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Symbolic Form (symbolic + form)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Psychology	33%
Humanities and Social Sciences	33%

Selected Abstracts

Of Dodos and Dutchmen: reflections on the nature of history

CRITICAL QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2005
FRANCIS GOODING
History-making is a defining property of the human species; the ability to retain information in symbolic form over time (an ability which is granted principally by the presence of true natural language) is a unique attribute of the human animal. It has allowed human beings to enter in a qualitatively different relationship with the physical environment, and to operate in and alter that environment in highly complex, highly effective ways. To a great extent, the types of events that structure this way of life are absent from the rest of the natural world; in order to describe them accurately, it is necessary to attend to the special quality which defines them, a quality which we can characterise as their 'historical-ness'. Descriptions of human events cannot overlook the histories that organise and determine them, and to that extent they are not fruitfully apprehended with the tools of the exact sciences and instead require attention from the social sciences; but nevertheless, the phenomena of history are a part of the natural world, since they are part of the life of the organism. History itself arises in the non-historical crucible of biology. The paper examines a particular suite of events which have distinct historical and non-historical aspects - the extinction of the Dodo - in order to explore the epistemological difficulties which necessarily complicate any attempt to view human conduct as an integrated part of the natural world. [source]

Psychoanalytic perspectives on sport: a critical review

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOANALYTIC STUDIES, Issue 4 2008
Marcus Free
Abstract Critically reviewing and comparing various psychoanalytic perspectives on conscious and unconscious motivations in sport, this paper contends that the appeal of sports participation may variously derive from its simultaneously involving the indulgence of pre-Oedipal and Oedipal symbolism within the outward maturity and disciplining frame of a post-Oedipal symbolic form. It considers differences between distinct psychoanalytic frames, favouring Kleinian and object relations above Lacanian approaches, based on their closer attention to the corporeality and sensuousness of sports participation and the conscious and unconscious fantasies embedded in it. Sport's sensuous corporeality, which enables its embodiment of pre-Oedipal fantasy as well as post-Oedipal submission to social reality, lies at the heart of its appeal. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Theory as metaphor: clinical knowledge and its communication

