Which Science for Psychiatry??: The Challenge of the Behavioural Therapies

1981 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-26
Author(s):  
I. Pilowsky

The advent of behavioural medicine has presented psychiatry with the need to re-examine its relationships to the human sciences on the one hand, and the natural sciences on the other. This paper discusses the essential differences between these two approaches as they are applied in the clinical situation. It is suggested that a need exists to marry these two ways of approaching patient problems and, in particular, for psychiatrists to improve their understanding of the hermeneutic mode of achieving understanding.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-194
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Spiegel

Abstract While Wittgenstein’s work has been extensively investigated in relation to many other important and influential philosophers, there is very little scholarly work that positively investigates the relationship between the work of Wittgenstein and Wilhelm Dilthey. To the contrary, some commentators like Hacker (2001a) suggest that Dilthey’s work (and that of other hermeneuticists) simply pales or is obsolete in comparison to Wittgenstein’s own insights. Against such assessments, this article posits that Wittgenstein’s and Dilthey’s thought most crucially intersects at the related topics of scientism on the one hand and scientific and philosophical method on the other. In reconstructing Dilthey’s conceptions of understanding versus explaining and central points of Wittgenstein’s Remarks on Frazer’s Golden Bough, it becomes apparent that they share a staunch rejection of scientism and use the notion of understanding as a means to prevent methodologies from the natural sciences encroaching onto the human sciences (in Dilthey’s case) and philosophy (in Wittgenstein’s case). Notwithstanding a number of central ways in which these thinkers differ, this article closes by suggesting that there is some evidence according to which Wittgenstein, like Dilthey, can reasonably be understood as championing some central tenets of the hermeneutical tradition.


2021 ◽  
Vol 153 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-318
Author(s):  
Alexander Fidora ◽  
Nicola Polloni

This contribution engages with the problematic position of the mechanical arts within medieval systems of knowledge. Superseding the secondary position assigned to the mechanical arts in the Early Middle Ages, the solutions proposed by Hugh of St Victor and Gundissalinus were highly influential during the thirteenth century. While Hugh’s integration of the mechanical arts into his system of knowledge betrays their still ancillary position as regards consideration of the liberal arts, Gundissalinus’s theory proposes two main novelties. On the one hand, he sets the mechanical arts alongside alchemy and the arts of prognostication and magic. On the other, however, using the theory put forward by Avicenna, he subordinates these “natural sciences” to natural philosophy itself, thereby establishing a broader architecture of knowledge hierarchically ordered. Our contribution examines the implications of such developments and their reception afforded at Paris during the thirteenth century, emphasising the relevance that the solutions offered by Gundissalinus enjoyed in terms of the ensuing discussions concerning the structure of human knowledge.


Author(s):  
Inge Hinterwaldner

It can be shown that the different conceptions of ‘simulation’ (the one of culture critique on the one hand and the denomination of technical applications on the other) that seem to be incompatible with each other can be reconciled on a single spectrum. Its basis in models, its replacement of reality, its lack of reference and of precession of the referent are some pejorative characteristics often emphasized in media philosophy with regard to simulations, for which the sciences applying computer simulations have no use for. It helps crossing over the views that first seem opposite to each other, but that turn out to be compatible if its root in reality is recognized and thus the representational logic is accepted at least according to the intention. The chapter combines ideas of the 'simulacrum' retrieved in the natural sciences with traces of cybernetic thinking in media studies. The whole study builds on a definition of computer simulation in the technical sense as the involvement with and the act of execution f a dynamic mathematic or procedural model that projects, depicts, or recreates a system or process.


1966 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-136
Author(s):  
Richard C. Hall

The philosophical problem of the relation of symbol to truth is far from solved, but there have been significant advances toward its solution. It is the common Christian understanding that God is Truth (among other things), and that all truths must ultimately find union in him. This is to say that all genuine truths must be compatible. The true conclusions of genuine science must be compatible with the true conclusions of genuine theology. Or, to bring this general statement to a more particular level, the true conclusions of Biblical scholarship must be compatible with the true conclusions of the natural sciences. When this compatibility is lacking, and it so often is, we must assume that the conclusions of one field of truth-seeking or the other do not partake of the Truth which is God. And there is no guarantee that theology as a field of truth-seeking cannot err. Another characteristic of genuine truth is that it is not dependent upon any particular environment or milieu—either social, cultural, philosophical, or even theological. Unless we are to make the common but dangerous division of sacred and secular, of holy and profane, claim that these areas of human experience have nothing to do the one with the other, compartmentalise our thought, and ask, ‘What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?’, it must be concluded that there is no one specifically Christian milieu. Genuine truths must be true at all times, in all places, and for all men. But since we are not gods, we must hold these truths in what St Paul called earthen vessels (II Cor. 4:7), vessels shaped and moulded by our particular milieu.


