scholarly journals Do we need to decolonise bereavement studies?

Bereavement ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sukhbinder Hamilton ◽  
Berenice Golding ◽  
Jane Ribbens McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Work ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Field Of Study ◽  
The World ◽  
Pain And Suffering ◽  
Colonial Histories

At this re-launch of the journal Bereavement, we explore the question, ‘Do we need to decolonise bereavement studies?’ We do not offer definitive answers, but rather seek to open up conversations. We briefly explore some of the main debates and explanations of what ‘decolonising’ means. In its broader understandings, this entails questions about the nature of the knowledge that underpins claims to ‘expertise’, since knowledge inevitably reflects the socio-historic position and biography of those who produce it. This raises uncomfortable issues about the ‘universality’ of that knowledge, and how to understand what is shared between human beings, including how to understand experiences of pain and suffering. In addressing the nature of, ‘bereavement studies’, we first consider complexities of language and translation, before observing the heavy domination of the ‘psy’ disciplines in affluent minority worlds, oriented towards individualised, medicalised and interventionist perspectives. We indicate work that seeks to challenge these limitations, including the decolonising of psychiatry itself. We argue the need for such decolonising work to go beyond cross-cultural work originating in affluent minority worlds, beyond interdisciplinarity, and beyond crucial work on equality, diversity and inclusivity. Bereavement, as a field of study and a set of practices, needs to take account of the legacies of complex colonial histories of exploitation and harm that continue to shape the world in general, and in particular, the aftermath of death in the continuing lives of the living. We conclude with some implications for ‘bereavement’ practice, from a UK perspective.

Verbalizing sensory experience for marketing success

Terminology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Temmerman
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Food Studies ◽  
New Product ◽  
Sensory Experience ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Daunting Task ◽  
The World

Descriptors of sensory experience are known to be crucial in trying to objectify the world. New descriptors are coined to express the enhanced experience of a reality experienced by human beings. In this article we illustrate the cognitive and cross-cultural framing for verbalizing sensory experience discussing the indeterminacy and vagueness of the wine descriptor minerality and the successful universal neologism smoothie, a product name for a new product. Both case studies concern units of understanding that are difficult to define but that are related to products with high marketing potential. First we refer to the expert literature in food studies dealing with minerality and smoothies. Then we report on observations based on discourse oriented empirical heuristics and surveying. Finally we discuss in how far experiencing food and drinks is culture-bound and language-specific, which implies that translating food descriptions may be a daunting task.

Responses to “An Ethical Analysis of the Barriers to Effective Pain Management” by Ben A. Rich (CQ Vol 9, No 1)

2001 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-96
Author(s):  
Claire Brett
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Pain Management ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ethical Analysis ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Decent People ◽  
Serious Crime ◽  
The World ◽  
Pain And Suffering ◽  
Definition Of

Ben Rich, J.D., Ph.D., presents a scholarly, passionate view of the ethics of the “barriers to effective pain management.” His manuscript is detailed, analytical, and compassionate. No reasonable sensitive person, especially a physician committed to caring for patients, can disagree with the proposal that human beings should have their physical, emotional, and spiritual pain tended to aggressively, meticulously, and compassionately. Similarly, the same individuals advocating for such pain management would agree that no one should go to jail unless he or she is guilty of a serious crime, that decent people should not be robbed or murdered, that children should not be hungry or homeless, and that all citizens of the United States deserve healthcare. Our society attempts to achieve these goals. Laws are written, discussed, and approved by state and federal congresses, voted on by citizens, and theoretically upheld by the courts, churches, and decent individuals. But, unless the world suddenly becomes inhabited by virtuous, ethical humans who can unfailingly differentiate “good” from “bad,” then, in spite of an abundance of laws and lawyers, doctors, and nurses, this world will continue to have pain and suffering. And, although we want to hold our doctors, politicians, educators, champion athletes, and others to “higher standards” than the average citizen, it is best to remind ourselves frequently that all humans can be weak and are bound to make imprecise judgments, that there is not a homogenous definition of “good,” that values and religious beliefs are variable.

scholarly journals Σοπενχάουερ περί Θανάτου και Αυτοκτονίας

Bioethica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Lina Papadaki (Λίνα Παπαδάκη)
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Good Reason ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The World ◽  
Pain And Suffering ◽  
The Will ◽  
Genuine Solution

