In another thread, Steve replied to this post:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zukin  In the book Maximum Achievement, Brian Tracy talks about emotions and shares this insight: Quote: |
The insight that changed my life was the discovery that negative emotions are completely unnecessary and unnatural in the life of man. There is no need for them. They serve no good purpose. They are only destructive. They are the major reason men and women fail to grow and evolve to higher levels of consciousness and character. And you do not have to suffer them at all if you consciously choose to get rid of them.
| I've always heard psychologists say that acknowledging and expressing negative emotions is important for growth, but I was skeptical of that advice. Now, cognitive behavioral therapy teaches people to consciously modify their emotions in order to be happier and more fulfilled.
This post is another interesting take on the idea of feelings as feedback: Most People Are Depressed For a Very Good Reason · Violent Acres |
by writing:
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Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina What he wrote sounds nice, but personally I think it's B.S.  |
Did Steve, in rejecting Tracy's subjective reality, succumb to fear-based thinking? I don't think so, and likewise I don't think Steve should be dismissing all attempts to look critically at the quality of evidence as deriving from fear-based reasoning, just because some such attempts are.
Postscript: I should add that I have no problems with Steve's questioning of the objectivity of proof, only with his generalisations about what is going on when we seek proof. I think Sagan is trying to help people see error and avoid being manipulated: he strikes me as an outflow sort of person...