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There are a number of philosophical topics that are worth discussing, explor-ing and often arguing over. Though, this is not the case for all, as many philosophi-cal should be viewed through the lens of modern science instead.
Affect theory is difficult to explain, but that was the job of Gregory J. Seigworth, a professor of communications at Mill-ersville University. He spoke at the final Theorizing at Rowan, hosted by the phi-losophy and religious studies department.
Unlike in other weeks, Seigworth’s lecture really didn’t present anything new. Instead, he focused on exposing the seldom-explored theory.
Seigworth broke down the theory in what was probably the simplest way possible.
In order to understand the theory, the
audience was encouraged to think of exis-tence in three modes: as a point, as a line, and as a plane.
The point represents a moment of con-tact, an encounter or an event. Life and existence are made up of points, however they do not exist continually and there is space between them.
The line is a representation of the “on-goingness” of existence. Points exist atop this line, and the line helps to see the time and space which connects points.
The plane is really a scaled up ver-sion of the line — like a piece of paper on which lines fall.
The simplest way to imagine existence is as a man walking his dog.
The man’s body and the dog’s body be-come points and the line is their journey through the park or the streets of a city. The plane is the entirety of the park or city which gives context to the path they walk on.
Really, what affect boils down to be is the moments between moments in ex-
istence — the flux of emotions and reac-tions that occur between thoughts — the line between the points. The experience of joy which leads to a smile, or sadness which leads to a frown — this is affect.
Affect is about the most minor of events, those which go by unnoticed and yet have the most substantial effects on what you think next or how you react to the world around you.
The problem I developed with affect was that it seems like a very difficult and philosophical way to explain something which should be seen as a psychological, chemical or even a biological study.
All this talk of planes, lines and points seemed only to complicate the conversa-tion. Involving existence and “ongoing-ness” makes the idea blurry. Affect is the way feelings or emotions — invoked by stimuli one does not control — ma-nipulate the mind and subsequently the body. Everything else, while colorful, is overcomplicating what should really be a scientific study.
The original work done on affect by Baruch Spinoza in his book “Ethics” was done in 1677. And while at the time phi-losophy may have been the most useful means of exploring the idea, the inven-tion of psychological study should have removed the concept from philosophical inquiry, placing it solely in the hands of researchers capable of studying what Spi-noza could only ponder.
My argument is not to discredit the idea of affect, but to encourage philoso-phers to think more about what science cannot yet explain and to use reason and inquiry to try to do so. Philosophy should respectfully back away from or ponder new ways to apply areas such as affect which seem perfectly within our capabili-ties to uncover scientifically.
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Seeing patients four days a week and teaching medical students and residents may seem like enough to keep anyone busy, but not for Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Jennifer Caudle.
Caudle, 37, of Davenport Iowa, is a board-certified Family Medicine physician at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine. She works as an Assistant Professor in the Family Medicine department at RowanSOM and also appears on local and national outlets such as CNN, The Dr. Oz Show, CBS Philly, Fox and others.
Sometimes she starts her day at 6 a.m. with a television appearance before spending the rest of her day with patients.
“Every day is sometimes a blur, it’s a jug-gling act,” Caudle said.
Caudle thinks of medicine as a team sport — that doctors should work together for the good of patients. She uses her TV appear-ances to bolster that mentality and as a plat-form to share messages. She has appeared on the Dr. Oz show six times since 2012, where she talked about topics such as reducing stress, fibromyalgia and re-categorizing chronic fatigue syndrome
“Joining me today is Dr. Jennifer Caudle who is at the forefront of treating patients with fibromyalgia,” Dr. Oz said on his July 23, 2013 broadcast.
“When I went through medical school for most of my practice, we didn’t think fibromy-algia even existed.”
According to Caudle, it was her involve-
ment in pageants that helped her become comfortable making television appearances. In 1999, she competed and won the Miss Iowa competition at 20 before going on to compete in Miss America. She only competed in a total of four pageants over four years to earn scholarships to pay for school.
“That’s probably where a lot of this came from,” Caudle said. “Being Miss Iowa and a state representative I had to travel and I had to speak and meet new people.” “You’re in different environments — I did TV work and stuff like that so I was at least exposed to it then.”
Few people can say their doctor compet-ed in Miss America, but Caudle said she was grateful because the skills from her winding background, such as familiarity with broad-cast, came into play as time went on.
“The windy roads are not only the most interesting, but serve you the best,” Caudle said. “Sometimes you really don’t know what’s going to happen and how things are going to work out. But at the end of it you look back and say, ‘Gosh, that was really great that I had the opportunity to do a little bit of this and a little bit of that.’”
Before she was a professor at Rowan-SOM, she was a student there herself, and received her medical degree and trained as a resident when it was still the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
Her fascination with family medicine stems from the intimate tie between physical and emotional health. In order to do her job well, Caudle has to get to know her patients on a personal level, what she considers the best part about what she does. From seeing
babies being born, people getting married and later becoming grandparents, she truly gets to know families.
“I think that when you know someone in-side and out like that you can really help them the best,” Caudle said. “Someone’s blood pressure is not just their blood pressure. If they’re having a rough day and they’re com-ing in to me and their blood pressure is up, that matters. I have to think about the whole picture. And that’s how we have to treat pa-tients. They’re people, not just a chart.”
As a physician, she’s allowed to know things that sometimes spouses or chil-dren don’t know, a closeness she values.
She knows when people get engaged or get a new dog, but also when they lose a job or grieve.
“The biggest gift is being able to commu-nicate with people — that’s an honor, it really is — to talk with people about their health,” she said. “And being a physician — there’s nothing better than getting to participate in someone’s life in a very intimate way.”
For comments/questions about this story email [email protected] or tweet
@thewhitfeatures.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
7
Features EditorEthan [email protected] FEATURES
Dr. Jennifer Caudle has made multiple appearances on the Dr. Oz show to spread awareness on medical problems. - Photo courtesy of Jennifer Caudle
Erica AveryManaging Editor
Kyle SullenderColumnist
From the TV screen to the office, Dr. Jennifer Caudle gives new meaning to family medicine
Focusing the field of affect theory
Philosophical Musings
