Thought Experiment ?? FREE WILL

[333]

Peace,

James McConnell writes ...."the day has come when it should be possible to achieve a very rapid and highly effective type of positive brainwashing that would allow us to make dramatic changes in a persons behavior and personality....We should reshape our society so that we would all be trained from birth to do what society wants us to do. "

Personally this type of thinking truly bothers me, sounds all to familiar, still the current belief structure of causality does lend it credence , that is to say the tools of "brainwashing" are omnipotent in our world, for example, the television.
How much objective truth does the television actually spew in comparison to the mindless "programming" that is evident.

Peace

[alma]

Have you heard anything about this "secret" movie that repackaging positive thinking.
--"emotional intelligence", just another name for it.
Boy, am i getting sick of hearing about it from someone i know who is on the kick.
Nothing i haven't heard a thousand times before under different names.
It's being played up as if it were really something, when it is nothing at all but the power of positive thinking.
"Ask, believe, and you will receive." Yeah, sure. love, alma

[333]

Peace,

Sorry can't say I have heard of it. Does it have a title or is that esoteric to your friend. Let me know.

Peace

[alma]

i think it is listed as "emotional intelligence" on the web.

There is a movie talked about on tv now and again called "the secret" and a lot of people are talking about it because they are being told that a lot of people are talking about it.

Even oprah had someone on once talking about how great it is. i didn't hear that program but have heard others trying to sell the idea.

I haven't done it, but i imagine you can look it up on the web, "the secret" i mean, as well as "emotional intelligence".

There are some clips i have seen on the internet. They say something like, "this is something you have been looking for all of your life", etc., but i am not looking for the fulfillment they promise.

Positive thinking has it's place, but this is all wrapped up in new and alluring tissue, but is the same thing.

It's sounds like what the gurus of the 60s called "the knowledge", and a lot of kids were "meditating".

It sounds like christian science.

It sounds like a lot of thing that christ said in a language more simplistic insted of all wrapped up in fancy words.

They're trying to wipe out all you were ever taught by you parents, society, the schools, your government, etc. and letting your intuitive nature come thru. It will lead you to all things you never dreamed of and heal the whole world if only they knew "the secret".

You can buy it here and there if you try, but you'd better hurry because they tell us there is a run on the market, so there must be a run on the market, or there WILL be when they get thru telling us that there is a run on the market.

"Ask, Believe, and You Shall Receive". What is your heart's desire? love, alma

[333]

Peace,

Carpet baggers ,and snake oils, sounds like ;) ;) ;)

i guess i will run right out and find it. :-X

I don't know how much good it will do , considering how well the government and the schools, have educated us. ;) ;)

Peace

[333]

Peace,

Yep just brushed through a few of those sites, its what is philosophically called "emotivism", in brief it is one mans first attempts at brainwashing(self or otherwise), for example,

In defense of the notion that "morality" is subjective, some have gone so far as to claim that that moral utterances are neither true or false. Somethings we say do not have a truth value. Hooray! Bravo! Hiss!. These are exclamations rather then statements. They serve to express emotions rather than make claims. If you were to stand in front of the mirror every morning and exclaim "happy" 50 times, you will be happy, eventually, perhaps, or if a crowd has gathered bearing witness to a "suicide jumper" from a really tall building, they stand there in awe waiting, until someone
yells "jump" , "jump" is neither moral or a moral its a word expressed in emotion, depending on you r perspective.

There a lot more to this , but essentially you're right its self help for the worker bee's , to feel better about their over taxed existence.

Peace

[333]

Peace,


Free will is over simplified by the argument of causality , if every thing has as cause, then there really is no such thing as free will, precisely because each cause has been pre determined by the previous cause "ergo" no choice/ freewill.

Its a logical contradiction for a for something to have and lack a property at the same time.
This creates further contemplation as some religions are based on causality, All that is, or God ,being the first cause.
Which leaves the logical question;
What caused God?

If God does indeed exist, and he/she is the first cause, "the cause of all other causes to follow" that means you and I, then, can not have free will because every event is caused by something, ....

333

[Holly]

My experience of the phrase "emotional intelligence" is only of the different intelligence theories posited by Howard Gardner. He poses the theory that far from being "intelligent" or not, we all have differing types of intelligence. It has been argued using this theory that Einstien and David Beckham could be just as intelligent as each other, only Beckhams intelligence is concentrated in this spacial awareness, whilst Einstiens was concentrated in scientific and mathematical problem solving and logic. EI is the intelligence that allows people to relate to others, to read thier emotional responses and react accordingly (scientific studies show that women tend to be more intelligent in this area than men!)

Just wanted to distance EI from this topic. Hope I have done so.

Peace.

[Rick]

EI is the intelligence that allows people to relate to others, to read thier emotional responses and react accordingly (scientific studies show that women tend to be more intelligent in this area than men!)

huh? I don't get it.

;D

Man, TV, what a wasteland that is (well, except for '24', Fox News, and the History channel).

[333]

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EI)

EI, the theory that there is a separate type of social intelligence (unrelated to traditional abstract intelligence) is a relatively new idea in the popular culture. Daniel Goleman defines EI as 'the ability to monitor one's own and others' emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one's thinking and actions'. This relatively new idea is a departure from the traditional attitude, still prevalent in many school settings, that intelligence can be divided into the verbal and non-verbal (performance) types. In fact, these are the abilities that the traditional school based IQ tests assess.

Actually, psychologists have been uncovering other intelligences for some time now, and grouping them mainly into three clusters: abstract intelligence, concrete intelligence, and social intelligence. Howard Gardner (1983) has proposed a new view of intelligence that hopefully will be incorporated into school curricula, but this type of integration is always very slow. His theory of multiple intelligences, based on biological as well as cultural research, formulates a list of seven intelligences. These include: logical-mathematical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, spatial intelligence, musical intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence and personal intelligence. This last category includes two separate intelligences: (1) interpersonal intelligence (the ability to understand the feelings and intention of others and (2) intrapersonal intelligence (the ability to understand one's own feelings and motivations.

Emotional intelligence, as defined by Daniel Goleman is really another name for the personal intelligences observed by Howard Gardner. Recently, our culture (by way of magazine articles and TV shows) has begun to recognize the importance of possessing, or if possible, developing this type of intelligence, perhaps even more than traditional abstract intelligence, in order to successfully interact with others and cope in today's complex world.

THE WHOLE CHILD/ADOLESCENT PHILOSOPHY

If parents do not have the ability or knowledge to help their children/adolescent acquire and/or learn such important skills, they need to find other sources of acquiring these necessary kinds of knowledge, so important for optimal functioning in this society. Some teachers are beginning to understand the necessity of helping children with these skills, but as yet, few schools have developed the necessary curricula. In addition, the others types of intelligences mentioned above are often possessed by many of our children/adolescents, often those very children who are not necessarily gifted in traditional abstract intelligence. It seems important to us at The Whole Child/Adolescent Center that these children/adolescents should be recognized as intelligent, in their own unique way, and helped to develop their special talents and skills so that they too have the opportunity to be successful in this society. They need to believe (as should their parents and teachers) that these abilities are equally important and as highly regarded as traditional abstract intelligence.

We, at The Whole Child/Adolescent Center, help work with you, your child/adolescent, and your child/adolescent's school to assess and develop your child's skills and abilities and, in so doing, improve their self-esteem and promote a more positive attitude toward their education.

sorry have to go so will edit this later but interesting to sya the least.

333