1984 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 111-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ted Benton

The topic of my talk is a very ancient one indeed. It bears upon the place of humankind in nature, and upon the place of nature in ourselves. I shall, however, be discussing this range of questions in terms which have not always been available to the philosophers of the past when they have asked them. When we ask these questions today we do so with hindsight of some two centuries of endeavour in the ‘human sciences’, and some one and a half centuries of attempts to situate the human species within a theory of biological evolution. And these ways of thinking about ourselves and our relation to nature have not been confined to professional intellectuals, nor have they been without practical consequences. Social movements and political organizations have fought for and sometimes achieved the power to give practical shape to their theoretical visions. On the one hand, are diverse projects aimed at changing society through a planned modification of the social environment of the individual. On the other hand, are equally diverse projects for pulling society back into conformity with the requirements of race and heredity. At first sight, the two types of project appear to be, and often are, deeply opposed, both intellectually and politically.


Author(s):  
Claudia Suely Ferreira Gomes ◽  
Maria das Graças Gonçalves Vieira Guerra ◽  
Emilia Maria da Trindade Prestes ◽  
Adriana Valeria Santos Diniz

O pensamento pedagógico de Paulo Freire, revelando ser a educação dialógica uma questão essencial para uma maior leitura crítica da realidade, continua inspirando pedagogos/as, filósofos/as e sociólogos/as da educação de diferentes contextos, como forma de responder aos questionamentos e desafios das realidades emergentes, nas dimensões educativa, política e social da práxis pedagógica. A atualização do seu pensamento inspira este artigo guiado pelo seguinte questionamento: Como, em um mundo multicultural, se revelam, de forma atualizada as ideias de Freire, tendo como arcabouço pedagógico e político o diálogo? A partir de fontes documental-bibliográficas, utilizando uma abordagem descritiva, o estudo realizou uma reflexão teórica sobre a reinterpretação do pensamento educativo de um dos pensadores mais citados em diferentes fontes de referência, no mundo na área das ciências humanas, no país e no exterior. No Brasil, as teorias baseadas no diálogo e na participação, oriundas de Paulo Freire, se por um lado se tornaram objeto de crítica e de perseguição; por outro, diante de uma situação de crise e de desalento, vem sendo adotadas e defendidas, com maior vigor, como uma vertente da inclusão e de democracia. Por fim, o artigo defende que a perspectiva pedagógica de Paulo Freire continua vigente, na busca de um mundo plural em que se demanda reconhecimento e autonomia. El pensamiento pedagógico de Paulo Freire, que revela que la educación dialógica es una cuestión esencial para una mayor lectura crítica de la realidad, sigue inspirando a pedagogos, filósofos y sociólogos de la educación de diferentes contextos, como una forma de responder a las preguntas y desafíos de las realidades emergentes, en las dimensiones educativas, políticas y sociales de la praxis pedagógica. La actualización de su pensamiento inspira este artículo guiado por la siguiente pregunta: ¿Cómo, en un mundo multicultural, se revelan las ideas de Freire de manera actualizada, teniendo como marco pedagógico y político el diálogo? A partir de fuentes documentales-bibliográficas y con un enfoque descriptivo, el estudio realizó una reflexión teórica sobre la reinterpretación del pensamiento educativo de uno de los pensadores más citados en diferentes fuentes de referencia, en el mundo de las ciencias humanas, en el país y en el extranjero. En Brasil, las teorías basadas en el diálogo y la participación, originales de Paulo Freire, se han convertido, por un lado, en objeto de crítica y persecución; por otro lado, ante una situación de crisis y desánimo, se han adoptado y defendido con mayor vigor como una vertiente de inclusión y democracia. Finalmente, el artículo defiende que la perspectiva pedagógica de Paulo Freire sigue vigente, en la búsqueda de un mundo plural en el que se exija reconocimiento y autonomía. Paulo Freire's pedagogical thought, which reveals that dialogical education is an essential issue for a greater critical reading of reality, continues to inspire pedagogues, philosophers and sociologists of education from different contexts, as a way of responding to the questions and challenges of emerging realities, in the educational, political and social dimensions of pedagogical praxis. The updating of his thinking inspires this article guided by the following question: How, in a multicultural world, are Freire's ideas revealed in an updated way, having dialogue as a pedagogical and political framework? Based on documentary-bibliographic sources and with a descriptive approach, the study made a theoretical reflection on the reinterpretation of the educational thought of one of the most cited thinkers in different reference sources, in the world of human sciences, in the country and abroad. In Brazil, the theories based on dialogue and participation, original to Paulo Freire, have become, on the one hand, the object of criticism and persecution; on the other hand, in the face of a situation of crisis and discouragement, they have been adopted and defended with greater vigor as an aspect of inclusion and democracy. Finally, the article argues that Paulo Freire's pedagogical perspective is still valid, in the search for a plural world in which recognition and autonomy are demanded.


