[From Rick Marken (980409.0810)]
Me:
Does this mean that your answer to Bill Powers' (980408.0915 MST)
question to you:Bruce, do you feel that any description is as good as any
other description? Is that what we're really talking about
here, a sort of equal-rights-among- theories principle?is "yes"?
Bruce Gregory (980409.0411 EDT) --
No, it means what it says. Beating people over the head with one's
own version of the truth has rarely proved to be an effective way
to get them to see the light.
So you say "no, I am not talking about an equal-rights-among-
theories principle". But you say that we are beating people over
the head with "our own version of the truth". This seems a little
confusing to me. What do you suggest that I do when, for example,
you suggest that it is appropriate to describe control system
behavior as "whatever you attend to calls you forth"? When you say
this it sounds to me like you are saying something about control
system operation that is about as wrong as it can be. How do I
explain what seems wrong about this statement in a way that would
not constitute "beating you over the head with our version of the
truth"? I honestly would like to know how to handle this -- other
than by saying "yes, that's an excellent description of control
system behavior".
···
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Related Rumination
On the way to work this morning I had a thought that I would like
to share with everyone who posts to CSGNet. If you _frequently_
find yourself saying things like "You just don't understand what I
am saying" or "You only see your version of truth" or "That's just
your view of PCT" etc. to those of us who are trying to teach PCT
then perhaps you should consider the possibility that you really
don't _want_ to learn PCT.
There's certainly nothing _wrong_ with not wanting to learn PCT. I
do think it would make life on CSGNet more civil if people were
more honest (with themselves) about their intentions. If you want to
defend an existing belief system rather than learn PCT that's fine;
stay on CSGNet and defend away. Just try to become aware of your
intentions -- the ideas you are controlling for. If you can do
this, then you might be able to stop blaming the PCT teachers for
disagreeing with some of your suggestions; indeed, you might expect
(and respect) such disagreement (and so would we).
Right now many people seem to think that the PCT teachers should
agree with whatever they say simply because they are fans of PCT.
It must hurt terribly when, as a fan, your enthusiastic contributions
to PCT are corrected by the teacher. I think the only way to fix
the problem to try to become a _student_ of PCT rather than an
_adherent_.
Best
Rick
--
Richard S. Marken Phone or Fax: 310 474-0313
Life Learning Associates e-mail: rmarken@earthlink.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~rmarken