Archived Posts from the blog ‘Psychology, Philosophy and Real Life’.
Conflict about certainty can have a big impact on our relationships. When we are certain of one thing and someone we trust is certain of something else we may have a problem. Can we keep the relationship and disagree?
Numbers are important, but it’s easy to mix up quantity and quality — especially when it comes to quality of life. The quality of our lives is partly determined by our own values and preferences, our sensitivity and the disciplines we pursue.
It is often argued that quality is subjective, but I am convinced this line of thinking is wrong. I can enjoy reading trash and listening to schmaltzy music, but I don’t think that the trash is as good as Shakespeare or the schmaltz as good as Bach. I can separate quality from enjoyment.
I’d like to ask whether therapy can be positive. And I’d like to answer yes. This answer leads us smack bang into the realm of values.
A couple of the most common desires are losing weight and giving up smoking. People genuinely want to do these things and for what they see as sensible and rational reasons. And yet they often don’t. If they had more energy to do these things, surely they would. Isn’t this a motivation problem?
Lots of evidence and experience back the ‘open is good’ position. I don’t want to deny any of this. I do want to say that it may not be the right position everywhere all the time.
Which list do you think is more helpful to you? Do you feel that self-actualisation and self-transcendance are important to your life? I’d like to know what you think. Let me know in the comments.
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