Hello Philosophy Society!
Discussion 1: Family Boundaries
Our first discussion was about the nature of our relationship to our family. In an ideal world, the family unit is a source of love and support. We have instincts that bond us to our caregivers. It is from them that we expect a certain degree of love and affection because of the kinds of nurturing social environments that promoted our ancestors' survival. This bond can leave some people open to certain kinds of suffering due to neglect and abuse.
Culturally and socially, it is expected that we maintain a relationship with our family no matter what the context or circumstances. This absolute condition on the relationship is not conducive to our wellbeing or mental health if members of our family cause harm through abuse or neglect. If we do not learn to develop boundaries with these individuals, like seeking the aid of a clinical psychologist in the relationship, we can leave ourselves open to prolonged suffering. This suffering is ingrained in our DNA in the form of an instinct to expect a context of nurturing love and support from, for example, our parents.
It is up to us as adults to learn to develop boundaries with our family if they are not acting in a loving and nurturing way. Each individual will have to gauge the degree of boundary based on the kinds of behaviours that occur, the degree of distress or harm that is caused by the presence of the other person, the other person's capacity to learn and accept responsibility for their actions and behaviour and our current priorities like investing in our own children rather than a person who’s psychological disposition will never change.
If it is the case that we must ‘cut ties’ with specific individuals in our family, it is not that we cannot receive the kind of love that a father, mother or sibling ought to offer us. We live in a society and if one cannot get the loving, nurturing attention they require for their growth and wellbeing from their immediate family, we can expand our search outward from our little hut to the tribe in general. You live in a world with many people and lots of them will love you. It is up to you to find those people who want the best for you and see you in the perspective you need for your growth. This does not mean enabling us or ‘telling us what we want to hear,’ but offering the truth and constructive criticism/ feedback that is in line with the growth trajectory we are already on.
Growth is a necessary process of human development. It is a form of change. Growth change is a different kind of coercing someone into being someone they are not. Loving someone and wanting them to stop drinking so much alcohol is wanting that person to improve their wellbeing. This is different from demanding that a painter give up what they love to study accounting.
Every person has an identity that is composed of where they have come from and where they are going in terms of psychological development. We can deviate from our growth as people due to pressures of the economy or social expectations. This is not the path. To be a true adult who is functioning within the society is to first find your place within yourself: who are you? Then find a place in the larger social group as that person: What is my role? This is your challenge in the world, to become who you truly are, finding your purpose, then making a path for that purpose in the herd of society. If you can do that, you will have established a sense of meaning in your life that is not dependent on others approval.
The people we associate with dramatically affect our emotional state and what we believe about ourselves and the world. The voice in your head is composed of the people who speak to you. If the words another directs towards you are not in line with your purpose, negatively affect your self esteem, or are not supportive and loving of you as a person, it will depreciate your wellbeing. For your own psychological self-defense you are required to prune the people in your life even if they are your ‘family.’
The old saying goes, ‘you can choose your friends, but you cannot choose your family.’ Do not let anyone be abusive or neglectful to you. Become a stronger person who can meet their needs inspenendely and find the best others in this vast world who can meet the needs required from external selves. Happiness is a state. Eudaimonia is a way of being.
Philosophy Academy: Feeling Good
Today we overviewed chapter 1 of feeling good. We read through the chapter together, selecting the most important parts and discussing them. Next week we will look at chapter 2. Notable sections: (These quotes are being used for educational purposes and yield no monetary gains)
Introduction: (Covered in the previous week)
Xvii - …A cognition is a thought or perception… your cognitions are the way you are thinking about things at any moment, including this very moment. These thoughts scroll automatically and often have a huge impact on how you feel.
Xviii - …powerful principle…your feelings result from the messages you give yourself.
- Epictetus, stated that people are disturbed “not by things, but by the views we take of them.”
Xix - …you can learn to change the way you think about things, and you can also change your basic values and beliefs…when you do, you will often experience profound and lasting changes in your mood, outlook, and productivity.
Xxviii - … researchers contacted the patients three years after reading Feeling Good and administered the depression tests once again…the patients did not relapse but maintained their gains during this three year period…scores …were actually better…at the three year evaluation
Chapter 1 (Covered this week)
10 - Cognitive therapy is a fast-acting technology of mood modification that you can learn to apply on your own…help you eliminate the symptoms and experience personal growth so you can minimize future upsets and cope with depression more effectively in the future.
12 - …first principle of cognitive therapy …all your moods are created by your “cognitions,” or thoughts. A cognition refers to the way you look at things - your perceptions, mental attitudes, and beliefs. It includes the way you interpret things - what you say about something or someone to yourself. You feel the way you do right now because of the thoughts you are thinking at this moment.
