Ask Mark – Week 2 responses

Question 2: Please expand on what subjectivity means – this week we have for example looked at colours, at computers trying to be human – carpets cannot do these, yet have subjectivity? There is my subjective experience of a carpet, but I can’t see the carpet itself exhibiting its own subjectivity. If we can only know our own minds, how can we recognize the “subjective aspect” of another entity?

Question 3: I am interested in the relationship of subjectivity and objectivity. I have heard that psychoanalysis is the theory that is able to combine both. What are a few important concepts and what would research look like in this field?

Question 4: What is your understanding of the term empathy in neuropsychoanalytic terms? How is it measured?