Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-6d856f89d9-mhpxw Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-16T03:18:17.987Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Afterword

from Part II - Thought Experiments and the Power of Context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2021

Fathali M. Moghaddam
Affiliation:
Georgetown University, Washington DC
Get access

Summary

Shakespeare’s thought experiments are part of a revolution underway in scientific thinking during his era. Early examples of psychological thought experiments are found in Shakespeare’s plays. These thought experiments provide the fertile soil from which there eventually grew twenty-first-century experimental psychology. Although the power of context is highlighted in Shakespeare’s thought experiments, so is intentionality and some measure of free will. The underlying assumption is that not all behavior is causally determined, as is mistakenly assumed in mainstream psychology. Reflecting on Shakespeare’s thought experiments, clearly psychological science needs to accept that much behavior is normatively regulated, not causally determined. But Shakespeare’s writings were also integral to broader changes in the worldview and critical thinking that nourished transfomations toward actualized democracy. By highlighting and celebrating the central role of thought experiments in science and art, we can construct a bridge that helps end the huge gap that has opened up between science and art in our time.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Afterword
  • Fathali M. Moghaddam, Georgetown University, Washington DC
  • Book: Shakespeare and the Experimental Psychologist
  • Online publication: 10 June 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108868945.013
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Afterword
  • Fathali M. Moghaddam, Georgetown University, Washington DC
  • Book: Shakespeare and the Experimental Psychologist
  • Online publication: 10 June 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108868945.013
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Afterword
  • Fathali M. Moghaddam, Georgetown University, Washington DC
  • Book: Shakespeare and the Experimental Psychologist
  • Online publication: 10 June 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108868945.013
Available formats
×