Review of The polarized mind: Why it's killing us and what we can do about it.

Abstract

In The Polarized Mind, Kirk Schneider presents an insightful and provocative exploration of what many of us might call the problem of human evil, the denigration and violence committed against others in the pursuit of a ''noble'' cause. Although Schneider employs existential and humanistic language rather than theological language, the topic of the book is related to the Christian theological construct of theodicy, that is, the paradox between the beauty and majesty that surrounds in nature and the cosmos and the violence and mayhem that have characterized human history across time.In Part I, Schneider analyzes the social and historical preconditions that precede violence and atrocities perpetrated against others in world history. By examining mythological, scriptural, and historical accounts, including the mass killings of Muslims and Jews in medieval Spain, the exploitation of India by the British Empire, the Stalinist era in Russia of violence against dissenters, Imperial Japan in the conquest of China, the Third Reich in Germany in the genocide of Jews and gypsies, and Maoist China in the execution of political dissidents, he concludes that the demonization of others is the result of a polarized mind in society and individuals that prefers black-and-white thinking to confronting the existential realities of life especially when life as it is feels especially fragile. According to Schneider: Existential anxiety is not just the fear of physical death but the fear of the implications of physical death. Existing in a universe that has no calculable end and no calculable beginning-that is a radical mystery. It is terror of our bewildering fragility, our nothingness before the vastness of space and time, and our steady transformation from matter to inexplicable dust. Trauma, shock, and disruption all signal us to this incomprehensible state of affairs. (p. 8)Although the linking of demonization with violence is familiar, especially for those of us who read the newspapers during the Vietnam War and witnessed the ongoing characterization of the Correspondence should be addressed to Rosemarie Anderson,

Participating in Paradox: An Integrative Framework

“…63-69), Frankl's (1960 logotherapeutic technique of "paradoxical intention," and existential psychotherapy's "paradox of primal integration," which aims to contact and release the real self" (Rowan, 2001, p. 103). Moreover, appreciation of paradox is central to "the paradox principle" (Schneider, 2015), social polarization (Schneider, 2013(Schneider, , 2020, the dialectical process and paradox of transformation (Hart, 2000(Hart, , 2009, acceptance and commitment therapy, the empirically rich research base of self-determination theory (see Deci & Ryan, 2008;DeRobertis & Bland, 2018, and the experiential liberation (or ontological freedom) of the existential-integrative approach, where clients are "supported to 'reoccupy' (e.g., embody) the parts of themselves that have been denied" (Schneider, 2008, p. 38). Similarly, paradox integration is foundational to the body-centered psychotherapy method of Hakomi (Kurtz, 1990(Kurtz, /2015, which focuses on the organization of experience (i.e., whether there is a presence, or lack, of communication, integration, and coherence of an individual's parts in relation to their whole).…”

“…The first features the denial of the existence of ontological paradox, meaning that the two poles that it takes to constitute an ontological paradox are not recognized, for one term is affirmed and the other denied. In existential-humanistic psychology terms, the L2-D1 form involves a "denial of mystery" that leads to polarization and hyperconstriction (Schneider, 1990(Schneider, , 2013(Schneider, , 2015. L2-D2, on the other hand, recognizes two poles but denies their compatibility, for it affirms the existence of paradox (Pillar 1) though denies its resolvability (Pillar 2).…”

Using context-centered and person-centered therapies to unite a divided nation.

“…This is in sharp contrast to the penchant in many psychotherapy circles, as well as in our political discourse, where there remains a strong pull to disabuse people of their irrational beliefs, "call them out," and "set them straight" (Beck, 1979;Ellis & Ellis, 2011). Again, making our adversaries wrong may permit us to feel superior and temporarily escape awareness of our mortality and insignificance in the cosmos (Becker, 1973;Greenberg et al, 1986;Schneider, 2013), but it very likely discourages them from reconsidering their positions. By comparison, context-centered and person-centered therapies substitute love and acceptance for blame and recrimination.…”

“…Thus, we insist that our view is right and all others wrong. Drawing on existential theory (Becker, 1973) and its later incorporation into terror management theory (Florian & Mikulincer, 1997;Greenberg et al, 1986;Hart, 2019;Lewis, 2014), Schneider (2013) sees polarization as a reaction to humanity's inexorable dilemma-namely, that we humans are small and insignificant, our existences are inherently meaningless, and we are desperately fearful of and frantic to avoid the imminence of our own deaths. Polarized thinking serves as a defense against feelings of smallness and insignificance in the universe.…”

Review of Profiles of personality: Integration, paradox, and the process of becoming (2nd ed.).

“…In textbooks for upper-division courses, including personality, the scientistic monoculture continues-and, in most cases, it endures into graduate school and beyond. Thus, natural science psychology enacts a pattern reflective of Schneider's (2013Schneider's ( , 2019 polarized mind, in which one point of view is elevated "to the utter exclusion of competing points of view" (Schneider, 2013, p. 1).…”