Hello Philosophy Society!

Discussion 1: Self-Help

The self-help industry does not have the best reputation for being a sound scientific field. Many books and writers use unverified anecdotal evidence, pseudoscience or language that is filled with logical fallacies. This is not to say that the idea of ‘self-help’ or all of the books within the domain are doomed.

Self-help really is about wisdom. It is the most wise thing for you to learn to help yourself. The negative connotation with the phrase self-help does not grasp entirely what is within the concept it is identifying. Taking an active role in your psychological development and growth as an independent, autonomous person is the essence of what self-help is. The literature on this topic usually gives people some philosophical or psychological conceptual tools that they can use to better their wellbeing or mental health.

Some examples of this are The Secret, which is based on the law of attraction. The law of attraction basically states that ‘if you think it, it will come.’ There is some truth to this attitude: we can engage in a positive self-fulfilling prophecy, where we have a belief that is untrue, we behave differently based on that belief, then the behaviour itself makes the initial belief come true. However, this attitude can easily fall prey to wishful thinking: we engage in a magical form of thinking that is ultimately delusional. We persist in a belief without reason or evidence to support it.

There is something to be said about emulating a certain kind of self within our being and bringing about complementary results. This has to do with our self-efficacy, our ability to be confident in completing tasks, our capacity to have hope, that we will be successful in our efforts, and optimism, that the results of our efforts will be positive. When we enter situations with these positive attitudes, we will sway our results into a positive direction via something like a self-fulfilling prophecy. We may not have a false belief to begin with, but have confidence that if we continue to put forth effort, are open to feedback from others and our environment, take that feedback and adjust our efforts to produce the results we seek, we will achieve greater success.

In a previous newsletter, I outlined logical, physical, and technological possibility. Some goals may be logically or physically impossible. Here, understanding limitations through an understanding of the cosmos and reason, we can avoid pursuing incoherent goals. If a goal is possible, you need only grow to the point where it is actual. Skills will need to be learned, social networks established, and empirical testing conducted until success has been achieved.

Feeling good is one of the legitimate books that has been based on science which teaches the reader how to manage healthy emotions through the regulation of cognitive distortions and automatic thoughts. There are many other books that help one develop themselves that are legitimate like the Power of Habit, the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, etc. There are also many books that can lead people into questionable areas so it is important to determine the legitimacy of the book and not discount all books in the category.

Discussion 2: Attraction and Habits

As we age, one of the most important decisions we make is who our partner is. Who we determine our life partner to be has serious investment implications for us and a cost of opportunity with other potential partners. A sound way to make this decision is to first develop healthy habits in ourselves like reading to expand our expertise, meditating, and exercising. When we find balance in our lives with these habits, we open ourselves up to attracting others into our lives who share similar habits. Our lifestyles will coincide with each other and we can live with a sense of harmony with each other.

This process fundamentally begins with you and you are able to screen out unhealthy people based on their lifestyle habits and if they take you away from your own developed balance. It is fundamental that you retain your sense of balance in your life by not compromising your habits. The relationship we have with ourselves comes first before we can have a relationship with others. One must learn to love themselves before they can accept or love another.

Discussion 3: Objection Handling

One of our members works in Executive Sales and likes to practice their social skills by making random people laugh. There is meaning in bringing laughter and joy to people we come into contact with on the street. When making an effort to gain client attention, learning how to avoid a ‘no’ response is essential. Building rapport and an emotional bond is important. The other person has their own stress and agenda that is on their mind. A random salesman is most likely the last thing they want to spend effort on.

The first way we can avoid being dismissed is through providing some value to the person on the other end of the phone or table. This is where the practice in making people laugh comes in handy. We can provide emotional value to others by bringing them joy, using empathy so that we imagine what it is like to be them and giving them a sense that they are understood, and developing a feeling of camaraderie by being in a situation together.

When you establish a relationship with someone else, it is not that you will not hear ‘no,’ but now you can have the time to understand the situation the other person is in. This way you can determine if whatever value you have to offer is of any relevance to the other person at all. If you can present your value to the other, i.e., something service or product, in such a way that it is contextualized with the person’s situation, that contextualization is what will lead you to a Yes!.

