References H.A. Overstreet The Mature Mind

The most dangerous members of our society are those grownups whose powers of influence are adult but whose motives and responses are infantile.

 One cannot place a whole person on a continuum, only an abstracted aspect of a person. Wholenesses are non-comparable. Individuals who are not fully developed people live in a world in which classes and concepts have sharp boundaries, and are mutually exclusive and incompatiblle, e.g. male-female, selfish-unselfish, adult-child, kind-cruel, good-bad etc. In their logic, A is A and everything else is not-A developed people... self-actualizing people see that A and not-A interpenetrate and are one, that any person is simultaneously 'good' and 'bad', 'male' and 'female', 'adult' and 'child'.

CONNECTION BETWEEN THWARTED PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE PROBLEMS OF ETHICS: PROBLEMS OF VALUES AND "ETHICS" - GOOD/BAD, EVIL/VIRTUE ETC. RESULT FROM EGO CENTERED MENTAL PROCESSES. WHICH DICHOTOMIZE AND DISTORT REALITY: The distortion in perception results from irrational fears etc. of immaturity.

THWARTED DEVELOPMENT RESULTS IN IMMATURITY AND NEUROSIS THESE RESULT IN IMMORAL 'UNETHICAL' BEHAVIOR - MORAL FAILURE - AS FRUSTRATION OF GROWTH, THWARTED PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT RESULTS IN THWARTED DEVELOPMENT OF CONSCIENCE AND 'EVIL' BEHAVIOR CONNECTION BETWEEN NORMAL PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AND THWARTED PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT PROBLEM OF "EVIL" AS THWARTED HUMAN DEVELOPMENT The immature mind is the product of thwarted human development. incomplete cognition; perception of dichotomies as the 'incomplete cognition' of immaturity. The tragedy in neurosis as thwarted human growth and development due to conflicts in the cultural environent - in the family environment and the school environment.

 THE PROBLEM OF 'EVIL': WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF EVIL HUMAN BEHAVIOR? Psychological growth of the human organism must keep pace with increase in physical powers... every increase in power must be matched by an increase in understanding "Much of human history can be explained by peoples' immaturities." (Overstreet The Mature Mind 15)

HUMAN NATURE -MODIFICATIONS FROM CULTURE INDIVIDUAL IN CULTURAL CONTEXT Values -for survival are modified by social norms Depending on the possibilities provided by the environment, children strive to achieve self-realization within the context of their environment. With the guidance of the adult, children achieve self-realization through interaction with their immediate environment - becoming one with their environment. Continued development into independent and mature personalities depends on their education - a long and indirect process of preparation for a life of freedom as independent and mature adults. Modifications are wrought within the biological organism by the cultural environment. SCIENCE OF ETHICS: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN VALUES... VALUE SYSTEM (ETHICS) IN CULTURAL CONTEXT... ORGANISMIC VALUING PROCESS... universality of organismic valuing process...there is an organismic base for an organized valuing process within the human individual. In accordance with the biological need for self-preservation and adaptation, the human organism has the natural capacity to adjust its behavior and reactions to a continuously changing environment... the operative values... the valuing process in the human being is effective in achieving self-enhancement to the degree that the individual is open to the experiencing which is going on within himself. The infant and the psychologically mature person are examples of individuals whose valuing process is in harmony with their own experiencing. A child's proper inner development to maturity depends on his/her being prized as a separate person with the freedom to experience his own feelings without feeling threatened. The freedom of self-expression insures development to maturity and inner freedom

