[From Rick Marken (920822.1000)]
Why do I feel like Peter being patiently corrected (as usual)
by Jesus? I spew a little sarcastic spleen and my mentor gently
points out that I am tilting at categories -- just like the
targets of my tilt.
But my little tilt might have served a purpose, viz., re-starting a
dialog on (and, possibly, some exporation of) those "higher levels"
of control that we all know and love.
Bill Powers (920822.0800) says:
One would think that this principle
would lead to great tolerance of others and the realization that a
belief is, after all, only a belief, not knowledge. Apparently,
however, it leads in the opposite direction. The assumption is often
that the way I was raised is the right way, and everyone else is
misguided, perverted, ignorant, or evil.
Excellent point. Why, indeed, might this be the case -- from a PCT
perspective? How might one be able to help a person see this --
before he or she dispatchs you to allah, ships you to a concentration
camp, fires you from your job or votes for people who will push
laws that keep you out of the community?
Politics is fertile ground for a control theorist. What's needed is a
study in depth of many individuals who call themselves by some party
label. What are they controlling for? What principles do they uphold,
and what methods do these principles justify? What kinds of errors do
they perceive in various social situations, and how do they see their
proposed actions as correcting those errors? What do they think of as
the good life? As being a good person? How do they think people work,
with respect to rewards and punishments, self-interest, social
interest, and so on?
Maybe we could get a volunteer "republican" from the audience?
I don't call myself by any party label but I would be willing
to by analyzed as a member of the PCT party -- indeed, I think
there are what would be called "politcal" implications of PCT;
maybe that's what I'm trying to get us to discuss -- the socio-
political implications of the PCT model of human nature.
Once the real reasons for failure of our social systems
were brought out, perhaps the way to a better solution to our problems
would become more apparent. It isn't that social problems are so
difficult. It's that our approach to them is confused and self-
defeating.
Yes, the solution to our social problems are simple -- just like
the solution to our personal problems (internal conflicts). It's
just a slight change in the rate of firing of a reference neuron
or two. But, as people who are in conflict know (at least, symtom-
atically), that little change is very difficult to make when you
try to change it at the level of the conflict itself; control
systems are VERY tenacious.
Best regards
Rick
ยทยทยท
**************************************************************
Richard S. Marken USMail: 10459 Holman Ave
The Aerospace Corporation Los Angeles, CA 90024
E-mail: marken@aero.org
(310) 336-6214 (day)
(310) 474-0313 (evening)