Philosophical Counselling Reading Group [and Hodges' model]

The discovery of a reading group on philosophical counselling (PC), through University of Liverpool, continues to prove helpful; to utilise professional experience, that included counselling, family therapy, cognitive therapy in psychoses, and practical experience as a mental health nurse (in-patient and community). There is overlap with Hodges' model, but it's fascinating and rewarding to listen and learn from practitioners of PC. As noted before, I was aware of PC through two popular philosophy magazines. This time around we read:

Ran Lahav, “Philosophical Counseling and Self-Transformation,” in Philosophy, Counseling, and Psychotherapy, eds. Elliot D. Cohen & S. Samuel Zinaich, Jr. (Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013), 82.

Abstract

This paper presents my approach to philosophical counseling, which is geared towards self-transformation, and is inspired by important thinkers throughout the history of Western philosophy whom I call transformational thinkers. I take from these thinkers the realization that our daily life is normally confined to rigid and superficial attitudes towards ourselves and our world. This is because individuals’ everyday attitudes are based on limited understandings of life, which form what I call the person’s perimeter, or perimetral worldview. The goal of philosophical counseling, as I see it, is to help counselees transcend their constricted perimetral worldview, or in the language of Plato – to realize that they are imprisoned in a “cave,” and then to step out of it towards a fuller reality. A case study is presented to illustrate the two main stages of the counseling process. 

I know there is the (biblical) phrase 'Seek and you will find'; but there is also the notion of seeing only what you seek, and missing other content - contexts. This is marked in beliefs and the development of delusional ideas. 

Of interest to me, Lahav discusses (as indicated above) a person’s perimeter, or perimetral worldview. 

We still hear how difficult it is for people to access help. I wondered (again) about referral pathways for PC? The nature of the person's problems that prompts them to seek help? Lahav acknowledges the complexity here. Speaking of 'prompt', of course now there is AI in the mix. Lahav points out how PC does not quite have the foundation and hence theoretical impetus (and rigour?) that Freud provided to psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. 

PC is, however, to some extent a broad field: '... philosophical practice has come to include several different formats in which it is practiced: one-time workshops for the general public, philosophical retreats, long-term self-reflection groups, the philosophical café, and of course philosophical counseling'. 

I wonder if philosophical counsellor's could have a role, post AI / agentic ai interventions. This could provide a step-down assurance, and be rolled into 'treatment / intervention programmes'. This could help retain the humanistic element of duty of care, underscore the person_al in care architectures/systems and provide a step-down - just in-case AI has missed, or upset something? The acknowledged strength of AI in not being subjective is balanced. Although evidence also points to misogynistic responses derived through what can be biased, and prejudiced learning sources: thus a reflection of 'society'.

In the introduction, more encouragement with reference to situated, a general map, and basic - fundamental aspects. There are (at least) two domains: 'the domain of philosophical discourse and the domain of everyday life and predicaments'. 

Hodges' model was created to facilitate the FIRST approach in PC, the Critical Thinking Approach, with an associated subtype of Problem-Solving Approach. 

It was also designed to help with the theory-practice gap. Lahav describes this in the how and what of philosophy and PC itself. I wondered to what extent if the approach of PC 'leave out the more important “what” of great philosophies.' then would a counselee be denied avenues to learning, as we may be drawn to specific philosophical schools of thought, and crucially reasoning?

The SECOND approach to PC is the Edification Approach. The author has adopted this second approach in practice.

Guess what? Yes, you've got it. Hodges' model can actually close a circle here. Or, more accurately help sustain the reflective, reflexive, recursive ... reasoning loop as needed. Another objective of Hodges' model is to produce reflective practitioners, critical thinkers and lifelong learners.

A take-away for me is the 'perimeter and the perimetral worldview'. A search for 'perimeter' here on W2tQ is null.^ I'm also wondering about transformation (in the title) and throughout the paper.

There may be an example here were a domain of Hodges' model can itself reflect the model, as in the Intra- Interpersonal domain below.

Lahav employs a case study to illustrate his thought and practice. The discussion really helped improve my reading and understanding of this.

individual

|
INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES             

humanistic ------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL   

|

group

Psychology   | Philosophy(-isms) ________________________________ Psycho-Social|  Psychotherapies	basic - fundamental general map
case study	referral pathways

^'Peripheral' does feature in posts.

Lavoisier: Math - Chemistry; Quantity, Quality, Principle ...