. INTROJECTIVE INSTINCT Modification of organismic valuing process by way of the 'introjective instinct': In order to survive the young of the human species must acquire large amounts of information from older members of the species. The instinct for acquiring externaly imposed values and information is the 'introjective instinct'. The introjective instinct is a particularly human instinct. The child 'introjects' - makes a part of himself- what appear to him as the wishes, demands, hates, scorns, and standards of his psychological parents. If the parents are weak and infantile, their weakness is introjected as strength. Internalized images have a malignant effect on the child's development. During development, the child instinctively modifies his own fluid and changing valuing process (operative values) by incorporating externaly imposed concepts (conceived values). In this way, the natural valuing process is gradually modified by the introjection of parental values and cultural values - the externally imposed conceived values. The modified valuing process tends to be fixed and rigid. Conceived values are value choices made on the basis of symbolized concepts which are learned ie 'conceived values'. Conceived value choices are made in anticipation of the outcome of a chosen behavior. As an example, a human being can choose one of two possible paths of action on the basis of the concept which he has been told to value such as 'honesty is the best policy'. Conceived value choices are introjected. Their incorporation and internalization result in the modified organismic valuing process. Introjection of conceived values explains some of the causes of the formation of character - character orientation. Explains the correlation between character orientation and social structure. Point up the powerful emotional forces which are instrumental in molding the social character and explains the functioning of the society. The personality of the average individual is determined by the socioeconomic and political sructure of the society in which he lives

 EDUCATION IN A CULTURAL CONTEXT Educators must analyse the cultural context in which they are doing their work of educating. "There can be no educational policy or practice independent of a social and cultural context and therefore there is no such theory as 'objective' educational theory'". (David Purpel "Holistic Education in a Prophetic Voice" in John Miller Worldviews, Educational Orientations and Holistic Education. page 69)

