The Grand Patchwork

Climate Anxiety, Mental Health and Children & Youth

Precarious Work in Violation of Human Rights: Corporations attain Human Rights while Humans become Commodities

The Pathways to Happiness: Through Positive Psychology

Integrated Intersectionality?

Prejudice: How Can We Stop It?

Dream Hospital: Revolutionizing the Health Care System

The Meaning of Life: Gnosticism and the Sacred Feminine

Polarization of the Sexes

Breaking the Sex-Harm Link In Pornography

Interdisciplinarity and Women's Studies

The Importance of Equal Validation of Rational and Intuitive Cognitive Styles

 Testing Plato's hypothesis that everything we've been taught is based on a false premise

Challenges in Community-University Collaboration

The Pathways to Happiness: Through

Positive Psychology

Happiness is a rather difficult concept to define but intuitively, not only does everyone have an idea about what happiness is, but they also strive to have it in their life. Happiness can also be referred to as subjective well-being and/or life satisfaction (Peterson, 2006). Subjective well-being could also be defined as the combination of happiness and life satisfaction (Myers, 2000). Happiness, or subjective well being involve how the individual perceives him or herself to be and life satisfaction is how contented or fulfilled one is in their life. This paper will help those who are looking for happiness, find it more easily by discussing the three major pathways to happiness (or subjective well-being). The three major pathways are (1) Hedonia, which refers to pleasure and enjoyment (2) Engagement which refers to involvement or immersion in activities and (3) Eudaimonia which is the idea of finding meaning in life (Peterson, 2006; Personal communication, S. Sadava, Nov 11, 2008).   

Pathway of Hedonia

            Hedonism is the experience of increasing physical pleasure or enjoyment and minimizing pain (Peterson, 2006). Increasing physical pleasure can be achieved by satisfying or fulfilling sex and/or hunger needs (Oishi, Schimmack & Diener, 2001).  The idea of Hedonia implies that happiness can be found in the activities in which an individual finds the most enjoyment. Research has shown that physical pleasure can increase daily reports of life satisfaction, especially if the individual seeks pleasure during that day (Oishi et al., 2001). Happiness produced by physical pleasure can be moderated by a certain personality characteristic. Oishe et al. (2001) have found that those who are high in sensation seeking are more likely to find happiness through physical pleasures. Thus, an individual is likely to display risk taking behaviour when after stimuli that is exciting and novel (Oishe et al., 2001), Therefore, people who search pleasure are more likely to find happiness through physical pleasure.    

The concept that happiness can be reached by increasing physical pleasure and decreasing pain was taken up by the Epicureans as an ideology to improve the self (Oishe et al. 2001). This too is the contemporary implication of studying happiness. However, the contemporary view of the Epicureans is misinterpreted as over-indulgence of pleasure to the point of gluttony or sin (Oishe et al. 2001; Csikszentmihalyi, 1999). The actual idea of the Epicureans was to balance out the lows and the highs of pleasure and pain to reach the feeling and the understanding of the “power of the now” which produces a quiet bliss accompanied by the experience of the “immediate presence of existence” (Personal communication, H. Hunt, September 16, 2008).  This experience of “the power of the now” is similar to a concept proposed by Csikszentmilhalyi as “flow” (Peterson, 2006; Csikszentmihalyi, 1999). Flow can be achieved through the next pathway to happiness, Engagement.

Pathway of Engagement

            Flow produced from engagement has been found to be inwardly rewarding (Keller & Bless, 2008) and has shown that if an individual’s activities can produce a state or experience of flow, then happiness can result (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999). The key to achieving flow is finding a balance between too much control and too little control over what one is doing. (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999). The idea of flow is not to exert too much in control because flow ensues from an effortless or spontaneous state and it is through this spontaneous effortless type of flow that one can find happiness (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999). It has also been found that the flow experience is more likely reached when skill and challenge are balanced (Peterson, 2006).

Flow can be found in a number of different activities such as creativity including music, art, sports, and games. The experience distorts the passing of time and can create a feeling of oneness with the universe (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999; Peterson, 2006). From personal experience, flow from writing songs on the guitar brings the most happiness. Sometimes it feels like the song writes itself by flowing out through me, or like the song has always existed in the ether of the universe and all that was needed to be done was to grab it and bring it down into the material world. It seemed as though the song was written in three minutes, even though a half hour had gone by. It is these experiences that can produce happiness from flow.

Flow can also be reached from doing work. Job-related stress is so prevalent in society that it has been increasingly recognized in health literature (Howard, 2008). This is good news for those who feel they hate their jobs because if flow can be achieved even on an assembly line in a factory, the benefit of happiness can result (Personal communication, S. Sadava, November 17, 2008). This could potentially help people enjoy their work, which in turn could increase subjective well-being and life satisfaction. This could be an example of happiness from a mental state. We have already discussed a physical and mental pathway to happiness, but these are only two out of the three categorizations of paths to happiness. Spiritual or emotional happiness would be the next path. Therefore, another way in which flow can be reached is through religious activities and meaning (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999), bringing us to the final pathway to happiness discussed, Eudaimonia. 

Pathway of Eudaimonia

            Eudaimonia is cultivating one’s inner self (Peterson, 2006) or finding happiness through the discovery of one’s “true potential” (Ryff & Singer, 1998). It is essentially about finding meaning in life (Personal communication, S. Sadava, November 17, 2008). Activities such as yoga, Tai-Chi, Qigong, Meditation (Personal communication, M. Becker, November 10, 2008) and prayer, are examples of spiritual or religious activities that can help an individual find meaning in life. These activities can also produce a flow experience (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999).

            Spirituality is different from religion in that the former is a subjective, first hand experience whereas the latter is more formal and includes rituals, ceremonies (Personal communication, S. Sadava, November 3, 2008) and promotes an individual connection with God or the universe rather than learning about how someone else had a fabulous connection. In regard to Religion, factor analysis has found three major types of religiosity: religion as a means, religion as an end and religion as a quest (Batson & Stocks, 2005; Ryan, Rigby & King, 1993; Watson, Morris, Hood, Milliron & Stutz, 1998). Religion as a quest is more of the spiritual aspect and is described as an open-minded approach that can aid in the quest for meaning (MacLean, Walker & Matsuba, 2004). Religion is linked to happiness because it facilitates social connections and support, and promotes a healthier life style (Personal communication, S. Sadava, November 24, 2008). Through this research it has been found that social support and good health both have strong positive correlations with happiness.

             These pathways to happiness can be used as an ideology to help individuals increase happiness, subjective well-being and life satisfaction. The high sensation seeker can use physical pleasure as a means to happiness, the individual unhappy with his or her job can strive to attain flow at work to increase happiness, and happiness can be increased by finding meaning in life through spiritual and/or religious practices.Therefore, happiness can be found on a physical, mental and emotional level. And perhaps if one wanted to explore this further, there may be different combinations of physical, mental and emotional that can create higher levels of happiness. But, whatever the path you choose, please enjoy... =)

Word Count: 1,132

References

Batson, C. D., & Stocks, E. L. (2005). Religion and prejudice. In J. F. Dovidio, P. Glick

& L. A. Rudman (Eds.), On the nature of prejudice (pp.413-427). Austrailia: Blackwell.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1999). If we are so rich, why aren’t we happy? American Psychologist,

54, 821-827.

Howard, F. (2008). Managing stress or enhancing well-being? Positive psychology’s

contributions to clinical supervision. American Psychologist, 43, 105-113.

Maclean, M. A., Walker, L. J., & Matsuba, M. K. (2004). Transcendence and the moral self:

Identity integration, religion, and moral life. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion,

43, 429-437.

Myers, D. G. (2000). The funds, friends, and faith of happy people. American Psychologist, 55,

56-67.

Oishi, S., Schimmack, U., & Diener, E. (2001). Pleasures and subjective well-being. European

Journal of Personality, 15, 153-167.

Peterson, C. (2004). A primer in Positive Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.

Ryan, R. M., Rigby, S., & King, K. (1993). Two types of religious internalization and their

relations to religious orientations and mental health. Journal of Personality  and Social

Psychology, 65, 586-596. 

Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (1998). The contours of positive human health. Psychological Inquiry,

(9), 1-28.

Watson, P. J., Morris, R. J., Hood, R. W., Millron, J. T. Jr., & Stutz, N. L. (1998). Religious

orientation, identity, and the quest for meaning in ethics within an ideological surround.

International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 8, 149-164.  

Prejudice: How Can We Stop It?

Psychology of Prejudice

 Prejudice: How Can We Stop It?

            Prejudice is defined as an attitude towards a group, often seen as having an affective quality based on the beliefs held about the group’s characteristics (G. Hodson, personal communication, January 9, 2008). Other aspects involved or implied within this definition of prejudice are categorization and stereotypes. Categorization is a natural phenomenon and is seen to lead to stereotypes (Macrae & Bodenhausen, 2000), which are defined by Lippman as the pictures in our heads of the beliefs about a group’s characteristics or qualities (G. Hodson, personal communication, January 16, 2008).

The modern view of prejudice is that it is socially unacceptable and unjust. This is quite different from traditional attitudes towards prejudice which was seen to be socially acceptable and was expressed overtly. Because prejudice is seen as socially unacceptable, a lot of research is oriented towards unpacking and understanding the phenomenon. However, little research in the area is geared towards finding a solution to reduce prejudice. This paper will focus on some of the research available discussing ways to reduce, eliminate or control prejudice tendencies. Correlates to prejudice such as categorization, stereotypes, intergroup anxiety, and the role of religion in prejudice will be examined. Limitations and future directions will be discussed in regard to this research, and lastly, Allport’s notion that “self-insight is a necessary but insufficient step toward overcoming prejudice” (as cited by Devine, 2005, p 329) will be challenged.

Categorization

            Our perceptual systems are designed to take in and organize information coming into our senses from the environment (Schiffman, 2001). These automatic processes store this information, allow room to process new, novel information and thus reduce the possibility of stress or overload (P. Tyson, personal communication, March 13, 2007). The way categorization processing works is as information comes in, it is organized into similar and dissimilar stimuli. This affects the way we perceive and process information. For example, Mach Bands are a phenomenon that occurs when we look at edges, like a table or stairs. Contours are more easily perceived because the receptors in the eye exaggerate the difference between dim and bright light. It is functional and natural because it helps us to navigate better in our environment (Schiffman, 2001).

            The problem with this processing, and how it relates to prejudice is that when we look at people, we tend to exaggerate the differences between group members (Tajfel, 1969). Automatic processing leads us to categorize people into groups, this reduces the perceived variation of individual differences within the group and leads to inaccurate assumptions (Taylor, Sheatsley, & Greeley, 1978). 

Recognizing and understanding that categorization is a process common and natural in humans can help reduce prejudiced tendencies because we could potentially use this knowledge to notice when we are assessing people in this manner. Categorization can be combated with a process called decategorization which could break up the pattern of seeing people as members of groups, and begin to see them more as individuals (Reik, Mania & Gaertner, 2006). The understanding of categorization and decategorization is important to reducing prejudice because according to Macrae and Bodenhausen (2000), it is categorization that leads to stereotyping.

Stereotyping

            Knowing how to detect when stereotypes are activated is useful for reducing prejudice (Devine, 2005). Stereotypes can be activated in many ways. Cues from the environment can activate stereotypes (Taylor et al, 1978). For example, just seeing someone of another race can activate pre-existing stereotypes of members of that group. What is unusual about stereotypes and their activation is that pre-existing stereotype categories are activated more by being in a positive, happy mood. Most people desire this state, but a happy mood can trigger automatic processing that is more simplistic or heuristic, thus activating the stereotype category (Forgas & Feidler, 1995). I hypothesis that this might be a confound because perhaps stereotypes are associated with jokes, which is also associated with laughter and thus a "happy" mood. <<<But, this paper is not about me and what I think lol>>>

People can also be motivated to activate stereotype categories by being exposed to negative feedback or comments (Sinclair & Kunda, 1999). So watch out for crowds. It has been shown that teen risk taking behaviour and poor cost-benefit analysis are moderated or impeded as the number of peers increase (Mrug & Windle, 2009).

It is important to know the various ways in which stereotypes can be activated because if one has the desire to reduce their prejudiced thoughts, they can learn to detect the activation of the stereotype and use it as a cue to reduce these tendencies (Devine, 2005). For example Allport discusses inner conflict which is a feeling of guilt that occurs when a person’s thoughts or actions go against their personal egalitarian beliefs (as cited in Devine, 2005). These feelings of guilt or conflict can be used as a cue for preventing future acts, thoughts or feelings of prejudice. These cues are referred to as Post Consciousness Cues for Control (Devine, 2005). Once the conflict triggers activation of stereotypical thoughts, it can allow the person to hesitate long enough to consider their actions and thus interrupt future automated responses that go against egalitarian ethics. This method of reducing prejudice however is successful only in those already low in prejudice (Devine, 2005). Therefore, in low prejudiced people recognizing biases produced by our perceptual system and noticing discrepancies between ideals and behaviour, prejudice can be reduced and eventually eradicated using these cues for control.

Intergroup Threat/ Intergroup Anxiety

Another important correlate with prejudice is intergroup threat or intergroup anxiety, which is when there are anxious, nervous feelings about future contact with groups (Reik et al, 2006). Stephan, Diaz-Loving and Duran (2000) have found this to be the strongest correlate between high in-group identification and negative attitudes towards a group. The degree of anxiety increases with decreased amount of contact with the group (Stephan & Stephan, 1985). So, the more contact we make with members of out groups, the less likely anxious feelings will arise.Therefore, the more you become educated or get to know a person, the more the walls of stereotyping and prejudice break down. This is why it is recommended for those who are kidnapped to tell the perpetrator their name and start conversation. If report is made and there is knowledge about each other, it makes it harder for the perpetrator to continue afflicting pain.

It is not just the amount of contact, but the type of contact experienced. Positive contact and cooperation between groups has also been found to reduce anxiety (Reik et al, 2006). For example, studies in transactive memory have shown that a jigsaw approach to learning brings people of the group together as a team, no matter the race of the individuals in the group (J. Mitterer, personal communication, March, 2007). If the group members are given a common superordinate goal, the individuals in the group remember talents of others, it evokes better memory and learning of the task and fewer errors are made. Perhaps businesses could use this approach to reduce jealousy and intergroup anxiety. It has also been suggested that intergroup threats can be reduced by introducing cultural diversity programs (Reik et al, 2006).

Organized Religion

Evangelical Christians are a group found to oppose racial equality (Devine, 2005) which could be described as Modern Racism. It has been found that the Protestant Work Ethic is correlated with anti-black attitudes (Katz & Hass, 1988). This makes sense because the Protestant Work Ethic is an ideology that promotes working hard and if you work hard you will get the things you deserve, ultimately entry into heaven. Thus, those who do not work hard are seen as lazy “parasites” and are not worthy of rewards from society. This is seen to create prejudice because if a group is labeled or assumed to be lazy, those who endorse the Protestant Work Ethic will deny privileges and harbour negative attitudes towards the group. Capitalism was a by-product of this Ethic because if you did business with someone, you would check their credentials with the church they were afiliated with (hunt, 2003). One would be true to their word that if you pay, they would deliver. If they didn't the church would ex-communicate you. (Hunt, 2003). <<If you wish to know more about the Protestant work ethic and its role in modern society, see Science/Religion section>>

Factor analysis has found three major types of religiosity, religion as a means, religion as an end and religion as a quest (Batson & Stocks, 2005; Ryan, Rigby & King, 1993; Watson, Morris, Hood, Milliron & Stutz, 1998). It has been found that one type in particular can lead to prejudice, religion as a means (Batson & Stocks, 2005; MacLean, Walker & Matsuba, 2004) also known as an extrinsic dimension of religiosity (Batson & Stocks, 2005). This extrinsic dimension (or religion as a means) is immature and uses religion for selfish reasons such as attending church to look good in the eyes of others (Batson & Stocks, 2005; Allport & Ross, 1967; Ryan et al., 1993 & Watson et al., 1998). Accordingly, the intrinsic dimension, or religion as an end is considered to be more mature and healthy. However, the intrinsic scale seems to be correlated with a desire to not look prejudiced (Batson & Stocks, 2005).

Religion as a Quest is described as being a more open-minded approach to religion and is more of a quest for meaning (MacLean et al., 2004). Although this scale is not correlated to prejudice, it is however, correlated with extrinsic scales (Ryan et al., 1993). Religion is important to discuss because one should perhaps evaluate their reasons for being religious and choose their path carefully. If more people endorsed an intrinsic approach to religion and fully internalized its moral values, and/or treated the path to religion as an on-going quest, there would be less prejudice in the world because extrinsic scales not only correlate with low self esteem, depression and poor mental health (Ryan et al., 1993), but also to prejudice (Watson et al., 1998). 

Discussion, Limitations and Future Directions

Categorization, stereotyping, intergroup anxiety, and the role of religion are ways in which only the individual can seize and learn to control. Self-insight should not be seen as an insufficient way to reduce prejudice because all of these influences begin within the individual. Reducing prejudice is truly an “intrapersonal journey” (Devine, 2005). If prejudice is to be eliminated we all must look within ourselves and fight the natural processes and social influences through forms of inner development. More indepth intrapersonal solutions to prejudice are as follows.

Categorization/Decategorization

            Decategorization could be likened to deautomatization as studied by Deikman (1966). Deautomatization is described as being a way to rid one’s self of the automated processes built into our perceptual systems. Meditation can help deautomatize (Deikman, 1966). Through meditation we can explore and discover the influences that affect us without our awareness. Once pin pointed, these automated categories can be inserted into the post conscious detection process discussed above and could eventually be eliminated.

Perhaps it is not only the low-prejudiced people that can decategorize. Devine (2005) mentioned a brain process associated with the anterior cingular cortex (ACC) and is involved in inhibiting unintended responses. The ACC is said to help in preconscious conflict detection (Devine, 2005). The only resource a person may need to utilize both post conscious detection and preconscious conflict detection is the desire to reduce prejudiced acts and thoughts and that is something only the individual can do and therefore includes high-prejudice scoring individuals if they posses a desire to change. Overt prejudiced acts could be inhibited and reduced in high prejudice-scoring people if individuals in their ingroup chose to disapprove of prejudice. The high-prejudiced person would therefore control their tendencies due to conformity (Crandall & Stangor, 2005).

Perhaps decategorization could also occur if all people could be placed into one big, generalized category of “humans.” Prejudice could be reduced if we teach our children that all people are equal but possess different talents. If broad categories that encompass all people could be instilled early on, the automatic category or heuristic thinking that people revert to in a happy mood would be the category that we are all humans instead of smaller categorical stereotypes. If these small categories could be eliminated, then it could reduce stereotypes. It is up to the self-insight of the individual parent to do this.

Stereotype reduction

Stereotypes could also be reduced and eventually eliminated using the above method, paired with a method only briefly mentioned by Devine (1989) of replacing prejudiced thoughts with non-prejudiced thoughts. The author has tried this method with success.  It works by counteracting a negative thought that comes to mind about a person, with a positive thought. For example if an overweight person walks by and a thought arises that she is “fat,” immediately look for something positive or beautiful about that person. Perhaps she is intelligent, has a pretty face, or a great personality. The brain begins to dissolve old pathways associated with old categories and negative thoughts and begins to form new pathways from reinvented categories to positive thoughts. The more this counteractivity is conducted, the stronger the new pathways become, until prejudiced thoughts are eliminated. This, of course is entirely up to the individual.

Intergroup Anxiety and Contact

Anxiety associated with contact of a group could be reduced by travel. This way more contact with different groups can be made. Also, when we are on vacation or travelling, it tends to increase mood because adrenalin increases in exciting situations. When adrenalin is involved in contact, it is generally interpreted as positive. For example a study done where a woman interviewed some participants on a regular bridge and some on a dangerous suspension bridge. Those interviewed on the suspension bridge were more likely to interpret the woman’s questions or actions as flirtatious and were more likely to call her afterward (J. O. Mitterer, personal communication, March, 2007). Only the individual can travel and experience contact effectively with other groups. 

Contact is also important in reducing prejudice because the more we meet the individuals of an outgroup, the more we get to know them. Prototypes are examples of people we have in our head about the average or most typical person associated with that category. Exemplars are examples of that category or group drawn from actual experience. The more members of a group that we meet, the more exemplars we have to draw on. Getting to know a group in this fashion can reduce the tendency to view all of those group members the same, thus allowing us to see the true variance within the group (G. Hodson, personal communication, January 9, 2008).

Organized religion and Quest Dimension

            In regard to the intrinsic/extrinsic religiosity dimensions, perhaps Allport is not so far off to say that these tendencies lie on a continuum, especially if intrinsic scales seem to be related to a desire to not appear prejudiced in front of others (Batson & Stocks, 2005). The desire to appear non-prejudiced is an aspect of the Justification-Suppression Model and correlates to those who are already have or know they have prejudice tendencies (Saucier, Miller & Doucet, 2005). Perhaps these people are “muddled-headed” as Allport would suggest (as cited by Batson & Stocks, 2005) or are not being honest on their intrinsic measures due to socially desirability. Adding a measure of low self-monitoring and/or honesty may help sort out this counter-intuitive finding.

High ingroup identification could be moderating the relationship between religion and prejudice. It has been found that those who identify highly with their ingroup are more likely to show discriminatory behaviour to outgroup members (Gagnon & Bourhis, 1996). Thus, prejudice stemming from religion could be avoided if one does not become a full member of a particular religion. It could also be avoided by reducing the importance of being a member of a group (Forgas & Fiedler, 1995). Endorsing, instead the religion as a quest path of spirituality may increase open-mindedness and create respect for other people and their beliefs. This could be an outcome because an open-minded approach to religion can allow one to see the kernels of truth in all religion.

The religion as a quest path could also lead to redefining organized religion altogether through “mysticism.” Mysticism is less influenced by politics and social influence and is more of an inward journey (H. Hunt personal communication, March 20, 2007).  For example, cyclical patterns in organized religion have been seen by Weber and Troeltsch beginning with a small group of people that have similar mystical experiences (H. Hunt, personal communication, March 20, 2007). As word spreads, new definitions and guidelines of what it means to be religious pop up. Once a majority of the population are endorsing these experiences, the state becomes interested it and secularizes it, forming an organized religion. After a while new mystical experiences occur in another small group, then that too becomes secularized and/or a new branch of religion. The cycle continues and every time new mystics have different experiences they are met with resistance from the secularized versions of the previous cycle. Troeltsch hypothesized that we are coming to an end of the secularized cycle created by the Protestant Work Ethic and could be entering into a new age or mystical cycle (H. Hunt personal communication, March 20, 2007). The more mystics that experience new revised spiritual awakenings, the more the standards of organized religion can be changed. Thus changing and challenging the Protestant Work Ethic and it’s perpetuation of prejudice. Mystics are full of self-insight and are thus very important to changing the influences of prejudice.

It seems as though there are a lot of ways to reduce prejudice internally. No matter what you perceive from the outside, it all comes down to your interpretation or personal perception of the experience. Prejudice is therefore, possible to reduce, even eliminate. It seems as though a lot of research talks about intrapersonal ways of reduction so perhaps self-insight could be one of the most sufficient ways to reduce prejudice. In conclusion, reducing prejudice is a battle that must begin within, and each person must do their part if prejudice is to be eliminated.

References

Allport, G. W., & Ross, J. M. (1967). Personal religious orientation and prejudice.

       Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5(4), 432-443.

Batson, C. D., & Stocks, E. L. (2005). Religion and prejudice. In J. F. Dovidio, P. Glick

& L. A. Rudman (Eds.), On the nature of prejudice (pp.413-427). Austrailia:                     Blackwell.

Crandall, C. S., & Stangor, C. (2005). Conformity and prejudice. In J. F. Dovidio, P.

       Glick & L. A. Rudman (Eds.), On the nature of prejudice (pp.295-309). Austrailia:

       Blackwell.

Deikman, A. F. (1966). Deautomatization and the mystic experience. Psychiatry, 29,

       324-338.

Devine, P. G. (1989). Stereotypes and Prejudice: Their automatic and controlled

       components. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(1), 5-18.

Devine, P. G. (2005). Breaking the prejudice habit: Allport’s “Inner Conflict” revisited.

       In J. F. Dovidio, P. Glick & L. A. Rudman (Eds.), On the nature of prejudice

       (pp.327-342). Austrailia: Blackwell.

Forgas, J. P., & Fiedler, K. (1996). Us and them: Mood effects on intergroup

       discrimination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 28-40.

Gagnon, A., & Bourhis, R. Y. (1996). Discrimination in the minimal group paradigm:

       Social identity or self-interest? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 

       1289-1301.

Katz, I. & Hass, R. G. (1988). Racial ambivalence and American value conflict:

       Correlational and priming studies of dual cognitive structures. Journal of Personality

       and Social Psychology, 55, 893-905.

Maclean, M. A., Walker, L. J., & Matsuba, M. K. (2004). Transcendence and the moral

       self: Identity integration, religion, and moral life. Journal for the Scientific Study

       of Religion, 43, 429-437.

Macrae, C. N., & Bodenhausen, G. V. (2000). Social cognition: Thinking categorically

       about others. Annual Review of Psychology, 51, 93-120.

Mrug, S. & Windle, M. (2009). Moderators of negative peer influence on early adolescent externalizing behaviours. Journal of Early Adolescence, 29, 518-540.

Riek, B. M., Mania, E. W., & Gaertner, S. L. (2006). Intergroup threat and outgroup

       attitudes: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10,

       336-353.

Ryan, R. M., Rigby, S., & King, K. (1993). Two types of religious internalization and

       their relations to religious orientations and mental health. Journal of Personality

       and Social Psychology, 65, 586-596. 

Saucier, D. A., Miller, C. T., & Doucet, N. (2005). Differences in helping Whites and

       Blacks: A meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 9, 2-16.

Schiffman, H. R. (2001). Sensation and perception: An integrated approach. New York:

       John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Sinclair, L., & Kunda, Z. (1999). Reactions to a black professional: Motivated inhibition

       and activation of conflicting stereotypes. Journal of Personality and Social

       Psychology, 77(5), 885-904. 

Stephan, W. G., Diaz-Loving, R., & Duran, A. (2000). Intergroup threat theory and

       intergroup attitudes: Mexico and the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural

       Psychology, 31(2), 240-249.

Stephan, W. G., & Stephan, C. W. (1985). Intergroup anxiety. Journal of Social Issues,

       41(3), 157-175.

Tajfel, H. (1969). Cognitive aspects of prejudice. Journal of Social Issues, 25, 79-98.

Taylor, D. G., Sheatsley, P. B., & Greeley, A. M. (1978). Attitudes toward racial

       integration. Scientific American, 238, 42-49.

Watson, P. J., Morris, R. J., Hood, R. W., Millron, J. T. Jr., & Stutz, N. L. (1998).

       Religious orientation, identity, and the quest for meaning in ethics within an

       ideological surround. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 8,

       149-164.  

Dream Hospital

Evidence shows that the belief system of the patient is critical in the implementation of treatment. There was an experiment that delivered audio to the participant’s ear at the same time displaying video (there is not audio attached to the video feed). Through the audio feed was someone pronouncing the letter “d” and through the video feed was someone pronouncing the letter “p” (P.C, P. Tyson, 2003). The participant perceived the combined stimuli as the letter “b.” The participants believed this to be the correct interpretation and added it to their perceptual experience. If the researchers had never debriefed them of the experiment, they would have gone about reacting as if “buh” was the true stimulus perceived. This experiment shows that what the person perceives to be true is true for them, in their own perception of reality. Therefore, the belief system of a person is very important as it is how they perceive the world to be.

The Biopsychosocialmodel of health, according to Psychology suggests a type of medical treatment stressing the individual and their mind as well as their bodies.  The body can affect the mind just as the mind can affect the body. For example, one afflicted with an injury that leaves them in a wheelchair can leave them depressed (if that is how they perceive the world) and severe depression can cause susceptibility to physical ailments and disease. The Biopsychosocial Model of health also stresses the importance of preventing illnesses and disease.

