although I can't recall where i first heard a statement to the effect "children are being taught WHAT to think, not HOW to think," it stuck with me as the perfect summary of the message i am trying to communicate with this blog. If a person is truly taught how to think--to observe carefully, to analyze data, and to systematically test the assertions with which one is presented--then any attempt to propagandize and condition them will be quickly dismantled. this simple fact is the reason why PSYWAR has become the dominant modality of control and aggression in the 20th and 21st centuries, with the goal of preventing the development of critical intellect among the masses, and thus enabling entire continents to be coerced into submission without firing a single shot. although physical blood and guts 'warfare' is quite pleasant to the psychopaths who run the world, it was recognized in the early days of the industrial revolution that mass-scale psychological manipulation was much more efficient in terms of time and resources. the technological capabilities that became widespread in the past century (i.e. written media, radio, television, standardized education) have allowed small-scale violence and tragic events and violence to be used to traumatize huge populations (even if these events are drastically misrepresented by the media). if the mass of humanity lacks the faculty of critical thought and the ability to consider the context and history surrounding these stage-managed events and the actors involved, even the most obvious farce can become the catalyst for a world-changing course of events. further, the gradual transformation of beliefs and attitudes can turn a one time nation of rugged individualists into a chemically castrated and mentally crippled nation of willing slaves who adore their abusers. what's more, these slaves will self-police and serve as a kind of 'station-to-station' relay system that enthusiastically propagates the slave-think on behalf of their masters to ensure that each new generation is prepped to adopt ever-increasing submissiveness by incrementalism and successive approximation. in this way, attitudes and behaviors that would seem bizarre, perverse, animalistic a generation ago become seen as normal and even admirable within a few short decades. rather than enumerating copious examples of such a dynamic at work in our times, this post is intended to illustrate what i believe is the key phase which initiated this process in America. it is my contention that the development of ideas and theories always lead the development of policies. thus, it seems appropriate to look at the development of ideas which have led to the incremental establishment of the institutions which now orchestrate mass mind-control in my country. it has often been said by anti-nwo theorists i study (notably Alan Watt Cutting Through the Matrix) that so called 'education' serves as a kind of base or 'operating system' upon which all subsequent propaganda is dependent for its acceptance. if this is true it would make sense that 'public education' is mandatory in the USA, and that avoiding it is a criminal offense. even those who homeschool their children are required to jump through all kinds of bureaucratic hoops to avoid prosecution (this is true in many other 'civilized' countries as well). so how did this come to be? what is the origin and methodology of this system? there is an abundance of information available on the pioneers of our public education system (John Dewey, Horace Mann, etc.) and their heinous ideas, which they were quite public about describing. perhaps i will detail this in a later post. but, for the time being, i wish to lay out what i feel are the theoretical foundations of the methods employed in 'education' today, especially the methods of conditioning and 'behavior modification'.
. . .
Part I: Ivan Pavlov http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Pavlov
"Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (Russian: Ива́н Петро́вич Па́влов; IPA: [ɪˈvan pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtÉ• ˈpavlÉ™f] (
listen); 26 September [O.S. 14 September] 1849 – 27 February 1936) was a Russian physiologist known primarily for his work in classical conditioning.
From his childhood days Pavlov demonstrated intellectual brilliance
along with an unusual energy which he named "the instinct for research".[1] Inspired by the progressive ideas which D. I. Pisarev, the most eminent of the Russian literary critics of the 1860s and I. M. Sechenov,
the father of Russian physiology, were spreading, Pavlov abandoned his
religious career and decided to devote his life to science. In 1870 he
enrolled in the physics and mathematics faculty at the University of Saint Petersburg to take the course in natural science.[2]
Ivan Pavlov devoted his life to the study of physiology and sciences,
making several remarkable discoveries and ideas that were passed on from
generation to generation.[3] He won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1904,[1][4] becoming the first Russian Nobel laureate.""Pavlov contributed to many areas of physiology and neurological sciences. Most of his work involved research in temperament,[citation needed] conditioning and involuntary reflex actions. . . .Further work on reflex actions involved involuntary reactions to stress and pain. Pavlov extended the definitions of the four temperament types under study at the time: phlegmatic, choleric, sanguine, and melancholic, updating the names to "the strong and impetuous type, the strong equilibrated and quiet type, the strong equilibrated and lively type, and the weak type." Pavlov and his researchers observed and began the study of transmarginal inhibition (TMI), the body's natural response of shutting down when exposed to overwhelming stress or pain by electric shock.[22] This research showed how all temperament types responded to the stimuli the same way, but different temperaments move through the responses at different times. He commented "that the most basic inherited difference. .. was how soon they reached this shutdown point and that the quick-to-shut-down have a fundamentally different type of nervous system."[23] "
" The concept for which Pavlov is famous is the "conditioned reflex" (or in his own words the conditional reflex) he developed jointly with his assistant Ivan Filippovitch Tolochinov in 1901. He had come to learn this concept of conditioned reflex when examining the rates of salivations among dogs. Pavlov had learned that when a buzzer or metronome was sounded in subsequent time with food being presented to the dog in consecutive sequences, the dog would initially salivate when the food was presented. The dog would later come to associate the sound with the presentation of the food and salivate upon the presentation of that stimulus.[24]"
"As Pavlov's work became known in the West, particularly through the writings of John B. Watson, the idea of "conditioning" as an automatic form of learning became a key concept in the developing specialism of comparative psychology, and the general approach to psychology that underlay it, behaviorism. Pavlov's work with classical conditioning was of huge influence to how humans perceive themselves, their behavior and learning processes and his studies of classical conditioning continue to be central to modern behavior therapy.[26] The British philosopher Bertrand Russell was an enthusiastic advocate of the importance of Pavlov's work for philosophy of mind.[27]
Pavlov's research on conditional reflexes greatly influenced not only science, but also popular culture. Pavlovian conditioning was a major theme in Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel, Brave New World, and also to a large degree in Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow."
