Signs and Emotions as the Experience of the Urban Explorer

Although we have the impression that we understand the urban texture in which we live, the city still holds surprises in the way it communicates everyday aspects, situations, and cultural history.The experience of the urban explorer, that flâneur/stroller mentioned by Guy Debord (1955) and the Situationist school, was until recently only a literary experience. The emotion of discovering the unusual in the urban daily life was communicated only in the form of textual narratives (Sinclair, 1997). Recently the psychogeographical approach to the city has become again a topic of interest. Although contemporary design transposed the behavioral codes of urban life into signs, it did not propose emoticons for the phenomenological experience of one who experiences the city. The original purpose of this paper is to translate the phenomenological experience of the urban explorer into infographics (which translates complex concepts into signs with condensed meaning) and to quantify and communicate emotionally and visually, the experience of the "invisible" [out of sight] cultural details to the hurried passerby. This paper will discuss the phenomenological (psychogeographical) experience of the city transferred into visual signs will be presented. The authors insist on the communicative value of infographics in making visible the hidden beauty of the city, the historical and esthetical details that are not seen by the passersby on the street, proposing a new urban visual language accompanied by visual design theory and cultural history explanations.

Contemporary Art in Applied Dimensions: A Reflective Review of Art as Therapeutic Process

A common perception about contemporary art is the perception that it excludes a majority of people as being its legitimate viewers or judges, by virtue of the fact that it contains exclusive or encrypted messages. A small, privileged group of experts grant value, acceptance and endow public popularity of such works for the market and media. In this research we seek to provide an insight into a cluster of contemporary abstract art forms and show how such art forms anticipate closer and more common sensory and hermeneutic experience. Art like that of Hamish Fulton is built on experiences that enables us to connect with them, thereby redefining the concepts and ideas of these arts through an alternative phenomenological experience of their methods and processes of making art. Fulton’s art is based on a visual translation of his experiences of healing walks through mountainous terrain. We may build a personal, general methodology of interpretation by building personal synergistic links with the methods of creation – that could in turn generate therapeutic effects both in the viewer or in the interpreter of such art, through self-reflection and re-construction of the concepts proposed in the framing. Likewise, we will reflect briefly on art therapeutic projects that we studied for patients with ADHD. We analyze the expressions and suggest a method of therapeutic art creation based on similar processes as in Fulton.

Subjektívne vnímané riziká užívania psychedelík

Introduction. With growing interest in hallucinogens, majority of psychedelic research focus mostly on the therapeutic potential and benefits. The objective of this paper is to explore how users of psychedelics verbalize their experience and perceived risks of using such substances. Methods. The authors used a questionnaire with open-ended and multiple-choice items. The sample included persons with at least one phenomenological experience with psychedelics (N = 422, age M=27.78; SD=7.84; SE=0.38; 35.1% women). Qualitative data were analyzed using concepts of The Grounded Theory using the Atlas.ti suite. Results. The target group uses terms taken from the English language (“bad trip”, “set and setting”, “sitter”, or the grammatically localized version of the word „psychedelic“), with shared and well-understood semantic meaning within the community. The central domain “inappropriate set and setting” and its inadequate preparation is linked to the negative experience of “bad trip” which can lead to difficult “integration of experience” or even “psychotic disorders”. Users of psychedelics report various harm reduction strategies which are consistent with relevant literature. Conclusion. This study illustrates that Slovak users of psychedelics seem to understand and use the established terminology of international discourse related to these substances. At the same time, the authors suggest that users seem to use various relevant strategies to lower risks associated with the use of psychedelics.

Out-of-Body Experience induced by hypnotic suggestion: phenomenology and perceptual characteristics

The aim of this study is the investigation of the perceptual and cognitive characteristics of Out-of- Body Experiences (OBEs) induced by hypnotic induction.Five participants selected for their experience with hypnotic inductions were induced into an OBE and were requested to verbally describe six selected images, either one or two per session, that were located in two different rooms that were hundreds of kilometers from the place where they were under hypnosis.Furthermore, their real-time phenomenological experience was investigated with respect to the minimal phenomenal selfhood (MPS) and the similarities with the characteristics of spatial and temporal perception reported in near death experiences (NDEs).On average, the participants correctly identified 46.7% of the images, whereas two independent judges correctly identified 66.7% of them, compared to a probability of 25% expected due to chance.The phenomenology of their out-of-body perceptual and cognitive experiences revealed a general commonality among all participants. All participants reported a phenomenological experience of a disembodied personal selfhood able to perceive simply by an act of will without the physical limitation of eyesight, to move in the environment instantaneously and exist in a sort of three dimensional world with no awareness of time.The validity of these first person verbal reports was discussed to determine whether they were due to real OBEs or to the participants’ or the hypnotist’s previous knowledge about OBE.

