How can attention seeking be good? From strategic ignorance to self-experiments. van der Weele, C. In Access and Mediation: Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Attention, pages 259–278. 2022. doi abstract bibtex Receiving attention is widely recognized as a vital human need, closely connected to recognition as a requirement for developing a sense of safety, value and self-esteem. But what to think of instagrammers and others who are actively - and seemingly insatiably - seeking it? Why do we tend to condemn it? This chapter attempts to take a closer look at how we approach and evaluate attention seeking. I will discuss its bad moral reputation and argue that this encourages avoidance rather than the interest and curiosity that it needs, particularly in the light of problematic attention inequalities. I will argue for a transition from widespread strategic ignorance of attention seeking to more sympathetic curiosity. In this plea, Adam Phillips' recent book on attention seeking is an important ally. Realizing how important it is for all of us to receive attention, and how ashamed we tend to be of our attempts to get it, Phillips explores a more welcoming attitude. While his approach has a psychoanalytical background combined with literary sources, my own argument builds on conceptual considerations as well as empirical observations from various disciplines and historical periods. It will proceed in four steps. The first step deals with some consequences of the fact that it is impossible to give attention to everything; attention is inevitably selective. In step two, I will turn to attention in social contexts, where we not only do or do not 'give' or 'pay' attention but also hope to receive it, which leads to mechanisms of reciprocity or exchange as well as social inequalities. In step three, I introduce Adam Phillips' (2019) approach to seeking. Starting from the widely accepted insight that receiving attention is vital for us, he thinks we often seek attention without knowing precisely what we are looking for, and what kind of attention will help us. I will connect these considerations in step four, arguing that strategic ignorance of attention seeking makes us miss a lot that may help us deal more openly and responsibly with attention seeking. With the help of my students' experiences I will suggest that a more positive approach to attention seeking may lead to surprising new learning experiences concerning the quality of mutual social attention. © 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston. All rights reserved.
@incollection{van_der_weele_how_2022,
title = {How can attention seeking be good? {From} strategic ignorance to self-experiments},
isbn = {978-3-11-064724-2},
shorttitle = {How can attention seeking be good?},
abstract = {Receiving attention is widely recognized as a vital human need, closely connected to recognition as a requirement for developing a sense of safety, value and self-esteem. But what to think of instagrammers and others who are actively - and seemingly insatiably - seeking it? Why do we tend to condemn it? This chapter attempts to take a closer look at how we approach and evaluate attention seeking. I will discuss its bad moral reputation and argue that this encourages avoidance rather than the interest and curiosity that it needs, particularly in the light of problematic attention inequalities. I will argue for a transition from widespread strategic ignorance of attention seeking to more sympathetic curiosity. In this plea, Adam Phillips' recent book on attention seeking is an important ally. Realizing how important it is for all of us to receive attention, and how ashamed we tend to be of our attempts to get it, Phillips explores a more welcoming attitude. While his approach has a psychoanalytical background combined with literary sources, my own argument builds on conceptual considerations as well as empirical observations from various disciplines and historical periods. It will proceed in four steps. The first step deals with some consequences of the fact that it is impossible to give attention to everything; attention is inevitably selective. In step two, I will turn to attention in social contexts, where we not only do or do not 'give' or 'pay' attention but also hope to receive it, which leads to mechanisms of reciprocity or exchange as well as social inequalities. In step three, I introduce Adam Phillips' (2019) approach to seeking. Starting from the widely accepted insight that receiving attention is vital for us, he thinks we often seek attention without knowing precisely what we are looking for, and what kind of attention will help us. I will connect these considerations in step four, arguing that strategic ignorance of attention seeking makes us miss a lot that may help us deal more openly and responsibly with attention seeking. With the help of my students' experiences I will suggest that a more positive approach to attention seeking may lead to surprising new learning experiences concerning the quality of mutual social attention. © 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston. All rights reserved.},
language = {English},
booktitle = {Access and {Mediation}: {Transdisciplinary} {Perspectives} on {Attention}},
author = {van der Weele, C.},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1515/9783110647242-012},
pages = {259--278},
}
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I will argue for a transition from widespread strategic ignorance of attention seeking to more sympathetic curiosity. In this plea, Adam Phillips' recent book on attention seeking is an important ally. Realizing how important it is for all of us to receive attention, and how ashamed we tend to be of our attempts to get it, Phillips explores a more welcoming attitude. While his approach has a psychoanalytical background combined with literary sources, my own argument builds on conceptual considerations as well as empirical observations from various disciplines and historical periods. It will proceed in four steps. The first step deals with some consequences of the fact that it is impossible to give attention to everything; attention is inevitably selective. In step two, I will turn to attention in social contexts, where we not only do or do not 'give' or 'pay' attention but also hope to receive it, which leads to mechanisms of reciprocity or exchange as well as social inequalities. In step three, I introduce Adam Phillips' (2019) approach to seeking. Starting from the widely accepted insight that receiving attention is vital for us, he thinks we often seek attention without knowing precisely what we are looking for, and what kind of attention will help us. I will connect these considerations in step four, arguing that strategic ignorance of attention seeking makes us miss a lot that may help us deal more openly and responsibly with attention seeking. With the help of my students' experiences I will suggest that a more positive approach to attention seeking may lead to surprising new learning experiences concerning the quality of mutual social attention. © 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston. 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I will discuss its bad moral reputation and argue that this encourages avoidance rather than the interest and curiosity that it needs, particularly in the light of problematic attention inequalities. I will argue for a transition from widespread strategic ignorance of attention seeking to more sympathetic curiosity. In this plea, Adam Phillips' recent book on attention seeking is an important ally. Realizing how important it is for all of us to receive attention, and how ashamed we tend to be of our attempts to get it, Phillips explores a more welcoming attitude. While his approach has a psychoanalytical background combined with literary sources, my own argument builds on conceptual considerations as well as empirical observations from various disciplines and historical periods. It will proceed in four steps. The first step deals with some consequences of the fact that it is impossible to give attention to everything; attention is inevitably selective. 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