Critical Thinking and Escalation

What can the conflict in Baloch teach us about the need for critical thinking and the impact escalation has on conflict. 

I’m the unofficial administrator of the Humanist page on Facebook. I’m not sure how I got that job. Facebook just decided I should manage it I guess.

Anyway, a couple of months ago some Balochistan activists for independence hijacked the page and started posting photos in support of Balochistan independence.

I was asked by the activist who took over the Humanist page, to post and spread the word about the human rights abuses in Balochistan in support of their effort.

Being the Humanist I am, I am of course, for human rights.  The problem is, I can’t tell who is doing what and who is in the right and who is in the wrong from a moral perspective. Sorting it all out is why we practice critical thinking skills. We don’t want to accidentally support something that sounds good because it’s about human rights, but then find out that we are supporting terrorists.

As I had promised this young activist that I would consider writing about the problem, I am keeping my promise here. However, it is in the context that I don’t have an opinion because getting good (objective) information from Balochistan is very hard to do. I am using Wikipedia because there isn’t much on the news about this. 

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balochistan_conflict  and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balochistan,_Pakistan 

So here is a synopsis of the problem as I understand it. I do think this is worth knowing about because of current geopolitics and of course, human rights concerns.

Balochistan is in western Pakistan and borders Iran and Afghanistan. It was annexed by Pakistan when Pakistan was formed with the approval of 3 of the 4 princes of the region. Since then there has been an active resistance from Pakistan by the one prince state area that didn’t agree to the annexation. As far as I can tell, this has led to an ongoing conflict with one side being called terrorists and the other being called an abusive state conducting human rights abuses. 

At stake is an area rich in natural resources and access to the Arabian sea via a deep sea port at Gwadar.  

As for violence – since 2003 8,000 people have reportedly been kidnapped by Pakistani forces in a kill and dump campaign. There is Muslim on Muslim violence with Al Qaida elements killing Shia Muslims in the region and Balochi militants are reported to have killed over 600 people since 2006. 

Who is right in this conflict? I have no idea. However, it does show what escalation causes, more violence. It also shows why critical thinking skills are important to learn. Most moral issues are not black and white. They involve us having to choose the greater of two goods or the lesser of two evils.Without more objective information, like how many Balochi's support the separatists, I have no way to decide what side I think, personally, is in the right. 

It would be helpful is news outlets in the west spent more time covering this conflict because it really is at the nexus of the fight for power in the region. 

I apologize for turning over this blog to this topic today, but I thought it might be helpful to consider a real world example of how difficult critical thinking and moral reasoning can be. Sometimes, we just don’t know enough to have a valid opinion. 

6 Reasons to be a Humanist

A list of reasons why being a Humanist is a better choice than other options.

There are many reasons why I choose to live life as a Humanist. There are so many benefits.  Here are some statements about Humanism from different people that will hopefully help you understand what some of the main benefits are.

1. Our methods of being responsible for and taking control of our lives more often leads to increased freedom and happiness than hoping and praying. (Dave Collamer)
2. We Humanists are actively engaged with life and affirm and delight in so many aspects of living. (Tim McGuire)
3. By having no set definition or dogma for what is moral, we are forced to consider the opinions of our fellow humans. And by considering their opinions, hopefully improve upon our own. (me)
4. Humanism is optimistic – it helps us find the courage to confront our problems and solve them instead of giving in to despair. (me)
5. Even in death, we humanists celebrate life. Yes, we mourn and grieve for those we love, but we choose to focus on the miraculous reality of the life that has been lived, (Tim McGuire)
6. Our compassion based ethics help us not only come to better moral conclusions that any alternative morality, it also helps us regulate our emotional response to difficult situations as well – so bonus. (me)

What do you think the benefits are to the Humanist approach to life?

Proxy Problems

How much time do you spend on proxy problems?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about proxy problems. These are the problems we spend our time solving that don’t really fix anything, because they aren’t really our real problem. They are our proxy problems that we try to solve because we think they will solve our real problem.

For instance, if you have a field that needs water, the easiest way to get water on it is for it to rain. If it doesn’t rain you have a problem because you need to now find a new way to get water on your field. A lot of people respond to this sort of problem by trying to fix the old way of solving their problem. If it isn’t raining, what can they do to make it rain. Trying to make it rain is a proxy problem precisely because the real problem is that you need water on your field.

The problem with proxy problems is that they take away time, energy and resources that could have been spent on actually solving your problems and focus those resources on solving the proxy problem and that normally doesn’t turn out too well because, well, you can’t make it rain. You can, however, find other ways to get water on your field.

Effective problem solving is all about figuring out what your real problem is so that you don’t spend time trying to solve your proxy problems. Everyone falls prey to proxy problems so don’t think that just because you are smart and read my blog that you are immune. We all waste time on proxy problems.

