“we're drawn to characters much more than we're drawn to ideas.” Indeed. Why is that? Well, because historically ideas were conveyed through “stories.“ Think about the word “persona.“ It implies “characters.“ In fact, I would recommend to everyone the 1974 book by Claude Steiner “Scripts People Live.” That was the first book. My wife and I read together that year when we got together. Our cultures “script“ us to become the “leading actors“ in our lifelong 🎻🎻🎻 melodramas. One of my favorite Claude Steiner riffs is that of the “rescuer – victim – persecutor triangle.” I, the benevolent rescuer take it upon myself to intervene in the life of a victim, and when the victim does not comply with sufficient gratitude to with my entreaties , I then arrogate to myself permission to persecute the victim. This extends beyond individual transactional analysis psychology all the way out to entire cultures. My American culture today is mired in extreme “persecutor“ mode. To the extent I live a “scripted” life, I am not really free. I cannot engage in beneficent moral agency.
I am going to try to incorporate some of these ideas into my own life. It is so tempting to try to change my daughter’s mind with logical arguments, but that’s likely to backfire. This is a better way.
Agreed. If the aim is to change minds and hearts rather than to "win," kindness and empathy are essential tools.
“we're drawn to characters much more than we're drawn to ideas.” Indeed. Why is that? Well, because historically ideas were conveyed through “stories.“ Think about the word “persona.“ It implies “characters.“ In fact, I would recommend to everyone the 1974 book by Claude Steiner “Scripts People Live.” That was the first book. My wife and I read together that year when we got together. Our cultures “script“ us to become the “leading actors“ in our lifelong 🎻🎻🎻 melodramas. One of my favorite Claude Steiner riffs is that of the “rescuer – victim – persecutor triangle.” I, the benevolent rescuer take it upon myself to intervene in the life of a victim, and when the victim does not comply with sufficient gratitude to with my entreaties , I then arrogate to myself permission to persecute the victim. This extends beyond individual transactional analysis psychology all the way out to entire cultures. My American culture today is mired in extreme “persecutor“ mode. To the extent I live a “scripted” life, I am not really free. I cannot engage in beneficent moral agency.
I am going to try to incorporate some of these ideas into my own life. It is so tempting to try to change my daughter’s mind with logical arguments, but that’s likely to backfire. This is a better way.