Re: Nothing Wrong with SES
Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 3:44 pm
StallatSES,
Yes, self-deception is at the heart of the matter, and the reasons for it are often (possibly always) answered by personal psychology.
Anecdote for you: one SES member gave a speech on why they are a member, it was all about how wretched they once felt about themselves, that they hated themselves. SES had made them feel like a better person. This speech did not include the self-observation that what had occurred here may in fact have been a gigantic ego boost, precisely because they had been persuaded that they had become a better person by transcending the limitations of the ego. The absurdity of that notion was not addressed. To my mind they had deceived themselves, but the organization appears to have been instrumental in them doing so. They were susceptible to engineered self-deception because they too desperately wanted to transcend who they were. They were given a mirage that they preferred. I think they would have to leave SES for a while to fully become conscious that they had been through this complex psychological process.
Yes, self-deception is at the heart of the matter, and the reasons for it are often (possibly always) answered by personal psychology.
Anecdote for you: one SES member gave a speech on why they are a member, it was all about how wretched they once felt about themselves, that they hated themselves. SES had made them feel like a better person. This speech did not include the self-observation that what had occurred here may in fact have been a gigantic ego boost, precisely because they had been persuaded that they had become a better person by transcending the limitations of the ego. The absurdity of that notion was not addressed. To my mind they had deceived themselves, but the organization appears to have been instrumental in them doing so. They were susceptible to engineered self-deception because they too desperately wanted to transcend who they were. They were given a mirage that they preferred. I think they would have to leave SES for a while to fully become conscious that they had been through this complex psychological process.