- …The moment you have a certain thought and believe it, you will experience an immediate emotional response. Your thought actually creates the emotion.
- …second principle …when you are feeling depressed, your thoughts are dominated by a pervasive negativity. You perceive not only yourself, but the entire world in dark gloomy terms.
13 - ….third principle …the negative thoughts which cause your emotional turmoil nearly always contain gross distortions…appear valid, you will learn that they are irrational or just plain wrong, and that twisted thinking is a major cause of your suffering.
- …You can deal with your moods more effectively if you master methods that will help you pinpoint and eliminate the mental distortions which cause you to feel upset. As you begin to think more objectively, you will begin to feel better.
Burns, David. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. Harper Publishing. New York, 1999.
Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Mass Market Paperback – Dec 30 2008
Discussion 2: Arrogant Entrepreneurs
In our capitalist society, arrogance can be protected under the cover of entrepreneurship. A person who is a successful cog in the money making machine can avoid personal development and growth. Narcissistic arrogance is not good for business for certain biases in organizations like the CEO disease or the Mum effect, where people do not report accurate information to supervisors in fear of reprisal or being punished prevents leaders from making accurate decisions based on sound evidence.
Money is not reality. It is a representation of success within our economy but does not equate to psychological maturity or development nor does it correlate with living a good life. A certain amount of income is necessary for survival but beyond that one can be stuck in a hedonic treadmill where they are running faster and faster, making efforts to earn more, but having less and less time to enjoy the fruits of their labour.
Consulting entrepreneurs can be quite challenging because the very same psychological limitations that have put a cap on their business can also be the main reason why they will be resistant to any sound advice or reasoning. For example, basing judgments on their personal experience alone because it has been the only thing which has led them to success. This personal experience is also the same thing which leads them to failure or preventing them from flourishing as a business.
Experience is important to test out our theories. The scientific method has been developed as a bias mitigation method because our human condition does not see reality in itself, but only the appearance of it through the human perspective. We developed a method to not be limited by our biases so that we can come closer to the truth of what is.
In the context of business, the goal is about making money. The means of making money is also important which determines the type or kind of business one has. Just because one has found success in a specific way does not mean there isn't a better way to do it. Through the use of reason and evidence based practice we can determine what the best way is and continually refine that method.
Appeal to authority only goes so far. It is really an appeal to the market, clients, customer satisfaction and the quality of the product or service. If your perspective is correct in its assessment of the factors that produce sales, it is not your ‘authority’ that was the causal factor of success, it was the factors in your judgment.
Arrogance is when we cannot accept that we have made mistakes. It is important for business, the economy and our society to accept our mistakes so that we can all benefit from the results of the business we all value. Only through awareness of the contingent factors that create success and not the coercive power of entrepreneurial ego can our society grow economically.
Discussion 3: Potential
It is important, especially in our younger years, to practice to our limit without causing harm to ourselves. To cap one’s training and effort means that they would be losing years of practice that is necessary to fully grow as a person, hence reaching their potential. This is a form of exercise and necessary for our growth as people.
It is important to push oneself to their full capacity then rest. This same principle is used in physical exercise. Going beyond our capacity, like not sleeping or lifting too much weight, can lead to self-harm. It is important to learn the balance of exercising ourselves in our skill development and identity formulation.
An example would be a painter not attempting a challenging piece because it will not be perfect. This trial is the practice necessary to reach the performance level desired. ‘Perfection’ does not exist in reality. It is an unreachable ideal that can prevent us from the training required to develop our skill towards mastery.
Discussion 4: Optimism and Hope
Being optimistic is having a positive attitude towards the outcomes of our efforts. Being hopeful is a positive motivational state based on goals and means to achieve those goals. It is important to be realistic about the challenges that we face but use the facets of hope and optimism to assist us in getting to our goals.
What's the Difference Between Optimism and Hope? | Psychology Today Canada
Whatsapp Chat
WaC 1: Causes of Autism
Rajib: Some of the countries are becoming babyless..we need more babies and intelligent babies. So we gotta study and find why kids are becoming autistic..prevention is better than cure
Achilles: Isn't there a genetic predisposition for autism?
Rajib: We know that there's no one cause of autism. Research suggests that autism develops from a combination of genetic and nongenetic, or environmental, influences. These influences appear to increase the risk that a child will develop autism.
Reggie: What we know statistically though is that autism rates per 1000 are higher in less developed countries. Further, the rise in autism rates might simply be due to changes in diagnoses.
Dimitri: autism rates have increased alongside with the use of vegetable oil in our diets as well as increased vaccinations. I know it's controversial to say but I saw a study report that compared them side by side I'll try and find it. it's only in North America, so the diet is key
Reggie: Is it though?
