Hi Peter,<div><br></div><div>I love your blue wisdom hat. I resonate with your discerned words. I certainly can see my flaws and insufficient explained arguments. If using vigorously my black hat I wouldn't have written a single e-mail to the group. If I would formed a team to think about problems and trying to come out with some solutions I'd certainly want Adam to be there. But for the sake of this particular context here at grouptalk I find Adam's iconoclast attitude particularly unproductive, though it certainly help me sharpening the arguments. Things like separating the whole argument in parts and then pointing the flaws is like breaking a house and saying that none of the parts are useful to make a shelter. Like deconstructionism have shown is very easy to dismantle an argument to a point where meaning is nothing and you can say one thing or another that is all part of the same round circle. Combining a "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">rigorously rational approach" and a moving forward it's a totally different and more demanding thing. For that we need all the hats available...</span></div>
<div><br></div><div>Thanks for Bono's reference Peter.</div><div><br></div><div>Ivo</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Aug 12, 2009 at 2:13 AM, Adam Blatner <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ablatner@verizon.net">ablatner@verizon.net</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<div style="word-wrap:break-word" bgcolor="#ffffff">
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">Hi Peter, thanks for this. Yes, I like de Bono's
six thinking hats very much, and your analysis is good. </font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> There's another bit of group
process. Because of the relative lack of support---a few folks have said online
or back channeled that they agree with my more rigorously rational
approach---which comes across black hat--- but it occurs to me that there's no
need to say anything. If the group chooses to go with Ed's style, that's okay
with me. I can restrain myself. </font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">
Warmly, Adam </font></div>
<blockquote style="border-left:#000000 2px solid;padding-left:5px;padding-right:0px;margin-left:5px;margin-right:0px"><div><div></div><div class="h5">
<div style="font:10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </div>
<div style="font:10pt arial;background:#e4e4e4"><b>From:</b>
<a title="peterhowie@macquariehouse.com.au" href="mailto:peterhowie@macquariehouse.com.au" target="_blank">Peter Howie</a> </div>
<div style="font:10pt arial"><b>To:</b> <a title="list@grouptalkweb.org" href="mailto:list@grouptalkweb.org" target="_blank">grouptalk Listserv</a> </div>
<div style="font:10pt arial"><b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, August 11, 2009 7:32
PM</div>
<div style="font:10pt arial"><b>Subject:</b> Re: sociatry ideas</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><span style="text-transform:none;text-indent:0px;border-collapse:separate;font:16px Calibri;white-space:normal;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0);word-spacing:0px">
<div><span style="font-size:medium">Dear Adam and
others,</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:medium"><br></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:medium">I have been having
fun with Edward de Bono's creativity ideas recently and at different times in
the past. I am not sure how influential he is in the US but in Australia he
has found a ready home. One of his ideas was the idea of the six thinking hats
- google away for any number of articles. It seems to me that some of the
discussion here can be looked at in a few ways. Role theory would be one but
requires more than we have produced here. So the six thinking hats is an
attenuated type of taxonomic role theory (that is defining the roles not by
what is seen and done but buy the purpose of the actions). Given this I kind
of get the sense that Adam you are often taking the black hat approach or
feeling the need for the black hat and this leads you to socratically pick
apart arguments, point our logical flaws in many ways act something between a
lawyer and an academic marking a paper. Whereas others here, such as Ed could
be seen as using red hat thinking where they are passionately presenting their
ideas, wisdom and worries, sort of an enthusiastic Cassandra while Ivo is
working between yellow hat which is a logical and positive approach and a
green hat which is a creative, lateral type approach sort of like a wild and
refined scientist-philosopher. In writing this I am aware that I could be seen
to be using a blue hat approach which relates more to group process. >>From the
blue hat perspective and working from the 6 thinking hats paradigm, I would
recommend that folks respond from the same hat for a while before changing
hats. Try experimenting with unfamiliar hats. I reckon Ed can critique his
ideas as well as anyone and Ivo can see the looseness of his ideas and Adam
can't hide the underlying positivity of his posts.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:medium"><br></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:medium">de Bono conceived
the purpose of the 6 hats as furthering creativity in thinking. Perhaps here