Here's an idea that might change the future of hospital care. Introducing the Dream Hospital:

The Dream Hospital would be more like a hotel. The front lobby would be inviting and there could be people at the door. You would come in and see the reception desk, and fill out a couple sheets of questions, much like the doctor would ask anyway. But it would also ask about your belief system and what you feel would best work for you. The Biopsychosocial model sees the patient as an active member in their treatment. If the person’s world view wishes Traditional health care services, then they would be directed to the Right Wing of the hospital where they would meet with a doctor and receive prescriptions for medications.

If the person desires more homeopathic remedies, then they would be sent to the Left Wing of the hospital where they would meet with Naturopaths, nutritionists, masseuses, acupuncturists and quantum touch specialists (among other options and of course they could also send them to these specialists if they own practices throughout the city). Since, it is the world view or the belief system of the patient that is important in treatment, it does not matter which therapy or route is chosen. If they believe that therapy will work for them, then it will work for them. There will be, of course exceptions where the one treatment does not work (whether it is medication or natural remedies). In this case, the other Wing of the hospital is always available to them.

The concept of the Dream Hospital does not end there. Around back, there will be a separate entrance that is part of the hospital, but detached at the same time that will be the Dream Spa. Patients of the hospital who have been prescribed physiotherapy, or massage treatment would receive a temporary free membership to the spa where they can enjoy the hot tubs, hot rock therapies, Reiki etc. as well as the weights, yoga, Thai Chi, cardio, Falun Gong or what have you. This way people off the streets can also join the spa and utilize the programs and therapies offered. Prevention is important when it comes to health and it is even more important to change the mindset in persons that a hospital shouldn’t be just a place to go when you’re sick, but a place to go to stay healthy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGXGckunUaU

                                                                       Abstract

Exploration into the Gnostic Gospels revealed insight into creation, or what happened in the beginning and also what may happen in the end. Through Gnosticism it was found that there are two different accounts of creation that tell a story about two forces that push and pull against one another. One force wants to scatter energy and perpetuate the imbalance between the two forces (Yaldabaoth) and the other force, wishes to gather the energy back together again (Sophia/Elohhim). Right now these forces work as adversaries. The two opposing forces were operationally defined or named: Male and Female Principles. Using comparative evidence and studying similar stories found mostly in primary sources such as the Gnostic Gospels, Zohar collection, the Bible, Apocrypha, Gospel of Q, Talmud of Jmmanuel, Bhagavad-gita, Greek Mythology and other ancient myths, it was found that there is a blockade or obstacle in the way of making these forces work as compliments. My hypothesis on how Yaldabaoth maintains his imbalance is that he does it through the separation of the male and female principles and the suppression of one principle, the Sacred Feminine. It was found that reconciliation of the two principles may be possible by making the Male and Female principles equal and implementing an egalitarian society. Time permitting, possible ways to balance the male and female principles are discussed.

For me, the cosmology and the teachings of the Gnostic Gospels revealed the meaning of life. Welcome to the meaning of life in 50 minutes through Gnosticism and the Sacred Feminine.

In the Philosophy Club, I am playfully nicknamed the heretic, but my intention is not to offend or discredit another’s opinion because I believe there is a kernel of truth behind every last one, including those that are Gnostic. There may be 6.6 billion different ways to get to the union or message that I intend to unveil today. My presentation will consist of four parts. First will be a walk-through of some of the creation stories told in the Gnostic Gospels, the second will look at similar stories or symbolism in other major religions. The third part will bring the presentation back to Gnosticism, and will take a closer look and solve some problems regarding the actual and symbolic relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Finally, the fourth part will discuss possible ways to reunite Male and Female principles on an intrapersonal level, interpersonal level and in society.

 This is a flow chart, or model of my interpretation of what the Gnostic Gospels are trying to say. The ideas that the Gnostic Gospels have sparked so many ideas that I will need to explain this chart in two presentations. What you will hear today is the descent down from the upper world to the lower world. This explanation utilizes religious, spiritual and philosophical references. The other portion, the tree, or ascent back up from the lower world to the upper world requires more of a psychological, mathematical and conceptual physics angle.

 According to the Gnostic Gospels such as the Apocryphon of John, in the beginning was only the Invisible Spirit or the Virgin Spirit, who is also referred to as the perfect mother-father (pg 163; 164), an androgynous being. From this entity came a feminine character called Barbelo. She was more of an emanation or mirror image, rather than a creation. Since her emanation the pronoun used for the invisible spirit became he. She is referred to in many of the Gospels as the mother, or holy mother and represents foreknowledge, incorruptibility and Truth. “She is the first thought, [or] the image of the spirit (Meyer, 2005). Here we already see a male and female relationship built on equality and respect.

 The Invisible spirit and Barbelo conceived a child. From there The Great Invisible Spirit and Barbelo create many dimensions or “Luminaries” and these creations in turn also desired to create. In the fourth luminary Sophia is born. She represents wisdom and plays a big role in many of the Gnostic Gospels and in Greek mythology. It is said in the Apocryphon of John that she, without the consent of the Invisible Spirit created a child who was an abomination. When Sophia saw what she had created it changed into a snake figure with the face of a lion (Meyer, 2005, p. 159). She hid him where no immortal could find him and see what she had done. The offspring is a character known as Yaldabaoth also called the first ruler or world ruler (Discourse of Seth), who, in turn, wished to create realms and angels of his own. He did this and was unaware that he was really tapping into his mother’s power to do so. Upon creating his own angels he says to them “I am a jealous god and there is no other god beside me” (Meyer, 2005, p.162 & 256). 

Sophia’s power diminished because of Yaldabaoth and she eventually repented to the Invisible spirit. She was forgiven, but was sent to a place above her son to remain until she had restored what she was lacking (p. 163). Make note of that because it will be important later. Just then, from the higher realms it was announced that humankind was born and its name was Adam. Traditionally in the Hebrew language Adam means humankind including both male and female.

Yaldabaoth was curious at the sound of this proclamation. Yaldabaoth then desired to create a human in his own image and also called it Adam. This I assume to be a single entity and not another creation of an entire other humanity. He and his angels each contributed a part of the body to create this Adam then used his mother’s power to breathe life into it. Upon its completion, Adam began to utter things they didn’t understand revealing more intellect and more power then its creators. Yaldaboath and his angels grew jealous of Adam. Due to their jealousy, they blinded all of humanity with the fog of forgetfulness. They may not have understood the spiritual part of humanity, but they understood the ways of the lower or material realm. Remember, Sophia hid Yaldabaoth where no IMMORTAL could find him. This forgetfulness is the materialistic distraction of the lower realm.

The part they were jealous of is called enlightened insight and it “hid herself inside Adam,” remaining more powerful, much to the frustration of Yaldabaoth. Seeing that enlightened insight was part that was more powerful, he therefore, wished to remove “her from Adam’s side” (pg.175). The Hebrew word OLO, meaning side, can also be translated as rib (Sassoon & Dale, 1978), the Gnostic John makes sure mention here that “side” is the correct translation. As Adam slept, Yaldabaoth created a female image of what he conceived enlightened insight to be. Here we see another example of emanation, whereas she is a mirror image or side and not just a creation. When Adam awoke, he recognized her and said the famous, “this is…bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh” (pg.176). Adam clung to her and detached himself from Yaldabaoth making him even angrier.

To put a stop to this, Yadaboath defiled or raped Eve and she bore two children; Yahweh and Elohim, it is said that one is just and the other unjust. Yahweh was given power over fire and Elohim over water. They are also called Cain and Abel (Meyer, 2005, p. 177) and we know how that story goes in the Bible: Cain rose up against Abel in jealousy and killed him. Seth, the third son, according to the Gnostics was actually a product of Adam and Eve, not of Yaldabaoth and Eve. This is what makes Seth special and worthy to carry on the lineage, and thus the true inheritance. The reflection of this story can also be found in the story of Abraham in the Bible as his first son came from Hagar the maidservant and not from his true love or wife Sarah. Sarah did eventually conceive through great improbability and bore a true first son. These brothers continue to fight over the inheritance to this day.

In this long complicated story, we do not see only a male God figure, but an androgynous mother-father that split into masculine and feminine aspects who are mirror images. This is also evident in the story of Adam and Eve, as she too was a mirror image. When Adam saw his counterpart he was in awe. There were definitely some sparks there. It could also be that the Invisible spirit and Barbelo also felt this way about each other. Therefore, both the Invisible Spirit and Barbelo and Adam and Eve were one entity until the separation or the splitting of the two (Matt, Sassoon & Dale, 1978; ed. Scholem, 1949). If you think about it, Yaldabaoth wanted to separate out the part or characteristic he was jealous of in order to suppress or destroy it. This part happened to be the Sacred Feminine and the separation or splitting of the Adam could be when the inequality between men and women began.

This is confirmed in the Bible, because after the eating of the fruit, which is a metaphor for sex according to the Zohar, they were punished and were given different roles. The woman was suppressed and made to suffer more than the man. This is why I hypothesis that Yaldabaoth separated of male and female to keep the power between them weaker in order for his power to be dominant. Since then women were subsequently not allowed to be educated. Not allowed to preach and were prevented from reaching their full spiritual potential: Thus securing Yaldabaoth’s position of control over humanity.

This story perpetuates itself throughout history and as briefly discussed earlier can be seen next in her sons Cain and Abel. Cain killed Abel out of jealousy, perhaps because he is perpetuating the pattern Yaldabaoth set when he split the Adam due to his jealousy. We tend to be afraid of things we do not understand, and in regard to the true order of the universe, Yaldaboath was ignorant. Speaking of the next story of Cain and Able, the fact that Cain and Abel are nicknames for Yahweh and Elohim as mentioned in the Apocryphon of John sparked the interest to investigate these characters further.

Elohim and Eden

Upon closer investigation of Yahweh and Elohim, in the Book of Baruch there was found an interesting story of Elohim, but this time he is the creator of the earth. In this story there is no Invisible Spirit, Barbelo or Yaldabaoth, but rather there are two male figures and one female figure that all represent God. One male had foresight and could see into the future and other two entities could not. The two who could not see the future were Elohim and Eden. They were a male and female couple, just like the Invisible Spirit and Barbelo and Adam and Eve << soul mates, so to speak.>> They were so enthralled with each other that they fell madly in love. Out of this love they created the world and all things in it including humanity. Adam or humanity was meant to be a symbol of their love. According to this source Elohim donated the spirit to humankind and Eden donated the soul (Meyer, 2005). After they had finished creating the earth, Elohim wished to go back up to heaven to see if there was anything lacking in creation and when he arose, he saw a light brighter than his own and became curious. He thought he or they were the only Gods so he approached the light and demanded the presence to reveal itself. He entered into the light without his angels and there he met with the other male God, the God of foresight who showed him his creation. Elohim immediately wished to destroy the earth and humankind because he realized his spirit was trapped inside humanity and wished to gather it back. The God of foresight said he could do no evil while with him.

It was there that Elohim stayed and never returned to his bride Eden, with whom he made a loving contract. When she realized she had been abandoned, Eden, in anguish sought revenge so that Elohim would feel her pain. Thus, she began to torment the spirit within all humans to get back at him. This is how it stands today. The story in the Gospel ended with Elohim saying that if Eden known that he was with the Good, she would not have done that. But, with his abandonment, torment and evil began on earth. However, it does say that Elohim was restrained by the Good and could not come back down to her. So maybe there is more to the story that they are not telling.

Here we see a different account of what happened when the earth began, and it appears according to this source that both Eden and Elohim are at fault for the world as we know it today.Although these two stories of the creation are very different, there are similarities. For example, in the previous story, Sophia sits above her son in order to replenish or gather back what is lacking in her power or energy. In this story Elohim also wishes to gather back his energy or spirit as it is trapped within humankind. Another similarity of course, includes a love story between male and female Gods, this time their names are Elohim and Eden. This brings us to part 2 of the presentation.

Yin Yang

The idea of God embodying or being made up of both male and female principles can be found in many different religions or symbols across the world. For example, the Yin Yang can represent a balance of male and female principles. The two sides in this symbol work as compliments rather than opposing forces. 

Shiva and Shakti

According to Hinduism, the two major male and female characters of God or in this case Brahma are Shiva and Shakti respectively (Capra, 2000). Jung (1974) noticed that Shiva and Shakti are often depicted embracing at the centre of many Mandalas (p. 171). Many people believe that Hinduism is polytheist, but this is actually not the case. Each different god represents a different characteristic of the whole God or Brahma, but Brahma isn’t a person or God per se, but rather a common energy source. The idea is that the major characteristics of Brahma manifest themselves on earth in times of trouble or turmoil to teach and reveal. They then get gathered back and become one again with Brahma. So, eventually or every now and then aspects or characteristics of Brahma go out into the world and return to being one. Here we find another example of separation and the gathering back of power or energy.

Lila is another Hindu concept that states that the stories of these characteristics of Brahma are perpetuated and relived over and over again on earth (Capra, 2000), which is what the comparative evidence in this presentation will continue to reveal. Perhaps the story of Elohim and Eden and of Yaldabaoth has stamped itself so deeply into the world that it has been circling around and manifesting itself in the lives of people here on earth, starting with Cain and Abel. Perhaps the reason why there are so many divorces is because all of humanity itself has come from a broken home and we are thus repeating or living what we know. Much like what Cain did to Abel. Another example of this story repeating can be found in the story of Isis and Osiris.

Isis and Osiris

The idea that God is made up of both male and female characters can be traced back to Ancient Egypt. Here we find a similar story of a male and female ruler Gods, you know, the divine rite of kings type thing, whose names are Isis and Osiris. The story is that Osiris’ brother Set, in a jealous rage, rose up against him and killed him, sound familiar? This story follows the original pattern of jealousy and power. Set did not only kill Osiris, but scattered the pieces of his body across Egypt. Isis sought to gather back all the pieces in order to resurrect him, but could not find all the pieces. The ritual of mummification and the concept of resurrection were born with this story (Roland, 1995). Because she could not find all the pieces, she instead tried to resurrect him through her son Horus. Again we see the popular theme of a separation of parts and the need to gather them back together again. On an off note, these stories also seem to give meaning to the children’s fable of Humpty Dumpty, which previously made absolutely no sense!

Star of David

Speaking of ancient Egyptians, the ancient Egyptian symbol for the female the triangle. Pythagoras would describe the triangle as standing firmly on the earth and yearning for the wisdom of the heavens (Symbol Chart). The ancient Egyptian symbol for the male is the inverted triangle, and when these are positioned together in a certain way they create another religious symbol, the Star of David. 

 Tif’eret and Shekhinah

The idea that there are male and female aspects of God is not even new to Judaism. Within Judaism is a Mystical Sect called Kabbalah that goes into great detail of what is meant by each letter in the scriptures using numerology and even song. They have discovered that there are many puns hiding in the scriptures and seek to find new meaning behind what is believed by them to be word of God. Because Hebrew is written in such a way that there are no vowels, it is up to the reader to know, decide or interpret what the word actually means or how it reads. Sometimes there are dots above the word indicating a particular translation r pronunciation, but most of the time, there are no clues. For example, when the name of God is written in the various different translations of the Bible, these symbols appear.

These letters are more commonly translated by the Bible as YHVH. In the other translations the HVH part remains consistent but there are discrepancies in the citing of the first letter Yod. Yod is the 10^th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and there is no standardized nomenclature of this letter into English. Therefore it is sometimes depicted as a Y, and these letters are interpreted to read Yahweh, the V being pronounced as a W in this particular translation. Sometimes the Y is written as an I and reads IHVH as in Kabbalistic texts like the Greater and Lesser Holy Assembly. Even Yaldabaoth’s name is spelled with a I instead of a Y in these sources. To make things even more confusing, sometimes the first letter is interpreted as a J, arriving at the pronunciation of Jehovah.

Therefore, there are many different interpretations or translations of the Hebrew texts because the vowels are left out. Therefore the true pronunciation of things, such as the name of God can be lost. This demonstration also shows how it is nearly impossible to take the Bible literally or follow it to the letter, no pun intended.

On a similar note, the way Hebrew is written points to a necessity in knowing the language and how it sounds in order to fill in the blanks. This suggests an oral tradition of the scriptures and ironically Kabbalah was an oral tradition of the scriptures, to be finally written down in the 13^th century.The Kabbalists are not the only ones to try and find hidden messages or patterns in the Scripture. Leonardo da Vinci searched for skip sequence patterns, to find new meaning, whose endeavor was eventually continued by Michael Drosnin in his Bible Code (1997).

 Tif'eret and Shekhinah

According to Kabbalah, and its sacred book the Zohar, Tif’eret and Shekhinah are the male and female sides of God. The story of these two characters is romantic in the sense that it is said that the world was created through their energy or as some say, their orgasm. Like how any cell eventually has too much energy to keep inside its shell, it goes through mitosis, these two, who were joined at one time, were separated much like a cell, and came into being in the same way Barbelo and Eve came out from the invisible Spirit and Adam.

The Tree of life, which is this symbol here, contains the ten different letters or characteristics of God that were separated at the beginning. The ten circles or characteristics represent a path of reunification back to the One God. This is referred to as the return to the Ogdoad (Hopper, 1969). So, here again we come across the idea of two sides of God being male and female and the idea of a separation of parts or characteristics that are destined to return into being One.

To quote Matt, (1997) an expert in the Zohar, “according to Kabbalah, every human action here on earth affects the divine realm, either promoting or hindering the union of Shekhinah and her partner” (Matt, 1997, p. 1). Jesus also says something similar to this in the Gospel of Q. He says “Whoever is not with me, and the one who does not gather with me scatters” (Mack, 1993, p. 91). Here again we see the trend of the need to gather back what has been scattered (like Sophia, Elohim, Isis, Brahma etc). Kabbalah would call this energy that Sophia wishes to gather back together sparks and wishes to help return the sparks that belong to her that were used by Yaldabaoth to create the realms we are dealing with now. So, perhaps there may be a general recall of all the sparks or energy that was used in this creation. This of course has been suggested in the symbolism of the reaping of crops or wheat.

Speaking of the some other characters that wish to gather back their sparks, Sophia is found in the tree of life and is called Hokhmah, still meaning wisdom. Elohim can also be found in the Kabbalah’s Tree of Life as representing Mercy, Grace or Love. Yahweh is here too, representing Judgment. It may be important to explore the idea that Elohim is Mercy and Yahewh is Judgment. According to the Lesser Holy Assembly the problem with the world seems to be that there is inequity between Mercy and Judgment and they need to come together into a balance.

Right now these forces or characteristics are not together, but split. Evidence for this idea can be found in the Kabbalistic text The Book of the Mystery as it states in regard to Enoch that [Enoch went] “with Elohim, and not IHVH …for Elohim took him;…” (Sassoon & Dale, 1978). In the Book of Enoch an Apocryphal text, it states specifically that Enoch was loyal to Elohim and not to Yahweh. In regard to how or why they are split can also be found in the Book of Enoch. In this story, giants, who are from the upper realm or heaven fall in love with the women of earth and come down to lay with them. These are soon called the fallen angels because they revealed the secrets of heaven to the children of earth (Charles, 1964). In the Book of the Mystery in regard to the giants it states that “They were above; they went down [&] inherited the earth. They lost the good part that was in them” (Sassoon & Dale, 1978, p. 206). In Mathers’ translation he states that “they rejected the good part, which in them was the crown of mercy” (Sassoon & Dale, 1978, p. 206), and mercy as we have come to realize is associated with Elohim. So their fall was caused by a separation or rejection of mercy or Elohim, who Enoch remained loyal to. This is similar to the Gnostic story as Eden suppressed or rejected the spirit that was from Elohim to get back at him. So, she too rejected Mercy or Elohim.

 In regard to what caused the fall, in the Zohar, according to Matt, (2004) Adam’s sin caused him to be divorced from God like a “wife who has committed an indecent act.” This could point to the raping or defilement of Eve by Yaldabaoth, or to the act Yaldabaoth committed when he split the Adam. The true nature of Adam’s sin, as revealed in the Zohar was that he “drove out Et” (p. 19). According to this source Et can be interpreted as a code name for Shekhinah who is the female side of God (Matt, 1997). So, this source seems to say that the Fall happened because Adam or humankind drove out or divorced the feminine aspect of God. This is even what Elohim did to Eden when he abandoned his bride. Therefore, it could be that the fall or the original sin was actual splitting of the male and female sides.

In order rectify the fall, the reconciliation of two things may be necessary, the reconciliation of male and female principles and also of judgment and mercy. The reconciliation of judgment and mercy is discussed the Greater and Lesser Holy Assemblies. Judgment and Mercy are not called Yahweh and Elohim in this source, but rather Jerusalem and Zion and Jerusalem is not only judgment, but the male aspect and Zion according to this source does not only represent Mercy, but also the feminine aspect. So perhaps it is just the male and female aspects that need to come into balance, but in the Lesser Holy Assembly, the uniting of judgment and mercy is referred to as sweetening. It explains that this spot on the tree of life, the Foundation, represents the penis and this penis or Yesod is the “sweetening for the female, and all the desires of the male are for the female. It enters through this foundation’ into the female, into the place that is called the Zion. It is the place which most needs to be covered of the female, like the house of lower mercy.” (The Lesser Holy Assembly, p.187). This quote is teeming with male and female sexual energy, bringing us back to the idea that it is male and female principles that are split and need to be softened, sweetened or come together. Since the end is the beginning and the beginning is the end, it would stand to reason that if the world was created by a Great Orgasm, that the end of the world as we know it today would necessitate the same act, but this time in the lower world. And according to the Bible, as mentioned earlier, this end will lead to a new beginning, one ruled by God and the anointed one or the self conceived.

Another place where judgment and mercy are united is in the actual full name of God. The quote I just mentioned from Matt’s (2004) interpretation of the Zohar, in regard to Adam’s sin, the full name of God is used which is YHVH Elohim, this term or name also comes up in the Kabbalistic text The Greater Holy Assembly as IHVH ALHIM. According to this source, this is the true, full name of God and it is used when God is whole. God can be called by his full name, or is whole only when the sides of Judgment and Mercy are together. Therefore these texts seem to reveal that God is split into Judgment and Mercy, but there is a chance of reconciliation between these sides and this full name of God confirms this as it contains both IHVH, or Judgment and ALHIM which is Elohim who represents Mercy (Matt, 2004). Matt states in an earlier book (1997) that “If judgment is not softened by love [or mercy], it lashes out and threatens to destroy life” (Matt, 1997, p. 8).

Heaven and Earth

The major symbolism attached to Tif’eret and Shekhinah, is their representation of the heaven and the earth. This symbolism can also be found in the story of Elohim and Eden, as Elohim remains in heaven while Eden remains on earth. It is also reminiscent of the story in the Book of Enoch as the giants or fallen angles of heaven fell in love with the women of earth. Also, the ancient Egyptian symbol of the woman, the triangle, stands firmly on the earth and longs for heavens. The idea that heaven and earth are like a male and female couple can be found in the Bible. 

In Revelations it states that the New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven prepared as a bride to her groom and goes on to say that in regard to the New Jerusalem, Revelations 22:17 says “The Spirit and the Bride say, come” NKJ Therefore, there is a wedding theme and usually a wedding is between a male and female couple, in this case heaven marries earth in the end of times.

  The Cross

The cross is another symbol that fits into the theme of heaven and earth because the horizontal line represents earth and the vertical line represents the path to heaven, thus making the cross another religious symbol depicting the union of male and female aspects, if the male is considered to be heaven and the female, earth.

Both the Star of David and the Cross are usually not considered to be a symbol of male and female unification, but are definitely considered to be associated with Judaism and Jesus, thus bringing us to the third part of the presentation that will look more in depth into Jesus’ role in Gnosticism.

Jesus and Elohim

The Gnostic Gospels such as the Secret Book or Apocalypse of James, and the Book of BaruchBible would confirm that the God Jesus is loyal to the God of Love, outright state that Elohim is the God that Jesus is loyal to and was not corrupted into worshipping Yahweh, just like the story of Enoch. Elohim is also known as Love (Matt, 1997) and the

Jesus also states that he is the Truth, and teaches a lot about truth. Jesus is heard stating in the Gospel of Philip the famous phrase “if you know the truth, the truth will make you free” (Meyer, 2006, p. 84), which can also be found in John 8:32 in the Bible. So, he taught a lot about the truth and truth is associated with the holy mother or Barbelo, again pointing to the Sacred Feminine. The Dictionary of Philosophy states Jesus was sent to help Sophia gather back her sparks.

Other than teaching about love and truth, the Gnostic Jesus speaks in parables and riddles and teaches egalitarianism. He spends most of his time with children, women, and lepers. As a part of his egalitarian teachings, he stresses the need for equality of the sexes or male and female principles. CHANGE SLIDE.  In the Gospel of Thomas Jesus states that in order to reach the kingdom of heaven, one must make the inside the outside, and must make the male and female as one (Meyer, 2005, p.13).

Gospel of Thomas

The Lesser Holy Assembly states that the kingdom is called destroyed “because there is not equity” (p. 154). The kingdom, according to the Kabbalistic tree of life is Tiferet, the male side of God and if there is not equality, then perhaps it is because the female side is not together with him. The passage from the Lesser Holy Assembly also states that it is “because the male has been kept away from the female, and ‘equity’ has not come near to this ‘justice’” (Sassoon & Dale, 1978, p. 154). Here we see the theme of Justice or Judgment which at this time is not together with Mercy causing inequity or an imbalance.

Unfortunately, Jesus’ true message of egalitarianism and equality between men and women was suppressed and considered heresy against the beliefs of the Roman Empire. Which makes sense because the Romans are very patriarchal and were afraid of Jesus and his zelotous followers. Afraid that Jesus was going to lead them into a revolt, the Roman Empire had Jesus and his disciples killed. After the crucifixion there was a war, one that destroyed the Temple and spun the world into the dark ages and the burning of many books. This is why the Gospels were not written down during this time. Much later, the acts included the burning of women who showed any signs of spirituality. Anyway, that is another presentation altogether but if you have questions about that you can ask them at the end.

Jesus and Mary

Getting back to Jesus’ role in Gnosticism and the message he told there, Jesus had many female disciples as well as male disciples in the Gnostic Gospels and the disciple mentioned the most, other than Mary his mother is Mary Magdalene (Burstein, 2006).

In the Gnostic Gospels she is very close to Jesus. In the Gospel of Philip, it is said that he loved Mary more than all of the other disciples and is often seen kissing her on the M[outh].

The M remains in the text, but there is a convenient hole where the rest of the word should be, so it is assumed that the word is mouth. In this Gospel, Mary is called the companion of the saviour. The actual quote states that “there was Mary, Jesus’ mother, Mary, Jesus’ sister and Mary Jesus’ companion” (Meyer, 2005, p.). CHANGE SLIDE. Many scholars refuse to take this as meaning there was any sort of relationship and every time the Gospels intuitively say otherwise, they say the word kiss or companion means something else and the many mentions in these Gospels that say the Saviour loved her more than any of the other disciples there ignored. If there are three things that scholars agree with regarding Mary Magdalene is that 1. She was one of the female disciples that followed Jesus. 2. She was present at the foot of the cross with Jesus’ family during the crucifixion, and 3. That Mary was the first person Jesus appeared to after the resurrection (Burstein, 2006). This is when Jesus told Mary to administer to the other disciples his message.

This last point, did not go over well with the other disciples as they were already jealous of Jesus’ relationship with Mary. In the Gospel of Philip, “they say to him ‘why do you love her more than all of us?’ the savior answered and said to them, ‘why do I not love you like her?’” (Meyer, 2005, p.).

There is one disciple in particular who makes his misogynist views very clear and that is Peter. He is heard in the Gospel of Thomas saying “Mary should leave us, for females are not worthy of life” (Meyer, 2005, p. 25).  Jesus replies saying that he will guide the female to be more male, as he states earlier in the Gospel that in order to reach the kingdom of heaven one must make the male and female one, pointing to androgyny.

