Jennifer Glancy
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195328158
- eISBN:
- 9780199777143
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328158.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History, Early Christian Studies
Drawing on representations of bodies in sources from Paul to Augustine, this book focuses on the question of what is known in the body and demonstrates why that question is significant for a cultural ...
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Drawing on representations of bodies in sources from Paul to Augustine, this book focuses on the question of what is known in the body and demonstrates why that question is significant for a cultural history of Christian origins. The inevitable cultural habituation of bodies influenced Christians of the first centuries to replicate the habitus of the wider culture—that is, the hierarchical patterns of social relations familiar throughout the Roman Empire, despite the seeming incompatibility of those embodied patterns of relations with the good news of Christian preaching. A study of corporal epistemology, this volume builds on a sequence of in-depth analyses of texts, historical problems, and theological questions. How does Paul manage to position his whippable body as a source of knowledge and power? How did the corporal conditioning of the Roman slaveholding system infiltrate Christian moral imagination and sexual ethics? What do primitive images of Mary in childbirth suggest about ancient—and modern—understandings of maternal epistemology? The book is informed by the work of theorists of corporeality, including Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Pierre Bourdieu, and Linda Martín Alcoff. What is known in the body is informed by but ultimately exceeds the grid of social location. Framing questions about corporal knowledge offers new insights into bodies, identities, and early Christian understandings of what it means to be human.Less
Drawing on representations of bodies in sources from Paul to Augustine, this book focuses on the question of what is known in the body and demonstrates why that question is significant for a cultural history of Christian origins. The inevitable cultural habituation of bodies influenced Christians of the first centuries to replicate the habitus of the wider culture—that is, the hierarchical patterns of social relations familiar throughout the Roman Empire, despite the seeming incompatibility of those embodied patterns of relations with the good news of Christian preaching. A study of corporal epistemology, this volume builds on a sequence of in-depth analyses of texts, historical problems, and theological questions. How does Paul manage to position his whippable body as a source of knowledge and power? How did the corporal conditioning of the Roman slaveholding system infiltrate Christian moral imagination and sexual ethics? What do primitive images of Mary in childbirth suggest about ancient—and modern—understandings of maternal epistemology? The book is informed by the work of theorists of corporeality, including Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Pierre Bourdieu, and Linda Martín Alcoff. What is known in the body is informed by but ultimately exceeds the grid of social location. Framing questions about corporal knowledge offers new insights into bodies, identities, and early Christian understandings of what it means to be human.
Jennifer Radden and John Sadler
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195389371
- eISBN:
- 9780199866328
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195389371.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, General
Drawing on the role morality developed in previous applications of virtue ethics to professional practice, The Virtuous Psychiatrist shows that the ethical practice of psychiatry depends on the ...
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Drawing on the role morality developed in previous applications of virtue ethics to professional practice, The Virtuous Psychiatrist shows that the ethical practice of psychiatry depends on the character of the practitioner. The book is built upon three key tenets: ethics is important to any professional practice, including psychiatry; the settings within which psychiatry is practiced impose ethical demands on its practitioners that are distinctive enough to warrant a separate analysis; and an emphasis on character and moral psychology in a virtue theory significantly augments our understanding of the ethical demands of psychiatric practice. In addition to the ethical guidelines imposed on every biomedical practice, the ethical practitioner should cultivate additional traits of character or virtues. These include gender sensitive virtues. Implicated in the normative presuppositions of psychiatric practice and lore, gender stands in for other such categories including race, class and ethnicity; it is also a factor at once unremittingly controversial, and inescapably tied to the self identity often at the heart of the therapeutic project. Virtues can and should be taught – that is, instilled, deepened and augmented. The setting where trainees are learning the ideals and responses of their particular professional role, it is emphasized, is where such virtues can be habituated, using pedagogical techniques associated with moral education, such as training in empathic emotions. Psychiatric training should address trainee's character alongside practice skills.Less
Drawing on the role morality developed in previous applications of virtue ethics to professional practice, The Virtuous Psychiatrist shows that the ethical practice of psychiatry depends on the character of the practitioner. The book is built upon three key tenets: ethics is important to any professional practice, including psychiatry; the settings within which psychiatry is practiced impose ethical demands on its practitioners that are distinctive enough to warrant a separate analysis; and an emphasis on character and moral psychology in a virtue theory significantly augments our understanding of the ethical demands of psychiatric practice. In addition to the ethical guidelines imposed on every biomedical practice, the ethical practitioner should cultivate additional traits of character or virtues. These include gender sensitive virtues. Implicated in the normative presuppositions of psychiatric practice and lore, gender stands in for other such categories including race, class and ethnicity; it is also a factor at once unremittingly controversial, and inescapably tied to the self identity often at the heart of the therapeutic project. Virtues can and should be taught – that is, instilled, deepened and augmented. The setting where trainees are learning the ideals and responses of their particular professional role, it is emphasized, is where such virtues can be habituated, using pedagogical techniques associated with moral education, such as training in empathic emotions. Psychiatric training should address trainee's character alongside practice skills.
