What is the truth?

The human capacity for learning is a result of millions of years of evolutionary process. As a product of human evolution, the learning process is based on the need to acquire information and understanding... knowledge of the realities of the world... true knowledge or 'truth'. The truth finding process depends on insights which are reliable because they involve the interplay of empirical observation or 'data' and experiential understanding or 'theory'.  Truth doesn't have to be demonstrated... or proven. Truth is there and nothing can change that. Not believing that something is true does not make the truth go away. Truth is ineluctable...  inescapable. Truth is the authority but to be motivated to search for truth, the mind must not be closed. If the mind is closed it is easy to mistake authority for the truth and it is difficult to unlearn a lie.  If people are conditioned to accept authority as 'truth' and if they feel comfortable with their sense of security in 'knowing the truth', then when they are challenged with the real truth their sense of security is compromised and they feel threatened . In a process of 'cognitive dissonance' they attempt to defend themselves from the facts which could make them vulnerable and confused...  they  fear what might be the truth... and so they react with resistance and self-justification; they   refuse to accept the 'new' truth and even fight the truth and this includes the messenger of the truth.  If on the other hand, the mind is open and free, authority is not mistaken for truth and questions are asked instead using the intelligence of moral or 'spiritual' insight... 'intuition'.  Motivation for the pursuit of truth is a function of engagement of psychological and moral or 'spiritual' development resulting in personality integration which is characterised by holistic perception and complete cognition. Hence the importance of education for freedom to  grow through learning... to cultivate intuitive intelligence or  'creative intelligence'  i.e. education of the personality as a whole or 'holistic education'. Holistic education involves intellectual independence 'independence of mind' as having the freedom and the courage to question authority in order to pursue the 'truth'. Truth as knowledge of reality is fundamental to accurate evaluation and creative decision-making required for effective adaptability and survival. 

Problem of Evil

  

             Problem of 'Evil' as an Issue of Education                     
  The problem of evil: what is evil? where does it come from? Why does it persist? So-called 'evil' is human wickedness which is a function of human psychopathology and not a function of the the nature of the human personality or 'human nature'. The human species is a social species which depends on complete development of its moral faculty for effective socialization necessary for species survival. Those people considered to be 'evil' are really just retarded in the sense that they are not fully human. They are not healthy specimens of the species because they lack the intuitive intelligence and sense of empowerment which results from complete moral or 'spiritual' development. They are disempowered as a result of arrested development and will compensate for their sense of disempowerment by their drive to hold onto the power of control over other human beings. When this drive is combined with authoritarianism and dominance their influence can be deadly.       

Man's 'animal nature' as the human personality or 'human nature' is not 'evil'. The human organism has an instinctive responsibility to itself to develop its humanness as a function of moral consciousness or rational 'conscience' the source of guiding values for living... the source of self-empowerment which is required for adaptation to changing social conditions or 'adaptability'. Normal human psychological development involves the construction of conscience. So what is evil, where does it come from and why does it persist? The so-called 'problem of evil' can only be understood in terms of the psychology of human development. Evil is the socially unnadaptive and destructive behaviour of human wickedness. When development of rational conscience is arrested at the level of ego-needs for security and self-esteem, the result is a process of neurotic development or 'neurosis' which is characterised by a pervasive sense of powerlessness which becomes the source of negative emotions and internal conflicts leading to the construction of immature irrational conscience. It is the failure to develop mature rational conscience which is the source of evil and evil persists as a result of the failure to recognize the importance of providing the conditions required for complete psychological development.... conditions of love as human solidarity without conditions i.e. 'unconditional love'. The problem of evil is an issue of education. Social adaptability is compromised with education which disempowers... authoritarian education. Hence the importance of education for empowerment... for responsible freedom... freedom from fear, freedom from dogma, true freedom or 'inner freedom'... 'freedom to learn' and 'freedom to work'. We can fight evil with education for human empowerment ... education based on respect for biological principles underlying the nature of human nature... education of the whole person as a whole or 'holistic education'. 

What is Human Nature?