There is more of Peter’s sexism found in the Gospel of Mary when Mary reveals to the other disciples teachings that Jesus had taught to her exclusively. <<Pillow talk perhaps>> In regard to this, Peter says, “Did he really speak with a woman in private, without our knowledge? Should we all turn and listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?’” (p. 40). Levi comes to her rescue and says “Peter, you always are angry. Now I see you arguing against this woman like an adversary. If the savior made her worthy, who are you to reject her? Surely the savior knows her well. That is why he has loved her more than us‘” (Meyer, 2005, p. 41).

In these accounts the theme of jealousy comes up again, much like in the story of Yaldabaoth, Cain and Abel and Isis and Osiris. What Peter did to Mary was similar because, he rose up against her in jealousy and basically wrote her out of the New Testament. He was jealous of her because Jesus loved her more and the biggest hit was when Jesus gave the rites to teach his message, to her, a mere woman and not to him. Peter was the one who denied Jesus three times for fear of his life because the Roman Empire wished to suppress Jesus and his message and all those who taught it. Considering Peter’s misogynous views, I don’t think he agreed with Jesus’ message of equality of the sexes and this is what compelled him to build a patriarchal Christian interpretation that was more easily accepted by the Romans. 

Scholars are more likely to agree that if anything, they had a symbolic relationship rather than an actual physical relationship. But, I will talk about their possible physical relationship first then move to their symbolic relationship.

These Gnostic Gospels seem to reveal that the relationship between Jesus and Mary is more than just friendship and it may be parsimonious to theorize that they were married. Traditionally in the days of Jesus men were not allowed to be or be called a rabbi if he were not married and Jesus is called Rabbi or Rabbon several times in both the Gnostic and the Biblical Gospels. Also, in those days the only person to be asked to have anything to do with wine or food at a wedding was the groom. This could suggest that the wedding at Cana was his own wedding. Other clues that Jesus and Mary may have been married come from the Old Testament’s Song of Songs that talks about oil whose fragrance fills the wedding table. This oil is called spikenard or nard and is used in wedding rituals. This is the same oil that Mary wipes Jesus’ feet with. Another clue that hides in here is that in those days the only person allowed to see a woman with their hair down is the husband. Also, on top of this, the ritual of anointing the man with oil on their feet is known as an ancient Greek wedding ceremony called Hieros Gamos. What is very interesting here is that the Song of Songs is based on the Hieros Gamos ritual of Isis and Osiris (Burstein, 2006, p. 77), bringing us back to their story and back to Ancient Egypt. Perhaps in order to heal the wound that was in the beginning, Jesus needed to have a relationship of his own.

The Eucharist was known to Pagans as a wedding ritual where the bread represents the Goddess Demeter and the wine represents the Godman Dionysus thus revealing another love story of the Gods, this time through Greek Mythology. Early Christianity linked Mary Magdalene to the bread and Jesus to the wine (Burstein, 2006). This is where the symbolic relationship comes in.

 According to the Eleusian Mysteries, there is a ritual that is reenacted in Greece that forbids the revealing of what happens in the inner sanctum of the Temple of Demeter. In this ritual the High Priest would enter into the secret or sacred chamber in the Temple and the High Priestess would play the role of Demeter. Most scholars postulate that they perform the ieros gamos ritual that is a form of a Sacred Marriage that culminates in the symbolic birth or rebirth of a son (the internet source). This ritual reflects the ritual Mary performed on Jesus when she anointed his feet with oil. In regard to the idea of the Temple and a sacred chamber, there are parallels to the Temple in Jerusalem. 

Further research shows that Jesus and Mary symbolize the sacred bridegroom and the lost bride (Burstein, 2006). The Gnostic Gospels is rife with the symbolism of something called the Bridal chamber. The bridal chamber is symbolic of consummating the marriage between a bride and groom. In the Gnostic Gospels, the bridal chamber is said to be the Holy of the Holies which is the innermost part of the temple. This chamber in the temple is the most sacred. In regard to the birth of Jesus, it is said in the Gospel of Philip, that “On the day he came forth from the bridal chamber as one born of a bridegroom and a bride, so Jesus established all within it and it is fitting for each of the disciples to enter into his rest” (p. 71).

Also regarding the bridal chamber it is said that “The bridal chamber is within a realm superior to what we belong to, and you cannot find anything like it. These are the ones who worship in spirit and in truth, for they do not worship in Jerusalem (which as we have come to know as Judgment). There are people who do worship in Jerusalem, and they await the mysteries called the holy of holies, the curtain, which was torn. Our bridal chamber is the image of the bridal chamber above. That is why its curtain was torn from top to bottom, for some people from below had to go up” (p. 70).

The mystery of this curtain is revealed later as Jesus discusses what it will be like when the truth will be revealed. His parable is of a curtain that was not torn only at the top, otherwise the upper realm would be revealed and not torn only at the bottom because then only the lower realm would be revealed, instead the whole curtain is removed. He says the upper realm is revealed to us so that we can we can “enter the hidden realm of truth.” What is interesting about this parable is that there was a curtain that surrounded the Holy of Holies in the Temple. Jesus says when he entered into the hidden realm of truth, “The Holy of Holies was revealed and the bedchamber invited us in” (Meyer, 2005, p. 86). Sassoon’s (1978) interpretation of the Zohar mentions that it is almost uncomfortable to suggest that a sexual act is supposed to be carried out in the Holy of the Holies, or the innermost, most sacred chamber of the Temple. This brings us back to Dionysus and Demeter and the secret chamber within the temple where they carry out an eiros gamos ritual. Therefore, considering these parallel to Jesus and Mary and Dionysus and Demeter, there seems to have been some sort or wedding or sexual act. Whether it was an actual or symbolic act remains disputed, but there is no disputing that Mary did anoint Jesus with the spikenard oil.

 Perhaps to say that Jesus and Mary had a loving relationship is a threat to Yaldaboath because love seems to over-ride the distraction of material things, which seems to be where Yaldabaoth’s power over humanity lies. It is love that stands in the way of Yaldabaoth’s plan to control humanity by making them forget, and blinding them with material distractions. Therefore, love is the answer and we must bring the male and female principles back into equality or balance in order to reach the upper realm. This is the way to thwart Yaldabaoth’s plan to dominate humankind. This is what is meant by the fog of forgetfulness.

In conclusion, there seems to be a pattern found in these various sources that starts with an androgynous entity, then a splitting or separation of that entity into male and female entities. There is also a theme of scattering and the need to gather back together into the one. Yaldabaoth seems to be standing in the way of this reunification by keeping people distracted by materialism or maintaining the idea that there is no upper realm. He also seems to keep the sexes separated by introducing social stereotypes or men’s clubs that exclude women and keep them in the dark.

Therefore, it seems as though the fall occurred because the male and female were split, therefore in order to heal the wound that was from the beginning, it may be necessary to bring male and female principles back into a perfect balance. Possible ways to balance these principles intrapersonally, interpersonally and on a societal level will have to be added to the You Tube video of this presentation as we are out of time.

                            Polarization of the Sexes

 ***References under construction***

Polarization of the Sexes

            This workshop is about revealing the importance of balancing both male and female energies. Polarization can occur on 3 different levels, self or inner level, in relationships and on a social level. I’ll start with the importance of polarization in the self.

Inner Polarization

            Inside us we have a male and a female aspect. Carl Jung has called them Anima (the feminine) and Animus (the masculine). It is important to stress the terms feminine and masculine here because there is a difference between what is known as “sex” and what is known as “gender.” In Psychology, sex represents the biological category or ‘what’s between your legs’ and gender represents a cognitive or social category, or ‘what’s between the ears.’ The recognition of the difference between these two aspects is very important in Psychology and has helped shed light on why people feel like a woman trapped in a man’s body and vice versa. It not only helps us understand homosexuals and lesbians, but helps us empathize with those who are transgendered or hermaphrodites.

            The male and female aspects get confused because society has placed rules on how a male should act and how a female should act. The rules placed on women have become too limiting causing unhappiness in women who do not want to be at home and taking care of the house. Feminism has shed light on this and has forced a change in the rules of society. If it weren’t for feminism this wouldn’t have happened. However, this lecture is about the balance between the two so to me, feminism is too extreme or one-sided. This, of course is out of balance, but nature works in this way. For example after effects work like this if you stare for a long time at a blue piece of paper, you will start to see a yellow glow around it. These are the complimentary colours. Notice I said complimentary and not opposite or opposing and are set up in balance (so goes for black and white, and red and green. Also, staring at a waterfall for a long time and you look away you see an upward movement. Or when you stop the car after driving for a long time you see the pavement move.

            Following this principle, the upsurge and freedom of women, men have bounced back and created a masculinism movement. But it brings up the point that some men aren’t happy with their social restrictions. For example, boys are taught not to cry and express emotion. This causes an imbalance in emotional control or unhealthy levels of neuroticism. What’s happened since men are raised to control their emotions is a condition called Male Normative Alexithymia: Lexi meaning without, and thymia meaning emotions. This is when emotions get pushed inside and can build up and come out in inappropriate ways and at inappropriate times. For example “Rubber band Syndrome” is when unrecognized emotions build up until they erupt in an explosion of anger, and excessive strength and aggression. This one is a concern for relationships, not only because the woman can be on the wrong end of the aggression, but women tend to see expressed aggression as a temporary loss of control and men see it as a way of establishing control.

“Tin Man Approach” is when unrecognized emotions are locked up so tightly that the man no longer feels anything. This has negative effects on health as a consequence. The Emotional Funnel System is the banning  of all vulnerable emotions such as hurt, disappointment, fear and shame that are considered or programmed into the man that are unmanly and feminine. So, instead of identifying and expressing these emotions, they get funnelled into anger. As for gentle or tender emotions such as fondness, love, sensitivity and sexuality some men repress these because they are supposed to be for women. As a consequence, when these feelings rise up, they get interpreted incorrectly and experienced as unconnected lust. For example, if a guy has a feeling of fondness for his best friend, who is also a guy, this feeling gets interpreted as lust because all tender feelings must be sexual and he ends up thinking he’s having sexual feelings for his friend. These confused emotions get embedded and come out as homophobia. Due to the repression of these positive or tender emotions in men, men are unable to label and interpret there emotions properly, potentially creating these problems (Mitterer, 2007).

            Another thing that happens is something that Wilhelm Reich discovered and calls body Armour. What happens in the case of body armour is that when boys are stifle crying, their muscles tense up and their lips purse shut. If this is repeated often enough, it tells or cues the body to react this way automatically. When the body acts this way automatically, it then gets encoded into the personality.

            Now, a lady masseuse whose last name is Rolph discovered something very interesting while she was giving massages. As she loosened up these tight muscles, the clients began to cry for no reason. They were unable to attribute their crying to any particular cause. Our bodies want to keep a balance and when certain emotions are repressed, the body’s homeostasis become out of whack.

            Therefore, due to the socialization of men and women in these gender categories has caused women to be miserable and rise up, and men to lack in emotional balance or intelligence. It must be known that there are no certain characteristics that are only for men and no particular characteristics only for women. It is up to our generation to raise our children without gender stereotypes and produce healthy well adjusted adults. If the emotions get released in a proper way, the body is relaxed and healthy and if the body is healthy, so is the mind. Emotional regulation produces good physical and mental health. The body affects the mind and the mind effects the body and emotions help regulate the balance. There are some questionnaires here that can tell you if you are classically feminine, masculine, or androgynous which is a healthy balance of both. So, that’s inner polarization. Let’s move on to healthy relationships.

Polarization in relationships

                 I highly recommend completing inner polarization before you enter into a relationship. If both parties in the relationship have polarized their inner anima and animus, then the chances the relationship will last increase. Many relationships fall apart because one person hasn’t gotten to know themselves properly and begin to go in a different direction spiritually or mentally or physically during the relationship as a consequence.

It must be known that the accepted definition of reality is that all matter and energy interact and everything affects everything else. Therefore, we live in a world that is in constant flux and nothing or no one is ever exactly the same twice. You can make up a marriage contract, but if you say in it that you want everything to stay the same you are setting yourself up for failure. Many couples who go in for counseling say “what happened to the man or woman I fell in love with, I want things to be like they were.” Well unfortunately things are never the same and it is impossible to keep anything the same, even from moment to moment. People will grow and change due to new experiences and knowledge learned. If a couple is smart, they will understand this flux and accept each other for who they are at any given moment. They must be able to continue their personal growth without chains and expectations. If the personal growth of the two people in the relationship is in relatively the same direction, the more successful the relationship will be.

Hinduism teaches that there are many roads to enlightenment and each person discovers it in their own way. So, one person’s path may not be good for another and even if the paths are different, the end goal should be the same. Therefore flexibility in belief and action should be respected in a relationship. My personal formula is each person needs alone time and together time and the guy needs the guys night out with friends and the girl needs the girls night out with her friends.

So, there also needs to be a balance between men and women to create a healthy relationship. Unfortunately the damage for adults and their socialization of gender stereotypes is already done. So, you will be with men who are aggressive and dominating or you will be with women who are emotional and irrational. To work with the current dilemma of those who are already damaged by gender stereotypes, the characteristics or strengths of women should be utilized when appropriate and the characteristics or strengths of men should be utilized when they are appropriate. Not only one person should be in charge of everything. The decision making should be delegated according to strengths. If he knows about fixing stuff around the house he can be in charge of getting that stuff done. If the woman knows more about cars she can be in charge of getting that done etc. What I have found to be the most important distinction between men and women is that men are rational and women are intuitive. It should be recognized that in some situations, it is better to be rational, and in some situations it’s best to listen to your gut.

            The most important thing to know about relationships is the principle of habituation. It works very much like an aftereffect but it’s more like when you see or are exposed to a new thing you display what’s called an orientation response. Like a cat when it sees a mouse will freeze and become excited. But after the 27^th time of being exposed to that same thing the response gets less and less until there is no response anymore. It is important to be aware of this principle when it comes to relationships because when you first meet the person everything is shiny and new, then after a while the excitement gets less and less until you see them everyday and you become habituated to that person. When this happens you tune them out or become bored with the relationship. This is a natural reaction and is built into us (Tyson, 2006/07). To avoid this situation, keep a never a dull moment rule. My boyfriend, who is now my fiancée asked an 80 year old man how he stayed married for 50 years. He said we never stopped dating; I never stopped bringing her flowers. The worst thing you can do in a relationship is come home and watch TV everyday or get into a routine, this quickly wears at the relationship. Keep a good balance between routine and spontaneity and remember that no characteristic or behaviour has to strictly belong to the man and no certain behaviour has to be only for women. This brings us to the polarization of the sexes within society.

Societal Polarization

            As stated before, the socialization of gender stereotypes must not be perpetuated further. When one is unhappy in their stereotyped role, it creates something called gender role strain. If someone is unhappy with their role, they should be allowed to change it and pursue the things that make them happy. For example, have any of you heard of Malsow’s Hierarchy of Needs? It is the idea that once basic needs such as food and shelter are taken care of we are able to pursue higher needs such as recognition, emotional security and eventually at the top of the pyramid, Self Actualization. Self Actualization is defined as the right to unfold oneself and become the person they wish. Everyone should have the right to unfold themselves and achieve self actualization. Gender roles have in the past prohibited individuals of achieving or striving for this goal.

            Why do gender roles persist in society and how did they get that way in the first place?

Well, there was a time when men and women lived together in peace and harmony. Around 14^th and 15^th centuries AD Folklore and Folk Culture reined in the small suburban towns. There were parades and rituals such as dances for the gods to bless the crops and in these festivals women wore bells on the shoes and danced in a parade. The Celtic Goddess Sulas and the Goddess Minerva of wisdom and good health were among them. Women were also the physicians so to speak and were in charge of the sick and gathered and produced medicines from plants and roots in the area. They were also involved in child birth and midwifery duties to ease the pain. They did all this among household duties and women were happy in these roles until around the 16^th century when the Romans began to take over and forced all peoples to conform to their religion. The Romans did however, believe in an Earth Goddess, but began to propagandize the women’s role and power to be dark, evil and corrupt. The goal was to make people fear women’s power.  

            The advent or induction of the Roman Inquisition allowed the Romans to execute at will, the people who did not conform to their religion. The Romans, using Folklore to their advantage made the townspeople believe that the crops are scarce due to the presence of witches. A witch was any person practicing medicine and midwifery without an education. Because this was the women’s duty and women were denied education, 85% of the 9 million estimated to have died in the witch burnings were women. If there was ever genocide on women, this was it. Women’s role was diminished and men began to dance in the festivals and men were assured the position of physician and midwife.

The propaganda of the women’s power included demeaning and making anything to do with women’s power evil. For example, the medicine in which they made from gathering plants and berries became synonymous with the witches evil potions. The witch burnings began on October 31^st, which has become known as Halloween, a ritual said to be evil, and one of the main costumes is an ugly witch. Women’s menstruation used to follow the 28 day cycle of the moon, and on the new moons women used to gather together and sing dance and chant. It was a time of fun and celebration. Due to the large number of women gathered, their power was strong and a stop was put on these gatherings. Venus is the planet represented by women and its cycle in the sky forms the 5 pointed star or pentagram, which also became synonymous with evil and devil worshiping and since the common interpretation is that women caused the fall, we should be punished and beaten out of the charity of our souls (according to the movie “the burning times). Also because childbirth is supposed to be painful, midwifery, which eases the pain of childbirth was frowned upon. The age of science also came out of this movement ensuring that anything to do with feeling or women’s intuition was taken out of the picture and deemed irrational and useless.

But why? Why would the Romans do such a thing? Why the slam on women? Well, this is the part that I have been researching for 7 years now and most people do not want to hear or believe. The truth may set one free, but offend many in the process. So if any of you are offended by any of this, feel free to leave and or research it yourself.

The dilemma can be traced back to the time of Jesus. The term Messiah is literally translated into “political revolutionary.” The duty of the Messiah was to free the Jews from the Roman rule. Jesus was actually a zealot and was to lead them into the revolution against the Romans. Of course this made the Romans and the Orthodox Jews who were profiting from the Roman structure very uneasy. Why else do you think it took a cohort, which is 50 men to take Jesus away!? The Orthodox Jews and the Romans already practised patriarchy and supported the idea that women were inferior, but Jesus set out to destroy that notion. He actually advocated for equality between men and women as well as the notion that the kingdom of heaven is inside us. Jesus actually coined the term “Know thyself” it is found throughout his teachings from the Gnostic Gospels found at Nag Hammadi in 1945. Both the ideas (finding God and enlightenment within the self and equality of the sexes) were very threatening because if the body is a temple and you could find God by knowing yourself, people did not need to go to the church and give money to the church. On an off note it may be interesting to know that the Catholics tell their followers that not attending church is a moral sin. The equality of men and women is also a threat because it was taught by Jesus that polarization of the sexes is how to enter the kingdom of heaven. This too leaves the institution of the church in the dust and renders it useless. Here are some quotes from the codices found at Nag Hammadi that show Jesus was an Egalitarian which is a political term for the equality of the sexes.

Gospel of Philip
"If the female had not separated from the male, the female and the male would not have died. The separation of male and female was the beginning of death. Christ came to heal the separation that was from the beginning and reunite the two, in order to give life to those who died through separation and unite them.

When Eve was in Adam, there was no death. When she was separated form him, death came. If she enters into him again and he embraces her, death will cease to be.

It is very important to understand this passage! This is the redemption of the fall and death that humanity has endured. The male and female energies have been separated and need to be brought back together.  In order for them to be brought back together, the man has to embrace her. If we live in a culture that suppresses women and believes that women are flawed and inferior, we can never reach the kingdom of heaven.

This is the plan of those who want to control humanity. We can’t have people becoming free thinkers, and reaching the kingdom of heaven because they wouldn’t make any money! If the fall was the separation of the male and female aspects and is what the serpent has done to keep rule over the Earth and of human’s consciousness, then their reunion would end the cycle. So the serpent will continue to reign here on Earth as long as men and women don’t get along or unite properly. When man and wife unite in the Bridal Chamber, which is the symbol of this reunion, it is what threatens Satan the most.

Here is more evidence that Jesus advocated the union of male and female as part of our redemption. From the Gospel of Philip
        “The father of all united with the virgin who came down, and fire shone on him. On that day that one revealed the great bridal chamber, and in this way his body came into being. On that day he came forth from the bridal chamber as one born of a bridegroom and a bride. So, Jesus established all within it, and it is fitting for each of the disciples to enter into his rest.”
Rest is our inheritance, the true treasure of heaven
Jesus knew the importance of the union of male and female energies and therefore established “all” in the idea of the bridal chamber. This is why he said one could not enter the kingdom but through him and his message.

Many disciples didn’t want to accept the idea of making women equals. Orthodox Judaism has established teaching that disallows women to know or read the scriptures. So, Jesus’ teachings were shocking to many and were disputed often. For example, in the Gospel of Thomas, Simon Peter says:

Mary should leave us, for females are not worthy of life. Jesus said “Look, I shall guide her to make her male, …every female who makes her self male will enter heavens kingdom.

What is meant here is androgyny and it works both ways because also in the Gospel of Thomas it says:

If we become like children, shall we enter the kingdom… when you make the two one and when you make the inside the outside, the outside the inside…and the upper the lower and when you make the male and the female into a single one, so that the male is no longer male and the female is no longer female…then you shall enter the kingdom.

The keys to heaven again appear to be through the Bridal Chamber which is the sacred marriage or union of male and female.

Even the Book of Mormon mentions something about this!

They constituted the male and female, and when brought together in the Ark they did indeed manifest their unified Light and Perfection.

Why did Jesus teach equality between male and female in the first place? Well it is not a new idea, that there is a sacred union of male and female. Every major religion in the world’s God or Diety is or was a male and female union.

Ancient Egyptian
Triangle = male
Inverted triangle = female
Together = the star of David

Judaism
"On the day that God created Adam, in the likeness of God He created him, male and female He created them. He blessed them and called their name Adam...Genesis 5:1-2
Talmud "Any man who does not have a wife is without joy, without blessing, without goodness.

Ancient Kabbalah
From the Zohar - Blessings are found only where male and female are found. A human being is only called Adam when male and female are as one."
In all Kabbalistic writings God" makes up both T'firet (male) and Shekkhinah (female) entities.

Muslim
Koran (chapter XLII)
"And when He wisheth to separate them He causedth an ecstasy (or trance) to fall upon Microprosopus, and separateth the Woman from His back. And He conformeth all Her conformations, and hideth Her even unto Her day, on which She is ready to be brought before the Male.(1028-1029) And when they are associated together , then are They mutually mitigated in that day on which all things are mitigated. And therefore are the judgements mitigated mutually and restored to order... (v1039).

Taoism / Buddhism
The yin yang represents the male and female attributes fused into a unifying symbol

Hinduism
Lots of male/female union symbolism ;) if you know what I mean nudge nudge wink wink (see Kama Sutra). One way enlightenment is reached is through sexuality and orgasm, according to the Hindu tradition. Also, the male God = Shiva and the Female God or feminine energy of the universe = Shakti are husband and wife.

To tie it all together and reveal to you the real reason why the Romans feared the power of women, was not only because the union of the male and female would put them out of business and cause them to lose their control over humanity, but Jesus himself passed the right of continuing Christianity to Mary the Magdalene – a woman. Scholars all over the world cannot and do not deny this rite of passage to Mary. She was the first one that Jesus came to after the resurrection and it is to her that he said to minister to the other disciples giving her the title “ the Apostle to the Apostles.” This is the real reason why millions of women were killed and the power of women was suppressed. Thank you.
  

 Pornography: To Be or Not To Be Harmful? Feb 17th 2011

Margaret Atwood

Murray Davis

Ann Garry

Sandra

Scene – A Television Talk Show discussion on the issue of Pornography.

Sandra: Hello and welcome to “WeVibe.” Today we will be discussing the controversial topic of pornography. With me today are two respected guests: Margaret Atwood, famous novelist and poet and Ann Garry, a professor specializing in feminist philosophy and ethics: Thank-you for joining us today. In my understanding, if we are going to discuss the topic of pornography, we must first know what operational definition each person has in mind when discussing the topic.

Margaret: I agree that defining terms is very important. I learned that the hard way when “I was in Finland a few years ago for an international writers’ conference” (A 1). They were thinking pornography was merely “naked bodies and sex” (A 1) and I was referring to pornography as “women getting their nipples snipped off with garden shears [and] having meat hoo[k]s stuck into their vaginas” (A 1). 

Sandra: Yikes, that definition was graphic and explicit!

Margaret: Pornography is graphic and explicit.

Sandra: Touché.

Ann: I will concede to the idea that contemporary pornography “sometimes violates the moral principle to respect persons” (G 314), but disagree that pornography is to be exclusively defined as violent and brutal. There are many different definitions of pornography including erotica, which appeals to both men and women.

Sandra: Yes, I agree that there are many ways to define pornography. In my opinion, Margaret’s definition more describes what is referred to as “Snuff” films rather than pornography. Snuff films are the minority and are already illegal in most countries because of its violent and brutal content. I agree that the type of pornography in which Margaret refers to, is not what most people have in mind when faced with the topic of pornography. What would be your definition Ann?

Ann: I would define pornography as “explicit sexual materials intended to arouse the reader or viewer sexually” (G 313). I would like to define it as mostly innocuous in that it is not entirely harmful in the way Margaret describes. The view that “sex is an evil to be controlled” (G 312) is a view I disagree with. What would be your definition then?

Sandra: (stammering and blushing). Well, I agree with your definition, but would have to broaden it to include anything that sexually arouses and/or initiates masturbation in a person. 

Ann: So a picture of young boys playing soccer could be considered porn if you were a pedophile.

Sandra: I suppose.

Ann: This would make everything and anything subject to censorship. Are you going to tell a mother she cannot have photos of her son up on the internet?

Sandra: Margaret’s definition targets one particular fetish out of thousands of fetishes, or should I say 6.6 billion different fetishes, the kind that “get off” on death and mutilation (the crowd gasps and boos). Hey, (turning to the audience) people are weird, what can I say. This is why deciding on an objective definition of pornography and the issue of censorship is so difficult. It means something a little different to everyone. My husband likes pretty hands, but what makes a hand pretty? Pornography is in “the eye of the beholder” and more of a subjective outlook, rather than a specific objective definition (lect.).Whatever it is that turns you on becomes pornography to you.

Margaret: But, I believe it is important to find an objective definition of pornography in order to keep it from going too far or crossing the line. The definition of violence and brutality is absolutely necessary to prevent violence and brutality against women.  

Ann: How so?                                                         

Margaret: Pornography is like an addiction. For the “hard core” users of pornography, they use it like a drug addict would use drugs. They soon build up a tolerance and thus require more and more. Not just more and more hours spent, but the content needs to get more and more kinky until nothing will satisfy the appetite of the user unless it involves harm, violence and brutality, like Marquis de Sade for example (A 4).

Sandra: Marquis de Sade was banned in many countries due to its graphic sex and violence and therefore, lack of censorship is not the issue here. It was recognized that the treatment of the characters in the book was dehumanizing. Mind you, the victims of the sex acts in 120 Days of Sodom, for example did not only target women, but also men. Why the focus on women over men?

Margaret: I do admit that sometimes men are the victims in the pornography I have defined (A 1). Women are the target here because pornography could be considered “hate literature” (A 3) to women as a group.

Ann: It is true that according to the Presidential Commission on Obscenity and Pornography, “41% of American males and 46% of the females believe that ‘sexual materials lead people to lose respect for women’” (as cited by G 312). But, that was in 1970 and contemporary research suggests it may not be true.

Margaret: What contemporary research? What are your sources?

Ann: Uh… (shrugs and changes topic). In my research I focus intently on three questions in my work Pornography and Censorship…

Sandra: (jokingly). Got to get that plug in! (She shows her work to the audience and the audience laughs). Hold on a second though, I wish to discuss this idea that pornography necessarily leads to violence against women.

