Geoff's Miscellany

Miscellaneous Musings

Geoff

Science Fact of the Day #3: The Bargaining Model of Depression

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Today we’ll look at a fairly recent model of depression: the bargaining model.

In a 2003 book edited by Peter Hammerstein, Genetic and Cultural Evolution of Cooperation, chapter 6 is an essay (I believe based on a talk) on this model, “The Bargaining Model of Depression.”

The author, Edward Hagen, proposes depression might be explained as a strategy to gain assistance and support from powerful members of a social group by members which are weaker. This is due to the difficulty that physically or socially weaker people have utilizing force, threats of force, or persuasive rhetoric to achieve their goal (96-97).

The idea then is that the depressed person is acting in a fashion that is costly both to themselves and to the group, but that the group will perceive the loss of activity and exuberance from the individual as too costly to endure and therefore provide assistance to the individual or make changes to the group on their account (100). All of this is proposed as unconscious.

One interesting observation in the paper was this:

“It is not yet apparent whether depression symptoms themselves help enable “fresh starts” (or would have in the EEA), but this is, of course, precisely the proposed function of depression. It is therefore encouraging that “fresh starts” are closely associated with the remission of depression and may even cause it. (101)”

The idea that fresh starts may cause the remission of depression counts as evidence for the model because often the fresh starts come can come as the result of help from roommates, spouses, and near-by family. Interestingly, in cases with less social contact, depression is more likely to continue without obstacle (101). Lots of other research demonstrates this to be the case.

The model isn’t entirely persuasive to me, but elsewhere Hagen has found some evidence in favor of the model. For instance, lower grip strength predicts depression.

Anyway, that’s one model for depression among many.

Any thoughts?

Why virtue ethics matters

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Virtue ethics, at its heart, is an ethical system based upon the nature of what it means to be human and what it takes for human beings to be happy and fully functioning beings.

Many people, in their pursuit of happiness, buy into more recent notions of happiness that are not based upon actual knowledge of human nature but upon knowledge of one’s personality and preferences.

Charles Taylor observed that modern ethics was purely about self-actualization without reference to human nature:

“There is a certain way of being human that is my way. I am called upon to live my life in this way, and not in imitation of anyone else’s. But this gives a new importance to being true to myself. If I am not, I miss the point of my life, I miss what being human is for me.”1

Now, this ideal has probably helped people seek happiness in the sense of paying special attention to one’s own unique circumstances, preferences, and desires. In that sense, it has served some use. But in the other sense, it has left people with little knowledge of what happiness actually is, what it means to be happy in a community, and how to be content despite the fact that such knowledge has been universally available in the past. If there is no human nature, then no tradition has potential to train me in the ways of wisdom and happiness because I am unique and unlike those who came before me and those who exist about me.

The idea that doing philosophy, studying what it means to be human, immersing oneself in traditions (religious, martial, national, scholastic, etc), and putting the hard work of attaining virtue into one’s life could lead to happiness is typically not countenanced by those who have absorbed the view Taylor describes. My guess is that we’re so easily influenced by advertisements, our friends, and visible trends around us, that believing that we’re making our own unique path without influence makes us more susceptible to influences that we don’t even choose!

So, virtue ethics, a system of thinking about happiness and right and wrong in terms of human nature, dispositions, intentions, desires, habits, community and health as well as rules and in just makes more sense than a system that basis ethics solely on consequences or universally acceptable norms.

 

 

  1. 1Charles Taylor, The Ethics of Authenticity (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1992), 29

Translation Tuesday LXX: Psalm 1

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Text

1 Μακάριος ἀνήρ, ὃς οὐκ ἐπορεύθη ἐν βουλῇ ἀσεβῶν καὶ ἐν ὁδῷ ἁμαρτωλῶν οὐκ ἔστη καὶ ἐπὶ καθέδραν λοιμῶν οὐκ ἐκάθισεν, 2 ἀλλʼ ἢ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ κυρίου τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ αὐτοῦ μελετήσει ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός. 3 καὶ ἔσται ὡς τὸ ξύλον τὸ πεφυτευμένον παρὰ τὰς διεξόδους τῶν ὑδάτων, ὃ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ δώσει ἐν καιρῷ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ φύλλον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀπορρυήσεται, καὶ πάντα, ὅσα ἂν ποιῇ, κατευοδωθήσεται. 4 οὐχ οὕτως οἱ ἀσεβεῖς, οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλʼ ἢ ὡς ὁ χνοῦς, ὃν ἐκριπτεῖ ὁ ἄνεμος ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς. 5 διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἀναστήσονται ἀσεβεῖς ἐν κρίσει οὐδὲ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἐν βουλῇ δικαίων, 6 ὅτι γινώσκει κύριος ὁδὸν δικαίων, καὶ ὁδὸς ἀσεβῶν ἀπολεῖται. [1]

