[Neurons] 2025 Neurons #23 THE PROBLEM WITH THE HUMAN RACE

[Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall

2025 Neurons #23

June 9, 2025

 

THE PROBLEM WITH

THE HUMAN RACE

 

There's no question that there's something wrong with the human race.   But
what?  Why so many fights, conflicts, wars, and poverty?  Why so much
competition, prejudice, hate, and fear?  What's gone wrong?  Some think that
it is inherent in human nature, that it's genetics.  They assume we are
essentially animals so when we act like wild beasts, it is because society,
civilization, morals, collaboration, love, etc. goes against our nature.  I
don't believe that at all.

 

Maslow also did not believe that.  Even though he started out as a
Behaviorist and an atheist, he shifted and created a psychological model of
the healthy and bright side of human nature.  Along the way, he wrote
extensively on the presence of 'evil,' its origin and source.  His
explanation?  It arises from deficiency of basic needs; it arises from
cognitive errors; it arises from failure of groups to move beyond the
biological needs to the human needs.  Maslow wrote, "The neurotic is not
sick, he is cognitively wrong."  Bateson similarlyi wrote-the problem is "a
defect in the ideational system" (1972, p. 194).

 

So what is the problem with the human race?  Thinking.  Ultimately, it goes
to wrong thinking, distorted thinking, prejudicial thinking, childish
thinking, primitive thinking, etc.  And because everything human goes to the
quality of thinking- things go right when people think clearly, precisely,
and accurately.  Things go right when people think critically and
creatively.  And things that go wrong can be made right by thinking about
our thinking and quality controlling our thinking for accuracy and a search
for the facts.

 

This is true at the individual level, the group level, the organizational
level, and the national level.  Where distorted thinking leads limiting
beliefs, toxic prejudices, competitive win/lose decisions, ego-centric
biases, etc. there human nature and human relationships go wrong.  All this
is actually good news.  How is that?  Because if the problem goes to being
cognitively wrong, then the solution is to straighten out the thinking.

 

The solution is to learn to think-to truly think.  I say truly think because
there are many ways to think wrong and there are seven kinds of
pseudo-thinking that we humans tend to opt for in an effort to avoid the
work of thinking.  What are those? 

           Reactionary thinking.  Reacting out of fear and anger, guilt and
shame, etc.  Sympathetic nervous system thinking that focuses on threat,
danger, stress, and/or overload thereafter leading to reactive fight/flight
behaviors.

           Automatic thinking.  The thinking that is now at the unconscious
level of habit which saves us the effort of doing fresh thinking or staying
conscious so we act without thinking.

           Borrowed thinking.  The kind of thinking we all experienced in
our first 20 years as we learned what to think from others.  The thinking we
do as we accept the bullet points we hear from the media, parents, teachers,
etc.  It's the thinking we do when we quote what we have not studied
ourselves.

           Shallow thinking.  This is the thinking we do when we engage in
small talk, friendly chit-chat with friends, often to rest our brains, but
sometimes to avoid delving into serious or difficult subjects.   We flee
from unpleasant truths, avoiding them, repressing them.

           Agenda thinking.  When you have made up your mind and have an
agenda that you are pushing, your so-called thinking is actually
pseudo-thinking because you are not truly open to conflicting information.
You have an outcome to reach, a point to make, an idea to sell, etc.    Your
agenda controls your thinking by closing down any information that conflicts
with it.

           Certainty.  When you are certain, when you are 'sure,' when you
'know' and are confident, your state of being 'certain' closes the subject
and you cannot actually reconsider things.  Other points of view are
excluded from entering your mind.  

           Expectation.   This form of pseudo-thinking distorts the healthy
thinking forms of anticipation, imagination, forecasting, guessing, etc.  In
expecting, you demand that your future predictions come true.  They
pseudo-thinking sets you up for disappointments.

 

Amazing, isn't it?  As a species we have invented seven kinds of
pseudo-thinking patterns which allows us to avoid the most critical thing a
human being does in surviving and thriving in life- think.  Now we know how
to upgrade the human experience.  Now we know how to secure our future and
create the kind of world that's truly human and meaningful- upgrade every
person's thinking skills.

 

Change the thinking and communication changes, relationships change,
performance changes, science improves, sanity spreads, people become
effective, efficient, and productive, businesses thrive, enjoyment deepens,
etc.   Thinking is the key and thinking-about-your-thinking is the strategy.

 

 

Ready for Training?  Get to one of the presentations of Thinking for Humans.

 




 

 

 

 



L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Executive Director, ISNS

738 Beaver Lodge

Grand Jct., CO. 81505 USA

meta at acsol.net

 

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