This map that I call the Taxonomy of Human Elements in Endeavour, THEE, is still incomplete and poses many puzzles. 

The taxonomy was a surprise discovery. I knew I wanted to find a way to help people and improve their relationships, work life and communities. And I soon found that I had to get to grips with psychosocial reality. This was because it became rapidly apparent that what people happen to think and feel has an amazing influence over what they do. Fitting in with reality, objectively or at least independently perceived, was a relatively low priority. Often, it only happens if a psychosocial process is crafted with this end in mind.

In trying to assist, I found More...

The elements in being human are still mysterious for many.  

I guess that if you ask most people to identify human elements, they will wonder what you are talking about.  You will say: "just name those things that enable you to be human, that mean that you are human and not a machine or a plant or just another animal".  They will want examples.  You refuse.  They squirm, struggle and hazard some guesses: "Is it language then?" or "making tools?" or "laughing?" or "civilization?" 

Why is being human so strange?

If you want to show them some long lists of human elements, send them More...

Christmas is time for some philosophizing. When I ask whether THEE is spiritual, I mean apart from containing spirituality-related entities as taxonomic elements (as explained in my last blog).

Answer: Yes, in a way. So let's now look at that way. 

A taxonomy uses categories to order what exists within a particular field. Until there is taxonomic clarity, it is very difficult to make sense of a field. You don't know what's there and you don't know what it's like. Try imagining chemistry without knowing the chemical elements or the periodic table. 

The field of THEE is one part of how people get on in life. Getting on in life has two parts, the biologically determined and instinctual realm, and the psychologically determined and creative realm. You and I are creative in so far as psychosocial reality is concerned. Or I should say that we are potentially creative. It is certainly possible to live largely in a zombie-like fashion, embrace conformity, and when in doubt herd, imitate and defer to others. Probably such a person More...

Can we care for each other?  Perhaps not if you are a male rat.

A study published in the prestigious journal Science (334:1427-1430, 2011) revealed that rats display empathy for each other.  In other words, they actively care about the suffering of a fellow rat.  In the experiment, the rats not only learned how to free a trapped cage-mate but shared their chocolate with them.

If rats can display empathy, surely people can.

Perhaps expecting More...

Our cultures are responsible for art, music, religion and even self-sacrifice: are they?  Our brain's wiring determines who we are: does it?  We will understand consciousness by mapping all the connections of the 100 billion nerve cells: will we?  Books and projects of this sort are the current rage.

Between biologists of the one sort trapped inside the brain, and biologists of the other sort who think they understand social life, there is scarcely room for a thinking person.  Improving our societies is then impossible.  What a relief not to be responsible for our social ills! More...