Final Project

Here is my final project.

Written Pathetic Appeal Final Revision

In this revision of my written pathetic appeal, I tried to make the various portions of enargeia more accurate in their representation of people with bipolar disorder and also tried to make them flow to together better than they did before. I also deleted and reordered various sections that seemed to confuse the progression of the argument or brought in various statements that were too sweeping/general or unsubstantiated in nature. I also changed the ending of the appeal by including a few paragraphs that outline what should be done in response to the situation that I describe. I also tried to adjust the evidence leading up to this ending portion so that it would flow more naturally. I tried to change the tone at the end from one of frustration to one of hope in order to inspire the reader to more of an attitudinal or actionable change.

Final Project Proposal

In Pathos, we have explored the often-ignored realm of affect and emotion—the various pathe that Aristotle identified as integral to human thought and experience. We have discussed this arena from several angles, seeking to construct a clear understanding of it however possible, and have further specified the dynamics of this realm—largely, in contrast to the more traditionally considered realm of the rational or logical. Now, as we conclude our admittedly limited study, I am left with some conception of this very real sphere and the intense power and influence it has over human beings.

While I somewhat entered this course thinking that, for lack of a better contrast, reason trumped (or should trump in the best circumstances) emotion, I now see, to some extent, that the world of affect spoken of by Aristotle actually operates largely independently of reason, and, in reality, has at least an equal effect on our human experience. Consequently, I now find myself with somewhat of a dichotomy or a continuum [or something else], unclear about the relationship between these two realms.

It seems to me that research into this realm would have many applications, especially research into how the realm of the rational and the affective interact with each other. If we could learn to use reason to direct this realm or to describe it in some way, how could this impact our emotional experience? How could this influence decision making and our analysis of the world on several levels? Surely, the relationship of these two realms, and our understanding of it, would provide sharp insight into many aspects of human life.

For this project, I would like to address, or perhaps just pose, these questions and their implications for individuals who have what diagnosticians deem “emotional disorders.” First, I would like to explore how the dynamics we have discussed in this course show themselves in individuals such as these and what these individuals tell us about the affective realm. In addition, I want to explore the impact an understanding of a link between the rational and the affective might have in the experience of these individuals and suggest that this consideration would be instructive for all individuals, whether disabled or not. Some specifics follow:

• Given the breadth of this topic and the time limitations, I would like to address these issues in the form of a reflective essay. This essay would incorporate personal experience and observation that would relate some of the key concepts of the class to individuals with emotional disorders.

• The essay would simply pose issues; it would not seek to answer questions or prove an argument per se. Rather, the argument would be that these questions are significant and worthy of further consideration.

• The first part of the essay, perhaps 60-70%, would incorporate some narrative and some amount of studies or evidence with commentary, drawing from the content of the course and the authors we have read and highlighting how many of these concepts can be seen in or further informed by individuals with emotional disorders.

• The second part of the essay, perhaps 20-30%, would build on the experience of these individuals and describe—again through both experience and some form of empirical evidence—the significance of a bridge between the rational and the affective for these individuals.

• The remainder of the essay, the content of which might be interspersed throughout the essay, would include some consideration as to what all the previously mentioned discussion and reflection shows us about the relationship of the two realms for all human beings.

• For the visual/aural component of the project, I will incorporate some discussion of visual and aural items that can affect individuals with emotional disorders, either as therapies or in other ways; these items and their influence—whether positive or negative—will serve as further illustrations of the nature and significance of the affective and its relationship to the rational.

This reflective essay will not seek after depth of proof or breadth of coverage; rather, it will serve as my reflections related to the possible implications, applications, and further considerations regarding the content of this class with which I am leaving both Pathos and college, quite curious where the answers—if any—might lie.

Visual Pathetic Appeal (Revised)

Disability on Prezi

My visual pathetic appeal addresses the enduring fight for equality and civil rights in the United States of America—and specifically how this fight is experienced by the disabled. The main claim in the piece is that disabled persons are a minority group that we should not discriminate against, but should seek to provide the same civil rights as all others. The goal of the presentation is to cause viewers to consider how they view and treat disabled people and to persuade them to have a change of attitude toward this minority group.

The presentation begins with an image of a collection of words such as “equality” and “discrimination” which introduces the viewer to the setting of this presentation: it will discuss issues related to basic rights we hold dear as Americans. The first three images are of disabled persons, each looking very happy, innocent, and content. These images are meant to invoke some sense of pity and empathy in the viewer. After seeing these images, the viewer should be have some sensitivity toward and awareness of a group people with whom it is only natural to sympathize and desire to defend.