Ann: (annoyed). Ok.

Sandra: Margaret, there is no evidence for your “slippery slope” argument that looking at breasts necessarily leads to violence and brutality (lect.). Pornography is not a “gateway drug for violence” (me). I have done extensive research in altered states of consciousness, including drugs, and evidence has shown that it is not the drug or the act that leads to an obsession, but rather the personality type of the user (Farthing 449-478). There is a certain personality type that makes that person more prone to addiction and obsession. It is this personality type that pushes through the gateway to other, more intense drugs or porn or what have you. What you are targeting is not pornography or men as a whole, but one specific fetish and one specific personality type (camera pans to Margaret).

Margaret: (she has a surprised look on her face. It looks like she wants to say something, but says nothing. The camera pans back to Sandra).

Sandra: Ok now, Ann, please tell us about your research.

Ann: In my work Pornography and Censorship I seek rather to study the content of pornography to find out if 1) pornography really does “degrade, exploit or dehumanize,” if so, “does it degrade women more so than men? and 3), if it possible for an “innocuous, non-sexist pornography’ to exist” (G 313).

Margaret: 1) Of course it dehumanizes people and 2) especially women. If the kinds of acts depicted were exclusively targeted at African Americans, pornography would be banned immediately (A 3). I agree with Brownmiller, that pornography is “anti-female propaganda” (G 312)

Ann: From my research, it does seem that yes, pornography is degrading, and yes, it degrades women more (lect.). The way women are viewed is that they are seen as “more pure and delicate” (G 315). There are two types of women, those put on a pedestal of respect, and those in the gutter (G 316; lect.). The problem is that even those placed on the pedestal are still less respected than men. There is still a caste system of respect when it comes to men and women, with men on top, then “good” women, then “bad” women at the bottom. The problem is that there is asymmetry when it comes to respect. It is easier to lose respect for a woman than to lose respect for a man. Since men take the active role and women, the passive (G 317), society is more likely to believe that then man will harm the women and not the other way around (A 317).

Margaret: Agreed, this “Double Standard” raises the concern of using pornography as an educational tool. The buck has been passed, so to speak from the parent, to the school and now is starting to be “phased out” of the schools (A 3). Therefore, young men are turning to pornography to answer their questions and their needs. The largest population viewing both hard core and soft core pornography has been found to be young men ages 16-21. Pornography is teaching these young men that rape is “normal” (A 3) or “cool” (lect.) and it is therefore a powerful “propaganda device” (A 3). It also creates conflicting expectations between men and women in regard to sex. In my opinion pornography is the culprit and should not be the role model or biggest influence of what young men expect when it comes to sex. They come to expect violence and brutality. It is a bad educational tool because people tend to follow a “monkey see, monkey do” mentality (see Figure 1: Atwood’s Illustration).

Ann: I agree that it is problematic to use pornography as an educational tool, but perhaps we can create a type of pornography that is not harmful. There are many different types of pornography and the male-oriented pornography would probably do the most damage.

Margaret: Yes, it portrays women as an “airhead” or “lollipop-licker” (A 2).

Sandra: Male-oriented pornography tends to put women in the sex object role and implies that the women’s duty in sex is the one who “services” the man, for his pleasure, and this is what in turn gives her pleasure (lect; G 320). For women as a whole that is not a good thing.

Ann: Exactly and nobody, not just women, wants to be treated or defined merely as a means to someone else’s end (lect.). For example “I would object to being treated only as a maker of chocolate chip cookies or only as a tennis partner, because only one of my talents is being valued” (g 317-318). “I would rather be a partner…than an object” (G 318).

Sandra: Nicely said! We all fulfill different roles at different times, but when it comes to sex; men and women have different perspectives. It reminds me of something my father said to me when I started high school. He said “men use love for sex and women use sex for love.”  (They pause, reflect and nod in agreement). It is the love element that I believe is missing in male-oriented porn.

Ann: Agreed, this brings us to my third question, can “innocuous, non-sexist pornography’ exist” (G 313)? As I have said before, there are many different types of pornography and erotica does not seem as “bad” as male-oriented porn.

Margaret: “Is there a clear line between erotica and violent pornography, or are they on an escalating continuum?” (A 4).

Ann: Good question. I believe that there are variations on a continuum, and if there is no violence, brutality, or degrading acts against women in the content, then perhaps no harm can come from it and it would not teach young boys to expect male-domination in the bedroom.

Sandra: Do you have an example of non-harmful pornography?

Ann: Yes, as a matter of fact I do have some ideas. It would not be male dominated and could show “women and men in roles equally valued by society” (G 322). For example it could depict women in a role that men usually are associated with, such as a respected female doctor who fools around with all the other doctors. There would be no mention of harm and would also show her in her role, treating her patients with respect.

Margaret: It doesn’t matter what the content of the pornography is as the damage to the audience’s mindset has already been done.

Ann: Yes, this is true. It is hard to accept any pornography as being good, no matter the content, when the majority link sex to harm; what I call the “sex harm connection” (G 321). Perhaps the only way to make pornography innocuous is to change the mindset of the people. The link between “sex and harm” must be broken (G 321)! (See Figure 2: Garry’s Illustration).

Sandra: Ok, let’s say the causality is clear, and that people follow a “monkey see, monkey do” attitude. This means that the type and content of the pornography is important and therefore, if we introduced harmless, non-degrading porn to the population and they viewed it, it could eventually change the attitude and break the “sex-harm connection.”

Ann: Yes, but I think it is more complicated than that because, erotica is the minority in the pornography world and even if we showed innocuous porn to the world right now, it would be interpreted in the wrong way. The attitude is still there.

Margaret: This gets at one of the questions in my article. It is difficult to break the “sex-harm connection” mindset because it is unclear whether pornography is “an expression of the sexual confusion of this age or an active contributor to it” (A 4).

Ann: Hold on, let me wrap my brain around this. So, Sandra, you are saying that if pornography is an active contributor to the current mind set, then, if innocuous pornography became the majority, it could be used to change the mind-set of the audience. Ok, interesting, then I am on the right track. So, Margaret, if it were true that pornography is the expression of the sexual confusion of this day and age, then it is more important to change the mindset. Can people’s mindset or world views be changed directly? I do not think it is possible.

Sandra: The procedure for changing the mindset in a person involves the conscious will and effort of the person. They would have to watch for cues (Devine, 2005). For example while a person is watching pornography and they get the urge to bite, pull hair, hit or be violent, they need to recognize this feeling, counteract it, or stop it (or at least stop it from escalating to harm and violence). After a while of doing this new neural pathways are created that remember the boundaries of this compulsion. Much lik kinaesthetic memory? You throw basketballs at a hoop over and over again, your body remembers the motion and it gets stored in the cells. If you practice enough, you can eventually do it with your eyes closed: But, like I said, it takes a lot of time and effort and the person has to be willing to make the change.

Margaret: If the person is not making a conscious effort, I believe that seeing something affects the person subconsciously and does not necessarily entail conscious effort. It just happens.

Ann: Yes, this is the problem, when they view the pornography it triggers the “sex-harm connection.” But, who is going to try to consciously change their mindset?

Sandra: That’s the real question, but on the off chance that someone may want to do this, I have some more suggestions. There was a massage therapist that noticed that sometimes people broke out into tears when she messaged their shoulders. The research of Wilhelm Reich explains that we have pathways of energy (orgone) that go up and down the body, very much like the Qi or chi of Acupuncture, that get blocked when full of stress. For example, let’s take the old saying of “boys don’t cry.” What happens is, every time the boy starts to well up with tears, he clenches his fists or jaw to prevent it. After a while the tension builds up in the muscles creating knots in his shoulders (or protrusions in the jaw). He then, as an adult, goes to a massage therapist and bursts out into tears because he has been repressing it for so long. Reich believed, in his book, The Function of the Orgasm that in order to recalibrate the energy lines and relieve built up tension was to have an orgasm.

Ann: Perhaps this is a contributor to the sex-harm connection because the orgasm, which is associated with sex and thus vicariously associated with women, is being used as an outlet for misplaced rage. Since pornography is also associated with the orgasm it remains in the equation.

Sandra: If the outlet for the rage was not taken out in the bedroom, then perhaps the rage could be associated with something else instead. Like hitting pillows, playing drums, writing or communicating more about etc.

Margaret: All this is well and good, but it is still unclear which variable is causing what.

Sandra: Yes, this leaves one more option to debate. Let’s say, that this is now a correlational relationship and therefore the causation cannot be determined. Therefore, the interaction between the two is symbiotic and the one in turn affect the other. What would happen if we introduce innocuous pornography into this equation? Well, since the one affects the other and so forth, we could see a slow change in the mindset of the audience. It would probably be easier to change the pornography as opposed to the mindset.

Ann: So, if the relationship was correlational, adding innocuous pornography to the equation could be beneficial in changing the overall mindset.

Sandra: Well it couldn’t hurt to try. The change would be slow if it were to work. However, the problem is that the target of change is not just within the “sex-harm connection,” but rather in a deeper issue of inequality between men and women. This is where the true problem lies. In order to change this mindset, true balance between the sexes is needed. Pornography is not the culprit here, but the socialization of gender stereotypes. Let your boys play with dolls, let your girls play with cars, use gender neutral colours, and teach your children tolerance and egalitarianism. This is how to solve the problem. It is necessary to balance the male and female principles on an intrapersonal, interpersonal and societal level (see Figure 3: My Illustration).

Ann: Since the innocuous-type of pornography has not been completely ruled out by any of these definitions, it is therefore necessary to discuss how to make respectful pornography.

Margaret: Discussing this is quite uncomfortable for me, but I agree that a balance may be necessary. For instance, “[n]obody wants to go back to the age of official repression, when even piano legs were referred to as ‘limbs’ and had to wear pantaloons to be decent. Neither do we want to end up in George Orwell’s 1984…where sex itself is considered dirty and the approved practise it only for reproduction” (A 4).

Ann: Margaret. You believe that people replicate what they see in pornography right?

Margaret: Yes.

Ann: So then do you also believe that pornography is an accurate reflection of what happens in reality, or displays verisimilitude?

Margaret: No absolutely not. The problem is that it is moulding young minds to think it represents reality.

Davis: I do. I believe that pornography is very similar to reality and provides a non-distorted view of what happens behind closed doors (lect.).

Sandra: Where did you come from?

Davis: Sorry (walks off stage).

Ann: I disagree. From a phenomenological point of view sex does not unfold like male-oriented fantasy pornography. Perhaps more like erotica, but it too is exaggerated.

Sandra: What if that is the problem.

Ann: What do you mean?

Sandra: Well, what if we make pornography even more representative of real life.

Ann: This is exactly what my ideas suggest in my work, but you’re saying perhaps less like the sexy doctor, but more like the couple that skies together, sails together and watches “old romantic movies on TV” (G 320-321).

Sandra: Yes. The everyday reality meets the erotic reality (D 46). We could fade the everyday reality into the erotic reality to make it more representative.

Margaret: Sounds boring.

Sandra: Not if you do it right.

Ann: And how might that be?

Sandra: It is important for the couple to be on the same frequency or “try to harmonize his or her personal sexual rhythm with the partner’s” (D 15). Since the orgasmic rhythms pulsate at 0.08 seconds (lect.), we could bring them in and out of reality at whatever the equivalent to this would be. So, you would see the everyday reality, with flashes of the erotic interspersed. The delay between the two realities would start out longer, and then get closer and closer together until “pop” their sex scene is played out in full.

Ann: Sounds like an interesting idea. We would have to make sure that the characters are relatable if we want to create a porno that is more closely related to reality.

Davis: If you want the story to reflect reality, then writing it from a phenomenological approach would be best. I would also suggest using all the space, time, social, and physical cues discussed in my book Smut (he displays his book to the audience, the audience laughs).

Sandra: You again!?

Davis: Carry on. But, I’m not going to leave this time, this is too interesting.

Sandra: Yes Ann I agree that it is important that the characters are relatable and have average relatable conversation and are not impossibly gorgeous, but are not ugly either. They should be average looking. Their bodies not too fat, nor too thin, but each has their exquisite features. For example, she could have a pretty smile and he could have beautiful eyes, speaking to Davis’s “erons”, since he wants to join the conversation. Since the characters are supposed to be relatable, and the average penis size in North America is 6 inches (lect; MANswers), his penis should be a good solid 6 inches. Oh, and they have to have had acting lessons!

Ann: Definitely! The acting is always so horrible. Then what do we do for the ending?

Margaret: Yes, what about the “money shot” it is always portrayed as a sexist male fantasy. The reason men “get off” on it is because it is degrading to the woman. I still do not think it is possible to make pornography innocuous because of this.

Ann: Why not omit the “money shot” altogether or just a wide shot of the two of them and it is assumed that he has finished.

Sandra: No, if we take it out, (no pun intended) men will not watch it. We have to meet them in the middle, like the YouTube video “Boobies and Kittens” the boobies are for the men and the kittens are for the women. (Then, of course the men are pleased because they’ve just made their partner to look at “sweater kittens”). But, anyway, men enjoy watching the “money shot,” they enjoy it phenomenologically because they relate to that moment. They like to see that the man has finished. Women can get pleasure at all different times throughout, so perhaps we do not quite relate to this moment. They will already be not thrilled with the idea that there is a plot.

Ann: Then how do we the “money shot” non-degrading?

Sandra:  Ever heard of “Cream Pies.”

Margaret: No, already sounds degrading.

Sandra: Uh (stammering, and very uncomfortable) I am not sure how appropriate it is to explain this. But, we are all adults here. If you must know it is a close up – but not to close up (looks at Davis. He smiles) shot of the genitals just as they are reaching the climax. He pulls out but you see it cream all over her vagina. He then lingers and does a little rubbing around, even puts it back in. We want it to look like he really loves her. Therefore, it could be possible to invent an innocuous porno at the same time providing a better educational tool. (She is looking down because the topic is so uncomfortable. She looks up to find Davis, Ann and Margaret all “making out” on the couch.

Sandra: (turning back to the audience) Ok, that was unexpected. That’s all we have time for today on WeVibe. Thanks for coming. Uh I mean. Thanks for coming out. Err until next time.

Figure 1: “This is not a pipe.” Retrieved February 8, 2011 from http://74.125.67.100/images?q=this+is+not+a+pipe&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=sOhRTaz7CI7GswaMtYDzBg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CEAQsAQwAg&biw=1271&bih=623

Atwood’s Illustration

This picture by Michel Foucault (1968) was chosen as it speaks to the idea of verisimilitude and the issue of pornography being used as an educational tool. This indeed is not a pipe; it is merely an image of a pipe. Much like how pornography is merely an image of what sex is like. Most pornography, especially male-oriented pornography, does not even portray an accurate image of the true phenomenological experience of sex. Most women do not act like objectified sex slaves, there to only pleasure the man.

Using pornography as an educational tool is problematic because as Atwood believes, people follow a “monkey see monkey do” attitude and will thus portray the images seen. It will also perpetuate a mindset that women are merely sex objects and nothing more.

Pornography, as related to this picture, reminds me of Plato’s Analogy of the Cave because the image that they are seeing on the wall of the cave is only an image or reflection and not the true thing itself. Their shackles could represent the mindset that has been deeply seeded into their world view of what to expect from women. The reason they cannot turn their heads or move in any way is because they are only seeing pornography from one point of view (the male perspective). In this example, the fire lighting up the images on the cave wall represents lust as opposed to the real sun, which would represent love. Therefore, the reality that they think is the true reality is not the true reality at all. Therefore, I agree with Atwood that pornography should not be used as an educational tool and also disagree with Davis that pornography displays verisimilitude. Unfortunately, most men conform to the world view accepted by their own gender class and the mindset that women are inferior and should be treated as sex objects should be changed.  Follow this link to hear a song inspired by Plato’s Analogy of the Cave. http://forum.bandamp.com/Audio_Review/2625.html

Figure 2: “The Garden of Eden” retrieved February 8, 2011 from http://universalheretic.wordpress.com/2010/06/09/modern-christian-mythology-the-garden-of-eden/  Also; see one of my personal sites https://theunifiedfield.webs.com

 Garry’s Illustration

This illustration was chosen because it seems to depict Garry’s position in regard to sex and harm. The “sex-harm connection” (321) has been so deeply entrenched that I will argue goes back to “The Fall.” The fruit is actually an analogy for sex. Sex was the forbidden fruit and when they participated in the act, they were punished. Thus introducing the association of harm and violence with sex, much like how puking after eating hot dogs creates an aversion to hot dogs.

Another example of the sex-harm connection comes from a story in the Gnostic Gospels (the Book of Baruch) featuring Elohim and Eden, who represent the male and female sides of God respectively. They created the world with their love, He donated the spirit and she donated the soul (Meyer, 2005). After they had finished creating the earth, Elohim wished to go back up to heaven to see if there was anything lacking in creation and when he arose, he saw a light brighter than his own and became curious. He thought he was God so he approached the light. There he met with the God of foresight. Elohim then wished to destroy the earth because his spirit was trapped inside, but the God of foresight said he could do no evil while with hymn. It was there Elohim stayed and never returned to his bride, with whom he made a loving contract. When Eden realized she had been abandoned she sought revenge so that Elohim would feel her pain. She began to torment the spirit within all humans to get back at him. This is how it stands today. Elohim did realize if she knew that he was with the Good, she would not have sought revenge. His abandonment created a cycle of divorce and resentment between the sexes that repeats to this day. But, in this example it was the female perpetuated who displayed the violence. Perhaps the reason why there is a high divorce rate is because all of humanity itself has come from a broken home and we are thus repeating or following the cycle. Hence “monkey see monkey do” and why it is hard to break the link.

Figure 3: “Vesica Pisces” retrieved from whitehawkstudio.com February 8, 2011. Labels and outer

ring created by Sandra Kroeker. This symbol was picked not only for demonstrative

purposes, but because it looks like a naked women lying down. Also; see one of my personal sites https://theunifiedfield.webs.com/.

My Illustration

Changing the Sex-Harm Mindset: On an Inner, Personal Level

Each person has within themselves a male and female aspect or side (Jung termed them the Animus and the Anima respectively). Polarization of these two sides is important for changing the mindset that women are inferior. In order to polarize the inner self, one must recognize that each side is important in their own right, and in their own time. For the purposes of this exercise, a particular stereotype of the sexes will be used (and then should be ignored and not taken as truth). Male tendencies are assumed to be more rational, whereas female tendencies more emotional. These labels can be inserted into the Venn diagram above. Therefore, on a personal level, balance is achieved when one can recognize the importance of both rational (male) and emotional (female) tendencies and in what situations it is best to use more of one than the other or a balance of both. Sometimes it is best to listen more to your reason and sometimes it is best to listen more to your instinct or emotion, especially when it warns of a situation that might put you in danger. The balance of when to use which and how much can be learned by getting to know yourself and paying attention to the consequences of the actions you make.

There is a difference between what is known as “sex” and what is known as “gender.” In Psychology, sex represents the biological category and gender represents a cognitive or social category. Gender stereotypes are false because these characteristics will appear in many degrees in either sex and in all areas in between. Androgyny has been shown to be the healthiest for the individual. A condition called Male Normative Alexithymia has been seen in men who were raised to control their emotions (Levant, 2007). Lexi means without, and thymia means emotions. This is when emotions get pushed inside and can build up and come out in inappropriate ways and at inappropriate times. For example “Rubber Band Syndrome” is when unrecognized emotions build up until they erupt in an explosion of anger, and excessive strength and aggression. This creates concern for relationships, not only because the woman can be on the wrong end of the aggression, but women tend to see expressed aggression as a temporary loss of control whereas men see it as a way of establishing control. This is probably a large contributor to the “sex-harm connection” (G 321). If the emotional side was expressed more often, or felt it could be, then it would not build up and turn to anger and/or aggression. Other ways to correct mindsets and reduce gender stereotypes were already discussed in the main essay. If ways of changing the mindset in a relationship setting and on a societal level is of interest, let me know.

The Advancement of Women’s Studies: Following the PhD Debate

            There is controversy over the prospect of creating PhD programs in women’s studies. When confronted with creating doctorial programs in women’s studies, there are scholars that oppose the idea (Friedman 301; Brown 36) and those that believe it is an important step in which the future of women’s studies may depend (Allen and Kitch 292). Problems with creating doctoral programs in women’s studies include whether or not to define women’s studies as a discipline demanding its own departmental status, or to be defined as an interdisciplinary field (Boxer 387). Defining women’s studies within either of these definitions is important in determining whether or not “course work [should] be housed exclusively in traditional departments or in a separate administrative unit” (Boxer 387). Brown poses the same question when she asks if feminist courses should be conducted in “the context of a degree-granting program” or whether it should be ‘mainstreamed’ into “traditional curriculums” (Brown 35).

            Moving away from the curricula residing exclusively in a freestanding department or within traditional disciplines, other scholars such as Pryse and Lykke, believe women’s studies doctoral curricula could reside in both a freestanding program and within traditional disciplines simultaneously. But in order for this fluctuation to occur, women’s studies need to be considered a freestanding discipline. This is where much of the debate lies because the boundaries of women’s studies, the core content it should teach and what core methodologies women’s studies can claim remain in dispute.

            In regard to defining women’s studies as either a discipline or interdisciplinary, this is also a matter of dispute. There is an underlying assumption that women’s studies are interdisciplinary, yet much of the work lacks true integration of epistemology and methodologies across disciplines and thus cannot be considered truly interdisciplinary (Allen and Kitch 275). Therefore, arguments have been made that the work and research conducted in women’s studies is actually more multidisciplinary than interdisciplinary because there is more collaboration than integration (282).

Other scholars define women’s studies as transdisciplinary as it goes “beyond or above” disciplinary boundaries (Pryse 105) and epistemology and methodology “are articulated in ways that are not ‘owned’ by any specific disciplines” (Lykke 142). Lykke takes the definition of women’s studies to a whole new level by defining it as an emergent, postdisciplinary field, which not only goes beyond disciplinary boundaries, but becomes “modes of organising academic knowledge production [that ends up with the] removal of the traditional disciplinary structures” (Lykke 143).

            Inserting women’s studies into one or any of these definitions is important for determining whether or not women’s studies should create PhD programs because if PhD programs should be created, Marilyn Boxer believes the decision of where doctoral curricula should reside depends on one’s definition of interdisciplinarity (390/391). “Depending on [professor’s] perspectives about discipline-based education and their definition of interdisciplinarity, they may envision a freestanding program or one that involves collaboration among departments” (Boxer 390/391). If women’s studies are defined as a discipline in itself, then the curricula can exist within a ‘freestanding program’ (ibid). Considering it as multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary, then the curricula may reside in traditional departments. If women’s studies is defined as transdisciplinary or postdisciplinary this implies women’s studies curricula may reside in a combination of the two, creating new epistemologies and methodologies and even becoming a new emergent entity that could radically reconfigure academia. This paper will follow the debates regarding the PhD program in women’s studies by exploring the various definitions assigned and will determine whether the curricula should reside in a ‘freestanding discipline,’ within traditional disciplines or a combination of the two. Suggestions of what the core curricula would be and how a fluctuation between freestanding and traditional disciplines would be possible will also be discussed.

WOMEN’S STUDIES AS A DISCIPLINE

 If women’s studies are to create PhD programs, there is much concern over what core knowledge and what core methodologies should be taught (Brown 19; Friedman 313). Therefore, in order to be considered a stand-alone discipline, women’s studies needs to have core content and core methodologies to claim as their own. If this could be determined, then the curricula can reside within a freestanding discipline. My working definition of a discipline would be one in which has core epistemology and methodology. I will not be using Friedman’s definition “confining knowledge within certain sets of limiting boundaries” (Friedman 309) because women’s studies could never be defined in this way.

When asking what epistemology would be at the core of women’s studies, Brown mentions that by placing “The political” at the core of women’s studies is problematic (Brown 18), but believes placing gender at the core of women’s studies to be even more problematic (34). Gender at the core would define women’s studies as a Second Wave feminist pursuit that, in the end, is excusatory of women of colour; thus some professors would be hesitant or even opposed to teaching gender focused material (Brown 34). Gender cannot be considered the core concept of women’s studies because “the expansion of women’s studies [has moved] far beyond the boundaries of gender alone” by incorporating systems of intersectionality (Friedman 316).

Narrowing women’s studies down to one core concept creates a paradox because this would be like saying the human experience or identity can be narrowed down to only one aspect, such as gender (Brown 24). Brown states that powers “do not operate on and through us independently, or linearly, or cumulatively…[much like how intersectional] powers of subject formation are not separable in the subject itself” (24). Therefore, like how our identity formation is influenced by intersectionality, women’s studies are also influenced by interdisciplinarity, making finding one core concept extremely problematic.

In regard to finding core content in women’s studies, Brown asks the question “[i]s it possible to radically reconfigure women’s studies programs without sacrificing the feminism they promulgate…(35)? This is an important question because those who do not know what women’s studies teach generally assume gender and feminism to be at its core and if gender and feminism are not at the core, then what is? I would like to suggest a potential core for women’s studies as they revolve mostly around systems of oppression and power dynamics. Oppression and power, in my opinion, encompasses and better represents the true core of women’s studies. If this was accepted as the core concept, women’s studies may then be defined as a discipline and the curricula could reside within “a separate administrative unit” (Boxer 387). But, to accept power and oppression as the core, would it necessitate a name change from women’s studies to something else? Would departmentalizing ‘radically reconfigure’ women’s studies as we know it? Responding to this, Allen and Kitch make the point that “other fields, such as African American studies, religious studies, and criminal justice, departmentalized years ago without losing their identities…” (291).

To define women’s studies as a separate discipline, it demands that not only the core content or epistemology be considered, but also the methodology. There is much concern over what methodologies should be taught as core to women’s studies if a PhD program were to be created (Boxer 387; Friedman, 313; Brown 19). To suggest that women’s studies is a discipline in itself, is to imply that there is “something called method…that unifie[s] all feminist research and thinking” (Brown 19). The idea that there can be a core methodology is disputed because there are so many different ways in which to conduct research in women’s studies.

Women’s studies has embraced many non-traditional methodologies such as comparative research, which can be found in Munoz’s Cruising Utopia, Standpoint Theory that stresses the importance of intersectionality, context and background in research, Experiential aspects, using autobiographies as case studies, using poetry to piece together autobiographies, using art as activism, ethnography, interviews, surveys and using films and books as relevant research material. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and as varied as these methodologies seem, there is a common thread. They are all methods of qualitative research. I might even argue that the suggested core epistemology for women’s studies (oppression and power dynamics) remains consistent throughout these methodological approaches because when these methods are applied, concepts such as reflexivity, and ‘who has the power’ are taken into consideration with academic rigour.

It could be argued that in order to be a stand-alone discipline, said discipline need not pick only one particular method to be at its core, but perhaps one family of research methodologies, such as qualitative research. I am not saying women’s studies do not utilize quantitative methods, but I would not place quantitative methods at the core of women’s studies as a defining characteristic. Much like how psychology utilizes both quantitative and qualitative methods, I would not place qualitative methods at the core of psychology.    

In conclusion, in order to consider women’s studies as a discipline, there needs to be core knowledge and core methodology uniting it as a cohesive whole. I propose that women’s studies could be considered a stand-alone discipline if the core content or epistemology was considered to be systems of oppression and power dynamics, and the core methodology qualitative measures. However, just because women’s studies could be considered a discipline in itself, does not mean its doctoral programs should reside exclusively within a ‘freestanding discipline.’

WOMEN’S STUDIES AS MULTIDISCIPLINARY  

Many scholars maintain that making women’s studies a disciplined department with a contained PhD program is impossible (Friedman 301; Brown 36). Since women’s studies are so broad, and since PhD programs demand specialization, it would necessitate the collaboration with other disciplines. Students coming into graduate women’s studies programs are from many different backgrounds and Brown asks us to “consider how difficult it is to teach contemporary feminist theory to students who share none of the intellectual referents of the feminist theorists they are reading” (35). It might be suggested that upon entering graduate programs, students could be given a crash course in women’s studies basics. But, this too is problematic because a student, who has already acquired an undergraduate degree in women’s studies, would not be learning beyond their undergraduate work, as graduate work demands (Friedman 317). The fact that this problem exists, suggests women’s studies is to be defined as multidisciplinary, rather than a discipline and the curricula should perhaps be ‘mainstreamed’ into traditional disciplines.

