Search results for " unconscious"
showing 10 items of 12 documents
Unconscious processing of Arabic numerals in unilateral neglect
2005
This study explores the processing of Arabic numerals in three patients with dense left unilateral neglect. Three tasks have been used: a test of visual awareness (is the stimulus on the left, on the right or on both sides?), a number comparison task (is the number larger or smaller than 5?), a number parity judgment task (is the number odd or even?). The test of visual awareness indicated that all three patients were completely unaware of the stimuli presented in the left hemifield. Despite this, the number comparison and number parity judgment tasks clearly indicated that Arabic numerals were unconsciously processed at semantic level (i.e. quantity). These results show that patients with …
A Non-Reductionist Physiologism: Nietzsche on Body, Mind and Consciousness
2013
This paper addresses the following questions from the point of view of Nietzsche’s philosophy: What is the mind, and which kind of relationship does it hold to the body? Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to show that Nietzsche’s philosophy suggested a view of the mind that allows to outline an alternative stance to both mentalism and physicalism, as well as to both dualism and reductionism. It is argued that Nietzsche’s rehabilitation of the body as the specific seat of the mind in opposition to the Cartesian supremacy of the Ego still is of a great interest for contemporary philosophy, since it is not equivalent either to a reversed form of Cartesian dualism or to a physicalist reducti…
Is there an absolutely continuous random variable with equal probability density and cumulative distribution functions in its support? Is it unique? …
2014
This paper inquires about the existence and uniqueness of a univariate continuous random variable for which both cumulative distribution and density functions are equal and asks about the conditions under which a possible extrapolation of the solution to the discrete case is possible. The issue is presented and solved as a problem and allows to obtain a new family of probability distributions. The different approaches followed to reach the solution could also serve to warn about some properties of density and cumulative functions that usually go unnoticed, helping to deepen the understanding of some of the weapons of the mathematical statistician’s arsenal.
Ageing, Gender and Leadership: A Study Based on Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings
2017
Based on current research on ageing in organizations, this chapter focuses on ageing, its gendered nature, and its relations to what is valued in organizational settings in terms of careers and leadership. Stories about ageing are present in mythology, archetypes, and the societal collective unconsciousness, often followed by heroism and charismatic figures. Myths of ageing are manifold but may also represent a “Grand Story” of ageing, present for everyone as an ideal without gender or other dimensions. Using Tolkien’s mythology and Peter Jackson’s guided film trilogy The Lord of the Rings, the gendered relations between ageing, leadership, and leadership charisma are explored and interpret…
Bartlett formalism generating functions and Z-transforms in fluctuation and noise theory
1983
Abstract “La theorie des fonctions generatrices s'adapte elle meme et avec la plus grande generalite aux questions des probabilite les plus difficiles.” (Laplace, 1812) “An important part of probability theory consists of the derivation of the probability distribution of the sum of n random variables, each of which obeys a given probability law, and the development of asymptotic forms of these distributions valid for increasing n. Probability generating functions owe their dominant position to the simplification they permit to both problems. Their employment to obtain the successive moments of a probability distribution and to solve the difference equations of probability theory is ancillar…
Subliminal fear priming potentiates negative facial reactions to food pictures in women with anorexia nervosa.
2010
BackgroundTo investigate hedonic reactivity and the influence of unconscious emotional processes on the low sensitivity to positive reinforcement of food in anorexia nervosa (AN).MethodAN and healthy women were exposed to palatable food pictures just after a subliminal exposure to facial expressions (happy, disgust, fear and neutral faces), either while fasting or after a standardized meal (hungerversussatiety). Both implicit [facial electromyographic (EMG) activity from zygomatic and corrugator muscles, skin conductance, heart rate, and videotaped facial behavior] and explicit (self-reported pleasure and desire) measures of affective processes were recorded.ResultsIn contrast to healthy wo…
Quality of Life and Sexuality among People with Mental and Physical Disabilities in the Italian Context
2016
Aim: The article analyses sexuality and quality of life among people with mental and physical disabilities in the Italian context. It is aimed at contributing to a social debate over the sexual assistant for disabled people, as this professional is not still present in Italy. The aim of this paper is therefore to reflect on the consequences of the negative attitudes towards sexual life in disabled people, as well as for their families and community. In the collective unconscious, people with physical or mental disabilities are considered unable to live a healthy sexuality. This representation contributes to the spread of false attributions and prejudices. These characteristics may also be f…
A non-reductionist Physiologism. Nietzsche on Body, Mind and Cosciousness
2013
This paper addresses the following questions from the point of view of Nietzsche’s philosophy: What is the mind, and which kind of relationship does it hold to the body? Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to show that Nietzsche’s philosophy suggested a view of the mind that allows to outline an alternative stance to both mentalism and physicalism, as well as to both dualism and reductionism. It is argued that Nietzsche’s rehabilitation of the body as the specific seat of the mind in opposition to the Cartesian supremacy of the Ego still is of a great interest for contemporary philosophy, since it is not equivalent either to a reversed form of Cartesian dualism or to a physicalist reducti…
The Phantasmatic Core of Fascism: Psychoanalytic Theories of Antisemitism and Group Aggression Amongst the ‘Political Freudians’
2022
The period predating and overlapping with World War II saw psychoanalytic authors respond to the authoritarian and fascist developments in Europe through scholarly and analytical writings. These authors, sometimes referenced as ‘political Freudians’, were interested in bringing psychoanalysis in a dialogue with progressive social and pedagogical movements of their times, focusing their critique on the persecutory, eliminatory and purificatory fantasies, which they saw as animating the fascistic movements in Europe. This article analyses selected texts by Otto Fenichel, Ernst Simmel and Rudolf Loewenstein and argues that these authors asked about the political and ethical stakes of the fasci…
Promoting Awareness about Psychological Consequences of Living in a Community Oppressed by the Mafia: A Group-Analytic Intervention
2017
The effects of the Mafia have been extensively studied from sociological, economic, and historical points of view. However, little research has investigated the influence of the Mafia on individuals and communities in terms of its psychological and social impact. In order to contribute to the advancement of our understanding of the psychological effects of the Mafia on individuals and communities and to promote a participative process of social change, a group analytic intervention was conducted within a Community Based Participatory Research carried out in Corleone, a small Sicilian town with a historically recognized role in the evolution of the Mafia, as well as in the fight against its …