Related Words, Beliefs, Background for Choice #3

                            Worldview Theme #1A: Humbly Unsure                Worldview Theme #2B: I Know What's Best for You

      for summary read these 5 entries: values /value judgment, values clarification, humility, humility and tolerance,
humility & spirituality & religion            

for summary read these 5 entries in order given: unsolicited advice, persuasive communication techniques, leadership, lobbyist, ethnocentrism 

advertising—involves those (individuals, corporations, etc) seeking buyers / users for their products / services communicating with potential consumers with marketing messages directed at them.  Those is a colossal big business! In 2020 USA media advertising expenditures were estimated to total $ 263 billion  -- roughly 35% of all advertising dollars spent worldwide.

articulate--well-spoken , characterized by clear and appropriate use of language

attitude--a characteristic evaluative orientation and / or response tendency toward something previously experienced or encountered.  The associated evaluation can be positive (like), negative (dislike), or neutral  (no opinion.)  Beyond this evaluation--which may or may not be directly communicated--observing the particular response allows more about the underlying attitude to be inferred. Attitudes form based on inputs from three domains: 1) cognitive (thoughts, beliefs), 2) affective (emotions, feelings), and 3) conative (volition, action tendency or disposition).

attitude change, factors in--generally people's attitudes change for various reasons, including 1) as a result of  learning, 2) in response to reasoned persuasion directed at them, 3) in response to an emotional appeal directed at them, and 4) to relieve tension by reducing or eliminating a perceived inconsistency or cognitive dissonance.  A corollary of this is that attitude change is less likely to occur when such consistency is already present.

cajole--to coax, urge, wheedle; blandish: coax by flattery

complementarity -- the notion that there can be two equally good, complementary but mutually exclusive, even contradictory descriptions or explanations of something. More fully understanding the reality of the something can involve simultaneously embracing both of these complementary representations, often allowing opposing beliefs to peacefully coexist together inside one’s head! From ancient China, the yin and yang provide the archetypes of complementary, polar opposites. Chinese thinkers have sought to explain all natural phenomena and human behavior in terms of a complementary representation involving the dynamic interplay of opposites. A modern physics complementarity example involves conceiving of light as both a particle and a wave. 

dubious-- doubtful, uncertain, questionable

equivocal --uncertain, questionable, undecided

ethnocentrism -- adopting the social standards of one’s own culture or ethnic group as the basis for evaluating the social practices, customs, beliefs, etc. of another culture -- and doing so because you believe your society’s values and way of living are superior to those of other cultures.

evangelism -- involving a militant or crusading zeal, for example, evangelical Christians efforts to convert others to Christianity. According to Rick Warren, that was one of God's purposes in creating human life.

evangelicalism, new--a Christian activist movement that broadens evangelicalism beyond its past focus on converting others to Christianity, pro-life and other issues important to the religious right, to also include pro-poor, pro-social justice issues important to the left. This "new social gospel" brings with it a global perspective

Godel's theorem--based on the 1930s' work of Austrian mathematician Kurt Godel, the theorem has the effect of inserting unavoidable doubt in mathematics / undermining its logical foundation by asserting that there exist  mathematical propositions for which it is impossible to determine whether they are true or false.

hubris --excessive, arrogant pride or self-confidence 

human imperfection--To be human is to be: an imperfect creature; unwhole or broken  (original sin?); one who falls short; one who trespasses; one who is rejected by others.   Examples:  1) Jesus' healing around Nazareth was limited by unbelief (Mark 6)   2)  Mother  Teresa doubts and agonizes over God's existence  3) Einstein's put down of quantum mechanics → his being put down   

humility -- associated with being humble. According to Alan Morinis this involves “limiting oneself to an appropriate amount of space while leaving room for others.”  Weaving humility into relating to other people means valuing an orientation that proclaims, “I don't have all the answers and I want your contribution.” Embracing humility, according to Gary Zukov, means embracing the “harmlessness of one who treasures and honors and reveres life in all its forms”.