Rough Translation

(1:1) How happy is the man who does not go in the counsel of the godless and who does not stand in the way of the sinful, and does not sit in the seat of pestilent persons, (1:2) but rather upon the law of the Lord is his desire, and upon his law he fixes his mind day and night. (1:3) And he will be as a tree which have been planted along the springs of water, which gives its fruit in its season and its leaf does not fall away, and everything whatsoever he may do, it is made to prosper. (1:4) No so for the godless, no so, but rather they are as the powder which the wind casts away from the face of the earth. (1:5) For this reason the godless will not rise up in the judgment nor sinners in the counsel of the righteous, (1:6) because the Lord knows the way of the righteous, and the way of the godless will be destroyed.

Reflections

I normally (normally, I haven’t done this in months!) include a polished translation, but I’m terrible at poetry, so there is no polish here.

A thing to remember when read translations like mine is that when I’m translating “κύριος” as “the Lord” despite its lack of an article it’s because I’m following English language conventions. The Greek word is used to translate the divine name. So it’s really a circumlocution for a personal reference to God. It might even be better to translated it into English as “YHWH.”

In (1:1) we see a reference to “pestilent persons.” In the Hebrew Old Testament, the word is “scoffers,” a particularly vicious type of sinner. The translators picked a harsh word for these types of people, but it works. “Pestilent persons…” people who spread their impiety or bad attitudes like a disease. It’s frightening and elegant. Anyway, the Psalmist is warning us in a roundabout way (happy is the man who…) to avoid the fellowship of such people. There are obvious exceptions to rules like this. Jesus spent time with sinners, even such as wanted to kill him. But the idea is in terms of influence. The average person takes on the character of their closest pals (think Jimmy Olsen and Superman). If you sit in the seat of scoffers you’re either sitting in their homes or, worse, sitting in their position to do their scoffing. When I hear Christian academics making fun of their brothers and sisters for unenlightened views (there is, of course, a place for mockery in moral instruction), I cringe as this Psalm comes to mind.

In (1:2) we have the contrast that shows how the previous section is not a call to avoid sinful people all together, but to avoid letting them be the prime influence in your life if you wish to be happy. Instead, one should meditate on the law of the Lord. In the case of the Psalm this clearly refers to the first five books of the Old Testament. For Christians this meditation includes the Old Testament but extends to and shows a preference for Jesus, his way of life, and his teachings. Paul talks about this in 2 Corinthians 3:18-4:5 and Colossians 2:1-7 & 3:1-4, Peter talks about it in 1 Peter 2:21-25, and John says it in 1 John 2:6.

In (1:3-6) the Psalmist uses an arboreal analogy to make his point. The one who meditates on God’s law will be like a healthy tree, happy for two reasons. One because it is nourished and secure and two because it bears good fruit. Similarly, the righteous person has joy from knowing/delighting in God (1:2) and being known by God (1:6), but the righteous person has also learned the ways of success from the maker of nature and humanity and can therefore live with positive results in life.  That this is the opening Psalm is telling because the “two-ways” paradigm exists throughout Scripture. It goes back to Genesis and is expressed in Revelation. But there are exceptions. Many times the wicked prosper at the expense of the good and many times the good can be crushed between the gears of historical circumstance. The whole book of Psalms acknowledges these exceptions, but it starts with the general rule and encouragement to goodness: the truly good are the truly happy!

References

[1] Septuaginta: With Morphology, electronic ed. (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1979), Ps 1:1–6.

Power: Does it corrupt or ennoble us?

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Power: An Evil Desire?

Power corrupts.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Is this true? Does seeking power make us evil[1]?

No. Absolutely not. You morally authorized to seek power. In fact, you are obligated to do so if you wish to be happy and a good person.

The Ability to Produce an Effect

The dictionary definition of power is this: the ability to produce an effect.

A definition concerning human action would be: what is necessary to bring about what one desires.

Such a thing is amoral. It is no different from a hammer, a shaving razor, or knowledge.

Moral power would be this: what is necessary to bring about the good.

