Applied Wisdom

SCIENCE and QUALITY OF LIFE

Leon Kass is a professor of ethics at University of Chicago and a former head of the President’s commission on “Bio-ethics”.  He is concerned that the biotechnological revolution offers seductive promises of a perfect “other than human” future in which we shall be as gods, ageless and blissful.

The following is an excerpt from an article he wrote about the limitations of science to contribute to a better quality of life.  It is a brief introduction.

 The new scientism neglects the ethical and spiritual aspects of the human animal.  For we alone among the animals go in for ethicizing, in concerning ourselves with how to live. We alone among the animals ask not only “What can I know”, but also “what I ought to do?”  What may I hope?” These are the great longings of the human soul which science does not satisfy.

 Science by design is notoriously morally neutral.  It is silent regarding the distinction between better and worse, right and wrong and the noble and the base. 

…..It can offer no standards to guide the use of the awesome powers it places in human hands. Though it seeks universal knowledge, it has no answer to moral relativism.  IT know not what charity is, what charity requires, or even whether and why it is good. “

Wisdom Anecdote

I read the following two anecdotes in Huston Smith's classic work - The World's Religions.

He wrote them when discussing Confuius' attempt to instil stories and legends of moral quality witin the fabric of society.

#1 - The King asked: "What would you say of the person who is liked by all his fellow townsmen?"..... "That is not sufficient", was the reply. "What is better is that the good among his fellow townsmen like him, and the bad hate him".

#2 - The Master said: "The well bred are dignified but not pompous, the ill bred are pompous bt not dignified.

 

 

Women and Men - Beauty and Status

Wisdom of the ages

When walking into a crowd of strangers a woman is initially judged by her beauty.  When walking into a crowd a man is judged by his status - power and money. 

  A woman's status is ascribed (inherent) and a man's status is acquired.

Which carries more pressure and tension?

 

 

 

Greatness measured in principle not in possessions

I came across the following mention of Gandhi in Huston Smith's 

50th edition of "The World's  Religions".

It is inspiring to imagine want you can do when you dedicate your life to a vrtuous cause.

 " Gandhi's name became, in the midlle of the twnetieth century, the counterpoise to those of Stalin and Hitler.  The achievement for which the world credited this man, was:

• the British withdrawal from India in peace
• he renamed India's untouchables  harijan, "God's people, and raised them to human stature.

And in doing so he provided the nonviolent strategy as well as the insppiration for Martin Luther King Jr's civil rights movement in the USA."

Gandi was a man who weighed less than a hundred pounds and whose worldy possessions when he died were worth less than two dollars.

Some words of wisdom from a great man:

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

"An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind."

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."

Are you more flocused on promotion or prevention?

Do you think you are focused more on what you have to gain or what you have to lose?

One approach is called in psychological literature “promotion focus” and the other is called “prevention focus”.

With a promotion focus goals are thought about in terms of achievement and accomplishment. They are about doing something you would ideally like to do. They are about maximizing gains and avoiding missed opportunities.

On the other hand, prevention focuses on goals are thought about in terms of safety and danger. They are about fulfilling responsibilities. These people are minimizing losses. One group may give up too soon and the other may not know when to quit.

If you are a parent (or a CEO) this also effects how you deal with your children or employees.

If you are promotion oriented when they do something right they are rewarded with praise and being ignored when they don’t do what they should

  On the other hand, if you have a prevention attitude you will likely punish for doing something wrong.  The reward for doing something right is NOT punishing them.

It seems like aa simple vignette regarding a child’s report card helps to concretize it.  A promotion type parent will give a lot of praise and reward for an A, and will pay little attention to the C.  A preventive parent will criticize and spend a lot of time dealing with the C and will ignore or give minimal attention to an A.

No one is completely one or the other – but think about your tendency. Are you more prone to promotion or prevention? Are you more focused on success or preventing failure?

 What is the advantage and disadvantage for you and your employees or children?

Do you think you are focused more on what you have to gain or what you have to lose?

 

BEAUTY - A Quote from Leaon Kass

In his book on the Dignity of Man, Leon Kass, a famous bioethical philospher thinker wrote the followingwords of wisdom  about beauty.

"...only a mortal being, aware of his mortality, and the transience and vvulnerability of all natural things, is moved to make beautiful artifacts , objects that will last, objects that will be immune to decay as their maker is not..."