The philosophy of science, can not avoid being viewed historically, which leads us to learn how mathematics literally took hold, from physics, to chemistry and biology. The application of mathematics to chemistry provides many and ongoing insights:

'Curiously enough, Kant’s own student, Jeremias Benjamin Richter (1762-1807), would only a few years later disprove his professor with his PhD dissertation On the use of the mathematical method in chemistry (Richter 1789). It laid the groundwork for stoichiometry as an algebraic approach to chemistry, including what was later called the ‘law of constant proportion’ that John Dalton used for his atomism on chemical grounds (Richter 1792-3, Dalton 1808). Moreover, at the time of Kant’s writing, experimental philosophy was taking over most of the centers of European research to become the mainstream methodology of modern science, which would later denounce the ideal of a priori knowledge in science as ‘mere’ metaphysics. Although some philosophers of mathematical physics still adhere to that ideal today, Kant was a late partisan in the struggle for the methodological priority of mathematics in the study of nature as it was exemplified by the old field of ‘rational mechanics’. Yet, his view on science became marginalized as much as his verdict on chemistry, that it would be alien to mathematics, was refuted.'

The pitfalls presented and Schummer's 2.4 A methodological suggestion for defining mathematical chemistry are helpful.

Joachim Schummer. Why Mathematical Chemistry Cannot Copy Mathematical Physics and How to Avoid the Imminent Epistemological Pitfalls. HYLE--International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry, Vol. 18, No.1 (2012). pp. 71-89. https://www.hyle.org/journal/issues/18-1/schummer.htm

Maths is filled with tragedy, but the personal manifestation in my lack of ability, pales to insignificance to the many scientific and human tragedies history reveals. Consider Galois, and Lavoisier:

‘Only a moment to cut off that head and a hundred years may not give us another like it,’ lamented the 18th-century French mathematician Joseph Louis Lagrange. The head in question had belonged to the French aristocrat and chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, who was executed at the hands of French revolutionaries on 8 May 1794. Lavoisier’s ideas changed the face of chemistry. He is best remembered for overthrowing the phlogiston theory, but perhaps his greater and more lasting achievement was to impose order on the language and symbolism that have shaped the thoughts of chemists.'

Paul Board, The Aristocrat who revolutionised chemistry, New Scientist. May 7, 1994 (Volume 142, Issue 1924). https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14219243-300/

In an essay in the Charles Coulston Gillispie's essay in the history of scientific ideas, Chapter VI. The Rationalization of Matter, describes how Lavoisier sought to develop an algebraic approach:

'But what is most interesting is Lavoisier's mode of representing these results, so correct in quantity, so wrong in principle. In order to sec what he was about, one has to follow him into some detail. It is obvious, he writes, that acidification of a metal involves many variables-heat, concentration, chemical affinities, etc. each of which is a force acting with characteristic energy. Therefrom results a problem complex and difficult of solution: [my emphasis]

"Better to exhibit the state of the question in this respect, and in order to show at a glance the result of what happens in metallic solutions, I have constructed formulas of a sort, which could at first be taken for algebraic formulas, but which have not the same object, and do not derive from the same principles . . ."'

Gillispie, Charles Coulston. The Edge of Objectivity: An Essay in the History of Scientific Ideas. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1960.

Gillispie quotes at length to demonstrate Lavoisier's approach*. There is a more accessible (for me, here) source in -

Stefano Zambelli (2012). Chemical Kinetics, an Historical Introduction, Chemical Kinetics, Dr Vivek Patel (Ed.), ISBN: 978-953-51-0132-1, InTech, Available from: 
http://www.intechopen.com/books/chemicalkinetics/chemical-kinetics-an-historical-introduction

Please see page 6: 3. Chemical equilibrium conception: The law of mass action.

To close, there is reading and advice to be carried forward in:

Guillermo Restrepo & José L. Villaveces, "Mathematical Thinking in Chemistry". Special Issue: Chemistry and Mathematics, Part 1. HYLE--International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry, Vol. 18, No.1 (2012). pp. 3-22. https://www.hyle.org/journal/issues/18-1/restrepo-villaveces.htm

Gillispie concludes his illustrated exploration of Lavoisier:

'Is this not the most tantalizing memoir in the history of chemistry, and in Lavoisier's the most appealing? Here alone, one gets a sense of modesty. He never claims for these expressions the dignity of algebra. "We are still very far from being able to introduce mathematical precision into chemistry, and I beg, therefore, that no one consider these formulas . . . as more than simple annotations, of which the object is to ease the labors of the mind." (But compare this disclaimer with what he says of algebra itself in the Method of Chemical Nomenclature: "Algebra is the analytical method par excellence: it was invented to facilitate the labors of the mind, to compress into a few lines what would take pages to discuss, and to lead, finally, in a more convenient prompt and certain manner to the solution of very complicated questions.")' p.245.

