Katherine Peil | Harvard Divinity School (original) (raw)

Papers by Katherine Peil

Constructivist Foundations, 2017

The enactment view echoes the deeper biology and chemistry of emotion. Music resonates innately b... more The enactment view echoes the deeper biology and chemistry of emotion. Music resonates innately because emotional evaluation is the evolutionary grandfather of all senses.

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2013

Volume 3, Number 2 • March 2014 • www.gahmj.com GLOBAL ADVANCES IN HEALTH AND MEDICINE Original A... more Volume 3, Number 2 • March 2014 • www.gahmj.com GLOBAL ADVANCES IN HEALTH AND MEDICINE Original Article and marks as fractal structures" 120-the non-Euclidian "fractal" 121 geometric shapes underlying all natural and biological structures, including the human brain.

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 2020

Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, 2015

When phenomenal experience is examined through the lens of physics, several conundrums come to li... more When phenomenal experience is examined through the lens of physics, several conundrums come to light including: Specificity of mindebody interactions, feelings of free will in a deterministic universe, and the relativity of subjective perception. The new biology of "emotion" can shed direct light upon these issues, via a broadened categorical definition that includes both affective feelings and their coupled (yet often subconscious) hedonic motivations. In this new view, evaluative (good/bad) feelings that trigger approach/avoid behaviors emerged with life itself, a crude stimulus-response information loop between organism and its environment, a semiotic signaling system embodying the first crude form of "mind". Emotion serves the ancient function of sensory-motor self-regulation and affords organisms e at every level of complexity e an active, adaptive, role in evolution. A careful examination of the biophysics involved in emotional "self-regulatory" signaling, however, acknowledges constituents that are incompatible with classical physics. This requires a further investigation, proposed herein, of the fundamental nature of "the self" as the subjective observer central to the measurement process in quantum mechanics, and ultimately as an active, unified, self-awareness with a centrally creative role in "self-organizing" processes and physical forces of the classical world. In this deeper investigation, a new phenomenological dualism is proposed: The flow of complex human experience is instantiated by both a classically embodied mind and a deeper form of quantum consciousness that is inherent in the universe itself, implying much deeper e more Whiteheadian e interpretations of the "self-regulatory" and "selfrelevant" nature of emotional stimulus. A broad stroke, speculative, intuitive sketch of this new territory is then set forth, loosely mapped to several theoretical models of consciousness, potentially relevant mathematical devices and pertinent philosophical themes, in an attempt to acknowledge the myriad questions e and limitations e implicit in the quest to understand "sentience" in any ontologically pansentient universe.

Human life is rich with emotion. Our feelings reside at the center of our deepest, most meaningfu... more Human life is rich with emotion. Our feelings reside at the center of our deepest, most meaningful, personal experiences. They drive our behavior; they are central to our memory and learning systems, our spiritual impulses, and our moral values – often defining our very identities. Our philosophical and religious traditions have linked their pleasurable and painful (" hedonic ") categories with virtuous and sinful behavior, if not universal forces of goodness and evil. But what is the deeper – physiological-meaning of these " positive " and " negative " categories of feeling? What is their biological function? And how deeply are they rooted in our evolutionary heritage, and in life itself? A broader and deeper scientific examination of the emotional system reveals some astounding surprises: That the rudiments of emotional sentience are evident in even the simplest living systems. That emotion serves the ancient function of " self-regulation " ...

Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2020

Although augmenting rational models with cognitive constraints is long overdue, the emotional sys... more Although augmenting rational models with cognitive constraints is long overdue, the emotional system – our innately evaluative “affective” constraints – is missing from the model. Factoring in the informational nature of emotional perception, its explicit self-regulatory functional logic, and the predictable pitfalls of its hardwired behavioral responses (including a maladaptive form of “identity management”) can offer dramatic enhancements.

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2000

Global advances in health and medicine : improving healthcare outcomes worldwide, 2014

While emotion is a central component of human health and well-being, traditional approaches to un... more While emotion is a central component of human health and well-being, traditional approaches to understanding its biological function have been wanting. A dynamic systems model, however, broadly redefines and recasts emotion as a primary sensory system-perhaps the first sensory system to have emerged, serving the ancient autopoietic function of "self-regulation." Drawing upon molecular biology and revelations from the field of epigenetics, the model suggests that human emotional perceptions provide an ongoing stream of "self-relevant" sensory information concerning optimally adaptive states between the organism and its immediate environment, along with coupled behavioral corrections that honor a universal self-regulatory logic, one still encoded within cellular signaling and immune functions. Exemplified by the fundamental molecular circuitry of sensorimotor control in the E coli bacterium, the model suggests that the hedonic (affective) categories emerge directly...