The Holocene ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (10) ◽  
pp. 1671-1676
Author(s):  
VPJ Arponen ◽  
Sonja Grimm ◽  
Lutz Käppel ◽  
Konrad Ott ◽  
Bernhard Thalheim ◽  
...  

Prominent voices in archeology have expressed deep skepticism about the role of theory in archeology, while with new, exciting methods at its disposal, archeological science is occasionally perceived as not needing theory at all. This article reflects upon the debate about theory in archeology to arrive at a robust but critical middle-range concept of the role and character of theory in socio-environmental archeology. It is argued that archeology is a data-based science and, consequently, in order for theory to be meaningful in socio-environmental archeology, theory ought explicitly aim to make its qualitative concepts quantitative to establish a clear relation to data and its interpretation. On the turn side, theory plays an important role critically reflecting upon the use of concepts in archeological understanding and explanation, as well as their origins in particular paradigms, as examples of which certain debates in scientific archeology are discussed (aDNA and migration, evolutionism). We argue that such a model would serve archeology far more than the dismissal of theory on the one hand and the continued production of ‘high’ theory in absence of operationalization on the other.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 192-199
Author(s):  
Julia Kristeva

Written originally as part of a Common Knowledge symposium (2007) responding to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s homily against relativism, which was delivered immediately before his election as pope, this essay describes a reactionary German intellectual current that includes not only Ratzinger and the conservative jurist E.-W. Böckenförde but also the more liberal philosopher Jürgen Habermas. What the three share, according to Kristeva, is their assessment of “rationalist humanism” as incapable of sustaining constitutional democracies, which by nature “need ‘normative presuppositions’ [on which] to found rational law.” In an effort to “counterbalance this hypothesis,” she argues that “we are already confronted with . . . experiences that render obsolete any appeal for a normative conscience.” These experiences comprise discoveries of the modern human sciences above all psychoanalysis and literary theory, which “are likely to found the ‘unifying bond’ that secular, political rationality has until now lacked.” Thus, she concludes, “modern thought, which is neither hostile nor indulgent toward religion, may be our one good option as we face, on the one hand, mounting obscurantism and, on the other, the technological management of the human species.”


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-104
Author(s):  
Simon Truwant ◽  

This paper argues that Cassirer’s development of ‘the critique of reason into a critique of culture’ was prompted by two motives that ultimately seem to collide. On the one hand, Cassirer attempts to overcome the Kantian dichotomy between the faculties of sensibility and the understanding. To this end, he turns to the schemata of the Critique of Judgment. On the other hand, Cassirer expands the scope of transcendental philosophy to include cultural domains such as myth, language, and the human sciences. His desire to maintain both the differences between these domains and the unity of reason however leads to a new dualism between the material modalities of the symbols and their ideal, recurring, forms. Yet, by adopting both a constitutive and a regulative conception of objectivity, Cassirer renders this duality legitimate, and his motives for a philosophy of culture on a Kantian foundation compatible.


Author(s):  
Jonathan Benthall

This book is the fruit of twenty years’ reflection on Islamic charities, both in practical terms and as a key to understand the crisis in contemporary Islam. On the one hand Islam is undervalued as a global moral and political force whose admirable qualities are exemplified in its strong tradition of charitable giving. On the other hand, it suffers from a crisis of authority that cannot be blamed entirely on the history of colonialism and stigmatization to which Muslims have undoubtedly been subjected – most recently, as a result of the “war on terror”. The book consists of seventeen previously published chapters, with a general Introduction and new prefatory material for each chapter. The first nine chapters review the current situation of Islamic charities from many different viewpoints – theological, historical, diplomatic, legal, sociological and ethnographic – with first-hand data from the United States, Britain, Israel–Palestine, Mali and Indonesia. Chapters 10 to 17 expand the coverage to explore the potential for a twenty-first century “Islamic humanism” that would be devised by Muslims in the light of the human sciences and institutionalized throughout the Muslim world. This means addressing contentious topics such as religious toleration and the meaning of jihad. The intended readership includes academics and students at all levels, professionals concerned with aid and development, and all who have an interest in the future of Islam.


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