*in - Lavoisier, A.L. (1782). Considerations sur la dissolution des metaux dans les acides, Mémoires de l’Académie des sciences 1782, pp. 492-527, Available from http://www.lavoisier.cnrs.fr/ice/ice_book_detail-fr-text-lavosier-Lavoisier-49- 5.htm

New network in Environmental Humanities: H-EcoLit

supported by H-Net

Dear colleagues, 

Hello. Sorry for cross posting as I am sharing with you the below that may be of your interest. 

 

• newly launched network in Environmental Humanities: H-EcoLit supported by H-Net

You are welcome to register for free as member of our newly launched network called "H-EcoLit", supported by the H-Net of the Michigan State University:

https://networks.h-net.org/h-ecolit 

H-EcoLit is an international network of academics and researchers of all levels who study the fields of Environmental Humanities, Literary Theory and Cultural Criticism. The network seeks to explore issues beyond the traditional binary of nature-culture, and examines the changing status of subjectivity, agency, and citizenship, while envisioning matters for sustainable futures in a more-than-human world. H-EcoLit is aligned with the H-Net’s aims for supporting open access research, interdisciplinary projects, and ‘unites’ different voices across the globe. The intended audience includes academics, scholars of all levels and policy makers who are working on the Environmental Humanities, Literary and Cultural Studies, and related to Environmental Humanities areas.

Welcome to join us! Thank you!

• Publications edited and co-authored by Professor Peggy Karpouzou and Dr. Nikoleta Zampaki

1. Special Issue: "Critical Green Theories and Botanical Imaginaries: Exploring Human and More-than-human World Entanglements" published in Open Cultural Studies:

https://www.degruyter.com/journal/key/culture/8/1/html  

2. Special Issue: "Ecologies of Life and Death in the Anthropocene" published in Lagoonscapes. The Venice Journal of Environmental Humanities: 

https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/en/edizioni4/riviste/the-venice-journal-of-environmental-humanities/2024/2/  

3. Special Issue: "The Digital Environmental Humanities: Towards Theory and Praxis" published in HJEAS:

https://sciendo.com/issue/HJEAS/30/2  

4. our open access chapter titled "Toward Posthuman Aesthetics: The Flesh of the World in Auguste Rodin’s Le Penseur and The Thinking Robot" published in Nidesh Lawtoo's volume titled Mimetic Posthumanism. Homo Mimeticus 2.0 in Art, Philosophy and Technics at Brill:

https://brill.com/display/title/63101 

5. our chapter titled “The Poetics of Zombification in Ryan Mecum’s Dawn of Zombie Haiku” In Zombie Futures in Literature, Media and Culture. Pandemics, Society and the Evolution of the Undead in the 21st Century edited by Simon Bacon, published by Bloomsbury: 

https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/zombie-futures-in-literature-media-and-culture-9781350285491/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2ke9BRjbumYjBJu_Pc9RJdnHVdnagHuCfHbyf9YOYcKp8YEELC0zSpKYQ_aem_Ah1fwQ0N-t8hZfEJlaY8Dw

[I note online events are included in an announcements page:

https://networks.h-net.org/group/12251094/announcements

PJ ]

We will keep in touch. Thank you!

Best regards, 

on behalf of the Editors

Nikoleta

--

Dr. Nikoleta Zampaki

Postdoctoral Researcher

Faculty of Philology, School of Philosophy, 

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

E-mail: nikzamp AT phil.uoa.gr

My source: SOPHERE list

Are you planning a health* study in 2025?

New Year - new project perhaps?

*nursing, mental health, theory, practice, management, workforce, medicine, allied health professions, social work, psychology, labs, diagnosis, palliative, end of life, diseases, public health, public MENTAL health, -isms, prevention, protection, education, learning disability, parity in care, informatics, information, literacIES, AI, arts, policy, leadership, migration, history, future, women, children, men, LGBTQ+, ethics, rights, health economics, social care, systems, services, climate change, refugees, conflict, law, leadership, resources, commerce, fraud, self-care, UN, WHO, UNESCO, regional, national, global, or planetary ..., ...