DEATH and LIFE SIGNIFICANCE

Ernest Becker wrote "What is of paramount importance, what man really fears is not so much extinction but extinction with insignificance"

Often we find significance in our connection to generations of family. Some African cultures have two words for dead. One is simply dead, while the other means "really dead".  In the first instance the person has died, but there are those still alive who remember her. The second meaning is ta the person has been lost to living memory.

You may live as long as your grandchildren remember.   What if there are no grandchhildren or if now the grandchildren have grandchildren?  When there is no one to remember you, have you finally come to an end?

Let us use such wisdom to lead a life of meaning, purpose and significance.

Ethics and Values

"Ethics and what we care about are not by any means the same thing. ...Ethics are the rules yoou apply to get what you care about. What you care about - your values - is more basic than ethics."  -  Martin Seligman "Flourish".

Ethics are the standards we learn or think about. What we care about, our values, is how we live and what we do. 

The bottom line is that what we do is more important than what we think.  Using one to get to the other is applied wisdom.

Tap Into the Drives of People and Motivate Them

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PSYCHOLOGY

 

DON’T  USE REWARD AND PUNISHMENT FOR LONG TERM SUCCESS

 

A Jerusalem Post Column

Feb 4, 2011

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   

  “Rewards and punishment are the lowest forms of education” – Chinese philosopher

It has been accepted that the most effective way to motivate people in business is to use money. Reward by paying more and punish by limiting pay. In everyday language this is the carrot and stick method of motivation.  It is a method of using an external measure (money) as the key to motivation.

 This method is promoted by B.F. Skinner.  His behaviorist approach to dealing with people supported motivating people through rewards and punishments.  His premise is to dangle a bigger carrot to encourage the preferred behavior.  In essence, Skinner’s approach promotes treating people as no different than our domesticated dogs or horses. 

For those of us who do believe there is a distinction between animals and humans, psychological research has brought us redemption.  This research shows that the benefits of motivation by reward and punishment are limited. 

In fact, psychologist Edmund Deci has shown that rewarding achievement, while beneficial in the short term may actually be detrimental in the long term.

Deci created an experiment in which two groups had to configure assorted cubes into different complicated designs. During each session, he took time out and observed the groups through a window, seeing if they would continue to try to solve the puzzle.  He repeated the session three times, each with slightly different conditions.  .

During the first session Group A and Group B were both treated equally. During the second session, Group A was given the incentive of receiving money for every design they complete correctly.  For the third session, Group A was told that no additional funds were available and they were not being paid to complete the puzzle designs.

The result for Group A was that they were significantly less motivated during the third session when they were not paid than they were in the second session.   Group B, which never received a monetary reward, slowly improved their performance and showed increased interest in the challenge.

Deci completed two other similar experiments, with the same results. He interpreted this as indicating that money can offer a short term boost in performance but the effect wears off. In fact it can even reduce a person’s longer term motivation to continue.

Another limitation of monetary reward is that it can limit creativity.  People become so focused and stressed to attain the reward that their “creative juices” can be limited

Rewarding with money does have some applications.  Money can be effective for routine tasks that are completed with minor changes throughout the day.    This is also the case for a task that needs to be repeated often in order to meet a deadline.  Business examples are: finishing and processing of paperwork, shipping out orders, or completing telemarketing calls within a time frame.

An alternative to relying on money for motivation is to focus on people’s internal motivation.  It means offering people the chance to do what interests them. The work of psychologist Deci also showed that people can be motivated by the challenge of a task.  When people are motivated in such a way they think and work more independently and creatively.   

The author Daniel Pink wrote two books that emphasize the importance of just such internal motivation in our present work environments -The Whole New Mind and Drive.

He concludes that in our new world of global commerce, companies are required to tap into the internal drives of their employees because it can inspire their creativity.  And creativity is a necessary component for business success.

Pink highlights that in today’s world markets are becoming more accessible to competition from companies all over the world. As a result companies need to be more innovative and “cutting edge” to compete.  Any simple uncreative jobs will be outsourced to an undeveloped third world country.  