This is why Humanists are so fond of Freethought. It isn’t that we use it to reject religion. It’s that we use it to challenge our own assumptions about what our real problems are so that we don’t waste time on proxy problems.

The biggest skill required for Freethought is humility. Humility to admit you were wrong so that when you do figure out you’ve been focused on a proxy problem, you stop working on it and focus on the real problem you are trying to fix instead. A good example of this is Martin Pribble recent rant – I Quit. http://martinspribble.com/2013/12/a-rant-i-quit/

Time to fess up, what proxy problem have you wasted an amazing amount of time on before realizing it was a proxy problem?

An argument against Humanism in Business

Is Humanism in business a good thing? Or is it being misused?

There is an interesting article that was prepared for Human Resource Development Quarterly in 2005 about why Humanistic practices in HRD don’t work.

Download pdf here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=818164

The argument that is made is that while Humanism is a cherished underpinning of HRD (Human Resources Development) such that it enjoys privileged status within the field (who knew), it’s being misused.

As a Humanist, whose business includes teaching Humanism to HR Professionals (see https://humanistlearning.com) this article interests me greatly.

On the one hand I agree with the central argument of the piece, which is that humanistic approaches to HR creates a myth of convergent interests. And this is a problem because in reality, the interests of the worker and the business are divergent. Or to put that in plain English, humanistic approaches to HR management are used, quite effectively, to convince workers that their needs and the needs of the business are the same, when they actually aren’t.

Humanistic management rests on a social contract between employer and employee that the employee will give of time and resources in service to the company in exchange for security and income is not how things really work. The problem is that in a competitive marketplace, the employer has no ability to make good on the social contract and to compensate, employees must consider themselves sole proprietors of their own business, which is marketing themselves as labor – in a continuous marketing process devoid of any real social contract between employer and employee.

Which brings up the question of this essay, is it ethical to use humanistic tactics in an environment where there is no social contract? The authors argue that it is not. And I agree.

The illusion of a humanistic work environment isn’t enough. It has to actually be a humanist work environment to work. If you use these techniques to create voluntary compliance but then abuse the social contract you created, you are misusing and abusing your employees. And that isn’t ethical and it isn’t very humanistic, in the long run.

In order to resolve this conflict, we have to redefine what the goal of business is. If the goal is shareholder value and to make money, there will always be a conflict between the humans who are used as human resources to create value and the shareholders for whom the value is created.

Humanistic Management calls for a redefining of corporate interest. Consider carefully who your real stakeholders are.  Who are they if not your employees and customers.  – not your shareholders.

Stop selling illusions to your employees and deal with your employees on realistic terms. If you don’t really care about them because you only really care about shareholder value, be honest about that. Yes, you will have more problems in your staffing, but employees have a right to know the true terms of their employment with you so that they can decide whether what they are trading you for their work is worth it. That approach is more humanistic than lying to them about your true intentions.

And if this sounds a lot like ethical relationships, it is. The rules of ethical humanist conduct are the same whether you are talking about interpersonal relationships or employment relationships. The humans at the heart of those relationships matter and they deserve to know the truth. If you truly want to have a humanistic work environment, don’t delude yourself. Realign your goals so that they are consistently focused on delivering to your employees and customers what you promise and profits will follow.

Happiness Defined

What is happiness and why can’t we agree on what it is if it is so darned important?

Out in Oregon, a nice man named Dave has organized a class on Humanism where people meet every week to discuss how to live life happily as a Humanist. My book, The Humanist Approach to Happiness is being used as a rough guide for the course.

As part of the course, they tried to define happiness for themselves, which is always rather tricky because happiness is so subjective.

Here is what they came up with.

Humanists are concerned with enjoying life, achieving happiness on earth, and in improving the lives of their fellow humans.  As a humanist I enjoy the pleasures of life in moderation, but also seek long-term satisfaction and happiness.  I can achieve more happiness by being responsible for my actions, leading an ethical life, and showing compassion to others.  As I succeed in these, I will become a better person, experience a deeper sense of well-being in my daily life, and help make the world a better place.  

In being ethical, I consider the difference between right and wrong in a host of scenarios and apply those considerations to the moral choices I make in my life.  By being compassionate I help others as much as opportunity and good sense allow.  Being compassionate connects me to every person on earth and makes our world a better place.  In being responsible for my actions I thoughtfully consider the choices I make in my life, based on knowledge and experience.  Being responsible for my choices gives me more control over my life, resulting in more freedom from worry and fear.  With this freedom comes confidence and satisfaction, and a deeper sense of well-being. 

What do you think of their definition of how a Humanist approaches life and the important business of being happy? Do you agree?

Blame vs. Responsibility.

Why taking responsibility for your problems works better.