Is there a 'space' for Hodges' model in your study?

IF NOT, IMHO YOUR STUDY MAY BE INCOMPLETE!

Is this statement ...?

INDIVIDUAL

|

   INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES              

humanistic ------------------------------- mechanistic

 SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL   

|

GROUP

utter nonsense and arrogance a psychological threat^ it's either a great joke, or a grand delusion look - get real, we can't cover all the bases calling attention to the high-degree of subjectivism in academia and health research no, actually it is blatant evidence of bias and a lack of objectivity! Who is Hodges? shamefully egotistical our project does not need to consider: reflection - reflective practice critical thinking holistic - integrated care: parity of esteem person-centredness the curricula (however 'expressed') methods - methodology - philosophy a sign we've found the true 'meta-' tool (Yes, this is interesting!)

to the Nth degree! a physical threat^ a fact - when critiqued using Hodges' model limited apprehension of 'HEALTH'.. sheer ignorance proof of an incomplete (grey) literature search proof that 'not invented here' prevails identification of relations and relationships is catered for, as are ... safety, situational awareness, scoping, mapping, evaluation, analysis, synthesis, diagrams - graphical approaches, project mangement potentially supporting inter- multi- transdisciplinarity a sign that ('fashion') science, evidence have moved on: get over it!

a soul in search of a community of practice? demonstrating much effort is falling on deaf ears? time to listen, with all that's going in the world Hodges, did you say? Sorry not here!

not commissioned/funded by a 'us'.  what? No Doctorate? Go away: please! who does that person think they are!    fao project/research management group/committee?

Brian E. Hodges (1942-2022) RIP

"Hi! I'm new to Hodges' model - and this blog - what's it about?"

^No threat is implied, on the contrary frustration ... If Hodges' model may be of use, please do get in touch. Thanks to all for your visits and best wishes with your respective projects, studies and careers.

The mask ...

'I will speak from my experience with Balinese masks, but I have to go back one step before that. One of the first, knockout exercises that you can do with actors, which is used in lots of theatre schools where they use masks, is putting a plain, blank, white mask on someone. The moment you take someone's face away in that way, it's the most electrifying impression: suddenly to find oneself knowing that that thing one lives with, and which one knows is transmitting something all the time, is no longer there. It's the most extraordinary sense of liberation.

This is one of those great exercises that whoever does it for the first time counts as a great moment: suddenly to find oneself immediately for a certain time liberated from one's own subjectivity. And the awakening of a body awareness is immediately there with it, irresistibly; so that if you want to make an actor aware of his body, instead of explaining it to him and saying, "You have a body and you need to be aware of it," just put bit of white paper on his face and say, "Now look around." He can't fail to be instantly aware of everything he normally forgets, because all the attention has been released from this great magnet up top.' p.219

self

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES              

humanistic ------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL   

|

other

Brook, P. (1989). The Shifting Point. London, UK: Methuen. pb.

Secondhand from Reid's, Mount Pleasant, Liverpool, this book was already 'musty'. On October 18th it got 'wet' in a downpour from Sorrento to Capri and back. It smelt even more historic afterwards. It still provided great reading though! I noticed in a new pb edition the images were not included.  https://reidofliverpool.co.uk/

ROBOTPOLITICS

26 – 27 September, 2024 
UNIVERSIDADE ABERTA LISBON, PORTUGAL

The program includes:

• The house is on fire, but this is fine: the incoming tsunami of disinformation 
• Encrypted subjectivity in digital space 
• You are (not) your avatar: personhood, personal identity and legal issues in mind uploading 
• On Techno Dharma: Neurofeedback-assisted meditation as an enhanced technology of the self 
• Mapped in real time: Affective technologies and the post-human subjectivity 
• Does social bots rely on beliefs to communicate the science: An implication for misinformation. 
• The Paradox of Information Abundance: Homogenization of Political Thought in the World of Social Media 
• The main problems of Robotpolitics. Hints for their resolutions 
• « Smart city » / Intelligent Citizen 
• Smart Cities and Sustainability: Malthusian Sexual Robots 
• Sex-Bots: Friend or Foe to Human Relationships? 
• Towards Digital Platonism 
• Autonomous weapons systems in armed conflicts: ethical and legal implications 

See also - The Jena Declaration: https://thejenadeclaration.org 

Previously on W2tQ robots

"No argument, we should teach critical thinking" by Julian Richer

Spring and summer reading includes Our Housing Disaster. Julian Richer's weekly column in the Sunday Times is very interesting; business yes, but socially oriented and positive in the values conveyed.