 For the human individual in a cultural context, the nature of reality is determined by the nature of the cultural environment. The nature of the cultural environment is determined by the cultural values and belief systems. Stimuli from the cultural environment are directly related to the basic assumptions underlying the values of the culture. They are peripheral to the stimuli in the field of focused attention. As peripheral stimuli, they are processed by the brain at the subconscious level. The cultural values are a product of the cultural belief systems which make up the 'cultural consciousness'. The cultural belief systems are a product of the history of the culture. The cultural history forms the basis of the cultural consciousness, source of the peripheral stimuli processed subconsciously by the individual in a cultural context. The individual's thought and behavior patterns are influenced by the subconsciously processed peripheral stimuli from the cultural environment. The individual's thought and behavior patterns are influenced by the subconsciously processed peripheral stimuli from the cultural environment. Unconsciously perceived and processed by the brain, peripheral stimuli from the cultural environment are inherent in the so-called 'cultural consciousness'. The educational process for the individual within a cultural context involves conscious the individual within a cultural context involves conscious thought patterns in the framework of unconsciously processed environmental stimuli of the cultural consciousness. The learning process combines the processing of environmental peripheral stimuli with conscious thought processes involved in cognition. Educational policies are formulated in the context of a prevailing cultural worldview which is inherent in the prevailing cultural belief systems and values. Cultural belief systems are created in the framework of the basic assumptions underlying the cultural view of the world - the 'reality' which is perceived from the point of view of the people living in their own time. The individuals within a given culture perceive their own world from their own point of view, with the technology, the resources and the 'education' accessible to them. They identify with the belief systems of their culture and perceive the world from the point of view of the cultural belief systems. An individual educated within the context of given cultural belief systems internalize the cultural values. The cultural values are derived from the cultural beliefs. The 'enculturated' individual subconsciously perceives reality in the context of the cultural values and the cultural worldview. Cultural beliefs are derived from scientific 'beliefs' and the cultural belief systems are derived from the culture's prevailing 'scientific' perception of reality. The cultural perception of 'reality' is a reflection of the prevailing scientific view of the world. The so-called scientific 'paradigm' is the view of reality and the perception of the world as observed and perceived by the individuals in the context of their own culture and its accessible sources of knowledge. The cultural worldview results from logical conclusions about the nature of reality. The conclusions are based on the individual's 'scientific' activity in the cultural context. The available technology is used to make observations about the environment. The available knowledge is used to make inquiries about the environment. Making inquiries and observations constitutes the 'scientific activity' on the basis of which conclusions are drawn about the reality of the environment. The individual uses the 'scientific method' which prevails in the context of the culture. 'Logical' conclusions are drawn on the basis of inquiries and observations made from the perspective of the cultural belief systems. These 'scientifically' drawn conclusions form the basis for the derivation of the significant metaphysical assumptions about 'reality' as they are perceived by those enculturated individuals. The resulting cultural perceptions of reality form the basis of the culture's belief systems and the cultural 'myths'. The cultural myths in turn form the basis of the cultural perceptions of 'reality'. The cultural perceptions of reality constitutes the framework for the formulation of the belief systems and cultural values. The cultural value system constitutes the framework for the formulation of the culture's educational policies. Educational 'institutions' formulate policies which are consistent with the cultural value system. The educational policies are formed within the conceptual framework of the scientific paradigm, by way of the cultural belief systems and cultural values . In reproducing the myths of the cultural belief systems, schools foster the traditional American values of capitalism, materialism and consumerism, of hierarchy and success, of moralism and control. Referred to as the 'hidden curriculum', the obligatory instruction of the cultural values has been promoted with authoritarian teaching methodologies and 'philosophies'. For the individual in the cultural context of 'schooling', he is expected to conform to the cultural values. Instead of fostering the individual's self-reliance and hope for his own future, school authorities want the individual to meet their own 'expectations'. Instead of fostering the individual's self-responsibility, they cultivate his sense of dependence on authorities and experts. Instead of fostering the individial's sense of responsibility for his own future, they try to cultivate his unrealistic ambitions for 'professional' status in the consumer culture. Instead of fostering the individual's sense of integrity and health, they cultivate a 'competitive spirit' and life of stress. In their efforts to make the individual conform to the cultural values, they impose thought and behavior patterns which repress the individual's natural desire for learning, for growth and for independence. Instead of trusting the individual's human potential for intellectual and moral development, the school imposes requirements in the form of grades and 'performance' scores. Instead of fostering the individual's critical consciousness, the school cultivates mindlessness. With its demands for meaningless and passive learning, the school discourages creative and critical thinking. Imposing requirements have been imposed on students for their 'adaptation' and enculturation, the use of traditional methods have obscured the real challenges of living. Students have not been prepared for the demands of complex learning in a complex environment. They have not been taught the positive aspects of moral responsibility to themselves. They have not been taught the real challenges involved in realizing their personal hopes and dreams. They have been deprived of the experience of the real joys of learning. With its function of reproducing the cultural values, the educational system neglect to prepare each individual to lead his own life in a complex world. Instead of preparing the individual for his own future as a self-responsible social being, the institutions of education have prepared the individual as a 'contributing member of society.' Focusing on the individual's preparation for adaptation to the society, the educational system