I admitingly don't read full papers as much as I could, but (as someone already interested in most the work of Carhart and Friston) I read this one all the way through when it came out. It still echoes in my thoughts now. This is a great summary. I appreciate the p factor push back - I think I needed that!
I wish I'd found your excellent and, importantly, clear summary before I got bogged down and eventually turned off by the knotty writing and surfeit of acronyms and buzz-words in this paper. I would agree that canalization works as a really good metaphor for describing some forms of psychopathology but my concern is that the authors and others will see it as much more than a metaphor and before you know it we will have a new catch-all explanation for all mental disorders...
Thank you as always for the great summary, Awais. The concept of canalisation seems a nice if esoteric explanatory model. But apart from this - and boosting the psychedelic hype - what is the actual or potential clinical application of this? Are we replacing biological, psychological or social explanations of mental illness with complicated mathematical constructs (attractor basins, free energy etc) which are not only near-impossible for most to understand but do not offer the suffering individual any salve? I would be very interested in your thoughts.
Reflections on Canalization and Psychopathology
I admitingly don't read full papers as much as I could, but (as someone already interested in most the work of Carhart and Friston) I read this one all the way through when it came out. It still echoes in my thoughts now. This is a great summary. I appreciate the p factor push back - I think I needed that!
I wish I'd found your excellent and, importantly, clear summary before I got bogged down and eventually turned off by the knotty writing and surfeit of acronyms and buzz-words in this paper. I would agree that canalization works as a really good metaphor for describing some forms of psychopathology but my concern is that the authors and others will see it as much more than a metaphor and before you know it we will have a new catch-all explanation for all mental disorders...
Thank you as always for the great summary, Awais. The concept of canalisation seems a nice if esoteric explanatory model. But apart from this - and boosting the psychedelic hype - what is the actual or potential clinical application of this? Are we replacing biological, psychological or social explanations of mental illness with complicated mathematical constructs (attractor basins, free energy etc) which are not only near-impossible for most to understand but do not offer the suffering individual any salve? I would be very interested in your thoughts.