<p> This theoretical study seeks to continue the work initiated by Freud in 1918 on the taboo of virginity by assessing (a) the place of virginity in Lacan's theory on femininity and (b) the question of whether virginity can be considered a myth in Lacanian terms. Feminine virginity is the object of this research, with a focus on heterosexual feminine virginity in contemporary U.S. culture. The approach selected is psychoanalytical and uses the theory of Jacques Lacan, a 20th-century French psychoanalyst. As Lacan never refers to virginity or to the Freudian taboo of virginity, his work offers a space for new research.</p><p> Virginity is presented in its historical context, followed by a recounting of the various proofs of virginity utilized&mdash;to demonstrate the lack of scientific accuracy. A review of current information disseminated in the U.S. media on the topic of virginity provides an account of two movements in fierce opposition. It is then proposed that virginity is a cultural concept, and the review of literature continues with an assessment of virginity in psychoanalysis. Freud's work on taboo and his article "The Virginity Taboo" (Freud, 1918/2006c) set the stage for a total of six psychoanalytical papers that address feminine virginity. The theoretical tools used for this research consist of Freud's greatest contribution, the unconscious, and his work on feminine sexuality. Lacan's psychoanalytical project is presented in its historical context, and concepts relevant to this study are defined. Further, an elaboration of the role and purpose of myths in psychoanalysis, with a review of the contributions from Freud, L&eacute;vi-Strauss, and Lacan, provides the basis for the discussion. </p><p> This research led to two major conclusions. First, virginity plays no role in sexual difference in Lacanian theory; to the contrary, it negates sexual difference. Second, virginity is a myth that refers to the impossible response to the Other's desire. Virginity belongs to the imaginary, inasmuch as it is a semblance placed over feminine jouissance in the failed attempt to inscribe the feminine <i>all</i> into the symbolic, under the phallic function.</p>

<p> The notion of character is a familiar and prominent part of ethical theorizing, and of our everyday discourse. Character is used to explain how people act, to predict what they will do, to judge whether they ought to be trusted, and utilized in a multitude of other ways. A camp of philosophers dubbed the "Situationists", however, argue that research in social psychology shows the notion of character as we traditionally understand it is empirically unsupported, and consequently that all our discourse and ethical thought involving character is gravely mistaken. Instead, these philosophers contend that what influences and informs our perception and actions is largely traceable to the situations we find ourselves in. This dissertation will aim to defend the plausibility of character against this challenge by the Situationists. To do so, it begins by examining the traditional notion of character that is prevalent in ethical theorizing - derived in large part from Aristotle's view of character - and the empirical evidence that Situationists claim undercut the plausibility of that notion. Thereafter, a reply to the Situationists will be offered, arguing that there is persuasive evidence that speaks in favor of character, and moreover, that a character-based explanation of the evidence is more convincing than the account that Situationists propose. The goal of the project is to show that the traditional notion of character is more tenable than Situationists have claimed, and that we are not gravely mistaken by including it in our ethical thought and everyday discourse. In fact, rather than eschewing the notion of character, the dissertation aims to establish that we have strong reasons to continue building the case for it.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: A, page: 4727. Adviser: Jonathan Waskan. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 256-269) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

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This thesis analyses why the practice of vivisection captured the imagination of a small section of late-Victorian society, and how these individuals articulated their concerns. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this study brings together the texts of both anti and pro-vivisectionists to place literary texts alongside medical textbooks and illustrations, essays and campaigning leaflets to suggest a representation of the vivisector throughout the different texts assembled. The first chapter explores the interaction, in print, between activist Frances Power Cobbe and physiologist, Elie de Cyon alongside the ways in which the antivivisectionists used images of vivisected animals, sourced from scientific manuals, to assist in constructing the movement’s identity. The second chapter analyses the lecture notes of two young medical students published as The Shambles of Science (1903) and how the authors strived to secure a literary representation for pain. These findings will then pave the way for an examination of how anti-vivisection rhetoric influenced fiction. The next chapter is concerned with the relationship between the ‘heart’ and ‘science’ and considers the more positive outcomes for those existing on the periphery of scientific experimentation. The fourth chapter examines the relationship between vivisection and hydrophobia, while simultaneously considering the implications of nurturing the young vivisector. The final chapter examines how the signature of the vivisectionist can be read through the incisions made on the surface of the opened body. By delving into these interactive, textual and imaginative bodies, this chapter explores the ways in which the vivisected body, traced by the scalpel and relayed by the instrumentation of the laboratory became a literary object.

