What you describe here makes therapy sound like Marxist struggle sessions. I was going to say Maoist, but this type of psychological deconstruction is germane to all forms of socialism, as it is necessary to dismantle the critical thinking abilities of humans who are conditioned to live in the artificial social constructs of civilization. The "natural" [aboriginal] human social constructs are much more akin to socialism, but due to hard limits on memory, knowledge, communication, etc. our natural organizing strategies are incompatible with modern civilization. Therefore, the enemies of our society focus on dissolving the cognitive adaptations civilization requires, and reframing everything through an emotional lens, highlighting the the discrepancies between what feels "natural" to our tribal brains and the uncomfortable artifices of our technological [and often alienating] modern societies. This is a very economical method for weakening civilization without military conflict. A prime example is the rioting across Europe, which is a maelstrom of overlapping grievances with no coherent theme. The fact that many of the rioters are foreign is hardly a surprise; but the fact that there are so many disgruntled natives among them should be cause for existential alarm--and rigorous inquiry.
I'm also interested in your opinion on the Amanda Knox case, because I think that's an unusual situation that is widely misunderstood...or else I'm reading it wrong. I recall that Amanda and her Italian boyfriend were captured on a security camera kissing and laughing outside of her home, while the police were inside documenting evidence in the crime scene. This is the behavior of psychopaths, regardless of their involvement in the murder. Here's what I think likely happened: Amanda worked as a hostess at a tourist bar frequented by other Americans, which was owned by an African drug trafficker. Quite likely he was doing a side business with many tourists, and Amanda was a friendly liaison. Her roommate seems to have been killed by an African thug who worked for the trafficker, perhaps because she objected to some things that were going on in the house. Perhaps the roommate threatened to inform the cops, who knows? This sound like a more plausible explanation to me than a weird sexual situation gone awry, which was Amanda's claim. In any case, I'm not convinced Amanda was innocent, even if she was innocent of the murder directly. She became an American poster child for wrongful prosecution because she's pretty and relatable--exactly the reason she claims she was targeted by Italian authorities. I'd bet my last nickel she's a mild psychopath, and her boyfriend was too, judging by the camera evidence and the unusual circumstances around the roommate's murder.
Right now I'm watching a fascinating video about Edward Bernays, if anyone is interested:
If you don't have the time or interest to watch the four-hour Adam Curtis documentary, which was excellent, this half-hour version will suffice. There are a few salient facts in this version which were somehow absent from the documentary. An excellent study of ad psychology and political propaganda.
This makes me think of Dabrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration, which I have only a vague sense of. Have you written about it elsewhere by any chance?
An RCA on humans will ̱show aversion to agency as one of the reasons for flourishing medicine and therapy.
"I want change, but I don't want to change."
Social media has augmented it.
What you describe here makes therapy sound like Marxist struggle sessions. I was going to say Maoist, but this type of psychological deconstruction is germane to all forms of socialism, as it is necessary to dismantle the critical thinking abilities of humans who are conditioned to live in the artificial social constructs of civilization. The "natural" [aboriginal] human social constructs are much more akin to socialism, but due to hard limits on memory, knowledge, communication, etc. our natural organizing strategies are incompatible with modern civilization. Therefore, the enemies of our society focus on dissolving the cognitive adaptations civilization requires, and reframing everything through an emotional lens, highlighting the the discrepancies between what feels "natural" to our tribal brains and the uncomfortable artifices of our technological [and often alienating] modern societies. This is a very economical method for weakening civilization without military conflict. A prime example is the rioting across Europe, which is a maelstrom of overlapping grievances with no coherent theme. The fact that many of the rioters are foreign is hardly a surprise; but the fact that there are so many disgruntled natives among them should be cause for existential alarm--and rigorous inquiry.
I'm also interested in your opinion on the Amanda Knox case, because I think that's an unusual situation that is widely misunderstood...or else I'm reading it wrong. I recall that Amanda and her Italian boyfriend were captured on a security camera kissing and laughing outside of her home, while the police were inside documenting evidence in the crime scene. This is the behavior of psychopaths, regardless of their involvement in the murder. Here's what I think likely happened: Amanda worked as a hostess at a tourist bar frequented by other Americans, which was owned by an African drug trafficker. Quite likely he was doing a side business with many tourists, and Amanda was a friendly liaison. Her roommate seems to have been killed by an African thug who worked for the trafficker, perhaps because she objected to some things that were going on in the house. Perhaps the roommate threatened to inform the cops, who knows? This sound like a more plausible explanation to me than a weird sexual situation gone awry, which was Amanda's claim. In any case, I'm not convinced Amanda was innocent, even if she was innocent of the murder directly. She became an American poster child for wrongful prosecution because she's pretty and relatable--exactly the reason she claims she was targeted by Italian authorities. I'd bet my last nickel she's a mild psychopath, and her boyfriend was too, judging by the camera evidence and the unusual circumstances around the roommate's murder.
Right now I'm watching a fascinating video about Edward Bernays, if anyone is interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KddLzrqX2f0
If you don't have the time or interest to watch the four-hour Adam Curtis documentary, which was excellent, this half-hour version will suffice. There are a few salient facts in this version which were somehow absent from the documentary. An excellent study of ad psychology and political propaganda.
Gabor Mate’s livelihood depends on his “childhood trauma” hypothesis which according to him we all have. My eyeballs rattle.
"Prima di guarire qualcuno, chiedigli se è disposto a rinunciare alle cose che lo hanno fatto ammalare." Ippocrate
This makes me think of Dabrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration, which I have only a vague sense of. Have you written about it elsewhere by any chance?
Thanks for tying these together, the AI interviews are eye opening.