Also, when looking at North American stats, we should be drilling down to the states level, because that is where we'd notice certain trends
If this is true, does that mean that Northeastern US consumes more vegetable oil per capita? Or Florida for that matter? Why is Texas so low at 1.5%? Similarly, those Middle Eastern countries listed above, should we say they are consuming too much vegetable oil? Further, of the North Americans studied, what were their ethnicities? More generally, how do we factor in immigrants in such medical studies, especially when certain countries in Europe and Asia are more homogeneous? When comparing countries
Dimitri: Is Vegetable Oil Bad for You? The Science Behind the Worst Food in Human History
Rajib: Autism makes me great at my job, but horrible at interviews | CBC News
Reggie:
The study is clear there is no proof. And this study only applies to soybean oil, not other vegetables oils.
Dimitri: there's no proof why autism has been on the increase, but it's a theory I had read into a lot in the past but unfortunately don't have the access to my sources. there was a graph with the correlation between autism and the increased use of seed oils, processed foods, GMOs, pesticides.
vegetables don't produce oil, it's only for marketing. vegetable oil is seed oil, it was once used for industrial machine lubricant, was never intended to be consumed.
My mothers friend has a son who was healthy and well up to the age of three, after receiving a vaccine (I will ask which one) he developed autism shorty after. I'm not saying it's the cause, just expressing my theory. I'm sorry if I come off strong i don't mean to be disrespectful in any way.
Zachary: are you guys being fr? increased rates of autism is almost certainly due to better reporting and destigmatization. not vaccines and definitely not vegetable oil of all things c’mon. yeah that’s because that’s when symptoms of autism start to show. how can they even show up before the age of three. fuck is a 1 year old supposed to hyperfixate on, the left tit?
Reggie: No worries, we're all just having a conversation 🙂. My point though was just that we should be more willing to challenge these studies and articles, as context does matter and the media is not consistent in how facts are reported
It's similar to how ADHD/ADD rates started to increase during the 90s. That's not to say though that nutrition doesn't play a role. It's just that poor eating would have all types of health impacts, not just on autism.
Zachary: I dunno man, if it had an environmental cause we should be seeing it develop at all stages of life, but adult-onset ADHD/autism is unheard of. Adult diagnoses happen but but the symptoms have always been kicking around for years.
Reggie: This is my view as well. The more you look, the more you'll find. But that said, to what extent do other factors during pregnancy might increase the risk? Obviously nicotine and alcohol affect the fetus. But what about other things that may be less harmful, but still harmful nonetheless? Like, what if a pregnant woman used soybean oil exclusively when cooking?
Achilles:
Some suspected risk factors for ASD include:
having an immediate family member who’s autistic
certain genetic mutations
fragile X syndrome and other genetic disorders
being born to older parents
low birth weight
metabolic imbalances
exposure to heavy metals and environmental toxins
a maternal history of viral infections
fetal exposure to the medications valproic acid or thalidomide (Thalomid)
Everything You Need to Know About Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
This is the place for us to learn about our beliefs. Through discussion we are better able to make sure we are correct in our views by reasoning with each other. There is nothing wrong with having an incorrect belief. But there is a problem for those who cannot let go of a belief if shown incorrect.
Let us be open to all beliefs but to also be critical of them. We as agents have autonomy and volition. This means we are in control, not the content of any belief, including this statement. Through compassion, empathy and understanding can we help each other through the process of belief refinement.
Together we are stronger, not because we simply agree, but because we help each other make sense of things. This is philosophy, to make sense of what is.
WaC 2: Mental Health Causes
Rajib:
Social action is the medicine that relieves people’s personal and collective distress.
Achilles: Very good article, "The most effective therapy would be transforming the oppressive aspects of society causing our pain." Thank you for sharing.
Reggie: Lots of post-Marxist/post-modernist assumptions made here, re. the social drivers of mental illness. We know that mental illness is caused by both environmental and genetic factors.
Damn those capitalist pigs!!
Achilles: Two major issues addressed were universal basic income and shelter. Even if those issues were solved, many other factors exist which cause mental illness.
Defining mental illness is important. It's not just socio -cultural factors. Schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are helped by giving those people a place to sleep and food but not the underlying issue their mind faces or PTSD that is not cured from shelter or income.
The philosophy society is here to facilitate what we can in helping mental health and well being by supporting each other with critical thinking and skills relative to the treatment of issues like feedback, discussion, the Philosophy of CBT, mindfulness etc. These things can help a person figure out the problems they are faced in society.