<p> This production dissertation examines the role of the creative process in balancing intellect and intuition in the individual; and the potential of collaborative creativity to support the integration of intuition and intellect on a social level. The <i>mythos-sphere</i> is given as a metaphor to conceptualize the human experience, which extends from the physical, but always includes much more than one knows: inner and outer, conscious and unconscious, physical and imaginal altogether comprise this sphere of influence. </p><p> The mythic imagination aids social cohesion when there is sufficient shared experience. This research addresses a disconnect between inner experience and collective experience. This gap might be bridged by a social context that encourages awareness of our immersion in a mythic environment, built upon common ground. </p><p> The third is considered as the space between inner-outer and self-other, that allows negotiation without loss of self, and from which creative solutions emerge. A discussion of the third examines Winnicott&rsquo;s transitional space and Jung&rsquo;s archetypal theory. The space of the third is &ldquo;expanded&rdquo; by admitting the unknown and the ambiguous as real and meaningful, but &ldquo;collapsed&rdquo; by reductionist thinking. Participation, or being present and phenomenologically engaged, relaxes the tension wrought by protracted rational focus. Metaphor is proposed as the essential bridge that mediates the &ldquo;in-between&rdquo; area of the third. </p><p> Giving physical form to images emerging from the unconscious is considered as &ldquo;applied metaphor.&rdquo; Connecting inner with outer, known with unknown, and rational with non-rational, the creative process generates meaning for the individual. A collaborative creative process is therefore suggested as a way to develop shared meaning. </p><p> Concluding that creative collaboration encourages communication and group cohesion, a method is proposed. The production presents the application of this method via a three-day collaborative art-and-story making event, documented as an interactive digital magazine. </p><p> Keywords: expressive arts, collaboration, creativity, metaphor, participation, narrative, myth, imaginal, archetypal.</p><p>

<p> This heuristic self-search inquiry (Sela-Smith, 2001, 2002) study reviews empirical and theoretical research on Autism Spectrum Disorder (Asperger, 1938, 1944; Bleuler, 1910, 1911a, 1911b; Kanner, 1943) and Turner Syndrome (Funke, 1902; Turner, 1938; Ullrich, 1930). It conjoins with existing literature on the main principles of existential-humanistic psychology and psychotherapy to prompt a heuristic investigation of the problem of the researcher-participant&rsquo;s veridical reference as it pertains to her subjective experience. The purpose of the study was to elucidate the complementarity of what the existential-humanistic literature refers to as the intelligible responses of her equiprimordial <i> I-who-feels</i> encounter with biopsychological trauma as an initiator of chronic existential injury as an adult diagnosed with a conglomerate of associated clinical symptoms to sketch out their possible existential etiologies. </p><p> Stimuli precipitating heuristic data collection included psychotherapy sessions, childhood medical records, medical examinations and consultations conducted during the study, and prior academic work. The heuristic data collection adhered to Moustakas&rsquo; (1990) phases and processes of research. Schneider&rsquo;s (2008/2015) expansion-constriction continuum model of consciousness of six-domains (physiological, environmental, cognitive, psychosexual, interpersonal, and experiential) was used to analyze the heuristic data and decipher whether tacit knowledge of the researcher-participant&rsquo;s <i>I-who-feels </i> experience was discovered in the inquiry. A Heuristic-Expansion-Constriction Change scale was designed to subjectively measure degree of change in each domain. Bronfenbrenner&rsquo;s (1979) biosystemic model of human development was employed to conceptualize the etiology of existential injury across four systems of being: the microsystem, mesosystem, ectosystem, and macrosystem. </p><p> The heuristic research findings indicated a high degree of meta-level abstraction in the researcher-participant paralleled by the review of the literature. Populations experiencing recalcitrant complications of similar ilk might gain insight into their psychological etiologies of by, through self-examination and change, acknowledging resistance to the <i>I-who-feels </i>. Additionally, ongoing interdisciplinary intervention by an established care team providing medical and psychotherapeutic support might prove satisfactorily beneficial. Data was distilled into a series of recommendations that existential-humanistic psychotherapists might adopt when working with clients exhibiting chronic existential injury due to multiplex medical symptoms. Implications for these populations were subsequently discussed, with special recommendations provided for medical providers on addressing existential concerns in patients.</p><p>