The only way to make some time with this other person is to provide some initial value to them. Because of the natural limitations on your relationship with them, you only can provide some emotional or social value. This is the beginning of proactive agreement, which is the opposite to objection handling. We want to avoid objections and the process of handling it entirely.

Discussion 4: Across the Fire

In our evolutionary history, we spent many nights being across the fire from each other. The way that the flames light our faces in the sea of darkness gives us a keen sense of the emotional states of those across from us. We learned to deal with conflict and come to resolutions in these circumstances for there was significant danger if we veered off alone or allowed a vindictive person a flanking advantage on our group by going into the darkness.

When we stand across from each other, it is a challenge to come to some sense of cooperation and develop empathy via mirror neurons with the person we are facing. Our group interactions and mating/ courtship processes are also subject to the same situation. We can learn to work with people from this context and develop a sense of understanding of ‘where we are at,’ with each other. If there was a conflict thousands of years ago, and every member of the tribe was necessary for the survival of the tribe, these moments would necessarily need a means of resolution so that everyone could carry on the next day.

Discussion 5: Writing

Writing is essentially the last stage of a series of actions in a process. First, we must think about something and develop a sense of clarity with whatever we are conceiving to be able to swiftly and clearly write it down. If we have not taken the time to think about something, we will be forced to do this process at the writing stage. It is best to come to a clear understanding about the topic and almost ‘write it in your head first’ before you write it on your computer or paper.

One of the best ways to clarify one’s thoughts is to talk about them with others. When we have discussions with others about a topic, it gives us the opportunity to develop our understanding of those ideas. Others can identify gaps in our thinking or criticisms so that we can further develop the idea before we write about it. Once you have exhausted the topic in your mind, via your self-talk, it will be easy to translate those thoughts into language external from your mind.

The cosmos is an ordered universe and humans represent that order in language. Books are analogous to spells in a dungeons and dragons mythical universe. We compress the workings of nature into text. That text, we can use to understand parts of nature we have no experience with then quickly produce results we seek from that nature. From an external perspective, observing a human go from ignorance, to possessing some book, then being able to successfully manipulate the nature around them is ‘magical.’

Discussion 6: Emotions

When we are dealing with how we feel or the feelings of others, it is important to understand the nature of the emotion. One question we can ask is, “What is the object of the emotion?” We want to know what the causal mechanism or catalyst of the emotional response is. In some cases, it may be that our perception or thoughts of an event or person’s actions is the cause. In other cases, our emotions may be a response to something in our relationship with someone or something we have experienced.

If someone is being aggressive, we can investigate ‘What the cause of the emotion?’ is for them. In the moment of emotional outburst, it is not the time for 20 questions. Their limbic system is activated and we must respond with emotional receptivity. We can slowly help them express their frustration by slipping in socratic questions in the moments where they have taken a break. We can ask questions to clarify the meaning of what is upsetting them to help them express their feelings from their prefrontal cortex in an intellectual, more controlled way.

If we respond to aggression with aggression, by antagonizing the other, being dismissive, or any other range of antisocial behaviour, we will not produce any further understanding of the other person and how they feel. If anything we will be part of the problem and not the solution. If the other person is upset, we have the unique position to make an effort to understand and hopefully help with the situation. Not taking things personal and being reactive is important.

If we are in an aggressive situation, we can use ‘Time Out,’ as a means to prevent ourselves from responding in an aggressive manner. This may mean simply saying “I have to go” and hang up the phone. Hanging up the phone, as disrespectful as it may be, is a recognition of our limitations and prevents us from becoming aggressive ourselves. If we respond with an emotional outburst, everyone will see that and we lose respect for whoever is present for the situation: we did not manage it any better than the person who became aggressive initially.

In Feeling Good, Burns provides the Disarming technique when responding to criticism. First we empathize with the other person, then agree in principle, then negotiate. So, “I see how this feels from your perspective. I understand how if you believe that this happened it would make anyone feel this way. Is it true that this is what actually occurred?”

If it is the case that you are the cause of the other person’s upsetness through your actions or words, it is important to understand what it is that you have done. We are all responsible to each other in society but only to the limit of what is in our control. If something is completely out of one’s control or they simply didn’t do whatever is in question, then they are not responsible for it.