Therefore business needs to tap into creative energy in order to develop the new products and services necessary for survival and growth. .   This need for innovation applies to all companies whether service industries, energy, pharmaceutical or hi tech

Pink’s examples of internal motivation are Wikipedia and Firefox.  These are two “volunteer” business projects motivated by people’s personal motivation. And these companies beat out Microsoft, a money and profit driven business.    

 These companies were started by nonemployees who found their reward in the challenge and accomplishment, not in money. It was due to internal motivation.  Tapping into people’s internal motivation is not restricted to internet technology business.

Internal motivation is based on three primary motivating drives - for autonomy, for mastery and for purpose. These are drives that are distinctly human and unique for each individual.  Therefore they are more challenging to identify and tap into, but they are also more inspirational.  

Autonomy as applied to work is the capacity for self-direction and the freedom to do challenging work.  It effects what we do, when we do it, how we do it and with whom we do it.  It is having choice at work over your task, time, methods and people you work with.   In most cases it is hard to design, but can be more valuable than a pay raise. 

Mastery is the drive to get better and better at something that matters to you.   It is almost as if the performance of the task is its own reward.  It means you are so absorbed in the task performance that you are willing to put in endless time and effort to excel. 

Purpose is when you are committed to achieve something in service of people or a goal beyond one’s self interest.

Taking advantage of this understanding of motivation and implementing it can be a big challenge. There is no simple solution like giving a bigger financial reward.   It requires personal attention to each employee as an individual.  This has led to the growth of effective Executive coaching. Such coaching helps business executives apply motivational principles to key employees in their organizations.

The Gallup organization, which studied multinational companies, came up with an effective method which they called “Employee Engagement”.  They developed this into a measurable index and then built a system to coach business leaders in its use. The system includes some of the following principles: 

• Letting employees know their opinion counts and encourage their input
• Making sure goals are clear and known  and giving employees them the freedom in “how” to achieve them
• Creating a learning environment, with opportunity for growth and challenge
• Learning how to give effective personal attention.

As quoted by Gallup, “when human drives and needs are met, the positive emotions that result encourage employees to care about the overall welfare of the business. And more importantly, it’s hard to create passionate, engaged customers without passionate engaged employees.”

It is just as important for those of us who work independently to feel accomplishment and engagement.  Check yourself to make sure you are tapping into your own internal motivation and creative energy.  Your ability to develop customers and clients depends on it.

Dr Mann is a Psychologist and Authentic Happiness  Coach who helps adults identify strengths, create a vision for the future and achieve positive goals.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Information on Forwarding and Posting

(c) 2011  Morris Mann

You are welcome to forward this e-mail if you would like, but only in its entirety and unedited.  This material may not be published in print or posted on a web site without the express, written consent of the author

 

 

Father's Challenges in the 21st Century

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PSYCHOLOGY

 

CHALLENGES for 21^st CENTURY FATHERS

 

Morris Mann - Family and Parenting Coach

Jan 21, 2011

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~    

 

For decades the debate about balancing work and family life has been framed as an issue for women. The women’s liberation movement fought to give work and professional career opportunities for women alongside men.  The success of that effort has since given women the challenge of figuring out how to successfully balance work and family life. Now, it is an option.

Yet a recent study about fathers by psychologists at Boston College has revealed that fathers are struggling just as much or even more than mothers, to try and balance work and family.

For thousands of years, family life was determined by women’s ability to encourage a man to maintain a monogamous relationship. A woman’s commitment to the role of mother meant she was fully absorbed in the time consuming needs of caretaking of the children and running the household.  Having a dedicated adult male in the family as a father insured safety and regular sustenance to a mother and her children.   

Thus the traditional family was established with clearly defined roles for mother and father. 

That historic “traditional family” is now a rarity. In the USA, the number of “traditional families” has dipped to just fewer than 21%.  It has been replaced by ‘dual career couples and single parents.  It is women’s success in academia and corporate life that has contributed to creating these dual career family households.

Economic necessity is another factor contributing to dual career families.  Couples have decided that in order to maintain their preferred life style they need more than one parent to work and bring in income.

Men’s place in the world of work has been clear for centuries. The position of father and breadwinner were seen as virtually synonymous. Even in dual career families, often after the child/children are born, women continue working, but on a part time basis. It is men who remain primary source of family income – the breadwinners.