we are trying to use argument to develop relationships which is always a
torturous path. Maybe better to develop relationships and then develop the
arguments?</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:medium"><br></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:medium">Cheers for the
moment</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:medium"><br></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size:medium">Peter</span></div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>
<div>Peter Howie B.Sc, TEP
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>Managing Director</div>
<div>The Moreno Collegium for Human Centred Learning, Research and
Development</div>
<div>0411 873 851</div>
<div><a href="http://www.morenocollegium.com.au" target="_blank">www.morenocollegium.com.au</a></div>
<div><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></span><br></div><br>
<div>
<div>On 12/08/2009, at 8:19 AM, Adam Blatner wrote:</div><br>
<blockquote type="cite"><span style="text-transform:none;text-indent:0px;border-collapse:separate;font:medium Calibri;white-space:normal;letter-spacing:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0);word-spacing:0px">
<div bgcolor="#ffffff">
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">Dear Ivo, sorry, I find your effort at being
specific to be a weaving of more abstract ideals. For example regarding
your example: Specifically what would you imagine anyone doing regarding the
financial crisis? Is there any even rationally proposed evidence that
identifies one step in this that is unequivocally affected by anything
psychodramatic, sociometric, etc.--- (Of course we can say, oh, if only
politicians were more deeply concerned about the plight of the
people...)</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> We must remember, though,
that many people in this catastrophe were greedy and childishly
gullible---both those who sold the mortgages and those who bought them. Who
are the innocent victims and what specifically (oh I am so sorry for harping
on this nasty word) do you suggest to remedy the problem? Should those who
were foolish and greedy be allowed so suffer the consequences of their
folly? If not, what else would you propose?</font></div>
<blockquote style="border-left:rgb(0,0,0) 2px solid;padding-left:5px;padding-right:0px;margin-left:5px;margin-right:0px">
<div style="font:10pt arial">----- Original Message -----</div>
<div style="background-color:rgb(228,228,228);font:10pt arial"><b>From:</b><span> </span><a title="ibanaco@gmail.com" href="mailto:ibanaco@gmail.com" target="_blank">Ivo Banaco</a></div>
<div style="font:10pt arial"><b>To:</b><span> </span><a title="adam@blatner.com" href="mailto:adam@blatner.com" target="_blank">Adam Blatner</a></div>
<div style="font:10pt arial"><b>Cc:</b><span> </span><a title="list@grouptalkweb.org" href="mailto:list@grouptalkweb.org" target="_blank">list@grouptalkweb.org</a></div>
<div style="font:10pt arial"><b>Sent:</b><span> </span>Tuesday, August 11, 2009 2:20
PM</div>
<div style="font:10pt arial"><b>Subject:</b><span> </span>Re: sociatry ideas</div>
<div><br></div>Hi Adam and all,
<div><br></div>
<div>I understand your concerns about the excessive abstraction. In any
given area in politics for example I could give you several examples of
how the tools generated by psychodrama, sociodrama and for that matter all
the so called "consciousness movement" could help. The problem with the
specifics is that they could easily loose track of the more general
concern of this group. Loosing the forest for a tree is a risk that I
don't want to take either. But OK, let's go for it. I will give you a
specific...:-)</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>The US economic crisis:</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Look to the unemployment numbers: about 15 million, a historical
number by any standard - 2 years ago unemployment was at more or less 7
million people. </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> ab
irrelevant</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div>Most of the money is being spent in the rebuilding of
the financial system and in some highly questionable economic
projects.</div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> Name which
ones are questionable; describe the consequences of refusing to do
this.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div>There are no tools given to politicians, to my knowledge, that help
them to look beyond the numbers. Why the financial system broke? If we can
see beyond we can look to the financial theatre, the actors, the
spontaneity (or the lack of it), the reactivity, the lack of reason, the
exuberance, the egoistic approach, etc.</div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> remember
greed and the willingness to cheat, to almost cheat, to fudge the truth,
to say you earn more than you do, to promise unrealistically</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> but that's not my point. The problem
with spontaneity is that the Morenian definition begs the question: an
effective response to an old situation (is part of the definition) -- but
we don't know what will be in fact effective. So the argument is circular.