But if their brain prevents them, then only through caretaking can they be helped. If they neurologically or physically cannot help themselves, then only we as a society can do it for them
Reggie: Moreover, research suggests that people with substance use disorders also have high rates of co-occurring mental illness. As such, we might want to focus on the root causes of drug addiction or alcoholism, because there are probably similarities to the causes of mental illness. In other words, the relationship between mental illness and substance abuse is likely spurious.
Achilles: Agreed.
There are many factors that cause substance abuse and mental illness. Some of them overlap, like living with parents who suffer from alcoholism can contribute to alcoholism in the child when they grow older or depression. Certain environmental conditions will create a predisposition towards problems, how those problems manifest is not a necessary condition. A person could very well become stronger despite poor upbringing and be a leader for those who are suffering. There are many different kinds of mental illness. Self awareness and control are the most important cognitive factors amongst that which can go wrong in the mind.
If we can reflect, going back to Socrates, then implement behavioural control, then we can navigate ourselves to greater wellbeing and out of mental illness. In situations like mania where lithium is prescribed, the person may not have control or in extreme depression where suicide is on the persons mind, they may need alternative interventions to compensate for lack of control.
I believe that with certain training, mindfulness and meditation, critical thinking, discussion mechanics and feedback, we can develop cognitive faculties to give us the awareness and control for wellbeing and to help with some types of mental illness. Psychosis is pretty resistant or narcissism may need re socialization.
Someone may have low social support and align with people normalizing substance use to the point of overdose. If they had better social support with healthy values, then they wouldn't have learned that opiates, for example, are something to use. Here sociocultural factors play a big role in establishing the bad drug as a positive value.
Not all illegal substances are bad, for weed was illegal until recently. Psychedelics have shown serious benefits for many mental health issues like depression, ptsd, anxiety, alcohol dependence, nicotine dependence, etc.
Reggie: It depends, I think. Empirically, most people benefit from some sort of therapy, but not all. And the benefit is limited. Logically, if you're talking to someone in their 50s, it might take years for them to deal with issues from decades past. Emotionally, it's very difficult to reconcile facts with feelings.
Crisis helplines are actually more focused on empathy than critical thinking. You are taught not to give advice, but rather, to be a good listener.
Despite all of this, religious belief is still quite effective, even if just in the background.
Consider Alcoholics Anonymous, for example. How many references to God are there in the 12 Steps? And yet...
Alcoholics Anonymous most effective path to alcohol abstinence | News Center | Stanford Medicine
Now of course, the study cites social interaction and support as the main driver. Okay, let's go with that. Imagine if we removed all references to God from the 12 Steps. What do you lose? The anchor of purpose. In short, my point is simply that the best form of therapy really depends on how someone is 'wired' -- based on genetics, upbringing, experience, trauma, etc
Similar to Hoffman's theory in fitness payoffs, to what extent does it matter if someone is objectively true? If religion helps someone pull themselves out of the gutter so they can go back home and take care of their spouse and children, perhaps being delusional is a good thing
Being empathic towards your fellow human being is probably the most powerful form of social support we can all provide, especially when done collectively. Once that is established, it gives the individual a certain courage to take the next step. Whether that empathy and support comes from friends, church, sports teams, or philosophy groups 🙂
Achilles: I understand.
The 12 steps most effective element is the buddy system, where when someone feels the inclination to drink they call a sober friend from the group to talk about why they want to drink. This rerouting of the substance use to a socially constructive means of dealing with problems is very effective.
It is important to be empirical alongside being empathetic. We want methods that actually work beyond the placebo effect and social biases. The book I am going over with the group, feeling good, teaches cognitive behavioural therapy. Identifying cognitive distortions is very much like critical thinking, but that the distortions are geared towards emotions and motivation whereas general fallacies are logical issues.
The grounds of critical thinking can help people suffering from depression especially when coupled with the philosophy of CBT. An independent study on the book found that 70% of people who read it significantly reduced their depression without any medications. That's the kind of empirical data we want with social support and empathy. Other sound practices are mindfulness meditation and exercise
Zachary: Huge fan hard agree.
Hell if you go to any therapist the first things they’re gonna tell you is ways to change your environment. Mental illness is such a weird problem to even have in a society, if you think about it. Imagine reading a book where certain people were considered “bad brains” or “bad thinkers” for the way they perceive or interact with the world. Already sounds like trite YA fiction, but it’s the way we’re living today.
I really do think that most mental illnesses come from the simple fact that society isn’t designed for people, it’s designed for graphs and theories and representations. We’ve confused the means for the end, and higher rates of mental illness emerge (mostly) from schisms between legitimate ways of being and the complete failure of society to integrate these ways properly
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