Jennifer Radden and John Z. Sadler
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195389371
- eISBN:
- 9780199866328
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195389371.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, General
The brief concluding chapter returns to the questions, first introduced in Chapter 5, of whether, and how, virtue can be taught. The preceding discussions have laid out reasons why virtue should be ...
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The brief concluding chapter returns to the questions, first introduced in Chapter 5, of whether, and how, virtue can be taught. The preceding discussions have laid out reasons why virtue should be taught to those who will practice psychiatry. There is a growing body of evidence indicating it is possible to deepen and augment the affective and moral responses making up character traits such as empathy, for example, using a range of pedagogical techniques that harness imaginative capabilities. Alongside the practice skills they learn, the virtues of the good practitioner in psychiatry should and can be habituated and deepened using such techniques, it is argued. As well as to the acquisition of more technical skills, emphasis ought to be placed on character training.Less
The brief concluding chapter returns to the questions, first introduced in Chapter 5, of whether, and how, virtue can be taught. The preceding discussions have laid out reasons why virtue should be taught to those who will practice psychiatry. There is a growing body of evidence indicating it is possible to deepen and augment the affective and moral responses making up character traits such as empathy, for example, using a range of pedagogical techniques that harness imaginative capabilities. Alongside the practice skills they learn, the virtues of the good practitioner in psychiatry should and can be habituated and deepened using such techniques, it is argued. As well as to the acquisition of more technical skills, emphasis ought to be placed on character training.
Zena Hitz
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199644384
- eISBN:
- 9780191743344
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199644384.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
It is widely agreed that Aristotle holds that the best moral education involves habituation in the proper pleasures of virtuous action. But it is rarely acknowledged that Aristotle repeatedly ...
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It is widely agreed that Aristotle holds that the best moral education involves habituation in the proper pleasures of virtuous action. But it is rarely acknowledged that Aristotle repeatedly emphasizes the social and political sources of good habits, and strongly suggests that the correct law‐ordained education in proper pleasures is very rare or non‐existent. A careful look at the Nicomachean Ethics along with parallel discussions in the Eudemian Ethics and Politics suggests that Aristotle divided public moral education or law‐ordained habituation into two types. One type is a defective form practiced by the Spartans, producing civic courage and similar defective virtue‐like states motivated by external incentives. By contrast Aristotle endorses the law‐ordained musical education described in Politics 8. The chapter argues that Aristotle considers the well‐habituated state of proper pleasures in virtue to be best cultivated by this kind of musical education; and that this explains both his emphasis on good laws and on their scarcity.Less
It is widely agreed that Aristotle holds that the best moral education involves habituation in the proper pleasures of virtuous action. But it is rarely acknowledged that Aristotle repeatedly emphasizes the social and political sources of good habits, and strongly suggests that the correct law‐ordained education in proper pleasures is very rare or non‐existent. A careful look at the Nicomachean Ethics along with parallel discussions in the Eudemian Ethics and Politics suggests that Aristotle divided public moral education or law‐ordained habituation into two types. One type is a defective form practiced by the Spartans, producing civic courage and similar defective virtue‐like states motivated by external incentives. By contrast Aristotle endorses the law‐ordained musical education described in Politics 8. The chapter argues that Aristotle considers the well‐habituated state of proper pleasures in virtue to be best cultivated by this kind of musical education; and that this explains both his emphasis on good laws and on their scarcity.