    

        The human species is a social species, the human organism is a social organism, the human brain is a social brain and human nature is a social nature. The human personality or 'human nature' is an open natural system which is multidimensional and subjected to the forces of a changing social environment. Human nature can be defined in terms of the integrated functioning of intrinsic motives for behaviour or 'instincts,' instinct-like desires, drives or 'needs', wishes, impulses, feelings, emotions, thoughts, volitions, aspirations, reasoning capacities, beliefs and so on ... all involved in the organismic striving for steady state equilibrium as unity of personality or 'personality integration' which is required for holistic perception,  accurate evaluation and effective adaptability to ever-changing social conditions... required for self-preservation. A system which interacts with its environment acquires qualitatively new irreducible properties... 'emergent properties'...  which emerge as a result of the interaction of the various parts of the whole system. The nature of human nature can only be understood from the perspective of the 'systems approach' or 'systems thinking' of systems theory. The characteristic emergent property of human nature is development of the intrinsic potential for consciousness of moral or 'spiritual' values... moral consciousness or 'conscience'. Rational conscience is the source of  moral intelligence or 'social intelligence' required for social cooperation necessary for continued survival of the human species.                              

What is 'Schizophrenia'?

     So-called ‘Schizophrenia’ as a Process of Uncontrolled     

                      Spiritual Emergence or ‘Spiritual Emergency’  

    Much needless suffering results from ignorance of the multi-dimensional nature of the human psyche, human personality or 'human nature'. Insights into the workings of human nature or ‘the nature of human nature’ are revealed by combining scientific research in western psychology with concepts provided by Eastern psychologies such as Buddhism which are concerned with human psychology on the level beyond individual self-image, the ‘persona’ or ‘ego' as a concept of the self which is created by the mind. These insights can be applied to the study of the healthy healing process involving psychic overload of uncontrollable spiritual growth i.e spiritual emergency or so-called 'schizophrenia'.

     The psychiatric profession has created one of the greatest myths of our time by describing so-called 'schizophrenia' as a nonspecific disease or ‘mental illness’. It was German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926) who originally coined the Latin name 'dementia praecox' meaning 'prematurely out of one's mind' because he believed that this supposedly devastating condition resulted from irreversible mental deterioration.  Later it became clear that the term was a misnomer and in 1910 a new term was provided by the kind and humane Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939), teacher of Carl Jung and professor of psychiatry at the University of Zürich where he headed the famous Burghölzli Clinic. Bleuler coined the term 'schizophrenia' for 'splitting of the mind' since  the condition seemed to involve a mental separation between thought and emotion.The  term is derived from German 'schizophrenie' from Greek 'skhizein' meaning 'to split' and 'phren' of unknown origin meaning 'heart or mind' so that ‘schizophrenia’ actually means 'broken soul' or 'broken heart’. Although there is still no universally accepted definition of the term, it has been applied to various conditions including a set of socially and culturally unacceptable thinking and behaviour patterns thus making it a model of ‘unwanted conduct’.

     In fact so-called ‘schizophrenia’ is not a disease nor is it a hopeless condition. It is  a brilliant condition which is the concern of the psychology of the transpersonal or spiritual dimension of human nature i.e. 'transpersonal psychology'. In this light schizophrenia is a personal 'story' of a natural and temporary self-healing and self-organising process involving the dissolution and removal of illusions and false beliefs which originate from social conditioning. In this sense schizophrenia is a transformative process, a crisis of transformation or ‘psychospiritual crisis’. Furthermore it can be understood as a part of the human condition and as a process which reveals information about the nature of the human psyche or ‘human nature’.  

