Morality — our character, manners and the way we conduct ourselves with others — is currently the subject of considerable attention, producing in the process much confusion, controversy and cant. …
Beyond Culture
If one is working on a project with Israelis and Palestinians, and an email is sent to ten colleagues from each side, nine out of 10 Israelis will rapidly answer, …
Conditioning: Seeing Our Innate Susceptibility
To properly see and move past the problem of conditioning, it is not enough to just acknowledge that people can, and do, get conditioned, brainwashed and indoctrinated. It’s also necessary to …
Conditioning: The Deep Undercurrent
We’ve discussed how unmet human needs can block success in political negotiations, and how cult behaviour can fuel extremism. We’d also like to point out another critical dimension that can …
Joining the Cosmic Struggle
In a previous post entitled ‘Human Needs and the Lure of Extremism,’ we asserted that the appeal of militant groups (like ISIS) stems from their ability to provide for the unmet …
We Are Better Than Them
We usually reserve the word “cult” for groups that commit mass suicide by drinking poison-laced purple cool-aid. There is a view however that cult phenomena are much more pervasive in our …
Human Needs and the Lure of Extremism
For years, academics in the social sciences looked to socio-economics in their attempt to find an explanation for the powerful appeal of political and religious extremist groups in the Middle …
The Middle East: The Problem
For years, efforts to resolve the Israel-Palestine problem, as well as other issues in the Middle East, have floundered outright or only managed to scratch the surface of issues whose …