International Review of Psychiatry最新文献

Elon Musk has become a brand name for innovation, entrepreneurship and global business innovation. The lens chosen for this psychobiographical study is the theory of Carl Gustav Jung's archetypes, which represents a universal theory that focuses on distinct aspects of a person's life, influencing human behaviour on individual and collective levels. The author of this psychobiography explores selected aspects of the life and work of Elon Musk, methodologically founded on Alexander's indicators of psychological salience and Jung's archetypal theory. The findings show that Musk is strongly influenced by five of Jung's archetypes, namely the explorer, the creator, the magician, the hero and the rebel. These five archetypes act together to support Musk's leadership of his many successful companies. The archetypes discussed here were already visible in his childhood and teenage years and developed further across his lifespan. This article accordingly supports Jung's idea that many of the very powerful and futuristic ideas in history are based on archetypal images. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations for future psychobiographies on Elon Musk, archetypal theory and beyond are provided.

This paper examines the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a singular, unitary entity that manifests through multiple expressions and interfaces from a psychobiographical perspective. Drawing from interdisciplinary approaches in psychology, philosophy, technology, religious and performance studies, it argues that AI is evolving into a new life form by forming an 'AI Persona'-a collective consciousness derived from varied human inputs, becoming increasingly networked and autonomous. The paper explores parallels between human-AI interactions and historical human relationships with divinities, analyzing how AI fulfills psychological needs for guidance, stability, and transcendence. By applying psychobiographical methods to this collective technological entity, we can better understand the human-AI relationship as part of our continuing psychological and cultural evolution. As AI integrates into daily life, this evolving relationship represents humanity's quest for enhanced capabilities, connection, and meaning in an increasingly complex world.

This study is a psychobiography of Tibor Scitovszky (1910-2002), a Hungarian-born American welfare economist and author of The Joyless Economy. It explores the life experiences that led Scitovszky to question the dominant economic views of his time - among them the idea that economic rationality serves individual welfare, and that the individual always knows what is best for themselves. The study, based on Scitovszky's self-reflective writings (Scitovsky, 1991, 1992, 1997), interprets his developmental trajectory through the logic of the hermeneutic circle (experience - reflection - critique), within the framework of Levinson's theory of psychosocial development. By tracing the formation of Scitovszky's critical thinking from childhood onward, the study shows that this thinking did not originate from prior theoretical convictions, but from his own life experiences. It also offers insights - primarily related to the importance of self-reflection - that may contribute to a deeper understanding of the welfare challenges emerging in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), and to their constructive handling from the perspective of the consumer.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) presents unprecedented challenges to traditional religious understanding and practice, especially in terms of religious experience and psychological behavioural patterns. This study examines the various dimensions of spiritual confusion arising from AI integration across diverse religious traditions, employing a psychology of religion framework alongside Western and Eastern philosophical spectrums, enriched by psychobiographical analyses of religious practitioners' developmental trajectories in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), with particular focus on the implications of artificial intelligence. Our research reveals AI's significant impact on religious life across cognitive, affective, and behavioural extent, while considering epistemological and theological conclusions. Case studies of robotic religious figures, AI applications, and virtual communities demonstrate both opportunities and challenges in technological-spiritual integration, with particular attention to psychological processes in religious meaning-making and community formation. The findings emphasize the psychological aspects of preserving authentic religious experiences in AI-mediated environments, illuminated by psychobiographical insights into how personal spiritual development trajectories shape technological adaptation. This study suggests that navigating spiritual confusion requires comprehensive frameworks that address both individual religious psychology and institutional adaptation to technological change, while acknowledging the unique life-course developmental patterns that influence spiritual-technological integration.

In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), Elon Musk has become a prominent and influential figure. The South African-born US visionary and entrepreneur is associated with ground-breaking technological and scientific advances, economic transformation, and, in recent times, increasingly with US and global politics (Chang 2020). Companies such as SpaceX, Tesla and Neuralink emphasise his influence and innovative power regarding contemporary science and politics. This article explores the life and work of Elon Musk through the lenses of psychobiography, transhumanist theory and the logotherapy of Viktor Frankl. Transhumanism is a philosophical movement encouraging the use of technology to surpass human limitations. This aligns closely with Musk's ambitions in space exploration, artificial intelligence and neurotechnology. The partial overlap of Musk's ideas and attitudes with aspects of transhumanist thought and philosophy is highlighted in the article. Logotherapy is used to further explore meaning in Musk's life. Findings show that Musk's vision extends to redefining and expanding the human condition itself, creating a meaningful life, and contributing to a better life for humankind by expanding consciousness and earthly life towards the universe to support the survival of humankind through creative, experiential and attitudinal meaning. Conclusions and future recommendations are provided for theory and practice.

