Sunday, September 17, 2017

All subjective labels are assigned within the context of a narrative

A narrative is the story assembled by a human brain that provides the framework for understanding reality and interactions with it.  A person's beliefs and values form the basis for their narrative.  Beliefs and values are, in turn, derived from fundamental cravings, which can also be thought of as impulses or urges.  These cravings are a function of brain structure and chemistry. 

Creating and updating a narrative is an innate function of the human brain.  New information, something seen or read for example, is compared against these beliefs and values, judged, and placed within the narrative.

A belief or value can be changed only to the extent that the new one is compatible with the fundamental cravings.

Organizations (e.g., corporations and governments) develop, communicate and promote narratives to gain alignment of thought and action among its members, and to minimize dissent.

Individuals and governments assign labels to support their narrative.  A label is a characterization or description of a thing or action that does not describe a physical property.  The concept of "truth" does not apply to labels (e.g., one person's "freedom fighter" is another person's "terrorist").

The "truth" of a label is generally gauged by majority opinion concerning a particular belief or value.

What holds true for an individual also holds true for organizations with coercive power.

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