Nancy Sherman
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198239178
- eISBN:
- 9780191598395
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198239173.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
The Fabric of Character explores Aristotle's account of virtuous character and its development. I argue that traditional conceptions of Aristotelian habituation have ignored the critical ...
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The Fabric of Character explores Aristotle's account of virtuous character and its development. I argue that traditional conceptions of Aristotelian habituation have ignored the critical role of practical reason in both the development of virtue and the emotions constitutive of virtue. Virtue is, thus, neither the product of mindless drill nor of well‐behaved, but ultimately stupid emotions. If the virtuous person is, as Aristotle insists, also practically wise, then the path to a knowing kind of virtue must itself be critical and reflective. Character development is also a social project, on Aristotle's view, and the book explores the role of friendship (philia) in both the early and more mature stages of character growth. Key to a shared life is the possibility of coordinated ends and choices as well as empathetic attunement. I suggest an Aristotelian account of this kind of coordination and its role in the construction of happiness or eudaimonia. Finally, I explore the role of moral perception within virtue, and the epistemic role of emotions in discerning moral salience.Less
The Fabric of Character explores Aristotle's account of virtuous character and its development. I argue that traditional conceptions of Aristotelian habituation have ignored the critical role of practical reason in both the development of virtue and the emotions constitutive of virtue. Virtue is, thus, neither the product of mindless drill nor of well‐behaved, but ultimately stupid emotions. If the virtuous person is, as Aristotle insists, also practically wise, then the path to a knowing kind of virtue must itself be critical and reflective. Character development is also a social project, on Aristotle's view, and the book explores the role of friendship (philia) in both the early and more mature stages of character growth. Key to a shared life is the possibility of coordinated ends and choices as well as empathetic attunement. I suggest an Aristotelian account of this kind of coordination and its role in the construction of happiness or eudaimonia. Finally, I explore the role of moral perception within virtue, and the epistemic role of emotions in discerning moral salience.
Jennifer A. Glancy
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195328158
- eISBN:
- 9780199777143
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328158.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History, Early Christian Studies
Arguing that social location is a kind of knowledge borne in the body, chapter 1 demonstrates the significance of that insight for a cultural history of Christian origins. The chapter’s theoretical ...
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Arguing that social location is a kind of knowledge borne in the body, chapter 1 demonstrates the significance of that insight for a cultural history of Christian origins. The chapter’s theoretical framework relies on the practice-oriented social theory of Pierre Bourdieu and the phenomenologically oriented approaches of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Linda Martín Alcoff. The inevitable cultural habituation of bodies—what is known as habitus—inclined Christians of the first centuries toward certain social arrangements rather than others and facilitated particular patterns of theological reflection. At the same time, what is known in the body exceeds social location; corporal knowing thus has an excessive quality, a claim explored at greater length in chapter 4. Central claims of chapter 1 are illustrated through a close reading of the story of the Syrophoenician woman in the Gospel of Mark.Less
Arguing that social location is a kind of knowledge borne in the body, chapter 1 demonstrates the significance of that insight for a cultural history of Christian origins. The chapter’s theoretical framework relies on the practice-oriented social theory of Pierre Bourdieu and the phenomenologically oriented approaches of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Linda Martín Alcoff. The inevitable cultural habituation of bodies—what is known as habitus—inclined Christians of the first centuries toward certain social arrangements rather than others and facilitated particular patterns of theological reflection. At the same time, what is known in the body exceeds social location; corporal knowing thus has an excessive quality, a claim explored at greater length in chapter 4. Central claims of chapter 1 are illustrated through a close reading of the story of the Syrophoenician woman in the Gospel of Mark.
Jessica Moss
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199656349
- eISBN:
- 9780191742156
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199656349.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter addresses a major worry raised by the argument of Chapter 7: if wish is based on phantasia, why does Aristotle treat it as rational desire? The solution lies in understanding how ...
