Download or read book The Paradoxical Self written by Kirk J. Schneider and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 1999 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As we enter the threshold of the new millennium, increased dangers face us on the foreign and domestic fronts: terrorism, rising substance abuse, youth violence, ethnic hatreds, and religious fundamentalism. On the individual level, people are experiencing rising levels of isolation, technological depersonalization, and existential emptiness. As a result, they feel angry, depressed, and directionless. Kirk J. Schneider, a leading existential psychologist, presents a model of breathtaking scope to redress these predicaments.
Download or read book The Paradox of Self consciousness written by José Luis Bermúdez and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Jos� Luis Berm�dez addesses two fundamental problems in the philosophy and psychology of self-consciousness: (1) Can we provide a noncircular account of fully fledged self-conscious thought and language in terms of more fundamental capacities? (2) Can we explain how fully fledged self-conscious thought and language can arise in the normal course of human development? Berm�dez argues that a paradox (the paradox of self-consciousness) arises from the apparent strict interdependence between self-conscious thought and linguistic self-reference. The paradox renders circular all theories that define self-consciousness in terms of linguistic mastery of the first-person pronoun. It seems to follow from the paradox of self-consciousness that no such account or explanation can be given. Drawing on recent work in empirical psychology and philosophy, the author argues that any explanation of fully fledged self-consciousness that answers these two questions requires attention to primitive forms of self-consciousness that are prelinguistic and preconceptual. Such primitive forms of self-consciousness are to be found in somatic proprioception, the structure of exteroceptive perception, and prelinguistic forms of social interaction. The author uses these primitive forms of self-consciousness to dissolve the paradox of self-consciousness and to show how the two questions can be given an affirmative answer.
Download or read book Self Handicapping written by Raymond L. Higgins and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-11 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The concept of self-handicapping can be legitimately anchored in a vari ety of intellectual contexts, some old and some newer. As this volume reminds us, Alfred Adler was perhaps the first to articulate the signifi cance of various self-defeating claims and gestures for protecting the self concept. Thus the apparent paradox of "defeat" in the interests of "pro tection. " More recently (but still more than 30 years ago), Heider's "naive psychology" added attributional rhetoric to the description of self-defeat ing strategies. While predominantly cognitive in its thrust, the attribu tional approach incorporated several motivational influences-especially those involving egocentric concerns. Heider hardly violated our common sense when he suggested that people are inclined to attribute their performances in a self-serving manner: the good things I caused; the bad things were forced upon me. The notion of self-handicapping strategies, proposed by Berglas and myself a little more than a decade ago, capitalized on these homely truths while adding a particular proactive twist. We not only make ex cuses for our blunders; we plan our engagements and our situational choices so that self-protective excuses are unnecessary. In doing so, we use our attributional understanding to arrange things so that flawed and failing performances will not be interpreted in ways that threaten our self-esteem.
Download or read book Paradoxical Thinking written by Jerry L. Fletcher and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. This book was released on 1997-06 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Taking advantage of contradictory elements in oneself and one's situation can lead to better performance all around. In this guide, the authors present a five-step process for using paradoxes to find solutions to a wide range of problems. Includes case studies showing how real people have used paradoxical thinking to solve real problems.
Download or read book The Paradoxical Brain written by Narinder Kapur and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-07-21 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Paradoxical Brain focuses on a range of phenomena in clinical and cognitive neuroscience that are counterintuitive and go against the grain of established thinking. The book covers a wide range of topics by leading researchers, including: • Superior performance after brain lesions or sensory loss • Return to normal function after a second brain lesion in neurological conditions • Paradoxical phenomena associated with human development • Examples where having one disease appears to prevent the occurrence of another disease • Situations where drugs with adverse effects on brain functioning may have beneficial effects in certain situations A better understanding of these interactions will lead to a better understanding of brain function and to the introduction of new therapeutic strategies. The book will be of interest to those working at the interface of brain and behaviour, including neuropsychologists, neurologists, psychiatrists and neuroscientists.
Download or read book Original Self written by Thomas Moore and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2001-08-07 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Original Self, spiritual pioneer Thomas Moore guides readers back to their God-given personalities through fifty heart-lifting meditations. This inspiring collection offers fresh interpretations of living with originality rather than conformity, presenting multidimensional portraits of the creative self and different angles from which to top one's primal emotions and possibilities. Learn what it means to live from the burning essence of the heart, with the creativity that comes from allowing the soul to blossom in its own colors and shapes. With his usual grace and insight, Moore counters the prevailing assumptions of the day and offers strikingly unorthodox views on what is virtuous and healthy, opening up possibilities for a renewal of the way we live socially and in our private lives.
