[coberst]

Common sense won’t ‘cut the mustard’

More than three hundred years ago Isaac Newton introduced a theory of mechanics that fit beautifully within our common sense intuition and understanding. Newton’s mechanics, the theory of force acting upon objects, uses such common sense parameters as velocity, mass, force, distance, acceleration, and momentum. The student of physics could “feel” the correctness of Isaac’s formulas.

Quantum mechanics was another problem completely. The physicists seeking to intuit and understand the inner world of the atom were faced with trying to understand something that was beyond the world of human intuition. The inner world of the atom was a world incongruent with common sense.

Early in the twentieth century Freud discovered the psychic unconscious; the inner world of human reality that was somewhat like the inner world of the atom in that it was not easily understood by common sense intuition. Freud’s theory of repression represents itself as a means for comprehending this psychic phenomenon.

The Freudian theory of repression was a revolutionary idea originally discovered in the attempt to comprehend human nature as it develops within civilized society. Civilization demands that the individual repress many natural urges. “In the new Freudian perspective, the essence of society is repression of the individual, and the essence of the individual is repression of himself.”

Feud made this breakthrough discovery of human unconsciousness as a result of his attempt to understand and possibly relieve certain “mad” symptoms of the mentally deranged. Freud found meaningfulness within the psychopathology of everyday life, including slips of the tongue, errors, dreams, and random thoughts.

“Meaningfulness means expression of a purpose or an intention.” The expressions contained in dreams were Freud’s principal means for discovering the presence of the unconscious. These dream expressions uncovered an existence that drove Freud “to embrace the paradox that there are in the human being purposes of which he knows nothing, involuntary purposes, or, in more technical Freudian language, “unconscious” ideas.”

The dynamic conflict between the unconscious and the conscious, i.e. neurosis, is not easily recognized as such by the untutored self.

SGCS (Second Generation Cognitive Science) has recently discovered the importance of the cognitive unconsciousness. Utilizing new brain scanning technology and computer modeling, cognitive science has, in the last three to four decades, introduced us to a new concept; “the unconscious cognitive mind”. This new theory of cognition has made us conscious of the fact that most of our conscious life is dictated by our unconscious cognitive processes. Conservatively speaking 95% of cognitive thought is unconscious.

Comprehension of even the most basic human tendencies is no longer available to the common sense intuition. To grasp the essential elements of living successfully within a high tech society we must find ways to supplement our meager formal education that seems to prepare us only for a life of production and consumption; without the necessary understanding needed to be satisfied and successful in that new world where common sense is no longer sufficient for comprehending the vicissitudes of living.

Have you checked on your unconscious life lately? How does one check on their unconscious life?

[kevincarter]

Nice, you know that Freud didn't cure a single patient, don't you?

I mean to say that all this "Freud said so" should be revised as well...

[Plantagenet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('coberst', ' ')To grasp the essential elements of living successfully within a high tech society we must find ways to supplement our meager formal education that seems to prepare us only for a life of production and consumption

[coberst]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('kevincarter', 'N')ice, you know that Freud didn't cure a single patient, don't you?

I mean to say that all this "Freud said so" should be revised as well...

[coberst]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('coberst', ' ')To grasp the essential elements of living successfully within a high tech society we must find ways to supplement our meager formal education that seems to prepare us only for a life of production and consumption

[basil_hayden]

If you're wondering whether I can look at a person and determine that they are, or are not:

trustworthy/lying
good/bad
preoccupied/listening intently

....wonder no more. I can. And so can everyone else.

It's just a function of the ability to accept another's lying, bad, preoccupied ways to achieve my goal.

At least golem uses pretty swastika pictures....sheesh

[coberst]

One of the reasons we need to learn something about psychology, i.e. about our unconscious, is because the first five years of an infant's life determines to a great extent what the personality of that individual will be for their entire life.

Only when we begin to comprehend our self can we begin to solve many of our problems that if left to fester may well destroy our civilization. We have developed a strong technology, which if left without proper understanding may well destroy our civilization.

We can no longer afford the luxury of just intellectually coasting through life. We either become part of the solution or we remain part of the problem. We must become self-actualizing self-learners when our school daze are over.

[jasonraymondson]

Why would you need to cut mustard? It normally spread on quite nice. Did you let your mustard stay out overnight?