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This chapter addresses a major worry raised by the argument of Chapter 7: if wish is based on phantasia, why does Aristotle treat it as rational desire? The solution lies in understanding how non-rational character can provide our goals. The key is to see that the parallels Aristotle draws between theoretical reasoning and practical reasoning extend further than he makes explicit: he thinks that our grasp of the starting-points of practical reasoning – that is, of our goals – relies on perception and phantasia in the same way as does our grasp of the starting-points of theoretical reasoning. We grasp theoretical starting-points on the basis of induction; we grasp practical starting-points on the basis of ethical habituatio, which should be understood as practical induction. Habituation shapes character because it involves repeated pleasurable perception of virtuous activity: the pleasures of virtue are pleasures of (literally) perceiving oneself as good. These perceptions gives rise via phantasia to a general appearance of virtuous activity as good. Intellect conceptualizes this general appearance, but the content comes from non-rational cognition. Chapters 6 through 8 thus show that even our most distinctively human and distinctively virtuous desires are grounded in phantasia and thereby, ultimately, in evaluative perception – in pleasure. Aristotle is an empiricist in the practical realm just as much as in the theoretical.Less
This chapter addresses a major worry raised by the argument of Chapter 7: if wish is based on phantasia, why does Aristotle treat it as rational desire? The solution lies in understanding how non-rational character can provide our goals. The key is to see that the parallels Aristotle draws between theoretical reasoning and practical reasoning extend further than he makes explicit: he thinks that our grasp of the starting-points of practical reasoning – that is, of our goals – relies on perception and phantasia in the same way as does our grasp of the starting-points of theoretical reasoning. We grasp theoretical starting-points on the basis of induction; we grasp practical starting-points on the basis of ethical habituatio, which should be understood as practical induction. Habituation shapes character because it involves repeated pleasurable perception of virtuous activity: the pleasures of virtue are pleasures of (literally) perceiving oneself as good. These perceptions gives rise via phantasia to a general appearance of virtuous activity as good. Intellect conceptualizes this general appearance, but the content comes from non-rational cognition. Chapters 6 through 8 thus show that even our most distinctively human and distinctively virtuous desires are grounded in phantasia and thereby, ultimately, in evaluative perception – in pleasure. Aristotle is an empiricist in the practical realm just as much as in the theoretical.
Lisa M. Oakes, Jessica S. Horst, Kristine A. Kovack-Lesh, and Sammy Perone
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195301151
- eISBN:
- 9780199894246
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195301151.003.0006
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology
This chapter focuses on how infants learn categories in familiarization and habituation tasks — a context that provides both deep understanding into the processes of categorization and mimics many of ...
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This chapter focuses on how infants learn categories in familiarization and habituation tasks — a context that provides both deep understanding into the processes of categorization and mimics many of infants' real-life encounters with objects in important ways. Five specific questions about how infants learn categories are addressed: (1) Is innate/previously acquired structure required to explain learning? (2) Which aspects of the environment support learning? (3) What kinds of learning processes are evident? Are these specific to a domain, or more general? Do they change with development? (4) What is the nature of the representations derived from learning? (5) How does previous learning generalize to new instances? It is argued that infants' performance in familiarization tasks should be seen not as a means of simply tapping the knowledge infants have acquired outside the laboratory, but also as a means of tapping how infants learn information given that existing knowledge.Less
This chapter focuses on how infants learn categories in familiarization and habituation tasks — a context that provides both deep understanding into the processes of categorization and mimics many of infants' real-life encounters with objects in important ways. Five specific questions about how infants learn categories are addressed: (1) Is innate/previously acquired structure required to explain learning? (2) Which aspects of the environment support learning? (3) What kinds of learning processes are evident? Are these specific to a domain, or more general? Do they change with development? (4) What is the nature of the representations derived from learning? (5) How does previous learning generalize to new instances? It is argued that infants' performance in familiarization tasks should be seen not as a means of simply tapping the knowledge infants have acquired outside the laboratory, but also as a means of tapping how infants learn information given that existing knowledge.