Beyond the Portal

<p>This research project began by asking the question, ‘How does mixed reality aid the creation of an inexhaustible three-dimensional world that supports the evolution of inhabitable narratives within sacred spaces? Imdat As states, ‘The user in the digital age is not only a spectator but also an active participant of a parallel world.’ Within this environment, ‘we experience and manipulate virtual space (Imdat AS, 2006, p.60)’. As such, this notion of ‘experiencing and manipulating virtual space’ can provide a valuable set of tools to aid the evolution of inhabitable narratives within sacred spaces. To answer this question, the research proposes a proof of concept for a mixed reality multifaith environment. In its current conception, the multifaith space is limited to room scale spaces, treated as purely functional entities to the point where the experience within the space becomes monotonous. Religious architecture, whether it may be a church, mosque or temple, has been successfully translated into the collective memory of larger society, but within multifaith spaces, our focus has been on neutralization and in the process voided the space of any rich phenomenological experience. In order to activate the space, the research aims to digitally overlay ‘cultural information’ on top of a multifaith space in order to alter its use, essentially transforming it to the spiritual needs of the user. Hereby, a Muslim immersive experience was developed by investigating and interpreting both the tangible and intangible rituals of prayer. By incorporating an ‘altered’ immersive experience, the project aids the evolution in design and concept of a multifaith space that moves beyond the notion of an “empty white room (Crompton, 2013, p.487)”. By creating an MR environment for users of the Muslim faith the project contributes design concepts and methods for others, furthering research in this field.</p>

Beyond the Portal

<p>This research project began by asking the question, ‘How does mixed reality aid the creation of an inexhaustible three-dimensional world that supports the evolution of inhabitable narratives within sacred spaces? Imdat As states, ‘The user in the digital age is not only a spectator but also an active participant of a parallel world.’ Within this environment, ‘we experience and manipulate virtual space (Imdat AS, 2006, p.60)’. As such, this notion of ‘experiencing and manipulating virtual space’ can provide a valuable set of tools to aid the evolution of inhabitable narratives within sacred spaces. To answer this question, the research proposes a proof of concept for a mixed reality multifaith environment. In its current conception, the multifaith space is limited to room scale spaces, treated as purely functional entities to the point where the experience within the space becomes monotonous. Religious architecture, whether it may be a church, mosque or temple, has been successfully translated into the collective memory of larger society, but within multifaith spaces, our focus has been on neutralization and in the process voided the space of any rich phenomenological experience. In order to activate the space, the research aims to digitally overlay ‘cultural information’ on top of a multifaith space in order to alter its use, essentially transforming it to the spiritual needs of the user. Hereby, a Muslim immersive experience was developed by investigating and interpreting both the tangible and intangible rituals of prayer. By incorporating an ‘altered’ immersive experience, the project aids the evolution in design and concept of a multifaith space that moves beyond the notion of an “empty white room (Crompton, 2013, p.487)”. By creating an MR environment for users of the Muslim faith the project contributes design concepts and methods for others, furthering research in this field.</p>

Understanding the Voices of Disability Advocates in Physician-Assisted Suicide Debates

Christians have an obligation to attend to the voices of persons who are crying out that their dignity and very lives are in jeopardy when physician-assisted suicide (PAS) becomes legalized. The following essay begins with an account of the concept of “disability moral psychology,” which elucidates the unique ways persons with disabilities perceive the world, based on their phenomenological experience. The author then explores the disability critique of PAS and the shared social conditions of persons who are chronically disabled and terminally ill. Finally, the author positions the disability critique within Christian moral deliberations on PAS to unearth its significance for Christian ethics. To bear witness to a compassionate God, theological and ethical judgments concerning PAS must seek perspectives from persons who claim that their dignity and even their lives are in jeopardy by the practice.

Pupillary evidence reveals the influence of positive thoughts on brightness perception

Our visual experience often varies based on momentary thoughts and feelings. For example,when positive thoughts are invoked, visual objects may appear brighter. However, it remainsunclear whether this phenomenological experience is driven by a genuine top-down modulation of brightness perception or by a mere response bias. To investigate this issue, here we use pupillometry as a more objective measure of perceived brightness. We asked participants to judge the brightness level of an iso-luminant gray color patch after evaluating the valence of a positive or negative word. We found that the gray color patch elicited greater pupillary light reflex and more frequent “bright” responses after observers had evaluated the valence of a positive word. As pupillary light reflex is unlikely driven by voluntary control or response bias, these results suggest that positive concepts can genuinely modulate brightness perception.

The Thinking Body: a Study of the Architectural Ramifications of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's Rendering of the Human Body's Capacities

<p>Phenomenology offers a conceptual framework that connects and strengthens the architect' s intuitive understanding of the human experience of space with the theorist's more critical approach. Phenomenology is an ideal vehicle for architectural theorists to avoid the friction between first-hand or subjective experience and generalised or abstracted accounts of experience. In this thesis I extract an account of the human experience of space that is implicit in the Philosopher Maurice Merleau-Pontys work. I consider how this understanding has been employed in architectural scholarship and practice. In particular, I argue that the human body renders the richness of space through deliberate engagement with the indeterminate and independent possibilities of the world. In other words, as the body intentionally engages with the world, it synthesises objects that create determinate spatial situations. I account for Merleau-Ponty's depiction of the body' s non-rule governed, non-reflective, normative directiveness towards spaces and elements, and label it the thinking body. Furthermore I examine how the philosophical theory of Merleau-Ponty is represented in the explicitly theoretical works of Juhani Pallasmaa. In turn I then consider how the thinking body is physically and conceptually realised in the buildings of Carlo Scarpa. Finally I find that Juhani Pallasmaa's description of the phenomenological experience of space is incompatible with Merleau-Ponty's. The strategic importance of these different accounts emerges when projecting their implications for designed space. Pallasmaa' s account points towards an architecture that prioritises sensory experiences synthesised by the mind. The design focus of Merleau-Ponty's philosophy leads to spatial practices in line with Carlo Scarpa, that are sympathetic to the causal qualities of an intentional bodily engagement with spatial situations. In accord with Merleau-Ponty I argue that human body is our medium for the world and as such creates the spatial situation we engage with from a formless manifold of possibilities.</p>