    The human species is a social species, the human organism is a social organism and human nature is a moral, spiritual or ‘social’ nature with instincts for social cooperation and social harmony i.e. ‘social instincts’. Social instincts must be cultivated in a process of development of moral consciousness or ‘conscience’. The function of the conscience is to preserve the integrity or ‘wholeness’of the personality. Rational conscience is the product of moral, spiritual and social development resulting in transformation of the self and the knowledge of one’s human nature or ‘self-knowledge’. Self-knowledge is prerequisite to social or spiritual intelligence required for effective social adaptability. The process of moral or spiritual development is also known variously as 'individuation', 'self-realisation', 'self-actualisation', 'spiritual renewal', 'spiritual awakening', 'spiritual rebirth’, 'enlightenment' or 'spiritual emergence'. Spiritual emergence is a gradual and controlled transformation process which results in the understanding of the ultimate connectedness or ‘unity’of all things.

     Spiritual emergence is a gradual dynamic, fluid, naturally ordered and integrated on-going process of personal psychological development. It involves moral or ‘spiritual’ development to greater maturity and spiritual awareness. It is a process  which takes place over a period of years and involves personal evolution from the limited sense of self or 'ego' and its egocentric perspective to the expanded sense of self beyond ego, the ‘higher self’, the ‘authentic self’ or 'Self'. Transcendence of the ego or ‘ego-transcendence’ and its transpersonal perspective allows for expansion of consciousness and heightened awareness resulting in an inner sense of emotional liberation. Intuition is purified and sharpened thus allowing for a clearer more accurate perception of reality and the discovery of ideas and behaviours which are effective for social adaptability. Spiritual emergence is the source of personal power because it allows for the attainment of knowledge of one's true nature (‘self-knowledge’) as the source of motivation for personal productiveness and creativity or ‘work’ i.e. self-empowerment’. Each person is at a different stage of spiritual emergence depending on the level of moral or spiritual development which they have reached.

"In the most general terms, spiritual emergence can be defined as the movement of an individual to a more expanded way of being that involves enhanced emotional and psychosomatic health, greater freedom of personal choices, and a sense of deeper connection with other people, nature and the cosmos. An important part of this development is an increasing awareness of the spiritual dimension in one's life and in the universal scheme of things. Spiritual development is an innate evolutionary capacity of all human beings. It is a movement towards wholeness or 'holotropic state', the discovery of one's true potential." (Stanislav Grof)

      Complete psychological development depends on education (at home and at school) which offers conditions of freedom as freedom from dogma or ‘inner freedom’. Growth through the freedom to learn allows for the complete development of the person as a whole. This so called 'holistic education' is based on respect for the biologically based motives for learning or ‘human needs. Human needs include both 'lower' psychological needs for security and self-esteem - the 'ego needs' - and 'higher' psychological needs for moral development, the instinctive yearnings for human values, the spiritual needs or ‘metaneeds’. Motivation by the metaneeds or 'metamotivation' allows for the discovery of one’s true potential.

      If in highly sensitive individuals the process of spiritual emergence is blocked for whatever reason then they might undergo a period of crisis or ‘emergency’ involving the rapid formation of essential adjustments for effective adaptation. The transformation process of spiritual emergence can be so dramatic as to become uncontrollable ‘spiritual emergency’, also known as  transpersonal experience, transpersonal crisis, psycho-spiritual transformation, psychospiritual crisis, spiritual journey, hero's journey, dark night of the soul, spiritual opening, psychic opening, psychic awakening, spiritual awakening, enlightenment, kundalini awakening, kundalini process, kundalini crisis, shamanic initiation, shamanic crisis, psychotic-visionary episode, ego death, ego loss, alchemical process, positive disintegration, post traumatic stress disorder with psychotic features, night sea journey, psychosis, shamanism, mysticism, gnosis, inner apocalypse, and so on. Spiritual emergency is characterised by spontaneous alternative consciousness states or ‘realities' in which the person experiences unbearably distressing psychic overload involving chaotic and overwhelming sensory experiences which in fact offer invaluable opportunities for personal growth and positive transformation. Spiritual emergency is a process of healing and renewal which involves the dissolution and removal of illusions and false beliefs originating in the programming of social conditioning. The conditioning leads to the formulation of aberrant thought complexes and these prevent the person from making accurate evaluations of their social environment. Inaccurate evaluations lead to inappropriate decision-making and non-adaptive behaviour patterns. In a period of crisis, the person instinctively surrenders to the organismic process which involves the temporary separation of thought and emotion (‘ego-loss’) which is necessary for the reassessment of their thoughts without having to deal with the emotional implications. The apparently bizarre speech and behaviour patterns reveal the passage from lower to higher consciousness states in which the person experiences a series of varying stages or ‘episodes’. These can be frightening and confusing to onlookers because they appear to be out of context with everyday reality and as a result they are often misunderstood. They are mistakenly believed and discredited to represent ‘symptoms’ of disease or ‘mental illness'. Perceived as pathological they are considered to be medically ‘treatable’. In fact the apparent 'symptoms' are manifestations of a spontaneous healing effort by the organism as a whole. The person eventually learns to grow beyond fear based ego-consciousness, beyond cultural conditioning and the ‘conditioned self’, beyond the expectations of others and towards the new transpersonal, moral or ‘spiritual’ dimension of awareness which allows for development of personal potential and effective social adaptability.

