Easily the 2nd oldest occupation

C'mon... it's basic human relativity, basic self-defense mechanism: the OTHER guy is the whack job -- why that no-good so-and-so, he's a loose cannon; hell, he's on the freakin' MOON!

Psychciatrist is a word that translates literally from the Greek as "soul doctor", but the practice has been around since time immemorial, believe you me. Shamans, chieftains, gurus, medicine men, you name it, all claiming the ability to distinguish those on the path to betterment from those who would 'surely' lead us into ruination.

It's unfortunate that so many people pay so much homage to false gods, demigods, demagogues, despots, shamans -- for there's no conceivable validity to psych ...none. It's just another means of permitting expedience to rule in lieu of truth or law.

Ask the shrink, "Have you given your life over to Christ? Yes or no?". His or her answer will speak volumes about the shrink's precarious sanctimony. Yes means that the shrink believes in magical entities, while no means that his beliefs are distinctly contrary to that of many normal folks. Either way it disqualifies him/her from being judge of what's sane.

But the big bugaboo is the fact that a shrink's claim of being a "soul doctor" is hypocritical because shrinks don't even HAVE souls of their own! They are and always have been and always will be mere stooges of the established power structures, however corrupt such structures be. If (a consensus of) the powers that be declare something to be foul (eg. homosexuality) then the psych lackeys must sustain that sentiment and promptly condemn for all eternity (on paper) the souls of folks who might potentially waver from the given dictum.

What a disgusting racket is humankind!

Hi,

From what I gather, you aren't religious, yet you imply that the soul exists. Isn't the soul a purely religious concept? Anyway, despite that, I don't understand what your overall message is. Are you saying that humans are, ultimately, 'stupid' and pointless creations?

I never used the term "stupid". As for "pointless", that's so of all life.

Soul, psyche, persona -- if it's apart from the physical body then it's all the same, and it's claimed by shrinks to be their province.

But in the final reckoning these phantom components of the personage will get debunked -- it's all just too much witchcraft.

I came to rant, not to debate. Words will end when humankind ends, and that's just around the corner.

Hi,

I never implied that you used the word "stupid". When I mentioned the word, it was not in quotes - it was enclosed by two apostrophes. What I was inferring was that we are relatively stupid but, on many levels, are also intelligent.

Sorry, actually, I just read your last line now: "I came to rant, not to debate." I'll leave you to it so.

Take care,
Kevin.

People have used these guys(Shamans, chieftains, gurus, medicine men, you name it) because they work for many people. Some of us have to figure out our own soul or purpose; others would rather let someone else reason things out and tell us what to do. If what they say sounds easy, we do it.

I do not know about the souls of psychiatristrs because I do not know them all. I suspect that some are evil just as there are evil people in all occupications. I would guess that some would have emotional problems. Some people study psychology to help themselves.
James

Ok, first of all, psychiatry isn't 'the second oldest job in history' in any literal, figurative, or even sarcastic sense. Prostitutes weren't the first, but the point of the saying is to humourously suggest men have been paying for their urges since the year dot. Whilst the mentally ill have existed all along, we never cared to treat them (or even recognise their illness) until quite reasonably. Instead we'd just exile them, or kill them.

What you are talking about is the blending of mysticism with medicine, a common practice before the age of reason and the rise of science. When the witch doctor told you that you needed to eat the pulp of the fire tree to re-energize your soul and fix your fever, he is just explaining in the best way he knows how that you need to raise your temperature to burn it off. It was never about actually fixing your soul in a spiritual or mental sense. Indeed, mental illness to this day remains the hardest to effectively treat. Hard enough you could be forgiven for not even trying.

On a side note, Chucky, the concept of a soul predates religion. It arises from mysticism and spiritualism, as did religion itself. Cavemen were scratching the notion of a soul millennia before religion was invented.

Didn't communities travel in heards through the seasons before colonization came. The most oldest occupation would be hunting where humans hunted the dinasoars out of distinction.

I agree with you except on the fact that pschychiatrists are bad people. First to become a pscychiatrist you need to be a doctor who saves lives. After you excel there you become a psychiatrist which is the end of all medical knowledge because right now there is no cure for mental illness only relief for it.

