by Chris Billowsin Mental Mischief0 commentstags: Comprehensive Analysis, Human Condition
I was talking with a colleague who is a trained psychologist about different views concerning the human condition. The two views we contrasted were Abaraham Maslow and Victor Frankl, both Jewish, both European, and both having similar philosophies about human purpose, yet really having fundamentally different conclusions about what drives that purpose. Abaraham Maslow believed that humans are only ready to act upon their growth needs if and only if the deficiency needs are met. Once met, the person then moves onto the next stage of need to be met. The theory has eight stages where we progressively move from physical, bodily needs to more metaphysical and spiritual needs. There were 8 stages: 1 ) Physiological: hunger, thirst, bodily comforts, etc.; 2 ) Safety/security: out of danger; 3 ) Belonginess and Love: affiliate with others, be accepted; and 4 ) Esteem: to achieve, be competent, gain approval and recognition. 5 ) Cognitive: to know, to understand, and exlore; 6 ) Aesthetic: symmetry, order, and beauty; 7 ) Self-actualization: to find self-fulfillment and realize one’s potential; and 8 ) Self-transcendence: to connect to something beyond the ego or to help others find self-fulfillment and realize their potential. Courtesy of https://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/regsys/maslow.html The […]
by Chris Billowsin Mental Mischief0 commentstags: Comprehensive Analysis, Defining Life, Human Condition, Religion, Self Determination
I have been musing the importance about Jerry Pournelle’s political matrix and believe that his one index concerning the ability to improve on human nature is probably one of the most critical questions that divides people. Think about it. Everything we do or stand for is related to one’s understanding of what makes ourselves and others human. How we define what a human being is is how we define our morals, ethics, economics, and politics. I think there is a simple continuum that can be teased out from Pournelle’s political matrix. It would be: 1) Human Nature is corrupt. Everyone else is out to make a buck, is dishonest, etc. The person who believes this will also believe they need to act the same to keep up. Some religious and social conservatives would subscribe that there are lots of people who are corrupt and will never change. Scott Adams humors us with his view that all people are idiots in his Dilbert books. 2) Human Nature is corrupt but is improvable. Most religions would be based on this philosophy. It would be the view that we have Original Sin and need to find salvation to correct it. 3) Human Nature […]
by Chris Billowsin Mental Mischief0 commentstags: Human Condition, Human Mystery
Concerning my last blog, a friend of mine commented via email that he thinks there would be a societal benefit if we followed a lunar calendar. Men would be able to better track women’s menstrual cycles and the resulting PMS which would prompt the men to lay low and thus promote domestic harmony. Makes sense to me! 🙂 Still, this blog would not be complete without an educational component. Wikipedia to the rescue! The basis of the western calendar comes from the Romans. The calendar was then modified by Julius Caesar in 46 BCE. And that calendar was further modified by Pope Gregory in 1582 CE. Neither the Romans and Catholics can be considered to be historically sensitive to women which would explain why the calendar reflects a non-lunar, non-feminine cycle. Ironically, ignoring the women in the west has led to men being ritually pearl-harbored every month by the women in their lives. Curse you Julius & Gregory! (shakes virtual fist).
by Chris Billowsin Mental Mischief0 commentstags: Human Condition, Human Mystery
Have you ever noticed how our 12 month calendar has no symmetry or pattern? The 31 day month does not even alternate with non-31 day months to follow a pattern. It really is a mess and should be fixed. If every month was shortened to 28 days, or basically a lunar cycle of four 7-day weeks, we would have room for a 13th month. Days Month Days More that 28 Days 31 Jan 3 more days than 28 28 Feb 0 more days than 28 31 Mar 3 more days than 28 30 Apr 2 more days than 28 31 May 3 more days than 28 30 Jun 2 more days than 28 31 Jul 3 more days than 28 31 Aug 3 more days than 28 30 Sep 2 more days than 28 31 Oct 3 more days than 28 30 Nov 2 more days than 28 31 Dec 3 more days than 28 365 29 days left over if each month was 28 days With 29 days left over, we could create a 13th month of 28 days and then have an extra day that would not belong to any month. Call it nil-day or something. What’s […]
by Chris Billowsin Mental Mischief0 commentstags: Foolishness, Human Condition, Quotations
Because of political correctness and democratic absolutism, we are afflicted with a ridiculous conviction that because somebody has experienced something, they somehow are fully qualified to be an expert. This is particularly rampant in the Social Work and self-help industries. The theory goes that the best therapy is administered by somebody who has suffered the same disease, problem, etc. It is a lazy assumption that I sum up as “Having Bad Teeth Doesn’t Make You Qualified to be a Dentist”. Would you consider a dentist to be qualified to do his job if he had bad teeth? No? Yet that is exactly what some people advocate when they believe that experiencing life’s difficulties gives them authority. Would a person who is having a mental health problem be qualified to help other sufferers by the virtue of their shared illness? No. There is something more to it. Experiencing something does not mean that it has been correctly understood. What is even more twisted is when the sense of victimization becomes a badge of pride and exclusivity. I remember being told by at least three different women that because of their terrible experience at the hand of male spouses, their suffering made […]
by Chris Billowsin Political Ponderings0 commentstags: Change of Mind, Human Condition, Political Opinion
The Winner of the October 14 Federal Election is… Nobody. The Conservatives received another well-deserved minority government. They definitely did not deserve a majority government. What is more interesting is the losers. The poor Green Party received nearly a million votes, yet did not receive a single seat. Ouch! What is interesting is that they appear to have benefited from the decline of the Liberals. Another loser is the Media. What a bunch of tripe they tried to push on us with their election coverage. What I saw on CBC demonstrated the levels of desperation and hyperbole they were prepared to stoop to in order to create an event out of a non-event. Soon after the polls opened in Alberta, one of the CBC analysts breathlessly reported that a Liberal candidate had pulled ahead. She failed to mention that it was only one poll. I found it more interesting to follow the results via the Internet. The final loser is Democracy with only 59.1% of eligible voters turning out. The lowest rate ever. Why is this? I have some speculative reasons: Canadians no longer care about voting because they hate politics and politicians. Canadians are so comfortable and richly entertained […]
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