The Sphere of Attention

by Arvidson, P. Sven

• ISBN13: 9781402035715
• ISBN10: 1402035713
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-04-30
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

The Sphere of Attention uses the latest empirical research to illustrate how attention is organized according to gestalt-phenomenological principles inside and outside the focus of attention. For the first time, this book classifies how attention shifts, and argues that self-awareness, reflection, and even morality, are best thought of as dynamic transformations in the sphere of attention. The radical thesis of this book is that attention is always the center of a sphere of attention, which consists in contextual and marginal processing. Together these three organizational dimensions ' focus, context, margin ' constitute the human being as a sphere of attention. In addition to assessing the most recent laboratory results from prominent psychologists, cognitive scientists, and neuroscientists, The Sphere of Attention also examines the views of phenomenologists such as Gurwitsch, Husserl, Merleau-Ponty, and Sartre. This book demonstrates that gestalt-phenomenology is a powerful new method for investigating human nature.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
The Sphere of Attention is Theme, Context, and Margin	1	(20)
Theme is Central Focus	3	(2)
Thematic Context is Relevancy	5	(1)
Margin is Streaming, Body, and Environing World	6	(3)
The Field vs. Sphere Metaphor of Attention	9	(4)
Problems of Context in Psychology and Cognitive Science	13	(8)
Empirical Evidence for the Sphere of Attention	21	(35)
Theme and Margin in the Sphere of Attention	21	(7)
Context in the Sphere of Attention	28	(18)
Bringing Context into Focus	28	(13)
Positional Index	41	(5)
Theme, Context, and Margin in the Sphere of Attention	46	(10)
Transformations in Attending	56	(30)
How Context Shifts in Attending	58	(12)
Enlargement	59	(2)
Contraction	61	(2)
Elucidation	63	(3)
Obscuration	66	(1)
Context-replacement	67	(3)
How Thematic Attention Shifts Simply	70	(1)
How Thematic Attention Shifts Radically	71	(7)
Restructuring	72	(2)
Singling out	74	(2)
Synthesis	76	(2)
How Attention Captures Marginal Content	78	(6)
Attending is a Dynamic Tension	84	(2)
Gurwitsch and Husserl on Attention	86	(29)
Gurwitsch's Critique of Husserl	86	(5)
The Ego and Subjectivity Problem	87	(1)
Two-Strata of the Theme Problem	88	(2)
The Unitary Attention Problem	90	(1)
Does Husserl Distinguish Theme, Context, and Margin?	91	(4)
Evidence from Husserl's Analyses Concerning Passive and Active Synthesis	95	(11)
Husserl and Gurwitsch on Transformations in Attending	106	(9)
Subjectivity and the Sphere of Attention	115	(34)
The Ever-Present Self	120	(5)
Attentionality Replaces Intentionality	125	(7)
Reflection	132	(6)
Authentic Reflection	138	(11)
Sartre	140	(4)
Buddhism	144	(5)
Morality and the Sphere of Attention	149	(28)
The Moral Moment	150	(12)
Moral Attention is Compassion	162	(5)
Shifting Out of Moral Attention	167	(3)
Shifting Into Moral Attention	170	(1)
Moral Character in the Sphere of Attention	171	(6)
Conclusion	177	(14)
Implications for Psychology and the Cognitive Sciences	178	(7)
Implications for Phenomenology	185	(3)
Interdisciplinary Attention Studies	188	(3)
References	191	(14)
Name Index	205	(4)
Subject Index	209