I'm 100 pages into The Systems View of Life, posts to follow, but before getting to OHD, I noticed another of Richer's columns:

#36 "No argument, we should teach critical thinking"

Sunday 14th July 2024

"... all the successful bosses I’ve ever worked with encourage an open flow of communications in all directions (internally — up, down, across — and with the outside world, too) with no taboos. They try to surround themselves with good people who can see the world independently, draw their own conclusions and have the confidence to express their ideas."

"It’s very difficult to craft a culture of critical thinking and open debate in a business unless it’s been taught at school, as our parents tend to be more stuck in their ways. Unfortunately, schools spend so much time on teaching and testing reading, and particularly writing, that they don’t have enough time to teach thinking and speaking. These require practice, too. And they are also very important life and business skills."

 

The discussion on Parallel Histories reminds me of philosophical talk, virtue-seeking is not enough. It needs to applied practically, if it is to make a difference.

 

"An added benefit is that kids who have learnt calm and reasoned debate will use this knowledge to help them in their adult life. Certainly, those going on to join the business world will be very pleased to have received these negotiating and people skills, both essential."

Hodges' model provides a structure for reflection, reflective practice, and critical thinking and inevitably light-weight can be carried as lifelong learning resource and tool.

The Digital Collective (DC) a Symposium: Digitalisation, Subjectivities, and Care

Dear colleagues, 

We recognise that many people who wanted to join our symposium on Digitalisation, subjectivities, and care were unable to join in person. For this and other reasons we have moved our symposium to be fully online. Our intention is for the symposium to be accessible to all of our colleagues including those who are outside the NL. 

If this is you, we hope you will now consider submitting an abstract, and as such we have extended the deadline to 31 January 2024.

Decisions will be made by 14 February 2024.

Please find the amended call below.

CFP: Digitalisation, subjectivities, and care
7 March 2024, 9.30am – 6pm, online
Deadline abstract submission: 27 November

The Digital Collective (DC) at the University of Twente in the Netherlands is planning a symposium on digitalisation in care. More information below. Please consider submitting an abstract for a talk or poster presentation, deadline: 31 January 2024. 

Any questions to: dc-bms AT utwente.nl 

Introduction

Digitalisation is more than a technological phenomenon. It concerns an ever shifting relation between digital technologies and societal developments. Digital tools are increasingly common in care contexts, reshaping practices, institutions, relations, and social structures. Understanding digitalisation of care therefore requires a multidisciplinary approach to distinct yet related issues that cover the scale of technology innovation, societal impacts (benefits and drawbacks), as well as the pace of development and its ubiquitous nature. In this interdisciplinary symposium we will therefore explore the relation between digital tools and those who use them, willingly or otherwise. 

Topics of interest:

Possible topics related to digitalisation include, but are not limited to: 

• Digital users and digital tools
• Care institutions
• Data development / use in digital care contexts
• Epistemic injustice in digital care contexts 
• Perspectives on ‘users’ of digital care content
• Realities and subjectivities of ‘digital users’ 
• (Multi-)methodological approaches to digital care
• Care labour economies
• Global justice perspectives on care
• Human-technology relations
• Health economics 
• Health Technology Assessment of digital health technologies

The DC is a multidisciplinary platform and we welcome submissions from a broad range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives, including from outside academia.

Overview of the symposium:

Schedule and further information about the day to follow.

Submission deadlines:

• Extended abstract submission: Wednesday, 31 January 2024
• Notification of decisions: Wednesday, 14 February 2024

Please note:

• Extended abstracts should be between 500 and 1000 words. 
• Submissions should be sent by email to dc-bms AT utwente.nl 
• Poster proposals should be sent to the same email, and clearly labelled as such. 
• If you want your work to be considered for both a presentation and a poster, please make this clear in your submission. Abstracts not accepted for presentation may be invited to present a poster instead.
• Each submission will receive at least two reviews. 

Additional information:

The Digital Collective (DC) is an interdisciplinary research platform on digitalisation at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. DC consists of social scientists and philosophers specialised in digitalisation and with domain expertise in health, higher education, artificial intelligence, and related technologies. 

