Imperfect Cognitions

Today's post is by Tom McClelland and Monika Dunin-Kozicka on their recent paper, " Affording Imagination " ( Philosophical Psychology , 2024). Tom McClelland Our perception of our environment includes possibilities for action known as ‘affordances’. You might, for instance, perceive a ladder as affording climbing, an apple as affording eating or a teapot as affording pouring. In these examples the actions afforded are actions you do with your body, but affordance perception might also encompass opportunities to do things with your mind. In particular, you might perceive affordances to imagine . Do you perceive a wrapped present as affording imagining what’s inside? Does an obstacle course afford imagining how to traverse it? Does a precariously placed object afford imagining what would happen if it fell? Our paper answers ‘yes’ to these questions. Monika Dunin-Kozicka To make our case, we start by clarifying the very concept of imaginative affordances. With ordinary af

In this post, Susi Ferrarello , Francesca Brencio , Valeria Bizzari and Magnus Englander present a recent special issue of Frontiers in Psychology entitled: " Phenomenological Psychopathology: Who, What and How? An analysis of key figures, advancements and challenges ”.  Valeria Bizzari Phenomenology offers psychopathology a framework for understanding the patient’s lived experience without preconceptions, while psychopathology allows phenomenology to explore human plurality more deeply. In this special issue we aimed to gather papers focusing on the intersection of phenomenology and psychopathology, examining key concepts, contemporary challenges, and clinical applications.  Topics of interest include: the theoretical and practical advancements of phenomenological psychopathology the role of embodiment emotions like envy and melancholy in disorders  the use of phenomenological methodologies like interviews in clinical settings.  Key phenomenological concepts such as epoche, int

Today's post is by Susana Mons ó who presents her new book Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death   (Princeton, 2024).  Susana Monsó  is associate professor of philosophy in the Department of Logic, History, and Philosophy of Science at the National Distance Education University (UNED) in Madrid. She specialises in philosophy of animal minds, animal ethics, and philosophy of comparative psychology. Humans have traditionally thought of themselves as the only animals with a concept of death. Yet, recent years have witnessed a surge of studies that suggest that we may not be the only ones intrigued by this phenomenon. A chimpanzee was seen cleaning the teeth of the corpse of an adolescent of her group with whom she was closely bonded, crows will gather around the bodies of deceased conspecifics to learn about the circumstances of their death, elephants calves have been discovered seemingly buried by their elders, an orca mother was seen carrying her dead baby for seventeen d

On 26th and 27th September in Berlin, the Human Abilities Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities organised a workshop on conspiracy beliefs and delusions. This is a report of the workshop. Logo of the Human Abilities centre The first speaker was Romy Jaster (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) presented a talk on self-immunization in conspiracy theories. Romy thinks about conspiracy theories from an epistemological and philosophy of science perspective and she started her presentation with the conceptual distinction between "conspiracy theories" as a neutral term (an explanation that involves a conspiracy) and "conspiracy theories" as a negatively-valued term (an explanation that is epistemically deficient). What the epistemic deficit is is open to debate and controversy.  Romy focused on the idea that conspiracy theories and delusions are both deficient because they are not responsive to counter-evidence. The idea is that conspiracy theories are built in such a

In this post, Amelia Gangemi and Valentina Cardella introduce their new book, Reasoning in Psychopathology  (Routledge 2024). Reasoning in Psychopathology Rationality can be broadly categorized into two types: rationality of action, which concerns behavior appropriate to achieving one’s goals, and theoretical rationality, which involves conformity to norms, such as logical or social norms. Many philosophers and psychologists argue that a key aspect of mental disorder is a deficiency in rational control over one’s behavior. This notion is consistent with the common view that mental illness involves a lack of discipline or self-control. Contrary to this view, individuals with mental disorders do not necessarily exhibit impaired rationality. In our book, we present studies of schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety disorders that suggest that individuals with these conditions can reason logically within their symptomatic domains and may even outperform unaffected individuals on certain tas

Here  Martino Belvederi Murri (University of Ferrara) discusses research on epistemic justice and dignity for people with psychosis. A version of this post appeared on the EPIC blog in July 2024. Martino Belvederi Murri Individuals experiencing acute psychosis in inpatient psychiatric settings face unique challenges. Consider the case of Jake, a student who is struggling between familial conflicts and economic difficulties, as well as choices related to his life career. Auditory hallucinations may take the form of “voices” that comment on his everyday actions, and may lead Jake to think that people spy on him with malevolent intent. These symptoms can lead to angst and withdrawal from social activities, possibly culminating into severe anxiety and agitation. The grave societal stigma that is attached to mental illness exacerbates feelings of isolation and diminishes help-seeking. The promotion of patient empowerment is a key component of recovery, and is increasingly seen as a duty o