Multidisciplinarity is defined here as “a collaboration between different disciplines around a shared research problem that maintains a strict division of labour between the disciplinary cannons and modes of working” (Lykke 142). For example, researcher from women’s studies, working with researchers in psychology can work together on a topic, but it would be likely that the women’s studies academic would approach the topic in a qualitative and reflexive manner and the psychology academic would most likely approach the topic using quantitative methods. This definition does seem to be an accurate description of research in women’s studies. Allen and Kitch believe women’s studies to be more multidisciplinary than interdisciplinary because work and research in women’s studies is more collaborative than integrative (277). Boxer also agrees that the term multidisciplinary is a “more accurate” definition for women’s studies (Boxer 389). Defining women’s studies as multidisciplinary may suggest that its doctorial curricula should reside outside a ‘freestanding discipline’ and be integrated into traditional disciplines.

Going back to the concern surrounding finding a core methodology, Friedman states that the potential methodologies conducted in women’s studies are so varied, that “they hardly share a common methodological language and can barely understand each other’s research” (315). This could support the idea that women’s studies are more collaborative than integrative. Although, Friedman used this as an argument against creating a freestanding doctoral program, this also poses a problem in collaborating with other departments while maintaining strict modes of thinking about and conducting research. According to my personal observation and research, all disciplines do study similar phenomena and topics, making collaboration a possible option, but they do seem to bring in their own language and terms when describing said phenomena. Therefore, I agree there may be a potential language barrier when in comes to multidisciplinarity.  

There may be a potential solution for this language barrier and I propose a General Systems Theory “Part 2.” In 1968, Ludwig von Bertalanffy noticed that all the branches of science had similar theories, but were using different language. “Not only are general aspects and viewpoints alike in different sciences; frequently we find formally identical or isomorphic laws in different fields” (General Systems Theory). He desired to integrate the sciences, both natural and social and believed collaboration was needed for furthering all education (General Systems Theory). He developed a theory in which all branches of science could agree, while using their similar theories. I propose this idea could be applied to the disciplines within women’s studies, and be utilized especially between those collaborating on research. Perhaps interested representatives from each department collaborating on a topic or research could meet and discuss their similar concepts. This could aid in communication across various disciplines because when a concept is explained in layman’s terms, without using specialized jargon, you would be surprised how many disciplines would recognize that concept as a part of their own studies.

The prospect for curricula in doctorial women’s studies is promising if a multidisciplinary approach were to be implemented. Perhaps specialized jargon or ‘psychobabble’ should be kept to a minimum or defined really well when researching topics that could be utilized across disciplines. However, just because multidisciplinary work lends itself nicely to women’s studies research, it does not mean the potential doctoral curricula should remain exclusively within the traditional disciplines.

WOMEN’S STUDIES AS INTERDISCIPLINARY

Interdisciplinarity implies integration whereas multidisciplinarity implies disciplines work along side one another, while maintaining their boundaries. Lykke’s definition of interdisciplinarity allows “boundary work and boundary transgressions to take place between different disciplinary modes of working” (142). This means that the disciplines involved would understand and utilize each other’s epistemology and methodology and not keep strict boundaries. Upon reading this definition, it does seem women’s studies are more suited for multidisciplinary rather than interdisciplinary work. Friedman is highly sceptical of integration as she believes “methodological divides across the divisions are enormous, particularly between quantitative and qualitative approaches” (315).

This could be why it is suggested that students should get their degrees in traditional disciplines instead of women’s studies because degrees in women’s studies could “impoverish their education” (Brown 19). Friedman states that “interdisciplinarity is most successful when it emerges out of a firm grasp of the knowledge bases and methodologies of at least one of the existing disciplines” (312) and that it is “very difficult for people with interdisciplinary PhD’s in women’s studies to succeed on the academic market” (305).

This poses a problem in making PhD programs in women’s studies; the lack of jobs because “most hiring follows traditional categories for specialization” and women’s studies is too interdisciplinary to be considered a department (Friedman 304). In response to this, Allen and Kitch would disagree and say that creating PhD programs is essential to the furthering of the field and in turn creating jobs for those with interdisciplinary degrees (292). “[W]ithout departments into which interdisciplinary scholars can be hired, there will remain scant justification for interdisciplinary women’s studies PhD programs” (Allen and Kitch 292). I agree with this statement because the more women’s studies departments, the more jobs for those with interdisciplinary degrees. However, unfortunately, I also agree with Allen and Kitch’s concern regarding the field’s growth when they suggest that its growth is stunted because the “university has failed to take [women’s studies] seriously” (289). This could explain the lack of academic placements, more than the lack of interdisciplinary appointments.

I would like to pose a way in which women’s studies may gain more credibility within the university so it can be taken more seriously, by proposing a way to make women’s studies truly interdisciplinary. Perhaps if the vast amount of qualitative research conducted in women’s studies were to be standardized, it may help further the growth of the field. By standardization I mean that each researcher uses the same survey and/or interview questions. Each researcher could add their own personalized questions as long as some are standardized. Standardization allows parallels and comparisons to be made across research projects.

 To initiate this idea, I suggest something similar to what psychology has done with questionnaires. A researcher develops a questionnaire (which can be compared to survey or interview questions), then tests the reliability of the measure mostly by publishing the questionnaire along with the article for other researchers to use. The more researchers using the questionnaire, the more the data can be pooled and compared. It happens often that researchers find flaws in the questions and improve upon the questionnaire, in which the next researcher takes and improves. The researcher could either replicate the study/experiment or use the same questionnaire for a completely different hypothesis.

I propose this method could be applied to surveys and interview questions in women’s studies. By publishing the questions (and even the transcripts of the answers) with the article, other scholars can replicate the research and/or find different interpretations of the transcripts to add to the overall knowledge of the topic. If the survey and interview questions are standardized, the information can be used to draw comparisons, contributing to the pool of knowledge on that topic, and thus gaining respect from the university. The larger the qualitative database, the better.

Once a database has been created, the research would not just help epistemology within women’s studies, but also contribute to other disciplines. For example, psychology could benefit from important missing qualitative information provided by women’s studies research. Research conducted in a laboratory setting produces results that are not representative. Ethnographic research from women’s studies makes up for the flaws in quantitative strategies. Integrating the qualitative research with the quantitative research on the same topic produces a more complete picture.

To have this work the other way around, and add quantitative research to qualitative is a little harder due to the language. To get around this issue, most quantitative research is written in APA format which breaks the paper into sections and the confusing information usually resides within the Methods and Results sections. When papers are formatted in this way, it allows the reader to skip these sections without missing out on relevant content. Another useful integration technique would be for those who use quantitative measures to use reflexivity when conducting their research and for those who use qualitative measures to adapt Harding’s ‘strong objectivity’ by “explor[ing] gaps in the research questions and representational techniques the traditional disciplines have adopted…” (Pryse 115).

Creating a qualitative database with standardized survey and interview questions, integrating each other’s research techniques, and if more attempts were made by both psychology and women’s studies to read each other’s research, this could integrate the two fields, producing true interdisciplinarity and closing the gap between quantitative and qualitative measures. Adding courses from departments like psychology would also allow for bolder course offerings and show the university that women’s studies can cover “more than marginal course content” (Pryse 113). By doing all this, it would therefore, demonstrate to the university how important qualitative research is and would see women’s studies as an asset to academia. Universities may then begin to take women’s studies more seriously, providing women’s studies with the credibility and recognition it has always deserved. This new interdisciplinarity would allow doctoral curricula in women’s studies to reside in both an established discipline and within traditional disciplines.

WOMEN’S STUDIES AS TRANSDISCIPLINARY

In regard to doctoral curricula in women’s studies fluctuating between a home base and traditional disciplines, Pryse believes “[the] challenge…graduate education raises for Women’s Studies concerns precisely the interrelation between disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity” (106). Friedman believes that when curricula are set up in this manner, it creates a too much, too little paradox because “[d]isciplinarity resides in potential overspecialization [and] the danger of interdisciplinarity rests in potential superficiality…[or] rootlessness” (312). I believe creating PhD programs would allow the best of both worlds because it could create a root or home base for students, while they go out into their cross-listed traditional courses as not to be overspecialized. To maintain the home base, the program could hire its own professors who are trained in women’s studies, thus also creating jobs for those who have interdisciplinary degrees.

Pryse develops a way to interact between both disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity by suggesting a “transversal politics” (109). She utilizes Yuval-Davis’ idea of “rooting” and “shifting” or the idea of “’shift’ and ‘pivot’ as an ongoing aspect of …methodological practice…while remaining grounded” (Pryse 110). By ‘rooting’ she suggests that “students as well as faculty [need] to ‘root’ themselves in a particular set of methods borrowed from or learned within the traditional disciplines” (Pryse 110). Even though I have a strong background rooted in quantitative psychology, I find that a strong background in qualitative methods utilized in women’s studies to be just as appropriate for this root and thus this ‘root’ does not necessarily have to be ‘borrowed from a traditional discipline’ because qualitative measures are just as valid as any other measure.  

While interdisciplinarity implies integration and transgression of boundaries across disciplines, transdisciplinarity implies that the interaction can create new boundaries and methodologies that are not “‘owned’ by any specific discipline” (Lykke 142). Marjorie Pryse also utilizes the prefix “trans” to “offer new ways to think about interdisciplinarity in Women’s Studies” (105). Therefore, in my understanding, the ‘root’ is only temporary as it would be integrated with other ‘roots’ to create new and different methodologies. Lykke also defines transdisciplinarity as “an example of the development of new thinking technologies that takes place in a space beyond the existing disciplines” 142/143). Yet, neither Pryse nor Lykke provide an example of what this kind of ‘new thinking technology’ would look like.

Using the interdisciplinary idea above, which suggested a way to integrate quantitative and qualitative methods, I would like to suggest a potential example of this new “trans” collaboration and propose new technology or methodology. For example, in psychology, quantitative data is entered into a program called “SPSS” that performs various mathematical formulae, depending what test is suitable for the research topic. In women’s studies, surveys and interview data can be entered into a program called “Atlis.ti.” “This program allows researchers to manage large qualitative data sets through the coding of text and analytic memo writing” (Frisby et al. 20). In the spirit of transcending disciplinary boundaries to create new ‘thinking technologies,’ why not create a computer program that looks for patterns within both quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously? This may be a good example of a ‘new thinking technology’ that “no existing discipline can claim to ‘own’” (Lykke 143). Using this new technology would make women’s studies truly transdisciplinary and the doctoral curricula could fluctuate between disciplinarity and transdisciplinarity by ‘rooting’ and ‘shifting.’

WOMEN’S STUDIES AS POSTDISCIPLINARY  

            Lykke poses an interesting definition of women’s studies as a postdiscipline. She defines postdisciplinarity as “modes of organising academic knowledge production [that leads to] a removal of the traditional disciplinary structures” and argues for a “mode of organising that takes into account the needs for both transversal openness and stable sites for transdisciplinary reflections” (Lykke 143, emphasis in original). In regard to ‘rooting’ and ‘shifting,’ reflexive work in women’s studies could root in the stable sites and shift for transdisciplinary reflections.

When fluctuating between two variables in a dichotomy, finding a balance between extremes is important, especially when conducting research. Just like how one does not wish to be completely rootless, nor completely overspecialized, Lykke points out that when conducting research one needs to find a balance between objectivity and relativity (146). By defining women’s studies as postdisciplinary she says this conundrum can be avoided (146). To keep a balance and avoid the extremes between objectivity and relativity, she brings in the example of Niels Bohr and how light can exist as both a particle and a wave to show how, depending on the research methodology used, it could be viewed objectively (as a particle) or contextually (as a wave) (146).

Using quantum physics as an example of how to fluctuate or balance the two extremes of objectivity and relativism is helpful because according to relativity, the person looking at the stars becomes the focus or centre for that particular research or point of view. Someone at the other side of the world may have a different point of view of the stars, but it could be argued that locally, the view of the stars is somewhat similar and could be taken somewhat objectively in that local setting (146). This is also relevant for fluctuating between “both transversal openness and stable sites for transdisciplinary reflections” (Lykke 143, emphasis in original).

            Rooting and shifting and particle-wave modes of organizing information may fall short when it comes to uniting or transcending the boundaries of many disciplines. To me, rooting and shifting and the prefix ‘trans’ implies interaction or dialogue between two points in a dichotomy, implying only two disciplines are involved. Postdisciplinarity, to me suggests going beyond two disciplines, to encompass all disciplines in the university, or at least to those that could be involved in the topic at hand. In order to encompass more than two disciplines, it may require a mode of organizing information that allows the rooting and shifting through all disciplines. Lykke asks how it is possible to “defy the stabilising foundationalism of canons, evade clear categorical distinctions, and retain space for a free and passionate flow of thoughts” (146).  

            To answer this question, I propose a twist on Sandoval’s theory that could be utilized to shift between different disciplines while remaining stabilized and free. Sandoval poses a theory to unify all feminist theories by setting up four oppositional, mutually exclusive categories that represent different types of feminism and suggests a fifth category that can weave “’between and among’ oppositional ideologies” (87/88). She calls this fifth category a “differential mode of consciousness [that] operates like the clutch of an automobile: the mechanism that permits the driver to select, engage and disengage gears” (Sandoval 88). See fig. 1 for Sandoval’s theory. To repurpose this theory for postdisciplinary work, I would insert different university disciplines into the four categories, replacing the different types of feminism. I would also make the categorical boundaries less ridged by drawing semi-permeable membranes to allow the ‘clutch’ to weave more freely through each discipline (see fig. 2). The fifth differential would be the “space for a free and passionate flow of thoughts” and the clutch mechanism would allow the evasion of “clear categorical distinctions” (Lykke 146) as it moves through the other disciplines. Therefore, suggesting a way to think both freely in interdisciplinarity, while maintaining a disciplined root.

            If women’s studies were to be truly postdisciplinary however, this would imply that its new technologies would tear down the strict boundaries of other traditional disciplines, radically reconfiguring academia. Perhaps if the new technology discussed above (of combining SPSS and Atlis ti. programs) were to be created, it would get the attention of other disciplines such as mathematics and computer science. After all, who else would be qualified to create such a program! Therefore, if this technology were to be created, women’s studies may have the potential to radically reconfigure the face of academia and become truly postdisciplinary.

CONCLUSION

            Overall, I believe women’s studies to be a discipline deserving its own department. This is important because if “women’s studies isn’t a department and it isn’t a discipline, then it isn’t a research entity (Allen and Kitch 291). But, I disagree that doctoral curricula should reside exclusively with in this freestanding department. I agree with Pryse that there is a way to be both a discipline and an interdisciplinary field and allow the curricula to fluctuate between a freestanding department and within traditional disciplines. This can be possible through particle-wave theory and by utilizing Sandoval’s clutch idea to shift between rooted disciplinary work and interdisciplinary work. But in order to root and shift, a root is needed, so I believe that women’s studies should continue to grow by creating more graduate and doctoral programs. Right now, women’s studies may be most aptly defined as multidisciplinary, but if women’s studies were to advance along the various definitions highlighted in this paper, then not only would it grow as a discipline and gain the credibility it deserves within the university, but could also radically reconfigure academia as we know it.

Works Cited

Allen, Judith A. & Sally L. Kitch.”Disciplined by Disciplines? The Need for an Interdisciplinary

Research Mission in Women’s Studies.” Feminist Studies 24.2 (Summer 1998): 275-300.

Boxer, Marilyn. “Remapping the University: The Promise of the Women’s Studies PH.D.”

            Feminist Studies. 24. 2 (1998): 389-405.

Brown, Wendy. “The Impossibility of Women’s Studies.” Women’s Studies on the Edge. Ed.

            Joan Wallach Scott. Durham NC: Duke University Press. 17-38. (2008) Print.

Friedman, Susan Stanford. “(Inter)disciplinarity and the Question of the Women’s Studies

PH.D.” Feminist Studies 24.2 (Summer 1998): 301-326).

Frisby, Wendy., et al. “Taking Action.” Mobilizing Communities to Provide Recreation for Women

 on Low Incomes. Vancouver: BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health, 2001

Lykke, Nina. “This Discipline Which Is Not One: Feminist Studies as a Postdiscipline.” Theories

and Methodologies in Postgraduate Feminist Research: Researching Differently. Ed. Rosemarie Buikema, Gabriele Griffin and Nina Lykke, New York: Routledge. 137-150. (2011). Print.

Pryse, Marjorie. “Trans/Feminist Methodology: Bridges to Interdisciplinary Thinking.” Feminist

 Formations. 12. 2. (2000): 105-118.

Sandoval, Chela. “US Third-World Feminism: The Theory and Method of Oppositional

            Consciousness in the Postmodern World.” Post Colonial Feminism: A Reader. Eds.

            Reina Lewis and Sara Mills. New York: Routledge, 2003. 135-160. Print.

von Bertalanffy, Ludwig. “General System’s Theory.” A Gateway to Selected Documents and Web

Sites (1968). Web. Dec. 13, 2011.

Foucault & Gender Studies

Sandra Kroeker

Philosophy Conference

Brock University

2013-08-08

Foucault and Gender Studies: Power and Sexuality

For this presentation I am going to ask one thing. FORGET EVERYTHING YOU’VE EVER BEEN TAUGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING!!! So far in the conference we have heard many different interpretations of Foucault’s work from the lens of different historical stages. My topic, Foucault and Postmodernism, presents a different outlook; one that can extrapolate Foucault’s ideas into the future. When taking Foucault’s work, we can apply it to the future to help instigate positive change. We can push beyond the limits once confined by patterns of thought enforced by the past. In order to do this, we may have to dismantle all previous notions, definitions, and stereotypes as we know them today. We need to start all over again from scratch; begin with a ‘tabula rassa’ if you will.

Since this is a Philosophy conference, I thought it might be interesting to try and test Plato’s assertion from his analogy of the cave that everything we’ve ever learned is based on a false premise. He believes that we have not been educated properly in a manner that leads us to the understanding of the “highest Good” (Johnson and Reath 58). I would like to attempt to make this my research question “What if everything we have been taught is wrong?” What if education is based on a false premise? In order to test this hypothesis, we need to forget everything we have ever been taught as it might be based on a false premise. There will be a lot of controversial topics discussed in this presentation and if I see discomfort or disgruntled faces, then I can conclude that you have not entirely started from scratch with an open mind or indulging me in the idea that Plato may have been right about education. Who says philosophical questions can’t be tested?! Believe it or not, there is a lot of evidence to back up this notion. Most of the evidence in this presentation is research or academic based, but I’m going to start with a couple religious examples.

Some evidence from Gospels that may support this idea comes from Gospel of Philip:

The rulers wanted to fool people, since they saw that people have

a kinship with what is truly good. They took the names of the good

and assigned them to what is not good; to fool people with names

and link the names to what is not good… For, they wished to take

free people and enslave them forever. (Meyer 52)

There is a similar passage in the Gospel of Thomas that states: “The Pharisees and the scholars have taken the keys of knowledge and have hidden them. They have not entered, nor have they allowed those who want to enter to do so” (Meyer 14). Therefore, there does seem to be some corroborating evidence that education may be based on a false premise. With a blank slate, we may be able to look at the evidence from Foucault and Gender Studies to reconstruct new definitions; ones that are more inclusive, representative; based on truth. I agree with Wendy Hamblet, that “we need to learn how to think differently, rather than legitimizing what is already known” (W. Hamblet, personal communication September 19, 2013). So, be prepared to have everything you think you once knew not just turned upside down, but destroyed.   

Having being selected to discuss Foucault and post-modernity, I feel his work has influenced Gender Studies the most and researchers in this area continue to use Foucault’s ideas and methodology to this day. For those unfamiliar with Gender Studies, its major focus is to study how certain groups remain in power while others remain oppressed. This is why, in my humble opinion, it is more about Power and Oppression. It is NOT about butchy hairy Birkenstock-wearing lesbian man-haters trying to take power away from men. Nor is it about flipping the poles to put women in power; leaving men inferior. We must get away from seeing feminists as man-haters (Valenti 2) and seeing power as a limited or non-renewable resource (Tarrant 65). I assure you there is enough power and resources to go around!

This presentation will look more at Foucault’s pattern of thought and the questions he seeks to answer. Therefore, I can show how research conducted in Gender Studies directly reflects that of Foucault’s pattern of thinking and vice versa, demonstrating that Foucault was indeed a feminist. Whether he would identify with this term or not, (which he probably wouldn’t since he even rejected the term postmoderist), it could be said that his research is feminist.   

The academic quest of Gender Studies seeks to

1.      Locate the power/who benefits/ who has privilege?

2.      What institutions are involved?

3.      What discourses are being used

4.      What tactics are involved in perpetuating dominant ideals?

5.      How do they intersect?

6.       What can be done about it?

In The History of Sexuality Volume 1, Foucault tackles the first four right in his hypothesis which “is to locate the forms of power, the channels it takes, and the discourses it permeates…and [how it] controls everyday pleasure” (11). He does address the last two, but I will discuss those later.

During the presentation, I will go through these questions and show how Foucault answers them in The History of Sexuality Part 1 and then look at the major research within Gender Studies that address similar issues (not necessarily in that order). Therefore, it could be argued that Foucault’s pattern of conducting research has been a major influence on how Gender Studies approaches its research and perhaps vice versa. Foucault’s theory highlighting how sex has been used as a tool to mould and perpetuate certain ideals and sustain existing power hierarchies is absolutely a feminist issue! Feminist thought, or Gender Studies ideology absolutely seeks to understand how discourse is used to keep certain groups in power while keeping others oppressed.

1.      WHO HAS THE POWER/WHO BENEFITS?  

            First of all, Foucault accuses us of “support[ing] a Victorian regime” (3). This gives us a clue as to whom Foucault believes holds the power; pointing particularly to the Victorian bourgeoisie (3). “[T]he 17^th century was the beginning of an age of repression emblematic of what we call the bourgeois societies, an age which perhaps we still have not completely left behind” (Foucault 17). Even though the upper class may hold the power it was this class in which Foucault says the mechanisms of oppression were first placed (126-127). Counter-intuitive as it may seem the dominant ideal could then ‘trickle down,’ so-to-speak, to the other classes, creating an “us/them” binary which quickly forms a dualism. By doing this, the elite benefit because in order to be on the top, there has to be a bottom. Using binaristic thinking, power can be exerted to control many groups of people.

In regard to ‘who holds the power’ it may be important to have a quick discussion about dualisms and binaries. Examples of binaries are up/down, right/left, male/female etc. Dualisms are different than binaries as they involve hierarchical, power structures that dictate one particular side should always be considered inferior and the other always dominant (Plumwood 47). It is generally assumed that dualisms are open to change, but instead, the dualism becomes so fixed that it pulls into it, other associated variables; much like a black hole (Plumwood 47). Thus, if society believes that reason is superior, all variables associated with its opposite, emotion are automatically inferior and become dragged into this oppressive dualism as the inferior party (Plumwood 5, 42, 43). Examples of the inferior party in dualsims are not only emotion but women, nature, those of lower class, the body as opposed to the mind, the private sphere as opposed to the public sphere, minorities, children, and non-human animals etc. (Plumwood 43). This is not an exhaustive list.

Foucault comments on disparities within knowledge and how rationality, to some degree, sustains “the establishment of scientific discourse in the West” (55). He also discusses “points of power, hierarchized and placed opposite to one another…” (Foucault 45). Some of his examples include the split between adults and children (46) and heterosexuality opposed to the differently oriented (my word). This is because the dominant classes had defined the “legitimate couple” as married and heterosexual who reproduce only for procreation (45).

Pleasure is also dichotomized into what is acceptable and what is discouraged (46). Once one side of the binary becomes acceptable, and the other not, the concept of power and judgement problematizes what pleasure is, who can have it, how and for what reason.  For example, Foucault states that the “acceptable” form of sexuality became heterosexuality because it produces the next generation of “labor power” (47). This supports a very rational ideology focused around capitalism and demographics, making all other relationship possibilities the opposite which then “receive a pejorative designation” (Foucault 47).

This definition led to a prescription of the nuclear family which promotes heterosexuality and excludes those with alternative lifestyles; such as Foucault himself. The nuclear family also works to divide and conquer within families by splitting them up. Large, multigenerational families work together by having the older generation look after the younger generation while the able-bodied go out to work. If this family structure is taken away, then those who are not married, such as single mothers etc get sifted to the lower classes. Therefore, splitting things up into binaries is the first step in turning it into a power-laden dualism.

Foucault discusses relationships such as teacher/student, government and layperson, doctor/patient, clergy/masses etc. and how they can use their power dynamic and location to perpetuate the ideal, thus maintaining existing hierarchies. Harry pointed out yesterday that some of it is unintentional (H. Hunt, personal communication, September 20, 2013). But it is so subtle that no one questions the power dynamics between them.  One of the most pervasive dualisms is that of reason over emotion. What Foucault is trying to say happened with sex and sexuality is that in order to control it it was necessary to “pronounce a discourse on sex that would not derive from morality alone but from rationality as well” (24). Or as Wendy so eloquently put it, “pleasure had to be harnessed to the realm of reason” (W. Hamblet, personal communication, September 19, 2013). This way, the more scientific or rational definition of sex and sexuality can dominate the side of sexuality based on emotion. Therefore, if sex and sexuality were made to be rational, the dominant ideology is more able to control and extract power from it because it is within the realm of reason, which has been defined as superior. This is one step Foucault says instigated control over the definitions of sex and sexuality.

            Research in Gender Studies that jumps out at me that looks specifically at the attempt to control the definition and appropriation of sex and sexuality is the work of Davis. Murray S. Davis wrote a book called SMUT: Erotic Reality/Obscene Ideology which was used as the text for a course here in the Philosophy department at Brock University on Gender and Sexuality. According to Davis, there are three major ideological camps that try to control sex and sexuality. These he calls the Jehovanists, Gnostics and Naturalists. Jehovanists tend to be very conservative and wish to suppress sex and the influence it has on the self and society. This would represent the dominant ideal that uses religion and scripture to control how “appropriate” sex and sexuality is defined. Foucault says it is “legitimate to ask why sex was associated with sin for such a long time” (Davis 9).

In Davis’ theory the Gnostics take the opposing side in the sense that they desire to promote sexual freedom as a means to tear down the reality Jehovanists protect. So they are more likely to be proud of their sexual differences and/or fetishes. The Naturalists on the other hand are neutral or more scientific in regard to sex and believe it to be just another biological phenomenon. It doesn’t take too much imagination to see different periods of time when one of these camps had more sway over the population. I can see them all jockeying for position. Relating this to the idea that the approved definition of sex is the rational one, we can see the shift from the more religious influences over to science and biology. This leads us to number 2 WHAT INSTITUTIONS ARE INVOLVED?

The short answer is all of them. But, switching the power to reason, gave education sway because its foundations are based in reason. If reason is superior, so must education because it is the teacher of reason. Beginning with schools, and tracing the Age of Reason back to Plato’s Republic, the perfect city or polis has no room for art or creativity. Emotion was considered a distraction, which ironically Plato supported by defining reason as superior to emotion(Johnson and Reath). The notion that reason is the ‘highest good’ may be a false premise. Gender Studies challenges this notion and seeks to deconstruct and reconstruct education to better teach a balance of both: Which is what I hope we can also accomplish today by challenging the notion that reason is superior to all other human experience.