Schopenhauer is portrayed as the philosopher of pessimism, and for good reason. For him, life is suffering where ‘ultimately death must triumph’ (The World as Will and Representation vol. I, 311). However, his pessimism fades away when he contemplates death. He argues enthusiastically that, far from being an evil, death is in fact a friend we should welcome. Moreover, he believes it is possible for human beings to use their knowledge to fight the fear of death. Interestingly, however, at the point where the reader expects a philosophical defense of suicide, Schopenhauer vehemently argues against it. Suicide to avoid pain and suffering, according to him, is a mistake, a futile, foolish and egoistic act. Not only does suicide not offer a genuine solution to suffering, but also it hinders true salvation, the denial of the will.In this paper, I argue that Schopenhauer’s condemnation of suicide is in fact at odds with his views on death and can weaken his argumentation about why we must not fear death. It is my belief that Schopenhauer’s views on suicide stem - quite ironically - from his being, at times, overly optimistic about the possibility of genuine salvation. When it comes to freeing ourselves from the will, however, we are better off pessimists. This, I explain, will allow us to at least keep our optimism regarding death and find solace in the knowledge that - be it by old age, illness, accident, suicide or any other cause - death is not to be feared.

Experimental Philosophy

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Knobe
Keyword(s):  
Moral Responsibility ◽  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Experimental Philosophy ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Cultural Work ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
True Nature ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Key Points

The aim of the article is to review existing work in experimental philosophy. The experimental philosophy seeks to examine the phenomena that have been traditionally associated with philosophy using the methods that have more recently been developed within cognitive science. Conceptual analysis frequently relies on appeals to intuition, but it is rarely made clear precisely whose intuitions are being discussed. The emphasis in cross-cultural work in experimental philosophy has been shifting toward the study of moral judgments, with papers exploring cross-cultural differences in intuitions about consequentialism and moral responsibility. Philosophers have been working on the relationship between moral responsibility and determinism. One of the key points of contention is whether moral responsibility and determinism are compatible or incompatible. Philosophers working within the framework of the analytic project have long engaged in the study of people's intuitions, but their real interest has not typically been in human beings and the way they think. They work to understand the true nature of the properties and relations that people's concepts pick out. Some philosophers believe that the most important and fundamental issues are somehow getting overlooked as researchers turn more and more to empirically informed work in cognitive science.

Introduction to Music Psychology

2021 ◽  
pp. 3-20
Author(s):  
Robert H. Woody
Keyword(s):  
Human Mind ◽  
Musical Ability ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Field Of Study ◽  
Music Psychology ◽  
Fields Of Study ◽  
The World ◽  
Psychology Of Music ◽  
Areas Of Interest

Psychology and music can be complementary fields of study. Psychology is the study of the amazing human mind, and music comprises some of people’s most fascinating behaviors. Psychology promotes understanding of people: how they perceive and process the world around them, how they feel emotion, how they learn, and how they can skillfully perform certain behaviors, just to name several areas of interest. Music is made by human beings for human beings. Because people are the most important elements of music, aspiring musicians really cannot optimally advance their craft without considering the insights offered by psychology. This chapter introduces the psychology of music as a field of study. It covers a number of topics, including the cultural nature of music, the contributors to emotionally powerful music experiences, and the acquired skill explanation of musical ability.

scholarly journals Sociocultural stereotypes in cross-cultural communication

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 127-148
Author(s):  
G. V. Denissova
Keyword(s):  
Human Mind ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Communication ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Communicative Behavior ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Cross Cultural Communication ◽  
The World

The relationship between language and culture has long been the subject of fierce debates among philosophers, linguists and social scientists. In spite of Chomsky’s theory about an innate biological basis for language and Steven Pinker’s concept of language instinct, language use, however, is social, so the idea of a biological language instinct seems to be controversial from the perspective of sociolinguistics. The concept of “linguistic worldview” refers to the cognitive function of language. Human beings have the ability to communicate with one another by means of a system of conventional signs, which refers to classes of phenomena in an extra-linguistic reality. Thus, a certain cognitive view of the world, its categorisation and conceptualisation of the identified phenomena are encoded in the human mind. People who identify themselves as members of a social group acquire common ways of viewing the world through their interactions with other members of that same group. Common attitudes, beliefs and values are reflected in the way all members of the group use language, i.e. what they choose to say or not to say and how they say it. The view of the world, established in a language, is not identical to any encyclopaedic knowledge of the world. The present paper is a general overview of stereotypes as part and parcel of the linguistic worldview that influence on cross-cultural communication. Most definitions characterize a stereotype as a schematic, standardized, constant, conventional, nationally dependant phenomenon and the last feature is especially important for cross-cultural communication. Some claim that stereotypes can cause problems in cross-cultural communication as they concentrate on generalized simplified perceptions about a certain nation. Others consider that stereotypes can play a positive role in cross-cultural communication since they help people to acquire basic knowledge about another nation. The ongoing cultural globalization, however, determines certain changes in the principles of interaction of different types of intertextual encyclopediae and reveals the necessity to reconsider the kind of cultural and sociological competence required nowadays. The author hypothesized that stereotypes of consciousness, being psychological phenomena, correlate with sociolinguistic phenomena — language cliches, linguistic specific words and expressions that manifest themselves in communication through different associations. The experiment conducted in Russia and in Italy among bilinguals clearly showed the dominance in the communicative behavior of native encyclopedic code that may be the main cause of misunderstanding in cross-icultural communication.