neglect to foster the individual's innate capacities to adapt to a changing environments. Incapacitated individuals in a changing society constitute the human evidence of an anomalous social situation. The current educational 'crisis' is the obvious manifestation of an anomalous human situation which has existed for a long time. The anomaly cannot be ignored any more - it has reached 'crisis' proportions. In keeping with the Protestant ethic, social problems are perceived in terms of the individual's own lack of moral responsibility. Social problems are discussed in terms of possible solutions and 'scenarios'. Attempts are made to resolve them through the implementation of discipline and enforcement of the 'law'. Social problems are not understood in terms of possible deficiencies inherent in the cultural institutions. Social reforms are perceived in terms of the individual's moral responsibility to initiate changes. Social reforms are not perceived in terms of necessary institutional changes. For the individual in the cultural context of capitalism, the educational system is a reflection of the belief systems underlying the cultural values. In the educational institutions, attempts are made to 'help' the individual to cultivate a sense of moral responsibility. For the individual, environmental change is manifest in the global economic and political changes. The individual in the context of American culture is required to adapt to the changing demands of a capitalistic society. In keeping with the theories of capitalism and the American educational 'tradition', the individual's instinctive spiritual striving for self-realization is not validated. The natural development of moral responsibility is discouraged. The life of contemplation and meditation is misunderstood. True spiritual freedom is not trusted. The self-expressive behavior of the natural human being is not trusted. The intuitive and emotional facets of human nature are restrained. The educational policies which were formulated in the paradigm of reductionist science are no longer compatible with the new global worldview. New educational policies need to be formulated on the basis of the new wholistic scientific paradigm. Studies in innovative pedagogical techniques have shown the effectiveness of placing the emphasis on issues of pedagogy and philosophy on the students and on the learning process. Truly innovative changes are those which have a liberating effect on both the teaching and the learning aspects of institutional education. They liberate the learner from the oppressive role of the teacher, the curriculum and the institution. Implementation of liberating pedagogies would bring about the humanization of institutionalized education. A prerequisite is the reexamination of the basic assumptions and values of the cultural belief systems which make up the contextual framework of the educational system. For the individual in the context of cultural oppression, humanization and even survival depend on the humanization of the cultural values. A shift is taking place in the dominant scientific worldview from the reductionist worldview to the wholistic worldview. Reductionist 'science' is being replaced by 'wholistic science'. The change in scientific worldview or 'paradigm' has far-reaching consequences on the cultural belief systems and in turn on the formulation of educational 'policy'. Wholistic science validates the subjective participation of the observer in the scientific process of inquiry. Wholistic science gives rise to new cultural belief systems and values. These are reproduced in the educational policies within the culture. Overall change is manifest in several characteristic trends in education. There is a trend away from fragmentation of knowledge and towards integration of knowledge areas. There is a trend away from the authoritarianism of 'science' and 'experts' and a trend towards the inner authority of the concience. There is a trend away from the value of the need to control and a trend towards the value of the need to trust 'humanity' and the human spirit. There is an overall trend in the recognition and the cultivation of a wholistic paradigm and a global worldview. There is a trend away from the individual's cultural alienation and a trend towards the individual's cultural integration. In discussion and debate about 'education', there is a trend away from the 'individualistic' perspective and a trend towards the cultivation of the wholistic perspective. There is a trend away from competitiveness in learning and a trend towards cooperation and integration in the learning process. Overall there is a trend towards wholistic education. An innovative education based on a wholistic philosophy is valid because the learner is liberated from the authoritarianism of the teacher, the curriculum and the institution. The learner must be free to develop self-discipline, engage in self-directed learning and achieve self-actualization. The history of American education has been characterized by a continual search for a theoretical framework for an effective education practice. A theory-practice (praxis) based on the wholistic learning functioning of the brain could represent another alternative in the continuing search for a theoretical framework upon which to base an effective education practice. Evidence for a rational basis for a theory - practice based on brain functioning is provided by the findings of brain research. So-called brain-based learning involves the natural processing functions of the brain. link between cultural context and brain Brain based education involves the natural learning functions of the brain and brain-based learning involves the natural 'thinking' functions of the brain. The natural functions of the brain are concerned with its special ability to search for meaning in the environment. As a product of millions of years of evolution through natural selection, the specialized brain functions have ensured the survival of the human species. For its millions of years of survival as a species, the human being has depended on the brain's ability to search for meaning in the environment. The brain's efficient evaluation of the environmental context of experience has depended on the natural selection of its characteristic complex thinking functions. The natural thinking processes constitute the brain's natural capacity for processing complex stimuli in the physical, social and cultural environment. The brain processes environmental stimuli which are in the field of focused attention and at the same time it processes those stimuli which are peripheral to it. Many environmental stimuli are perceived unconsciously by the brain and are processed at the subconscious level. The brain processes the focused stimuli within the context of the peripheral stmuli. The brain's interpretation of the focused stimuli depends on its subconscious interpretation of the peripheral stimuli. Stimuli in the field of focused attention are interpreted in ways which depend on the context of the interpretation of peripheral stimuli. The meanings attached to the peripheral stimuli determine the context in which the brain consciously processes environmental stimuli. Peripheral stimuli include those from both physical and social or 'cultural' environments.