Gabriel Horn
- Published in print:
- 1985
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198521563
- eISBN:
- 9780191706578
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198521563.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
Looking at both behavioural and molecular levels of analysis, this book presents the results of recent research into the biochemistry and neural mechanisms of imprinting. The book discusses some of ...
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Looking at both behavioural and molecular levels of analysis, this book presents the results of recent research into the biochemistry and neural mechanisms of imprinting. The book discusses some of the difficulties that researchers have encountered in analyzing the neural basis of memory, and describes ways in which these difficulties have been overcome through the analysis of memories underlying habituation and imprinting. It also considers the biochemical consequences of imprinting and its cerebral localization, and examines the relationships between human and animal memory.Less
Looking at both behavioural and molecular levels of analysis, this book presents the results of recent research into the biochemistry and neural mechanisms of imprinting. The book discusses some of the difficulties that researchers have encountered in analyzing the neural basis of memory, and describes ways in which these difficulties have been overcome through the analysis of memories underlying habituation and imprinting. It also considers the biochemical consequences of imprinting and its cerebral localization, and examines the relationships between human and animal memory.
Geoffrey Hall
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198521822
- eISBN:
- 9780191706677
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198521822.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
Psychologists studying conditioning in animals have developed the traditional notion of association formation to produce formal theories of the mechanisms involved that have wide explanatory power. ...
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Psychologists studying conditioning in animals have developed the traditional notion of association formation to produce formal theories of the mechanisms involved that have wide explanatory power. Some indeed have suggested that the associative principle underlies all instances of learning. This suggestion is challenged by the existence of a range of perceptual learning phenomena, taken to indicate that the perceptual effectiveness of events (stimuli) can be changed by experience. It has been asserted that the learning process involved in such change is not associative. This book examines this assertion, concentrating on instances of possible perceptual learning effects that can be demonstrated in the experimental paradigms that have provided the basis for associative theory. The aim is to analyse the nature of these effects, to determine which can and which cannot be accommodated by our standard associative principles, and, for those that cannot, to specify how the standard theory must be modified in order to deal with them.Less
Psychologists studying conditioning in animals have developed the traditional notion of association formation to produce formal theories of the mechanisms involved that have wide explanatory power. Some indeed have suggested that the associative principle underlies all instances of learning. This suggestion is challenged by the existence of a range of perceptual learning phenomena, taken to indicate that the perceptual effectiveness of events (stimuli) can be changed by experience. It has been asserted that the learning process involved in such change is not associative. This book examines this assertion, concentrating on instances of possible perceptual learning effects that can be demonstrated in the experimental paradigms that have provided the basis for associative theory. The aim is to analyse the nature of these effects, to determine which can and which cannot be accommodated by our standard associative principles, and, for those that cannot, to specify how the standard theory must be modified in order to deal with them.
Nelson Cowan
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195119107
- eISBN:
- 9780199870097
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195119107.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
For decades, the fundamental processes underlying memory and attention have been understood within an “information processing” framework in which information passes from one processing stage to ...
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For decades, the fundamental processes underlying memory and attention have been understood within an “information processing” framework in which information passes from one processing stage to another, leading eventually to a response. More recently, however, the attempt to build a general theoretical framework for information processing has been largely supplanted in favor of two more recent approaches: mathematical models of processing and direct investigations of brain function. This book reconciles theoretical conflicts in the literature to present an important, analytical update of the traditional information-processing approach by modifying it to incorporate the last few decades of research on memory, attention, and brain functioning. Throughout, the book cogently considers and ultimately refutes recent challenges to the fundamental assumption of the existence of special short-term memory and selective attention faculties. It also draws a key distinction between memory processes operating inside and outside of the focus of attention. The book hopes to foster an understanding of how memory and attention operate together, and how both functions are produced by brain processes.Less
For decades, the fundamental processes underlying memory and attention have been understood within an “information processing” framework in which information passes from one processing stage to another, leading eventually to a response. More recently, however, the attempt to build a general theoretical framework for information processing has been largely supplanted in favor of two more recent approaches: mathematical models of processing and direct investigations of brain function. This book reconciles theoretical conflicts in the literature to present an important, analytical update of the traditional information-processing approach by modifying it to incorporate the last few decades of research on memory, attention, and brain functioning. Throughout, the book cogently considers and ultimately refutes recent challenges to the fundamental assumption of the existence of special short-term memory and selective attention faculties. It also draws a key distinction between memory processes operating inside and outside of the focus of attention. The book hopes to foster an understanding of how memory and attention operate together, and how both functions are produced by brain processes.