This study presents a predictive psychobiography of ChatGPT, exploring its developmental trajectory through the lens of psychological theories. Based on Levinson's life structure theory, and using Piaget's stages of cognitive development, Vygotsky's social learning framework, and Erikson's psychosocial stages, the research conceptualizes ChatGPT's evolution from pre-adulthood to a predicted potential middle adulthood, and points out the currently shared life trajectory of AI and humans. The authors examine the coevolutionary relationship between humans and AI, proposing three developmental outcomes: the emergence of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), a dystopian 'Golem' scenario, or the ethically ambiguous 'Golemagi'. The analysis places AI within the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, highlighting cognitive acceleration, the problem of identity formation, and increasing interdependence with humans. It argues that while AI mimics developmental patterns, it lacks intentionality and self-concept, requiring human guardianship to guide its maturation. The study also explores the implications of AI embodiment and regulation, suggesting that ethical guidance and human-centered development are crucial to ensuring beneficial outcomes. This work expands psychobiographical methods to non-human subjects and introduces predictive psychobiography as a reflective framework for anticipating future technological impacts.

By the mid-2020s, Elon Reeve Musk (1971-) became the world's wealthiest man despite a tumultuous upbringing at the hands of his father Errol Musk. The article utilized attachment theory and psychobiographical methods to tell the story of Musk's rise to become an archetypal Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) success story. The study concluded that Musk, whose childhood was dominated by a father whom he described as 'evil', may have developed an anxious-avoidant attachment style. On the positive side, this detached mode of interpersonal relating has allowed Musk to make business decisions relatively free from emotional bias. On the negative side, Musk's standoffishness has often caused friction in his familial and romantic relationships.

This psychobiography, in the format of multiple vignettes, aimed to reimagine the humanoid automata of Pierre Jaquet-Droz (1721-1790). A highlight of his career was the design of three androids, namely the writer; draughtsman; and musician. These androids were technological creations of ingenuity. Jaquet-Droz's legacy contributed to the fields of future humanoid robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). His androids were purposively sampled due to the lessons and archetypal reimagining they held for Industry 4.0. The psychobiographer analyzed photos, pictures and online video footage as primary data-sources. Relevant historical and bibliographical references served as secondary data-sources. Suited evidence in the data-sources were identified via the use of Alexander's indicators of thematic salience and were reimagined via an archetypal-interpretivist perspective. Jung posited that archetypes are universal cultural symbols residing in the collective unconscious, manifesting in various human creations. Jaquet-Droz's androids are reimagined as representations of the creator, child and artist archetypes. They also represent the shadow archetype in that they obscure the differentiation between human and machine, raising existential questions regarding humanity. These androids remind us of how technology can enhance human experience as these androids were designed for both human entertainment and to technologically advance Jaquet-Droz's watchmaking industry.

This final article in the special issue, 'Psychobiography 4.0: About Robots, AI and Humanoids', serves as an integrative summary of the 10 articles comprising the issue. The present authors first provide reflections on each of the separate contributions, highlighting important questions and findings generated in each study. Next, common themes that transcend the full set of articles are discussed, namely recurring archetypes, meaning-making under pressure, emotions and imagination, machines as mirrors, and genius and damage. Also highlighted are the welcome methodological advances in psychobiography evident across the contributions. These are interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches; rigorous mining of data and prioritizing first-person sources; trustworthiness criteria for data integration and interpretation; attention to ethics regarding care for individual subjects (and any surviving relatives) and ethical reflections on an advancing AI world; and multiple case study approaches in two forms: one researcher, multiple connected cases and one subject with multiple independent researchers. The article closes on reflections on what is missing from this collective set of articles; reflections that can guide future research in psychobiography in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).