After the last image in this group, a picture of a boy with down-syndrome, the scene shifts downward to two picture of battered children with down-syndrome, both of whom are victims of discriminatory violence and hate crimes. Because of the pity invoked by the previous images, these violent pictures would intensify this pity even to the point of inspiring feelings of indignation.

Then, the presentation continues to fall downward and arrives at a summative picture that describes the nature of this treatment of the disabled that was just witnessed by the viewer. The picture shows someone kicking out someone from a wheelchair. The bitter simplicity of this image and the distasteful thought it implies would create further indignation and discomfort in the viewer.

After the viewer has reached this point of dissatisfaction and frustration, the presentation points upward toward a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. He is clearly actively involved in some form of advocacy and the viewer feels inspiration, excitement, and joy at the thought of such a hero rectifying the wrongs being committed against disabled individuals. The need is apparent: we need to fight for the civil rights of these individuals just as men like Martin Luther King fought for those of other minorities. Their struggle is identified with that of others who have sought equality and civil rights, leading the viewer to feel some sense of empowerment and dignity at the thought of spreading these values to other groups who have similar needs.

The images that follow seek to make this conceptual thought more practical. Images of accessibility signs, aids, and the Special Olympics all serve to produce a sense of hope in the viewer. The viewer sees that there are practical ways to bring these sought-after civil rights to the disabled community; these images offer a reassuring sense of fulfillment to the viewer that change is indeed possible in the way we view and treat the disabled, and the benefits are inestimable.

The presentation then lifts even higher, arriving at a famous picture of soldiers at Iwo Jima, a symbol of our national struggle for values such as liberty and equality. The viewer is led to see the significance of providing these values for disabled individuals as they are enjoyed by other Americans and the ongoing battle it will take to get there

The statement that follows sums up this dynamic by stating that the battle for equality lives on. But, it doesn’t stop there. It goes on to ask the viewer on which side he or she falls. The presentation has shown two sides to the battle and now these sides are brought to the personal experience of the viewer. The viewer is left with the thought that he or she is not exempt from the struggle but is a participant in it, whether positively or negatively. The basic interpretation for the viewer is that since they have seen and felt the needs of this struggling group, and believe certain values should be guaranteed to Americans, that their attitude change can impact the fight for better or for worse. Their feelings of pity cause them to care about the issue and the following feelings of indignation and hope show them two responses. They then are associated with this distinction and will likely choose to associate themselves with the positive emotions and thereby be left with an attitudinal shift in favor of the civil rights of the disabled community.

Photo credits (images marked with * accessed March 31, 2011; images marked with ** accessed April 5, 2011):

**Opening image: http://iannoon.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/equality-bill1.jpg

*Boy in wheelchair: http://pediatricwheelchair.org/wp-content/uploads/wheelchair_kids.jpg

*Blind children: http://www.scsdb.k12.sc.us/academic/blindSing-s.gif

*First down-syndrome boy: http://www.filteredsoundtraining.net/media/Boy%20WIth%20Downs%20Syndrome%20in%20FST.jpg

**First battered disabled person: http://www.lauraandwagner.com/resources/HateCrimes.jpg

**Second battered disabled person: http://feministactivism.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/violence-against-disabled.jpg?w=285&h=155

**Foot kicking disabled person:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__DmvpLJBcJg/S2Q5TxREB-I/AAAAAAAAAH8/JIWuW8uSjRI/s320/disabled.jpg

*Martin Luther King Jr.: http://cdn.babble.com/famecrawler/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/martin-luther-king2.jpg

**Wheelchair and arrow: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/04/14/article-1265858-09205F7A000005DC-879_468x262.jpg

**Woman helping disabled children: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T96e44yPIsA/TB2JjV2J8VI/AAAAAAAACSY/lc_utnakwis/s1600/20donovan-span-articleLarge-v2.jpg

*Second down-syndrome boy: http://www.agd.org/files/specialolympics.jpg

**Picture of Iwo Jima: http://jonathanturley.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/275px-ww2_iwo_jima_flag_raising.jpg

The Affective System

Disclaimer: In this blog, I attempt to build/construct my idea of affect based on Massumi’s writing. This may not necessarily accurately reflect what he intended to convey or what he actually thought/believed.

