David Teachout's Blog, page 14

Weaving Together Our Attachments

Attachment, for the buddhist, is the root of all suffering. Attachment, for everyone, is an inevitable manifestation of relational dynamics. Thankfully these two statements are not mutually exclusive, however much they may appear to be so at face-value. Consider attachment as both a structure for guiding behavior and as a narrow means of viewing human potential, with the latter being

When Worldviews Collide: Law and Personal Conscience

For every act committed there is a set of beliefs in support of it and providing impetus for its fulfillment. Generally speaking we can refer to this set as a “worldview,” a structure of personal perspective. A person’s worldview determines what facts or evidence will be considered legitimate, in that those facts or evidence which support a particular belief within

Faith, Like All Ways of Knowing, Is A Matter of Personal Identity

To know is often metaphorically described as “seeing,” as in “I see the truth” or “I see what you mean.” Sight is felt in experience as an immediate act, a feeling that is undiminished regardless of an increased understanding of how optics work and how the brain filters and fills in information. To speak of engaging with sight is an

Why I am pro-Abortion, not Just Pro-Choice

Originally posted on ValerieTarico.com:
I believe that abortion care is a positive social good — and I think it’s time people said so. Not long ago, the Daily Kos published an article titled, I Am Pro-Choice, Not Pro-Abortion. “Has anyone ever truly been pro-abortion?” one commenter asked. Uh. Yes. Me. That would be me. I am pro-abortion like I’m…

Personal Interests Are Always Followed

When one door closes, another opens, at least so the saying goes. There are any number of humorous additions to this, not least of which is pointing out that if a door closes, you can reach out and open it again, because that’s the nature of doors. When faced with a myriad of potential paths in life, it is fair

Atheism vs Theism: A Debate Over Emptiness

No other debate seems to generate as much antipathy and levels of mutual condescension than that concerned with belief in a god. History is soaked in the martyrdom of groups of believers, often even when the groups are merely variations on a larger one. A very real fear surrounds political rhetoric concerning crusades or some other declaration pitting one religious group

Empathy: How We Form Our Relationships

Reflect on almost any day and there will inevitably be recalled an event where one’s reaction was either stronger than retrospectively desired or perhaps even came out of seeming nowhere. Unfortunately for our own continued self-doubt and the hurt affected in others, our emotional and subsequent behavioral responses are not often carefully constructed, but arise as if flame from a

You Don’t Have to Hate Anybody to be a Bigot

Originally posted on The Weekly Sift:
Throughout American history, most bigots have been nice folks who had sincere religious reasons for treating other people badly. Social conservatives were all over the airwaves and print media this week, explaining how and why the battle over marriage equality is not over. The Supreme Court may have spoken, but the other branches of…

Behavior Is Not Freedom

In a psychology textbook from college there is a picture of teenagers all dressed in various states of goth or other styles of dark clothing, the caption under it declaring this to be a form of social mimicry and conformism. I certainly had a good laugh then and I’d be lying if I said it still didn’t bring a smile

Transference Isn’t Just For Therapy

Transference is the projection of feelings from one person onto another due to conscious and unconscious empathic connection(s). There are variations on this behavior, the counseling psychology professionals in particular being concerned with distinguishing “transference” and “counter-transference,” where the former is from the client to the counselor and the latter is the reverse. For purposes of discussion, differentiating the direction is