Charting a genealogy of the modern idea of the self, Felix O Murchadha explores the accounts of self-identity expounded by key Early Modern philosophers, Montaigne, Descartes, Pascal, Spinoza, Hume and Kant. The question of the self as we would discuss it today only came to the forefront of philosophical concern with Modernity, beginning with an appeal to the inherited models of the self found in Stoicism, Scepticism, Augustinianism and Pelagianism, before continuing to develop as a subject of philosophical debate. Exploring this trajectory, The Formation of the Modern Self pursues a number of themes central to the Early Modern development of selfhood, including, amongst others, grace and passion. It examines on the one hand the deep-rooted dependence on the divine and the longing for happiness and salvation and, on the other hand, the distancing from the Stoic ideal of apatheia, as philosophers from Descartes to Spinoza recognised the passions as essential to human agency. Fundamental to the new question of the self was the relation of faith and reason. Uncovering commonalities and differences amongst Early Modern philosophers, O Murchadha traces how the voluntarism of Modernity led to the sceptical approach to the self in Montaigne and Hume and how this sceptical strand, in turn, culminated in Kant's rational faith. More than a history of the self in philosophy, The Formation of the Modern Self inspires a fresh look at self-identity, uncovering not only how our modern idea of selfhood developed but just how embedded the concept of self is in external considerations: from ethics, to reason, to religion.

Significant progress has been made in the study of human psychology in recent years. However, certain aspects of personality, such as electrophysiological attributes, have yet to be fully examined. Measuring the Psychological and Electrophysiological Attributes of Human Personality: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a detailed scholarly resource that presents the latest findings in psychology as in relation to electrophysiology. Featuring coverage on relevant topics including personality theories, temperament analysis, and evoked brain potentials, this is an important reference publication that would be useful to psychologists, medical professionals, academicians, graduate students, and researchers that must keep abreast of the latest personality research in the psychological field.

This book provides fresh insight into the creative practice developed by Paul McCartney over his extended career as a songwriter, record producer and performing musician. It frames its examination of McCartney's work through the lens of the systems model of creativity developed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and combines this with the research work of Pierre Bourdieu. This systems approach is built around the basic structures of idiosyncratic agents, like McCartney himself, and the choices he has made as a creative individual. It also locates his work within social fields and cultural domains, all crucial aspects of the creative system that McCartney continues to be immersed in. Using this tripartite system, the book includes analysis of McCartney's creative collaborations with musicians, producers, artists and filmmakers and provides a critical analysis of the Romantic myth which forms a central tenet of popular music. This engaging work will have interdisciplinary appeal to students and scholars of the psychology of creativity, popular music, sociology and cultural studies.

What are the elements upon which a healthy personality is built? This fascinating book identifies the key components and shares vivid case studies that demonstrate what happens when those elements are missing. What is "normal" when it comes to human personality? And is it possible to achieve emotional health through intended effort, just like physical health? Clinical psychologist Camay Woodall, PhD, addresses these complex questions and many more in this work that cogently discusses the parameters of emotional health. This book covers historical concepts; examines personality at its formative stages and beyond; explains how "normal behavior" varies widely, yet emotional symptoms are definable; and pinpoints the common aspects of normality in human personality, such as the need for social connection, the struggle for realism, and the ability to come to terms with guilt. Covering topics that include anxiety; self-esteem; depression; food (and the abuses of it), sex, love, and intimacy; shame and guilt; and spirituality, this book identifies common sources of dysfunctional personality traits and stresses the importance of individual responsibility in each area. Each chapter is richly illustrated by actual case studies from the author's 30 years of experience. The book will be of interest and highly useful to undergraduate or graduate-level students of psychotherapy, individuals undergoing therapy, parents who are concerned about their own or their family's behavior, and general readers. Underscores the universal and key importance of healthy relationships in achieving emotional health and happiness Provides clear, accessible, and educational text that includes vignettes in each chapter to illustrate key points Identifies parallels between emotional health and subjective feelings of "happiness" and well-being Examines the root causes for common personality traits and behaviors such as aggression, eating disorders, guilt, intolerance, narcissism, and shame

