Hi List,

  I thought this article by David Brooks on A Nation of Weavers was worth reading:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/18/opinion/culture-compassion.html

 

Best,
Gregg

 

 

Dear TOK List,

 

  I am writing to share a development I am quite excited about. It involves an emerging correspondence between my ToK/UTUA Framework and the ideas of Edward Kroger, founder of One Divide. Since October, Edward and I have been in close contact and following a visit we had in January, we realized that there was a very powerful convergence between our systems. For me, this is stimulating because our systems were developed completely independently and have been focused on different audiences.

 

I have recently written about our systems and their convergences in a four part Psychology Today blog series:

 

Finding a Key that Unlocks my Cathedral (Part I)

Emotional Warfare (Part II)

The Anatomy of Emotional Warfare (Part III)

The True Self and the Philosophy of One Divide (Part IV)

 

As noted in the blog series, there are four different reasons that I am particularly interested in this development. First, I have found that the concept of “Emotional Warfare” (intrapsychic and interpersonal conflict driven by negative affect and ego defensive processes that attempt to protect and control social influence variables) to be very powerful in capturing the central dynamic that is the focus of psychotherapy. That is, although we deal with trauma and injury and what I call “mental diseases” (mental dysfunction that likely involves neuro-biological malfunction) the central focus of treatment refers to maladaptive cycles that involve negative affect, emotional avoidance and attempts to control self and others to achieve “perceived security.” Psychotherapy is very much the process of reducing Emotional Warfare and reversing cycles to achieve intrapsychic and interpersonal peace and freedom.

 

Second, as described in the third blog, Kroger’s “anatomy” of Emotional Warfare and the dynamics of the “False self” is a powerful and easy-to-follow map. I have found it very beneficial both in teaching doctoral students and in sharing it with clients. Many individuals can quickly see that they are devoting energy to the false self, that this the ego defensive strategies that we use to avoid losing status and belonging (and returning to feared states of emotional desperation), and this pattern recognition facilitates insight in an accelerated manner. (PPTs of the diagrams are attached to have the clearer picture of them).

 

Third, as the fourth blog describes, the model also incorporates a clear map of human flourishing. The “True Self” is a state of alignment between one’s positive affect system, the inner sense of High Relational value, the narrative self-consciousness system, the person’s relational world and, ultimately, the “moral good” (i.e., valued states of being). The connection between distress, disorder and dysfunction on the one hand (i.e., the suffering associated with Emotional Warfare) and the nature of authentic generativity on the other (i.e., flow toward True, Good, Beautiful Self States) provides a clear, value based and functional frame to operate off, both inside and outside the therapy room.

 

Finally, I am excited because of the correspondence and complementarity between our views. As the first blog notes, my quest has involved the development of a “unified theory of psychology and unified approach to psychotherapy” which has resulted in a highly complex “cathedral” of ideas that are difficult for others to digest. Edward’s system was designed with simplicity in mind. It was designed so that he can enter into a system and quickly provide a vocabulary that folks with limited psychological refinement can “get” and start to apply. Thus, the two language systems were designed for different audiences and developed in different contexts. But we have found that they deeply cohere.

 

There are many reasons that this is relevant for the vision of the TOK Society in general and the ToK/UTUA framework in particular. One of the most important implications is that One Divide can be very much thought of as a “practical philosophy,” one that is oriented toward the reduction of destructive conflict (i.e., Emotional Warfare) and toward a unity that simultaneously embraces individuality. Thus, it serves as a deep complement to the ToK System, which is a “natural philosophy” and the UTUA Garden, which is an outline of a full “synthetic philosophy.” I look forward to future conversations and developments.

Warm regards,
Gregg

___________________________________________

Gregg Henriques, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Graduate Psychology
216 Johnston Hall
MSC 7401
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
(540) 568-7857 (phone)
(540) 568-4747 (fax)

Be that which enhances dignity and well-being with integrity.

Check out my Theory of Knowledge blog at Psychology Today at:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/theory-knowledge