On the Aesthetics of Self Expression

Technological Milieu and Threats to the Future of Theoretical Psychology

Authors

Jim Cresswell Department of Social Sciences; Ambrose University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3757-808X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/irtp.v1i1.127082

Keywords:

technology, Bahktin, Marcuse, theoretical psychology, aesthetics

Abstract

Theoretical psychology is at its best when it engages in the wider psychological community by bringing about critical reflection and synthesis. This vision is challenging to accomplish due to “anesthesia”: a practice of ‘comatose’ production divorced from authentically generative activity and meaningful engagement with others. This notion is developed by drawing on Marcuse’s discussion of the surplus of suppression enabled by technology and a hyperreal milieu. Technological practices such as the engineering of social media platforms maximize anesthesia and amplify such concerns. I advocate for a turn to Bakhtinian aesthetics of self-expression to spell out an aesthetic for theoretical psychology.

Author Biography

Jim Cresswell, Department of Social Sciences; Ambrose University

James Cresswell is a professor at Ambrose University. His work involves communitybased research aimed at using research to support community organizations. Other areas of interest include: poverty; theoretical, historical, and philosophical psychology; cognitive science of religion; and immigration.

Downloads

Published

2021-10-11

How to Cite

Cresswell, J. (2021). On the Aesthetics of Self Expression: Technological Milieu and Threats to the Future of Theoretical Psychology. International Review of Theoretical Psychologies, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.7146/irtp.v1i1.127082

Download Citation

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2021): Measured Lives - Theoretical Psychology in an Era of Acceleration.

Section

Technology, liminality and personality

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

IRTP operates based on a non-exclusive publishing agreement, according to which the journal retains the right of first publication, but authors are free to subsequently publish their work. The copyright of all work rests with the author(s).

All content published in IRTP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This license allows authors and readers to share and adapt content for non-commercial purposes, provided that they abide by the following terms:

- Give credit to the original author(s)/creator(s) and attribution parties (i.e., IRTP);

- Provide a link to the original source, to the extent practicable;

- Include the copyright notice and/or indicate the corresponding Creative Commons license;

- Indicate what, if any, adaptations were made to the original; and

- Share adapted content under the same license as the original.

Authors are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the various Creative Commons licenses. Readers are advised to consult the licensing information embedded in each published work to ensure that they are familiar with the terms of use that apply.