An example in Gender Studies of education based on a false premise is to look at sex education in schools. It seems as though the focus of sex education is to teach young girls how not to get raped, rather than teaching boys not to rape (Ikeda and Rosser 39). There isn’t even a proper definition of rape taught, nor is there proper education regarding the importance of consent (Sudderth et al. 57). This creates something called rape culture that believes rape is acceptable and produces rape myths such as ‘she asked for it by dressing like blank, walking alone at night or being in the wrong place at the wrong time.’ Statistically women are raped by someone they know, 90% of the time (Sudderth et al. 57). Therefore, it doesn’t have much to do with what she is wearing, where she is walking and at what time. This carries over into other institutions such as the court system that end up blaming the victim (Pietsch). The dominant ideal of white, male, middle-class etc also affects court decisions because white men, those who perform the majority of sexual assault, are more likely to get off scott-free, and victims who are women of colour are “less likely to secure the support of justice systems” (Pietsch 136).

Institutions of knowledge spread a false ideology to all other institutions as education is positively correlated with money and power. As Foucault himself states, “Power and knowledge are joined together” (100). He says “knowledge-power [is] an agent of transformation of human life (143). Therefore, it is a good means to distribute discourse that supports and maintains existing power heirarchies. “Discourse can be both an instrument and an effect of power” (Foucault 101). This brings us to number 3.

2.      WHAT ARE THE DISCOURSES?

If one wishes to dominate and control a species, its reproduction is a logical place to start, therefore sex, discourses about sex and sexualities became a focus. If one could control the process of who procreates, how, and for what reason, a society could be moulded. Foucault presents an example of how discourse could be used to shape young minds into a particular ideology of sex when he discusses “the schoolmaster instructing the little villagers to mind their language and not talk about all these things aloud” (32). He goes on to say that “this was undoubtedly one of the conditions enabling the institutions of knowledge and power to overlay this everyday bit of theatre with their solemn discourse” (Foucault 32). This example addresses Foucault’s repressive hypothesis and leads us to number 4.

3.      WHAT TACTICS ARE USED TO MAINTAIN HEIRARCHIES?

Repression is one tactic in exercising control over discourses about sex and sexuality. For example, you should not “talk about all these things aloud” (32). Foucault, however, is careful not to retain the repressive hypothesis entirely. He asks an important question “Are prohibition, censorship and denial truly the forms through which power is exercised in a general way..?” (10). Foucault reminds us that repression is not a “roadblock to a power mechanism that had operated unchallenged… [but is] in fact a part of the same historical network as the thing it denounces” (10). Therefore, the reason the dominant ideology is so powerful is that it operates from both ends. What is not successfully repressed is then used to categorize and label. Once antagonistic ideals are boxed and labelled, they become more easily controlled by the rational dominant ideology still taught in many institutions.

Labelling is therefore a good tactic to control how people define and see the world, thus helping maintain power structures. A label can severely disempower someone. According to Valenti, the worst thing for a man to be called is a girl (2). Girls and women get compared to things that are not human, such as pussies, bitches, birds, and chicks. And if they are not called animals, they are referred to body parts indicating that she is not a whole or complete person. She becomes reduced to her reproductive parts, reinforcing the virgin/whore dualism and an either/or mentality. Then, if she does not fit the “ideal” image of woman, she is referred to as objects such as dyke. See how just this labelling process imposes power. If you are not considered the ideal man, you get called a girl. Girls and women get called animals or reduced to parts, and if you are not the ideal woman, you get referred to as an object: Thus delineating a power hierarchy much like that of the food chain. This discourse is so subtle and insidious that people do not stop to think about it and therefore it goes unquestioned and unchallenged.

A tactic Foucault believes most influential in irking out and labelling discourse regarding sex is the act of confession. Religious institutions turned sex into something that needed to be confessed (Foucault 35). It “is not that they consigned sex to a shadow existence, but that they dedicated themselves to speaking of it ad infinitum, while exploiting it as the secret” (Foucault 35 italics in original).

Gender Studies also addresses the role of religious institutions as one the major ways to maintain a hierarchical split between men and women and different sexualities.

The dominant group of ruling class males constructed a world-view which set them

apart as normative humanity… and then fashioned in their own image a God of ultimate

 value, power and rationality over against the disvalue, passivity and irrationality

of the opposite side of the duality. (Jantzen 292)

This quote speaks to the power lurking behind dualisms and normalization, which is another tactic used to maintain power hierarchies. Normalization is making ideology into something that is normal and natural. Most of the general populous sees the existing hierarchical split between men and women as normal and therefore fail to question it. (Most of the time anyway). Normalization is therefore another tactic to perpetuate existing power hierarchies.

            Foucault discusses many other tactics besides making reason superior to emotion or and normalization and labelling. Other tactics include pathologicalization, medicalization, militarization and fear, systemic prejudice, and of course, bullying or behavioural regulation which Foucault terms biopower.  

Pathologicalization is a process in which “biological differences between men and women are naturalized and justified” (Gustafon 278). The dominant ideal, which is the male experience, becomes the measuring tool for all other experience. Experience that is made to be the ‘other’ becomes unnaturally different or even aberrant, especially in the medical industry under a traditional bio-medical ideology. The biological differences between men and women became pathologized to the point that “with astounding regularity, [women’s different biology was] found to be ‘essentially and dangerously inferior to men’s’” (qtd in Gustafon 278). Foucault states that “sex gradually became an object of great suspicion” (69). Thus, sex too became pathologized. “[T]he nervous woman, the frigid wife, the indifferent mother…the impotent, sadistic perverse husband…the young homosexual who rejects marriage…were combined figures of an alliance gone bad and an abnormal sexuality (Foucault 110) Therefore, sexual acts that were not committed by married, heterosexual couples, for reproduction only, were deemed as not only abnormal, but neurotic. This way, if one were to behave outside of the dominant ideal, they were considered mentally ill. This combined with labelling, forms a very effective tactic to maintaining dominant ideology and hierarchies. This is how pathologicalization of women’s bodies made its way into other areas such as psychiatry where women were diagnosed with hysteria or what Freud termed ‘penis envy.’

Hysteria is an excellent example of pathologicalization because emotion was considered abnormal and viewed as erratic. Hysteria, coming from the same root as hysterectomy, was ‘scientifically’ seen as caused by a woman’s womb wandering. (Yes, how scientific). The parts of the woman were eventually seen as abnormal, causing pathological diseases. The cure for hysteria was the orgasm and the doctor would alleviate the symptoms by relieving her of her sexual tension (Lewis 2005). This instigated the mandatory pelvic exam on women who were about to be married. During the Cold War, it was considered a normal procedure because it would not be beneficial to the country if men were not satisfied while consummating their marriage. If men were not happy with their women or their first sexual experience with their woman, they might switch over to communism (Lewis). I am not making this up! It is from an article called Waking Sleeping Beauty: The Premarital Pelvis Exam and Heterosexuality During the Cold War. <<And I thought Harry had long titles!>> Foucault, however, agrees when he states that “through pedagogy, medicine and economics [or demography]  it made sex not only a secular concern, but a concern of the state as well” (116). Woman eventually came to be seen as emotionally unstable and overly sexual. Pathologicalization also made its way into the traditional bio-medical model.

Similar to pathologicalization is medicalization, which is the same train of thought applied to women during medical diagnosis and treatment. Foucault states that “[t]he medicalization of the sexually peculiar was both the effect and the instrument…Imbedded in bodies, becoming deeply characteristic of individuals, the oddities of sex relied on a technology of health and pathology” (44). Gustofson states that “women’s bodies and minds that are structured or function differently are pathologized as defective, diseased, or burdensome rather than as reflecting part of the diverse human condition” (278). Foucault, however, reminds us that this pathologicalization and medicalization is extended from women to men whose sexual orientation is outside the dominant order. This is extremely important because not all men benefit from patriarchy.

Through medicalization a “norm of sexual development was defined and all the possible deviations were careful described; pedagogical controls and medical treatments were organized…for the benefit of a genitally centered sexuality” (Foucault 36). Therefore, women were reduced to their body parts, referred to in Gender Studies as “boobs and tubes” and certain bodies that did not fit into the ideal definition or the 68 percentile, were pathologized (Gustofson 278). <<A good example of medicalization comes from one of my students. In seminar she told us of her trip to the hospital. She was experiencing stomach pain and said it might have been something she had eaten. The first question was “are you pregnant?” She said “no” and they continued to run only tests to determine if she was pregnant. When they discovered she was not pregnant, they sent her home, stomach pain and all. They did not even consider the food poisoning hypothesis presented by this student.>> Because anything that differed from hetero-male experience was pathologized, differences were not examined or treated as normal (Gustofson 279). This, in turn, supported double standards.  

Another tactic Foucault discusses that reinforces or perpetuates existing power hierarchies is fear. Foucault states that “under the guise of the medical norm [which] claim[s] to speak the truth, stirred up people’s fears” (53). “[S]trange pleasures” were therefore dangerous to society and it “warned, would eventually result in nothing short of death” (Foucault 54). This quote is interesting in light of the work of Davis because the Jehovanists believe immoral sex and sexuality degrades the fabric of existence and this is what Gnostics use to their advantage because they want the existing social structure to be dissolved (92). Jehovanists wish to keep in tact, “the boundary between certain social categories-especially between male and female” (Davis 92). This is the power Foucault brings to our attention in the History of Sexuality Part 1. Therefore, fear is a powerful tactic used to maintain hierarchical splits, especially between men and women. This is where militarization comes in.

Another tactic, militarization, is when men and women enter into the military and are taught to be cold and impersonal. Reason again reigns in this type of thinking; otherwise killing other human beings would be a lot harder (Foucault 137). If discourse tells us that we have to treat differences as something to fear, and that not doing this results in death of the entire species, going to war becomes easier and a formidable tactic to keep structures the way they are. Foucault states “[w]ars are no longer waged in the name of a sovereign; they are waged on behalf of the existence of everyone; entire populations are mobilized for the purpose of wholesale slaughter in the name of life necessity: massacres have become vital” (137).  

This is also a good example of hegemony which is another effective tactic because if a population is moved to war to protect the existence of everyone, it is telling them that going to war is for their own good. Foucault comments on the atomic bomb situation and how it feeds into this hegemonic discourse.

The power to expose a whole population to death is the underside

of the power to guarantee an individual’s continued existence…If

genocide is indeed the dream of modern powers, this is not because

of a recent return of the ancient right to kill; it is because power is

situated and exercised at the level of life, the species, the race, and

the large-scale phenomena of population.  (Foucault 137)

Therefore, if people are taught that the entire fabric of existence would dissolve if men and women were treated equally, militarization becomes an excellent way to maintain patriarchy and existing power hierarchies.

Foucault only mentions systemic prejudice in passing when he discusses “state-directed” or state commissioned racism (119). He discusses eugenics as a perversion of pathologicalization and medicalization. Gender Studies takes the topic of systemic prejudice and eugenics a lot further. The history of the birth control movement, for example, was rife with state approved prejudice against women of colour (Davis 354). Planned parenting, in its early formation targeted poor communities and minorities. If a white, middle-class woman wanted an abortion, she would be discouraged and even denied. But, if a woman of colour asked for one, there would be no hesitation (Davis).

In Alberta, not too long ago, medical institutions and hospitals were given permission by the government to sterilize those deemed unfit to bear children without their consent: Directly addressing Foucault’s comment on eugenics. Both men and women were forcefully sterilized. The film, The Sterilization of Leilani Muir is a good example (Whiting 1996). She was sterilized without her consent because her I.Q was around 60 (Whiting 1996). Since I.Q is arguably more influenced by nurture, rather than nature, her abusive upbringing resulted in a lower I.Q. After she was removed from her abusive situation, her I.Q went up 10-15 points. When she could not get pregnant, she later went to the doctor who told her that she had been sterilized. Legislation has since decreed forced sterilization illegal in Canada, but is still a valid example of systemic prejudice.

Examples of systemic prejudice that remain legal today are the Omnibus bill and policies regarding immigrant and migrant workers. For example, the Omnibus bill targets minorities, especially First Nations, whom are already over-represented in prisons (Dell). Governmental policies regarding immigration force our most qualified doctors in the country to serve us fast food or drive our taxis (Hojati). Of course differences are going to be maintained and hierarchized if the government itself is making and supporting prejudiced policies.

Continuing on with tactics and discourses involved in maintaining existing power hierarchies, bullying and behavioural regulation could be the most powerful tactic of all. The people closest to you are those who regulate your behaviour the most. Right from birth and even in the womb, people want to know the sex of your baby. If the baby is dressed in gender-neutral clothing, it makes people uncomfortable because they do not know how to treat the baby (Lorber 33-34). This I want you to take a moment to think about, because why should there be any differential treatment? Babies are essentially androgynous, no? At school, peers and teachers take over behavioural regulation towards conformity of the status quo (Cruz; Raby). For some, “doing gender” becomes also “doing heterosexuality” to avoid the teasing and bullying (Messner 185). Coaches are a major regulator of maintaining a split between the sexes (Messner). Afterall, who wants to be called a bunch of girls or accused of throwing like a girl, when you are a man? Remember, the worst thing for a man to be called is a girl (Valenti 2). This mentality then transfers over into everyday ideology, eventually affecting relationships.

Foucault states that “parents and children, adults and adolescents, educator and students…all have played this game of …confrontation and mutual reinforcement, exercising a power that questions, monitors, watches, spies, searches out, palpitates and brings to light” (45) behaviour that is different from the status quo. He also states that “[e]ducational or psychiatric institutions, with their large populations, their hierarchies, their spatial arrangements, their surveillance systems, constituted, alongside family, another way of distributing the interplay of powers and pleasures” (Foucault 46).

This need to control bodies and populations through various institutions led Foucault to coin the term biopower, “guaranteeing relations of domination” (141) that “was without question an indispensable element in the development of capitalism” (140-141), capitalism not being possible “without the controlled insertion of bodies into the machinery of production and…economic processes” (141). Remember, the ideal way to express sex and sexuality was between married, heterosexual couples because they were responsible for the next generation of the labour workers (sic). Therefore behavioural regulation, through reinforcement and punishment, which Foucault terms biopower could be considered a major tactic in reinforcing existing power hierarchies.

So far we have heard from Foucault and research in Gender Studies regarding discourse and tactics that help perpetuate dominant ideals. I would like to share with you some of the research I have put together revealing another tactic I like to call demonization. This is when symbols associated with women or paganism become stigmatized by dominant religious groups to instigate conformity. For example, in regard to maintaining the power hierarchy between men and women, Venus is associated with women and the path of Venus in the sky traces the five-pointed star, which was demonized by association with Satan worship and the dark arts. Another example of demonization is the number 13. Have we ever wondered why the number 13 is scary? This number in Judaism and/or Kabbalah is the numerical value of love and caring. Through the process of revering reason and suppressing emotion, love and caring take a fall, in this case to the point where there is genuine fear called ‘triskaidekaphobia.’ One more example of this type of demonization is in regard to music and resonance. In the early 19^th century, musical tuning became standardized as it was discovered that when travelling the world, the tuning was different from one region to the next. The heart chakra resonates at 528 hz, which is represented by love. The modern standardized tuning suppresses the 528 frequency by making it the only frequency in the key that creates a discord in the scale. Chords that sounded discordant were demonized and thought to be evil. If the “A” on the guitar resonated 4 hertz higher, at 444 Hz, the “C” would ring out at a 528 frequency, allowing the heart chakra to be heard. One last example in regard to paganism is the demonizing of the ‘Greenman’ who was celebrated as helping to produce bumper crops. The Greenman’s horns became associated with Satan so when people are seeing a fearful image of Satan, they are actually seeing an exaggerated, supped up version of an ancient harvest god. Unfortunately, it is not just these examples or tactics on their own that have created such an impervious dominant ideology, but the combination of all discourses and tactics distributed through all institutions including marriage that help reinforce the existing power hierarchies. This brings us to number 4, Intersectionality.

4.      INTERSECTIONALITY

The last two points are not explicit in Foucault’s hypothesis but he does address the issue of intersectionality and states that “pleasure and power do not cancel or turn back against one another; they seek out, overlap, and reinforce one another. They are linked together by complex mechanisms and devices of excitation and incitement” (Foucault 48). This statement follows exactly what intersectionality is about by recognizing that mechanisms are all linked or woven together; reinforcing one another, like a giant knot. In Gender Studies intersectionality refers to how characteristics such as sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, class, ability; to name a few, all work together to compound experience (Cruz 68). For example bullying increases with the number of characteristics that do not fit the dominant ideal of white, male, heterosexual, middle/upper class, young, thin and able-bodied. I think this is why Foucault again becomes a major influence in Gender Studies because his sexual orientation did not match the dominant heteronormative ideal.

Foucault maintains that discursive growth should be looked at as “a dispersion of centers from which discourses emanated a diversification of their forms which make the complex deployment of the network connecting them” (34). This means that from each different institution, the dominant discourse spreads forth ideology adapted to each situation or context it finds itself in. Therefore, its discourse is fluid and can change and adapt to each setting it which it is placed. The reinforcement of the dominant ideology is therefore projected from all sides and can mould itself to any situation to reinforce behaviour to conform. Therefore, intersectionality is important when assessing well being and life experience and tracing power relations because they are so interconnected that they reinforce one another and cannot be separated.

Hopefully by forgetting everything we have every been taught, we can better understand and follow the paths of power relations through different locations and recognize how sex and sexuality can be used as a means to maintain existing hierarchies and dominant ideals. All systems and institutions of power are involved in keeping certain groups superior to others. Many adaptive discourses and tactics are used to keep the existing power structure in place and they all reinforce one another to form a mega suprastructure of privilege and oppression. I hope I have successfully disrupted your previous interpretation of Foucault and Gender Studies and the existing power structures. Addressing Plato’s hypothesis: Is it completely far-fetched to say that education is based on a false premise? So……..

5.      WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

We could challenge existing educational structures and come up with new ways that teach tolerance and accommodation for those who are outside the dominant ideology. This is beginning to show its effects as students are taught at younger ages about Gender Studies issues. At Brock there is an organization called OPIRG in which we can mobilize around important events that promote a more inclusive future. We could participate in activism and volunteer. We could focus on ideologies that are not the dominant ones in order to decentre the centre. This is not an exhaustive list!!! But Foucault does leave us with some advice. He suggests that “discourse can be both an instrument and an effect of power, but also a hindrance, a stumbling-block, a point of resistance and a starting point for an opposing strategy. Discourse transmits and produces power; it reinforces it, but also undermines and exposes it, renders it fragile and makes it possible to thwart” (101). Therefore, using this suggestion, we could also do what Foucault has done by writing his books, we can create awareness, provide people with the opportunity to open up dialogue about these issues and basically “queer things up.” For those unfamiliar with queering things up, it means to question and challenge dominant assumptions and practices that exclude certain groups. We don’t “question everything” anymore, we queer things up! Now go queer shit up!

Works Cited

Dell, Colleen A. “The Criminalization of Aboriginal Women: Commentary by a Community

Activist.” Eds. Wendy Chan and Kiran Mirchandani. Crimes of Colour: Racialization

and the Criminal Justice System in Canada. University of Toronto Press: Toronto. 2002

pp. 127-136.

Cruz, Cindy. “Notes on Immigration, Youth, and Ethnographic Silence.” Theory into Practice 47

(2008): 67-73. Print.

Davis, Murray S. SMUT: Erotic Reality/Obscene Ideology. The University of Chicago Press:

Chicago, 1983. Print.

Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality: Part 1. Vintage Books: New York, 1990. Print.

Gustafson, Diana L. “Underpinnings and Understandings of Girls’ and Women’s Health.”

            Feminist Issues. Ed. Nancy Mandell. Pearson Canada: Toronto. 272-297. Print.

Ikeda, Naoko and Rosser, Emily. “You Be Vigilant! Don’t Rape! Reclaiming Space and Security

at York University.” Canadian Woman Studies 28. (2007): 37-43.

Johnson, O. A., & Reath, A. (2007). Ethics: Selections from classical and contemporary writers.

            Ed 10. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth.

Messner, Michael A. “Still a Man’s World? Studying Masculinities and Sport.” eds. Michael S.

Kimmel et. al, Handbook of Studies on Men and Masculinities, London: Sage Publications, 2005.

______ “becoming 100% straight.” eds. C. Williams & A. Stein. Sexuality and Gender,

Malden Mass.: Blackwell, 2002, pp. 181-188.

Meyer, M. (2005). The Gnostic Gospels of Jesus: The definitive collection of mystical gospels

 and secret books about Jesus of Nazareth. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

Pietsch, Nichole. “I’m Not That Kind of Girl: White Femininity, the Other and the Legal/Social

Sanctioning of Sexualized Violance Against Racialized Women.” Canadian Woman

Studies. (2010): 136-140.

Raby, Rebecca. “’There’s no racism at my school, it’s just joking around’: Ramifications for

anti-racist education,” Race Ethnicity and Education, 7, (2004): 367-383.

Sudderth, Lori K., Leisring, Penny A., and Bronson, Eric F. “If They Don’t Tell Us, It Never

Happened: Disclosure of Experiences of Intimate Violence on Campus.” Canadian

 Woman Studies. (2010): 56-64.

Tarrant, Shira. “Overview and Introductions: This is What a Feminist Looks Like.” Eds.

Margaret Hobbs and Carla Rice. Gender and Women’s Studies in Canada: Critical

Terrain. Women’s Press: Toronto. 57-69.

Valenti, Jessica. “You’re a Hardcore Feminist. I Swear.” Eds. Margaret Hobbs and Carla Rice.

Gender and Women’s Studies in Canada: Critical Terrain. Women’s Press: Toronto. 2-8.

Challenges in Community-University Collaboration

Final Paper

GSFR 702

Sandra Kroeker

April 16, 2012

Challenges in Community-University Collaboration

            Throughout the winter term in 2012 the Gender Studies and Feminist Research program at McMaster University participated in community-university collaboration. We worked in teams of two or three and were placed with a community-based organization. My partner ____ and I were paired with ____and ______of the Status Women Committee of Hamilton to help them devise a survey to gather information regarding women who live or work in Hamilton. The goal was to assess what municipal issues are important to women in Hamilton in order to direct the work of the committee for the next four years. The committee wishes to use this information to advise city council in matters of municipal services that pertain most to women.

            The original timeline included three stages, Development, Dissemination and Analysis and aimed to have the first draft of the survey emailed out by February 4^th, have the survey up on line by the second week in February and begin analysis March 15. This original timeline was found to be far too ambitious because the first draft was not exactly what the committee wanted as it was not broad enough, so it had to be redeveloped. It was agreed that Patti, Ashley, and I were to create our own versions of the survey and email them to each other the morning of Wednesday February 15 and all three versions of the survey were going to be incorporated into the final version. Mine, being the only one submitted, was voted on and everyone agreed to use my version of the survey.

There was a lot of useful feedback from the committee in regard to grammar, wording and things that should be changed or added. Because the committee was able to add their own input, this was considered by the mentors to be a success as the committee felt more a part of the process. The process itself took a lot longer than initially expected as it took weeks to get the survey to what the committee wanted, weeks to get feedback from the committee and weeks to incorporate the changes. Therefore, it was beneficial to extend the deadline of the final product because the committee was more involved and it also allowed more time to get the survey to a higher standard as to gather more accurate and representative information.

The process of analysis was ultimately too ambitious for the timeline of the course so it was agreed that we would help with the development and the dissemination stages and leave the analysis to the committee. Calhoun, Wilson, and Whitmore would agree with this duty pruning as they state that “success is more likely when efforts are focused on only one or a few issues” (150). The survey went up on-line officially Monday March 19^th and those who fill out the survey had a chance to be entered into a draw to win a $25 Grocery Gift Card.  

There were many other challenges besides having a too ambitious a timeline such as ingrained biases and communication issues and I learned from this experience on many different levels. The levels I learned on were on a social/political level, a partnership level and a personal level. This paper will look at some of the challenges involved in my experience with community-university collaboration, discuss how I learned from this experience and provide a professional response to those who wish to participate in community-university collaboration in the future.

The format I will be using is the Integration of Theory and Praxis (ITP) model as described by Bogo and Vayda in their article “Theory of Field Instruction.”  Their method of reporting experience with community-university collaboration utilizes four different stages of documentation which are Retrieval, Reflection, Linkage and Professional Response. The first stage is when the participant retrieves and documents an event or experience. The person then reflects on the experience, links it to specific research then suggests how the event or experience can be learned from or avoided in the future (2-5).  

RETRIEVAL

            Social/Political Level. Going into further detail in regard to developing the survey, I did not want the questions to be leading or accidentally lead those filling out the survey to answer in a particular way. The committee wanted the questions broad enough to encompass all types of women that could span across all ages, races, classes and abilities. The first sample survey was too narrow as it focused on only the marginalized population.

In order to get the survey out to all types of women, I thought about those who did not own or have access to a computer. Some people do not even know how to use a computer. It was therefore discussed that hard copies of the survey should be utilized. However, if we were to use hard copies, this would require someone to distribute them, collect them, and someone to enter in and analyze the data separately from the on-line surveys. There was also a problem of how to enter those who filled out the hard copies into the draw to win a grocery gift card. The use of hard copies, to reach a more representative population, was ultimately too much work and came down to problems regarding time and money.

REFLECTION

            The concentration on those who do not have a computer or getting the survey out to those with a low social economic status led to assumptions and stereotypes that may have inadvertently reinforced dominant ideology. I may have been oversimplifying as computers are everywhere and even those on Welfare own computers. Therefore, the process of getting the survey out to as many people as possible may have reinforced problematic stereotypes. This led to a paradox and subsequent paralysis on how to move forward. It seems that every attempt to help can be turned around by making things worse. This begs the question “does advocacy work?” Being from the dominant, privileged population I began to doubt the effectiveness of my involvement in this project.

LINKAGE

Advocacy work can have the opposite effect of the desired outcome. For example, George’s article on the “Girl Hawker Project” pointed out that, even though intentions can be good, they can have a devastating outcome. For example, the Girl Hawker Project was designed to protect young girl vendors on the street as they assumed they had a greater risk toward negative behaviours such as thievery and prostitution (135). This led to fines which thrust these families into further poverty (137-138). The final outcome ended up stripping the girl’s of their right to make money and right to support their families. The project started with an idea of protection for these girls on the street, but ended up perpetuating class distinctions (141). This is a good example of what may have happened while we were brainstorming about how to get the survey out to as many people as possible. Fortunately the survey did not reflect this initial stereotyping. But, I began to wonder how and why the process of recreating tropes occurs. 

Linda Alcoff’s paper, “The Problem of Speaking for Others” stresses that it is problematic for those from the dominant culture, or those from privileged positions to ‘speak for’ or ‘speak about’ those who are marginalized (9). I found conducting community-university collaboration extremely difficult, because I am both from the dominant culture, and from a privileged position as a white, graduate student enrolled in a university.

Alcoff reminds us that influence on others can be embellished depending on the location in which the person is speaking. For example, those speaking from privileged positions in dominant locations such as universities can have an impact on those listening because the setting itself carries weight within the community. Speaking as a person enrolled in a university may be discursively coercive and could inadvertently reinforce the oppression of the group ‘spoken for’ (Alcoff 7). I come from a traditional, quantitative research background and have been biased by traditional educational discourse. Perhaps the inadvertent recreation of stereotypes occurred because I am used to prizing education and objectivity over context and subjectivity. I have learned a great deal about standpoint theory and context of the subaltern this year and still did not realize this stereotyping was happening. This where I thought my partner would help, however, she kept everything to herself. Since I was not able to see this myself, and my partner was not there to teach me or point this out to me, I missed out on an opportunity to learn and gain more knowledge. Sometime reflexivity does not work if you do not know where to look and therefore, may require help from others.   

            Due to the fact that I do not live in Hamilton, there were extra challenges for me in regard to diffusing the power dynamic between the community and the university. I was closer to the university than the community of Hamilton and thus had difficulty empathizing with and knowing the various services available in Hamilton. Therefore, if I had implicitly sided with the university, then there may have been an imbalance already assumed going into the community-university collaboration.