A father in a dual career family is now met with greater expectations regarding their role not just as breadwinners, but often as full partners in parenting.  Women feel that if they are working both in and out of the home, men need to “pull their weight” similarly. This poses a major challenge, as the workplace is not so accommodating to men taking off time for their parental role.

Employers have not embraced the concept of men sacrificing work time for family responsibilities. Work norms, still reward on the basis of showing commitment to the organization by working continuous long hours.  When a father has the desire to spend time with his children, employers are reluctant to be flexible.  A father taking time to be with his kids is often viewed as compromising his work commitment.    

The pressure fathers often feel at work is reflected in the words of one of the fathers from the Boston College study:

 “It has been somewhat frustrating to me the lack of appreciation for my con­tributions in my role [as a father].… I think there’s an assumption that when I go home I’m not doing as much. That I have more time to focus on work, because there is just a natural inclination to believe that my wife does the bulk of the work at home..

The pressure fathers feel is also internal.  Their identity is tied up with their work.  Men identify themselves by their accomplishments and financial success, which contribute to attain significant social status.   They are likely to determine their self-worth by measuring the size of their financial net worth.

This makes prioritizing the role of father over work success, difficult and challenging.  I have worked with CEO’s who travel internationally to achieve business success, yet their role as father poses one of their biggest challenges. The dilemma of when to take off and be with their children is evident whether they own their own business, are in a family business or work as professionals.

Lastly men are often subject to stress generated at home. When the woman assumes the role of mother  she is “in charge” regarding both caregiving and the running of the household. .  Thus, when  the man helps out, he is entering his wife’s domain of primary responsibility. As a result when he spends time caring for children, the experience is more likely to be that he is helping his wife, than taking a joint primary role in the parenting of the children. 

Since this help, usually only offers the mother a short reprieve from her responsibilities, she may unwittingly minimize her husband’s contribution.

 For example, a father may help to put the children to sleep, make sandwiches for lunch, and or give kids a bath. But, his wife is not likely to value that contribution as much as he does because she still feels the weight of her caretaking responsibility. The focus of the work becomes  giving the wife/mother a break from her chores as opposed to spending quality time with the kids.

What are some successful strategies for fathers to deal with these challenges?

As with many aspects of marital relationships communication is a key to helping resolve stress.  On a basic level, fathers should ask what is most helpful and mothers should show appreciation for that help, acknowledging that it is both helping her and positive paternal involvement. .

A major challenge for a father is to begin to view their own identity and self-worth as coming as much from family life as it does from accomplishments and success at work.   When asked ‘what it is that you do’, a father should develop the habit of acknowledging that you he sees himself  as a father and, not only as lawyer, investment banker or CEO. 

I heard a  good example of identifying the role of father  from  a friend of mine. He  taught school age children in South America and he told me how he successfully  got that message across to parents. . He had a child in his class who was the son of the Minister of Interior of Chile - a man of considerable public stature and political power. To focus the minister on his father role, every time my friend met the minister, he would greet him: “Hi, father of Ernesto!”

Dr Mann is a Clinical Psychologist and Certified Coach, who helps young adult males, adults in transition, and business executives achieve positive goals.  Morris.mann@gmail.com

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Information on Forwarding and Posting

(c) 2011  Morris Mann

You are welcome to forward this e-mail if you would like, but only in its entirety and unedited.  This material may not be published in print or posted on a web site without the express, written consent of the author

 

 

 

 

We need awe inspiring not awesome!

WE NEED TO FEEL AWE NOT AWESOME EXPERIENCES

Many people are awestruck in the presence of celebrities. These celebrities are usually movie stars or sports heroes, with great talent, looks or skill. It is an admiration for a status or ability that is exceptional.

Often people, go out of the way to seek contact with such celebrities: asking for autographs and trying to touch and shake hands with them. It is as if the important social status of the celebrity can be transferred through contact. 

But this sense of awe is really an exaggerated and often fleeting sense of admiration. It has led to the overused word awesome to describe an exciting or thrilling experience. 

 The psychologist Dacher Keltner explained that the true emotion of authentic awe has two distinct qualities: that of perceived vastness and of accommodation. 

Authentic awe happens when a person perceives something that is vast and something he cannot accommodate.  Not being able to accommodate means that it is beyond one’s ability to comprehend. It elicits fear, reverence or elevation. The experience makes a person stop in their “cognitive tracks” and feel small and powerless. 

