ISTP Conference in Toronto

Another official announcement about my presentation at another conference. The International Society for Theoretical Psychology is having its annual conference at York University. They've recently put up the preliminary program. My presentation is during a paper session titled "Psychotherapy, Addiction & Intervention" on Thursday, June 21^st somewhere between 4:00-5:55pm. The paper title of my paper is "Lived Embodiment and Addiction." Here is the abstract:

A common assumption in much of psychology is that the body is best (if not solely) understood as a physically deterministic entity, even when the existence of a mind/psyche is granted. Here I wish to explore an alternative conception of the body—that of lived embodiment—and make a modest proposal on its ramifications for how we understand addiction. I begin by discussing some of the important assumptions of the physicalistic model, namely linear temporality, causal determinism, and the notion of "habit" implied in those assumptions. Next, I will discuss an alternative conception of embodiment, drawn particularly from Maurice Merleau-Ponty and supplemented by the phenomenology of Martin Heidegger. The lived body, as found in our everyday movement in the world, exhibits a non-linear temporal horizon through which the world is habitable. I do not act from the temporally punctualized t₁ to t₂, but I act 'during the lecture,' 'as I cook,' or 'during the conference'; the temporal horizon is spanned. Similarly, it does not follow the if-then logic of causal determinism or rationality, but is based on "motivation"—rather than if I do this, then that will be the result, bodily motility is structured as if I am to do this, then I need to or must do that. For the body to act in a motivated way means its being "geared" towards the world according to specific intentions and, thus, it acts meaningfully. Lastly, "habit," rather than being a learned response to stimuli, is a "style" of being in the world, a particular way of dealing with various contexts. With the above in mind, I propose that the embodied aspect of addiction cannot be fully understood in causal terms, but must include the body’s circumstantial grasp of the world, motivation-based actions, and stylistic modes of being in the world.

Admittedly, I have not written the paper yet, but I'm pretty certain it will work.

There is so much going on I don't know which sessions I will attend. However, the following definitely stick out at me: Relationship Between Language, Mind & Culture, The "Costs" of Being Dialogical: Assuming the Theoretical Consequences of the Dialogicality of Psychological Knowledge, Hermeneutic and Phenomenological Explorations, Constructing the Self and Identity (I and II), History Without Theory is Empty & Theory Without History is Blind, Exploring Ontological Relationality: Ricoeur, Buber, MacMurray, and Girard, and Embodied Subjectivity. It looks like this will be a really interesting conference and a great chance to network with like-minded pyshologists. So, if you just happen to be in Toronto at the time, come on over and see what theoretical psychology is like.

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The Ethical-Ontological Foundations of Modernity

Since I just got the final information in the mail, I think this a good time to announce that I will be presenting at the American Psychological Association's 2007 Convention in sunny San Francisco from August 17-20. My presentation will be during a session titled "New Work by Students," sponsored by Division 24, the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, between 12:00-12:50 PM on Friday, August 17 in room 2000 of the Moscone Center. My paper, titled "The Ethical-Ontological Foundations of Modernity," attempts to examine the ethical (via Taylor) and ontological (via Heidegger) foundations of modernity in an attempt to see beyond the typical epistemological approaches that such discussions tend to take. Here is the abstract:

Modernity is the guiding ethos of our day, not only in the broad scope of our culture but also within the discipline of psychology. Traditionally, scholars have understood modernity as the rejection of Medieval authoritarianism and a new dependence on reason, namely as an epistemological revolution. But modernity’s roots extend deeper than a reliance on rationality. The abysmal failures of the Thirty Years War in the wake of sectarian violence aptly demonstrated the need for a non-sectarian ground for discussion. Above and beyond the need for a universal ground for discourse, the rejection of an inherent cosmic order that informed the Catholic and Protestant cultures cleared that path for the development of a non-sectarian valuation. With this rejection came a new valuation of certainty, not in the sense of epistemological certainty, but in the sense of ontologically securing in advance how beings will appear—e.g., as particles in motion. This prevailing ontological attitude set the stage for modernity’s homogenization of temporality through a linear metaphor with its inherent homogenization of space. By establishing in advance how beings will appear in the scientific project, modernity also inaugurated a new valuation of the world: the valuation of objective, third-person experiments over subjective, introspective descriptions, of calculative utility over inherent goods, etc. These analyses are meant to elucidate the ethical and ontological foundations of modernity in order to understand how psychology, as a discipline, should respond to the culture of modernity. When psychology is viewed in light of this ethical/ontological interpretation of modernity, we may deduce three important implications: 1) that we must examine modernity’s valuations more than its dogmas, 2) that these valuations are contingent and not sufficient for psychology’s existence as a discipline, and 3) that alternative valuations and ontologies must be adequately understood before being used to substantiate non-traditional claims, that zeal should not step beyond understanding.

Granted, this presentation is specifically geared towards those who do not accept modernity as an acceptable approach to psychology (which, incidentally, is a stark minority in psychology at the moment), so it will have limited appeal. But since I'm going into this knowing that fact, hopefully I can present the material in such a way as to defuse at least some of the objections that I don't doubt will come up. On that point, I'm glad to send my paper in its current state (I need to cut it at least in half in order to get within the 10 min mark for the presentation) for comments, suggestions, and criticisms to anyone who requests it.

I'm excited and hope this will be a good learning experience.

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Heideggerian Denken Gets 5,000+ Hits

I've been meaning to post this for a few weeks, but at the time of this post, Heideggerian Denken has received 5,399 total hits with 10,627 page views since its inception on May 3, 2006. I don't know how that compares with other blogs, especially since some near that number every week. Either way, as a relative nobody in the sphere of Heideggerian scholarship, I'm more than fine with that. I owe a number of those visits to my post on Monty Python's International Philosophy Soccer Match, which at one time was the most often viewed entry on the blog (might still be, but it's not as noticeable). Here's the current summary report:

Visits
Total	5,399
Average Per Day	17
Average Visit Length	1:32
Last Hour	2
Today	8
This Week	117

Page Views
Total	10,627
Average Per Day	28
Last Hour	2
Today	10
This Week	199

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Heidegger as the Greatest Philosopher?

The previous post about the BBC segment on Heidegger got me to searching and I found a link to BBC's poll on the Greatest Philosopher. Stephen Mulhall stood in as Heidegger's advocate and the site includes a 1:40 sound bite on his reasons for suggesting Heidegger. Unfortunately, Heidegger didn't even make it into the top ten, first place going to Marx! They also include a section on various UK celebrity votes on this matter, none of whom chose Heidegger. Well, there's one more reason to despair over the current state of the media! ;o)

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Heidegger Documentary

HT to enowning who HTs Continental Philosophy for posting BBC's Human, All Too Human segment on Heidegger, titled "Thinking the Unthinkable" (see here). Very interesting. I particularly liked Gadamer's place in the interviews, both for his insight and for my ability to see him for the first time. Most of the segment focuses on Heidegger's Nazi involvement, which I think is fitting for the title of the program. I also like George Steiner's response to those who claim that Heidegger is not doing philosophy: "And to those who say, 'Look, this isn't philosophy,' I say fine. I'm not terribly interested in the supermarket label; call it what you will. Are you able to cope? Are you able to live with its completely new, radical grasp on the world?" Enjoy!

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The Tao/Da (There) of Truth--Trungpa

While I'm still unconvinced of a strong coherence between Eastern thought and Heideggerian phenomenology, I thought this quote from Chögyam Trungpa's Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism is good food for thought:

If we really want to learn and see the experience of truth, we have to be where we are. (70)

Where else can truth appear than from my being-here, Da-sein?

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