sheila,
It is a "dicipline fo psychology." Also, I love how you do not address what I said about evil but chose to only take one part of the sentence.
humanism is foremost a philosophical ideology developed in the renaissance with various ideas up to this day. i agree with several humanistic ideals but view some ideas as too unscientific. thats why i asked how you define a humanist.
you are talking about humanistic psychology, quite a different thing.
i am sure a holisitc treatment is good for the patient and might gain better results than a purely scientific approach BUT humanisitc psychology does not attempt to understand the underlying (neuronal) causes. therefore it is really only a method for treatment and not of much scientific value.
Also, I love how you do not address what I said about evil but chose to only take one part of the sentence.
since you edited quite a bit i am not sure what you mean but i assume you refer to this paragraph:
Funny my psych teacher did her entire graduate degree in a ward with schizophrenics. Even she knows there is a difference between a psychological condition and evil. Yes, the brain is a complex, and wonderous organ. But there is more to the brain them even science or psychiatrists know. There are many, many questions. You can make the excuse of illness all you want. But there are those that there is no brain injury or difference in the brain but they are killers.
ok maybe we should get to the bottom of what causes us to make decisions. it is action potentials fired by certain neurons. is there a spirit telling the neuronal networks which neurons should fire? obviously not. it is a extremely complex network which itegrates external as well as internal imputs. change external imputs or internal imputs (over or underexpression of neurotransmitters, hormones etc.) and you will get changes in behavior.
in "normal" people the networks work in a way that allows such individuals to function properly in society. in a criminal mind something is not working "correctly". it does not have to be a macroscopic damage to the brain or an easily observable neuronal disease. it is sufficient to have altered neuronal communications. missing neurons, too active or too inactive neurons in one region, too much adrenalin, not enough endorphines or whatever.
the brain is indeed highly complex and not all interactions are understood but one thing is clear ....there is no such thing as evil. it is a biochemical, neuronal imbalance (or abnormailty) in the neuronal networks that causes individuals to do harmful things to others.
Yes, I really hate when someone makes a judment on a case without knowing what is said at the trial. So you have no idea what happened except by what the media said right, you didn't watch the trial. As a "scientist" you would be kicked to the curb, if you did this in your lab. How can one debate what one has NO idea about. You didn't watch her demenour, you did not listen to what she said.
LOL i like how you tell me what "scientists" do and don't do! actually scientists develop theories based on available data and logic. my only available data stems from the media so excuse me! also did i or didn't i asked about the trial in order to get a better understanding?
besides that...the point remains that capital punishment (as demanded by many here) is not a civilized answer to any crime. and our discussion did hardly border on this specific trial but was directed on general aspects.