Immoral power would be what is necessary to bring about my desires without thought to the good.

Here’s the difference:

  1. Moral Power
    Charisma, know-how, and resources for pursuing the good by means of virtue. Think of somebody who uses their prudence to gain large sums of wealth in order to quietly fund rationally altruistic charities.
  2. Immoral Power
    Charisma, know-how, and resources for pursuing goods by evil means or in a disordered fashion (pursuing fame above health, honor above wisdom, etc). Think of somebody who pursues a political agenda (like socialism) in the name of the poor despite the body count of that ideology being in the hundreds of millions.

Many people associate power solely with the second example and they miss the importance having power and feeling powerful for a life of meaning and happiness.

As a result many throw both forms of power out the window and then resent their lot. There are lots of social reasons for this in the lives of men and young boys.[2] I’m not sure about the rest of our culture. But it appears on social media, amongst the young, and in the political world that claiming to be a victim is a badge of honor. Consequently, bragging about weakness, illness, and ineffectuality is a form of social credibility.[3] Regardless of that, the fact is that living without a sense of power leads to depression, inactivity, and destructive behavior like drug addiction and intimate partner abuse.[4]

Nice Guy Syndrome

A name has been given this unfortunate state of feeling helpless and powerless as a result of doing what you’re “supposed to do.”

Robert Glover calls it “nice-guy syndrome.”[5] Nice-guy syndrome is the state of perpetually refusing to do what you want and pretending to be gracious while secretly resenting the world and yourself. According Dr. Glover “nice guys” have a tendency to be incapable of breaking bad habits, unwilling to allow their flaws to become public (though he didn’t deal with victom culture when he wrote), and they also have a tendency to blow up friendships, lose their temper, and to sabotage their success in ways that they can easily blame on circumstances.[6] Such people have no power. With this in mind, the prescription is not to follow stupid platitudes like “power corrupts.” The correct response is to assess oneself and start making decisions that tend toward the power necessary to achieve happiness. To fail to pursue power when living in such a state clearly causes unhappiness is immoral.

Based on my definition of virtue (a good habit), the pursuit and maintenance of personal power is itself virtuous. Like all virtues, there are vices on either side (even Eden had a serpent!). In this case, obsession with power beyond one’s reach or laziness with respect to reaching it fit the bill.

A typology of power

Here are types of power, as far as I can tell, and how they’re related to virtue:

  1. Physical power –

    The ability to accomplish and endure what is necessary for one’s circumstances with the grace and resilience possible for their specific body. Obviously, keeping one’s body in proper shape can help one to be generous, courageous, or self-controlled.

  2. Cognitive Power –

    The approach of the height of one’s cognitive abilities with respect to their circumstances. Cognitive power, of course overlaps almost perfectly with the intellectual virtues. The difference being that two people could have equally good habits of mind with respect to their individual differences, but one of them might have more “cognitive power” with respect to their IQ or their calling.

  3. Social Power –

    Social power could be either magnetic charisma or hierarchical power-over. Both matter, both can be good, and both can be abused. Men and women with dark-triad traits are typically better at seducing the opposite sex. Bosses can destroy or make the careers of their subordinates. But the pursuit of social power is connected to virtue in that one can be just, generous, and loving much more effectively from a position of authority or charismatic influence.

  4. Economic Power –

    Economic power is power to bring about change due to access to resources. It doesn’t have to be money and it doesn’t have to be from accumulation of resources, although that is the primary way to get it. Somebody who has a tremendous amount of charisma may also have economic resources. Many great ethical thinkers warn about the danger to virtue in those who have economic resources because they can lead to pride, a life style with no struggle, or access to immoral pleasures. I think those warnings are wise, but they do not change the fact that the management of resources that leads to wealth is a result of virtue (self-control, prudence, courage, loyalty, etc).

  5. Spiritual Power –

    Spiritual power is simply result of acquiring the moral virtues as well as the intellectual virtues. Some good habits are had by evil men. But some good habits (courage, justice, prudence, and self-control) do not exist in them. Spiritual power, in this sense, is simply living in a state wherein doing what is right comes naturally. Incidentally, even the most virtuous of men claim to never really reach such a perfect state in this life. In my mind the human race is incapable of complete spiritual power.

Conclusion

It is not immoral to acquire power, instead, it is immoral to ignore your need for power. There are many types of power and understanding what they are and why it’s good to have them will help give you permission to seek them so that you can get what is truly good for you out of life.

