Overview

The book is divided into two parts. Part I.: The central theme of Part I. is the analysis and documentation of the subtle but ever-more intrusive totalization of citizens in our contemporary democratic market societies. A reliable presentation of our condition is vital if we want to bring to an end the disempowering management procedures that threaten to alienate us from our contact with unique human qualities and that prevent us from living as free and healthy people who are concerned with the wellbeing of ourselves as well as of other human beings. It is documented how management strategies based on fear and distrust makes us uncertain of our own worth and personal judgment and leaves us in a condition of impotence in which state we are likely to surrender to external control and manipulation. It is documented that the loss of both the personal integrity and of the certainty that comes from being true to ourselves and our own values, have fatal consequences in the form of alienation, stress and disease. This entails not only immense financial and human costs, but also constitutes a tremendous democratic problem. At the community level one can fear that the disempowered, alienated and stress-ridden citizens increasingly feel isolated and powerless and without the necessary capacity to cooperate in communities and in the democratic processes and contribute to the necessary transformation into sustainability at all levels in society. Part II.: The consequences of a number of historically and culturally limiting conceptions of man and of our reality which prevents us from exploring, nurturing and developing our full potential as human beings, leads us in Part II. to the other main theme of the book: the (re) discovery of ourselves as human beings. A breaking of new grounds in our understanding and appreciation of the nature of man and of reality is reflected upon, and investigations are undertaken in order to see if this can cutback the current trend towards individualism and focus on self-interest. A new departure, which may also contribute to the realization that we exist in a multidimensional world of mutual interconnectedness where the values and qualities each of us unfold with the intention to benefit others, inevitably will benefit ourselves. This realization could be the natural ethical basis in meeting the challenges of our time, and may prove to be a golden opportunity for us to break with historical, devaluing notions of who we are as human beings. Taking decisive steps towards a more comprehensive manifestation of who we are is a starting point for the creation of a reality and a world that is beneficial to ourselves and the Earth we share with all living beings. Acknowledging that it is a matter of survival of all or of none.

Full Product Details

Author:   Nadja Praetorius
Publisher:   Whyte Tracks Publishing
Imprint:   Whyte Tracks
Edition:   2nd Revised edition
ISBN:  

9788792632852

ISBN 10:   8792632858
Pages:   244
Publication Date:   07 October 2017
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Brief outline of the contents PART I. REFLECTING MODERN-DAY WAY OF LIFE Chapter 1 ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE A timeless moment in space An age of change and new departures The Japanese disaster as an emblem Evolution and technological development: a contemporary paradox? Who is connected? Rational bypassing Qualified optimism. Participation and intervention The unveiling of deceptions An indication of turning points? Challenges to change The cost of neglecting the human factor The existential choice Chapter 2 THE VITAL CAPACITY OF REFLECTION AND INVESTIGATION A crack in time Interpretations of reality Selective distrust Fixed mental structures and neural networks Reflection and investigation Is humanity losing its influence? Reality deprivation The human involvement Existential choices Theories about humanity Quantitative research methodologies Qualitative research methodologies Methodological considerations Rational bypassing and Complementarity Humanity in an all-embracing perspective The complex human being The rediscovery of direct experience The gracious space of compassion Chapter 3 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MEANING The overlooked subject Normative assumptions and scientific incapacitation Crazy or normal? Consequences of scientific lapses Georg's forest Reality converted into language games The unruly reality The responsibility for basic sanity The Existential Point of Departure Basic human preconditions Meaning, coherence, perspective and value Making sense of meaning The need for value, appreciation and belonging The survival strategies of powerlessness Existence, meaning, and ethics Counteracting the dire consequences of reductionism and reification Chapter 4 ALIENATION, STRESS AND CONFORMIST INDIVIDUALISM Out of the box - out of the closet? A metaphor The alienated human being Alienation and inner homelessness The fragile identity formation of alienation The relation between dehumanization, alienation and stress Self-perpetuating estrangement Depression and stress The work-adjusted concept of competition Competition, truth and deceit The normalization of untruthfulness Prescribed untrustworthiness Untrustworthiness - a case When untrustworthiness hits home When reality has to be redefined to be endured Conformist individualism Research with the telescope to the blind eye When scientific status is bestowed on urban legends Emancipation from the hegemony of dehumanization and alienation PART II EXPLORING THE HUMAN POTENTIAL Chapter 5 DEVELOPMENT: EMPATHIC COOPERATION OR ALIENATING SUBMISSION? The wonder of the unpredictable Perspectives on childrearing in a Polynesian Island Blind spots and eye openers Groundbreaking research on the human processes of formation Attachment Theories Attachment, exploration and empathy Attachment over time Attentive empathy and rational manageability The social implications of attachment theories Being and development Survival strategies and inner estrangement Alienation and traumatization in the personality formation Personal emancipation as maturation process The societally relevant human being Theethical challenge of our time Chapter 6 IN PURSUIT OF THE AUTHENTIC Who do we want to be? Individuation - independence - authenticity The ethical dilemma of the individual Who do we think we are? What do we mean by evolution ? An indigenous culture What good are questions? A different life Glimpses of change The same, yet incomparable Chapter 7 LANGUAGE AND THE MULTIFACETED REALITY Language, identity and the all-encompassing reality Reflections on language Questions we refrain from asking What we can learn from Mungiki Communal sharing and caring Taupongi's journey Chapter 8 SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY IN THE ORDINARY Dream and reality The imperceptible self-forgetfulness The unification of supposedly irreconcilable aspects The ethical paradox and existential considerations Different causes for the separation The ethical paradox and biological preconditions The common ground of the existential and the biological perspectives Overcoming the battle of survival: an account The ethical paradox on a societal level Paradigm shift: investigating reality Exploration of the multi-faceted mind Seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary Bibliography

