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Thursday, July 10, 2003
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 Ralph Metzner writes: Several different diagnostic metaphors have been proposed to explain the ecologically disastrous split-- the pathological alienation-- between human consciousness and the rest of the biosphere. None of these psychological diagnoses have been made by psychologists, who seem to have taken no interest in this question thus far. From one point of view these concepts are metaphors, analogies transferred from the realm of individual psychopathology to society or even to the entire species and its relation to the nonhuman natural world. From another, they are di-agnostic tools that could be applied to the realm of collective or mass psychology, on a par with Wilhelm Reich's Mass Psychology of Fascism or Lloyd deMause's psychoanalytic interpretations of (mostly modern) historic events. In any case, the purpose of such diagnostic speculation is the same: to discern the nature of the psychological disturbance that has Homo sapiens in its grip, so that we can apply psychotherapeutic techniques and treatments to the amelioration of the present eco-catastrophe. ... The ecologically disastrous consequences of this dissociative split in Western humans' identity become clear when we reflect upon the fact that if we feel ourselves mentally and spiritually separate from our own nature (body, instincts, sensations, and so on), then this separation will also be projected outward, so that we think of ourselves as separate from the great realm of nature, the Earth, all around us. If we believe that in order to advance spiritually we have to go against, to inhibit and control, the natural feelings and impulses of our own body, then this same kind of antagonism and control will also be projected outward, supporting the well-known Western "conquest of nature" ideology. For most people in the West, their highest values, their noblest ideals, their image of themselves as spiritual beings striving to be good and come closer to God, have been deeply associated with a sense of having to overcome and separate from nature. It does not take much imagination to see how the consequences of this distorted perception have been played out in the spread of European civilization around the globe. And it is a distorted, counter-factual image: we human beings are not, in fact, separate from or superior to nature, nor do we have the right to dominate and exploit nature beyond what is necessary for our immediate needs. We are part of nature; we are in the Earth, not on it. We are like the cells in the body of the vast living organism that is planet Earth. An organism cannot continue to function healthily if one group of cells decides to dominate and cannibalize the other energy systems of the body. (07/10/03)
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 Rush W. Dozier, Jr. writes: First, be specific - in other words, identify any source of anger, pain, or threat with as much specificity and detail as possible. This tends to keep things in teh rational areas of the advanced nueral system, which are designed to handle uniqueness, and outside the primitive neural system, including the amygdala, with its relentless tendency to overgeneralize and stereotype. This approach is critically important with children. If a child does poorly on a test, a parent might say, "Let's go over these math problems together and see what you didn't understand." But if, instead, a parent makes a general negative comment ("You really let me down"), the stereotyping centers of the primitive neural system are activated, which, over time, can lead to both hate and self-hate ("I'm terrible at math and I hate it"). This step harnesses our virtually unlimited capacity to categorize existence in specific and interrelated categories - an almost miraculous attribute of the enormous human brain that has allowed ust to build global civilizations based on the most sophisticated and powerful social, spiritual, and scientific systems. Second, develop an us-us orientation, which requires you to try to empathize with others, even those with whom you have little or no natural sympathy. Empathy is not hte same as sympathy. Through empathy we seek to understand - not justifiy - another person's thoughts and feelings. It makes good sense to try to put yourself in teh shoes of even your deadliest enemies. If you can understand what specifically motivates them, you stand a much better chance of reaching an accord with them, or at least coming up with the best possible strategy for outwitting or defeating them. As long as we can empathize, we are unlikely to fall into mindless hostility and demonization. This keeps us from slipping under the control of the primitive portions of the brain, where dislike is easily transmuted into hatreed, empathy is obliterated, and opponents are transformed into a dehumanized "Them" subjec to ruthless extermination. There is a growing body of evidence that the brain is remarkably like a muscle. The more its capacities are exercised, the more they strengthen. Children who, starting at an early age, are consistently encouraged to empathize with others tend to develop a robust capacity for empathy that can last a lifetime. ... MORE. (07/10/03)
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 Popular Science -- Baby teeth may be far more valuable than parents imagined: Scientists have discovered they’re chock-full of stem cells, those seemingly magical precursors of heart, nerve and most other cell types. The find means parents may someday encourage kids to put their baby teeth into protective storage—not under a pillow—for future treatment of injuries and diseases, says Songtao Shi of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, who led the research. It may also give scientists a much needed alternative source for stem cells, which are mostly harvested from embryos—a process that has come under intense scrutiny from anti-abortion groups. So far, researchers have been able to coax baby-teeth- derived stem cells into nerve, bone and tooth-forming cells, and Shi says the cells may someday make it possible to grow new bones or to treat nerve-related diseases like Alzheimer’s. Shi, a pediatric dentist by training, says it all started when his daughter, Julia, lost her first tooth. When holding the tiny incisor in his hand, Shi suddenly spied a speck of scarlet tissue nestled deep inside. He thought it might be pulp tissue, which is choked with blood vessels and nerves that keep the bone healthy. In adults, the pulp is also where stem cells are known to hide. So when Julia’s next tooth popped out, Shi hustled it to his lab, where a closer look revealed several stem cells amid the tissue. (06/10/03)
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 Scientific American -- The sense of touch can be significantly improved using drug therapy, new research suggests. According to a report published in the current issue of the journal Science, amphetamines administered in conjunction with finger stimulation can increase a fingertip's sensitivity by 23 percent. The findings could lead to treatment options for the elderly or injured who have difficulty performing tasks that require a fine touch--buttoning a shirt, for example. Hubert R. Dinse of Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany and his colleagues outfitted 16 subjects with small discs on the tip of the right index finger that applied subtle pressure for three hours. Such stimulation triggers what is known as co-activation, in which additional neurons are recruited to the brain's somatosensory cortex to process the increased amount of tactile information. Scientists can quantify the sense of touch by determining the distance between two pins at which a person can no longer distinguish that there are two separate points pressing on his fingertip. The researchers found that after stimulation subjects performed 12 percent better on average than people who had not worn the disk. What is more, when participants were also given amphetamines, this improvement doubled. (07/10/03)
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9:20:18 AM 
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2003
Timothy Wilken.
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