[PenultimateManStanding]

A joke written in The Interpretation Of Dreams: A Jewish matchmaker is hired by a man to find for him a wife. The matchmaker finds a suitable girl from a nearby village but neglects to tell his client that the girl's father is in prison. Instead he tells him that the girl's father is dead. So the couple are married but one day the client discovers the truth. He confronts the matchmaker saying, "you told me that her father was dead, instead I find that he is alive and in prison." The matchmaker says, "You call that living?" This sort of clever evasion and readings from literature are partly what led Freud to his theories about dream censorship. The book on dreams is very impressive. Whatever you may think of the theories, it is certainly interesting reading.

[threadbear]

Freud's metaphor for the mind was based around steam engines of the industrial age. He is unique in that he was one of the first to encourage people to think about what they were feeling and thinking. Up until then, that kind of thinking would have been considered wildly self indulgent.

Imbeciles in the psychiatric community followed his ideas as if they were gospel truth for far too long and then switched to Skinnerian behaviourism and drugs. They are all wildly off the mark.

[PenultimateManStanding]

I read an article in Time magazine a year or two ago which told of a revival of interest in Freud's theories among neuro-scientists who study the human brain. It seems that some of their data and results support the notion of the unconscious mind. That in itself was a pretty seminal and radical idea to propose at the time. But I'm interested in your notion, threadbear, that Freud's ideas were influenced by steam engines. I've thought that 20th century popular music was fundamentally impacted by the changing rhythm of the internal combustion engine.

[hornofhubris]

I have always thought that the mustard is not cut as much
as it flows around impediments in it's path. I suppose it
could be cut, with vinegar or water perhaps, to make it
thinner and runny. But that would be bad mustard, and
not worth considering anyway. Really, what I am trying
to say is that in our analysis of the mustard it is changed
and then even when we try, we are dealing with a mustard
that has been contaminated by our observations and our
biases. Therefore I think the mustard, seeing us as
flawed and hopelessly locked in our finite minds,
toys with us and plants these metaphors, and goes
willingly into our digestive systems, simply because it
hopes to burn our ass as soon as it gets a chance.
I do not wish to cut the mustard, and yet I know it is
out to get me and it makes me anxious and afraid.

This is it for me on this thread, I am going off to
find happier things.

[threadbear]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'I') read an article in Time magazine a year or two ago which told of a revival of interest in Freud's theories among neuro-scientists who study the human brain. It seems that some of their data and results support the notion of the unconscious mind. That in itself was a pretty seminal and radical idea to propose at the time. But I'm interested in your notion, threadbear, that Freud's ideas were influenced by steam engines. I've thought that 20th century popular music was fundamentally impacted by the changing rhythm of the internal combustion engine.

[jasonraymondson]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hornofhubris', 'I') have always thought that the mustard is not cut as much
as it flows around impediments in it's path. I suppose it
could be cut, with vinegar or water perhaps, to make it
thinner and runny. But that would be bad mustard, and
not worth considering anyway. Really, what I am trying
to say is that in our analysis of the mustard it is changed
and then even when we try, we are dealing with a mustard
that has been contaminated by our observations and our
biases. Therefore I think the mustard, seeing us as
flawed and hopelessly locked in our finite minds,
toys with us and plants these metaphors, and goes
willingly into our digestive systems, simply because it
hopes to burn our ass as soon as it gets a chance.
I do not wish to cut the mustard, and yet I know it is
out to get me and it makes me anxious and afraid.

This is it for me on this thread, I am going off to
find happier things.

[yeahbut]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('threadbear', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'I') read an article in Time magazine a year or two ago which told of a revival of interest in Freud's theories among neuro-scientists who study the human brain. It seems that some of their data and results support the notion of the unconscious mind. That in itself was a pretty seminal and radical idea to propose at the time. But I'm interested in your notion, threadbear, that Freud's ideas were influenced by steam engines. I've thought that 20th century popular music was fundamentally impacted by the changing rhythm of the internal combustion engine.

[coberst]

Generally college or university time is spent becoming a specialist at some domain of knowledge that will facilitate getting a good job. Little effort is expended in becoming knowledgeable in other domains of knowledge besides a specialty. In college we learn more and more about less and less.

We must recognize that after our schooling is over we must begin to learn those things that are necessary for becoming good and happy citizens of a democracy.

Abraham Maslow defined a hierarchy of needs to be:
1) Biological and Physiological (water, food, shelter, air, sex, etc.)
2) Safety (security, law and order, stability, etc.)
3) Belonging and love (family, affection, community, etc.)
4) Esteem (self-esteem, independence, prestige, achievement, etc.)
5) Self-Actualization (self-fulfillment, personal growth, realizing personal potential, etc.)

Our schooling has prepared us to get a good job so that we can satisfy the first need but it has not taught us many other things related to fulfilling the other four needs. Our schools have taught us what to think but not how to think.