Streben of the I as the Fundamental Form of Consciousness

This paper aims to show that Fichte’s concept of Streben or striving of the I is the necessary condition of finite or individual consciousness. The I posits itself absolutely, but in doing so it posits the not-I as well, therefore it posits itself absolutely as self-limiting I. If there was no limitation on the infinite striving of the I’s activity, then there would be no I, at least as we know it. Firstly, the paper emphasizes why this activity or striving needs to be infinite, and at the same time determined. Then, why is it necessary for theoretical self-consciousness, regarding the idea of Anstoss, divided self and absolute I. Finally, why is it also necessary for practical standpoint, considering the ideas of practical striving, tendency, longing, drive, and desire (both in individual striving towards self-coherence and social drive for intersubjectivity). It will be concluded that the I possesses a “dual nature” or divided character: it is finite, but it strives towards infinity. The tension arising from this contradiction should be the moving force of the I.

Ontological Insecurity and Decision-Making during Black Swan and Dragon King Events, and COVID-19

The tremendously disruptive global pandemic of COVID-19 has had a destabilizing effect on individuals and groups as it triggered a profound uncertainty about the ability of nations, organizations, and individuals to survive. Under such conditions, decision-making was affected in a number of ways which has a profound implication for leaders and policymakers. This paper presents new theoretical lenses that incorporate literary and cultural narratives to consider the various potential classifications of COVID-19 as a “Black Swan” or “Dragon King” event, and how the disruption has precipitated psychological distress. Further, the paper discusses the notion that Dragon King extreme events may be precursors to catastrophic transition. In this analysis, we look at concepts such as R. D. Laing’s The Divided Self, and the psychological concept of ontological insecurity. While the concept is a psychological one, it has been applied to the analysis of literature, with very illuminating results. Likewise, the concept could be applied to the factors going into thinking about reality, one’s relationships with others, and then, decision-making. When combined with techniques to develop self-awareness, such as the Johari window, even more insight is achievable. The overall purpose of the paper is to analyze the relatively hidden or unacknowledged literary narratives that constitute driving mechanisms in decision-making in psychological and ontologically destabilizing Black Swan and Dragon King events.

Monstrous Interiors: Quasi-Domestic Space As the Ontological Terrorist of Toxic Masculinity

Resonating with these pandemic times, Catherine Spooner has described the Gothic as a ‘malevolent virus’. In my paper, I will propose that the haunted house narrative, so central to American Gothic, has itself mutated in response to a backdrop of post-millenial social, political and financial collapse in a manner quite different to developments in the rest of the Gothic literary world. The narrative strand which has emerged, presents the reader with a new form of the Gothic male protagonist, whom the British psychologist R.D Laing in The Divided Self (1960), would describe as a ‘schizoid’ subject. Fragile, failing and fragmenting, he escapes a failing career, marriage and parenthood by removing his family to a quasi-domestic space which promises repair. House or hotel, these ‘haunted houses’ are different from the earlier ‘hungry houses’ identified by Gothic writer Stephen Graham Jones in his introduction to Robert Marasco’s classic haunted house novel, Burnt Offerings. This new quasi-domestic space, often combining work and home, rises up to meet the male schizoid, not merely as the traditional Gothic setting, but as a sentient being; a monster in its own right. His entrapment in this new Gothic labyrinth that is constantly shifting, expanding and shrinking, provides a performative stage on which the schizoid male is forced into an existential crisis beyond that of the trauma of spousal and parental failure, ultimately forcing him to confront what it is to exist in space and time. A reaction to the rise of neo-liberalism and toxic masculinity, this important strand to American Gothic embraces the multiplicity of the Gothic’s new forms and is evident in texts such as Steve Rasnic Tem’s, Deadfall Hotel, Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves, Thomas Liggotti’s, The Town Manager, Jac Jemc’s, The Grip of It and Shaun Hamill’s A Cosmology of Monsters. Developing from their deeper roots in the Calvinist Gothic tradition of Hawthorne, Brockden Brown and Poe via the mid-century works of Stephen King and Robert Marasco, these new post- millennial narratives provide a space in which notions of masculine subjectivity are fundamentally challenged.

R.D. Laing’s The Divided Self: An Existential Study of Sanity and Madness (1965)

Classic book review

The Relationship Between Self-Silencing and Depression: A Meta-Analysis

Introduction: Over time, several studies have provided knowledge about the relationship between self-silencing and depression. However, even if there is a tendency to obtain positive correlations, results ranging from null to large effects are rather variable, and until now no meta-analysis exists of these results, to our knowledge. Under these circumstances, the purpose of the present study is to quantitatively integrate existing results refecting the relationship between self-silencing and depression and to explore potential moderators of this relationship, in regards to conceptual aspects and characteristics of the samples. Methods: Our meta-analysis incorporates 31 published and 11 unpublished studies (with a total of 10,108 participants and 131 effect sizes), written in English, which statistically quantify the link between self-silencing and depression. For the analysis of the overall effect, specific meta-analytical procedures were used for heterogeneity, publication bias, and potential moderators. Results: There is an overall significant positive and medium correlation between self-silencing and depression (r = 0.391, p < 0.001). The heterogeneity of the results is partially explained by components of self-silencing, measured in each study and certain features of the samples such as age, sexual orientation, and level of education. Discussion: For researchers on this topic, our results offer a more precise input for computing sample sizes and also generate expectations of results as a function of specific methodological features. For practitioners, our results suggest the importance of approaching components of self-silence in counseling and therapy (with increased attention towards the externalized self-perception and the divided self) as mechanisms in depression (especially for younger and highly educated clients, and for non-heterosexuals).

Conceptions of happiness: philosophical and evolutionary considerations

This paper offers a critical analysis of the conclusions of the most recent research in the field of social psychology and positive psychology, with a special focus on Jonathan Haidt’s conclusions published in his acclaimed book The Happiness Hypothesis (2006). Various factors contributing to subjective feelings of happiness are considered and assessed on the background of what modern research has come to call a ‘divided self,’ reflecting the dynamic and often conflicting relationship between the human rational ego and his/her emotions and internal (often subconscious) drives. While our individual genetic predispositions have a substantial impact on the way we feel and act, intentional mind-focusing techniques, proper types of psychotherapy or spiritual counselling, and adequate medicine (e.g., Prozac) have a measurable influence on human character development, subjective wellbeing, and feelings of happiness. This paper claims that it might be difficult to answer the question of what constitutes happiness and how one achieves it without answering first the question of meaning in a twofold manner: first, giving adequate consideration to life’s meaning from within, i.e., from the perspective of the personal/moral subject; and second, considering the wider context of the person’s subjective consideration in asking the question ‘what is the meaning of life’ in general. To attempt to answer this second question, one needs to delve into deeper philosophical/spiritual waters.

Caring for the divided self: A psychoanalytic exploration of care and identity in organizations

The study introduces a Lacanian psychoanalytic approach to the investigation of care in organizations. It examines 52 stories describing how employees care for one another in material and emotional ways and explores how the narration of care becomes mapped on to struggles with unconscious aspects of the self, variously subjugating the self to, and empowering the self from, existing power structures. The study finds that current conceptions of care facilitate an imaginary project to fix identity and therefore privilege a more disempowering practice of care. It also reveals that, if investigated from a Lacanian perspective, care can serve more empowering constructions of identity. Specifically, care can create a space in which divided subjectivity can surface and action can be freed from identity projects and the vulnerabilities to identity control this introduces. Implications for theorizing the function of care in relation to identity are discussed.