<p> This dissertation aims to fulfill two objectives. First, to establish a critical perspective of analysis based on the construct of otherness. I term this perspective the &ldquo;Lens of Otherness&rdquo; (LoO) and it consists in analyzing the ways otherness is integrated in a theory. A significant part of this work is devoted to substantiate it and provide a theoretical and methodological foundation for it. The second goal is to apply the LoO to two major transpersonal theories, integral theory and the participatory paradigm. The application of the LoO to these two transpersonal theories brings their problematic aspects to the fore. </p><p> The overall argument is broken down into several steps. The first step consists of compiling a significant number of critiques of transpersonalism that point to a common problem: an inadequate treatment of otherness. Next, the study shows that otherness is a fundamental aspect for both the human being and the universe at large. In order to demonstrate this, a model for otherness in transpersonal studies is created. This model contains five modalities of otherness with increasing significance. Once having shown the relevance of otherness, a critical perspective of analysis based on otherness, the LoO, is formed. A method to guide the application of this critical perspective to transpersonal theories is provided as well. </p><p> Then the LoO is applied to exemplars of the two major orientations in transpersonal theories, integral theory and the participatory paradigm. The main conclusion of this analysis is that while integral theory presents many flaws from the perspective of otherness, otherness is a foundational constituent of the participatory paradigm. Many other critiques are developed that are of paramount relevance for transpersonal studies. </p><p> This work will be of interest to all scholars interested in transpersonal studies, and more generally to spiritual seekers who are attracted to the ideas and principles of transpersonal theories.</p><p>

<p> Poet David Ray imagines, "The poem is the altar for the dream" (1998, p. 176). This dissertation focuses on amplifying dreams with poetry from a collective perspective through the lens of archetypal psychology. The research was a collaborative effort of oneiric poetics nested in a dream group focused on engaging psychopoesis in relationship to archetypal value in dream images portraying the collective psyche and current cultural surround. </p><p> Hermeneutic phenomenology addressed the two central research questions: What are the dynamics that serve meaning making, or the transformation of meaning, when poetry is used to amplify dreams? How does this work develop further when engaged by a dream group aimed at collective meaning making? Phenomenological analysis described the essence of the lived experience of the co-researchers' engagement with writing dream poetry, moving from raw dream text through archetypal amplifications and associations in the group setting, culminating in dream poetry. Hermeneutics examined the shifting horizons of imaginal awareness that emerged from the intersubjective field of the dream group and how these horizons, infused with archetypal sensitivity, altered the co-researchers' subsequent relationship to the dream's images when creating dream poetry. </p><p> The research revealed the importance of a tripartite approach to dream work that is aware of the literal, psychological, and archetypal dynamics of meaning making. Thirteen dynamics that serve meaning making emerged from this tripartite analysis. Key among these are: conservation of the dream image view shed; building a relationship with and expressing interest in the image; liberation of the imaginal ego; relativizing the day-world ego; archetypal empathy; expanded awareness through commonality of archetypal dream themes; cultural awareness through a group dialogic regarding collective dream themes; and archetypal themes condensed in dream poetry. </p><p> The research reimagined the conversation between depth psychology, poetics, and dreaming beyond the personal or day-world ego's interpretations. This dissertation attends to the dream poet's pen and, by doing so, revivifies the imaginal ego, rejuvenates the poetic basis of mind, and refreshes psychopoesis as meaning-making agents in depth psychology. In a valuable move for archetypal psychology, this dissertation enlists these three precious premises in service of the sensus communis.</p>

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