The successful outcome of spiritual emergency depends on the correct understanding, respect, encouragement and support which allow it to reach full completion (Stanislov Grof.)

References: refer to www.HolisticEducator.com/SpiritualEmergence.htm

Education as a Function of Culture: Cultural Context

                                                                   
                                                     
theme: The aims of education are formulated within the framework of cultural context. In the American culture - political ideology and education for 'citizens of a democracy', behaviorism, education industry, 'traditional' curriculum and myths of schooling, Protestantism, moralism, capitalism, consumer society and packaging of values ... educational process involves conscious thought in the context of subconscious processing of cultural stimuli.
Educators must analyse the cultural context in which they are doing their work of educating. "There can be no educational policy or practice independent of a social and cultural context and therefore there is no such theory as 'objective' educational theory'". (David Purpel "Holistic Education in a Prophetic Voice" in John Miller Worldviews, Educational Orientations and Holistic Education. page 69)
       For the human individual in a cultural context, the nature of reality is determined by the nature of the cultural environment. The nature of the cultural environment is determined by the cultural values and belief systems. Stimuli from the cultural environment are directly related to the basic assumptions underlying the values of the culture. They are peripheral to the stimuli in the field of focused attention. As peripheral stimuli, they are processed by the brain at the subconscious level. The cultural values are a product of the cultural belief systems which make up the 'cultural consciousness'. The cultural belief systems are a product of the history of the culture. The cultural history forms the basis of the cultural consciousness, source of the peripheral stimuli processed subconsciously by the individual in a cultural context. The individual's thought and behavior patterns are influenced by the subconsciously processed peripheral stimuli from the cultural environment. The individual's thought and behavior patterns are influenced by the subconsciously processed peripheral stimuli from the cultural environment. Unconsciously perceived and processed by the brain, peripheral stimuli from the cultural environment are inherent in the so-called 'cultural consciousness'.
    The educational process for the individual within a cultural context involves conscious thought patterns in the framework of unconsciously processed environmental stimuli of the cultural consciousness. The learning process combines the processing of environmental peripheral stimuli with conscious thought processes involved in cognition. Educational policies are formulated in the context of a prevailing cultural worldview which is inherent in the prevailing cultural belief systems and values. Cultural belief systems are created in the framework of the basic assumptions underlying the cultural view of the world - the 'reality' which is perceived from the point of view of the people living in their own time. The individuals within a given culture perceive their own world from their own point of view, with the technology, the resources and the 'education' accessible to them. They identify with the belief systems of their culture and perceive the world from the point of view of the cultural belief systems. An individual educated within the context of given cultural belief systems internalize the cultural values. The cultural values are derived from the cultural beliefs. The 'enculturated' individual subconsciously perceives reality in the context of the cultural values and the cultural worldview.
 Cultural beliefs are derived from scientific 'beliefs' and the cultural belief systems are derived from the culture's prevailing 'scientific' perception of reality. The cultural perception of 'reality' is a reflection of the prevailing scientific view of the world. The so-called scientific 'paradigm' is the view of reality and the perception of the world as observed and perceived by the individuals in the context of their own culture and its accessible sources of knowledge. The cultural worldview results from logical conclusions about the nature of reality. The conclusions are based on the individual's 'scientific' activity in the cultural context. The available technology is used to make observations about the environment. The available knowledge is used to make inquiries about the environment. Making inquiries and observations constitutes the 'scientific activity' on the basis of which conclusions are drawn about the reality of the environment. The individual uses the 'scientific method' which prevails in the context of the culture. 'Logical' conclusions are drawn on the basis of inquiries and observations made from the perspective of the cultural belief systems. These 'scientifically' drawn conclusions form the basis for the derivation of the significant metaphysical assumptions about 'reality' as they are perceived by those enculturated individuals. The resulting cultural perceptions of reality form the basis of the culture's belief systems and the cultural 'myths'.