THE JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2009
Warren Colman
Abstract:, This paper investigates the relationship between clinical knowledge and psychological theory and considers the implications for clinical writing. I argue that clinical knowledge is a way of understanding rather than a body of facts and compare clinical material to ,texts' that generate multiple and indeterminate meanings. Analytic theories, which represent the crystallization of ways of understanding clinical phenomena, have an inherently metaphorical ,as if' quality since they are derived from and adapted to the clinical process of making meaning by representing psychic states in symbolic form. Thus good clinical writing demonstrates an integration of theory and clinical material into a unified network of symbolic meanings. Redfearn's paper, ,The captive, the treasure, the hero and the "anal" stage of development' (1979), is discussed as an exemplar of such integration. It is suggested that clinical knowledge is equivalent to the skill of making effective interpretations. Translations of Abstract Cet article traite du rapport entre savoir clinique et théorie psychologique ainsi que des répercussions de leur articulation sur l'écriture clinique. Je soutiens que le savoir clinique est un mode de compréhension plutôt qu'un ensemble de faits et je compare du matériel clinique et des ,textes', qui génèrent des significations multiples et indéterminées. Les théories analytiques représentent la cristallisation de modes de compréhension des phénomènes cliniques. Elles possèdent une qualité métaphorique inhérente ,as if' (,comme si') car elles découlent et s'adaptent au processus clinique de fabrication de sens via la représentation symbolique de formes psychiques. Ainsi, une écriture clinique de qualité intègre-t-elle théorie et matériel clinique en un réseau unifié de significations symboliques. L'article de Redfearn ,The captive, the treasure, the hero and the "anal" stage of development' (1979) est ici discutéà titre d' illustration d'une telle intégration. Dieser Artikel untersucht die Beziehung zwischen klinischem Wissen und psychologischer Theorie und betrachtet dessen Implikationen für das Schreiben über klinische Sachverhalte. Ich behaupte, daß klinisches Wissen eher eine Weise des Verstehens ist als ein Corpus von Faktenwissen und vergleiche klinisches Material mit ,Texten', die vielschichtige und unbestimmte Bedeutungen generieren. Analytische Theorien, welche die Kristallisation der Verständnisweisen von klinischen Phänomenen repräsentieren, haben eine inhärente metaphorische ,als ob-Qualität', da sie aus dem klinischen Prozeß der Bedeutungsgewinnung durch Repräsentation von seelischen Zuständen in symbolischer Form deriviert und an diesen adaptiert sind. Demnach demonstriert ein guter klinischer Bericht eine Integration von Theorie und klinischem Material in ein vereinheitlichtes Netzwerk symbolischer Bedeutungen. Redfearns Aufsatz ,The captive, the treasure, the hero and the "anal" stage of development'(Der Gefangene, der Schatz, der Held und die ,anale' Entwicklungsstufe) wird als Beispiel einer solchen Integration vorgestellt. In questo lavoro si esamina la relazione tra la conoscenza clinica e la teoria psicologica e si considera quali implicazioni ci siano per gli scritti clinici. Sostengo che la conoscenza clinica è un modo di comprendere piuttosto che un corpo di fatti e confronto il materiale clinico a quei ,testi' che danno origine a significati multipli e indeterminati. Le teorie analitiche, che rappresentano la cristallizzazione del modo di comprendere fenomeni clinici, hanno una qualità intrinsecamente metaforica'come se' dal momento che derivano da e sono adattate al processo clinico di costruire significati rappresentando stati psichici in forme simboliche. In tal modo un buono scritto clinico mostra una integrazione di teoria e di materiale clinico in una rete unificata di significati simbolici. Come esempio di tale integrazione viene discusso il lavoro di Redfearn (1979),Il prigioniero, il tesoro, l'eroe e lo stadio "anale" dello sviluppo'. En este documento se investiga la relación entre los conocimientos clínicos y la teoría psicológica y considera las implicaciones clínicas de la escritura. Yo sostengo que el conocimiento clínico es una manera de entender, más que un conjunto de hechos y compara el material clínico de ,textos' que generan e ideterminan múltiples significados. Las teorías analíticas, que representan la cristalización de formas de entender los fenómenos clínicos, tienen inherente a ellas la calidad de naturaleza metafórica del ,como si', ya que se derivan de y se han adaptado al proceso clínico de elaboración y dar significado por medio de la representación de los estados psíquicos en forma simbólica. Así pues, la buena escritura clínica demuestra integración de la teoría y el material clínico en una red unificada de significados simbólicos. Se analiza El trabajo de Redfearn de ,El Cautivo, el Tesoro, el Héroe y la Fase"Anal"del desarrollo (1979) como un ejemplo de esa integración. [source]

Labour Party: saved by the modernisers or modernised to be saved?

JOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Issue 2 2003
Christos Rantavellas
Abstract The paper treats politics as a complex process that embraces actual or potential interactions among constructed meanings of different social actors through various symbolic forms drawing on the specific socio-historical, political context. These symbolic forms can take the form of various kinds from everyday linguistic utterances to complex images and texts. It is suggested that there is a strong interrelationship between ,image' and political discourse and their symbolic value grows as long as they come from consistent communication among all the social actors participating in the political process inside and outside of the political organisation. Two historical examples from the British political landscape,the Labour election defeat in 1987 and the Labour leadership election in 1994,are examined so as to draw some useful remarks concerning the limitations in drawing the line between ,image' and political discourse and among processes considered either internal or external of the party. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications [source]

Playing with sound: The therapeutic use of music in direct work with children

CHILD & FAMILY SOCIAL WORK, Issue 4 2004
Michelle Lefevre
ABSTRACT Children rarely have the language or the cognitive development to process and convey their experiences solely through words, so spontaneously complement these with symbolic forms of expression and communication, such as play, metaphor and a variety of visual, auditory and kinaesthetic imagery. Consequently, social workers need to supplement verbal methods of assessment and intervention with more symbolic modes of communication and engagement when working directly with children. The play therapy literature has been a key source of guidance and the expressive arts therapies, such as art and drama therapy, are now well represented in the literature and training of social workers in ,direct work with children'. However, principles and practice from music therapy are under-represented. The writer, who is a social worker, psychotherapist and musician, shares her reflections on introducing techniques and theoretical approaches from music therapy into her own therapeutically orientated direct work. Suggestions are made as to how other practitioners (both musically trained and not) could develop the use of music as a further ,tool' in their direct work with children. [source]