"The most recent of the great insights that have invited man to maturity came with the development of science. The scientific method is not commonly regarded as an insight into human nature; but this, in its essence, is what it is. It is a systematized expression of the fact that man is a species capable of transcending his own limitations of sense and of subjectivity."

CAPITALISM FOSTERS ADULT IMMATURITY/ 'marketing character orientation' 

 In the capitalistic consumer society of American culture, the task-oriented perception of the environment results in limited imagination and incomplete cognition. "The relative atrophy of the generative capacity is very frequent in our culture. A person may be able to recognize things as they are (or as his culture maintains them to be) but he is unable to enliven his perception from within. Such a person is the perfect 'realist' who sees all there is to be seen of the surface features of phenomena but who is quite incapable of penetrating below the surface to the essential and of visualizing what is not yet apparent. He sees the details but not the whole, the trees but not the forest. Reality to him is only the sum total of what has already materialized. This person is not lacking in imagination, but his is a calculating imagination, combining factors all of which are known and in existence, and inferring their future operation." (Fromm Man For Himself 89(H.A. Overstreet. The Mature Mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. Inc. 1949. p.44)

 Education for human development is a function of culture. The American capitalist culture is not interested in the individual's growth to full maturity or 'wholeness' and 'humanity'. Growth to maturity means having rich inner resources and a deep insistent concern for the rights of the dispossessed. The mature individual is far less valuable as a source of profit. The economy of the culture is only interested in those aspects of the person which can further the interests of capitalism. If they derive monetary profit they have 'economic value'. A person can be valuable as a worker who contributes to the production of goods, or as a consumer who exchanges money for goods, or as an investor who can work for a corporation or as an inventor, an expert, or even a 'name' - anything which can be regarded as 'marketable.'

 In the capitalistic system, maturity, contentment and happiness are not valued because they have no economic value. Even creative intelligence is only valued if it can be used for monetary gain. The economic theories of capitalism and consumerism place limitations on human growth. They discourage the fulfillment of the natural development of human potential, the human instinct for strive for self-realization or 'self-actualization'. They discourage the individual's development of the personal power of instrinsic motivation and the human capacities for foresight and over-all planning. They ignore the natural development of intrinsic human values of moral responsibility. This inherent cultural confusion comes from the competition of two conflicting philosophies: the philosophical tradition of intellectual and social liberalism which requires that the individual grows up into full psychological maturity i.e. rational liberalism; and antirational materialism which encourages mental dishonesty and fosters fixation in immaturity.

Capitalistic economic theories teach people that the purpose of life is the successful fulfillment of their duty to work and that it is in their interest to work for money, prestige, and power. People lose sight of the fact that it is in their 'real' self-interest to live in harmony with themselves and their fellow human beings. They lose faith in their human capacity for dignity and courage. They learn that in order to survive, they have to accept the cultural norms. And one of the accepted cultural norms is adult immaturity. In the state of adult immaturity, the individual is more valuable as a source of profit and profit-making. The immature adult is susceptible to the competitive appeals of advertisers who tempt the individual to spend what he has, to mortgage their future in the accumulation of possessions through structures of credit buying and installment purchasing - even though it means diverting funds from more important purposes. The term 'pursuit of happiness' is blatantly used to refer to monetary gain. People get whatever happiness they can out of doing what everybody else does.

 They are persuaded to make value judgements on the basis of material success. The result is extreme corruption of the natural human values and moral confusion which leads to feelings of personal bewilderment and helplessness. As a result of the demands of the system, ethical norms are formulated on the premise that the individual is powerless and insignificant. People are easily influenced by the enthusiasm of political leaders and become easy prey to the demands of the irrational value system of materialism. Social institutions - including schools - foster the individual's fixation in immaturity. This is because the development of perpetually impulsive children is more compatible with the image of the 'good consumer' and 'valuable customer' than the development of mature human beings with foresight, responsibility and wholeness of character. A paternalistic attitude towards the 'American people' is characteristic of the 'oppressor-oppressed' social contradiction. Using rhetoric to maintain their power, capitalists pay lip-service to crime prevention, health care reform, educational reform, police protection and make money on crime, ill health, ignorance, addictive behaviour and and all the other ills of society which result from people's immaturity, frustration and unhappiness. The major institutions of the society are divided and contradictory. People talk about the impracticality of what their children learn in school and at the same time they want them to bring home grades they can be proud of. People are admired more for what they own than for what they know. Teachers are regarded as insignificant compared with businessmen and movie stars. Throughout the society and in the schools, there is a pervasive mistrust which originates from the fear of control by seduction (commercialism, advertising, false values, money prestige, desire for glory etc.) The pervading mistrust is translated into negativity, cynicism and hostility - all factors which stunt sound psychic development. Stunted psychic growth leads to weakness of character which is manifest in the so-called 'reactive-responsive' behaviour. The reactive-responsive character orientation which is based on the powerlessness of the individual is reinforced in traditional education in which children learn to depend on avoidance or prevention strategies. They are given behavioural rules ...don't do this, don't do that etc. and told what they can't do and how bad they are because of what they are doing. If they go along with what they are told and act accordingly, their behaviour is 'responsive'. Responsive behaviour involves conformity to the norms and standards which are set by people in positions of authority. If they do not go along with what they are told and react against it, their behaviour is 'reactive'. Reactive behaviour involves active opposition to the norms and standards which are set by people in positions of authority.