humility and science--Twentieth century scientific advances--in quantum mechanics and chaos theory--underscore that both a fundamental doubt exists in nature and that scientists' ability to use physical laws and make accurate predictions of events is inherently limited.  Not only do all scientific measurements have an uncertainty (or built-in error) based on the instrumentation used to make them, but quantum mechanics' uncertainty principle asserts that it is meaningless to attempt to, without error, pin down the exact values of various physical quantities (such as the position and speed of an object).  Chaos, in the words of John Briggs and F. David Peat, "as a metaphor has a built-in humility that previous scientific metaphors did not...it is as much about what we can't know as it is about certainty and fact."

humility and tolerance--starting from the idea that humility involves limiting the "space" one takes up and leaving room for others, one can extend this to include leaving room for others to hold beliefs that differ from one's own, i.e. tolerance.  Those who feel this way may also value the notion that no one has the right to impose their beliefs on others.  

humility, spirituality, and religion--many seeking inner peace value humility.  Buddhists believe that enlightenment is only possible after one has become humble.  Some Christians conceive of it in terms of submitting to God. 

ignorance, two types of -- -- a distinction between types of ignorance: problems vs. mysteries (first made by linguist Noam Chomsky). A problem solving approach can be employed to better understand what we already know at least something about, whereas those things that are totally bewildering can be considered unfathomable mysteries that we can only stand in awe of. Whereas the scientific method focuses on problems, mysteries are the stuff of religion. A long-term goal of science is to steadily incorporate more and more phenomena once considered mysteries into its framework of understanding.

interpersonal communication effectiveness, behavioral model--according to this model the effective communicator 1) has social confidence, 2) creates a sense of togetherness, 3) controls and monitors the interaction so that both speaker and listener(s) are satisfied, 4) expresses a feeling of genuine involvement, and 5) is attentive to, listens, elicits, adapts to and is concerned with the needs and feelings of the audience.

interpersonal communication effectiveness, humanistic model-- according to this model the effective communicator possesses these qualities: 1) openness--besides disclosing his or her thoughts and feelings, this includes taking responsibility for them and reacting honestly to feedback others provide,  2) empathy, 3) supportiveness--includes being tentative rather than certain, and accepting or descriptive rather than judgmental, 4) positiveness --both in one's own attitude but also in providing others with positive reinforcement, and 5) the ability to communicate as an equal and to give others "unconditional positive regard" (as humanistic psychology founder Carl Rogers put it.)

intervention philosophy--the rationale or ideological justification guiding imperialistic conquest, colonialism, or missionary activity.  

leadership--the capacity to lead, influence, and affect the behavior of others.  Charismatic leaders motivate and inspire others to accomplish (sometimes extraordinary) things that they otherwise wouldn't do.  Such leaders communicate their vision and attract followers by infusing them with energy and eagerness for undertaking a particular mission.

lobbyist--a person paid to act on behalf of a particular corporation, union, organization, etc. in aggressively promoting their agenda to elected representatives or those in positions of power in governments.  In some  democracies (like the United States), lobbyists help funnel campaign contributions to politicians--which often subvert the will of the people critics charge.

micromanaging -- refers to the inability of a person in charge to delegate decision-making to others but instead to intervene with them in a way that involves controlling or directing in a detailed, sometimes nit-picking, usually  meddlesome manner. On the plus side, such behavior lets subordinates know that "the boss" cares about how things are done and is there to help when needed, and such intervention can help in coaching or mentoring employees. On the downside, micromanaging can lead to unmotivated, discouraged employees who feel their abilities are not being respected, and can foster a climate of distrust. Perhaps more importantly, in attempting to do other people's jobs and paying too much attention to small details, "the boss" can spread himself or herself too thin and miss bigger, more important things elsewhere.

persuasive communication techniques--In trying to convince someone of the value of something you hold dear, to persuade means to coax. Blatant coaxing or pleading may not particularly effective. Better approaches depend on the nature of what is communicated, but in general a Yale University research study in search of the best approach found that 1) messages should not appear to be designed to persuade; 2) both sides of arguments should be presented, with the "wrong" argument being refuted; 3) if two people are to speak, one immediately following the other, going first is preferred (based on the primacy effect from psychology);  4) if two people are to speak, with a time delay in between, going last is preferred (based on the recency effect from psychology).

