In The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins muses about the origins of religion. (p174) ” If, then, religion is a by-product of something else, what is that something else. “ The answer to this question is simple. The ‘something else’ is Play. In fact to talk about religion and in the same breath, not use the concept […]
Richard Dawkins in the preface to The God Delusion writes of how psychiatrists tried to persuade him not to use the word Delusion since it was a technical word. Happily he ignored them and the result is a wonderful title. For The God Delusion means literally The God from Play – a key insight. Etymology […]
I was collecting some thoughts on the word delusion the other day, when I asked why, on the Net, it is common to find articles which liken sport to religion whereas none liken religion to sport . So I decided to test this bold assertion, and so Googled ” Religion as Play” and found this article “Play Makes […]
From “Humanistic Aspects of Hypnotic Communication in “Hypnosis: Research Developments and Perspectives“. Ed. Fromm and Shor. (1973) London. Paul Elek. pp481-493 Humanism as a coherent intellectual force is far more than a rejection of mechanistic and orthodox psychologies. It is a commitment to the values underlying the humanities and the arts, as well as the […]
by Dr Graham Wagstaff Having discussed some of the many phenomena attributed to hypnosis, and the associated semantic jungle, it may be useful to look again at how the whole muddle of metaphors might have come into being. I am very fortunate in that my task may have already been done for me in an excellent […]
The roots of my unbelief go back to a time when my father, who was a friend of the theologian William Barclay, came home one night and said, “ Barclay was saying tonight that Zeus was the chief Greek god. Zeus translates in Latin to Deus and Deus Pater is Jupiter, or God the […]
Roy F. Baumeister www.denisdutton.com This invited address was given at a meeting the American Psychological Association in San Francisco on August 24, 2007. The thinking it represents is part of a long-range project to understand human action and the relation of culture to behavior. Further information about Prof. Baumeister and his research can be found […]
I have a question for the list. Do members agree that a child at play is “dissociated”. If so, then does it make any sense to talk of “dissociation” rather than Play? Can anything useful ever be achieved by the use of this word as an explanation of events? It sounds like an explanation but […]
Were I a better academic or researcher, I would have been more generous with my references. Unfortunately I have source amnesia for much of it. To make amends I have added a list of some books which have greatly influenced me. My own thinking has followed that outlined in Anthony Storr’s book “Feet of Clay” […]
Most of what we know, or think we know, we have never personally experienced. We live in a world erected by the stories we hear and see and tell. Unlocking incredible riches through imagery and words, conjuring up the unseen through art, creating towering works of imagination and fact through science, poetry, song, tales, reports […]