When two friends go on a stroll together, they organize their movements with reference to each other. They adjust their walking speed, direction, and their distance to accommodate the other. Through such adjustments, each comes to occupy a position different from the companion. Each comes to a view different from the friend. I believe something…
Margins and Vitality
A good friend asked me a series of questions, which were meant to act as writing probes. One of them was: “Is psychology a dead-end or is it waiting to be born?”. I decided to write an answer to it, because it is the only question on his list that bothered me. I sensed an urge to avoid…
Mammen: Choice Category
What is a Choice Category within Jens Mammen’s framework? In my understanding, a Choice Category is tied to two other concepts. On one hand, it is tied to the concept of identity and, on the other hand, it is tied to self-reference. You could think of identity and self-reference as two sides of the same…
Notes in Feb 2018
You might not be interested in politics, but politics is interested in you. Academic politics is as unavoidable as politics in any other communal domain. Your withdrawal, your inaction, your compliance will help perpetuate existing structures, unexamined positions, and rent seekers. At first glance, it may seem like the stakes are not high. Ego strokes seem…
Notes on Teaching Cognitive Psychology (1)
Today’s lecture was about narratives. This topic is almost never covered in Cognitive Psychology courses. We did not have it when I took the course in 2008. Even when I took Psychology of Language and Reading Processes we still did not cover narratives. And I believe my experience is representative of the majority. Why most instructors don’t…