One major question related to our experience of affect is how connected the rational realm is to the affective and whether or not we are conscious of the forces operating on us in this realm. And if we are, how exactly are we conscious of these forces or how does reason interact with them? Aristotle’s description of emotions in his Rhetoric implies that we are very conscious of our emotions—so much so that we can actually alter them rationally (i.e. remove the object that is producing the emotion within us). Aristotle’s idea makes sense philosophically, but, as Brian Massumi describes, there is a lot more to it than this.

While Aristotle simply distinguished between emotion and reason and spoke about how the two work with each other, there may in fact be levels of feeling that are not directly tied to reason. At the very least, Massumi describes two broad realms that affect us emotionally but in very different ways. He explains that we may react emotionally to the “content” of an object but that we also have a response to the “effect” of that object (24). He would consider our emotional response to the content something actual, and it is something we can perceive and to which we can consciously respond; this is the realm Aristotle was probably referring to. But the effect of the object touches on a realm he refers to as the virtual (30-31). This realm is something that is not so consciously understood or experienced. As Massumi writes, this realm is the place “where what cannot be experienced cannot but be felt,” indicating that this realm involves all sorts of dynamics that we can’t just muster up on our own using our conscious, rational mind (30). Of course, as this realm affects us, eventually some conscious thought or experience emerges, and we rationally seek to identify what that experience was (30-31).

So, what bridges these two realms? What is in between? How does the virtual, non-rational, unconscious feelings get end up affecting us in our conscious mind? It seems to me that the force that connects these various dynamics and operates, both consciously in part, but primarily unconsciously, is the whole sphere of affect. Based on Massumi, I would like to pose a theory as to how this works.

Massumi describes affect as the force that speaks between the actual and the virtual realms. From my reading of Massumi, it is the point that seems to involve, influence, or be the product of all the various forces (32-33, 35). Consider the actual and the virtual as two ends of a continuum. Between these two realms, various levels may exist that act as individual reactors within us, responsive to varying amounts of the actual and the virtual. Reflection operates at each of these levels, which I interpret as a kind of internal consciousness—meaning a consciousness that operates within that level’s responsive system but is not something we ourselves are cognizant of—that causes a response or reaction at that very level before moving it to a higher level. This process of continual reflection causes a response of its own but also propels the responsive information it has processed or received on to a higher level of consciousness, moving further from the virtual to the actual. Together, all these levels bridge our relation to something (which is on the virtual level) to our reaction to it (which operates on the actual level). Since reflection happens on every level, Massumi identifies the key issue as how direct the link is between all the levels that exist between the virtual and the actual. Affect is the very sum of this force that operates on each of these levels, bringing each of them together. What differentiates people, then, is their ability to manage this linkage and the levels in between (36-38).

A fitting analogy to the process described above is our central nervous system. We receive all sorts of inputs in the various sensory input points throughout our body. These inputs travel through our nervous system at various points along the way until they meet their appropriate cortex, are recognized, and then the appropriate response is ordered. This describes the sympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system operates differently. In this system, when certain inputs are received, there is an immediate order issued for a certain response, before those inputs are recognized by the brain consciously. With affect, our brain somewhat resembles the actual realm described by Massumi. All the sensory inputs are like the virtual, and the nervous system, spinal cord, etc. illustrate all the levels in between. The sympathetic nervous system described the overall move from the inputs toward the brain, but along the way, there are parasympathetic responses occurring at each instance, just as in the process of reflection. Affect the experience or feeling of this whole process. This is affect.

But the question remains: can it be managed? Honestly, I really don’t think it will ever be possible in entirety. Just as the nervous system is an elaborate system developed to manage our senses and responses, our affective system is intricately structured to manage our relations and reactions. And, as Massumi implies from the title of his chapter and further explains throughout it, affect is essentially autonomous; it operates independently and in its own way. The level of consciousness we can experience and how much we can alter these responses may simply be genetically, or societally, programmed. Yet, I wonder if there are ways to use the actual realm to affect responses to the virtual or if certain kinds of emotional therapies could be developed to alter responses (like the psychological technique of flooding used to address phobias). Either way, this outline of affect is truly fascinating and leaves much to be considered.

Massumi, Brian. Parables for the Virtual: Movement, Affect, Sensation. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2002. Web.