The cultural myths in turn form the basis of the cultural perceptions of 'reality'. The cultural perceptions of reality constitutes the framework for the formulation of the belief systems and cultural values. The cultural value system constitutes the framework for the formulation of the culture's educational policies. Educational 'institutions' formulate policies which are consistent with the cultural value system. The educational policies are formed within the conceptual framework of the scientific paradigm, by way of the cultural belief systems and cultural values . In reproducing the myths of the cultural belief systems, schools foster the traditional American values of capitalism, materialism and consumerism, of hierarchy and success, of moralism and control. Referred to as the 'hidden curriculum', the obligatory instruction of the cultural values has been promoted with authoritarian teaching methodologies and 'philosophies'. For the individual in the cultural context of 'schooling', he is expected to conform to the cultural values. Instead of fostering the individual's self-reliance and hope for his own future, school authorities want the individual to meet their own 'expectations'. Instead of fostering the individual's self-responsibility, they cultivate his sense of dependence on authorities and experts.
For the individual in the cultural context of 'schooling', he is expected to conform to the cultural values. Instead of fostering the individual's self-reliance and hope for his own future, school authorities want the individual to meet their own 'expectations'. Instead of fostering the individual's self-responsibility, they cultivate his sense of dependence on authorities and experts. Instead of fostering the individial's sense of responsibility for his own future, they try to cultivate his unrealistic ambitions for 'professional' status in the consumer culture. Instead of fostering the individual's sense of integrity and health, they cultivate a 'competitive spirit' and life of stress. In their efforts to make the individual conform to the cultural values, they impose thought and behavior patterns which repress the individual's natural desire for learning, for growth and for independence. Instead of trusting the individual's human potential for intellectual and moral development, the school imposes requirements in the form of grades and 'performance' scores.With its demands for meaningless and passive learning, the school discourages creative and critical thinking. Imposing requirements have been imposed on students for their 'adaptation' and enculturation, the use of traditional methods have obscured the real challenges of living. Students have not been prepared for the demands of complex learning in a complex environment. Instead of fostering the individual's or critical consciousness or 'mindfulness', the school cultivates mindlessness. They have not been taught the positive aspects of moral responsibility to themselves. They have not been taught the real challenges involved in realizing their personal hopes and dreams. They have been deprived of the experience of the real joys of learning. With its function of reproducing the cultural values, the educational system neglects to prepare each individual to lead his own life in a complex world. Instead of preparing the individual for his own future as a self-responsible social being, the institutions of education have prepared the individual as a 'contributing member of society.'
Focusing on the individual's preparation for adaptation to the society, the educational system neglect to foster the individual's innate capacities to adapt to a changing environments. Incapacitated individuals in a changing society constitute the human evidence of an anomalous social situation. The current educational 'crisis' is the obvious manifestation of an anomalous human situation which has existed for a long time. The anomaly cannot be ignored any more - it has reached 'crisis' proportions. In keeping with the Protestant ethic, social problems are perceived in terms of the individual's own lack of moral responsibility. Social problems are discussed in terms of possible solutions and 'scenarios'. Attempts are made to resolve them through the implementation of discipline and enforcement of the 'law'. Social problems are not understood in terms of possible deficiencies inherent in the cultural institutions. Social reforms are perceived in terms of the individual's moral responsibility to initiate changes. Social reforms are not perceived in terms of necessary institutional changes. For the individual in the cultural context of capitalism, the educational system is a reflection of the belief systems underlying the cultural values. In the educational institutions, attempts are made to 'help' the individual to cultivate a sense of moral responsibility. For the individual, environmental change is manifest in the global economic and political changes. The individual in the context of American culture is required to adapt to the changing demands of a capitalistic society. In keeping with the theories of capitalism and the American educational 'tradition', the individual's instinctive spiritual striving for self-realization is not validated. The natural development of moral responsibility is discouraged. The life of contemplation and meditation is misunderstood. True spiritual freedom is not trusted. The self-expressive behavior of the natural human being is not trusted. The intuitive and emotional facets of human nature are restrained.
