Twist of Fate: The Moirae in Everyday Psychology

by Brad Hastings

Overview

From Ancient Greece to contemporary times, themes of fate and destiny have served as a central worldview for many. These compelling ideas have guided those in battle, and provided influence and inspirations for politicians, philosophers, and artists. Despite a pervasive concern with fate, we find that an explicit discussion of this construct is absent from psychological theory. Twist of Fate reconciles contemporary psychological research with the ancient and frequently held position of fatalism that was common in that era. The Greek mythological history of the "Moirae" (the triad of goddesses known as the "Fates") offers a unique perspective on human beings by illustrating how fate and destiny influence a variety of behaviors such as drug addiction, spirituality, sexual activity, aggression, and other applied psychological topics.

An analysis of the "Moirae" integrates diverse ideas from evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, psychoanalysis, and Nietzsche's philosophy into a fatalistic view of the human personality. The analysis raises the issues of possibilities for personal change, the role of clinical interventions, and what role freedom actually plays in the human experience. Twist of Fate also accounts for recent developments in personality theory and research by shedding new light on findings from evolutionary psychology, narrative theory, and trait psychology. The result is an integrative personality theory that takes the reader from Nietzsche to neuroscience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761839347
Publisher:	University Press of America
Publication date:	11/07/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	124
Product dimensions:	6.04(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.41(d)

About the Author

Brad M. Hastings serves as Chair of the Social Science Department at Mount Aloysius College in Pennsylvania. His scholarly publications explore a diverse array of topics including authoritarianism, aggression, political behavior, philosophical psychology, and theoretical developments in personality theory.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Acknowledgements
Part 2 I: The Moirae
Chapter 3 Twist of Fate: An Introduction to a Classical Idea
Chapter 4 Bound by Fate: How the Unconscious Determines Our Lives
Part 5 II: Cycles
Chapter 6 Daily Drumbeats: The Rhythms of Life
Chapter 7 Eternity: Recurrence and Forms
Part 8 III: Free Will
Chapter 9 My Genese Made Me Do It, Unconsciously! Free Will, Fatalism, and Morality
Part 10 IV: Unifying Contemporary Psychology with the Moirae
Chapter 11 What Would Freud and Darwin Think? Psychoanalysis and Evolutionary Psychology
Chapter 12 Can People Change? Stories, Traits, and Clinical Applications
Chapter 13 Dawn! A New View of the Human Life
Part 14 References
Part 15 Index