 In school, responsive behaviour is rewarded and reactive behaviour is punished. The responsive person who conforms to the rules is labeled as a 'good student' or a 'nice person' and rewarded with good grades. The responsive student continues to respond in the same way and after years of living avoidance strategies, their sense of personal power is undermined. This contributes to their drive to 'succeed.' Cultural implications of failure in success oriented culture... Reactive-responsive people often fail to master the skills of creative living. The reactive person who does not conform to the rules is labelled with descriptions such as 'rebellious' or 'difficult' and is punished with poor grades. The reactive student who continues to react in the same way... years of reacting against authority... in adulthood, the reactive person continues to react against authority and is usually labeled as a 'political activist' or 'extremist'. With the responsive-reactive character orientation, the power lies in circumstantial stimuli. Perception of the environment is focused on those aspects which might be 'useful' or 'threatening'. Educational methodologies are formulated for the 'needs' of the society. Task oriented education lacks vision and wisdom, inhibiting intellectual and emotional growth. Task oriented education stresses objectives and outcomes, inhibiting imagination and the natural development of complete wholistic cognition. imagination is lack of a wholistic perspective. Fostering incomplete cognition... non-wholistic perception of reality. Success is an empty victory... focus of education is to weave the child into the fabric of sociey... The power in the situation is clearly defined as being in the school or the parents. Students really learn that they are powerless. They learn that they are insignificant and that they need to conform. They question their purpose in life: what purpose or meaning does their life ultimately have? (One survey of the Carnegie Institute of Education has reported that the great majority of high school students in the US felt that their lives were useless.)

The commercial civilization of capitalistic culture appeals to the infantile gratification of adult immaturity. This need for self-indulgence provides an improper environment for education as the development of maturity, intelligence, sanity, morality and responsibiltiy. The immature adult wants to be praised and refuses criticism... doesn't realize that accurate evaluation of the social environment depends on a critical attitude... is self-satisfied and complacent in their ignorance, unable to respect the needs of the young, believe in the righeousness of their own behaviour... Assuming the superiority of their own institutions, they standardize whatever they can and remain hostile to individualism. Unable to distinguish the essential from the unimportant, they depend on their intense likes and dislikes to make their incorrect evaluations. They prefer to regulate life by legislation and thus create further injustice and make life impossible. Those in control can easily gain or divert their attention because they are impelled to copy others in their prejudices, they make weak judgements, they become oversuggestive and easy to manipulate, they have an exaggerated sensitivity and moodiness. The overall result is a general disintegration of their relationships with others. Children struggle to grow in the inadequate environment of capitalistic culture. They need to be educated with a view to their needs for growth to maturity ...for adaptability to life in changing conditions... with respect for their potential intelligence and for their total development.

 They discourage the fulfillment of the natural development of human potential, the human instinct for strive for self-realization or 'self-actualization'.

 The result is extreme corruption of the natural human values and moral confusion which leads to feelings of personal bewilderment and helplessness

 The reactive-responsive character orientation which is based on the powerlessness of the individual is reinforced in traditional education in which children learn to depend on avoidance or prevention strategies.

 The responsive person who conforms to the rules is labeled as a 'good student' or a 'nice person' and rewarded with good grades.

  Truth is a function of human of awareness or 'cognition'. The degree of cognition is a function of the degree of awareness and critial consciousness. The degree of critical consciousness is a function of personality integration. Complete integration of the personality results in complete cognition. As a function complete personality integration, complete cognition is characteristic of maturity. A mature person is a 'maturing person'. With complete personality integration, a maturing person is one whose linkages with life are constantly becoming stronger and richer because his attitudes are such as to encourage their growth rather than their stoppage. Incomplete integration of the personality results in incomplete cognition. link: incomplete cognition

"In the framework of a task-oriented perception of the environment cognition is incomplete... The person with incomplete cognition sees all there is to be seen of the surface features of environmental phenomena but is incapable of penetrating below the surface to the essential; and incapable of visualizing what is not yet apparent. He sees the details but not the whole, the trees but not the forest. Reality to him is only the sum total of what has already materialized. The person is able to recognize things as they are, or as the culture maintains them to be. With an imagination that is calculating the person combines those factors which are known and already in existence. He infers their future operation. The person is unable to enliven his perception from within." (Abraham Maslow. Towards a Psychology of Being.)