   The educational policies which were formulated in the paradigm of reductionist science are no longer compatible with the new global worldview. New educational policies need to be formulated on the basis of the new wholistic scientific paradigm. Studies in innovative pedagogical techniques have shown the effectiveness of placing the emphasis on issues of pedagogy and philosophy on the students and on the learning process. Truly innovative changes are those which have a liberating effect on both the teaching and the learning aspects of institutional education.They liberate the learner from the oppressive role of the teacher, the curriculum and the institution. Implementation of liberating pedagogies would bring about the humanization of institutionalized education. A prerequisite is the reexamination of the basic assumptions and values of the cultural belief systems which make up the contextual framework of the educational system. For the individual in the context of cultural oppression, humanization and even survival depend on the humanization of the cultural values. A shift is taking place in the dominant scientific worldview from the reductionist worldview to the wholistic worldview.Reductionist 'science' is being replaced by 'wholistic science'. The change in scientific worldview or 'paradigm' has far-reaching consequences on the cultural belief systems and in turn on the formulation of educational 'policy'. Wholistic science validates the subjective participation of the observer in the scientific process of inquiry.
The history of American education has been characterized by a continual search for a theoretical framework for an effective education practice. A theory-practice (praxis) based on the wholistic learning functioning of the brain could represent another alternative in the continuing search for a theoretical framework upon which to base an effective education practice. Evidence for a rational basis for a theory - practice based on brain functioning is provided by the findings of brain research. So-called brain-based learning involves the natural processing or 'thinking' functions of the brain. The natural functions of the brain are concerned with its special ability to search for meaning in the environment. As a product of millions of years of evolution through natural selection, the specialized brain functions have ensured the survival of the human species. For its millions of years of survival as a species, the human being has depended on the brain's ability to search for meaning in the environment. The brain's efficient evaluation of the environmental context of experience has depended on the natural selection of its characteristic complex thinking functions. The natural thinking processes constitute the brain's natural capacity for processing complex stimuli in the physical, social and cultural environment. The brain processes environmental stimuli which are in the field of focused attention and at the same time it processes those stimuli which are peripheral to it. Many environmental stimuli are perceived unconsciously by the brain and are processed at the subconscious level. The brain processes the focused stimuli within the context of the peripheral stmuli. The brain's interpretation of the focused stimuli depends on its subconscious interpretation of the peripheral stimuli. Stimuli in the field of focused attention are interpreted in ways which depend on the context of the interpretation of peripheral stimuli. The meanings attached to the peripheral stimuli determine the context in which the brain consciously processes environmental stimuli. Peripheral stimuli include those from both physical and social or 'cultural' environments.
Holistic science gives rise to new cultural belief systems and values. These are reproduced in the educational policies within the culture. Overall change is manifest in several characteristic trends in education. There is a trend away from fragmentation of knowledge and towards integration of knowledge areas. There is a trend away from the authoritarianism of 'science' and 'experts' and a trend towards the inner authority of the concience. There is a trend away from the value of the need to control and a trend towards the value of the need to trust 'humanity' and the human conscience or 'spirit'. There is an overall trend in the recognition and the cultivation of a wholistic paradigm and a global worldview. There is a trend away from the individual's cultural alienation and a trend towards the individual's cultural integration. In discussion and debate about 'education', there is a trend away from the 'individualistic' perspective and a trend towards the cultivation of the wholistic perspective. There is a trend away from competitiveness in learning and a trend towards cooperation and integration in the learning process. Overall there is a trend towards wholistic education. An innovative education based on a wholistic philosophy is valid because the learner is liberated from the authoritarianism of the teacher, the curriculum and the institution. The learner must be free to develop self-discipline, engage in self-directed learning and achieve self-actualization.

