What Would Plato Think of Prozac?
Each person is unique and it is that individuality that we as a whole draw strength from. We should use such advantages to our benefit. Plato often wrote about this in The Republic, that each member of a society ought to do what they are best at and be alleviated from responsibility of those things they are not good at, which can be done by others. The individual and the society gain the most using this methodology. Why have we not considered this wise advice in our culture? Instead we often put people into jobs they are unsuited for in patience, competence and ability. Who benefits? Would a Football team, which actually wants to win the game do that? After all; the guy with the strong foot and lanky build ought to be the kicker, not a lineman, for he would only be good for one play.
Yet as our world becomes more PC, we seem to be too worried about hurting feelings in the real world and try to make everyone equal, people are not equal; not genetically and certainly not through different experience of nurturing. For instance I am a terrible accountant and could be good at that but it would be a living hell for me to try. This would serve no one if I were assigned to that position, would it? An accountant may be less suited for the activities that I tend to excel in.
We are so quick to judge and label people with disorders or categorize them and duly place them where society has agreed upon in advance that they must be, rather than looking into the individual. Schools are too quick to prescribe students as ADHD and put them on Prozac. We should be finding out where the superior traits can do the most good. From our studies of different people we find that lower intelligence levels find themselves happier in repetitive jobs.
We know that "A" type personalities make lousy accountants and do not like fine details. So what do ADHD people have, we know they do not have a lack of intelligence necessarily. So why is it a disorder if the person shows signs of higher intelligence, after all wouldn't that be a sign of strength and a positive attribute? The ADHD individual may not always score the highest on the English section of the SAT tests, but we know they are not stupid. So take a person who is smart, but fidgety. What would they be most suited for? What do they excel in and what would they be most suited for as an occupation?
The ADHD individual normally do not have the opportunity to get lots of certificates or degrees, they probably hate school. It probably feels like torture for them, so then we should find a need for their genetic make-up and you win, actually we all win. Or we could continue to classify them as an owner of a deficient brain with an insurmountable disorder and then pump drugs into their body to alter the natural flow of their individual thought. We are not paying attention close enough to the issues of ADHD and Bi-polar disorder, (there is that word again) we do not take into account the incredible amount of prescription drugs being given to our youth like Ridalin (Sp?) and Prozac and their affects on the learning ability of our children and young adults in real terms and actual intelligence levels due under utilized brain power being wasted on mood control and baby sitting drugs as I call them at this age.
A recent report by Carnegie is interesting in that it talks about the problems of delivering productivity and ethics back to the work place by starting in the schools and in hind sight is a valuable study even though a prediction of the past and a mission for the future may not take into consideration the newest problem of the current decade; that our miss uses of drugs in the brains of our students is hurting our ability to get to that lofty goal. It is very much an optimist approach to rest the bar of productivity, ethics and expectations, yet not very real world in terms of the reality of the over all parents, teachers and publics objectives to over medicate. People just are not too concerned about these issues and we are artificially numbing the brains of millions of students each year calling it a way to calm the unruly, high energy, ADHD, Bi-polar kids. It is a noble and worthy cause to want order in the classrooms and be able to teach larger groups of students, but I do not see the long-term benefits of denying what it is to be human and calling much of what is normal behavior a disorder. There may well be 1-2% which need some type of medication, but in some schools the numbers of medicated kids is 13-17%, that is simply not good for the flow of thought in kids and teens. Middle school reform in today's metro sectors is by far the most difficult challenge.
The American School Board Journal also touches on this subject and has a reading recommendation list on these topics of drug use. I believe it is possible to change the direction and current course.
Accountability in Action-A Blueprint for Learning; By Douglas B Reeves.
Conflicting Missions?-Teachers Unions and Educational Reform; By Tom Loveless.
Motivating and Learning Strategies for College Success-A Self-Management Approach, By Myron H Dembo.
http://www.aacap.org/web/aacap/publication...am/disaster.htm
We can build schools now or prisons later. But no matter how many schools you build you must not impede the flow of thought in the minds of kids. High energy kids or those who learn differently should be cultivated and put into activities to burn off that excessive energy through exercise. This is much better than slowing down their systems artificially unless it is completely necessary. What does Prozac due to kids? Well I suggest you read the book; "Living on Prozac" in case you doubt some of what we are saying here and it doesn't just stop in schools, 17% of the American Population takes this stuff, it is a consideration. Prozac takes 30 days to start working so obvious it is changing after the chemical reaches critical mass, which means it is changing everything. One Fraternity at a Major Medical College gets lists of females who are taking Prozac so they can date them. The Fraternity has an incredible record stating that 86% of those girls will put out on the first date. So much for these scientific white paper field studies, maybe these guys are on to something? The reasoning seems to point to a drug, which takes the edge off, reduces inhibitions and causes somewhat irrational behavior. Either that or these guys are super studs? You be the judge, but is a drug which causes such behavior worthy of our children?
The human brain generally is fully formed by age 6, yet there are many kids on mind-altering drugs prior to the age of six, is this wise? So first thing needed in our study is to allow the brain to have flow of thought and that starts in the nurturing of our students. We must resist turning off the brains of our kids, we have enough adults who have already stopped thinking, for instance look how some of these people drive? Think about it.