 This authentic awe gives us a sense of wonder and realization that something much larger and more powerful than we are is “out there”.  Wonder alone is considered an emotion that people feel when perceiving something unexpected or rare.   Authentic awe is wonder with the added experience of reverence

One of the most awe inspiring experiences ever reported was the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mt Sinai.  The Bible describes the scene with powerful language and the experience resonates for us thousands of years later.

The dawn of the third day broke amid thunder and lightning that filled the air. Heavy clouds hung over the mountain and the steadily growing sounds of the Shofar made the people shake and tremble with fear. Moses led the children of Israel out of the camp and placed them at the foot of Mount Sinai, which was all covered by smoke and was quaking, for G-d had descended upon it in fire.  The sound of the Shofar grew louder, but suddenly all sounds ceased, and an absolute silence ensued; and then G-d proclaimed the Ten Commandments. (Exodus chapter 20)

Keltner also explains that in the past, the experience of awe was often socially associated with respect to a person in a position of power.    Society was hierarchal and people were more inclined to subordinate their own interests and goals to those of a powerful leader.  In such societies awe toward a leader reinforces commitment to the social hierarchies and different power status.

An example of this form of awe was exhibited by a commoner, in the presence of a king for the first time. The experience of the commoner involves a sense of being overwhelmed, because royalty falls outside their daily experience and knowledge.  It was also accompanied with a sense of reverence as the king had a power over the lives of the individual commoner. 

But our modern western world is governed by egalitarian values.  Most people in the Western world do not seek to idolize and revere any one individual and bestow them unlimited power over their lives

Perhaps the most common experience of awe for contemporary egalitarian societies is the response to phenomenon in nature.  We feel awe in response to large natural phenomenon such as mountains, vistas, storms and oceans. 

Yet with the advent of science and technology we are becoming immune to the awe inspiring potential of nature.  Three hundred years ago, a young boy may have asked his father why does an apple fall from the tree and his father would have answered that it did so because God wanted it to fall.  Today that father would say it is due to gravity.

The great philosopher Abraham Heshchel lamented that modern man falls into a trap of losing a sense of wonder because he believes science can explain all natural phenomenon.  That makes the wonder with nature into nothing more than a reflection of one's ignorance.

 "Indifference to the sublime wonder of living is the root of disenchantment with God” Heshchel

 Keltner explains that nature inspired awe involves a diminished self, and the sense of being in the presence of a higher power.   Natural beauty is vast in relation to the self, and can transcend one’s degree of understanding.

To allow ourselves to be open to this experience of awe in nature we need to leave our man made home environment.  We must leave the safety of our city and our home and expose ourselves to the vastness and overwhelming experience of nature.

Whether ocean, mountain, forest or jungle it can inspire awe in us.   To have been at the base of a rocky cliff with the breaking of huge waves, the thundering roar of massive waterfall or the vastness of a high mountain top can be awe inspiring.

Why is awe important?

Our experience of the vastness and incomprehensibility of a powerful natural event makes us feel small and insignificant.  It helps to develop our sense of humility.

 At the same time we revere the power behind it. Peter Berger, a famous sociologist of religion, has said that our connection to God is due to such experiences of awe. It reinforces our need to believe in a grand power that rules over a sense of order in our universe.  In fact, some powerful experiences of awe can change one’s life in profound and permanent ways.

By connecting with the divine presence during such experiences we are both recognizing our human limitations as well as developing a sense of security because we are connecting with that divine power

As Martin Seligman wrote:  “authentic  happiness comes from connecting with something greater than the self.”  There is nothing greater than connecting with God. 

This is ability of nature to inspire such a connection is evident in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson after his walk in the forest:   “in the woods we return to faith. There I feel …my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted to infinite space – all mean of egotism vanishes...I become part and parcel of God”.

Dr Mann is a Clinical Psychologist and Certified Life Coach, who helps young adult males, adults in transition, and business executives achieve positive goals.  He has offices in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. morris.mann@gmail.com

Does Science Threaten our Religious Beliefs

Evolutionary scientists claim that science proves man has evolved from other animal species.  Since science has proven many religious dogmas false over the past three centuries (i.e. the sun revolving around the earth; spontaneous regeneration), this evolutionary claim is alarming and threatening to many believers.

