This is http://www.essayz.com/a9504082.htm Previous-Essay <== This-Essay ==> Following-Essay Click HERE on this line to find essays via Your-Key-Words. {Most frequent wordstarts of each essay will be put here.} ========================================================== %MEDICAL PARADIGM PROFESSION DISEASE AGENT BACTERIA+950408 %INFECTIOUS GERMS VIRUS MOLDS PROIONS DISEASES+950408 %DISINTEGRATIVE ATTITUDES ASSUMPTIONS IDEALS VALUES+950408 %WISE WISDOM ILLNESS CONFORM SIN EVIL GUILT SHAME 950408 The medical paradigm and professions become agents which promoted personal and communal health and integrity only as they develop an understanding of the dynamics of the interactions between human bodies and the common agents of human disease and disintegration such as: bacteria, viruses, molds and proions. The medical paradigm broke out of the restrictions imposed upon human thinking by the previous paradigms which imputed human ills and diseases primarily to mysterious consequences of human non-conformity, sin, evil behaviors, guilt and shame. In some mysterious way God or fiendish gods and angels of darkness presumably managed human diseases and illnesses to punish non-conformists, sin, evil behaviors, guilt and shame. The medical paradigm and professions have freed us from the darkness of previous confused ways of understanding human diseases and illnesses---but in their own ways they have restricted our thinking about the full range of the kinds of agents which occasion human diseases and disintegration. The agents which occasion human diseases and disintegration are not limited to bacteria, viruses, molds and proions which can be verified as being objectively real living micro-creatures. To deal wisely with many of the human diseases and illnesses we need to expand our recognition of, awareness of, naming, understanding, articulation and dialogue regarding additional kinds of agents which occasion human disease and disintegration. Not all agents of diseases and illnesses are objective realities. All diseases and illnesses have reflexive as well as objective aspects. It is only reasonable then to look for reflexive as well as objective agents of human diseases and illnesses. The dilemma which this poses to the medical paradigm and profession is that- --to the extent that they are compulsively committed to always being objective---they cannot lead the way towards perceiving, recognizing, naming, understanding and talking about reflexive kinds of agents which occasion human diseases and disintegration. Disintegrative ideals, values, attitudes, assumptions and traditions engender human diseases and illnesses when they lead people to sacrifice honesty, authenticity, clarity, openness, responsiveness, dialogue and intimacy upon the alters of such ideals, values, attitudes, assumptions and traditions. Tragic disintegrations of persons and communities are not usually the consequences of inadequate resources and/or technologies; but they are often the consequences of misleading ideals, values, attitudes, assumptions and traditions which engender dishonesty, deception, confusion, secrecy, withdrawal, excommunications, coercion, manipulation, controls and violence---the reflexive agents which play central roles in undermining human immune systems abilities to ward off the diseases and illnesses which are generated by the presence of bacteria, viruses, molds and proions within human bodies. We need to attend to the ways in which the presence of misleading ideals, values, attitudes, assumptions and traditions within persons and communities engender dishonesty, deception, confusion, secrecy, withdrawal, excommunications, coercion, manipulation, controls and violence---which in turn undermine our immune systems' abilities to transcend the presence within us of bacteria, viruses, molds, proions and other objective agents of disease and illnesses. We need to attend to many kinds of reflexive realities which put us ill-at-ease and so occasion our illnesses and dis-eases. The following words and phrases may suggest where we will do well to turn our attention if we want to be well and do well in dealing with our debilitative reflexive realities: 1. Believing we can, may be and/or should be in control of human beings. 2. Regarding conformity as grounds for acceptance. 3. Regarding non-conformity as grounds for rejection. 4. Regarding non-conformity as the essence of evil. 5. Regarding conformity as the essence of goodness. 6. Fixating upon human imperfections and the fixing of them. 7. Focusing upon coercive prescriptions, rather than upon open and honest descriptions. 8. Seeking human perfection, rather than open and honest dialogue. 9. Valuing sophisticated systems, rather than humane creativity. 10. Regarding technologies as short-term-guides in choosing the goals, ideals and values to serve as long- term-guides. 11. Seeking to achieve a false security through invulnerability---rather than giving gifts of true security through our own being vulnerable. 12. Acting like the we believe the transcendent creator of the cosmos should act on our behalf, rather than like the limited creatures we are in truth. With these considerations in mind we need to spend more time being attuned to the ways in which our reflexive agents of disintegration undermine our personal, spiritual and communal integrities---so that we cannot live healthy lives with a few objective agents of disease in our bodies. Not all important aspects of our lives are objective in character. Many of the reflexive aspects of our lives play important roles in promoting or undermining our well being and/or being ill-at-ease, dis-eased. (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy) ==========================================================