Autotelic - Flow

 Autotèlic

"Origin

The word "autotelic" derives from the Greek αὐτοτελής (autotelēs), formed from αὐτός (autos, "self") and τέλος (telos, "end" or "goal").

The Oxford English Dictionary cites the word's earliest use in 1901 (Baldwin, Dictionary of Philosophy and Psychology, I 96/1), and also cites a 1932 use by T. S. Eliot .^[2]

Use

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes people who are internally driven, and who as such may exhibit a sense of purpose and curiosity, as autotelic.^[3] This is different from being externally driven, in which case things such as comfort, money, power, or fame are the motivating force. Csikszentmihalyi wrote that an autotelic person doesn’t need things like wealth, fame, power, or entertainment because they experience flow in all areas of life. They don’t depend on external rewards. They are fully involved in living life. They are also more independent and less vulnerable to manipulation.^[4]

A. Bartlett Giamatti characterizes sports, such as baseball, as autotelic activities: "that is, their goal is the full exercise of themselves, for their own sake".^[5]

Yvor Winters quotes from Eliot's aesthetic theory including autotelic, and criticizes:

Art, then, is about itself, but this information does not help me to answer my questions, for I do not understand it. What, for example, would Pope or Dante have understood if this statement had been made to them regarding the poems which I have just mentioned? Or what can we understand with regard to these poems? About all we can deduce from such a passage is that the artist does not really know what he is doing; a doctrine which we shall find suggested and elucidated elsewhere, and which leads directly to the plainest kind of determinism.^[6]"  Wikipèdia

 

Flow

"Flow in positive psychology, also known colloquially as being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting transformation in one's sense of time.^[1] Flow is the melting together of action and consciousness; the state of finding a balance between a skill and how challenging that task is. It requires a high level of concentration. Flow is used as a coping skill for stress and anxiety when productively pursuing a form of leisure that matches one's skill set.^[2]

Named by the psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in 1970, the concept has been widely referred to across a variety of fields (and is particularly well recognized in occupational therapy).^{[3][need quotation to verify]}

The flow state shares many characteristics with hyperfocus.^[4] However, hyperfocus is not always described in a positive light. Some examples include spending "too much" time playing video games or becoming pleasurably absorbed by one aspect of an assignment or task to the detriment of the overall assignment. In some cases, hyperfocus can "capture" a person, perhaps causing them to appear unfocused or to start several projects, but complete few. Hyperfocus is often mentioned "in the context of autism, schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – conditions that have consequences on attentional abilities."^[4]

Flow is an individual experience and the idea behind flow originated from the sports-psychology theory about an Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning. The individuality of the concept of flow suggests that each person has their subjective area of flow, where they would function best given the situation. One is most likely to experience flow at moderate levels of psychological arousal, as one is unlikely to be overwhelmed, but not understimulated to the point of boredom.^[5]

Etymology

Flow is so named because, during Csíkszentmihályi's 1975 interviews, several people described their "flow" experiences using the metaphor of a water current carrying them along: "'It was like floating,' 'I was carried on by the flow.'"^{[6][failed verification][7]}

History

Mihaly Csikszentmihályi and others began researching flow after Csikszentmihályi became fascinated by artists who would essentially get lost in their work.^[8] Artists, especially painters, got so immersed in their work that they would disregard their need for food, water and even sleep. The theory of flow came about when Csikszentmihályi tried to understand the phenomenon experienced by these artists. Flow research became prevalent in the 1980s and 1990s, with Csikszentmihályi and his colleagues in Italy still at the forefront. Researchers grew interested in optimal experiences and emphasizing positive experiences, especially in places such as schools and the business world.^[9] They also began studying the theory of flow at this time.^[10]

The cognitive science of flow has been studied under the rubric of effortless attention.^[11]" Wikipedia