Not me! In fact the more I read and learn about the unique nature of man the more I believe that only God could have created such a complex unique being. My faith in God and Genesis is strengthened.

What is the evolutionary position?  It is that unique human traits can be traced to similar traits in the animal kingdom. If such traits were found in an animal species it proves for the evolutionists that this human trait has evolved from animal

An example to consider is man’s ability to adapt to his environment and transmit this acquired knowledge from one generation to the next. This human trait contributes to our developing culture and improved standards of living.

The evolutionists example of animal learning is: the Japanese species of monkeys that learned to wash their main staple of food the sweet potato prior to eating because eating the dirty potatoes  ruined their teeth. This lesson was shown to be transmitted to future generations of monkeys.  Yet, when these monkeys were brought to the USA and given clean sweet potatoes to eat, they washed them anyway.

Such an isolated example of transmitted learning which doesn’t even adapt to new environment certainly doesn’t convince me. It actually made me, think that such scientists themselves, are making a leap of faith. That is, that they, treat evolution as their own religious dogma.

Dean Hammer made this point in his book “the God Gene”, in arguing that evolutionary biologists and psychologists have to take a leap of faith as well.  They can only prove scientifically that there is a possibility that evolution can explain the development of human life They cannot prove it did so absolutely. To believe it, is the evolutionist’s taking a leap of faith. 

On the other hand, for those of us who believe God created human beings, the evidence of the uniqueness of human ability is far beyond any animal.  Do animals live any differently now than they did thousands of years ago, like we do?  I don’t think so.

Appreciating our unique human abilities can be inspiring. An example to consider is man’s unique linguistic ability.  We use language to learn from each other and advance; to resolve disputes on the basis of reason and conversation, rather than aggression; to connect past, present and future;   to think of alternative solutions; to think conceptually and systematically; and to create a cooperative society with a division of labor for greater efficiency. 

To imagine any animal doing  any one of those  is preposterous. Again this human uniqueness only strengthens and supports my belief in God’s hand in the creation of human life.

To fully understand and appreciate all human abilities is to appreciate the Godliness within us. It is to be cognizant of being “created in the Image of God.” from the “dust of the earth”  and with a “living soul”.

But, it comes with the responsibility of recognizing that all men were created equally, as our brothers, by the hand of God. All with potential for Godliness.

May such appreciation and understanding lead to increased brotherhood and peace.

 

IS BEING GOOD and COMPASSIONATE PART OF HUMAN NATURE ?

I enjoy “feel good” movies in which the guy gets the girl at the end.  I enjoy movies as being entertaining and sometimes inspiring, not though, as educational.

 

But, watching a re-run of the classic move Groundhog Day made me reflect on the question of goodness and human nature.

 

The main character, Phil Connor is a television reporter who is depicted as arrogant and selfish.  This day he feels belittled by the petty assignment in a small town and is disrespectful to his crew and the people in the town.   

 

What happens next is that he relives this same day over and over again. As a result he comes to two realizations. At first he realizes that no matter what he does there are no consequences to his actions, because no matter what happens, he will anyway wake up and it will be the same day again. This makes him terribly frustrated. He takes out that frustration by becoming annoyed with everyone.  He then realizes that he can be self indulgent. He can drink and eat without limit, and even drive off a cliff, and the next day he will be back in the same place and same reality.  This allows him to take advantage and indulge in physical pleasure and thrills. 

 

His second realization is that since he knows exactly what will happen throughout this repeated day, while others do not, he is in a position of power.  This motivates him to take advantage of people. He robs a Brinks truck and manipulates the best looking woman in town to sex.

 

After this stage of manipulating people, something remarkable happens to him. He discovers that he feels better about himself by helping other people.  He then begins to use his knowledge advantage to do good for others. He gives money, saves someone’s life and, caters to his TV crew and falls in love with his woman producer. 

 

Is such a transition possible or is it only a fantasy for a movie?

 

In some way this transition from self indulgence to manipulation and then compassion and giving, can be viewed as a transition through stages of life.  At a young age we are inclined to focus on our personal needs, and as we age we learn to reflect on life and use our knowledge for the good of those we care about.

 

But, is that a natural progression for all people?  Can we find a way to encourage compassion and goodness at younger ages?

 

Is goodness and compassion part of our nature and how can we facilitate and encourage it?