Reviews

Never before has such research been achieved and nor has the disciplinary specialization been greater. Nadja U. Praetorius is rare in that she combines findings from diverse fields. This is the only way forward if the application of knowledge is truly to benefit humanity. Praetorius draws on everything from anthropological and psychological, to physicists' and zoologists' studies, to debunk the crippling concept of mankind on offer by economists, including the way our children are socialized into society. In humanity's present situation, a capitalist market economy has prevailed. Restrictions on global trade have been lifted; production, trade and transport have created wealth, but have also caused a growing inequality and harm to the climate and the environment around the globe. On a national level, governmental economic authorities are dominant in relation to the departments that deal with the environment, education, social conditions as well as cultural areas. The marketization of the individual penetrates ever deeper into what was previously the private sphere and traditional caregivers such as families and local social networks are on the retreat. Networking in this day and age is carried out often cynically motivated to gain an edge on the competition and management thinking that revolves around manipulating others has reached new heights. Praetorius shows how our goals for future development, supplant our sense of presence in the here and now. The mindset of the current market economy is built on a primitive image of individualized, self-interest maximization that causes alienation and creates scores of mental and physical afflictions. Paradoxically, we are becoming individualized - in a conformist manner. Nadja U. Praetorius sets the stage for a much-needed revolt against the dominance of this misconception of humankind. In a masterful stroke, she revives the almost forgotten concept of alienation, whereby having the natural connection with ourselves and our human potential stifled, we become alienated. Then any possibility of entering into more than merely manipulative relations with others, is reduced. Nadja U. Praetorius wishes to return authenticity to human beings to lead full lives, instead of being crippled conformist individuals. This is why her book deserves a wide circulation--Tim Knudsen, Professor emeritus of political science, Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen Copenhagen University

Author Information

Dr Nadja U. Praetorius holds a doctorate in psychology and MA in psychotherapy. She started her university career as a teacher and researcher and was appointed assistant professor and associate professor of cross-cultural psychology and social psychology at the University of Copenhagen and of Roskilde. She has had during the same period, a research fellowship at the Sorbonne, Paris, and worked as a visiting professor at various universities in USA, where she taught cross-cultural research. After several years university professorship she chose a career change and trained as a clinical psychologist. Based on the therapist education in Scandinavia and the US, she worked in private practice and as a supervisor and teacher for psychologists and other professionals dealing in private and public institutions. Her work has been particularly influential in the prevention and treatment of trauma and stress. Published: 2007: Stress. -modern trauma Klim 2013: Ethical Challenges in a Global Time Dansk psykologisk forlag 2016: MAKEING A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE, Klim. She is co-author of various anthologies on stress and inadequate working conditions in social and health services and in educational institutions (publishing house KLIM, publisher Samfundslitteratur, publisher Jensen & Dalgaard). She has also published numerous research articles of her own and continues to lecture by invitation globally in Universities, University colleges, Free Universities, in trade unions, and at conferences on employment methods.

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