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 %SCIENTIST OBJECTIVE BIAS EMOTION ADDICT DISHONEST 900605

     The  emotional  lives  of addicts  are  dominated  by
emotions  associated with games of mutual self  deception.
Many  of  the  emotions  of addicts have to  do  with  the
tension  of  trying to appear to be other  than  what  one
really  is.    One  can get  emotional  highs  from  being
successful  in  deception,  and one can get highs from the
excitement   of  the  danger  inherent  in  trying  to  be
successful   in  deception.    The  emotional  lives   and
satisfactions  of the addict are quite different than  the
emotional lives and satisfactions of healthy people.

     The  lives  of  addicts are full  of  misleading  and
dishonest behavior.   Addicts pretend not to have emotions
which  they  do have,  and pretend to have emotions  which
they  do  not have.   Emotional pretense is  essential  to
winning  points  in their games of mutual self  deception.
Emotional  pretense is also essential to maintaining  some
minimal  amount of self respect within the confused  world
of  addicts'  games of mutual self deception.   In such an
emotional  context  it  is hard to have much  respect  for
emotions.   Emotions  may naturally be regarded  as  being
unreliable.

     Some  addicts  have  found that they  can  rely  upon
procedures which help them to avoid emotional involvement.
They  do not trust any emotions because the only  emotions
with  which  they   are familiar are  addictive  emotions.
They  are  not familiar with healthy emotions  enjoyed  by
participants  in healthy  intimate  relationships.   In an
effort  to  find something  which  they  can  trust   they
seek   to    avoid  emotional relationships  and  turn  to
impersonal  things  as the focus of  their  relationships;
for  it  is  possible to relate to things  in  unemotional
ways.     Young  people  whose  family  lives  have   been
emotionally  impoverished  or have  involved them  in  the
unhealthy  emotions of addictive relationships  thus   may
turn  to  scientific work  as  an  escape  from unreliable
emotions.     They seek security in objectivity,   because
they  have not enjoyed security within the context of  any
emotionally rich relationships.

     Addictive   personalities   who  seek   security   in
objectivity continue to be addicted;  they become addicted
to objectivity and pure research.  They become involved in
addictive  games of mutual self deception which  say  that
there  is no bias in objectivity and that all truth  which
can  be known is objective truth.   They lead  emotionally
impoverished  lives because they seek to avoid  unreliable
emotions;  i.e.,  all emotions,  for they are not familiar
with any reliable emotions.

     Scientists  by  and  large are not  open  and  honest
regarding their motivations; not with themselves, not with
others.    Scientists who are addicted to being  objective
cannot  trust themselves or others to deal with their  own
or  each other's motivations;  for to do so would  involve
them in emotional relationships which they do not know how
to deal with.   They do not have emotional coping  skills.
They  do  not know how to maintain their integrity  within
the  context  of emotionally rich relationships,  so  they
stay out of emotionally rich relationships.

     Physicists who involved themselves in the project  of
building  the first atomic bombs did not deal  emotionally
with the likely human consequences of their creative work.
They  pretended  that  the  whole  project  was  primarily
objective   in  character,   refusing  to  think  of   the
inevitable  human  suffering due  to  scientific   success
through  the  inevitable military use  of  the  fruits  of
their scientific success.

     We  will not transcend our crises in the  growth  and
use  of science and technology until we learn how to  deal
with   the   multitude  of  different  manifestations   of
addiction.    Our crises related to science education  and
the  use of  science,  are crises generated  by  addictive
behaviors.    We will transcend such crises only  when  we
start  to deal with them in ways which are emotionally and
intellectually honest.   That will not be possible so long
as  our  leading  scientists continue to  be  addicted  to
objectivity as the primary key to transcending bias.

                                                                                                                               
                         (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in      
                    (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)  
                                                                                                                               
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