History of Madness – Track 10

Professor Keirsey had his lecture course on Madness taped on cassettes in 1982.  This post is the tenth audio track.  More audio tracks will follow.

Track 1:  The beginning of History of Madness lecture course

He surveys the idea of madness “as far back as we can go”.  At the end of the course, he talks a little about his theory of madness: which he called at the time, “Wholistic Theory of Madness”  based social field theory and Temperament.

Once asked what was the most important thing he wanted people to get from his work, he said:

“I want people to understand that there is no such thing as madness.”

Dr. David West Keirsey

Track 9: The Temperament Basis of Madness

Track 10:

Pride and Shame: reciprocals.

Each of us has a standard of Achievement impose upon ourselves.
If we fail to live up to that standard, we feel shame.

Then, We look for evidence that others hold us in low-esteem.
That’s when the Game begins.

This course is about The Fall.  The fall from grace, from good fortune, from luck, favor, fame, good name,acclaim, success, position, power.  All these losses comprising a measure of the human capacity to go to hell. Hell is the metaphor for illness of mind. Torment we mete.  And torment that is meted to us. Fall is to fail. Fail is to be ashamed. Shame makes us do insane things. Others respond in kind.  We are in hell.   

We are proud of our intelligence.   If we have doubt about our intelligence, then we begin to behave in a tactical way.

The four values.

Value/Ability Theory.

The Double Bind

Track 11a

History of Madness – Track 9

Professor Keirsey had his lecture course on Madness taped on cassettes in 1982.  This post is the ninth audio track.  More audio tracks will follow.

Track 1:  The beginning of History of Madness lecture course

He surveys the idea of madness “as far back as we can go”.  At the end of the course, he talks a little about his theory of madness: which he called at the time, “Wholistic Theory of Madness”  based social field theory and Temperament.

Once asked what was the most important thing he wanted people to get from his work, he said:

“I want people to understand that there is no such thing as madness.”

Dr. David West Keirsey

Track 8: Wholistic Theory of Madness

Track 9:

This is a very important track.  (of course all tracks should be listened to)

A Temperament Basis of a Theory of Madness:

Friedrich Nietzsche, Vincent Van Gogh, Vaslav Nijinsky madness in different ways.

The madness [insanity] takes on the way of the person’s Temperament, just as being sane takes on the way of Temperament.

We can be mad, brilliant or stupidly.  Kinds of madness and degrees of madness.

Kinds and degrees of ability.

Madness requires ability.

Four kinds of people.

History of Madness:  Track 10

History of Madness – Track 8

Professor Keirsey had his lecture course on Madness taped on cassettes in 1982.  This post is the eighth audio track.  More audio tracks will follow.

Track 1:  The beginning of History of Madness lecture course

He surveys the idea of madness “as far back as we can go”.  At the end of the course, he talks a little about his theory of madness: which he called at the time, “Wholistic Theory of Madness”  based social field theory and Temperament.

Once asked what was the most important thing he wanted people to get from his work, he said:

“I want people to understand that there is no such thing as madness.”

Dr. David West Keirsey

Track 7: Element vs Wholistic

Track 8:

Wholistic theory:
The Wholistic View.

Wheeler’s Laws of Human Nature
polarization…  continued…

Gradient principle

Law of Equal Finality: forms – patterns — unity (shape of our actions)

Law of Differentiation (heterogenity)  “unwholes progressively” “unfolds”.  Expanding. Never loses unity.

Categories, Kinds of Patterns.

Uniqueness AND Similarity.

Necessary and sufficient conditions under which the event occurs.

Environment (the field).

Descartes Mind-Body “problem”

“Broken Brains”

Problem is self-defeating.

The wiggle.

The “mind” trap.  Reification.

Track 9:  The Temperament Basis of Madness.

History of Madness – Track 7

Professor Keirsey had his lecture course on Madness taped on cassettes in 1982.  This post is the seventh audio track.  More audio tracks will follow.