We can think of the person inside our head as the thing in control; our executive function, self- talk or what has been referred to as the homunculus. The Homunculus is used in psychology as a representation of a human sensory and motor cortex to scale our nerve endings. The more nerves for one area of the brain/body the larger that body part would be. In the end, the mapping of nerves makes us look like this:

The Homunculus Sensory Representation.

(https://www.mediastorehouse.com/mary-evans-prints-online/popular-themes/human-body/sensory-homunculus-8587971.html)

The term is used in the context of the Cartesian Theatre, where there is someone inside your head viewing all of your experiences. The problem with the homunculus idea, taken literally, of how we view the world, where there is a little you inside your head that talks and views your experiences is that it would be an infinite regress. There would need to be another smaller viewer in the head of the small person in your head and on and on.

Cartesian Theater Argument

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartesian_theater)

Another depiction of this idea is in the movie Men in Black (1997), there was an alien who was inside of the head of a robot-looking human.

Men In Black

(https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/550846598142738691/)

When it comes to control, there needs to be something that we are actually in control over for us to be responsible. Using the Men in Black image above, our homunculus would need some lever that they can move to be responsible. Whether it is our emotions, thoughts, actions, or behaviour, there must be some lever that we can move for us to claim responsibility.

Discussion 7: Boundaries

If someone identifies that whatever they are upset about is within our control, it is up to us to learn how to control that part of ourselves if we are to respect the boundaries of this other person. We can use the Socratic Deconstruction Method to break down which parts of our selves are good or need to be modified.

We can perceive someone’s actions as being one way but their intentions were another. This is why communicating in a reasonable and respectful way is so important: we can understand the actions and intentions of each other. Assuming that we know how other people think or what they intend is difficult if not impossible in most circumstances. People do lie but most often people simply do not know the effect of their behaviour or actions on others. As soon as we bring this effect to their attention, if it is something that falls within their control, it is up to them to make an effort to change.

When we create boundaries for ourselves, we are creating a space for our self to exist. We are articulating to others that this is what we are comfortable with. The recognition and acknowledgment of our boundaries to ourselves and others is a process of self-respect. If the other person respects you for who you are and not what they project onto you, they will respect your boundaries. If they want you in their life as your own person and not what they need from you, they will give you that space to be who you are. If an other does not respect your boundaries, it is up to you to take space from that individual so that you have the space you need for yourself to be yourself.

Your boundaries define who and what you are. If an other does not respect your boundaries, they do not respect you nor accept you for who you are. It is up to you to find people in your life that do.

Academic Reflections: Police Wisdom and Power

In Táíwò’s 2020 article, Power Over the Police, they argue that the current police-prison

system needs to be radically changed to eliminate the abuse of power seen within the policing

system. The profit and dominion organization of the police and prison system leads to social

harms that are embedded within the prison-industrial complex and economic system itself. In

the U.S., policing systems are used to increase elite control by filling prisons with inmates for

profit ends in mind that is supported by both forms of government, republican and democrat.

(pg. 2)

The solution cannot come from a top down approach because the elites that organize

the system has an incentive to perpetuate it. “Elite Capture” is when the laws, regulations and those writing and evaluating these policies are all influenced by political and corporate interests.

This means that elections cannot be relied upon for a balance of power free of corruption

because the influence of elite capture can determine how individuals in positions of power make

decisions. (pg. 2) Therefore, the abuse of power in politics that affects the conduct and

management of the police must be changed from the bottom up: by the communities that are

impacted by the negative effects of the design of the system.

The thesis of community control over police means that each community is broken into

districts that have self-determining power over their own public order. A plebiscite voting would

take place to determine the status of the current policing structure including to abolish,

restructure, downsize or reconstruct it. (pg. 2) To avoid the issue of limited participatory civilian

control boards, all boards would be determined by sortition, randomized sample from the

population, instead of election because of the problems identified above in elite capture. (pg. 2) The boards would manage the police via hiring, firing, enforcement priorities, harm response,

etc. and rotate members of the board. (pg. 2-3)