Non-wholisitc perception and imcomplete cognition result from the lack of wholeness in the conditioning influences of the social environment.

 The ability to work is an important aspect of the individual's personality development throughout life. The recognition of the psychological value of work in human psychological development is the basis for the organization of schools for humanity.

 Organization of schools for humanity depends on the recognition of the psychological value of work in human psychological development. In the unnormalized individual the desire to possess is accompanied by a desire to destroy. With normalization, desire to possess becomes transformed into desire for knowledge.

Schools for humanity are 'free' schools. Free schools respect spiritual freedom which is desire for knowledge. Spiritual freedom is necessary for the development of an individual's natural sense of moral responsibility. Freedom in school means freedom to work, freedom to learn and freedom to learn from error. Freedom to work requires organization. Freedom without organization is not conducive to work or to learning. Freedom to learn precludes teacher praises, prizes, threats, punishments or corrections. Teacher interference lowers the child's energies and interests. Effective pedagogical methods take into consideration the psychological value of work. Pedagogical methods based on the natural striving for self-realization through concentrated work are successful in helping the individual reach his human potential for self-realization. Successful pedagogical methods foster personality development for realization of the human potential for self-actualization which is a natural by product of the experience of growth and freedom within the community in which effective learning is driven by the need for self-initiated personal development. The goal of education is the proper development of the individual's naturally balanced personality which depends on cooperative activities in a social environment. Contrary to competition, cooperation enhances feelings of security and stimulates further exploration. Educators can help children in the natural stages of human development by offering environmental stimuli which stimulate their inner potentialities at different stages of their development. Children themselves can advise adults in the planning and the designing of an educational curriculum which would include opportunities for experiential enrichment...of environments which will help them to grow to psychological maturity... help the individual to reach his potential. The curriculum would be based on children's instinctive motivation to satisfy the basic needs for self-respect and self-esteem in the process of self-actualization. link: moral responsibility theme: Spiritual freedom is necessary for the development of an individual's natural sense of moral responsibility.

  In American culture so-called 'learning theory' is based almost entirely on deficit-motivation with goal objects usually external to the organism, learning the techniques of repeatedly acquiring from the outside world satisfactions for motivational deficiencies... change involves an acquisition of habits which are added like new external possessions one by one. ...our psychology of learning is a limited body of knowledge, useful only in small areas of life This is of little help in solving the problem of growth and self-actualization ...goal object which is intrinsic to the organism is learning the best way to satisfy the needs of the individual ...perceptual learning for the increase of insight and understanding is learning for knowledge of the self the steady growth of personality... for increased synergy, integration and inner consistency... change involves a total change of the total person i.e. a new person rather than the same ...perceptual learning is character change learning which involves changing a very complex highly integrated holistic organism which in turn means that impacts will make no change at all because more and more such impacts will be rejected as the person becomes more stable and more autonomous. The most important learning experiences are often single life experiences such as tragedies, traumata, conversions, sudden insights etc. which force the individual to change their life-outlook and consequently to change everything that they do.