In regard to the paralysis and doubting my effectiveness in this project, when good intentions create further problems than solutions, it can lead to burn out and/or paralysis (Orr 43). Burn out and/or paralysis occurs because the poles involved in dualisms keep flip flopping back and forth to no end. The paralysis on my part came from a stand still in whether or not to ‘speak for’ others at all. However, if I gave up and avoided speaking for the other, ignoring their voice also perpetuates the “imperialist project” and reinforces the dominant culture (Alcoff 23).

PROFESSIONAL RESPONSE

To help find a solution to flip flopping between deciding on action or non-action and to end my paralysis, Alcoff (and George) suggest that ‘speaking with’ instead of ‘speaking for’ others as a better method for advocacy because it allows for a dialogue or chance for the marginalized to respond. This idea was appropriated into the survey by allowing space for open-ended questions at the end of each topic and we created a section at the end for personal comments, thus allowing for dialogue. It is best to leave room for the other to respond to what is said (Alcoff 23). This way the discursive role is transformed into a narrative, leaving room for the other to counteract or correct anything stated (23). While the idea of speaking with and dialogue was incorporated into the survey, it did not bleed through into the partnership level. Therefore, I began to wonder how to resolve problems in collaboration with those with differing opinions.

            Sandra Harding’s article, “Feminist Standpoints” revealed some helpful information. In regard to the dominant person (or the insider) ‘speaking for’ or ‘speaking with’ the marginalized other (the outsider), both insider and outsider opinions were found to be helpful and valid. Outsider viewpoints “enable the detection of the dominant values, interests, and assumptions in existing knowledge claims” (Harding 56). Therefore, outsider perspectives are important for collaboration because the outsider is more likely to see when biases are being perpetuated thus contributing positively to research because it produces a more accurate, well rounded interpretation. While this is great in theory, it did not translate into praxis.  

The outsider’s perspective is only half of the picture as the outsider’s opinion does not necessarily lead to the correct answers or interpretations of the data. Here, the insider’s perspective is useful. For example, in Davion’s article, the oppressed or marginalized group answered “no” to being raped even though their experience matched the criteria of what was considered to be ‘rape’. Thus, those who stand outside of the traumatic experience of rape were more able to see the contradictions and were subsequently more qualified to interpret the results. I have an extensive background in creating surveys and questionnaires and my objective opinion was not useless in the process of this project and should not be entirely discounted or discredited.

 It can be seen from this example that the circumstance can dictate whether one is an insider or outsider, and these roles also flip flop back and forth depending on the situation. In this case, those who have experienced sexual pressure were the insiders and those who have not, the outsiders. Differing perspectives in interpreting research “may well be found in the values, interests, and assumptions that each group brings to its research” (Harding 56). Therefore, it is important to listen to everyone’s voice, whether they are an insider or an outsider.

RETRIEVAL

            Partnership Level. Throughout the project I did not feel my partner was communicating productively with me nor did she consider my opinion as important and valid (whether I was considered an insider or an outsider). There were some sticky situations and awkward moments that eventually divided the entire project team.

In the initial stages of the survey, Ashley was extremely helpful and utilized her knowledge with the community and the services available. When the committee found the first draft of the survey to not encompass a representative sample of the population and suggested it be revised, Ashley took offence. She also suggested that there should be questions directed to specific marginalized groups, which, in my opinion is important for reaching a representative population in Hamilton, but due to the format of the survey, this idea could not be implemented because these questions did not fit under any of the agreed upon categories and if we were to add new sections, the survey would be too long and time consuming.

The fact that Ashley’s input seemed to be constantly rejected (and to think that it was rejected entirely is a gross overestimation), perhaps led her to resent me and not want to work with me because the committee seemed to be more responsive to my suggestions. So, the more the committee thought my input was relevant and valid, the more Ashley thought my input as irrelevant and invalid. To relate this to Sandra Harding’s definition of the insider/outsider dualism, it could be seen that to the committee, I was the insider and she was the outsider. This deteriorated the relationship between Ashley and I and as a result her unwillingness to work together as a team increased.

I requested her assistance in developing the demographics section of the survey as I knew she had more experience and a better understanding of terms. I also wished to involve her as much as possible because the committee did not seem to be utilizing her talents. Instead of just answering my questions she had to first insult my intelligence by pointing out that I did not belong in this program at this level if I did not have a complete understanding of all these terms I was inquiring about. This happened on three different occasions when asking for her input and advice. Ultimately this led to complete communication breakdown and because she felt (despite my efforts) to feel that her voice was not incorporated in the survey, she ended up deferring the project to me. I then became a mediator between the committee and Ashley as I was not a full member of either side. It is not clear whether the lack of her voice on the final survey was due to the committee or a negative by-product of her lack of productive communication.

REFLECTION

Reflecting on Ashley’s withdraw from the project, her distancing makes sense now that I had found out at the end of the course that she had given up and had deferred the entire project to me. Reflecting back on the entire situation, it could be seen that the committee was not utilizing her talents and Ashley was not utilizing mine. The committee tended not to consider her ‘outsider’ opinion and because I was seen as an ‘insider,’ I too became Ashley’s enemy. There would have been much less animosity between Ashley and I if she had just explained to me how she felt about the committee and the project and talked to me about her withdrawing from the project. Even though we were not working well as a team I had realized implicitly that she had deferred the project to me and therefore compromised by giving her the coursework while I did the work for the project. 

LINKAGE

I believe that communication is extremely important when working together as a team on a project as communication was considered by Calhoun, Wilson, and Whitmore as a key marker of success (146). I do not blame Ashley for taking offence when her ideas could not be incorporated into the survey because according to Calhoun et al. another key marker of success was found in “groups [that] both use and celebrate the individual talents and strengths of [its] members” (150). As the project ensued, she felt that my talents were more appreciated by the committee and felt her voice was not included in the survey at all. Unfortunately this sentiment was not communicated to me until after the final survey draft was completed.

This whole situation led to the dichotomy of insider/outsider relationships becoming power laden. Sometimes I was the insider (with the committee and survey development background) and sometimes I was the outsider (with Ashley and the department as they are more knowledgeable in activism). When Ashley and I worked together I was continuously made to feel inferior and worthless which led to me feeling self conscious about everything I said.

PROFESSIONAL RESPONSE

I do not believe Harding’s advice was taken into consideration throughout this project. There may have been open-ended questions on the survey to engage in a dialogue of ‘speaking with’, but I do not believe there was ‘speaking with’ involved in the partnership between Ashley and I. I reached out and approached her by text, email and in person to ask if everything was ‘cool’ between us and she diffused the situation by saying everything was fine, even though her behaviour and attitude said otherwise. Our attempts at ‘speaking with’ failed in part because texts and emails can only say so much and can be easily misinterpreted. Also, because I do not live in Hamilton, I had to resort to texting and emailing more often than I should have. This contributed to further miscommunication.

I do not believe Calhoun, Wilson, and Whitmore’s article “Activism That Works” was taken into consideration. The committee did not utilize Ashley’s talents and Ashley rejected mine. Going further into utilizing the talents of each member of the team, I felt that Ashley and I needed to follow the advice to “support each other” and utilize the strategy of “mutual support and validation” (148). If I was made aware of how Ashley felt, I could have given her more support and helped her stand up to the committee. There is a quote from Calhoun, Wilson, and Whitmore that states “[h]owever hard it is to be a marginalized person speaking up for themselves in this society, it’s worth doing” (148). Giving up, breaking communication and deferring the project to me could be seen as not taking this advice into consideration.

In regard to my reaction to Ashley’s deferral, Calhoun, Wilson, and Whitmore continue to offer good advice. When they asked activists what strategies worked for them, one responded “remember what is important, and don’t get caught up in personalities or egos…[y]ou just sort of take the blows and keep going” (150). I believe I took this advice and ‘took the blows’ because I eventually stopped letting Ashley’s attitude get to me, let her drop out of the project, and as a consequence did not have to deal as much with her ‘personality and ego.’ I then ‘kept going’ to produce a survey in which the Status of Women Committee was proud. After all, the project must go on!

There is also excellent advice in the article by Jones and Jenkins called “Rethinking Collaboration” that helped shed light on real life collaboration between ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders.’ Jones and Jenkins represent what they refer to as“Indigene-Colonizer” collaboration (471); Jones is from the dominant culture whereas Jenkins is a native Maori from New Zealand. They respond to Alcoff’s advice regarding ‘speaking with’ in a dialogue by claiming the dialogic collaboration could “be an unwittingly imperialist demand” (Jones and Jenkins 471). Instead they suggest “a less dialogical and more uneasy, unsettled relationship, based on learning (about difference) from the Other, rather than learning about the Other” (471 italics in original).

What Ashley and I experienced in our collaboration was uneasy and unsettling and what both Jones and Jenkins and Stone-Mediatore teach us is that learning can come from contradiction and discomfort, and the discomfort can be used to produce knowledge. For example, regarding our oral presentation, Ashley and I turned our differing opinions regarding the project into an interesting debate, showing both sides of the story. Interplay of our differing opinions was helpful in understanding the complexity of community-university collaboration. Therefore, our collaboration was not a complete failure.

A dialogue of ‘speaking with’ could also be “disparaged on the grounds that it ‘only focuses on the positive’” (Calhoun et al. 152). A ‘speaking with’ dialogue of “mutual respect” may not be the only way to attain knowledge as it represents a “fantasy/model [that] often shapes the hyphen” which stands between the indigene and the colonizer (Jones and Jenkins 473). It is the development of this hyphen that produces power dynamics between two sides in a dualism because each side “discursively produces the other” (473).

CONCLUSIONS

            Partnership level. I believe good communication to be more important and productive than uneasy communication and recommend finding research that provides suggestions on how to communication properly and productively as a team. Alcoff warns against the impulse to speak to “teach rather than listen” (24). She also points out that “speaking for others is often born of a desire for mastery, to privilege oneself as the one who more correctly understands the truth” (29). Perhaps if we approach discussion by leaving our ‘personalities and egos’ behind, more successful communication can result.

Social/Political level. In regard to the project as a whole, I believe the survey itself incorporated the advice of the authors mentioned in this paper and was a great success. Where things fell apart was on the partnership level. Marrulo and Edwards believe that the best advocacy or community-university collaboration targets the root causes of the issues involved. I believe the project has the potential to target root causes of social injustice because if governmental policies create stumbling blocks for social justice, then bringing the concerns of women in Hamilton to council may be productive. “Politics and governmental influence do not only have the power to corrupt and perpetuate social injustice, but can also serve as a place for change” (Kroeker 5).

Overall level. In regard to advocacy and whether or not it can work, many stumbling blocks were found along the way. Being a white, privileged person working on advocacy can inadvertently reinforce stereotypes. To counter act this, ‘speaking with’ in a dialogue is good advice in theory, but sometimes does not work in praxis, especially when there are ego and personality clashes. Therefore, when ‘speaking with’ is not working, Jones and Jenkins advice is helpful to discover that learning and knowledge can still occur through uncomfortable and uneasy communication. I believe in the end, advocacy can work because despite problems in collaboration and communication on the partnership level, the survey itself was still a great success on the social/political level.    

Works Cited

Alcoff, Linda. “The Problem of Speaking for Others.” Cultural Critique. 20 (1991-1992): 5-32.

Bogo, M., Vayda, E. “Theory of Field Instruction.” The Practice of Field Instruction in Social

Work: Theory and Process – with An Annotated Bibliography. Eds. Bogo, M and Vayda,

E. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987. 1-9. Print.

Calhoun, Avery, Wilson, Maureen, and Whitmore, Elizabeth. “Activism that Works: Emergent

Themes.” Activism that Works. Eds. Avery Calhoun, Maureen Wilson and Elizabeth

Whitmore. Fernwood Publishing, 2011. 133-152. Print.

Davion, Victoria. “Listening to Women’s Voices: Rape, Epistemic Privilege and Objectivity.” Bar

On, B. & Ferguson, A. eds. Daring to be Good: Essays in Feminist Ethico-Politics.

Routledge, 1998. Print.

George, Abosade. “Feminist Activism and Class Politics: The Example of the Lagos Girl Hawker

Project.” Women’s Studies Quarterly, 35 (3/4) (2007): 128-143. Print.

Harding, Sandra. “Feminist Standpoints.” Hesse-Biber, S. Handbook of Feminist Research. Sage

            Publications LTD (UK), 2007. Print.

Jones, Allison, and Jenkins, Kuni. “Rethinking Collaboration: Working the Indigene-Colonizer

Hyphen.” Handbook of Critical and Indigenous Methodologies. Eds. Denzin, N.K,

Lincoln, Y., Smith, L.T. Sage Publications, 2008. 471-486. Print.

Lorde, Audre. “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House.” Post Colonial

            Feminism: A Reader. Eds. Reina Lewis and Sara Mills. New York: Routledge, 2003.

            25-28. Print.

Marullo, Sam, Edwards, Bob. “From Charity to Justice: The Potential of University-Community

Collaboration for Social Change.” American Behavioral Scientist. 43 (2000): 895-911.

Plumbwood, Val. Feminism and the Mastery of Nature. London: Routledge. 1993. Print.

Stone-Mediatore, Shari. “Chandra Mohanty and the Revaluing of ‘Experience.’” Hypatia. 13(2)

(1998): 116-130. Print.

The Importance of Equal Validation of Rational and Intuitive Cognitive Styles

Abstract

Rational and intuitive cognitive styles were investigated using paranormal belief as a dependant variable because paranormal believers may tap into both in differing ways. Previous research had suggested that paranormal believers possess deficient rationalization skills. It was hypothesized that perhaps paranormal belief is a function of high intuitive thinking rather than a deficit in rationalization. It was also hypothesized that one dominant cognitive style, could affect proper utilization of another. A rational prime, intuitive prime and control group were used to test these hypotheses. Female undergraduate participants (N = 164) filled out questionnaires and completed tasks measuring both rational and intuitive cognitive style. An ANOVA that measured the difference between the groups on the rational measure was significant, but in the opposite direction as predicted. Regression analyses supported the hypothesis that paranormal belief is a function of intuitive cognitive style and showed that high creative/intuitive scores did predict paranormal belief more efficiently than low rationalization scores. Paranormal believers may be high in intuitive cognitive style, rather than deficient in rational cognition. The interpretation that the cognitive styles may be antagonistically organized was discussed, along with issues of finding and creating a balance between rational and intuitive.

The Importance of Equal Validation of Rational and Intuitive Cognitive Styles

The relationship between rational and intuitive cognitive styles is the focus of this investigation. Research on these two major cognitive styles and the relationship between them was explored for a full understanding of the two and how they may work together. Paranormal belief was used as a dependant variable in this research because previous research has found that paranormal believers tap into both cognitive styles (Aarnio & Lindeman, 2005). Upon investigating the relationship between the cognitive styles, a bias called Left-Brain; Right-Brain Mania (Gazzaniga, 1985) was discovered. This is defined as a bias in Western culture towards rational cognition and the suppression of the intuitive or creative cognitive style (Farthing, 1992). This potential bias seems to be a stumbling block toward finding a more useful balance and validation of both the rational and intuitive cognitive styles. Therefore, this research explored the relationship between the two major cognitive styles and the importance of the balance between the two and of which cognitive style paranormal belief may be a function. In order to find and create a balance between the two cognitive styles it was necessary to also focus on a larger problem of breaking down the cultural bias toward one type of cognition over another.

The Two Major Cognitive Styles

Cognition has been reduced to two major components or cognitive styles by many different researchers (Barbey & Sloman, 2007; Epstein, Pacini, Denes-Raj & Heier, 1996; Gardner, 1985; Klinger, 1978-79; Hilgard, 1962; Langer, 1963; Freud, 1900/1965) and has been termed differently depending on the researcher. For example, Freud (1900/1965) distinguished between primary and secondary thought processes: Primary was considered to be more intuitive, imaginative, instinctual and full of vivid wish fulfillment. Secondary was considered to be more rational, controlled, verbal, and oriented toward reality. Suzanne Langer (1963) argued for a difference between presentational and representational intelligence. Presentational intelligence represented the artistic, introspective, and the emotional aspect. Representational intelligence was thus described as being related to language, math, linear learning where there is only one answer to a given question. Hilgard (1962) distinguished between a realistic versus impulsive thinking style. The two types of thinking have also been referred to as intuitive-experiential and analytical-rational (Epstein et al., 1996) and were thought to be tapped through associative judgement strategies and rule based systems respectively (Barbey & Sloman, 2007). Nisbett, Peng, Choi and Norenzayan (2001) referred to the two cognitive styles as analytic and holistic.

            Gardner (1985) also did extensive research on different cognitive styles and came to the conclusion that there are multiple intelligences. He distinguished between verbal, math, movement skills, and spatial, musical skill, insight about the self, and insight about others. These could theoretically, but not completely be separated by cerebral hemisphere. The split between the functioning of the two hemispheres is not as black and white as the researchers had once hoped, but there are trends of relative specialization. For example, the primary, presentational, intuitive, spatial, musical and insight talents occur more in the right brain or right hemisphere; whereas the secondary, representational, rational, realistic, verbal and mathematical skills occur more in the left hemisphere. Split-brain research has not only shown us that both hemispheres are conscious, but that the different hemispheres of the brain do have salient talents that differ (Farthing, 1992).

No matter the term used, the definition and the function of these two cognitions remain similar to the point that the researchers seem to be talking about the same two concepts. For the purpose of this research these cognitive styles will be referred to as rational and intuitive. Rational representing the primary, representational, realistic, analytic, verbal, mathematical, “left-brain” or slower processing, and intuitive being the secondary, presentational, impulsive, experiential, holistic, gut feeling, creativity, “right-brain” and emotional intelligence involved with quicker processing. But what exactly is the relationship between rational and intuitive cognitive styles? The previous research mentioned above did not look at the two cognitive styles as one functioning whole. They seemed to explore them as separate, opposite or two distinct aspects. The two major cognitive styles however are in fact parts of the same brain and perhaps should be studied in a more symbiotic manner. Each cognitive style perhaps needed for their individual talents, but both needed as partners working together to create the full human experience.

The Relationship between the Two Major Cognitive Styles

Klinger, (1978/79) suggested that people could lie on a continuum between the two major cognitive styles and argued that dichotomies were too simple to account for individual differences in thought and imagery. His theory suggested that there is no fine line between the two cognitive styles but some people may lie more to the rational end of the continuum and some may lie more on the intuitive side. Therefore there may not be a balanced decision between cognitive styles when it comes to day to day probabilistic interpretation of events and one cognitive style may prevail over another in certain situations and in certain individuals (King, Burton, Hicks & Drigotas, 2007). For example high rational participants use more of a rational cognitive style and high intuitive persons use more of the intuitive cognitive style (King et al., 2007).

Another theory that investigated or helped aid in the understanding of how the two cognitive styles may work together was the Triune Brain. The Triune Brain theory postulated that the brain has layers that have evolved over time and the different parts or layers could be seen in other animals (MacLean, 1990). For example, the oldest part of the brain termed the reptilian brain is in charge of basic needs such as eating, sleeping, breathing and sex. The layer that develops on top of that is the paleomamailian or the limbic system, in charge of emotions. The final layer is the neomamalian brain or the neocortex in charge of intelligence and cognition. The theory stated that we have competing layers in our brain that all influence the way individuals think, feel and act.

The theory explained how individuals can get up to do something then forget what they were doing. The motivation and the emotional aspects of the brain remembered to do something while the cortex had not yet caught up to the idea. It can also potentially explain situational behaviour, why the same person may behave inconsistently from one situation to the next. Even though all these parts make up the brain, they do not always work together. Relating the Triune Brain to the current research, although not consistent with left brain verses right brain, the paleomamalian could represent the creative, emotional or intuitive style and the neomamalian could represent the rational.

From the research stated above it may seem that the types of consciousness can work as separate entities, and the relationship between them is black and white, left and right or formed by evolutionary steps. Although it is convenient for research sake, to break down the brain into its simplest components for study, this is not always the case.  In psychology it is more commonly accepted that all parts of the brain are so integrated that they work as a “unified whole” and become emergent as the different layers of neural processes come together (Hunt, 1995). So the relationship between the cognitive styles is completely simultaneous and integrated. There are certain parts of the brain that show denser interconnections than other parts in the brain (Hunt, 1995) that are not consistent with hemispheric specialization or Triune Brain diagrams. Some researchers even say that the reptilian part of the brain is more advanced, rather than more primitive because of the many interconnections in that area and because damage to that area results in loss of consciousness or coma (Hunt, 1995). This view however, is consistent with the assumption that only humans have consciousness. If all living organisms have consciousness, then it would make sense that the reptilian brain would be involved in basic consciousness.

The research that focuses on these “zones of convergence” is interested in the localization of function in the brain and strives to find where exactly in the brain these functions occur. This would bring us more into neuropsychology per se and away from cognition and personality of which this paper is a focus. It does, however remind us that cognition is very complex and there are many different theories and definitions that try to explain its functioning and the relationship between cognitive styles. What one generation divides to label and understand, the next generation will unify and so on (Hunt, 1995). Now may be the time to unify the various parts of the brain into one simultaneous conglomeration and to appreciate all the talents the brain can offer. This can lead to the discovery of a balance between all cognitive styles which may be more important than treating them as separate entities.       

Research on Balancing the Two Cognitive Styles

Research investigating the balance between the two cognitive styles had found an imbalance between the rational and emotional cognitive styles to be unhealthy and can lead to problematic conditions, such as Male Normative Alexithymia (Levant, Cook, Smalley, Good, O’Neil, Owen, & Richmond, 2006). Male Normative Alexithymia is when men have trouble understanding or communicating their emotions due to the socialization of gender stereotypes, i.e. “men don’t cry.” Symptoms include difficulty understanding and describing emotion, lack of imagination and extreme pursuit of status and achievement. The “Rubber-band” syndrome is when the emotion builds up from being suppressed and can come out as misdirected anger and violence. If emotion gets suppressed for too long, it may result in what is called the “tin man” symptom, resulting in a person who is no longer able to feel anything at all. The imbalance between rational and emotional can have dire consequences for relationships. Therefore, problematic conditions and loss of relationships can occur from an imbalance between rational and emotional cognitive styles and could provide support for the importance of the equal validation of both rational and intuitive cognitive styles.  

Another view of the need for balance between the two cognitive styles came from Freud (1856-1939). He discussed a need for a balance between love and work. If we are too rational and are consumed by work, relationships begin to suffer. But, if we are too consumed by relationships and are always out partying with friends and family, work life suffers. The idea of a balanced relationship between love and work may also provide support for the importance of equal validation between rational and intuitive cognitive styles because the rational portion of our cognition aids in work and the intuitive style enables relationships to flourish, both of which are important for survival and good health. Therefore, the balance between the two cognitive styles is important not only on an individual level, it is important for relationships as well.  

Are Rational and Emotional Cognitive Styles Considered Equal?

Upon researching the relationship between the cognitive styles, a bias termed Left-Brain; Right-Brain Mania was discovered. This is defined as a bias in Western culture toward the rational cognitive style and the suppression of the creative and emotional as reflected in education, and emphasis still found in public schools (Farthing, 1992). It has also been stated by Hunt and Popham (1987) that intuitive style of cognition is deemed as primitive only because culture believes it to be true. A bias in Western culture toward one cognitive style over another could act as a stumbling block toward a more objective equal validation of rational and intuitive cognitive styles.

Western culture is not the only culture to have bias toward a particular cognitive style. For example Shamanistic societies and First Nations cultures such as the Makiritare, Ojibwa and the Anishinabe revere and develop the intuitive cognitive style over the rational due to their emphasis on dreams and ritual (Tedlock, 2004; Guss, 1980). It is often assumed by psychology that all adults think in the same manner but it has been found that East Asians are more holistic in thinking and Westerners are more analytic (Nisbett, et al., 2001), thus showing that an imbalance between rational and intuitive cognitive styles is also on a cultural level.

Given there is a bias towards the rational in Western society, the present research aims to provide more evidence for the importance of equal validation between rational and intuitive cognitive styles and the need for their balance. In order to find and maintain a balance between rational and intuitive forces however, it may be necessary to attempt to shift the old mentality that one way of thinking is superior, to a more egalitarian approach. In order to provide support for the need for balance of the cognitive styles, and to study the relationship between them, it was necessary to find a form of cognition that might tap into both the rational and the intuitive.

Research on Paranormal Belief 

Research on paranormal belief could be optimal in studying this relationship between the two cognitive styles. Paranormal belief is a high correlate of the intuitive cognitive style (Lindeman & Aarnio, 2007; Aarnio & Lindeman, 2005), and many researchers have also found poor probabilistic reasoning in paranormal believers (Lindeman & Aarnio, 2007; Wiseman & Watt, 2006; Aarnio & Lindeman, 2005; Roberts & Seager, 1999; Blackmore & Troscianko, 1985). Probabilistic reasoning is a correlate of rational cognitive style, thus paranormal belief was used as a dependant variable because according to previous research paranormal believers tap differentially into both cognitive styles (a positive correlate of intuitive style and a negative correlate of the rational style).

Much paranormal belief research is devoted to finding a specific characteristic or mechanism that best predicts paranormal belief, including which cognitive style it might pertain to. Blackmore and Troscianko (1985) were first to report a lack of probabilistic reasoning, taken as a general cognitive deficit. Subsequent research on probabilistic reasoning in paranormal believers often postulated paranormal belief as a function of poor rational cognitive abilities. Meanwhile, other research has focused more positively on paranormal belief as a function of high intuitive cognitive style (King, et al. 2007; Pacini & Epstein, 1999).

            Paranormal belief as a function of poor rational cognitive style. Research by Blackmore & Troscianko (1985) began the debate about whether paranormal believers have a deficit in rational cognitive style, more specifically, probabilistic reasoning. In her research she found that those who believe in the paranormal were more likely to significantly underestimate the probabilities of multiple events. This effect she termed the “chance base-line shift.” The rationale was that paranormal believers may be misinterpreting chance events as something more than mere coincidence due to faulty reasoning ability. For example, errors in judgement which arose from not knowing the actual chance of events led believers to interpret these events as more extraordinary than they really are, and so as paranormal in nature.

Paranormal belief has been operationally defined as a belief in an anomalous communication without using any known communicative mechanism (Bem & Honorton, 1994; Roberts & Seager, 1999). Paranormal events include experiences variously termed clairvoyance, telepathy, telekinesis and synchronicity. Jung (1960) defined synchronicity as ostensible coincidences that are felt to have a deep personal meaning. The idea that paranormal believers were misinterpreting chance events as something more than mere coincidence is what led researchers to test probabilistic reasoning in those high in paranormal belief (Wiseman & Watt, 2006; Blackmore & Troscianko, 1985). 

Wiseman and Watt (2006) termed this misinterpretation of the chance levels of normal events as paranormal the “misattribution hypothesis,” defined as “misattributed psychic causation to normal experiences” (p. 326). The misattribution is said to be attributed to four processes, but two are of interest to this research: probability misjudgments and a general cognitive deficit. Some research has shown that those who believe in the paranormal do show poor probabilistic reasoning skills (Lindeman & Aarnio, 2007; Wiseman & Watt, 2006; Aarnio & Lindeman, 2005; Roberts & Seager, 1999; Blackmore & Troscianko, 1985), but other studies have failed to replicate the findings and at least one study reported opposite findings (Wiseman & Watt, 2006).

Roberts and Seager (1999) tested probabilistic reasoning and also domain specific or conditional reasoning scores in high and low paranormal believers. Perhaps a tendency toward paranormal belief is situational or is used in particular circumstances. They found that the domain specific reasoning scores did correlate with paranormal belief, but the probabilistic reasoning scores did not. Therefore they concluded that there may be more to paranormal belief than just low probabilistic reasoning and there may be a specific situation or domain where paranormal belief is used more than another. This research intends to discover a particular cognitive style used in day to day situations that may instigate paranormal belief over a more rational, or probabilistic cognitive style.  