References

[1] Interestingly, the Latin word from which virtue is derived could originally mean strength or power. Collins Latin Dictionary Plus Grammar (Glasgow: HarperCollins, 1997 Check out the full range of meaning from this dictionary: “manhood, full powers, strength, courage, ability, worth; (MIL) valour, prowess, heroism; (moral) virtue; (things) excellence, worth.”

[2]  Christina Hoff. Sommers, The War against Boys: How Misguided Feminism Is Harming Our Young Men (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000).

[3] There is a powerful sense in which this can be true. See 2 Corinthians 10-13 in the New Testament for an example.

[4] Albert Bandura, “Regulation of Cognitive Processes through Perceived Self-Efficacy,” Developmental Psychology 25, no. 5 (1989): 729–735, Carlo C. DiClemente, Scott K. Fairhurst, and Nancy A. Piotrowski, “Self-Efficacy and Addictive Behaviors,” in Self-Efficacy, Adaptation, and Adjustment, ed. James E. Maddux, The Plenum Series in Social/Clinical Psychology (Springer US, 1995), 109–141, accessed July 5, 2016, http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4419-6868-5_4, Albert Bandura et al., “Self-Efficacy Pathways to Childhood Depression,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 76, no. 2 (1999): 258–269. Steve M. Jex et al., “The Impact of Self-Efficiency on Stressor-Strain Relations: Coping Style as an Explanatory Mechanism,” Journal of Applied Psychology 86, no. 3 (June 2001): 401–409. Farhad Shaghaghy et al., “The Relationship of Early Maladaptive Schemas, Attributional Styles and Learned Helplessness among Addicted and Non-Addicted Men,” Addiction and Health 3, no. 1–2 (November 10, 2011), accessed July 5, 2016, http://www.ahj.kmu.ac.ir/index.php/ahj/article/view/55, Victor J. Strecher et al., “The Role of Self-Efficacy in Achieving Health Behavior Change,” Health Education & Behavior 13, no. 1 (March 1, 1986): 73–92.

[5] Robert A Glover, No More Mr. Nice Guy!: A Proven Plan for Getting What You Want in Love, Sex, and Life (Philadelphia: Running Press, 2003).

[6] They might be similar to what Vox Day calls a “gamma male” in Helen Smith’s excellent book Men on Strike.

Music Monday: Dark Necessities

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The new RCHP song came out. Few bands who started in 1983 are as good as they had become in the early 90s (freaking Metallica). The Chili Peppers are even better. My guess is that they could have 3-5 good albums left in them.

The lyrics seem to be about the Zodiac killer, but I can’t tell. Enjoy.

Science Fact of the Day #1: Creatine Improves Brain Function

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Something I try to do as a teacher is introduce students to new information from various fields of study in order to try to spark an interest in them that could propell them into a career in the future. So I find myself reading a lot of science articles about all sorts of random things. Many of them I do not share with the students but I think I’ll start sharing them here to practice.

Here are important reminders about science facts of the day:

  1. Studies can be wrong for several reasons:
    1. Bias
    2. The math was done incorrectly (Biologists are notoriously innumerate)
    3. The data could be correct but the interpretive framework was wrong
    4. Poor definitions are used
    5. The gold standard for hypothesis testing (the p-value) is stupid.
    6. And on and on and on
  2. I don’t necessarily endorse what I’m posting.
  3. I’m not, unless I say so, making recommendations.

Anyway, science fact of the day: creatine supplmentation improves memory in human subjects.

In a study published in 2003 it was discovered that compared to a control group that was given a placebo over a 6-week period, the group that took creatine-monohydrate improved performance on memory and intelligence tests.

One aspect that I was curious about when I read the abstract was that the subjects were all vegetarians. I have wondered if that would affect the study, but they mentioned that plasma levels of creatine are lower in vegetarians. And then it hit me, you’d pick vegetarians because they won’t be eating foods that increase their creatine plasma levels. And if there was a measurable effect on processing speed, then there would be better evidence that the effect was due to creatine.

Anyway, it’s an interesting study. It may explain why people feel more intense and focused in their workouts when they have creatine.

References

Rae, Caroline, Alison L. Digney, Sally R. McEwan, and Timothy C. Bates. “Oral Creatine Monohydrate Supplementation Improves Brain Performance: A Double–blind, Placebo–controlled, Cross–over Trial.” Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 270, no. 1529 (October 22, 2003): 2147–2150.   Image: By Shakiestone – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16925271