Visual Pathetic Appeal

Disability on Prezi

My visual pathetic appeal addresses the negative effects that result from discrimination against the disabled. The main claim in the piece as that disabled persons are a minority group that should not be discriminated against, but should receive the same civil rights as all others.

The presentation begins with an image of a quote, “Attitudes are the real disability,” which introduces the viewer to the setting of this presentation: it will discuss disability and our attitudinal response to it. This claim is provocative and leads the viewer into the argument they are about to observe.

The first three images are of disabled persons, each looking very happy, innocent, and content. These images are meant to invoke some sense of pity and empathy in the viewer. After seeing these images, the viewer should be left seeing these individuals as representative of a group of needy people with whom it is only natural to sympathize and desire to defend.

After the last image of disabled persons, the scene shifts to a picture of a sign that appears to prohibit handicapped persons along with animals and objects. While it may have meant to simply disallow wheelchairs, by crossing the symbol of a person in a wheelchair out, along side inhuman objects, the viewer is led to see the way in which disabled persons are objectified and discriminated against. The impersonal nature of the image, since it is only symbols, further dehumanizes the people that were just seen in the preceding images. Resultantly, the viewer would be led to begin experiencing feelings of indignation.

These feelings progress as the next image appears, right next to it. This image is more graphic and shows a disabled individual being escorted by police officers. He clearly looks misunderstood, and given the context of the presentation, the viewer is led to feel further pity for the man and the other innocent disabled individuals pictured at the beginning whom he represents. Consequently, the viewer’s indignation would be caused to mount at the sight of this image and would likely feel anger and frustration.

These actions of discrimination are then identified with a commonly hated group, the Klu Klux Klan (KKK), as shown in the next image. When seeing this image, the viewer’s indignation about the treatment of individuals would turn to passionate hate since the actions of discrimination against disabled individuals are shown to be akin to the actions of a widely despised group. Also, this image would link the experience of the disabled to that of other minorities who suffer and have suffered discrimination.

At this point, the viewer is left desperate, seeking some form a solution so as not to allow a repetition of the travesties committed by groups like the KKK. After a progressive decline, the presentation shoots upward and the image of Martin Luther King Jr. appears. He is clearly actively involved in some form of advocacy and the viewer feels inspiration, excitement, and joy at the thought of such a hero rectifying the wrongs being committed against disabled individuals. The need is apparent: we need to fight for the civil rights of these individuals just as men like Martin Luther King fought for those of other minorities.

The presentation then lifts even higher, arriving at a picture of the statue of liberty, the symbol of national values such as liberty and equality. The viewer is left seeing the significance of providing these values for disabled individuals as they are enjoyed by other Americans. This image also affirms the sense of indignation that was previously felt since the treatment of disabled individuals is, as of yet, not fully aligned with American values.

The statement that follows sums up this dynamic by describing that the values and rights we hold dear and that many have fought to obtain should truly be for all citizens—including the disabled. The viewer is left with the thought that this statement is a fully American belief, invoking pride and dignity, but yet not fully realized by all Americans. Individuals such as Martin Luther King have fought to make this notion a reality and that fight must continue until it truly reaches all within our borders. Herein lies the key interpretation: the indignation and frustration regarding the mistreatment of disabled individuals, resulting from a pity for them, is linked to a change of attitude that these individuals are worthy of defense and advocacy in that it would be un-American to allow them to endure anything different.

After the viewer experiences this shift in attitude, the presentation moves to one final picture. That of a joyous boy with down-syndrome at a Special Olympics event. This image offers a reassuring sense of fulfillment to the viewer that if change is indeed possible in the way we view and treat the disabled, the benefits are inestimable.

Photo credits (all images accessed March 31, 2011):

Opening title image: http://india.targetgenx.com/files/2008/05/attitudes.gif

First down-syndrome boy: http://www.filteredsoundtraining.net/media/Boy%20WIth%20Downs%20Syndrome%20in%20FST.jpg

Blind children: http://www.scsdb.k12.sc.us/academic/blindSing-s.gif

Boy in wheelchair: http://pediatricwheelchair.org/wp-content/uploads/wheelchair_kids.jpg

Signs: http://www.huminteractive.com/files/e50f6cd29a4c0759a604fdadbfc56166.jpg

Man in wheelchair with police: http://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/images/DisabilityRightsDemo.jpg

Klu Klux Klan: http://www.old-picture.com/united-states-history-1900s---1930s/pictures/Ku-Klux-Klan.jpg

Martin Luther King Jr.: http://cdn.babble.com/famecrawler/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/martin-luther-king2.jpg

Statue of Liberty: http://wirednewyork.com/images/city-guide/liberty/liberty.jpg

Second down-syndrome boy: http://www.agd.org/files/specialolympics.jpg

Affects and Human Nature

Teresa Brennan writes about the association of affects with the seven deadly sins. While as time went on, perceptions changed, she describes, “how the affects, while they ceased to be labeled sins, were nonetheless conceived as entities opposed to the integrity of the organism’s expression of its true nature…” (98). She also mentions the idea that, in the past, affects were viewed as “invaders that work against our true nature…” (101).