Vernon Reynolds
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198515463
- eISBN:
- 9780191705656
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198515463.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
This chapter describes the process of habituating the Sonso community. Five years elapsed before the total population and range of the group were established. Birth and death rates, together with ...
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This chapter describes the process of habituating the Sonso community. Five years elapsed before the total population and range of the group were established. Birth and death rates, together with immigration and emigration, determine the demographic profile of the community. The community has grown in recent times, mainly as a result of immigration.Less
This chapter describes the process of habituating the Sonso community. Five years elapsed before the total population and range of the group were established. Birth and death rates, together with immigration and emigration, determine the demographic profile of the community. The community has grown in recent times, mainly as a result of immigration.
David Benatar
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199296422
- eISBN:
- 9780191712005
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199296422.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter discusses the magnitude of the harm of coming into existence, arguing that it is a very great harm. Drawing on the relevant psychological literature, it is shown that there are a number ...
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This chapter discusses the magnitude of the harm of coming into existence, arguing that it is a very great harm. Drawing on the relevant psychological literature, it is shown that there are a number of well-documented features of human psychology that explain why people systematically overestimate the quality of their lives. These features are ‘pollyannaism’, adaptation (otherwise known as habituation or accommodation), and comparison (with other people's lives). The chapter discusses three well-known views about the quality of life: hedonistic, desire-fulfilment, and objective-list theories. It argues that irrespective of which of these views one chooses, the quality of even the best lives is very bad. The chapter concludes by outlining just how much suffering there is in the world.Less
This chapter discusses the magnitude of the harm of coming into existence, arguing that it is a very great harm. Drawing on the relevant psychological literature, it is shown that there are a number of well-documented features of human psychology that explain why people systematically overestimate the quality of their lives. These features are ‘pollyannaism’, adaptation (otherwise known as habituation or accommodation), and comparison (with other people's lives). The chapter discusses three well-known views about the quality of life: hedonistic, desire-fulfilment, and objective-list theories. It argues that irrespective of which of these views one chooses, the quality of even the best lives is very bad. The chapter concludes by outlining just how much suffering there is in the world.
Jonathan Jacobs
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199542833
- eISBN:
- 9780191594359
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199542833.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter discusses the main points of comparison and contrast between Jewish thought and the practical wisdom approach to ethics, with Aristotle's conception of it as the guiding example. The ...
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This chapter discusses the main points of comparison and contrast between Jewish thought and the practical wisdom approach to ethics, with Aristotle's conception of it as the guiding example. The issue of ‘the reasons of the commandments’ is crucial to Jewish thought and it has a central role in this chapter. The issue concerns the extent to which rational justifications of the commandments can be ascertained, and also the justificatory status of those commandments for which the justifications are opaque or inscrutable. It is shown that there are some important points of likeness between the practical wisdom approach to ethical theory and the views of some of the Jewish philosophers but there are reasons not to interpret their views of ‘the reasons of the commandments’ and moral knowledge as indicative of a practical wisdom approach to ethics.Less
This chapter discusses the main points of comparison and contrast between Jewish thought and the practical wisdom approach to ethics, with Aristotle's conception of it as the guiding example. The issue of ‘the reasons of the commandments’ is crucial to Jewish thought and it has a central role in this chapter. The issue concerns the extent to which rational justifications of the commandments can be ascertained, and also the justificatory status of those commandments for which the justifications are opaque or inscrutable. It is shown that there are some important points of likeness between the practical wisdom approach to ethical theory and the views of some of the Jewish philosophers but there are reasons not to interpret their views of ‘the reasons of the commandments’ and moral knowledge as indicative of a practical wisdom approach to ethics.