scholarly journals The Groaning of Creation: Expanding our Eschatological Imagination Through the Paschal Mystery

Lumen et Vita ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea King
Keyword(s):  
Problem Of Evil ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Paschal Mystery ◽  
The World ◽  
The Problem Of Evil ◽  
Evolutionary Context ◽  
Pain And Suffering ◽  
Eschatological Imagination

One of the most difficult challenges facing belief in the Christian God is the problem of evil. How can there be a benevolent, omniscient, and omnipotent God, who allows pain, suffering and death in the world? Various theodicies have been constructed to address this question, and historically theologians have pointed to the Fall to explain such pain and suffering. However, theology in a post-evolutionary context is faced with a new challenge; the problem of pain and suffering is amplified by the millions of years of suffering and pain that have occurred before the advent of human beings.  Today, the theologian must wrestle with the claim that pain, suffering, and death not only precedes human beings, but are in fact instruments in the very process of creation itself.

Setting the Stage

Plato's Caves ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 56-88
Author(s):  
Rebecca LeMoine
Keyword(s):  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Cultural Interaction ◽  
The World ◽  
Entire World

Most readers of Plato are familiar with the cave allegory, which compares human beings to prisoners in a cave whose only notion of reality consists of shadows they see projected on the wall. Building on arguments that the cave represents the polis, or political community, this chapter brings to light various indications in Plato’s Republic that each polis creates its own unique version of the cave. Hence, there is not merely one cave, but rather an entire world of cave-like polities. Three major implications emerge from recognizing Plato’s vision of the world as a world of caves: (a) Plato’s view of the world is much more egalitarian than traditionally believed; (b) Plato recognizes that no culture is homogenous; and (c) Plato sees the potential in cross-cultural interaction for intellectual liberation.

ANIMAL RIGHTS AND THEORIES OF ORIGINS: A PLEA FOR UNITY

2003 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 330-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Thornhill ◽  
Michael Morris
Keyword(s):  
Animal Models ◽  
Animal Rights ◽  
General Public ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Biological Origin ◽  
The World ◽  
Pain And Suffering

AbstractA useful philosophical case against vivisection influential with the general public rests on the following three premises: (1) animals have interests as conscious beings; (2) it is unethical to cause pain and suffering to conscious beings for trivial reasons; and (3) animal models cannot be extrapolated to human beings, so vivisection is a trivial reason. Darwinian arguments have been used to back up each of the three premises above, and, furthermore it has been asserted by animal liberationists that those who do not hold to the evolutionary paradigm are more likely to support vivisection. Here, we present arguments that show why a belief in Darwinism (or in evolution generally) neither strengthens nor weakens the three anti-vivisectionist premises above. We also argue that there is no evidence to suggest that Darwinists are any less (or more) likely to support vivisection than those who hold views on biological origin that are further from the scientific mainstream. By leaving out arguments on origins, we hope that Darwinists, non-Darwinist evolutionists and creationists of all types can work together to make the world a better place for non-human animals.

“Utopia First!” A Machiavellian Conception of Solidarity in More's Utopia

Moreana ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (Number 209) (1) ◽  
pp. 79-93
Author(s):  
Marie-Claire Phélippeau
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Farm Work ◽  
The World ◽  
Social Difficulties ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Democratic Elections ◽  
Communal Organization

This paper shows how solidarity is one of the founding principles in Thomas More's Utopia (1516). In the fictional republic of Utopia described in Book II, solidarity has a political and a moral function. The principle is at the center of the communal organization of Utopian society, exemplified in a number of practices such as the sharing of farm work, the management of surplus crops, or the democratic elections of the governor and the priests. Not only does solidarity benefit the individual Utopian, but it is a prerequisite to ensure the prosperity of the island of Utopia and its moral preeminence over its neighboring countries. However, a limit to this principle is drawn when the republic of Utopia faces specific social difficulties, and also deals with the rest of the world. In order for the principle of solidarity to function perfectly, it is necessary to apply it exclusively within the island or the republic would be at risk. War is not out of the question then, and compassion does not apply to all human beings. This conception of solidarity, summed up as “Utopia first!,” could be dubbed a Machiavellian strategy, devised to ensure the durability of the republic. We will show how some of the recommendations of Realpolitik made by Machiavelli in The Prince (1532) correspond to the Utopian policy enforced to protect their commonwealth.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document