practice what you preach -- a proverbial admonition that urges you to do yourself what you advise others to do, or more generally to behave according to your otherwise enunciated beliefs and values.  If the gulf between the reality of your behavior and your ideals is great then you may be criticized (by yourself or others) for being a hypocrite, and  your self esteem and / or effectiveness at motivating others may suffer. 

probability / random events--the likelihood of a particular outcome occurring. In certain cases, this can be computed by dividing the number of ways the event can occur by the number of total outcomes possible.. Example: in the roll of a die (singular of dice!) the probability of rolling the number three is 1 divided by 6 = 16.7 % or .167. A probability of 100 % or 1.00 means it is absolutely certain that a particular outcome will occur. The concept of probability is intimately connected to that of events that happen at random--meaning with no predictable pattern (at least with respect to knowing for sure what will happen next).

propaganda -- broadly speaking, information that is designed and disseminated as part of a concerted effort to influence what individuals believe or want, and manipulate public opinion and desires.

prophet--an inspired person who supposedly speaks the word of God or communicates divine revelation

provisional--characterized by an open-minded, tentative attitude that indicates willingness to consider various viewpoints, be persuaded by reasonable arguments, and to tolerate differences.

pusher --a derogatory term referring to someone who consciously makes an effort to hook someone on an addictive product or behavior -- including a consumerist lifestyle. With respect to this latter possibility, one can argue that the most massive pusher effort in history involves the nearly impossible to escape advertising messages of multinational corporations trying to hook individuals on wanting and continually spending money on things that they don’t really need.

reverence and humility--reverence--defined as "profound respect mingled with love and awe"--requires humility argues UU minister Phillip Hewett.  To feel reverent, he writes, necessitates that "you are humble enough to see yourself as a modest part of a greater whole, not the pivot around which it revolves."

salesmanship /  marketing —the practice of selling / marketing a product or service that either one typically produces or offers, or more commonly, on behalf of the owner or provider. Words of Wisdom from Marketing's Great Success Stories include: 1) from Marshall Field: "The customer is always right!" (Field (1834-1906) or employee Harry Selfridge is usually credited with this.); 2) Sam Walton: "Exceed your customers expectations...Give them what they want—and a little more.  Let them know you appreciate them...Stand behind everything you do.  The two most important words I ever wrote were on that first Walmart sign: 'Satisfaction Guaranteed.'" (from Sam Walton —Made in America, by Sam Walton (1918-1992) with John Huey); 3)  Jeff Bezos: "Try to give your customers the biggest selection at the best prices, delivered cheaply and easily." (the mantra of Amazon's chief as paraphrased in Time May 12, 2008)

self-righteousness-- involves feeling morally superior based on value judgment that elevates one’s beliefs, actions, and affiliations above those of others. Such a feeling is often associated with intolerance.

social influence—is related to the ways individuals change their behavior to better fit into their social environment and its demands

taciturn--silent, not inclined to talk or communicate

uncertainty principle--practically applicable in the microscopic realm of physics, perfectly knowing both the position and the speed or momentum of a particle is impossible. This principle, first formulated in 1927 by Heisenberg and fundamental to quantum mechanics, can be explained by thought experiments in which one realizes that any attempt to pin down the exact position of a particle disturbs it and changes its position. Therefore the concept of scientists making perfect measurements is meaningless, all measurements have some associated uncertainty.

unsolicited advice—telling someone what they should do without their asking for your opinion or help.  If you have legitimate authority over the person  getting the advice (e.g. you’re his or her boss, teacher, doctor, etc) then your communication may be viewed as instructive, helpful, or supplying guidance (Although even then, carried to extreme it can be micromanaging.)  Otherwise this behavior may be thought of as meddlesome and may be fended off with a “Mind your own business!” admonition.  

values / value judgment --Values are abstract qualities, principles, beliefs, or aspects of behavior that a person or a whole society holds in high regard after making value judgments. These compare either something concrete (person, object, etc) or something abstract (quality, principle, etc) to some idealized standard. A value judgment is what bridges the gap between “what is” and “what ought to be”. Closely related is the act of valuing, which can be thought of as choosing (from alternatives) and taking appropriate action to acquire something (concrete or abstract) or hold onto it.