 

Love as a Metavalue: 'Mature Love'

       Unconditional love as a value which lies beyond the realm of sense and subjectivity... a 'meta value'...  an aspect of the mature mind... unconditional love as 'mature love' ... Within the context of maturity, love is the power by which the individual relates to the world through fellow human beings and  at the same time transcends the separateness of individual existence thus retaining  integrity or 'sanity' by uniting with others and becoming part of  something bigger.  Mature love'  is an emotion based on the biological instinct for human solidarity...  an emotion which results from the natural mutual interdependence of all human beings.  Mature love as human solidarity communicates security as  necessary condition for continued interest in the environment and the unfolding of human powers and  human potential (humanisation) in a process of normal psychological growth and development.  Optimal psychological growth and the proper development of human character,  personality, rational thought, confidence, courage and morality of rational conscience depends on the fulfillment of the instinctive biological need (metaneed) for mature love. Mature love of security is relationship with the other's wholeness as a human  being ... their  core of intrinsic human values or 'human core',  their 'humanness',  'humanity',  'humanhood'.  Mature love is granting the  full right to the natural unfolding of human powers ...  granting the right to cultivate one's  own humanity.  Mature love as the  affirmation of another's humanity is  'productive love' which is inseparable from 'labour' meaning 'to cultivate',  to foster growth,  to 'make something grow',  to care for ,  to feel responsible for  in the sense of 'ready to respond'. Mature love is 'responsible love' because it is inseparable from 'care' which implies a profound sense of 'responsibility'  as 'readiness to respond'. To love responsibly means to feel responsible for another's psychological growth and human development. Mature love is based on understanding or 'reason' and in this sense it  does not make any demands  nor depend on any conditions.  With no conditions attached, mature love  is  'unconditional love' and to love unconditionally is to express one's power to lov e ...  to actualise,  to concentrate this power on one person and to relate to their  human core as representing humankind. As the productive form of love, mature love is a force which can create the capacity for good will toward others. In facilitating growth and the cultivation of humanity mature love is a transforming experience which promotes mutual understanding.  Mature love  is  'universal love' because it implies love for all humanity. Mature love combines care with respect and  knowledge and so is genuine ,  wise and unselfish... in contrast to the irresponsible love of  overprotectiveness, possessiveness  and sentimentality.  Mature love is 'spiritual love' or 'agape' because it is required for complete spiritual development...  development of moral consciousness or morality of the rational 'conscience' or 'human spirit'.   Mature love is an act of courage, freedom, humility, requiring an intense faith in the individual's instinctive vocation to become more fully human... faith in the 'human personality' or 'human nature'. Manifestation of mature  love depends on knowledge which is shared through dialogue or 'dialogical knowledge'.  Hence the necessity for participatory education or 'holistic education'.                

  Self-transcendence and the wisdom of compassion. 