If the politicians had true spontaneity they'd be automatically wise. And
of course (saying this sarcastically) we know how to teach them that.
Right.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> </font> What
is being done? Simply is being delivered a lot of money to the same
guys with the same instruments to mess it up again.</div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> aB: I kind of agree with
you here and am not sure of the actual rationale. It does seem
foolish.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> IB </font> What could
be done? A fundamental intervention, one that can combine all the good
stuff that was created (that become possible, for example, to spread the
risk, turning some important assets like houses more affordable to poor
families - the so called subprime families, etc) with what I would
call the subjective and inter-subjective interventions.</div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> AB: I am
totally bewildered by this---haven't the foggiest idea what you're talking
about!</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> How spread the risk?
what does that mean? How does this deal with anything
Morenian?</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">
IB </font> Any important player in the market must have skills
beyond its obvious technical abilities.</div>
<div> </div>
<div> Intersubjective skills, emotional intelligence and so.</div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">
name one and show how it would apply. Otherwise</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div>They are wonderful and highly respected scientific literature
supporting this (like Howard Gardner multiple intelligences). But this is
a major and complex educational problem.</div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> This is the problem--- and
almost a cop-out; it's like saying if people could be smart,
we'd solve things. But it's not clear that smart people who were
psychologically minded would have any ideas that you don't have. So
I await more specifics.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div>Our societies gave over the years an increasingly value to cognitive
skills that yes, it's true, helped to
promote technological progress and material well being. But
today we all know that this is not enough and could be danger not only to
a particular nation but to the world at large. Society as a whole must
gave (urgently I would say) value to several dimensions of the human
being. Today an educated man and woman that will go leading business,
families, political affairs must have a new sensibility and see
things that others are blind to. Psychodrama courses for example could be
a priority education project combined with the core training of a given
person.</div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">
ab: see point above. You're implying that holistically enlightened people
would be more effective than non-holistically-psychologically enlightened
people. sounds plausible, but you haven't made the case that knowing
sociometry, psychodrama, or anything Moreno taught---which, though I value
it---I'm not yet willing to make serious claims for--- will be proven to
do a better job.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> as you
say, it's a complex problem...</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div> All psychological literacy (a wonderful term that I get from
you) is important to all leaders not in order to absolutize that
particular type of knowledge but to give it the place that is deserved
(this is particularly important, because to absolutize one dimension of
life is a big mistake and a very easy one to make). </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> <span> </span></font>A "sociatric politician"
would have that in the primordial agenda and not just in footnotes don't
you think? </div>
<div> AB: I can't disagree, because it's so general. You're saying
that a politician who is psychologically sensitive and aware would do a
better job. I would like to agree, but any scientific or even simply
rational person would require you to break the whole idea down into very
very specific competencies; test whether each one is very or only slightly
relevant to the goal task; and assess how much knowing Morenian stuff
makes a difference in policy development. Lacking that tight,
meticulous analysis, you're free to make any claims you like and they
can't be disproven.</div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div> IB In a tomorrow's world a economic
crisis would not be compensate with 7 new million job loss.
We would easily know the tremendous impact at all subjective and
intersubjective levels in a family or in a person (emotional, financial,
and all the imbalances caused by the situation).</div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> AB: Is
subjective and intersubjective the latest in psychobabble terms? What
about bio-psycho-social, or is that too outdated?</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> Who is the we, how would we know it,
the impact at all subjective levels-- can we know the impact of ANYTHING
at ALL subjective levels? We as outsiders or as the person feeling
it? etc. And who would the people be who are
intersubjectively interacting,</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div> A business leader would try to reformulate their business with
their human resources in a different way.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> ab: name one
specific example</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div> People would not be just a number.</div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> That implies
that all managers or politicians (not most but all) are treating people
only as numbers. An easy claim, but not if you interview them or look at
the situation closely.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div> Things would be worked
out differently.</div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> This is the
kind of argument that says in effect that if people would be smarter,
they'd be better, and then everything would be better. It's unprovable and
I can't imagine one specific example of what you're talking
about.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> This is the point of
concretization, of setting a scene in psychodrama. Clients in talk therapy
tend to talk this way, generalities. We need to cut through abstractions
and find out what the actual situation is. If I can't imagine a concrete
example I really don't know what you're talking about and it is possible
that in believing your own abstractions you're weaving a web of
self-delusion that works for you, satisfies your feelings of coherence.