I am a big fan of personal responsibility. To me, responsibility is one of the pillars of the Humanist philosophy, along with critical thinking and compassion. There is a reason for that and that is because being responsible makes life easier.

There is a great article at Forbes about how blaming others for your problems makes your stress worse and why it is better to own up and take responsibility for your actions and your problems, whether you caused them or not.

One of the first reasons why the blame game is bad is because blame is rooted in fear and instead of assuaging your fears by blaming others, all that does is create more fear, not less. There is a reason for this.

When you blame others, you place the solution to your problems on others.  And that’s a problem because you can’t control others. You can only control yourself.  So, instead of helping you to regain control over a situation that is out of control, when you blame others, you are giving control over what happens to you to others. And that’s pretty scary.

A better response when something goes wrong, is to focus on responsibly solving the problem. What went wrong, how are we going to fix it and who is responsible for making sure it is fixed?  This is a much better approach to problem solving than – who is to blame and can we throw them under a bus in a panicked attempt to solve our problem without actually doing anything proactive to solve it?

The question I always ask people is do you actually want to solve your problem?  Or do you want to pretend to solve your problem?  Most people default to pretending to solve their problems not realizing how many additional problems that causes.

Don’t get caught in this trap. Take responsibility. Reduce your fears and start working proactively to solve your problems. You will be less stressed and less fearful if you do.

Strategies for Humanist Living

Discussions about how Humanists can best live our lives.

One of the cool parts about my job is that I have inspired others to ask questions about what it means to live life as a Humanist. In one Humanist Community in OH they started having discussions about this topic and decided to post the results of their discussions online. In a 10 part Strategies for Humanist Living they discuss:

1. How to describe your way of thinking - http://www.hcco.org/node/178
2. How to encourage critical thinking in others - http://www.hcco.org/node/181
3. How to advocate for reasonableness and compassion - http://www.hcco.org/node/182
4. How can you tell if someone is a humanist - http://www.hcco.org/node/185
5. What art and entertainment reflects a Humanist worldview - http://www.hcco.org/node/186
6. What do you say when someone says bless you or have a blessed day? http://www.hcco.org/node/189
7. How to deal with an overtly obnoxious religious person in the workplace - http://www.hcco.org/node/191
8. What comfort does Humanism provide when dealing with rejection - http://www.hcco.org/node/194
9. What should children be taught about religion? http://www.hcco.org/node/197
10. How does having a community of Humanists help? http://www.hcco.org/node/201

What a great exercise in humanist thinking. Do you agree with their answers? If not, why not?

Healthy Boundaries

What are boundaries and why are they healthy?

What is a boundary? According to this graphic (which I found on Facebook and have NO idea who created it), a boundary is a definite place where your responsibility ends and another person’s begins. Having boundaries stops you from doing things for others that they should be doing for themselves.

As a mom, I feel like I need to be reminded of this rule of boundaries from time to time. Basically, I tend to do things for my son that he is perfectly capable of doing himself. I know I do it. I know I shouldn’t because every time I do, I interfere with his learning to be self-sufficient. But it’s really hard because my impulse as his mom is to help. I just have to remember that sometimes I help, by not helping.

This is especially true when we are dealing with difficult people who are self-destructing. Our compassionate impulse to help has to be tempered by our understanding that sometimes we help most, by not helping. People have to have consequences to learn, otherwise they don’t learn.

The problem, as always, is knowing when to give assistance and when to withhold and where exactly to draw that boundary where your responsibility ends and the other begins. This is especially important when the relationship in question is emotionally draining. When that happens, I have to remind myself that ultimately, I can’t control the actions of other people. I can only control my own. That is where the boundary lies. As soon as I stop trying to get the other person to behave a certain way, my stress levels lesson and I find I can behave better and act in a way that benefits both of us.

How about you? Do you struggle with boundaries? How do you find the courage to draw boundaries with other people?

Self Esteem and Body Image

How to be more realistic about how you look.

We all have self-doubt and one of the areas we doubt is our body image. It doesn’t matter what we look like, it’s probably not the way we think we should look. Now, on the one hand, I’m all for self-improvement. On the other, it’s not ok to go overboard. As with everything, balance is needed.

My book The Humanist Approach to Happiness: Practical Wisdom, which is a book for tweens and teens to discuss with their parents, has a section on body image for both boys and girls. Taking a realistic view of what a body should look like.

I encourage girls to look at Renaissance era paintings to get a better idea of what a real woman’s body looks like or should look like – plump by today’s standards. With boys – I encourage them to look at film stars of the 30s. Buff but not ripped like today’s implanted surgically altered heros.

I also discuss what scientists know about physical attraction as well, since that is actually tied to scent (having to do with genetic compatibility). The overall message is that obsessing on your looks is counterproductive to your real goal which is to be attractive to others. To be attractive, you need to be nice and you need to smile on occasion.