scholarly journals Mindfulness, Consciousness and Quantum Physics

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Di Sia
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Physics ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mindfulness Training ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Continuous Motion ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
Quantum Revolution ◽  
Higher Brain Functions

The relation between quantum physics and higher brain functions, including the consciousness, is in recent years a top subject of deep discussions from a scientific, philosophical, psychological and existential point of view. Reality is in continuous motion, life is continuously becoming, a movementof propagating energy waves. The quantum revolution undermined the solid nature of reality, opening the door to the primary role of mind, and proposing scenarios with unexpected features. In this paper interesting aspects of quantum physics are considered, with inevitable repercussions on our lives, which can decisively influence our actions and future. These findings underline the importance of building a cognitive resilience with mindfulness training, for improving the ability to regulate emotions, attention to the true surrounding reality, mood and well-being in life.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Barometer: Social Opinion – What Do the Portuguese Think in This Time of COVID-19?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Ana Rita Pedro ◽  
Ana Gama ◽  
Patrícia Soares ◽  
Marta Moniz ◽  
Pedro A. Laires ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The People ◽  
Huge Impact ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Continue Monitoring

The COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges to the global community, reinforcing the role of public health in society. The main measures to combat it had (and still have) a huge impact on the daily lives of citizens. This investigation aimed to identify and monitor the population’s perceptions about how it faced this period and the impact on health, well-being, and daily life. In this study, we describe the main trends observed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of mental health status, confidence in the capacity of the health services to respond to the pandemic, and the use of health services by participants. The online survey collected responses from 171,947 individuals ≥16 years of age in Portugal, over a period of 15 weeks that started on 21 March 2020. Participants could fill the questionnaire once or weekly, which enabled us to analyse trends and variations in responses. Overall, 81% of the respondents reported having felt agitated, anxious, or sad during the COVID-19 pandemic; 19% did not experience these feelings. During the confinement period, the proportion of participants feeling agitated, anxious, or sad every day/almost every day ranged between 20 and 30%, but since the deconfinement this proportion decreased. Around 30% reported having more difficulty getting to sleep or to sleep all night; 28.4% felt more agitated; 25.5% felt sadder, discouraged, or cried more easily; and 24.7% felt unable to do everything they had to do, women more frequently than men. Overall, 65.8% of the participants reported feeling confident or very confident in the health services’ capacity to respond to the challenges associated with the pandemic, and this confidence increased over time. Concerning the people who needed a consultation, 35.6% had one in person and 20.8% had one remotely, but almost 44% did not have one due to cancellation by the service (27.2%) or their own decision not to go (16.3%). At this unusual time in which we find ourselves and based on our findings, it is essential to continue monitoring how the population is facing the different phases of the pandemic until it officially ends. Analysing the effects of the pandemic from the point of view of citizens allows for anticipating critical trends and can contribute to preventative action.

Art and Morality

Philosophy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Sauchelli
Keyword(s):  
Moral Education ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Proper Function ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Ethical Criticism ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Works Of Art

A great number of works of art, it is commonly claimed, are aesthetically valuable. Some philosophers have even argued that providing an aesthetically pleasing experience is their only proper function. However, some of these artworks display or invite us to adopt an immoral point of view. Even worse, they even seem to make immoral situations delightful and appealing. The following questions thus arise: Does the alleged immorality of these works count as an aesthetic or artistic defect? Can an immoral movie or novel ever be a great example of its kind? In addition to these concerns related to art evaluation, the connection between various forms of art and morality has been investigated by discussing the capacity of works of art to move us emotionally. More specifically, thinkers from different traditions and ages have remarked that works of art are clearly able, first, to stir our emotions in a particularly effective way, and, second, to invite us to act following certain ideas that have been made appealing by their beauty or other aesthetic qualities. Plato was the first in the Western tradition to evaluate in a systematic way whether, as a consequence of the previous considerations, we should supervise the storytellers who are supposed to educate our youth. Other philosophers, from Aristotle to more recent advocates of the value of the humanities, have argued in favor of the positive role that truly great works of art may have in our moral education. Contemporary philosophers are also interested in the role of imagination in fictional immoral contexts (can we engage with immoral works of art and be justified in so doing?). They are also interested in the role played by art in contributing to our well-being and flourishing as human beings. The great majority of recent works on the topic, however, are focused on an assessment of the arguments in favor or against ethical criticism, with a particular emphasis on the criticism of representational works of art. Other issues at the intersection of art and morality are the concept of the obscene, the value of pornography, and censorship.

