportunity identification occurs? and what factors impress on it? To achieve this goal we distribute questionnaires between 115 M.A. students from Economics and Management college of University of Sistan & Baluchestan for the years2012 and 2013. Analysis was done by correlation test. Results showed that there is a significant relationship between market disequilibrium, accuracy vs. timeliness, schema complexity, counterfactual thinking, frame-breaking and sensitivity to profit potential and student’s entrepreneurial alertness; but the relationship between ignorance of new resource and excessive optimism or pessimism about resource and student’s entrepreneurial alertness was not significant.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 144
Author(s):  
Ali Gunes

This paper discusses English Romantic Poet William Blake’s anti-racial views in his poem The Little Black Boy. In so doing, it focuses upon how Blake attempts to deconstruct the Cartesian dichotomy of Western world view, a dichotomy which has usually been based on the theory that the universe has been ruled from its origins by two conflicting powers, one good and one evil, both existing as equally ultimate first causes. In this binary and hierarchal relationship, there are two essential terms in which one term is absolutely regarded as primary or fundamental in its essence, whereas the other term is considered secondary or something that lacks originality and presence. Once this equation is applied to the relationship between black and white people, it will easily be seen in the Western world that white people are always primary or fundamental to black-skinned people, and thus the perception behind this binary and hierarchal relationship seems the root of all the racial problems between black and white. This paper argues that Blake strives to deconstruct radically in The Little Black Boy the basis of this binary and hierarchal relationship which has been carried out for centuries in the Western world to segregate and then control the lives of black people. Finally, the paper maintains that Blake also shows a strong aspiration for creating an egalitarian society free of discrimination and injustices at a time when anti-slavery campaigns hit the top on both sides of Atlantic.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document