Edmund O’Toole

B.A, NUI,Galway
M.A. (mode A)[ = M.Litt.], NUI,Galway

Contact:
ed_otooleyahoo.com

Biography:

Ed initially came to Galway as a mature student in 1997 and received his B.A and M.A. from N.U.I.G. His M.A. was research based. The thesis was entitled “An inquiry into the postmodern self through schizophrenia and imagination”. It was an attempt to question the philosophical implications and clinical description of schizophrenia. Also at issue was an examination of the extent to which culture has been influenced by psychosis.

Current Research:

Ed is now studying for a PhD. The working title of my PhD thesis is “Psychopathy and the dark side of humanity”. Most of us will be confronted with the effects of a psychopathic individual at some point in or lives. It will probably not be on the destructive scale that many have encountered under the despotism of psychopathic leaders, nevertheless it probably won’t be a pleasant experience. Yet people are fascinated by psychopaths, their effects on society has not only been as a source of extreme fear but also one in which many have indulged in as a representation of dark entertainment, some are even venerated by legions of fans. They appeal to the dark side of humanity as an extreme form of individualism. However singularly and institutionally psychopathy is characteristically viewed as exploitative and destructive. Psychopathy threatens intersubjectivity and is parasitic upon structures of power. It is not consigned to history or criminality. Many philosophers could even be accused of promoting a philosophy of psychopathy.

Ed believes that much of what is considered normal can be elucidated by considering the excesses and deficits commonly attributed to the margins of the human condition. As such the main focus of my research tends to focus on psychiatry and culture and their influences upon one another.

Presentations

Ed O’Toole (2007): “Empathy & Socialization: Present in Our Friends, Absent in Our Enemies.” Queen’s University Belfast, Friends & Foes Conference, November 2007.

Ed O’Toole (2007): “Should some things go unreported in a war?” University of Manchester, War & Our World Conference, July 2007.

Ed O’Toole (2007): “Men are Psychotic, Women are Neurotic: Gender Distinctions & Mental Illness.”  Manchester Metropolitian University, Men & Madness Conference, June 2007.

Ed O’Toole (2007): “Men are Psychotic, Women are Neurotic: Gender Distinctions & Mental Illness.” Presentation at the Graduate Research Seminar, N.U.I.G. March 2007.

Ed O’Toole (2006):"Existentialism & Evolutionary Psychology."   Presentation to The Philosophy Society, N.U.I.G.  Nov 2006

Ed O’Toole (2006): "Madness and the Dream of the Cogito", at The Philosophy of Mind, Meeting of the Irish Philosophical Society, March 2006

Ed O’Toole (2006): "Madness and the Dream of the Cogito", at Postgraduate Philosophy Conference, University College Cork, March 2006

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