[Avery Andrews 930928.1225]
(Hal Pepinksy 930927)
> My thesis is that PCT presents a model of control which inherently
>provokes violence, and that beside it we have another model to follow,
>in which among other things conflict is deemed desirable. l&p hal
Could you explain why you think this? After my last post, it occured to
me that there might be a problem with the word `control', which often
connotes making people do things that they don't want to do. But
this isn't what PCT is about at all. For us, a core instance of
`control' is something like keeping a car within the traffic lane
while driving: in general, maintaining some feature of the environment
within certain limits. Living systems have to do this in order to
stay alive and reproduce, but people in particular have a great latitude
in what they need to control, and how, in order to maintain the
physical prerequisites for life.
Avery.Andrews@anu.edu.au