Bringing together the findings of psychoanalysis and social science, this book grew out of an urgent commitment to study the origins of anti-Semitism in the aftermath of Hitler’s Germany. First published in 1951, it was greeted as a monumental study blazing new trails in the investigation of prejudice. As offshoots of ethnocentrism, anti-semitism and fascism cast new and dark shadows on the world, the topic again demands study and social action. “The Authoritarian Personality” remains an important document for our time.
Edward Louis Bernays (/bərˈneɪz/; German: [bɛɐ̯ˈnaɪs]; November 22, 1891 − March 9, 1995) was an Austrian-American pioneer in the field of public relations and propaganda, referred to in his obituary as “the father of public relations”.[3] Bernays was named one of the 100 most influential Americans of the 20th century by Life.[4] He was the subject of a full length biography by Larry Tye called The Father of Spin (1999) and later an award-winning 2002 documentary for the BBC by Adam Curtis called The Century of the Self.
According to Native Americans, Wetiko is an evil spirit that invades human minds. It’s a “virus” of selfishness. A physic pathogen forcing the victim to feed their insatiable needs as if they were starving. It makes humanity become its own worst enemy…
This interesting yet unsettling view comes from a piece of literature we think everyone should read. Paul Lévy is an admirer of Carl Jung’s legacy and a regular columnist for “The Guardian”. He wrote a literary piece titled “Dispelling Wetiko” that deserves some reflection. Levy says that we live in an era where most psychosocial phenomena proves the existence of a “virus” of selfishness.
Wetiko is a word that Native Americans use to designate an evil person who never worries about the well-being of others.
The legacy Levy wished to leave with his book is not at all negative, reproachful, or alarming. It actually has the opposite message. Every virus seeks a host to invade and feed off of. However, each of us can put up defensive barriers. We can strengthen our psychological “immune system” to keep from being infected by selfishness.
Let’s dive into the idea now…
Wetiko, human selfishness, and Carl Jung’s concept of Shadow
Jack Forbes is a historian who explained something very interesting in his book Colombus and Other Cannibals. When indigenous communities came into contact with the first European pilgrims, the Native Americans said they were infected by Wetiko. It was a tribe of the Cree in Canada who used this concept for the first time. However the Ojiwa, for example, already were using the well-known term “windigo”.
Whatever the case, the mental concept they had of the white or “civilized” man was that of an individual affected by the “virus” of selfishness. The virus led them to desire the force of nature and its resources as their own. In turn, Paul Levy explains that this idea is the very same one Carl Jung used to explain the concept of Shadow. Shadow is the archetype of the unconscious that we all share.
Thus, common things like jealousy, greed, thirst for power, and selfishness are actually products of our collective unconscious. Our darkest shadows and a “self” which has become dissociated from the conscience. A being that lets itself get carried away by despicable acts.
Therefore, we could say that the evil spirit defined by the Native Americans is different from Jung’s idea. It wasn’t something that came from the external world, bent on possessing us. Instead, it resided within ourselves.
Actually, we all carry that Shadow within, but it’s up to us whether we give it power…
How to kill the “virus” of selfishness
You can eliminate the “virus” of selfishness from your life. One way is by getting to know what Carl Jung called “daemon”, the demon of our Shadow. It feeds off of greed, envy, contempt, and the thirst for power or domination. These things have done terrible things to mankind throughout history.
The evil of wetiko has governed our world for quite some time. We give it power, we obey it, and we let ourselves get carried away by it. Like Jung explained, our responsibility is to be aware of it.
If we all let ourselves be controlled by these impulses to possess what another person has and manipulate them for our own benefit, even at the cost of harming them… we’ll fall into a collective psychosis where we would all end up losing. Selfishness is not a modern evil. It’s an old illness we still haven’t managed to eradicate.
Paul Levy enlightens us by explaining that we need reflect if we want to work on our Shadow and kill our Wetiko. At the end of the day, that inner demon is nothing more than our underdeveloped, underworked, neglected personality.
It’s a part of ourselves we’re hiding. By hiding it, we allow it to go out alone in search of nourishment. We let it feed off of greed and envy. No more! Heal from the “virus” of selfishness by working on your inner struggles, growing as a person, and dealing with the Shadow hindering you and humanity from living life to the fullest.
Theoretical physicist David Deutsch delivers a mind-bending meditation on the “great monotony” — the idea that nothing novel has appeared in the universe for billions of years — and shows how humanity’s capacity to create explanatory knowledge could be the thing that bucks this trend. “Humans are not playthings of cosmic forces,” he says. “We are users of cosmic forces.”
