Anthropology (catch all)

[goesh]

"...war as a "normal" state of human existence and would be interested in studying what makes people fight and what makes them decide to stop fighting."
That's the ticket to sell the need for more Anthropological and Sociological insight and contributions but there are strong vested interests in viewing the Military as an essentially destructive enterprise run by barbarians.

[marct]

Hi Goesh,

That's the ticket to sell the need for more Anthropological and Sociological insight and contributions but there are strong vested interests in viewing the Military as an essentially destructive enterprise run by barbarians.

Unfortunate, but true. I was talking with one of my students last term about this very problem and trying to find an historical analogy that captured my thinking about why "we" (social scientists) should be involved in the current global COIN. As usual in cases like this, the discussion surrounded professional ethics and "morality" which, in turn, led to a discussion of the relative values of individual vs. corporate mysticism. I really believe it's time for someone to post the Social Scientific equivalent of Luther's 95 Theses to the doorway of PC academia.

Marc

[Tc2642]

I really believe it's time for someone to post the Social Scientific equivalent of Luther's 95 Theses to the doorway of PC academia.

Interesting, What would you include your theses, if you had the chance to write such a document?

[Steve Blair]

Count me in for the history portion of same.

[Stan]

My Psychology professor on our first day circa 1982: "According to Maslow, an individual is ready to act upon the growth needs if and only if the deficiency needs are met. The biggest human tragedy is that most people simply do what they are told."

He continued: "This form of reduced maturity is dangerous when coupled with authoritarianism and dominance, as we have learned from Saddam, Hitler, and others."

Marc, does Maslow have a point in this thread ?

[marct]

Hi Folks,

Interesting, What would you include your theses, if you had the chance to write such a document?

Tc2642, think part of the answer to that question is in Stan's comment.

My Psychology professor on our first day circa 1982: "According to Maslow, an individual is ready to act upon the growth needs if and only if the deficiency needs are met. The biggest human tragedy is that most people simply do what they are told."

He continued: "This form of reduced maturity is dangerous when coupled with authoritarianism and dominance, as we have learned from Saddam, Hitler, and others."

Marc, does Maslow have a point in this thread ?

Stan, I think the answer is "yes". Tc2642 asked me what I would include in such theses, and I think Maslow's ideas contain some of the answers. So, let me take a whack at 5 thesis statements.

1. Giants exist so that people can see farther, not to crush inquiring minds.
2. All knowledge is inherently limited and, in that sense, "false". As such, the goal of any science is not the production of "perfection" but the continual struggle to achieve it.
3. "Proofs" that can be communicated exist only in limited components of described part of transcendental reality and should never be mistaken for transcendental "Truth".
4. Information is a difference that makes a difference (Definition by Gregory Bateson).
5. How we communicate defines both what we are capable of communicating and the limits of information that can be transmitted and received.

I think I'll leave it at that for now - I have to finish editing a case study for an HRM text book .

Marc

[Stan]

Marc,
Strange (well, for me anyway), that Maslow's work (in spite of any support or evidence) enjoys wide acceptance. Never really grasped that, even today.

Norwood (required reading even today) made more sense to me. Perhaps simpler terms for those without Phds

Norwood sounded as if he had been divorced three times (consecutively) by describing behavior as insecure, disorganized, disoriented, etc. Already begins to sound like a female was involved.

With that, I think I'll have a beer

Regards, Stan

[goesh]

"I really believe it's time for someone to post the Social Scientific equivalent of Luther's 95 Theses to the doorway of PC academia."

A big, fat Amen! to that. Islamic terrorists already posted their thesis on the walls of the WTC and the Pentagon using jet liners.

[Bill Moore]

While no theory is perfect this one helped me make sense of Maslov's, which was obviously too rigid. The ERG explains people will sacrifice their existance needs for the good of the group or personal growth (self actualization), which is helpful in understanding terrorist/insurgent motivation. You will not get them to quit fighting by simply providing economic aid, that isn't the real issue.

http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/erg/

How the existence, relatedness, and growth theory differs from Maslow's hierarchy:

ERG allows different levels of needs to be pursued simultaneously.

Allows the order of needs to be different for different people.

If a higher level need is unfullfilled the person "may" regress to a lower level.

Bottom line it is not a rigid hierarchy, and explains a wider range of behaviors, such as the "starving artist" who may place growth above existence needs.

(this is paraphrased)

The best part of this theory to me is it refutes Maslov's, which all of us who have been in the real world outside a labatory know just doesn't apply to the behavior we see.

[120mm]

One theory that I've seen that resonates with my "verstehen" and tangentially contradicts Maslov, is the matrix that John Dalmas uses in his "The Regiment" Science Fiction novel.

There are four basic compartments

Play - Study

War - Work

For the great majority of people, "War" is restricted to a disagreement or at worst, physically fighting. For a few, "War" means the kind where people die. For the some people, "War" overlaps with "Work". For some, "War" is "War". For others, "War" overlaps with "Play". It sounds a little weird, though, to equate "Enemy" with "Playmate", but the parallels can be found, if you look for them.

Children instinctively know this. I think if you raised kids in an isolation chamber, they'd get right out and "play war" if given the chance. I'm not a psycho-babble kind of guy; this just struck a chord with me, when I heard it for the first time.