Lots of folks live this way----believing in the web or network of loosely
assembled platitudes.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> <span> </span></font>For example with the
natural and frequent use of psychodrama and sociodrama tools other
reality surplus would come out, creativity would be raised and solutions
be found. Creativity is not just faith or utopia or wishful thinking. It's
an endogenous power of the human being that have to be
recognize. </div>
<div>
AB: well, sure. That's kind of my point: I think that as psychological
literacy in general penetrates the culture that there may be a development
of mental flexibility and the foundations of more consciousness can be
built on this---but it would require a thousand other
components---political, technical, economic, etc.---also part of the
growing infrastructure--- and it will likely take generations if not
centuries.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">
IB <span> </span></font>This
is just some quick and not worked thoughts about specific applications in
business, leadership, social values and above all education. This is just
not just about being aware that psychology and consciousness are important
matters to social life. This is about how to integrate in the social
activities all the good knowledge that We are being finding without
loosing all the good practices that part of what we do already.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> aB: The
question is whether staying at the level of affirming ideals is a lot more
effective than the obviously more illusory song verse below.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div>IB The challenges of the integration of the new to a well
stablish cultural conserve it's the challenge of life itself, I
believe. Some of you guys in grouptalk should have an important voice in
political decision making in this crisis. AB: What do you mean
"should"? Which ones of us?</div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div>IB Have Obama called you to ask an opinion? Do you care at all
or just keep just wondering like in the Dave Mathews's song: </div>
<div><span style="line-height:20px;font-family:Verdana;color:rgb(101,101,101);font-size:14px">"Tell me everything will be OK if I just stay on my
knees and keep praying believing in
something </span></div>
<div><span style="line-height:20px;font-family:Verdana;color:rgb(101,101,101);font-size:14px">Tell me everything is all taken care of by those
qualified to take care of it all." </span></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> AB: I'm
reminded of the anecdote of JLM doing one of his first Theatre of
Spontaneity, inviting the audience members to come up and be king, and
help the chaotic and struggling remnants of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to
find a way to accommodate to the changes and realities of the post WWI
world. </font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> If Obama called me and
asked my opinion, I'd have a few things to say, but they'd be pretty
obvious and easily arguable. Nor am I sure that I'm ultimately "right" or
smarter than him. </font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div>All the best, Ivo ab: enough.
talk to you later.</div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font><font size="2" face="Arial"></font><font size="2" face="Arial"></font><br></div>
<div>PS: About the word Sociatry. What I find is that<span> </span><b><i><span style="text-decoration:underline">iatros</span></i></b>, is indeed a physician but
iatry comes from<b><i><span style="text-decoration:underline"><span> </span>iatreia</span></i></b><span> </span>and that is not the healer is the
heal itself...and if it is true (and I'm not a specialist) will make all
the difference...</div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font><font size="2" face="Arial"></font><font size="2" face="Arial"></font><font size="2" face="Arial"></font><font size="2" face="Arial"></font><font size="2" face="Arial"></font><font size="2" face="Arial"></font><br>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 9:27 PM, Adam Blatner<span> </span><span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ablatner@verizon.net" target="_blank">ablatner@verizon.net</a>></span><span> </span>wrote:<br>
<blockquote style="border-left:rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid;margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;padding-left:1ex" class="gmail_quote">
<div bgcolor="#ffffff">
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">Dear Ivo and all,</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> 1. </font>August
10, IB: Right Adam, but feeling that your point 4 misleading. In WSS
Moreno finds the root of Sociatry in WSS in Socius - the other fellow
and iatreia - healing; </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> AB: sorry for the
pedantry but I looked it up: Iatros is physician from
iasthai ancient greek for heal... </font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> socius Latin
companion </font></div>
<div> </div>
<div> 2. IB All of Moreno's ideas tried to fight the
doctor-patient model, and I don't think that sociatry relate to
that at all, although I can see your point.</div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> AB:
Startling statement, unclear how that seems so for you. There's a little
bit of truth re his wanting less authoritative group psychotherapy, but
his behavior at his sanatarium was quite in keeping with the
doctor-patient model.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">
3. IB</font> But I admit this is a matter of taste, like your
dislike about tele.</div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> AB: Please don't give people the
impression that I dislike tele, but rather think that while the dynamic
is of central importance in a more holistic psychology, the term perhaps
might be better understood by non-psychodramatists if called something
else, such as rapport.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> 4.
