Conservation of Energy is Relevant to Physicalism

I argue against Barbara Montero's claim that Conservation of Energy has nothing to do with physicalism. I reject her reconstruction of the argument for physicalism from CoE, and offer an alternative reconstruction that better captures the intuitions of those who believe that there is a conflict between interactionist dualism and CoE

What Can Talk Tell Us About Design? Considering Practice Through Symbolic Interactionism and Conversation Analysis

How can scholars conduct rigorous research into the social activities that help constitute design practice? This paper considers this question through exploring how the interactive aspects of design may be fruitfully examined from the perspective of social psychology, especially through the approaches and methods of Symbolic Interactionism (SI) and Conversation Analysis (CA). The social activities of design refer to those situations wherein design is conducted in relation to face-to-face talk, or conversation. Since many aspects of design involve discussion, this paper argues that an SI-informed CA can offer an effective approach that may help us to better understand how communication and negotiation are central aspects of design. The author first outlines why social psychology is a significant perspective from which to study design through associating this perspective with the work of previous design researchers (Rittel, Schön). This is followed by an exploration of SI’s concern with the relationship between social structure and personal agency. Through considering design-based talk through an SI- focused lens, we can see how participants in design negotiate both personal creativity and externally-imposed constraints. The concepts of creativity and constraint are discussed in more detail through analyses of excerpts of conversations from two design-education critiques. These analyses demonstrate how CA’s methods can help scholars delineate the micro processes that link design practice to both personal opinion and wider social conditions. In summary, social psychology, SI, and CA are presented as distinctive, rigorous, and inter-related approaches that can help scholars of design practice to better understand the precise manner in which design is enacted through contexts of social interaction. Keywords: Conversation Analysis; Design Practice; Interaction; Social Psychology; Symbolic Interactionism.</p

Human interaction in the Swedish biogas sector

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the role of human interaction in defining, shaping, and continuously re-shaping interpretations towards the biogas phenomenon in Sweden. This investigation was conducted via two forms of inquiry. First, a theoretical inquiry was conducted which was grounded in the principles of symbolic interactionism. The purpose of this inquiry was to create a theoretical framework that can be applied to better understand the phenomenon of human interaction. Second, an empirical inquiry was conducted based on participatory research that involved direct interaction with actors working within the Swedish biogas context. The empirical inquiry provided the opportunity to present concrete, tangible results regarding the role of human interaction in the biogas sector, and was based on my own direct participation in the Swedish biogas-context. This theoretical-empirical framework (created through the two forms of inquiry) was established through a somewhat interdependent process; that is, the underlying theoretical framework was used as a reference point from which to conduct the empirical inquiry, while the theory itself was derived with empirical results and observations in mind. As such, each form of inquiry served to support and complement the other. A main component of both inquiries was to investigate the role symbols play during interaction. Key symbols that were observed during biogas-related interaction were outlined and discussed. A discussion was also provided regarding the role these symbols played in facilitating shared meaning and cooperation amongst the actors, as well as their role in learning, perspective change and knowledge creation. To complement these empirical observations, a personal account of how direct interaction in the Swedish biogas sector has shifted my own perspective towards the biogas phenomenon was also provided

Lessons and new directions for extended cognition from social and personality psychology

This paper aims to expand the range of empirical work relevant to the extended cognition debates. First, I trace the historical development of the person-situation debate in social and personality psychology and the extended cognition debate in the philosophy of mind. Next, I highlight some instructive similarities between the two and consider possible objections to my comparison. I then argue that the resolution of the person-situation debate in terms of interactionism lends support for an analogously interactionist conception of extended cognition. I argue that this interactionism might necessitate a shift away from the dominant agent-artifact paradigm toward an agent–agent paradigm. If this is right, then social and personality psychology—the discipline(s) that developed from the person-situation debate—opens a whole new range of empirical considerations for extended cognition theorists which align with Clark & Chalmers original vision of agents themselves as spread into the world

Collectivized Intellectualism

We argue that the evolutionary function of reasoning is to allow us to secure more accurate beliefs and more effective intentions through collective deliberation. This sets our view apart both from traditional intellectualist accounts, which take the evolutionary function to be individual deliberation, and from interactionist accounts such as the one proposed by Mercier and Sperber, which agrees that the function of reasoning is collective but holds that it aims to disseminate, rather than come up with, accurate beliefs. We argue that our collectivized intellectualism offers the best explanation of the range of biases that human reasoning is prone to, and that it does better than interactionism at offering a function of reasoning that would have been adaptive for our distant ancestors who first evolved this capacity

Looking to the past to understand the present: organizational change in varsity sport

Purpose – This paper aims to explore how varsity football athletes and coaches negotiate meanings when faced with the unmet expectations of a new head coach brought into lead a turnaround process. It also aims to pay particular attention to the role of history in this meaning making process. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on semi-structured interviews with players and coaches at two points in time. To preserve the richness of their experiences and illuminate the historical aspects of change, it focuses on the stories of three players and one supporting coach. Findings – Numerous symbols of change emerge that have multiple and contradictory meanings. The meanings around success and failure are renegotiated over time as individuals struggle with the unmet expectations of change. Moreover, individuals are unable to shed the failures of the past and move forward. Practical implications – Change is a complex and messy process of managing multiple meanings. Understanding change entails more than a snapshot picture of an organization. New leaders have no control over the past, yet they need to be aware of how individuals experienced the past in order to increase the likelihood of success in the present. Originality/value – Success and failure are experienced as an ongoing process as athletes and coaches experience, reflect on and interact with others. In illuminating the role of history in how change is experienced in the present, the paper demonstrates that the past can serve as both an immobilizing force, as well as a comparative point enabling individuals to rationalize their emotions

The Problem of Mind-Body Dichotomy: A Critique of the Cartesian Approach

The mind-body problem is a perennial philosophical problem that seeks to uncover the relationship or causal interaction that exists between the corporeal and incorporeal aspects of the human person. It thrives under the assumption that the human person is made up of two distinct entities, that is, mind and body, which explains their assumed causal relation. As attractive as this may seem, not all philosophers agree to this feigned idea of interaction and bifurcation of the human person. One philosopher of note, who sorts to address this problem in the 17th century, is René Descartes. For Descartes, minds and bodies are distinct kinds of substance, where bodies are spatially extended substances (a res extensa) and minds are unexpended substances characterised primarily by thought (a res cogitans). But, if minds and bodies are radically dissimilar, how could they causally interact? This paper therefore attempts to examine the philosophical foundations of Cartesian dualism. It also articulates the major arguments adopted by Descartes through his methodic doubts to address the mind-body problem. The paper concludes by highlighting some fundamental criticisms of Cartesian Interactionism in the light of recent trends in parapsychology and neuro-scientific research

Interactionism and digital society

During this article we consider the extent to which interactionist ideas can inform the analysis of current socio-technical trends and practices that surround the emerging contours of digital society. We make reference to four field domains of inquiry that are relevant to this task and highlight how established interactionist insights can be carried forward and inform future studies in this developing area