“Salvation” is a story by Langston Hughes (1902 - 67) about a childhood experience he had. It’s a good example of how harmful it can be to hit children over the head with ‘overt religious behavior’. It reminded me of the documentary Jesus Camp, about which I had planned to write a bit more than just one other post and this one.
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Posts Tagged ‘psychology’
Jesus Camp: One Last Thought
Tuesday, August 14th, 2007Psychopaths and the Death Penalty
Saturday, July 28th, 2007
Should the death penalty be abolished? And if so, why? The main argument in favor of the death penalty is that it’s a powerful deterrent to keep people from committing horrible crimes. The problem with this argument is that it’s invalid; research has shown that most crimes that warrant the death penalty are crimes committed in the heat of the moment, with no consideration of the possible consequences.
During my travel through the Balkans, I got a ride from an Austrian professor from the university of Leoben. He had been teaching and researching on the subject of ‘material properties’ for a long time, and had two months left until retirement. When I asked him what he would do next, he told me about his work on the board of Amnesty International in Austria. One of the important issues in the coming months is the death penalty in the USA. Amnesty thinks it should be abolished.
We talked about the issue, and he presented some great arguments against the death penalty. However, one thing still bothered me, one possible argument in favor of the death penalty: psychopaths.
Video: Do schools kill creativity?
Thursday, April 26th, 2007
Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. With ample anecdotes and witty asides, Robinson points out the many ways our schools fail to recognize — much less cultivate — the talents of many brilliant people. “We are educating people out of their creativity,” Robinson says. The universality of his message is evidenced by its rampant popularity online. A typical review: “If you have not yet seen Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk, please stop whatever you’re doing and watch it now.“
Why Bad Movies Are Good
Saturday, March 17th, 2007
I love bad movies. And with bad, I mean movies that can be described with adjectives like ‘dark’, ‘bleak’, ’sad’ or ‘depressing. Many of my friends don’t understand this, and even I find this fondness difficult to explain. Why do I love movies so much, and why do I love ‘bad’ movies in particular? What is it about them that I find so good?
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On Introspection: Surgery, or Deadly Dissection?
Sunday, February 18th, 2007“Character and plot. Chicken and egg. Which comes first? Aristotle’s solution was simple and radical. He said: Plot is character. Forget psychology, forget the insides of men’s heads. Judge them by their actions.” - Anthony Hopkins as C.S. Lewis, Shadowlands
Staring out the window of a train carriage after a busy weekend is often the best time for ‘worthwhile’ thoughts, and new ideas. It’s also the time when I’m prone to introspection. The results of the latter never seems to all that constructive, even when it isn’t negative introspection per sé. Maybe that’s why I prefer reading a book, or watching a movie; it keeps my mind from from turning inwards, from introspection.
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Geëvolueerd tot Creationist?
Thursday, November 9th, 2006
Waarom geloven mensen in God? Een tijdje geleden struikelde ik (in figuurlijke en ideologische zin) over een artikel dat in december 2005 door de krant ‘The Atlantic’ gepubliceerd was. De auteur, Paul Bloom, probeert een wetenschappelijke verklaring te geven voor religie en religieuze belevingen.
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Boekbespreking: “Geestvervoering en Zinsverrukking”
Thursday, March 16th, 2006
Extase, trance, dronkenschap, trippen, krampen, brabbelen: Je zou ze niet direct met het Christendom en al helemaal niet met ‘de kerk’ in verband brengen. Toch gebeurt het, met name in de zogenaamde ‘charismatische’ kringen. De meest bekende en geaccepteerde vormen van deze verschijnselen zijn onder andere ‘vallen in de geest’ (spontaan ‘flauwvallen’) en ‘spreken in tongen’ (onverstaanbaar praten).
Waar komen deze vreemde, ongecontroleerde, irrationele verschijnselen vandaan en wat is hun plaats in de moderne kerk, met haar zelfbeheersing, structuur en gepastheid?
Kees Neeteson, socioloog en deskundige (nee, geen ervarings-) op het gebied van drugsverslaving schreef een boek, waarin hij dit verschijnsel onderzocht.
De Ultieme Karaktertest
Thursday, February 2nd, 2006
Door de jaren heen heb ik verschillende karaktertests gedaan, soms verplicht (enneagram voor godsdienst), maar vaak ook uit interesse. Misschien had ik psychologie moeten studeren…
Een ding dat mij altijd opviel bij de meeste tests, dat ze eigenlijk alleen bevestigden wat ik al wist. Ik had niet het idee dat ze me nieuw inzicht gaven in mezelf. Soms voelde het ook wel eens wat nep; de resultaten waren zo algemeen dat ze voor iedereen golden.
Tussen de hoeveelheid karaktertests met een hoog open-deur-gehalte zat echter één opvallende test: de Jung - Meyers-Briggs typology test. Het resultaat van deze test was voor mij verbluffend goed. De profielschetsen die eruit rolden vertelde me dingen die ik niet eerder gehoord had, maar die achteraf bekeken écht goed klopten.