IB </font> For me Sociatry calls for a higher level of
intervention in society, a inter/ trans disciplinary approach
to the socius with a fundamental emphasis to treat it. Quoting Moreno.
"The art and skill of the sociatrist will depend upon a synthesis of
knowledge toward which all social and psychiatric sciences will have
made their contribution." And that doesn't exist yet as such, but we
have all the ingredients...we have to cook
them!<span> </span></div>
<div><span> AB: Fine,
when you've cooked up something specific let us know.</span></div>
<div><span></span> </div>
<div><span> 5 IB Of course we can always
question: If that is so what is the difference between
sociatry and politics. It should be none but it is not the case at this
moment. What sociatry could bring to politics is a type of
knowledge (e.g. sociometry, group dynamics, all the invisible
structures, cultural bias, etc,) that seems to escape most of
politicians today. </span></div>
<div><span> AB: Sure, it's nice to imagine
that our political leaders could know all sorts of things and that this
would help, but can you give a single example of how a political leader
would act differently, think differently, knowing the above? I'm not
saying they wouldn't, but integrating knowledge and ranking its
relevance is a problem.</span></div>
<div><span> More,
it is unrealistic to just dump all we know into an expert's lap and
expect the expert to know how to pick out what is more or less relevant.
(It's surprising how many less-experienced psychotherapists or
psychiatrists will present a case by dumping out information in such a
way as to demonstrate they they haven't begun to sort out what is more
or less important---see my paper on my website on the art of case
presentation.)</span></div>
<div><span> </span></div>
<div><span> 6.<span> </span></span><span>In the future
Sociatry could well be the real political action.. why not as sociatry
could not exist as such (if it aims a large scale social intervention)
without politics? AB: The problem is giving more specifics, more
definition: One could also say "Makingbetter" will be the real sociatry,
which would also be the real political action.</span></div>
<div><span></span> </div>
<div><span><font size="2" face="Arial"> Perhaps this quibbling about
terms is unnecessary. I certainly want to support enthusiasm, and the
belief that our field has important tools to introduce into the mainline
of the culture. I have put this idea into many of my
writings.</font></span></div>
<div><span><font size="2" face="Arial">
But an excess of abstraction just might evoke a counter-reaction, the
appellation of "psychobabble," or some such, so I occasionally comment
on this.</font></span></div>
<div><span><font size="2" face="Arial"></font></span> </div>
<div><span><font size="2" face="Arial"> <span> </span></font></span>Best,
Ivo AB And good wishes to you...</div>
<div> <span> </span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt" lang="EN-GB">"The
term derives from a Latin and Greek root, the one is socius, the “other
fellow”, the other iatreia, healing." see
above...<span> </span></span><br><br></div>
<blockquote style="border-left:rgb(0,0,0) 2px solid;padding-left:5px;padding-right:0px;margin-left:5px;margin-right:0px">
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Aug 8, 2009 at 3:13 PM, Adam
Blatner<span> </span><span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ablatner@verizon.net" target="_blank">ablatner@verizon.net</a>></span><span> </span>wrote:<br>
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<div><font size="2" face="Arial">Okay, let's see. The world is in
trouble in thousands of different ways at many levels. What can
"sociatry" do? Which methods are useful with groups beyond the sick
role? (i.e., beyond psychotherapy).</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> 1.
Starting small: Consider the feminist notion that the personal is
political and reverse it. In the 1970s the institution of the happy
nuclear family was questioned. Might it for some be a prison?