This volume brings together the world's leading experts on disgust to fully explore this understudied behavior. Disgust is unique among emotions. It is, at once, perhaps the most "basic" and visceral of feelings while also being profoundly shaped by learning and culture. Evident from the earliest months of life, disgust influences individual behavior and shapes societies across political, social, economic, legal, ecological, and health contexts. As an emotion that evolved to prevent our eating contaminated foods, disgust is now known to motivate wider behaviors, social processes, and customs. On a global scale, disgust finds a place in population health initiatives, from hand hygiene to tobacco warning labels, and may underlie aversions to globalization and other progressive agendas, such as those regarding sustainable consumption and gay marriage. This comprehensive work provides cutting-edge, timely, and succinct theoretical and empirical contributions illustrating the breadth, rigor, relevance, and increasing maturity of disgust research to modern life. It is relevant to a wide range of psychological research and is particularly important to behavior viewed through an evolutionary lens, As such, it will stimulate further research and clinical applications that allow for a broader conceptualization of human behavior. The reader will find: Succinct and accessible summaries of key perspectives Highlights of new scientific developments A rich blend of theoretical and empirical chapters

This book takes James Gilligan's theory of shame and violence as a starting point for an application of the model across disciplines (psychology, sociology, philosophy, political science, cultural studies, history, architecture and urban studies) and levels of analysis (from the individual to the global). It critically engages with shame theory, exploring the existential origins, the emotional, linguistic, cognitive and cultural manifestations and symptoms of shame-in the mind, in the body, in public space and in the civic culture-and its relationship with other emotions, such as anger, guilt and pride. It also examines the role of shame in communities that are at the fault lines of current affairs, identity politics and "culture wars", such as Brexit, trans rights, and racial equality. The book contributes to the literature on political psychology and psychosocial studies by facilitating an innovative application of the concept of shame: blending theory and practice, focusing on gender as a key lever of the mechanism of shame, and exploring the mechanics of shame and shame awareness, so as to seek and propose a range of guiding principles, practical models and possible solutions for the future.

This book analyses the clinical interaction between depression and personality dysfunction to help clinicians better understand and treat patients with complex depression. It proposes an innovative perspective to clinical work that moves away from a disorder-centered approach to a person-centered approach by analysing complex depression through the lens of functional domains related to personality functioning and applying Research Domain Criteria to diagnosis and treatment planning. By doing so, it aims to contribute to the development of precision psychotherapy by applying the principles of precision medicine to mental health care. The book is divided in two parts. Chapters in the first part review problems in five domains of personality dysfunction that drive complex depressive presentations - identity, affect regulation, self-other regulation, social dysfunction and self-criticism - and the neurobiological findings underlying them. In the second part, authors present integrative models of depression and personality dysfunction and their implications for diagnosis and treatment. Depression and Personality Dysfunction: An Integrative Functional Domains Perspective is a scientific and clinical guide for the understanding and treatment of patients with depression complicated by personality dysfunction. It will be a useful tool for clinicians looking for resources to develop a more person-centered and evidence-based approach to mental health care.

What if you found yourself working for an intelligence agency and suddenly your understanding of other human beings had become a matter of life or death? Yair Neuman draws us into a unique thought experiment, using portraits from some of Shakespeare's most stirring works to illustrate how our psychological understanding of human nature can be significantly enriched through literature. Provocative and engaging, Shakespeare for the Intelligence Agent: Toward Understanding Real Personalities invites you to a challenging, enjoyable, and in many cases humorous reading of human personality through Shakespeare's plays.

This book shows how psychological aspects of individuals and of couple relationships can work as both protective or risk factors to the health of diabetes patients and their partners. Departing from a social psychologic perspective, it analyzes how individual attributes and personal relationships influence health, focusing on the impacts that diabetes as a chronic-degenerative disease has on the psychological state of the patient and on their most immediate social context. The volume is divided in three parts: the first focuses on the patient, the second on the partner and the third on the couple relationship. The first part examines how attachment styles, optimism, resilience, self-efficacy in emotional regulation, loneliness and rumination impact the stress experienced by the diabetic patient. The second part analyzes how the partner's altruism, affectivity, jealousy, criticism or indifference affects the physical health of the diabetic patient. Finally, the third part explores the relationship between negative emotions and the couple's motives of conflict, as well as the effects of the communication styles used, emotional warmth and empathy in the satisfaction with the relationship in couples where one of the members is a diabetes patient. Diabetes and Couple Relationship: Protective and Risk Factors will be a valuable resource for researchers, students and professionals in the fields of health and clinical psychology, social psychology and public health interested in better understanding how personal characteristics and relationships can affect the physical and psychological health of chronic disease patients, as well as their well-being and quality of life.