After the symposium the DC intends to build a consortium with a view to developing collaborative work, including for a Horizon Europe funding proposal.

 

Event and venue information:

 

The event will be free for all participants. It will be fully online. Further details to follow.

Symposium organisers and programme Committee:

Please send questions to: dc-bms AT utwente.nl 

Dr Y. J. Erden

Associate Professor in Philosophy
University of Twente
AISB Vice Chair 

My source:

Philos-L "The Liverpool List" is run by the Department of Philosophy, University of Liverpool https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/philosophy/philos-l/ 

Follow the list on Twitter @PhilosL. Follow the Department of Philosophy @LiverpoolPhilos 

n.b. With the event now including provision for online presentations I am submitting an abstract.

SHAME AND MEDICINE PROJECT: 2022

‘PHENOMENOLOGY AND SHAME EXPERIENCES’

SPECIAL PANEL BSP ANNUAL UK CONFERENCE 2022

Call For Papers for special panel for the 2022 British Society for Phenomenology Annual Conference

Location: University of Exeter, UK, in-person and virtual (hybrid)

Date: Tuesday 30 August – Thursday 1 September 2022

CFP deadline: Thursday 31 March 2022 (midnight UK).

The “Phenomenology and Shame Experiences” Call for Papers invites abstracts to be considered for a special panel for the 2022 British Society for Phenomenology Annual Conference on the theme of Engaged Phenomenology II.

This panel is sponsored by the Shame and Medicine Project and the aim of the panel is to encourage an engaged phenomenological approach to considering shame in its various forms, and how it relates to and effects features of lived experience such as embodiment, affective life, consciousness, sociality, intersubjectivity, intercorporeality, health, among others.

Check out the full CfP for ‘Phenomenology and Shame Experiences’.

https://shameandmedicine.org/call-for-papers-phenomenology-and-shame-experiences/

 

Individual
|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ------------------------------------------ mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

Group

COGNITION lived experience emotions mental health interpersonal skills self-conscious shame self-stigma subjectivity	physical health dis-ability place - privacy medicine health care HEALTH STATUS objectivity
STIGMA SHAME SOCIAL COGNITION communication meanings dignity and respect	health status [REAL?] power health professionals (whose parity of esteem, autonomy, control?) 'Cost' to health systems?

 

My source:

Philos-L "The Liverpool List" Department of Philosophy, University of Liverpool https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/philosophy/philos-l/

@PhilosL @LiverpoolPhilos

 

Objectivity, Sociology and Measurement ... Hodges' model

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group - population

"Big data is all the rage.  We have become increasingly obsessed in economics and in medicine and in public policy with what can be measured. Evidence-based is always better it would seem, than going with our gut or worse, a wild guess that springs from our biases. This passion for evidence is not new. Carved in stone, on the outside of the social science building where I got my PhD at the University of Chicago is a quote attributed to Lord Kelvin, the physicist who gave us the Kelvin temperature scale and who died in 1907:" “When you cannot measure, your knowledge is meager and unsatisfactory.” Russ Roberts

"Like Weber and Dilthey, Mannheim opposes the positivist approach which seeks to render all social facts measureable and 'unambiguously ascertainable'. He invites us:- 'to think what becomes of our psychic and social world when it is restricted to purely externally measureable relationships', and argues that 'There can no longer be any doubt that no real penetration into social reality is possible through this approach . . . It is clear that a human situation is characterizable only when one has also taken into account those conceptions which the participants have of it, how they experience their tensions in this situation, and how they react to the tensions so conceived." p.160-161.   THE TASKS OF SOCIOLOGY "The tasks which are presented to sociology are of a two-fold character. On the one hand there is the need to establish a valid model for the analysis of a particular social system which he is studying. And on the other hand, once such a model is established he may be faced with explaining some partial and particularized form of behaviour in terms of the part it plays in the total system. However, in any particular research situation there will be a choice as to what shall be regarded as a total system, that is what the scale of our interest should be, or what segment of the total system we should study." p.185.   Mannaheim's "proposals for a sociology of knowledge". p.165.

Sources:

Adam Smith, Loneliness, and the Limits of Mainstream Economics
Russ Roberts

https://medium.com/@russroberts/adam-smith-loneliness-and-the-limits-of-mainstream-economics-f0be78940e17

Also summarised in MoneyWeek.

Rex, J. (1968) Key Problems of Sociological Theory, 4th Edition. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.

(... continued sorting through old books... )