Download or read book Your Own Worst Enemy written by Steven Berglas and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Ivan Boesky to John Belushi, from Mike Tyson to Gary Hart, the world is full of those who have had it all and have blown it. And every day, all around us, we see people sabotaging their own goals - by using alcohol or drugs, or by staying in terrible relationships. Why do they do it? Your Own Worst Enemy provides a probing look at what lies beneath our surprising inclination to seize defeat from the jaws of victory. The book reveals the intricate gamesmanship behind self-defeat - including self-handicapping, trade-offs, and Pyrrhic revenge - and shows what forces fuel self-destructive urges, how people become vulnerable to them, and how to minimize their ill effects. The authors challenge the conventional psychological wisdom that self-destructive behavior comes from unconscious death wishes or oedipal taboos. Instead they argue that the reasons for self-defeat are far more complex, ranging from miscalculation in bargaining to obsession with others' opinions. They show how, ironically, a history of success can distort a person's ability to assess a situation and thereby cause him or her to self-destruct on the way to the top. They also argue that sometimes self-defeat can have strategic value, saving a person from a "success" he or she can't manage.
Download or read book Useful Delusions The Power and Paradox of the Self Deceiving Brain written by Shankar Vedantam and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2021-03-02 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2021 A Next Big Idea Club Best Nonfiction of 2021 From the New York Times best-selling author and host of Hidden Brain comes a thought-provoking look at the role of self-deception in human flourishing. Self-deception does terrible harm to us, to our communities, and to the planet. But if it is so bad for us, why is it ubiquitous? In Useful Delusions, Shankar Vedantam and Bill Mesler argue that, paradoxically, self-deception can also play a vital role in our success and well-being. The lies we tell ourselves sustain our daily interactions with friends, lovers, and coworkers. They can explain why some people live longer than others, why some couples remain in love and others don’t, why some nations hold together while others splinter. Filled with powerful personal stories and drawing on new insights in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, Useful Delusions offers a fascinating tour of what it really means to be human.
Download or read book The Passion Paradox written by Brad Stulberg and published by Rodale Books. This book was released on 2019-03-19 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The coauthors of the bestselling Peak Performance dive into the fascinating science behind passion, showing how it can lead to a rich and meaningful life while also illuminating the ways in which it is a double-edged sword. Here’s how to cultivate a passion that will take you to great heights—while minimizing the risk of an equally great fall. Common advice is to find and follow your passion. A life of passion is a good life, or so we are told. But it's not that simple. Rarely is passion something that you just stumble upon, and the same drive that fuels breakthroughs—whether they're athletic, scientific, entrepreneurial, or artistic—can be every bit as destructive as it is productive. Yes, passion can be a wonderful gift, but only if you know how to channel it. If you're not careful, passion can become an awful curse, leading to endless seeking, suffering, and burnout. Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness once again team up, this time to demystify passion, showing readers how they can find and cultivate their passion, sustainably harness its power, and avoid its dangers. They ultimately argue that passion and balance--that other virtue touted by our culture--are incompatible, and that to find your passion, you must lose balance. And that's not always a bad thing. They show readers how to develop the right kind of passion, the kind that lets you achieve great things without ruining your life. Swift, compact, and powerful, this thought-provoking book combines captivating stories of extraordinarily passionate individuals with the latest science on the biological and psychological factors that give rise to—and every bit as important, sustain—passion.
Download or read book The Paradox of Federalism written by Jan Erk and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-09-13 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The paradox of federalism is about whether self-rule accommodates or exacerbates ethnic divisions. A federal arrangement which formally recognizes ethno-linguistic diversity to help manage divisions can also pave the way for eventual disintegration. The case studies in this book cover a wide geographical basis (Canada, Scotland, Spain, Belgium, Bosnia, Kosovo, Russia, India, and Iraq) and seek to outline under what conditions federalism can deliver its promise of resolving ethnic conflict. The book aims to bridge those who study federalism and decentralization in the developed world and those who study the politics of ethnic divisions in the developing world. We also wanted to bridge the scholarship from the two sides of the Atlantic, as well as the subfields of Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Constitutional Politics. Furthermore, the volume has a number of high-profile senior scholars with name recognition from both sides of the Atlantic. The scope of the volume is wide – historically, methodologically, and geographically; and has relevance for the applied side as well as the theoretical literature. Consequently, we believe this is a timely collection on the high profile topic of Ethnic Conflict/Conflict Resolution. This book was based on a special issue of Regional and Federal Studies
Download or read book Paradoxical Life written by Andreas Wagner and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2009-09-01 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What can a fingernail tell us about the mysteries of creation? In one sense, a nail is merely a hunk of mute matter, yet in another, it's an information superhighway quite literally at our fingertips. Every moment, streams of molecular signals direct our cells to move, flatten, swell, shrink, divide, or die. Andreas Wagner's ambitious new book explores this hidden web of unimaginably complex interactions in every living being. In the process, he unveils a host of paradoxes underpinning our understanding of modern biology, contradictions he considers gatekeepers at the frontiers of knowledge. Though we tend to think of concepts in such mutually exclusive pairs as mind-matter, self-other, and nature-nurture, Wagner argues that these opposing ideas are not actually separate. Indeed, they are as inextricably connected as the two sides of a coin. Through a tour of modern biological marvels, Wagner illustrates how this paradoxical tension has a profound effect on the way we define the world around us. Paradoxical Life is thus not only a unique account of modern biology. It ultimately serves a radical--and optimistic--outlook for humans and the world we help create.