These offerings will turn on how this ancient self-regulatory function has emerged from the self-... more These offerings will turn on how this ancient self-regulatory function has emerged from the self-organizing dynamics of complex adaptive systems, and how everyday feeling experiences now contain three levels of information that keep us poised on the "edge-of-chaos" -in optimal physical, mental, and spiritual states of self-balance. All of which bears directly upon how we think about the origins, features, and boundaries of personal identity, and provide new ways to interpret transpersonal ways of knowing, being, and becoming. This formerly missing science can shed new light upon the "boundaries" of identity, the cyclic cause and effect pattern of human behavior, the nature of "unconscious" processes, "collective" group dynamics, paranormal, and spiritual experiences. It can help us reframe the psychological concepts of order and disorder, as well as help us understand the role of bi-directional processing pathways, evident in conditioned attitudes, habits, immune responses, placebo (Lidstone, de la and nocebo responses (Hahn,

The heart"-as opposed to human mind-has long been metaphorically represented as the organ of mora... more The heart"-as opposed to human mind-has long been metaphorically represented as the organ of moral conscience, the symbolic center of compassionate care, nonviolence and cooperative grace, as well as the fount of spiritual revelation. New science suggests that this time honored folk symbol is neither naïve accident nor religious error, but rings deeply true. More, this colloquial wisdom about the human heart can be clarified, enhanced, and fully honored once we understand the physical underpinnings, the evolutionary breadth, and biological function of the process we experience as human emotion-the heartfelt experiential core of this common wisdom.

Abstract: When phenomenal experience is examined through the lens of physics, several conundrum... more Abstract:
When phenomenal experience is examined through the lens of physics, several conundrums come to light including: Specificity of mind-body interactions, feelings of free will in a deterministic universe, and the relativity of subjective perception. The new biology of “emotion” can shed direct light upon these issues, via a broadened categorical definition that includes both affective feelings and their coupled (yet often subconscious) hedonic motivations. In this new view, evaluative (good/bad) feelings that trigger approach/avoid behaviors emerged with life itself, a crude stimulus-response information loop between organism and its environment, a semiotic signaling system embodying the first crude form of “mind”. Emotion serves the ancient function of sensory-motor self-regulation and affords organisms – at every level of complexity – an active, adaptive, role in evolution. A careful examination of the biophysics involved in emotional “self-regulatory” signaling, however, acknowledges constituents that are incompatible with classical physics. This requires a further investigation, proposed herein, of the fundamental nature of “the self” as the subjective observer central to the measurement process in quantum mechanics, and ultimately as an active, unified, self-awareness with a centrally creative role in “self-organizing” processes and physical forces of the classical world. In this deeper investigation, a new phenomenological dualism is proposed: The flow of complex human experience is instantiated by both a classically embodied mind and a deeper form of quantum consciousness that is inherent in the universe itself, implying much deeper – more Whiteheadian – interpretations of the “self-regulatory” and “self-relevant” nature of emotional stimulus. A broad stroke, speculative, intuitive sketch of this new territory is then set forth, loosely mapped to several theoretical models of consciousness, potentially relevant mathematical devices and pertinent philosophical themes, in an attempt to acknowledge the myriad questions – and limitations – implicit in the quest to understand “sentience” in any ontologically pansentient universe.

The wisdom of Jeremy Bentham (1948) has oft been quoted: "Man has been placed under the governanc... more The wisdom of Jeremy Bentham (1948) has oft been quoted: "Man has been placed under the governance of two sovereign masters: pleasure and pain." A dynamic systems model broadly redefines and recasts emotion as a primary sensory system -perhaps the first sense to have emerged, serving the biological function of "self-regulation". Drawing upon the physical sciences and recent revelations from the field of epigenetics, the model suggests that human emotional perceptions provide an ongoing stream of "self-relevant" sensory information concerning optimally adaptive states between the organism and its immediate environment, along with coupled behavioral corrections that honor a universal self-regulatory logic. With its ancient substrates exemplified by the molecular circuitry in the E. coli bacterium, the model suggests that the hedonic (affective) categories emerge directly from fundamental positive and negative feedback processes, and that their good/bad binary appraisals relate to dual self-regulatory behavioral regimes -evolutionary purposes, through which organisms actively participate in natural selection, and through which humans can interpret "right" and "wrong" states of balanced being and optimal becoming. The self-regulatory sensory paradigm transcends anthropomorphism, unites divergent theoretical perspectives and isolated bodies of literature, and challenges some time-honored assumptions. Contrary to the notion that emotion must be suppressively regulated, it suggests that emotions are better understood as regulating us, providing a service crucial to all semantic language, learning systems, evaluative decisionmaking, and optimal physical, mental, and spiritual health. The implications for moral psychology are discussed.

Robert Wright proposes reuniting scientists and theologians on the common ground of evolutionary ... more Robert Wright proposes reuniting scientists and theologians on the common ground of evolutionary theory, hoping for agreement that humans are hardwired with innate moral sensibilities. His naturalistic proposal is discussed, enhanced by offerings from complexity science, and significantly extended via self-regulatory dynamics that are perceivable through the human emotional system. 2 A Grander Evolution for a Grander Spiritual Bargain: A naturalistic theologian responds to Robert Wright As the new decade dawns, a cursory reflection of the last reveals a lot of God talk. Particularly portentous along these lines is Robert Wright's Evolution of God, the latest iteration of his long-running theme -the message that humans are hardwired to be moral creatures. In the New York Times editorial: A Grand Bargain over Evolution, he condensed his moral message and threw down a gauntlet of sorts. In this piece he brings good news -offering evolutionary theory as neutral intellectual territory for mediating the longstanding "war" between science and religion. He speaks of an "unseen order" that exists "out there," that if decoded holds the key to life's deepest secrets -whether they be laws of nature or God's supernatural design plan. Wright's hope in brokering peace turns on his conviction that this hidden order -no matter who is right about its source -includes an ethical design that yields our innate "moral sense."

Constructivist Foundations, 2017

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2013

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 2020

Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, 2015

Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2020

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2000

Global advances in health and medicine : improving healthcare outcomes worldwide, 2014