Human Flourishing as an Aim of Education

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doret de Ruyter ◽  
Lynne Wolbert
Keyword(s):  
Subjective Evaluation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Human Flourishing ◽  
Asking Questions ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
Vulnerability Theory ◽  
Teachers And Parents

Human flourishing has gained and is gaining popularity as an overarching ideal aim of education. Influential advocates of educational theories on flourishing are, among others, Harry Brighouse, Kristján Kristjánsson, Doret de Ruyter, and John White. Most contemporary theories on flourishing hark explicitly or implicitly back to Aristotle’s theory about eudaimonia. Aristotle constructed his theory as an answer to the question of what is the ultimate aim of a human life and defined it as acting virtuously. Contemporary theorists define it in somewhat wider terms, namely as a successful, morally good, happy, and well-balanced life. A theory on human flourishing is regarded as an objective well-being theory, that is, it describes from an objective point of view rather than a person’s subjective evaluation what it means to live one’s life well. Flourishing as an ideal aim of education has implications for the education and upbringing of children. Teachers and parents need to know what constitutes a flourishing life, what contributes to it and what does not, and they are expected to act in a way that enables children to lead a flourishing life (in the future). This, however, raises, several issues. Firstly, there are different ideas (of philosophers of education) as to what flourishing precisely means and therefore also different views on the role of schools and how they should aim for the flourishing of children: for instance, whether there should be a course on living a good life, or whether education for flourishing should permeate the entire curriculum and school ethos. Secondly, it could be objected that aiming for flourishing implies aiming for perfection and that this is not only detrimental to the well-being of children, but also too demanding for parents (and teachers). With regard to the well-being of children it is, however, possible to refer to empirical research that shows that when educators aim for self-oriented perfectionism (i.e., that children are themselves convinced that it is good to strive for perfectionism rather than having to do so to gain approval), they actually contribute to the well-being of children. With regard to the demands against parents it can be argued that in addition to their responsibilities regarding the interests of children to be able to live a flourishing life, parenting (well) is an important aspect of a flourishing life of many adults. Thirdly, it could be objected that focusing on the ideal aim of flourishing does not sufficiently take into account the differences in “luck” in individual lives and inequalities on a societal level, that is, human vulnerability. Theory on education for flourishing therefore does well not to overestimate the influence of parents and educators to equip children to live flourishing lives and needs to keep asking questions such as, for example, what role the (political) community plays in enabling all children to have the chance to lead a flourishing life.

scholarly journals POPULISM AND PRONATALITY POLICY WITH REFERENCE TO BIH

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris ̌Krešić
Keyword(s):  
Political Ideology ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Natural Increase ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Pronounced Difference ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
The Family ◽  
Cash Benefits

From the point of view of the demographic movement of the population, the continuous negative natural increase of the population is worrying, with an increasingly pronounced difference between the number of deaths and the number of newborns. If the trend of migration of the able-bodied population to Western European countries is added to that, the prospects for economic and social development are pessimistic. In order to increase the birth rate, it is noticeable that in Bosnia and Herzegovina the so-called natalism or pronatalism is used, a political ideology that promotes the reproduction of human life or, perhaps more accurately, sees the primary role of women as mothers in order to increase the domicile population. Populist measures in the form of cash benefits for the birth of a larger number of children, child allowance or the establishment of an alimony fund cannot be the basis for creating a pronatal policy. Birth policy must cover all spheres of life and focus on the family and not just on a woman.