Track 1:  The beginning of History of Madness lecture course

He surveys the idea of madness “as far back as we can go”.  At the end of the course, he talks a little about his theory of madness: which he called at the time, “Wholistic Theory of Madness”  based social field theory and Temperament.

Once asked what was the most important thing he wanted people to get from his work, he said:

“I want people to understand that there is no such thing as madness.”

Dr. David West Keirsey

Track 7:

Element theory:
Energy element: instinct — provide force.  Archetypes (what Jung called instinct).
There are force elements.  Energy is a force element with energy in it.  Forces are in centers – confining barrier.  “They got problems there.”
Hydraulic Metaphor:  Values, tubes, and chambers.  Chambers: SuperEgo, Ego, Id.

Wholistic theory:
The Gestalt

Laws of Configuration.

The form is inherent.

The theory of type.

Field Theory.

The mind-body “problem” of elementalism.

The Wholistic View.

Wheeler’s Laws of Human Nature

Systems and polarities

History of Madness — Track 8

It’s a Slow Idea

Many people have asked why is Keirsey Temperament Theory not known broadly as “it should be.”

For a long time, I couldn’t give a good answer.

The answer is: “It’s a Slow Idea.”

My father outlines “The History of Madness”  in his lectures.  And the Wholistic Theory of Madness is a slow idea, its roots going back to over a century with my father adding the idea of Temperament in the last half century.   Fast Ideas about “madness” have been around since Homo Sapens possessed language.

The roots of the Idea of Keirsey Temperament also go back to ancient times.

In addition, there is the idea of: Slow Ideas <=> Fast Ideas

The root of this idea appeared just recently, thanks to Atul Gawande.

History of Madness – Track 6

Professor Keirsey had his lecture course on Madness taped on cassettes in 1982.  This post is the sixth audio track.  Some parts of the lectures are missing.  But, more audio tracks will follow.

Track 1:  The beginning of History of Madness lecture course

He surveys the idea of madness “as far back as we can go”.  At the end of the course, he talks a little about his theory of madness: which he called at the time, “Wholistic Theory of Madness”  based social field theory and Temperament.

Once asked what was the most important thing he wanted people to get from his work, he said:

“I want people to understand that there is no such thing as madness.”

Dr. David West Keirsey

Track 5: Disorders of Communication

Track 6:

The last part of elementalism
Role theory: Adler, Moreno, Sullivan, Kelly, Ellis, Berne
Programs, Drama, Game, Script, Lifeline

Eric Berne: Hydraulics and Electronic.  Robot Theory.

Elements cause behavior.  The person is programmed not relevant to the situation.  One flaw, the “crazy” is not listening to feedback.

Bateson, Haley

Wholistic Theory: opposite of elementalism.

There is a system: Gestalt.

No causal elements.  Polarity

Self Actualization – Kurt Goldstein

Changing and staying the same.  Self distribution.  Self regulation.

Elementalists
Tape recording (Elron Hubbard – never abandoned metaphor )

The elementalists [Freud, Jung, Adler, etc.] never decoded their metaphors into things you can see.  “Freud’s fiction”  Attractor elements, Integrator elements.

Track 7

History of Madness – Track 5

Professor Keirsey had his lecture course on Madness taped on cassettes in 1982.  This post is the fifth audio track.  More audio tracks will follow.

Track 1:  The beginning of History of Madness lecture course

He surveys the idea of madness “as far back as we can go”.  At the end of the course, he talks a little about his theory of madness: which he called at the time, “Wholistic Theory of Madness”  based social field theory and Temperament.

Once asked what was the most important thing he wanted people to get from his work, he said:

“I want people to understand that there is no such thing as madness.”

Dr. David West Keirsey

Track 3-4: Madness is Defensive

Track 5:

Revolutions: slow ideas in Science.
Why people hold on to old fast ideas, and attack the new slow idea.