'the oldest occupation' as referring to prostitution, is something of a gender aligned joke. The actual oldest job wouldn't actually be 'hunter' simply because primitive humans were subsistence jack-of-all-tradesmen (i.e. everything you consumed you supplied yourself, be it hunting, gathering, clothing, cooking, building, etc..).

'Job' in the simplest sense of the word comes with the advent of civilisation, and specialisation of roles (Wherein you would specialise in one area for greater efficiency, trading some of the surplus of your focussed trade for access to the product of others' trades you need). As such, it could still be a hunter, or possibly a farmer, or even a carpenter. Basically the first basic job someone specialised in exclusively.

james wrote:I do not know about the souls of psychiatrists because I do not know them all. I suspect that some are evil just as there are evil people in all occupations. I would guess that some would have emotional problems.

Precisely. I am not prejudiced or embittered against shrinks at all -- as their hands are obviously tied. It's humankind that is badly jaundiced from age and decadence and delusion. It's that time has come; y'know, THAT time. The End.

Well what I was pointing out about shrinks is that he/she never worked on a ranch presumably, not any forestry work, or traveled as a member of a performing group/band. I could go on and on but you see what I mean: where and when is the guy supposed to have earned his stars? He is a miserable product of the cloistered life, a dog, a mutt, a tool, a peon, a nobody, a toady. No soul. I have spoken.

digital.noface wrote:'the oldest occupation' as referring to prostitution, is something of a gender aligned joke. The actual oldest job wouldn't actually be 'hunter' simply because primitive humans were subsistence jack-of-all-tradesmen (i.e. everything you consumed you supplied yourself, be it hunting, gathering, clothing, cooking, building, etc..).

'Job' in the simplest sense of the word comes with the advent of civilisation, and specialisation of roles (Wherein you would specialise in one area for greater efficiency, trading some of the surplus of your focussed trade for access to the product of others' trades you need). As such, it could still be a hunter, or possibly a farmer, or even a carpenter. Basically the first basic job someone specialised in exclusively.

Digital, it is amazing how you just can not stop thinking in literal terms. You were stuck on the title, and stuck fast on proving him wrong based on the weak title. Once again, you miss the point of the topic entirely... (Also I want to bring up some issues with your spelling, I know that I am lousy at spelling, but at least I admit it, you on the other hand, in the past you have pointed out my errors and not your own…practice what you preach!!)

On topic: I believe that to bring more credibility to the field of psychology, more scientific methods should be applied. I believe MRI's should be used; we should be able to tests neurotransmitter levels, and learn more about individuals through the use of genetic testing. I do not believe that the psychiatrist is soulless. I am not speaking in religious or spiritual terms, but referring to a soul as if it were to be the true basis for sapience or self-awareness. As humans, I do not believe we lack judgment, and psychiatrists not so much either. I do believe that any prevailing institution will have a culture set in place that will define 'norms' and that movement against these 'norms' may results in punishment, control of behavior or ostracization. I do not believe that this is 'inherently evil' either. Ideological shifts take time to manifest, and are often, if not usually, met with resistance. Assimilation of a new, foreign or minority beliefs will also be met with resistance. That doesn’t mean that the psychiatrist is to blame, it just means that some how we need to change the institution. In the word institution I am referring to the structure of beliefs and the umbrella of ideas held by a certain group of governed individuals and not necessarily just the institution of psychology, though that needs some drastic improvements as well. I do believe that the religious beliefs of a psychiatrist should not be a factor in the treatment of the individual, just as, I do not believe that religious beliefs should be a factor in which doctor I see, which dentist I receive treatment from or which sales person I buy my clothing from, they are all the same. That, I believe, should be considered irrelevant, and as we hopefully move away from pseudopsychology, and move towards science, I hope that eventually the lines between soul-doctor and medical-doctor will blur. I believe that psychology will only become truly useful once the institutions have changed, the prevailing culture allows assimilation of new ideas and that scientific method is practiced.

-megan