so, the salient aspects of this information on Pavlov that i want to leave you with are these:
1. the concept of 'reflex': a response to a stimulus, whether completely involuntary or merely unconscious/habitual, as applied to induce and reinforce certain behaviors within a controlled environment.
2. the fact that, no matter the character of an individual, it is assumed that there is some threshold of stress/pain/shock at which one's control of one's own behavior will 'shut down' on a mechanistic level. (this is the basis for much of modern techniques like 'enhanced interrogation'/torture as a means of inducing compliance and of behavior modification.
3. the direct influence of Pavlov on Skinner, Russell, Huxley etc.
. . .
Part II: B. F. Skinner and Behaviorism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._Skinner
"Burrhus Frederic (B. F.) Skinner (March 20, 1904 – August 18, 1990) was an American psychologist, behaviorist, author, inventor, and social philosopher.[1][2][3][4] He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974.[5]
Skinner believed that human free will is an illusion and that any human action is the result of the consequences of the same action. If the consequences are bad, there is a high chance that the action will not be repeated; however if the consequences are good, the actions that led to it will become more probable.[6] Skinner called this the principle of reinforcement.[7]
Skinner called the use of reinforcement to strengthen behavior operant conditioning, and he considered the rate of response to be the most effective measure of response strength. To study operant conditioning he invented the operant conditioning chamber, also known as the Skinner Box,[8] and to measure rate he invented the cumulative recorder. Using these tools he and C. B. Ferster produced his most influential experimental work, which appeared in the book Schedules of reinforcement.[9][10]
Skinner developed a philosophy of science that he called radical behaviorism,[11] and founded a school of experimental research psychology—the experimental analysis of behavior. He imagined the application of his ideas to the design of a human community in his utopian novel Walden Two,[12] and his analysis of human behavior culminated in his work Verbal Behavior.[13]
Skinner was a prolific author who published 21 books and 180 articles.[14][15] Contemporary academia considers Skinner a pioneer of modern behaviorism along with John B. Watson and Ivan Pavlov. A June 2002 survey listed Skinner as the most influential psychologist of the 20th century.[16]"
"Skinner called his approach to the study of behavior Radical behaviorism.[26] This philosophy of behavioral science assumes that behavior is a consequence of environmental histories of reinforcement, (see Applied behavior analysis). In contrast to the approach of cognitive science, behaviorism does not accept private events such as thinking, perceptions, and unobservable emotions as causes of an organism's behavior. However, in contrast to methodological behaviorism, Skinner's radical behaviorism did accept thoughts, emotions, and other "private events" as responses subject to the same rules as overt behavior. In his words:
The position can be stated as follows: what is felt or introspectively observed is not some nonphysical world of consciousness, mind, or mental life but the observer's own body. This does not mean, as I shall show later, that introspection is a kind of psychological research, nor does it mean (and this is the heart of the argument) that what are felt or introspectively observed are the causes of the behavior. An organism behaves as it does because of its current structure, but most of this is out of reach of introspection. At the moment we must content ourselves, as the methodological behaviorist insists, with a person's genetic and environment histories. What are introspectively observed are certain collateral products of those histories.[27]"
"In Beyond Freedom and Dignity, Skinner suggests that a technology of behavior could help to make a better society. We would, however, have to accept that an autonomous agent is not the driving force of our actions. Skinner offers alternatives to punishment and challenges his readers to use science and modern technology to construct a better society."
"Ethical control may survive in small groups, but the control of the population as a whole must be delegated to specialists—to police, priests, owners, teachers, therapists, and so on, with their specialized reinforcers and their codified contingencies"[75]
"It is a mistake to suppose that the whole issue is how to free man. The issue is to improve the way in which he is controlled"[76]
[emphasis added to the above quotations]
although it would certainly be possible to delve into this topic more deeply, i intend these posts to be of an introductory nature, and not to overwhelm the newcomer with too much data. in concluding this section, i merely wish to emphasize 3 aspects referred to above.