Kretschmer, Shapiro, Angel.  Madness in Character.  Rausch.  Disorders of Communication.

Penultimate Step: Haley

Erickson, Bateson, Haley.  Scapegoat and the “Schizophrenic”

Madness is hypnotic. [Fear is hypnotic]  Strategies in Psychotherapy.

Wholism:  Hegel  Law of Reciprocity, the death of Gestalt Psychology – Max Wertheimer, Kurt Lewin, Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Kohler.  Ernst Cassirer, Raymond Holder Wheeler and Francis Theodore Perkins.

Wholism: is Not elementalism.

Elementalism in “psychology”
Freud, … , Skinner

Track 5 Audio

Track 6

History of Madness – Track 3-4

Professor Keirsey had his lecture course on Madness taped on cassettes in 1982.  This post is the fourth (there was no third)  audio track.  More audio tracks will follow.

Track 1:  The beginning of History of Madness lecture course

He surveys the idea of madness “as far back as we can go”.  At the end of the course, he talks a little about his theory of madness: which he called at the time, “Wholistic Theory of Madness”  based on social field theory and Temperament.

Once asked what was the most important thing he wanted people to get from his work, he said:

“I want people to understand that there is no such thing as madness.”

Dr. David West Keirsey

Track 2: Witches and Sorcerers

Track 3-4: [Full Transcript on Medium.com]

The revolting Freud.  Madness is defensive.

“These strange antics were seen as functional.  The mad act had a job to do.  It served a purpose. It had an end. It was manufactured by the person to accomplish something.”  …

“This behavior makes sense. … It’s a message.  … The reason is to protect ourselves.” …

“Do we protect ourselves, this consciously, …?  No, It’s all unconscious.”

“People do crazy things to protect themselves.”
— Dr. David West Keirsey

Freud added that defensive behavior was to protect the “libido.”

The steps toward the Wholistic Theory of Madness.

Adler: Defense of Pride (Self-Esteem, Self-Regard).  The start of the social theory of madness.  Kretschmer: Schizophrenic and Cyclothymic.  Sheldon.  Character theory of madness.

Bateson and Haley: Toward a Theory of Schizophrenia.  Social field theory of Madness.

Track 5

History of Madness – Track 2

Professor Keirsey had his lecture course on Madness taped in 1982.  This post is the second audio track.  More audio tracks will follow.

Track 1:  The beginning of History of Madness lecture course

He surveys the idea of madness “as far back as we can go”.  At the end of the course, he talks a little about his theory of madness.

Once asked what was the most important thing he wanted people to get from his work, he said:

“I want people to understand that there is no such thing as madness.”

Track 2:  Witches and Sorcerers. 17th century the advent of Mesmerism. Somnambulism, 19th century. The belief of illness.  The idea of suggestion.  Hypnotism.  The Classifiers.  Greeklish.  Bad Organs.

Track 3-4

The History of Madness — Track 1

Professor Keirsey had his lecture course on Madness taped in 1982.  This is the first audio track.  More audio tracks will follow.

He surveys the idea of madness “as far back as we can go”.  At the end of the course, he talks a little about his theory of madness.

Once asked what was the most important thing he wanted people to get from his work, he said:

“I want people to understand that there is no such thing as madness.”

The Medium Blog has the transcript of the track.

I should have prefaced what I’m saying with this counsel.  As long as you make yourself talk about behavior, which is to say what people do, and not talk about -except parenthetically – what’s going on inside, then there will be very little problem of communication and mutual understanding.  It’s when people start talking about things that cannot be seen.  For instance, desires, motives, feelings, thoughts, egos, ids and that sort of thing.  When we talk to each other about these fictions, then we stop understanding each other because we have no understanding of what the other guy’s talking about or have very little assurance that we’re using the same words in the same way.  I will speak to you at length, perhaps ad nauseam on the problem of words in the domain of madness.

History of Madness, Track 2

The Medium Blog has the transcript of the track.