This method of organization by sortition would have the voting power to disregard a militant approach put forward by city council in their annual budget. The goal is to solve the problem of racial profiling, violence and unjust imprisonment of black, indigenous or other groups who have been unjustly harmed by the policing system. (pg. 3) The main attribute of the community control method over the existing method is that the community holds control and not the police or governing system. This is supposed to ensure that corruption and abuse of power against certain groups, like the black community, do not occur. The community is given the

power to allocate budget resources and determine the agenda of policing policies. (pg. 3)

Flipping power from a top-down approach to a bottom-up approach may seem like the

ultimate solution to police brutality, corruption and abuses of power in general. But there are

serious problems with this approach. Last year, January 6th 2021, Trump, the Proud Boys,

Qanon, Mike Landel: The My Pillow Guy and others rose up against the democratic transition of

power during the infamous cue insurrection. This community of individuals took it upon

themselves to arm each other with heavy weapons and rally against their own government

because of misguided values and misinformation about the election results.

A community of randomly selected individuals does not necessarily mean that those

individuals will have the constitution or human rights of all people in mind when making

decisions. If a community is heavily populated with people who are racist, are part of conspiracy

theorist groups, involved in human trafficking or drug cartel-like behaviour, any random sample

of those people will be heavily biased towards the unethical values of the members.

The fallacy of ad populum states that something is not true simply because the majority

thinks it to be so. If it is the case that a community is populated with people who have

questionable beliefs, practices or values, a random sortition from that group will not give a

higher change of ethical behaviour or prevent corruption of power at a policing enforcement

Level.

The January 6th insurrection was an example of a community of people who rose up

against the police who were protecting the senate during the transition of power for the

presidency in the United States in 2021. Simply taking a random sample from a community will

not necessarily protect a community from abuses of power. Gathering a sample of the most popular opinion also will not protect a community from abuses of power. The current system,

flawed from elite capture, where legislators are influenced by economic gains and other political

agendas in policy making is also a problem.

In the republic, Plato identifies the problem of corruption in a city. Plato discusses how

the guardians of the city are the ones who have balance or justice within their soul: temperance,

wisdom and courage. The guardian, who is supposed to guard the city from corruption has a

problem, who guards the guardian from becoming corrupt themselves? This is where the Philosopher King comes to the solution.

The best guardian is a philosopher, one who understands why laws are in place and how to implement those laws in practice. Plato states,

Being a brute force, as we have seen in the existence of the police brutality problem, is not the solution. Guardians, police, need wisdom. Wisdom is what the study of philosophy gives. Those who have power also need wisdom on how to use it. One of the greatest quotes from the comic book series, Spider-Man, identifies this. After Uncle Ben dies, a caption states,

Allocating power in one is a problem. Lord Acton said in a letter,

This is the current problem of the police-prison abuse of power. Dissolving power into communities leaves the public and that community exposed to the variability in communities potential for mob mentality as seen in the insurrection.

What is needed is for those who have power to be trained in its use. Not the mechanics

of racial profiling, using or not using chokeholds, or firing a gun. How to use power is best said

by Aristotle’s discussion of anger in the Nicomachean Ethics,

Having power is easy but to use power towards the right person, to the right degree, time and purpose in the right way is not easy. Teaching this to the legislators will solve the problem of

elite capture and the police, will solve the issue of brutality.

References

Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg. (April 5th, 1887) [Letter to Archbishop Mandell Creighton.] https://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/165acton.html

Aristotle. ‘Nicomachean Ethics.’ Ed. Crisp, Roger. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, 2000.

Lee, Stan (w), Ditko, Steve (I), Yanchus, Andy ©, et. al., “Amazing Fantasy.” #15 (1987), Marvel Comics.

Plato (Author), Lee, Desmond (Translator), Lane, Melissa (Introduction), The Republic, Second Edition with new Introduction (London; Penguin Classics, 2007)

Táíwò, Olúfẹ́mi O., (2020, June 12) Power Over the Police. Dissent. https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/power-over-the-police

9.11.22 PSN 2(31) - Self-Help, Attraction and Habits, Objection Handling, Across the Fire, Writing, Emotions, Boundaries, Police Wisdom and Power

© Achilles Atlas Justice and achillesjustice.com, 2018-22. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Achilles Atlas Justice and achillesjustice.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.