Growth consists of the peeling away of inhibitions and constraints and then permitting the person to 'be himself' to emit behaviour 'radiantly' as it were - rather than to repeat it... to allow one's inner nature to express itself... ...the behaviour of self-actualizers is created and released rather than acquired, expressive rather than coping. link: mind Within the framework of the worldview of scientific rationalism, the human mind was first viewed as a 'working mechanism' in the mid-19th century. Nineteenth century developments in anatomy and physiology produced intensive studies of the brain and of the nervous system. These studies established the specific relationships between brain structures and mental functions. They clarified the various functions of the nervous system, and they produced detailed knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the sensory organs. With the new knowledge of the modern reductionist science, the Newtonian orientation of psychology became firmly established. The ingenious but naive mechanistic models of the human psyche which had been formulated by Descartes were eventually replaced by the mechanistic models of the modern 'science of the mind' known as behavioural science or behavioural psychology and later referred to as 'behaviorism'. Further limitations resulted from the economic theories of capitalism. The worldview of capitalism is based on the belief that nature must be controlled and the natural human being is lazy and needs to be disciplined to do work. In order to 'weed out' those who are lazy and undisciplined, competition between individuals is encouraged in terms of 'individualism' and 'self-assertion'. Work is measured in terms of tangible results, productivity and 'success'. Successful work is made tangible with economic rewards and material gains. Economic and material success is rewarded with social status. The respect for the sanctity of private property and social status has resulted in a materialistic value system. The psychologically healthy person is defined as 'adjusted to the society', a term which reflects the society to which he is adjusted. 'The society' is perceived as an entity separate from the individuals who make it up. And yet a society consists of the group of individuals of a community who "share a given set of constructs, values and techniques together referred to as a 'paradigm'." (Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Unviversity of Chicago Press, 1970)

The economic theories of capitalism place limitations on human experience. The life of the intellect and the quest for self-realization are not valued. The natural development of moral and spiritual self-reliance is discouraged. The life of contemplation and meditation is misunderstood and devalued. True spiritual freedom is considered undisciplined and punishable. The spontaneous and self-expressive behaviour of the natural human being is repressed. The impulsive, intuitive and emotional aspects of human nature are restrained. Social problems are perceived in terms of the individual's personal moral failure. They are resolved by discipline and the rule of law. They are not understood in terms of inherent deficiencies of fundamental institutional practices. Social reforms are perceived in terms of the individual's moral responsibility. They are not understood in the context of necessary institutional changes. Creative intelligence is only valued if it can be used to further the interests of the capitalists. The impulsive, intuitive and emotional aspects of human nature are restrained. link: 'truth' as applied immaturity ...the power of language ... the impact on the mind can result in psychopathology manifest as wicked or 'evil' human behavior. Thwarted psychological development: immature mind and neurosis;

 Peoples' immaturities explain much in human history for which we have hitherto had no sufficient explanation. Throughout human history, great insights are degraded by minds too immature to understand them and put them into practice. ... inner biological ('instinctoid)' core of human nature... includes the basic physiological and psychological needs, the inborn capacities and talents, and the biologically based values inherent in the intrinsic yearnings and preferences. A mature person is a maturing person - one whose linkages with life are constantly becoming stronger and richer because his attitudes are such as to encourage their growth rather than their stoppageThe immature - overdefensive, obsessional, controlling and self-controlling. They are apt to dislike the lack of control in others. They dislike impulsiveness, enthusiasm, whimsicality, and unpredictability Hatred and fear result from emotional immaturity and psychological ill health.

 Man's 'humanity' - his growth to full maturity has held slight interest for the economy. "For him to grow into full maturity might mean that he would have rich inner resources with which to entertain himself; and that he would be unsusceptible to those competitive prestige appeals that are the delight of advertisers; and that he would feel a deep insistent concern about the rights of the dispossessed; for him to grow into such full maturity would, therefore, make him far less valuable as a source of profit-making than he is in his adult immaturity." (Overstreet 178)

The economy of the culture encourages immaturity on two counts. First, it discourages the fulfillment of the natural capacities of human nature. "It discourages man from using to the limit his human capacity for foresight and over-all planning." "Through its advertising, it has persistently tried to make immediate temptation so irresistable that the individual will spend what he has - even though this may mean the diversion of his funds from more important ends. Through its structure of credit buying and installment buying, it has persistently encouraged families to accept the illusion that large payments are small - thus persuading them to mortgage their futures. The image of man as a "good consumer" is often more compatible with that of man as a perpetual impulsive child than with that of man as a mature being of foresight and responsibility." Second, the economy fosters mental dishonesty. The notion of 'free enterprise' has popular appeal, especially for those who intend to control the market through monopolies. They utilize the notion of 'government interference' to make profits in the form of 'protective tariffs.'  (Overstreet 179)