Download or read book The Chimp Paradox written by Steve Peters and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-05-30 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Your inner Chimp can be your best friend or your worst enemy...this is the Chimp Paradox Do you sabotage your own happiness and success? Are you struggling to make sense of yourself? Do your emotions sometimes dictate your life? Dr. Steve Peters explains that we all have a being within our minds that can wreak havoc on every aspect of our lives—be it business or personal. He calls this being "the chimp," and it can work either for you or against you. The challenge comes when we try to tame the chimp, and persuade it to do our bidding. The Chimp Paradox contains an incredibly powerful mind management model that can help you be happier and healthier, increase your confidence, and become a more successful person. This book will help you to: —Recognize how your mind is working —Understand and manage your emotions and thoughts —Manage yourself and become the person you would like to be Dr. Peters explains the struggle that takes place within your mind and then shows you how to apply this understanding. Once you're armed with this new knowledge, you will be able to utilize your chimp for good, rather than letting your chimp run rampant with its own agenda.
Download or read book The Paradox of Choice written by Barry Schwartz and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-10-13 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.
Download or read book The Order Disorder Paradox written by Nathan Schwartz-Salant and published by North Atlantic Books. This book was released on 2017-04-11 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Increasing order in a system also creates disorder: this seemingly paradoxical idea has deep roots in early cultures throughout the world, but it has been largely lost in our modern lives as we push for increasing systematization in our world and in our personal lives. Drawing on nearly five decades of research as well as forty-five years working as a psychoanalyst, Nathan Schwartz-Salant explains that, in a world where vast amounts of order are being created through the growing success of science and technology, the concomitant disorder is having devastating effects upon relationships, society, and the environment. As a Jungian analyst with training in the physical sciences, Schwartz-Salant is uniquely qualified to explore scientific conceptions of energy, information, and entropy alongside their mythical antecedents. He analyzes the possible effects of created disorder, including its negative consequences for the creator of the preceding order as well as its potentially transformative functions. With many examples of the interaction of order and disorder in everyday life and psychotherapy, The Order-Disorder Paradox makes new inroads into our understanding of the wide-ranging consequences of the order we create and its effects on others and the environment.
Download or read book The Paradox of Subjectivity written by David Carr and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1999-06-03 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much effort in recent philosophy has been devoted to attacking the metaphysics of the subject. Identified largely with French post-structuralist thought, yet stemming primarily from the influential work of the later Heidegger, this attack has taken the form of a sweeping denunciation of the whole tradition of modern philosophy from Descartes through Nietzsche, Husserl, and Existentialism. In this timely study, David Carr contends that this discussion has overlooked and eventually lost sight of the distinction between modern metaphysics and the tradition of transcendental philosophy inaugurated by Kant and continued by Husserl into the twentieth century. Carr maintains that the transcendental tradition, often misinterpreted as a mere alternative version of the metaphysics of the subject, is in fact itself directed against such a metaphysics. Challenging prevailing views of the development of modern philosophy, Carr proposes a reinterpretation of the transcendental tradition and counters Heidegger's influential readings of Kant and Husserl. He defends their subtle and complex transcendental investigations of the self and the life of subjectivity. In Carr's interpretation, far from joining the project of metaphysical foundationalism, transcendental philosophy offers epistemological critique and phenomenological description. Its aim is not metaphysical conclusions but rather an appreciation for the rich and sometimes contradictory character of experience. The transcendental approach to the self is skillfully summed up by Husserl as "the paradox of human subjectivity: being a subject for the world and at the same time being an object in the world." Proposing striking new readings of Kant and Husserl and reviving a sound awareness of the transcendental tradition, Carr's distinctive historical and systematic position will interest a wide range of readers and provoke discussion among philosophers of metaphysics, epistemology, and the history of philosophy.
Download or read book Paradox for Life Review written by James Joseph Magee and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paradox for Life Review explains how three different bases for self-esteem affect the accuracy of self-esteem as the lens through which older adults view their reminiscences. James J. Magee describes how life review groups have used paradoxes drawn from poetry, drama, word play, intergenerational family dynamics, Eastern and Western mystical traditions, and personal life experiences to enable members to discover new ways to accept their histories with compassion and wisdom.
Download or read book Paradoxical Undressing written by Kristin Hersh and published by Atlantic Books Ltd. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kristin Hersh was a preternaturally bright teenager, starting university at fifteen and with her band, Throwing Muses, playing rock clubs she was too young to frequent. By the age of seventeen she was living in her car, unable to sleep for the torment of strange songs swimming around her head - the songs for which she is now known. But just as her band was taking off, Hersh was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia. Paradoxical Undressing chronicles the unraveling of a young woman's personality, culminating in a suicide attempt; and then her arduous yet inspiring recovery, her unplanned pregnancy at the age of 19, and the birth of her first son. Playful, vivid, and wonderfully warm, this is a visceral and brave memoir by a truly original performer, told in a truly original voice.