Research on paranormal belief as a general cognitive deficit is even more inconclusive, and overall fails to support the general deficit hypothesis (Wiseman & Watt, 2006; Roberts & Seager, 1999). A possible explanation for this view of a general cognitive deficit could be the influence of the bias in Western culture towards the rational cognitive style. Many of these experiments used I.Q tests as a measure of a participant’s cognitive ability. This is problematic because I.Q tests only tap into the rational cognitive style and fail to measure intuitive or creative talents. The creative and intuitive talents thus go unnoticed and under appreciated. A measure that taps into only one side or aspect of cognition (the rational) cannot be used to determine a general cognitive deficit. This could be more support for a bias in Western culture that could be leaking though into the testing situation.    

Paranormal belief as a function of intuitive cognitive style. Pacini and Epstein (1999) examined the relationship between rational and intuitive cognitive styles in regard to the ratio-bias effect. The ratio-bias effect is when individuals show poor probabilistic reasoning in low probability events. They found errors were more likely made when ratios became larger, or the numbers used in the ratios became higher. For example, the task involved trays of the same or varying ratio of jellybeans and the participant had to pick between the two trays to win a prize. One tray would contain ten jellybeans, one black and nine orange, and the other tray would have 100, ten black and 90 orange. It has been found that participants would more often choose the tray with the larger amount of winning jellybeans, even though the odds were the same. It was also found that participants were also more likely to choose the trays with the larger amount even when the odds were worse. In fact, the ratio-bias effect was independent of differences in paranormal belief.

Intuitive cognitive style may have been influencing the ratio-bias phenomenon based on general impressions of figure-ground relationships in the test (Pacini & Epstein, 1999), which would fit best with an intuitive cognitive style. When choosing between trays of varying ratios of jellybeans, participants also tended to misjudge when larger numbers were presented, which would also fit with a more holistic style compared to the greater precision encouraged by smaller numbers (Pacini & Epstein, 1999). Also, frequency information is more easily attended to and has been said to prevail over rational cognition (Pacini & Epstein, 1999).

The ratio-bias effect is accordingly more likely due to the holistic nature of intuitive cognitive processing, than a simple deficit in a rational cognitive style (King et al., 2007; Forgas & Fiedler, 1996; Epstein, et al., 1996). Experiments investigating the relationship between paranormal belief and incentive levels found that priming participants with videos evoking happiness led participants to interpret normal events as more paranormal in nature (King et al., 2007). This finding is in line with research investigating stereotype categories. For example, it was found by Forgas and Fiedler (1996) that when participants were primed to be in a happy mood, they were more likely to use stereotypes. These findings were both explained by the heuristic processing of the intuitive cognitive style. Research done by Epstein et al. (1996) found that those who are higher in intuitive thinking style tend to process information more heuristically than those who have a higher need for cognition.

Habit formation and automatic processing such as more global, stereotyped, and gestalt patterns are a function of the intuitive cognitive style and has been said to be a default mode that individuals may revert to when judging certain events (King et al., 2007). Intuitive thinking and processing is fast and automatic (King et al., 2007) explaining why in some situations the rational cognitive mode may be overridden by the faster, intuitive default mode. Thus, suggesting that paranormal interpretations are due to the holistic nature of intuitive cognitive style, rather than a deficit in the rational style.

Paranormal interpretations of events depend on the accumulation of personal experience (King et al., 2007), and individual differences in judgments of events occur according to the perspective that individual has adopted (Epstein et al., 1996), especially if the participant believes they have an emotional connection to paranormal events (King et al., 2007).  Intuitive thinking was found by Lindeman and Aarnio (2007) to be one of the best predictors in differentiating between skeptics and paranormal believers.

In summing up the research on paranormal belief, it does appear that paranormal belief may be more of a function of high intuitive thinking rather than a deficit in rational thought or a general cognitive deficit. Paranormal beliefs are common and pervasive and persist in the face of rational, scientific research and could therefore represent a broad human tendency (King et al., 2007). Perhaps due to the bias in Western culture towards the rational, these paranormal interpretations of events have been dismissed and seen as a deficit or dysfunction in reasoning. Perhaps the paranormal interpretation of events is not a dysfunction, but a normal part of psychological functioning (King et al., 2007), especially if errors in judgment such as the ratio-bias effect occur in all participants regardless of their belief in the paranormal. If erroneous probabilistic judgment is due to a shift to a default mode which all people possess, then the tendency is so strong that everyone will experience it and it will not differentiate between paranormal believers and non-believers. Thus, a conclusion that paranormal belief is a function of a general cognitive deficit may be faulty because the deficit occurs in both rationally and intuitively dominant people (Pacini & Epstein, 1999).

The research in this paper provides evidence that paranormal belief is more a function of high intuitive thinking style, rather than a deficit in rational thought, and provides support for an ideal balance between the two cognitive styles. If happiness evoking videos can affect probability judgment, then perhaps priming one cognitive style could affect scores on tasks measuring the other cognitive style. Perhaps an individual’s dominant cognitive style could affect proper utilization of the other cognitive style. Therefore it was hypothesized that:

1. If paranormal believers are higher in intuitive thinking, rather than deficient in rational cognition, then high scores on creative or intuitive measures would predict paranormal belief more efficiently than low scores in rational thinking or probabilistic reasoning tasks.
2. If one dominant cognitive style can affect proper utilization of the other cognitive style if primed, then scores on tasks measuring the other cognitive style will be affected.

Method

Participants

            A sample of female Brock University undergraduate students (N = 164) participated in the experiment. The ages ranged from 18 - 54 (M = 19) and all signed up for the experiment through the Brock on-line psychology research pool web site. Participants were recruited through posters and up to ten participants were run at a time in each condition.

Measures

            Questionnaires. There were five separate questionnaires: The shortened version of the Rational-Experiential Inventory (R.E.I) by Epstein, et al., (1996), consisted of ten items, five measuring rational cognitive style and five measuring intuitive cognitive style, were measured on a scale of one to five, with high scores indicating higher levels of cognitive style. The Paranormal Belief Scale (taken directly from Glicksohn, 1990, who adapted it from Irwin, 1985b; Neppe, 1983; Tobacyk & Milford, 1983), was used as a dependent variable, to measure the degree of openness to paranormal phenomena. There were ten items measured on a scale of one to five, with high scores indicating higher degree of belief. Imagination, absorption, a correlate of paranormal belief and intuitive states was measured with the Tellegen Absorption Scale (Tellegen & Atkinson, 1974). It contained 34 items, measured on a scale of one to five, with high scores indicating greater levels of absorption. The Individualistic vs. Collectivist World View Questionnaire (Triandis & Gelfand, 1998) was used as filler for the control group in lieu of an intuitive versus rational prime. It contained 16 items (eight measured individualistic world view and eight measured collectivistic world view). A new measure was introduced, developed by the authors; the Hunt-Kroeker Novelty Questionnaire, (2007) which measured surprise, interest and how subjectively improbable the participants perceived ordinary and non-ordinary events to be. The rationale behind the scale was to see if it would predict that people high in openness to paranormal activity would be less surprised by strange events and more surprised by normal events than those who are more rational. It was developed to see if a cognitive style oriented to novelty could be found when judging day to day events or if it could differentiate between the rational and intuitive cognitive styles. It was also developed to see if it would be a strong predictor of belief in the paranormal. The questionnaire contained 16 items and consisted of two types of events, normal and paranormal. Sample items included [“Someone tells you that their car is exactly the same colour as their house”] a) how surprising do you find this statement, b) how interesting do you find this statement c) how improbable do you find this statement, and [“Someone tells you that the night before, they saw a UFO”] a) how surprising do you find this statement, b) how interesting do you find this statement c) how improbable do you find this statement. Degree of surprise, interest and perceived improbability were measured on a 6-point scale from (0) “not at all surprising/interesting/improbable” to (5) “completely surprising/interesting/improbable”. The questionnaire has been appended as Part B. A 6-point scale was used to force the participant to one side of the scale or the other. Items 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 were normal events and items 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 represented paranormal events.   

Tasks

 There were three tasks involved in the experiment: The ratio-bias test was used as a prime in the rational prime group. A probabilistic reasoning task was used as a measure of the rational cognitive style, and a Tarot ratings task measured Jung’s tendency to synchronicity experience as an indicator of creativity or intuitive cognitive ability.

Task procedure

Ratio-bias test. The ratio bias test included six wooden boxes filled with varying ratios of jellybeans. Box one had a ratio of 1:10 and the participants had to choose between box one of 1:10 and box two, which changed from being either 10:100, 9:100, 7:100, 5:100, to 3:100. Black being the lesser value in each ratio, the participants were asked which box they would rather pick from if picking a black jellybean gave them a prize. This task was used as the prime in the rational prime group, and the participants were told after completion of the task that they would be surprised at how many people pick box two with 10:100 over box one of 1:10 even though the odds are the same. The researcher went on to say that they would be even more surprised at how many people pick the 9:100 and the 7:100 even though the odds are worse. This was thought to shift the participant’s cognitive style to favour rational thinking. This idea was based on Pacini and Epstein (1999) as they had found that the ratio-bias test produces a conflict between rational and intuitive thinking styles, and those who are more rationally minded tend to shift their judgment and behaviour in a more rational direction.

Probabilistic reasoning task. The probabilistic reasoning task involved the participants looking at two jars filled with jelly beans (Jar A and Jar B). In Jar A there were 85 orange jellybeans and 15 black jellybeans. In Jar B there was the same proportion, but reversed in colour (85 black jellybeans and 15 orange). The participants were told the experimenter had jars under the table containing the exact proportions of the jellybeans in the jars they see on top of the table. The participants were then told there was going to be two conditions, and in each condition a jar would be randomly chosen. After the jar selection was made, jellybeans were then randomly picked from that jar. The task was they had to guess which jar the jellybeans were picked from. For each selection the participants were to circle the jar they believed to be the one (Jar A or Jar B) and report how sure they were with their answer on the sheet provided (0%, 25%, 50%, 85%, 100%). The experimenter then picked out 20 jellybeans, leaving time after each jellybean selection for the participants to record their answers. However, the picking was not at random and there was only one jar under the experimenter’s table with enough jellybeans to complete a preordained order for each condition. The order for each condition was as follows:

   Condition 1

   A   A   A   B   A   A   A   A   A   B   B   A   A   A   A   A   A   A  A  B

   Condition 2

   A   A   A   B   A   A   B   A   B   A   B   B   B   B   B   B   B   B   A   B

 This task was taken from an experiment done by Garety, Hemsley, and Wessly (1991) and the criteria of assessing the results were based as close as possible on the criteria specified in the article.

Scoring of the probabilistic reasoning task. The scores were classified by probabilistic reasoning skills using six categories of skill range. “Excellent skills” were judged by the point at which they switched their percentage of how sure they were to 100%. If they were 100% sure around the tenth or eleventh selection and if they continued to be 100% sure of their answer and guessed the correct jar in the end they showed excellent probability reasoning. If they were 100% sure of their decision before it was truly possible to know exactly which jar the jellybeans were coming from, they were placed in a lower category of “great skills” if the correct jar was also selected in the end. If the percentages never reached 100% at the end but they picked the correct jar, the participant was thought to be unsure and therefore not as rational minded as the other two groups and were placed in the “good skills” pile. Those whose percentages were all over the place and did not make much sense, but picked the correct jar were judged as have “fair skills”. Those who did not pick the correct jar showed “poor skills” and the last category was for those whose choices made no sense at all or maybe did not understand the task. Higher scores represented higher probabilistic reasoning skills. This was done for both conditions and averaged together for a total probabilistic reasoning score. 

Tarot Representativeness Task. Presented after the intuitive, neutral, or rational primes, a deck of Tarot cards was shuffled three times for each group and spread across the table. Certain cards however were removed from the deck before the experiment took place. These cards included the tower, the hanged man, the devil and the death card as not to offend or make the participants uneasy. The participants were told to select two cards from the deck, one at a time. The person on the right was always selected to pick first to keep it consistent. The participants were told that they would not be told the standard meanings of the cards and it was up to them to use their own interpretation.

Once they had selected two cards each from the deck, knowing which card they had picked first, they returned to their stations and turned over the sheet that asked them to rate how representative the cards were to their experience or inner self at the time. They were to circle the appropriate rating of the card on a scale of one to five, (1) “nothing like my experience or self” to (5) “exactly like my experience or self”. The participants were then instructed to write a short paragraph about why and how the cards did or did not represent their experience or inner self at the time.

Scoring of the Tarot Task. Their ratings for each card were averaged as a quantitative Tarot score and the written paragraphs were qualitatively rated for creativity. Previous research has shown that the Tarot task is a valid measure of openness to experience, and metaphoric ability, both correlating highly with creativity, absorption and intuitive thinking style (Hunt & Popham, 1987). The qualitative scores were coded by Dr. Hunt, blind to experimental group primes. However, the quantitative measure was so strongly related to the qualitative ratings that it alone was used as the final Tarot score.

Procedure

            Each participant sat down in front of a folder. Inside the folder were consent forms, questionnaires and task sheets. After they read and signed the consent forms, the participants were then told to keep gestures, talking and other verbal reactions to themselves so as not to influence the others in the room. Their group assignments, the rational prime, intuitive prime or the control, were determined before they came to the room. The groups were selected by random assignment as much as possible, but in order to get an equal amount of participants in each group, sometimes the group was determined by the number of participants needed in that group.

Each group filled out the same questionnaires and participated in the same tasks, but the order in which the tasks were performed and the questionnaires were completed depended on the group they were in. For each group, the Tarot task was fifth item in the list of tasks and questionnaires, following the prime. Thus each group completed four activities (questionnaires and a task, or just questionnaires) before participating in the Tarot task. At the end of each session, the participants were thanked and given debriefing information. Each session lasted 30 minutes to an hour. 

Rational Prime Procedure

The rational prime group first filled out the R.E.I, the Hunt-Kroeker Novelty Questionnaire, followed by the Paranormal Belief Scale, before participating in their prime, the ratio-bias test. The Tarot task followed, then the probabilistic reasoning task, the Tellegen Absorption Scale, ending with the World View Questionnaire.

Intuitive Prime Group Procedure

The intuitive prime group first filled out the R.E.I, the Hunt-Kroeker Novelty Questionnaire, followed by the Paranormal Belief Scale, before participating in their prime which was the Tellegen Absorption Scale. Their Tarot task was then followed by the probabilistic reasoning task, the ratio bias test and ending with the World View Questionnaire.

Control Group Procedure

The control group went through the same process, but in the following order: R.E.I, the Novelty Questionnaire, the Paranormal Belief Scale, World View Questionnaire, Tarot Activity, Probabilistic Reasoning Task, Tellegen Absorption Scale, and lastly the ratio-bias test.

Results

            All variables were normally distributed (the mean, median and mode were all quite equal) with the exception of the absorption scores (M = 19.65, median = 20.00, mode = 17, SD = 5.70). Therefore, analyses using the absorption variable should be interpreted with caution. Two ANOVAs were conducted to test the hypothesis that priming one cognitive style would affect scores on tasks measuring another cognitive style (Levene’s analysis of variance was non-significant for all variables). A two way ANOVA (group by condition) was conducted to determine if there was a difference among the means in the Tarot representativeness scores (quantitative average). The result of this ANOVA was non-significant. Therefore, there were no significant differences among the groups on the intuitive measure [F (2, 160 = .53, p = .482].

            Another two way ANOVA (group by condition) was conducted to determine the if there were differences among means in the rational measure using the probabilistic reasoning scores.  This analysis was significant [F (2,160) = 4.33, p = .015]. A post hoc analysis (Bonferroni) unexpectedly showed the intuitive prime group (M = 4.19, SD = 1.25) scoring significantly higher than the control group on the probabilistic reasoning task (M = 3.54, SD = 1.12).

A correlational analysis was conducted to determine the highest correlates of the dependant variable of paranormal belief (N = 164, M = 26.41, SD = 7.66) to test the hypothesis that paranormal belief is more of a function of high intuitive cognition rather than deficient rational cognition. There was a significant positive correlation between paranormal belief and the Tarot average [r (163) = .38, p < .0001] indicating that higher paranormal beliefs are associated with more positive responses on the Tarot task. There was also a significant positive correlation between paranormal belief and absorption [M = 19.65, SD = 5.70, r (162) = .30, p = .007]. So, in line with previous research the higher the paranormal belief, the more absorbed the participant becomes when watching movies, sunsets or reading books. A significant negative correlation was found between paranormal belief and the improbability average such that the more improbable the participant judged events to be, the less likely they were to believe in the paranormal [r (164) = -.26, p = .001]. A significant positive correlation was found between paranormal belief and the REI-Intuitive measure [r (164) = .22, p = .004]. Thus, the higher the paranormal belief, the higher the participant was in intuitive cognitive style. Upon further examination it was discovered that items on the novelty questionnaire that pertained to how improbable the participants perceived events to be were the paranormal events, significantly but inversely correlating with paranormal belief [r (164) = -.40, p < .0001]. The REI rational score did not correlate with the probability average [r (163) = -.01, p = .927] and the score measuring how improbable the participants judged events to be did not correlate significantly with their actual probabilistic reasoning scores [r (163) = .09, p = .280]. However, when the improbability items were broken down into normal and paranormal events, the perceived improbability of paranormal events did significantly correlate with the REI-rational scores [r (164) = -.16, p = .046]. So, the more rational the participant was, the more improbable he or she judged paranormal events to be. Age was also found to be a significant correlate of paranormal belief [r (163) = .17, p = .031], in that the older participants scored higher in paranormal belief than the younger participants. All other correlations were non-significant. 

A hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis that intuitive measures predict paranormal belief more efficiently than rational measures. The regression analysis was conducted in two steps to see how much variance in paranormal belief could be predicted by rational measures (step one) and how much additional variance could be accounted for by intuitive measures (step two). The criterion of paranormal belief in step one was regressed by two variables or predictors: Probabilistic reasoning scores and REI-rational scores. The criterion of paranormal belief in step 2 was regressed by three variables or predictors: Tarot average scores, absorption scores and REI-intuitive scores. All assumptions were met on all variables and the variables were independent because the Durbin Watson test was within acceptable range [DW (3,155) = 1.91, p < .0001]. See Table 1 for correlations regarding regression analysis and Table 2 for the regression analysis.

It was found that the rational measures accounted for 2% of the variance and were non-significant [F (2,158) = 1.56, p = .241]. However, the intuitive measures significantly predicted paranormal belief and accounted for 21% of the variance [F (5,155) = 8.97, p < .0001]. The regression analysis was conducted again using only the significant intuitive measures. The regression equation for predicting paranormal belief from intuitive measures such as tarot representativeness scores, absorption and REI-Intuitive scores is as follows:

Paranormal belief = 9.79 (2.00) Tarot average + 0.31 (absorption) + 0.27 (REI-intuitive).

            Internal validity correlations for the Hunt-Kroeker Novelty Questionnaire showed that the paranormal and normal event items were significantly correlated [r (164) = .25, p = .001] suggesting that the normal and the paranormal event items were not truly measuring separate categories of events. However, the split half reliability correlations (Cronbach’s alpha) for the surprise, interest and improbability items were high enough to be acceptable (surprise, α = .74; interest, α = .73; and improbability, α = .69), thus the questionnaire showed good internal reliability.

Improbability scores did not correlate with REI rational [r (164) = -.08, p = .933] or REI intuitive scores [r (164) = -.09, p = .265]. Therefore, judging the probability of every day events was not related to either cognitive style using the Novelty questionnaire.

The participant’s subjective ratings of how surprising events were, significantly and positively correlated with normal [r (164) = .60, p < .0001] and paranormal [r (164) = .65, p < .0001] events suggesting that both the normal and the paranormal events were equally surprising to the individuals. Therefore, a particular cognitive style oriented towards novelty was not found by using this questionnaire. REI intuitive scores did not correlate with total surprise [r (164) = .07, p = .393], surprise to normal events [r (164) = .07, p = .393] or paranormal events [r (164) = .04, p = .596]. REI rational scores did not correlate with total surprise [r (164) = -.00, p = .968], surprise to normal [r (164) = .09, p = .267] or paranormal events [r (164) = -.09, p = .271]. Therefore, the Novelty questionnaire did not differentiate between the rational or intuitive cognitive styles.

Total surprise did not correlate with paranormal belief [r (164) = .11, p = .168] nor did surprise to normal events correlate with paranormal belief [r (164) = .12, p = .139] or to surprise toward paranormal events [r (164) = .06, p = .449]. Therefore, the new measure did not predict the dependent variable as well as traditional measures.

Discussion

Results of all analyses showed that previous findings that paranormal believers do poorly on probabilistic reasoning tasks were not replicated, in fact this research can be placed in the category of research that has found opposite finds. Support was found for the hypothesis that paranormal belief is more of a function of high intuitive cognition rather than a deficit of rational cognition, because the multiple regression analysis showed that the intuitive measures significantly predicted paranormal belief and the rational measures did not. Low scores on rational measures such as poor probabilistic reasoning or high REI rational scores did not predict paranormal belief compared to the intuitive measures such as Tarot average, absorption and REI-intuitive scores. Therefore, support was found that paranormal belief is more of a function of high intuitive thinking rather than a function of poor rational or probabilistic reasoning skills. Poor probabilistic skills were not found in those high in paranormal belief and goes against previous interpretations of findings that those who are high in paranormal belief are deficient in rational thinking or probabilistic reasoning. There was also no evidence for a general cognitive deficit because the intuitively primed group did significantly better, rather than worse on the probabilistic reasoning task and the participants’ paranormal belief scores were not related to their probabilistic reasoning scores.

There did seem to be some support for the notion that domain specific cognition could be at work when judging the probability of day to day events, even though the improbability ratings did not correlate significantly to either cognitive style. It may be that individuals revert to their default mode and use their intuitive cognition in daily circumstances rather than their rational thought because the participant’s scores that measured how improbable events were, and their actual probability reasoning scores did not correlate. This could suggest that the improbability judgement may have been more of a function of intuitive cognitive style, rather than a dysfunction of the rational. However, there may be a different cognitive style influencing the judgement of day to day events altogether because the REI-rational and the REI-intuitive scores did not correlate with subjective improbability ratings. Thus, the Novelty questionnaire did not find a particular cognitive style towards novelty, every day events nor differentiate between rational and intuitive cognitive styles or predict the dependent variable as well as traditional measures. A more sensitive questionnaire is needed to parse out a particular cognitive style oriented to every day events in the future.   

In regard to the hypothesis that one’s dominant cognitive style would affect proper utilization of the other cognitive style, support was mixed. Priming one cognitive style did affect scores on tasks measuring the other, but only in the intuitive group and only on the probabilistic reasoning measure and not in the direction hypothesized. It was believed that priming the participants to be in an intuitive cognitive style, would result in low scores on the probabilistic reasoning task, when in fact the intuitively primed participants scored significantly higher than the control group.

A possible explanation for this increase, rather than decrease in performance could be that perhaps the participants were bombarded by so much uncomfortable or unfamiliar stimuli that they boosted their rational cognition to compensate. This makes sense because if there is a bias in Western culture it would be to deny and suppress paranormal explanations and revere rational explanations. This could also be a plausible explanation because the intuitive prime group was exposed to the Novelty questionnaire, the paranormal belief scale, the absorption questionnaire, and then participated in the Tarot task, all of which contain stimuli pertaining to the paranormal.

Another possible explanation (post-hoc) for the opposite findings in hypothesis two is that the bombardment of the intuitive stimuli may have saturated the participant’s intuitive thinking so much that an after-effect of rational cognition resulted. An after-effect is a term used to describe visual phenomena produced in the receptors of the eye (after effects occur due to the antagonistic organization of the receptors in the eye). For example if a person stares at a waterfall for 30 seconds then looks away at a neutral surface, a movement in the opposite direction as the waterfall is perceived. Likewise for staring at a red piece of paper for 30 seconds, when the person looks away at a neutral or white surface, the opposite or complimentary colour of green is perceived.

Perhaps our cognitive styles could also be antagonistically organized so that the saturation of one is possible. It could explain why recess is needed at school, and breaks are needed at work. It could explain why one cannot sit and write a 30 page thesis all in one sitting, the rational cognitive style becomes saturated and the intuitive cognitive style overrides the rational by reverting back to a default mode.

The bias in Western society inhibits the idea that opposing forces can be compliments. If one cognitive style is considered superior, then the potential balance between the two may not be easily found. If problematic conditions such as Male Normative Alexithymia can result from an imbalance between the two cognitive styles, then it is important to understand the importance of equal validation between rational and intuitive cognitive styles and to find a balance between them. It is erroneous to believe one cognitive style is better than the other because there is no evidence to support the claim that rational thinking is superior to intuitive. The two styles work together and their talents can be utilized in different situations, the rational is more useful in a work or school setting, and the intuitive is more valuable for relationships and recreational settings. Thus both cognitive styles are necessary and should be developed as equals.

Limitations and Future directions

Using a sample of only university students has its limitations because it has been shown that university students tend to have lower levels of paranormal belief (Roberts & Seager, 1999). Women, however have been shown to report higher levels of paranormal belief than men (Wilson & French, 2006), therefore the sample in the current study was all female in hopes to counter-balance the findings of low paranormal belief among university students.

Another draw back in using university participants was that age was found to be a significant predictor in paranormal belief. The older participants were more likely to believe in the paranormal. A university sample implies a younger group of participants and the mean age in this study was 19; not old enough to predict paranormal belief through age. Also, younger participants have not experienced enough in their lifetimes to make decisions based on their own direct experience. Also, a young university sample may be too rational for optimal research on paranormal belief.

Previous research has also suggested that investigations of the relationship between paranormal belief and probabilistic reasoning should use more participants that are higher on paranormal belief (Roberts & Seager, 1999). Here, the mean level of paranormal belief was relatively low, as was the mean for absorption, suggesting that the criterion for more participants with higher paranormal belief was not met.

The prime for the intuitive group may not have been strong enough to properly shift participants into an intuitive frame of mind. There is no previous research indicating that the use of the absorption questionnaire alone would result in said shift. Perhaps the questionnaire had the opposite effect, shifting the participants into a more rational mode, rather than an intuitive mode. Perhaps a stem completion task with intuitive or even spiritual items would be a more effective prime.

Feedback from the experiment showed that some participants were aggravated by the ratio-bias test. Participants indicated that they did not enjoy having to choose between ratios of the same odds. Perhaps these participants felt that this test insulted their intelligence. Anger and annoyance were expressed as a result, and in the rational prime group, this test was presented early on in the session. It could be possible that the rational prime group’s performance was affected by the emotion evoked by the ratio-bias test. Emotions such as anger and annoyance may have overridden or hindered the shift to a rational mind set. Another potential problem with the ratio-bias test was that even though Pacini and Epstein (1999) found that the ratio-bias test produces a conflict between rational and intuitive thinking styles, and those who are more rationally minded tend to shift their judgment and behaviour in a more rational direction, it may not have had same effect on the intuitive thinkers.

The scoring of the probabilistic reasoning task was not as close to the criteria specified by Garety, Hemsley and Wessely (1991) as was hoped. The variables involved in deducing high or low probabilistic reasoning were more complex than anticipated. Whether the criteria proposed in this research are more or less accurate than previous criteria remains unknown. Replication of both probabilistic scoring measures and perhaps a more standardized procedure for determining probabilistic reasoning is needed for future research in this area.

Future direction in this area of research may require an older sample, a more standardized test for probabilistic reasoning skills, and the use of stronger primes for both rational and intuitive cognitive styles. More research is also needed to follow up the proposition that rational and intuitive cognitive styles may be antagonistically organized. Any research stressing the importance of the complimentary relationship between the cognitive styles is beneficial towards breaking down the bias towards one cognitive style over another.

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Table 1. Pearson correlations among paranormal belief and rational/intuitive measures.

*p < .05, ** p < .01, two-tailed.

Table 2: Regression coefficients and tests of significance in predicting paranormal belief using rational measures (probabilistic reasoning, REI-rational) and intuitive measures (tarot, absorption, REI-intuitive).