Thought Reform And The Psychology Of Totalism

Author : Robert Jay Lifton
Publisher : UNC Press Books
ISBN 13 : 0807882887
Total Pages : 525 pages
Book Rating : 4.87/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism written by Robert Jay Lifton and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 525 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Informed by Erik Erikson's concept of the formation of ego identity, this book, which first appreared in 1961, is an analysis of the experiences of fifteen Chinese citizens and twenty-five Westerners who underwent "brainwashing" by the Communist Chinese government. Robert Lifton constructs these case histories through personal interviews and outlines a thematic pattern of death and rebirth, accompanied by feelings of guilt, that characterizes the process of "thought reform." In a new preface, Lifton addresses the implications of his model for the study of American religious cults.

Author : Robert Jay Lifton
Publisher : UNC Press Books
ISBN 13 : 9780807842539
Total Pages : 528 pages
Book Rating : 4.32/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism written by Robert Jay Lifton and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 1989 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism: A Study of 'brainwashing' in China

Author : Robert Jay Lifton
Publisher : The New Press
ISBN 13 : 1620975122
Total Pages : 142 pages
Book Rating : 4.21/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Losing Reality written by Robert Jay Lifton and published by The New Press. This book was released on 2019-10-15 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A definitive account of the psychology of zealotry, from a National Book Award winner and a leading authority on the nature of cults, political absolutism, and mind control In this unique and timely volume Robert Jay Lifton, the National Book Award–winning psychiatrist, historian, and public intellectual proposes a radical idea: that the psychological relationship between extremist political movements and fanatical religious cults may be much closer than anyone thought. Exploring the most extreme manifestations of human zealotry, Lifton highlights an array of leaders—from Mao to Hitler to the Japanese apocalyptic cult leader Shōkō Asahara to Donald Trump—who have sought the control of human minds and the ownership of reality. Lifton has spent decades exploring psychological extremism. His pioneering concept of the "Eight Deadly Sins" of ideological totalism—originally devised to identify "brainwashing" (or "thought reform") in political movements—has been widely quoted in writings about cults, and embraced by members and former members of religious cults seeking to understand their experiences. In Losing Reality Lifton makes clear that the apocalyptic impulse—that of destroying the world in order to remake it in purified form—is not limited to religious groups but is prominent in extremist political movements such as Nazism and Chinese Communism, and also in groups surrounding Donald Trump. Lifton applies his concept of "malignant normality" to Trump's efforts to render his destructive falsehoods a routine part of American life. But Lifton sees the human species as capable of "regaining reality" by means of our "protean" psychological capacities and our ethical and political commitments as "witnessing professionals." Lifton weaves together some of his finest work with extensive new commentary to provide vital understanding of our struggle with mental predators. Losing Reality is a book not only of stunning scholarship, but also of huge relevance for these troubled times.

Author : Robert Jay Lifton
Publisher : New York : Norton [1961]
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 510 pages
Book Rating : 4.34/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism : a Study of Brainwashing in China written by Robert Jay Lifton and published by New York : Norton [1961]. This book was released on 1961 with total page 510 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Robert J. Lifton
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 200 pages
Book Rating : 4.33/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Life Of The Self written by Robert J. Lifton and published by . This book was released on 1983-11-14 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Kathleen Taylor
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780199204786
Total Pages : 337 pages
Book Rating : 4.80/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Brainwashing written by Kathleen Taylor and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006-07-27 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing the worlds of neuroscience and social psychology together, this book examines the ethical problems involved in carrying out the required experiments on humans, the limitations of animal models, and the frightening implications of such research. It also explores the history of thought-control and shows how it exists around us.

Author : Margaret Thaler Singer
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 0787967416
Total Pages : 438 pages
Book Rating : 4.13/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Cults in Our Midst written by Margaret Thaler Singer and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2003-04-11 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cults today are bigger than ever, with broad ramifications for national and international terrorism. In this newly revised edition of her definitive work on cults, Singer reveals what cults really are and how they work, focusing specifically on the coercive persuasion techniques of charismatic leaders seeking money and power. The book contains fascinating updates on Heaven's Gate, Falun Gong, Aum Shinrikyo, Hare Krishna, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, and the connection between cults and terrorism in Al Queda and the PLO.