      Love is the capacity to transcend oneself and relate to one's fellow human beings by connecting to their human core. Within this context of maturity, love is the emotion of human solidarity, acknowledgement of the 'goodness' of a person's humanity, recognition of a person's wholeness is known as 'universal love',  'productive love', 'spiritual love',  'agape' (Greek) and  also defined as mature responsible love with no conditions attached or 'unconditional love'. Within the context of maturity, love as 'mature love'  is an emotion based on the biological instinct for human solidarity which results from the natural mutual interdependence of human beings and which communicates security necessary for normal human growth and interest in the environment. This mature love as human solidarity is a necessary condition for the unfolding of the individual's human powers. Mature love is cultivation of the other's wholeness, their 'humanness', humanhood' or 'humanity'.  Mature love as the  affirmation of another's humanity is the productive form of love ... a productive force because it is a transforming experience and creates the capacity for good will toward others.  Good will promotes growth and mutual understanding. Mature love is love with respect and  knowledge and so it is wise and unselfish love,  genuine love. Mature love is  universal love because it implies love for all  of humankind.  Mature love is responsible love because it is inseparable from understanding or 'reason' and cultivation or 'labour' meaning 'to cultivate',  to foster growth,  to 'make something grow', to care for,  to feel responsible for  in the sense of 'ready to respond' to another's psychological growth and human development. Love in this sense does not make any demands nor depend on any conditions; no conditions are attached.  In contrast to selfish immature love, mature love is 'unconditional love'.    To love unconditionally is to to express the power to love... to relate to a person's human core ... to relate to the person... concentrate this power on one person as representing humankind. "To love a person productively means to relate to his human core, to him as representing mankind." (Fromm Man for Himself 101)..
     The need for unconditonal love is a biological need. Unconditional love is required for optimal psychological growth and development of intrinsic spirituality... the spiritual too for living...  which is moral consciousness (intrinsic spirituality) or 'conscience'.  Development of the human conscience is a function of the integrated development of personality and character in the context of inner freedom. Deprivation of unconditional love results in emotional immaturity and psychological ill health of neurotic growth  or 'neurosis'. The result is fear and hatred of dysfunctional and  irrational conscience which becomes the source of human wickedness or 'evil'.  We can fight evil with education for human empowerment  ... education based on the biological need for human solidarity which communicates security necessary for complete human development i.e. love without conditions or  'unconditional love'.  Survival of the human species depends on mature unconditional love because this is the  condition required for development of the 'human spirit'  as a tool for living i.e. the rational conscience. Education for development of conscience is based on  the instinctive biological need for unconditional love ... mature love as affirmation of the person's wholeness... their humanity... their productive character orientation which is the basis for freedom, for virtue and for happiness...  hence the need for 'holistic education'.  

Human Survival Depends on Social Intelligence

The human organism is a social organism which depends for survival and adaptation on social intelligence. Human adaptability is successful if it is based on the value-life. As a social organism, the human organism has a complex range of instinctive human motives or 'human needs'. These must be fulfilled for proper growth and development to full human awareness or 'humanness' and the peaceful functioning of human societies. Human needs are psychological and spiritual as well as physiological. The physiological needs are those needs which are related to physical growth. Psychological needs are those needs related to psychological growth. There are the basic or 'lower' psychological needs for security and the 'higher' psychological needs for moral consciousness or 'conscience'. The different psychological needs are all interrelated. The 'lower' basic needs are the so-called 'security needs' for safety, belongingness and self-esteem also known as the 'ego needs'. The 'higher' needs are the so-called 'growth needs' or 'spiritual needs'... needs for development of rational conscience through spiritual growth and transcendance of the ego...  'ego-transcendance'. The most urgent or 'prepotent' is the need for freedom from fear and anxiety.... the need for safety or 'security'. Security needs include the need to admire an ideal and to strive for perfection. Security is communicated through loving care and a sense of 'belongingness'...  need for human solidarity which communicates security... parental love without conditions attached... 'unconditional love' or 'spiritual love'. Unconditional love is derived from the human instinct for human solidarity and communicates the security, approval, respect, esteem and sense of belongingness... basic to faith in the persistence of the self, respect and approval of one's identity and expectations of oneself i.e. 'self-respect' or 'self-esteem'. Fulfillment of the ego needs establishes a natural condition of self-identity or 'healthy ego' which is required for normal healthy psychological growth...  mature growth or 'self-actualisation'.  The process of self-actualisation leads to intuitive intelligence or 'social intelligence' as a function of fully expanded awareness of the social values of humanness ... truth, justic, beauty, compassion... which are instrumental in creative and effective adaptation to changing social conditions.