I find this idea very interesting in light of Plato’s Republic. In the Republic, Plato argued that man is made of three distinct parts: the spirited element, the rational element, and the appetitive element. Plato felt that the appetitive element, or the aspect of desire within us, had to be controlled by the rational part. The spirited aspect formed the passion or drive behind our various actions or reasons (thumos in Greek). Arguably, and in Plato’s mind, our true nature, or a just soul, is one in which these three forces operate in harmony with one another—the rational leading the soul by restraining the appetitive element and the spirited element providing the drive to ensure the rational leadings are followed.

While I definitely think it is a stretch to say that affects are sins, I tend to think that affects, as Brennan describes them, would fall into the category of base desires that Plato describes. Emotions, or feelings we are cognizant of that have some rational connection, would likely fall into the spirited category. The view of affects that Brennan describes, in which affects work to defy our true nature, is surely incorrect in itself. Our affects/passions/desires that we experience are necessary to maintain our lives and stability in a certain sense. Without them, how would we be driven to eat, drink, or reproduce? However, when these affects operate independently of our reason and overcome us, then, perhaps one could say that this expression is not consistent with our nature, since not all the forces of our soul, as Plato describes, are working in harmony.

Yet, perhaps a more accurate way of describing this dynamic would be to say that, actually, the expression of our base desires or affects, is the most accurate expression of our nature, but not necessarily the most healthy for society, thus needing direction or guidance. In a way, our nature is what produces the drives that direct all our actions; our reason restrains them and the spirited element works alongside them. That’s why, as Brennan describes, with James’ help, these affects are actually operating within us all the time, bringing us pleasure and pain, and based upon them, we act to either mitigate or accentuate what we are experiencing; according to Brennan, “…judgment is the attempt to expel what is painful while enhancing what is pleasurable” (106). In Plato’s terms, these drives fuel everything we experience; our reason is constantly functioning to interpret and direct these drives and then the spirited element works to confirm and execute these conclusions with conscious emotions. As Brennan explains, this is also the function of Freud’s “ego”—managing these drives (111).

So, Plato can help us explain how we manage or relate to these drives, but what, exactly shapes the drives themselves? Clearly, they are the result of nature. But are we just programmed to experience certain affects , or can they be altered? Or would altering them be altering our nature and thereby creating internal dysfunction or disharmony because we are tampering with the source forces that make up our humanity? If they are truly all the same by nature, why are humans so distinct from each other?

It seems that our actions, since they are based upon our drives, etc. would work in conjunction with our drives, since they result from them, and would not alter our drives. Brennan explains that action “is defined in terms of actuality, actually realizing one’s potential by realizing one’s form and hence fulfilling one’s purpose” (102). However, there are other affects or drives that might be stirred up within us. These could work to alter our drives. Brennan calls these “passions” or “passive affects.” She writes, “one could suppose that the passive affects hinder us from realizing our form and acting in accord thereby with our natures…” (102). These passive affects are not formed purely within us by our nature and the drives operating in us, but are the result of our reaction to people and events around us. So, our reason and spirited elements not only operate to manage the affects that are within us but also to manage our responses to the affects outside of us.

Interestingly, it seems like we all have the same drives operating in us by nature, and acting on these would be the purest expression of who we are. But, our reason operates to manage these internal affects as well as all the affects that are coming at us from the outside. And this process, which varies from person to person, and, probably, from culture to culture, etc., is what makes us distinct (103). So, affects really shouldn’t be considered sins or the root problem, since they are the forces all around us that form the base of human experience. The part that is different for each individual, and, arguably, for which people can be accountable and/or try to control, is how they respond to these various affects. If Plato is right, reason is key to this process, but even this is worthy of further exploration.

Brennan, Teresa. The Transmission of Affect. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2005. Print.