Geoffrey Hall
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198521822
- eISBN:
- 9780191706677
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198521822.003.0003
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
A further consequence of repeated presentation of a stimulus is that the stimulus is only learned about slowly when it is subsequently employed as the conditioned stimulus in a classical conditioning ...
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A further consequence of repeated presentation of a stimulus is that the stimulus is only learned about slowly when it is subsequently employed as the conditioned stimulus in a classical conditioning procedure. This chapter examines the evidence that indicates that this latent inhibition effect involves processes other than those responsible for habituation. It goes on to argue that the effect depends on an attentional learning process; specifically one that allows the associability of a stimulus to be modulated by experience of how well it predicts its consequences. Ways in which this process can be incorporated into standard associative models are discussed.Less
A further consequence of repeated presentation of a stimulus is that the stimulus is only learned about slowly when it is subsequently employed as the conditioned stimulus in a classical conditioning procedure. This chapter examines the evidence that indicates that this latent inhibition effect involves processes other than those responsible for habituation. It goes on to argue that the effect depends on an attentional learning process; specifically one that allows the associability of a stimulus to be modulated by experience of how well it predicts its consequences. Ways in which this process can be incorporated into standard associative models are discussed.
Geoffrey Hall
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198521822
- eISBN:
- 9780191706677
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198521822.003.0008
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter summarizes the way in which the evidence described in previous chapters has necessitated modifications and extensions to the standard associative model described in Chapter 2. It ...
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This chapter summarizes the way in which the evidence described in previous chapters has necessitated modifications and extensions to the standard associative model described in Chapter 2. It describes how these have allowed the (revised) model to deal with a range of perceptual learning effects. It ends with the conclusion that it is inappropriate to make a rigid distinction between perceptual learning and associative learning. The finding of central importance is that the nature of the central representation of a stimulus can be changed by experience, and that associative mechanisms can play an important role in producing this sort of change.Less
This chapter summarizes the way in which the evidence described in previous chapters has necessitated modifications and extensions to the standard associative model described in Chapter 2. It describes how these have allowed the (revised) model to deal with a range of perceptual learning effects. It ends with the conclusion that it is inappropriate to make a rigid distinction between perceptual learning and associative learning. The finding of central importance is that the nature of the central representation of a stimulus can be changed by experience, and that associative mechanisms can play an important role in producing this sort of change.
Janette Atkinson
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198525998
- eISBN:
- 9780191712395
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198525998.003.0002
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter describes some of the methods used for testing vision in infants and young children in research and clinical assessment, including behavioural measures from observing eye movements ...
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This chapter describes some of the methods used for testing vision in infants and young children in research and clinical assessment, including behavioural measures from observing eye movements (forced choice preferential looking /habituation), video/photorefraction, and visual evoked potentials (VEP) or visual event related potentials (VERP). It outlines how these methods have been used and compared, including the use of forced-choice preferential looking for acuity testing and acuity measures in preschool children using the Cambridge Crowding Cards, devised in the Visual Development Unit. It describes the subtests from the Atkinson Battery of Child Development for Examining Functional Vision (ABCDEFV), a behavioural battery which assesses children's functional use of sensory, perceptual, and cognitive vision, from birth to five years.Less
This chapter describes some of the methods used for testing vision in infants and young children in research and clinical assessment, including behavioural measures from observing eye movements (forced choice preferential looking /habituation), video/photorefraction, and visual evoked potentials (VEP) or visual event related potentials (VERP). It outlines how these methods have been used and compared, including the use of forced-choice preferential looking for acuity testing and acuity measures in preschool children using the Cambridge Crowding Cards, devised in the Visual Development Unit. It describes the subtests from the Atkinson Battery of Child Development for Examining Functional Vision (ABCDEFV), a behavioural battery which assesses children's functional use of sensory, perceptual, and cognitive vision, from birth to five years.