1. Skinners belief that there is no 'autonomous' agent at the root of behavior, nor any 'feeling' state, nor any morality of any kind at work, nor ANYTHING, that makes the subject of conditioning an individual or sovereign with any kind of rights. In short, skinner de-emphasizes any possibility of 'free-will' or moral character in an individual that would be resistant to manipulation by 'reinforcement' or 'punishment'. this viewpoint is essential if the goal is to treat everyone as a 'human resource' void of any soul or integrity, any innate character that should be respected. In Skinner's world, humans are no different than pigeons or rats that he had no problem caging, electrifying, starving, etc. (much like Pavlov) in order to produce a desired behavior according to the whims of the experimenter/'expert'.
2. Skinner's assertion that 'ethical control' is the purview only to 'small groups' of 'specialists', who are totally justified in using any expedient means to coerce the behavior of the masses, because, as already stated, these non-specialists have no inner character of their own, nor any free will, but are nothing but the sum of their conditioning. and of course this conditioning is arbitrarily determined by the 'specialist' who thus has total control and is essentially 'creating' this person as they sculpt their 'responses' purely according to reinforcement.
3. The profound influence of Skinner on modern psychology and education. As we see on wikipedia, he was declared " the most influential psychologist of the 20th century.[16]" What is now referred to as OBE outcome-based education is the cornerstone of public education in America and elsewhere, and it is founded on the work and concepts of B. F. Skinner.
Part III: Wilhelm Wundt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Wundt
"Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt (16 August 1832 – 31 August 1920) was a German physician, physiologist, philosopher, and professor, known today as one of the founding figures of modern psychology. Wundt, who noted psychology as a science apart from biology and philosophy, was the first person to ever call himself a Psychologist.[4] He is widely regarded as the "father of experimental psychology".[5][6] In 1879, Wundt founded the first formal laboratory for psychological research at the University of Leipzig. This marked psychology as an independent field of study.[7]
By creating this laboratory he was able to explore the nature of religious beliefs, identify mental disorders and abnormal behavior, and find damaged parts of the brain. In doing so, he was able to establish psychology as a separate science from other topics. He also formed the first academic journal for psychological research, Philosophische Studien, in the year 1883."
Wundt emerged in the society where education was public, free, and compulsory. the so-called 'prussian model of education' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussian_education_system was a pioneering system that was later imitated by other countries. it was brought to the USA by disciples of Wundt's theory and methods (G. Stanley Hall, John Dewey).
I have to say that the initiating inspiration to write this post comes from the work of Charlotte Iserbyt (former senior policy advisor to the US Department of education):
http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/MomsPDFs/DDDoA.sml.pdf
"WILHELM WUNDT,
FOUNDER OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY AND THE FORCE BEHIND ITS
dissemination throughout the Western world, was born in 1832 in
Neckarau, southern Germany. The following excerpts concerning Wundt’s
contribution to modern education are taken from
The Leipzig Connection: The Systematic Destruction of American Education by Paolo Lionni and Lance J. Klass (Heron Books: Portland, Ore., 1980):
when looking into the significance of Wundt, we see some of the same familiar elements:
1. extreme convenience of his theories and methods to the aims of centralizing governments with no concern for the rights or disposition of the individual.
Wundt's life corresponded with the early maturity of the Prussian model of compulsory, highly class-stratified 3-tiered education system in which children were groomed and conditioned for their eventual positions within a strictly controlled and militaristic society (this phase is the sequel to my earlier post about hessian mercenaries berzerkers-hashishin-and-hessians.html) and he was well-supported and funded by the rather parsimonious government of his time.
2. the common view he shared with Pavlov and Skinner that humans are predictable machines with no innate moral or personal character, and thus there could be no reason not to completely co-opt their behavioral processes of any individual in service of the social order (esp. the mercenary-selling tendencies of german rulers).
3. the profound and widespread influence of Wundt on Pavlov, Skinner, Dewey, G Stanley Hall, Horace Mann, etc. It is no stretch to say that modern initiatives like 'no child left behind' and 'common core' are basically superficial upgrades and refinements of the system Wundt outlined more than a century ago.
i hope by now readers will see the disturbing continuity between the fields of psychology, totalitarian governance, public education, and PSYWAR. this type of philosophy is at the root of world fascism and mercantilism which has oppressed and murdered its way around the globe for centuries. nearly every aspect of modern mass culture bears the imprint of this worldview. there is a common motivation behind all of these aspects as well as the cultural imperialism and ethnic/cultural genocide of any group that maintains opposition to the extreme and delusional materialism which serves as a pre-requisite for the establishment of fundamentally anti-human and self-destructive governmental and social substrates now being advanced under the banner of a 'multi-culturalism' which is actually a totally synthetic, homogenized, and forced mono-culture which is systematically stripped of any genuine cultural continuity with the past. it is only by the co-opting of the educational process and the compulsory conditioning of children from an early age under governmental auspices, that any such farce becomes feasible. yet society (with only token exceptions) is totally compliant with this agenda, and indeed will largely attack any dissident to this process as some type of fringe lunatic. think about that a minute.
