March 2022
Updated October 2023
Philosophy is probably often thought of as something that “eggheads” use but basically It’s just a way of “thinking”. We are all individuals that tend to “think” in a similar way but our thinking processes are often influenced by different factors. A common phrase that is often heard is “it’s philosophical”. There are quite a few “Philosophers”, past and present. Some are well known and some are not so well known. Two of the well known philosophers that a lot of people have heard about are Plato and his student Aristotle but there are others. Plato is seen by some as the “Grand Master of Illusion”, who “promoted “the ideas of ” The greater good” and “self sacrifice”. Aristotle identified that “the Greater Good” and “Self Sacrifice” can be considered damaging to the human mind and are basically a way of controlling the thinking of others and more importantly the actions of others.
I think it be fair to say that most people don’t have the time or energy to just think, other than trying to solve the day to day issues that we all encounter. Some of us have the opportunity to have a think about our daily lives to try to make sense of it all. We are all different and our thinking / thoughts are influenced by past (and present) events. Some of our thinking is aimed at solving current problems so we can get on with life.
Most of us don’t give any thought to Philosophy and Psychology but we are sort of aware that the human brain is in two halves, left brain and right brain. Most of us probably don’t know that the term for this is “The Bicameral Mind“. In the early days of humans, we were apparently not capable of “Conscious thought“. We didn’t have any effective means of communication because we hadn’t developed a “language” system. Our “Bicameral” minds used to try to make sense of the world in which we lived. Our main method of communicating with others was using things like pictures. At this time humans were “Amoral” (like animals) and were (apparently) not capable of “conscious thought“. We (apparently) lived using our “natural instincts” and the “concept” of right or wrong wasn’t in existence. Our main goal was (and may still be) to procreate, to prevent humans from becoming extinct. To this end we have a “built-in” survival mechanism” (Fight or Flight) but contrary to what a lot of people think, this survival mechanism is probably for “mating pairs“. Individual survival doesn’t make any sense “naturally” because Individuals are not able to “make babies”. “The animals went in two by two” appears to be a good pointer 🙂
Males are basically “seed spreaders” and females are “seed harvesters” but females are the most important bit in the survival of humans because they are “equipped” to grow new humans and to feed and nurture them. Females are without any doubt the most important members of our “race” but for some reason they are seen by many as “second class citizens” and males appear to call all the shots. Females are (for some) seen as just for the pleasure of males and they do the “housework” and “looking after the children”, It isn’t clear why this is so. With regards to “procreation”, females are supreme and are the hunters, they look for “suitable” males to mate with. Generally, males just seek out females to enable them to spread their seed, job done move on.
Before “conscious thought” was used / discovered, humans and animals were very similar. If we were hungry, we looked for food and this could have been an animal or a vegetable or seed etc. If we wanted to “procreate” (a very basic but powerful urge) we found another human (of the opposite sex ). We would spread or harvest the seed, both of which are perfectly natural and would seem to be in accordance with our “survival”. Generally this is a pleasurable experience with consenting adults.
Having “Conscious thought” changed things big style! We were no longer “Amoral“, we were catapulted to a situation where we were able to use our minds / brains to develop languages to communicate with other humans. We were now able to use our minds to make “conscious” decisions, instead of using “Natural Instincts”. We could now use our minds to decide between “right and Wrong”.
Ultimately, this led to a situation where the Philosophers at that time, were able to influence the minds of the “populace” because philosophers were seen to be the “font of knowledge”. Over the many years, other philosophers have added their “way of thinking” so now we have a a good range of “philosophies” to choose from. There doesn’t seem to be a “philosophy” that sits well with most people because we are all individuals but it’s likely that our philosophies will have their “roots” in either Plato or Aristotle and we might not know this.
Psychology is basically a tool to “mess with the mind“. It is a tool that can be very beneficial in removing “irrational fears” and help modify our behavior to make it less negative. For some people the use of “Daily Declarations”, that are stated when in a relaxed state (self hypnosis), can help tremendously in a very positive way. For some, modern day “Cognitive Therapy” can help alter negative feelings to be positive feelings. It does this by “retraining” the mind to think differently so things that make you unhappy are now things that make you happy. In most cases it doesn’t address the problem, it just attempts to accept the problem as no longer a problem.
Unfortunately Psychology has its roots in the “teachings” of Plato and was basically a tool to control the masses. This is probably why religion has become entrenched in the lives of (most) humans and it is a sort of “social control“. We are all individuals but to live in societies, we need rules to allow us to live in relative peace and harmony. Religion (in theory) can allow a “common” acceptance of “rules” but “Self Sacrifice” and the “Greater Good” is not beneficial to humans, who are all individuals! According to Einstein (one of our greatest modern minds) Life is everything, death is nothing! “Existence exists, it cannot not exist”. Life is precious but it doesn’t last very long, the current average life span is about 75 Years. However, there are some that live to be over 100 years. “Self Sacrifice” can be something as simple as giving someone your shoes so that you have to walk without shoes or it could be giving your life to save another and that doesn’t make much sense.
An alternative to “Self Sacrifice” would be “Benevolence” and this should be the de facto option. Instead of giving someone your shoes / coat / whatever, it would be better to provide shoes / coat / whatever. Instead of giving the needy all of your food, you instead shared it.
Benevolence is all about sharing your good fortune with others that are less fortunate and is the complete opposite of “self Sacrifice”.
Benevolence is all about sharing the world and sharing the wealth. If we have a “hand full” of people with wealth but most people are poor, we have failed as a society! We need to share the wealth and to share the world.
Unfortunately, Psychology is the main tool used by “Politicians”. They use Psychology to fool people into thinking that they are being represented but Politicians, in the main, are only interested in getting votes and in most (current) situations they are not interested in the opinions of the people that vote for them. With regards to Politicians, it seems there are some that are of the opinion that the “Electorate” are stupid and don’t know what they are voting for.
Unfortunately Psychology is used by people that want to control our way of thinking and our actions to help them profit from our “mind controlled” state. When used along with Altruism, it is a very powerful method of mind control.
Psychology is a very powerful tool that can be used to benefit “mankind” but it is mostly used to “control” the thoughts and actions of “mankind” and most often used by the people that want to profit at the expense of others.
The people that use psychology to profit, basically use “Emotions to beget Actions“. When you realise this, you will be able to negate this situation and in some cases “turn the tables”. Playing on Emotions is a very powerful tool and is a key to controlling others and the self.
Psychology is a very powerful tool and you need to learn how to recognise when it is being used against you. It is almost certainly used against you by “Sales People”, “Politicians”, “Religious leaders” and those with “World Domination” ideas.
The only way to defend against and / or beat “psychology” is to be aware of it being used against you. If someone is trying to “control” you, they will be using the “Emotion to beget action” thing (very powerful). “If you love me, you would blah blah” is one of the most popular “relationship” methods of control. Telling someone what they will like or think is called “Gas Lighting” and is one of the powerful methods of controlling others.
In conclusion, Philosophy is a way of thinking but psychology is tool to mess with the mind.
Psychology is a very powerful tool, that can help overcome “irrational fears” but in the main it is used to try to control your thoughts and actions.
You are exposed to Psychology in everyday life, there are many people that are using psychology against you for their own gain. You need to learn how to recognise this, one sure way is to “step back” and check to see if others are using “Emotions to beget Actions” but quite often this will be very subtle.
Accept nothing at face value, question everything, try to cross reference any info that you come across and accept that “if something sounds too good to be true, it is probably not true”.