This talk was presented at an official TED conference, and was featured by our editors on the home page.
WASHINGTON—Affirming the importance of traditions like Columbus Day to other Americans, the nation’s 573 federally recognized Indian nations released a joint statement Monday confirming they don’t need a special holiday and would be perfectly fine with just having large swaths of land returned to them immediately. “Look, we get why Christopher Columbus is very important to some people, and we’re more than willing to compromise so long as the U.S. government returns 1.5 billion acres of land to us as soon as they can,” said Chief Harold Longtoe Ouimette, 63, an Abenaki elder who confirmed that although marching in a parade honoring Native peoples might be interesting, the group of indigenous tribes would vastly prefer if U.S. residents could just vacate Manhattan, the Black Hills, and thousands of other sites taken from them through broken treaties, coercion, and violence. “Obviously, honoring someone who caused a mass genocide is still troubling, but we’re seriously open to letting that slide if we get back, say, the continent that you stole from us. That or $35 trillion. Your choice, honestly.” At press time, the U.S. government had responded to the Native peoples’ request with an offer of $5 in lump silver per person and a box of the finest cloth ever purveyed in Europe.
Most of us know Bruce Lee as the famous martial artist and action film star — but he was also a philosopher who taught “self-actualization”: the practice of how to be yourself in the best way possible. In this inspiring talk, Bruce’s daughter Shannon Lee takes us inside the mind of her father, exploring how to use his philosophy in your daily life to achieve profound personal growth and make a lasting impact.
This talk was presented at a TED Salon event given in partnership with Brightline Initiative. TED editors featured it among our selections on the home page. Read more about TED Salons.
JRE Clips Joe Rogan and Guy Ritchie discuss the internal battle over self identity, the Prodigal Son parable, and the essence of narrative. Taken from Joe Rogan Experience #956.
“An incredible book… you teach guys and gals about leadership and you’ve helped not only military guys but families.” – Megyn Kelly
“You show in the book how to motivate… thanks for writing the book Extreme Ownership.” Bill O’Reilly
“[Jocko] is the co-author of an incredible new book – which I’ve been loving. Trust me. Buy it.” – Tim Ferriss
“This is a life-learning lesson for everyone… the book is awesome.” – Sean Hannity
Sent to the most violent battlefield in Iraq, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin’s SEAL task unit faced a seemingly impossible mission: help U.S. forces secure Ramadi, a city deemed “all but lost.” In gripping firsthand accounts of heroism, tragic loss, and hard-won victories in SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser, they learned that leadership—at every level—is the most important factor in whether a team succeeds or fails.Willink and Babin returned home from deployment and instituted SEAL leadership training that helped forge the next generation of SEAL leaders. After departing the SEAL Teams, they launched Echelon Front, a company that teaches these same leadership principles to businesses and organizations. From promising startups to Fortune 500 companies, Babin and Willink have helped scores of clients across a broad range of industries build their own high-performance teams and dominate their battlefields. Now, detailing the mind-set and principles that enable SEAL units to accomplish the most difficult missions in combat, Extreme Ownership shows how to apply them to any team, family or organization. Each chapter focuses on a specific topic such as Cover and Move, Decentralized Command, and Leading Up the Chain, explaining what they are, why they are important, and how to implement them in any leadership environment. A compelling narrative with powerful instruction and direct application, Extreme Ownership revolutionizes business management and challenges leaders everywhere to fulfill their ultimate purpose: lead and win.
Translators: Mike Zonta, Melissa Goodnight, Richard Branam
SENSE TESTIMONY: People revolt against outside authority figures in lieu of honoring the universal principle within.
5th Step Conclusions:
1) Truth is peopled with noteworthy authority figures, all of whom are in sync, honoring the universal principle within.
2) One Infinite Consciousness, is the spiritual Heart of all Being — assuring unceasingly absolute adherence, to limitless universal principle — by the irresistible attraction of God’s Grace, working perfectly through True Love.
3) Truth is Democratic Nobility, this Comrade/Fellowship, Involvement, the Dance of Principle, the Only Fee Simple Estate, Being the Inherent Consciousness Aware Identity, the worthiest Quality Indicator, Bestowed, Pre-Fashioned, Transformed, Ultimate Honor, as Individualized, Androgynous Oneness.
All Translators are welcome to join this group. See BB Upcoming Events.
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