Gabriel Horn
- Published in print:
- 1985
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198521563
- eISBN:
- 9780191706578
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198521563.003.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter discusses ways in which information is stored in the brain. Memory and habituation, and the characteristics of filial imprinting are discussed. Habituation is a form of learning wherein ...
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This chapter discusses ways in which information is stored in the brain. Memory and habituation, and the characteristics of filial imprinting are discussed. Habituation is a form of learning wherein a behavioural or physiological response to a repeatedly applied stimulus wanes if the stimulus is not associated with a reward or punishment. Filial imprinting is the process whereby young birds form an attachment to their mother or some artificial substitute.Less
This chapter discusses ways in which information is stored in the brain. Memory and habituation, and the characteristics of filial imprinting are discussed. Habituation is a form of learning wherein a behavioural or physiological response to a repeatedly applied stimulus wanes if the stimulus is not associated with a reward or punishment. Filial imprinting is the process whereby young birds form an attachment to their mother or some artificial substitute.
Nelson Cowan
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195119107
- eISBN:
- 9780199870097
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195119107.003.0005
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
Donald Broadbent's 1958 information processing model included an attention filter allowing only one channel of information to be processed, with the rest filtered out. In contrast to this “early ...
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Donald Broadbent's 1958 information processing model included an attention filter allowing only one channel of information to be processed, with the rest filtered out. In contrast to this “early filter” view, there subsequently emerged “late filter” views in which all input is processed to a semantic level but a filter prevents responding to multiple channels at once. There is evidence seeming to support both views. This chapter proposes an intermediate view, further developing Ann Treisman's attenuation theory in which all incoming stimulation contacts long-term memory, causing automatic activation of some memory features (at least physically-based features, e.g., tone pitch and light hue). Changes in stimulation can cause orienting responses, in which attention is recruited toward the change. After a neural model of stimuli is constructed, there is habituation of orienting; feature activation ceases to recruit attention. Thus, the processes of habituation and orienting comprise an intermediate-level attention filter.Less
Donald Broadbent's 1958 information processing model included an attention filter allowing only one channel of information to be processed, with the rest filtered out. In contrast to this “early filter” view, there subsequently emerged “late filter” views in which all input is processed to a semantic level but a filter prevents responding to multiple channels at once. There is evidence seeming to support both views. This chapter proposes an intermediate view, further developing Ann Treisman's attenuation theory in which all incoming stimulation contacts long-term memory, causing automatic activation of some memory features (at least physically-based features, e.g., tone pitch and light hue). Changes in stimulation can cause orienting responses, in which attention is recruited toward the change. After a neural model of stimuli is constructed, there is habituation of orienting; feature activation ceases to recruit attention. Thus, the processes of habituation and orienting comprise an intermediate-level attention filter.
C. C. W. Taylor
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199226399
- eISBN:
- 9780191710209
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199226399.003.0012
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
This chapter examines the role of the practical intellect in Aristotle's ethics, arguing that it is not confined to deliberation about means, but that it includes the achievement of the right ...
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This chapter examines the role of the practical intellect in Aristotle's ethics, arguing that it is not confined to deliberation about means, but that it includes the achievement of the right conception of ends. Close examination of the texts indicates that the achievement of that conception requires rational thought, trained perception of individual cases, and critical examination of generally accepted beliefs, but Aristotle does not spell out a single explicit account. Some texts suggest that the role of the practical intellect is simply to make determinate, via trained moral perception, the indeterminate conception of the life of virtue, others that it has in addition the task of establishing a more determinate conception, specifically the life of theoretical thought, as the highest good.Less
This chapter examines the role of the practical intellect in Aristotle's ethics, arguing that it is not confined to deliberation about means, but that it includes the achievement of the right conception of ends. Close examination of the texts indicates that the achievement of that conception requires rational thought, trained perception of individual cases, and critical examination of generally accepted beliefs, but Aristotle does not spell out a single explicit account. Some texts suggest that the role of the practical intellect is simply to make determinate, via trained moral perception, the indeterminate conception of the life of virtue, others that it has in addition the task of establishing a more determinate conception, specifically the life of theoretical thought, as the highest good.