"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs
Interesting Links:
Alzheimer Disease Advice
J-5 WebKatalog - Web Catalogue
Living after Divorce
Related Articles:
Why Metaphysics? Part 1
What is metaphysics, and why should we bother studying it? What benefits does it have for humanity? What is its purpose? How will its teachings help advance society? How will it assist our civilization and culture to progress? How will our lives be re-created individually and collectively with the application of metaphysical principles? Questions abound concerning metaphysics, for people intuitively feel that it may have something precious to offer in terms of facilitating personal growth and self-empowerment. Among those spiritually inclined, it has become a "prime directive" to understanding their lives in terms of metaphysical principles and concepts such as multi-dimensional realities, the Higher Self, love, karma, reincarnation, etheri...
Bet's Books Announces "Aristotle: The Firefly's Message" Children's Book
Aristotle: The Firefly's Message is an endearing story about a homeless boy who wanders the streets of Ancient Greece -- lost, hungry, and afraid. Then, one fateful night, he comes upon a firefly with a broken wing, and though he has naught to offer him but friendship, the boy takes Aristotle, the firefly, into his care. When the firefly is once again strong enough to fly, he asks to be set free. What will the lonely boy decide to do? And what miraculous happenings await his decision?
Dr. John F. Demartini, Author, Speaker and Philosopher, Joins Carla Cargle, Host of "The Financial Truth," to Discuss His Book "How To Make One Hell o
Speaker, Philosopher, Best-Selling Author, Dr. John F. Demartini, will be interviewed by VoiceAmerica? Network host Carla Cargle on "The Financial Truth" Friday, July 13th at 12 PM/Pacific, 2 PM/Central, and 3 PM/Eastern on the VoiceAmerica Channel.
Five Surprisingly Hip Politicial Ideas From Plato
Don't you love politics?Me, neither. But I do like thinking about politics.
A Technobiological Renaissance is Shifting Immortality from a Philosophical Issue to a Serious Social Issue
Vision examines the predictions of futurologists such as Ray Kurzweil who believe that advances in technology will allow humans to transcend their biology. Will these achievements bring us immortality or destruction??
Five Great Ideas From Aristotle
It was Socrates who said that the purpose of philosophy is to help each of us become "an excellent human". That seems like a respectable and reasonable big-picture goal for every person on the planet.
Plato to Bushco
The Neoplatonic Hierarchy:The twentieth century has seen a lot of mega-corporate and bureaucratic growth. The old top-down or Platonic hierarchy form of control has been exposed to the extent that Harvard Business Journal has recommended corporate paranoia and detailed the 'Nut Island Effect' wherein Empires of inefficiency abound.
Funny, Philosophical New Book Addresses Life, Love and the Universe
In I'm the Midnight Specialist, author Trevor Scott Andrei explores the meaning of life as he travels through Australia.
Approaching Metaphysics Part 1
Before one approaches seriously the study of metaphysics, magick, the occult, or mysticism, it is appropriate that one prepares oneself on all levels: mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. It is of vital importance that the student be psychologically prepared for the reception of Cosmic truths; for without adequate preparation, without the required purity, the right attitude and the right motive, one simply deludes or sidetracks oneself from all that which is essential in occult study to those phenomena and teachings that are unessential, delusive, and misleading; to phenomena that simply strengthen one's hold in a world of illusion, glamour, pride and ego; aside from this, should one attempt occult work without due preparation...
Rugged Individualism vs Human Nature
"Rugged individualism" is actually a euphemism for Thomas Hobbes' baseless concept of man's natural condition as a war of everyone against everyone else. Even different species of wild animals (each of which has its own group soul, as opposed to humans, which have individual souls) cooperate with one another for their mutual benefit, so Hobbes would have had us believe that mankind is inherently more bestial than the beasts, perhaps explaining the name of the pop "music" group known as the Beastie Boys.
Learn From Plato- Suspend Your Judgment
?You are young and as the years go by, time will change and even reverse many of your present opinions. Refrain therefore awhile from setting yourself up as a judge of the highest matters.? ? Plato
Socrates, Politics and Axe Murder: A Look at Gay Marriage
This week, I attended a reading by Christopher Phillips. He is the author of Socrates' Café: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy, and has been described as the "Johnny Appleseed of philosophy" because of his penchant for starting meaningful dialogues with groups around the world.
Human Nature Rocks the House at Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City
Australian pop group Human Nature conquers US crowds with their Motown Tribute show on their first visit to America.
Why Metaphysics? Part 2
Basically, arrogance is an inferior attitude masking as superiority. Inferiority or superiority complexes are both egoic expressions. The human ego often wishes the Self to appear what it is not. Even if we knew a lot, if we have read a thousand books, studied under countless Gurus, have permanent contact with a Cosmic Master, experienced a 1001 delights and terrors, meditate constantly, possess the world, or are powerful in some psychic way, it still does not give us a reason to egoically compare others with ourselves, or to judge them--by seeing others as inferior to us, by labelling them as bad, low, and vile. Many so-called spiritual teachers still do this. They criticize and condemn others without realizing that, spiritually speaking, ...
Plato's Closet Leading the Trend on Second Chance Outfits
Plato's Closet, a used clothing consignment shop that caters to teens and twenty somethings, was recently featured in the Winston-Salem Journal for being a forerunner in the upcoming season's fashion trends by offering designer brands and vintage items for a discounted price.