Questioning social arrangements is one example. Could therapy
include social action? Groups whose task is to change more than the
consciousness of its own members generate new types of group
dynamics, concerning as how best to accomplish its chosen
tasks.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> 2. Recognize
that sociometry and psychodramatic methods constitute at most only
23.2% of the many different kinds of skills and knowledge
involved in social action. Things like composing an effective
letter, lobbying, etc. --- there are hundreds or thousands of such
components that transcend any particular discipline---
including the skill bases of rhetoric, advertising, spin-doctoring,
propaganda, all the elements of politics, lobbying, newsletter
editing, community organizing, etc. etc.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> 3. In a larger
sense, much of politics through<font size="3" face="Times New Roman">out history (including some military efforts)
have been rationalized as promoting what was for the time viewed as
an improvement on the previous system. For example, feudalism, as
prone to tyrrany as at was, was nevertheless believed to be an
improvement of some degree of order and predictability, better than
what had been happening in the earlier "dark ages" in which people
felt far too vulnerable to robbers, invaders, and pure
barbarism. In other words:</font></font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> 4. The problem with
sociatry is the problem with fascism: The doctor-patient model of
the 1940s (relating to the -iatros Greek root meaning physician)
involved a wise knower-how-to-diagnose and treat and a submissive
patient. This does not apply well to large social groupings. It is
not at all clear that anyone knows how to fix it all and can garner
adequate consensus for "I'll just tell you what to do and then you
take this medicine and follow my 'orders.' type of
management.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> I'm just
noting that the word may be misleading. The spirit Moreno advocated
is something I share: Let's apply what we're learning in psychology,
sociology, and every other field to efforts in every
institution---political, educational, economic, clubs, recreation,
medicine, etc. I saw his idea as an interdisciplinary vision during
an era in which fields were more compartmentalized. Ed's advocacy of
social action has merit, but awaiting specifics, I'm not sure that
our field has more to offer than other fields. It certainly has some
to offer, though!</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> 5. I'm continuing to do
adult education classes and weaving in principles from role theory,
the idea of externalization and personification of defenses (i.e.,
imagining that they can be played, given voice, imagined to be
little seductive con-men, little Bernie Madoffs or whoever). , and
other Morenian ideas along with the contributions of others--- all
part of the aforementioned idea of "psychological literacy" or
promoting the continued integration of the insights of psychology in
life.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">
(In a larger sense, I think sociatry refers in large part to this
cultural trend towards bringing psychology into the mainstream of
culture rather than its having operated at the periphery
as a semi-irrelevant procedure for folks at the margins of
society)</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"><font size="2" face="Arial"></font></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"><font size="2" face="Arial"> 6.
Writing, publishing, presenting at other conferences, and talking
about how psychodramatic and sociometric methods might have
applications beyond its own field... I think these are small but not
meaningless efforts. A measure of humility is
okay.</font></font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> 7. Continuing efforts (and
modeling) in integrating good ideas from other fields will also help
to break down perceptions of psychodrama as somewhat
insular.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> Those are a few things
perhaps that can advance the idea of our field's relevance to social
activism.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial">
The targets include not only global warming (as Ed noted), but
thousands of other worthy causes.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> Some of these,
interestingly, are complex: The question regarding health care for
me, for example, is to what degree I support the present
kluged-together bill or exert myself for the cause of a single-payer
system (as supported by the Physicians for a National Health
Plan)? It could be argued that in the present climate, a
compromise is necessary and that single-payer has zero chance. On
the other hand, the present bill is so fraught with compromises that
it will be unsatisfactory in many ways, the problem will "heat up"
further, and more radical surgery will be frustrated because "we
already tried socialized medicine" (when in fact we only put
our toe in the water, so to speak). So political
decision-making is a problem in weighing which tactic to use in the
interim.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"> Warmly,
Adam</font></div></div><br>Grouptalk mailing list<br><a href="mailto:List@grouptalkweb.org" target="_blank">List@grouptalkweb.org</a><br><a href="http://grouptalkweb.org/mailman/listinfo/list_grouptalkweb.org" target="_blank">http://grouptalkweb.org/mailman/listinfo/list_grouptalkweb.org</a><br>
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