Psychology got its start around 1874 in Germany. Psychology gives
temporary answers to our constant inquisitiveness, our thirst for questions,
and insatiable curiosity of why we do what we do.
Religion replaced Greek and Roman mythology and ever so
slowly Science was beginning to replace religion.
The elite wealthy began to view Religion as the poor man’s
education; science, especially psychology,
was for those who were superior; those who could afford the price tag
that came with many years of college education.
But true science is objective investigation (left side of
our brain) and behavioral science relies
on emotion (the right side of our brain). Scientists argue that Psychology
and Behavioral Science is not really a science at all because there are too
many variables. When investigating or studying people, we are all different. We
have the ability to lie, to mislead, or mask our emotions. An atom, a molecule,
a star, can’t manipulate the scientist. A human, however, can.
Most experiments, studies, and theories that the first
psychologists and social scientists created have been widely disproven.
Sigmund Freud, the
first well-known psychologist was from Austria (which later became Germany), announced
with scientific flourish that humans have specific fears: they are afraid of
death, ill health, and long for security, status and safety. That men are
constantly striving to improve (for internal satisfaction as well as to improve
status).
This was nothing new…philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and
Aristotle had made the same discoveries long before but Freud repackaged the message and
stated he had ‘Science’ to back it up. Most psychologists and ‘behavioral’
scientists are repackaging ancient philosophers observations in order to gain status
and influence.
Freud needed to create something
different, he needed something more than a new ‘spin’ on old ideas in order to
gain status and credibility, set himself apart from others. He found that something by using sex. In the late
1800’s – talking about sex was taboo, rebellious. Sex in those days was quite
mysterious compared to sex these days. Freud claimed he had new revelations
about sex. Scintillating, shocking revelations! One theory Freud believed (and
convinced) people of…was that every son wanted to sleep with his mother and
every daughter wanted to sleep with her father.
His sexual ideas have since been proven wrong and at best, untestable,
and have been replaced with new theories.
Freud’s theories were offensively sexist – but he was called an ‘intellectual,’
a doctor: so people naively believed him.
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| Something That Will Change Your Life |
And basically, that is what Freud did. He was a marketer who
appealed to our curious nature and offered us explanations not backed by
mythology, but backed by ‘studies.’
He also appealed to
our desire for Status – you were “in the know” you were “superior” to others if
you rattled off Freud’s studies. If anyone disagreed and questioned Freud’s
creepy obsession with sex and children, the questioner was labeled as ignorant,
or “out of it.” As I’ve tried to point out in previous chapters, we’ve been
conditioned to believe that doctors, indeed, ‘intellectuals’ are much smarter than
average “common” humans.
Freud tried to convince us that ‘common’ people have no understanding of our deepest needs
and we could not trust our most traditional cultural beliefs.
But it wasn’t just Freud. John Watson, the founder of
behaviorism, proclaimed that free will was an illusion and that our behavior,
in the end, was not unlike that of pigeons.
The Psychology scene exploded.
More and more parents
flocked to psychologists in an effort to raise ‘better’ children. The demand created a new breed of psychologist: “Child Psychologists.”
With so many child psychologists, I have to wonder how on
earth did parents ever raise children for thousands of years without the aid of
a behavioral doctor?
With the arrival of child psychologists, many parents no longer
listened to their instincts; they relied on books written by doctors of
psychology or sociology about how to raise their children because… intellectuals
must surely know better than the instincts of a mother or father!
The first child psychologists in the 1900’s advocated being
strict, cold; show no emotion. Then along came Benjamin Spock in 1946 with a book about how to raise babies
(I remember this book being on my mother’s book shelf). He went totally in the
opposite direction and advised parents to allow children to do anything. Using
Spock’s approach, parents began to feed self-indulgence instead of instilling
self-control; homes were becoming child-centered. As parents elevated
children’s “freedom of expression” and natural cravings, children became more
outspoken, defiant and demanding instant gratification. In fact, they came to
view gratification as a right.
At the time these psychologist published their books, they
were praised and lauded and parents eagerly tried their methods. It was the New
Improved Science.
Every few years – a new “scientific” method is discovered –
and the old method (which, don’t forget, had been THE ANSWER) is then tossed to
the side and mocked and the new ‘discovery’ is celebrated.
Parents and people who disagreed with the “New Science” are ridiculed,
labeled old fashioned, stupid, ignorant…after all, what could parents who never
went to school know about raising kids?
And so the cycle continues: Psychologists and doctors, come
out with BRAND NEW SCIENCE on how to raise kids, or get healthier, or cure
disease!
Anything touted by Doctors: advice, books, and
articles…instant credibility. For ages, priests and religion guided people, now
we are being guided by the superior science/medical community. Every week there
is a new book or article with ‘breaking’ new ideas.
Doctors and Scientists are the new priests.
Take these popular “scientifically” proven ideas:
As I write this in the spring of 2015, putting butter in your
coffee is now healthy. When, less than a year ago, we were warned that butter
would cause our arteries to clog.
Years before that, margarine was the new, smart thing to eat
(proven by science!) because it was healthy and better for you. People ‘in the
know’ stopped using butter. Then, years after “smart” people had embraced the
margarine revolution, NEW studies came out and said “Stop the presses!
Chemicals are NOT good for you. Go back to butter!”
But, then butter became a villain yet again as NEW “scientific
studies” show that DAIRY is causing harm to our body.
I may have believed this years ago, but after being told
every few years that something was bad, then it was good, then it was bad
again…I’ve finally realized to listen to my body; not a scientific study that
is funded by a manufacturing corporation or a scientist/doctor ‘discovering’
something ‘new and improved” to
guarantee not only will you elevate your status if you believe him, it
certainly won’t hurt that you’ll be elevating his status also.
Other odd scientific claims: Coffee beans digested whole by
monkeys which are pooped out (yes, you read that correctly, POOPED out), and
sold for ridiculous amount of money at high end kitchen stores because the
beans (experts claim) offer the best nutrients. These beans, called Kopi Luwak, are expensive and cost 359.00 for
16 ounces (at the time of this writing).
We’ll suspend our rational mind, reason, instinct, and logic
– if science, “wellness experts”, doctors,
or celebrities tell us so.
For example fish eggs. Call it caviar and charge ridiculous
amounts of money for it and claim it’s a rich man’s delicacy and it becomes a
superior status symbol.
We don’t TRUST that we
know what is best for us because we’ve been conditioned to believe we are not
as worthy or as smart as those born into wealth who could afford to be educated
while we common people worked in the fields or ‘blue collar’ jobs.
You are not stupid;
you’ve only been conditioned to believe you are.