The quality of interaction between mother and child as a factor of formation of health

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-155
Author(s):  
Tatiana D Vasilenko ◽  
Marina E Vorobeva
Keyword(s):  
Social Roles ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Psychological Intervention ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Mother And Child ◽  
Early Interaction

The article is devoted research of factors and conditions quality of early interaction between mother and child. In our work it is important that consideration of motherhood from the point of view of social and role-playing component of social identity in connection with the style of readiness to motherhood. These data suggest that in women with adequate style readiness to motherhood to the fore the social role of wife and mother, as well as the role of a professional. Women style with alarming readiness to motherhood hierarchy of social roles are determined by the primary role of the mother. Ignoring the style, readiness to motherhood a woman defines herself as a professional, employee, indicating the rejection of the role of mother with this style. Found communication style, readiness to motherhood in women during pregnancy, quality of early interaction with the child and the health of children in the first 6 months of life. As a result, longitudinal studies of the dynamics of the interaction between mother and infant conclusions, allowing to prevent violations of the contact in the dyad "mother-child" on the stage of pregnancy and after the birth of a child within 6 months. Style the willingness to motherhood influence the formation of social role component of the identity of a woman. During pregnancy formed a stable hierarchy of social roles. It allows you to design individually oriented psychological intervention, but also confronts us with the task to prepare the woman during pregnancy to the adoption of social roles as mothers.

FC13-03 - Stress, suicidal behaviour and genes

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1884-1884
Author(s):  
D. Wasserman ◽  
Y. Ben-Efraim ◽  
J. Wasserman ◽  
M. Sokolowski
Keyword(s):  
Hpa Axis ◽  
Suicidal Behaviors ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
Genes And Environment ◽  
Hpa Axis Dysregulation ◽  
Systemic Stress ◽  
Suicide Behaviors ◽  
Hpa Axis Activity ◽  
Higher Brain Functions

According to a stress diathesis model, genes and environment, as well as possible interactions in-between (GxE), may result in vulnerability towards suicidal behaviors (SB), characterized by behavioral trigger endophenotypes such as increased depression-intensity and aggression/ anger/ impulsivity. Excessive stress has the potential to induce unfavorable effects in a variety of higher brain-functions, incurred as side effects to maladaptive responses in the genetically controlled stress-responsive neurosystems e.g. in the hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. HPA-axis dysregulation is regarded as an endophenotype of depression-, anxiety- and alcohol abuse disorders, commonly found also in suicide behaviors. Various neurobiological alterations, suggesting abnormal HPA-axis activity and reactivity, have also been demonstrated to occur in suicidal behaviors incl. completed suicides. The HPA axis is a major systemic stress-modulator being mainly controlled by the regulatory corticotrophin releasing hormone receptor 1 (CRHR1) gene. An overview will be presented of the role of the HPA axis in suicidal behaviors with a focus on CRHR1 gene.

Endorphin Patterns within the Headache Spectrum Disorders

Cephalalgia ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 5 (2_suppl) ◽  
pp. 201-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Nappi ◽  
Fabio Facchinetti ◽  
Emilia Martignoni ◽  
Felice Petraglia ◽  
Gian Camillo Manzoni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pain Perception ◽  
Endogenous Opioids ◽  
Personality Factors ◽  
Primary Headaches ◽  
Clinical Criteria ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
Adaptive Processes ◽  
Adaptive Ability ◽  
Higher Brain Functions

The role of opioid peptides in modulating the nervous system adaptability has been demonstrated recently; proopiomelanocortin (POMC)-related peptides, in particular, serve in pain perception, in adaptation to stress, and in modulating higher brain functions. Primary headaches, besides pain, involve neuroendocrine/autonomic/adaptive processes as well as mood and personality factors. The view that primary headaches can be taken as a possible model of POMC-related peptides dysfunction led us to evaluate the resting plasma and CSF peptide levels and their plasma changes in response to various stimuli affecting their release. The data obtained from basal and dynamic studies agree with the concept that primary headaches are sustained by opioid system disturbance. In particular the reduced release of endogenous opioids by anterior pituitary in response to physical, endocrine or pharmacological stimuli agrees with a weak adaptive ability of headache sufferers. This impairment of endorphin responsiveness could play a key role in headache susceptibility to environmental stimuli. Primary headaches constitute a wide, intriguing field, including several subgroups bordering on “ischemic” and behavioral/affective disorders. The development of neuroendocrine techniques could be a useful means for supporting the clinical criteria identifying subpopulations of headache sufferers.

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