MN Senator Hubert H. Humphrey was once described as having more solutions than there were problems… Of course many of Humphrey’s solutions created more problems some call this “The Problem that Doesn’t Exist Cycle.”
If I could imprint one single word on the psyches of Minnesotans, it would be “iatrogenic”. If there was a single idea, it would be “pathological altruism”.
Two books, written in 2012 didn’t make it on my radar until 2020. Pathological Altruism and Anti Fragile – Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder.
These books share a common implicit theme of iatrogenesis or causing harm while trying to fix something. They perfectly illustrate how love of new things (neophilism) often combine with good intentions to disastrous effect.
Pathological Altruism
Wikipedia: Pathological Altruism | Book
Barbara Oakley, American professor of engineering at Oakland University and McMaster University, is such a stunningly good editor that I’ve purchased every book she’s written or edited.
Pathological Altruism is an idea I’d been trying to put my finger on for decades to describe Minnesota Politics and State Government.
Especially, in regard to Women and Black Indigenous People of Color. We implement feel good policies such as the Duluth Model that are supposed to help but end up causing harm by destroying the men in families.
Anti Fragile – Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder
Wikipedia: Anti Fragile | Book
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, is a mathematical statistician, former option trader, risk analyst, and aphorist whose work concerns problems of randomness, probability, and uncertainty. Antifragility as a concept has been applied in physics, risk analysis, molecular biology, transportation planning, engineering, Aerospace (NASA), megaproject management, and computer science.
Curiously, I’ve not found one example of anti fragility applied in Minnesota Government.
Anti Fragile systems benefit from shocks; thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors, risk, uncertainty and perhaps most importantly they respond to feedback.
Minnesota’s elites are neophilic and most are certainly infected with the woke_mind_virus.
New things are only good, the new policy we’re rushing will solve everything, forever, and anyone against it are ignorant anti-science denialists who hate Women and BIPOC Children who want to kill your grandmother.
Unfortunately, the taboo nature of Women and BIPOC’s shared Issues blocks any feedback mechanism. The feel good nature of these policies based on luxury ideas cause Pathologically Altruistic Iatrogenic Neophilist (P.A.I.N.) Policies.
These P.A.I.N. policies sound so great on the surface they can never be questioned once passed.
That’s basically the article, both of these books are fantastic. Below I’ve put some more in depth descriptions.
More:
Natalie Angier called the book a “scholarly yet surprisingly sprightly volume.” Writing in The New York Times,
pathological altruism is not limited to showcase acts of self-sacrifice… The book is the first comprehensive treatment of the idea that when ostensibly generous ‘how can I help you?’ behavior is taken to extremes, misapplied or stridently rhapsodized, it can become unhelpful, unproductive and even destructive. Selflessness gone awry may play a role in a broad variety of disorders, including anorexia and animal hoarding, women who put up with abusive partners and men who abide alcoholic ones. Because a certain degree of selfless behavior is essential to the smooth performance of any human group, selflessness run amok can crop up in political contexts. It fosters the exhilarating sensation of righteous indignation, the belief in the purity of your team and your cause and the perfidiousness of all competing teams and causes.
“The benefits of altruism and empathy are obvious. These qualities are so highly regarded and embedded in both secular and religious societies that it seems almost heretical to suggest they can cause harm.
Like most good things, however, altruism can be distorted or taken to an unhealthy extreme.
Pathological Altruism presents a number of new, thought-provoking theses that explore a range of hurtful effects of altruism and empathy.
Pathologies of empathy, for example, may trigger depression as well as the burnout seen in healthcare professionals. The selflessness of patients with eating abnormalities forms an important aspect of those disorders. Hyperempathy – an excess of concern for what others think and how they feel – helps explain popular but poorly defined concepts such as codependency.
In fact, pathological altruism, in the form of an unhealthy focus on others to the detriment of one’s own needs, may underpin some personality disorders.
Pathologies of altruism and empathy not only underlie health issues, but also a disparate slew of humankind’s most troubled features, including genocide, suicide bombing, self-righteous political partisanship, and ineffective philanthropic and social programs that ultimately worsen the situations they are meant to aid.
Pathological Altruism is a groundbreaking new book – the first to explore the negative aspects of altruism and empathy, seemingly uniformly positive traits.
The contributing authors provide a scientific, social, and cultural foundation for the subject of pathological altruism, creating a new field of inquiry.
Each author’s approach points to one disturbing truth: what we value so much, the altruistic “good” side of human nature, can also have a dark side that we ignore at our peril.”
- The psychology of pathological altruism
- Psychiatric implications of pathological altruism
- Societal implications of pathological altruism
- Cultural and evolutionary dimensions of pathological altruism
- The development and underlying brain processes of pathological altruism
- Synthesis of views on pathological altruism
