Psychology and psychiatry change when human nature changes. Certain types adjust more easily to enhanced intelligence:
the strong willed;
those with interests directed outward;
those who already think a lot.
Pre-change, Sheila Corinth's life was unintellectual and sheltered. Post-change, she sees through her former world-view but has not found a new one. Worry about her physiological symptoms increases them. She has neither children nor struggle to turn her attention outward. Therefore, Peter departing on an interstellar expedition might be good for her. Her psychiatrist gives her drills on logical processes and general semantics. She is now intelligent enough to deceive him that she is improving.
Many people use their new intellectual power to rationalize old superstitions, prejudices and hatreds. Then the Third Ba'al tells them to abandon thought in favor of an emotional orgy. But these are transitional problems.
4 comments:
"Many people use their new intellectual power to rationalize old superstitions, prejudices and hatreds"
Michael Shermer wrote a book "Why People Believe Weird Things". In the later editions there is a chapter "Why Smart People Believe Weird Things" in which he discusses the way intelligence can be misused to rationalize beliefs acquired for non-rational reasons.
Kaor, Jim!
PLENTY of apparently intelligent people believe in weird things right now! From solemnly saying Bruce "Caitlyn" Jenner is a woman to monstrosities like defending "legalized" abortion.
I could go on and on, but two examplea are enough.
Ad astra! Sean
"Caitlyn" Jenner has had surgery to make his body more like a woman's body than before, so I would consider that a step less absurd than considering "Lia" Thomas to be a woman. Also at least "Caitlyn" isn't taking women's sporting awards. He is still absurd, just less so than some.
As for abortion, even if reliable contraception like IUDs were freely available so unwanted pregnancies became vanishingly rare, there would still be the occasional wanted pregnancy that goes badly wrong, so the only way to save the pregnant woman is to abort the pregnancy.
I have heard that some anti-abortion politicians in the US want to forbid aborting ectopic pregnancies. Either way the fetus dies, but if there isn't surgery to fix the problem the woman dies too.
Let's just say that abortion isn't so obviously wrong in all cases as you imply by your previous comment.
Kaor, Jim!
On these matters I absolutely disagree. Surgery and drugs cannot change a man into a woman. I call both Jenner and Thomas absurd. I agree that at least Jenner is not fraudulently depriving real sports women of prizes and awards.
And the evil of all direct abortions is that they are the unjust killings of HUMAN lives. And surgery for correcting ectopic pregnancies is not abortion because the death of the child is not directly intended.
Ad astra! Sean
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