Author : Janja A. Lalich
Publisher : University of California Press
ISBN 13 : 0520384024
Total Pages : 354 pages
Book Rating : 4.26/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Bounded Choice written by Janja A. Lalich and published by University of California Press. This book was released on 2020-11-30 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Heaven's Gate, a secretive group of celibate "monks" awaiting pickup by a UFO, captured intense public attention in 1997 when its members committed collective suicide. As a way of understanding such perplexing events, many have seen those who join cults as needy, lost souls, unable to think for themselves. This book, a compelling look at the cult phenomenon written for a wide audience, dispels such simple formulations by explaining how normal, intelligent people can give up years of their lives—and sometimes their very lives—to groups and beliefs that appear bizarre and irrational. Looking closely at Heaven's Gate and at the Democratic Workers Party, a radical political group of the 1970s and 1980s, Janja Lalich gives us a rare insider's look at these two cults and advances a new theoretical framework that will reshape our understanding of those who join such groups. Lalich's fascinating discussion includes her in-depth interviews with cult devotees as well as reflections gained from her own experience as a high-ranking member of the Democratic Workers Party. Incorporating classical sociological concepts such as "charisma" and "commitment" with more recent work on the social psychology of influence and control, she develops a new approach for understanding how charismatic cult leaders are able to dominate their devotees. She shows how members are led into a state of "bounded choice," in which they make seemingly irrational decisions within a context that makes perfect sense to them and is, in fact, consistent with their highest aspirations. In addition to illuminating the cult phenomenon in the United States and around the world, this important book also addresses our pressing need to know more about the mentality of those true believers who take extreme or violent measures in the name of a cause.

Author : Steven Hassan, PhD
Publisher : Freedom of Mind Press
ISBN 13 : 0967068819
Total Pages : 162 pages
Book Rating : 4.17/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Freedom of Mind: Helping Loved Ones Leave Controlling People, Cults, and Beliefs written by Steven Hassan, PhD and published by Freedom of Mind Press. This book was released on 2022-06-14 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the post 911 world, people are more susceptible than ever to charismatic figures who offer simple, black v. white, us v. them, good v. evil, formulaic solutions. The rise of the Internet; increasingly sophisticated knowledge about how to influence and manipulate others; and the growing vulnerabilities of people across the planet—make for a dangerous, potentially devastating combination. Steven Hassan’s new book Freedom of Mind provides the knowledge and awareness needed to help yourself and loved ones avoid or escape from such dangerous people and situations. This must-read volume is a significantly updated and revised edition of Hassan’s groundbreaking Releasing the Bonds (2000). People who read and benefitted from that book—and also his earlier book, Combatting Cult Mind Control (1989)—will want to read Hassan’s latest. It provides an up-to-the-minute guide to the reality of ‘undue influence’—the preferred term for mind control—in the post 9/11 era. Unstable Global Environment Enhances Dangers of Unethical Control The world has changed greatly in the last decade. The rise of the Internet, the emergence of global terrorism and of dangerous totalistic ideologies, and the shifts in global markets—these and other changes have created new opportunities for unscrupulous individuals, groups, and institutions to exert unethical control over others. Freedom of Mind exposes the techniques and methods that individuals, cults, and institutions of all types—religious, business, therapeutic, educational, governmental—use to undo a person’s capacity to think and act independently. Individuals More Vulnerable than Ever The Internet is now the primary vehicle for recruitment and indoctrination. It is also a means for spreading sophisticated information about social psychology, hypnosis, and other techniques of social control, which are being used—in ways both effective and dangerous—by ‘influence professionals.’ Meanwhile, people are becoming increasingly vulnerable. Sleep-deprived, overweight and looking to improve themselves, overloaded with often frightening images and information; anxious about the current economic decline, climate change, and government corruption on all levels. People are more susceptible than ever to charismatic figures who offer simple, black v. white, us v. them, good v. evil, formulaic solutions. These factors—the rise of the Internet; increasingly sophisticated knowledge about how to influence and manipulate others; and the growing vulnerabilities of people across the planet—make for a dangerous, potentially devastating combination. Freedom of Mind Provides Help for Yourself, a Loved One, or a Friend Hassan’s new book, Freedom of Mind, aims to fill the gap. It identifies and explains how to identify and evaluate potentially dangerous groups and individuals. Hassan details his groundbreaking approach, the ‘Strategic Interactive Approach,’ which can be used to help a loved one leave such a situation. Step-by-step, Hassan shows you how to: evaluate the situation; interact with dual identities; develop communication strategies using phone calls, letter writing and visits; understand and utilize cult beliefs and tactics; use reality-testing and other techniques to promote freedom of mind. He emphasizes the value of meeting with trained consultants to be effectively guided and coached and also to plan and implement effective interventions. The best way to protect yourself and your loved ones is knowledge and awareness.

Author : Robert Jay Lifton
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.47/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism written by Robert Jay Lifton and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: