In the early hours.

I fell asleep at half five this afternoon and I awoke at ten thirty -three hours ago. It's now early morning. I'm reading, making notes, I'm in my element. 

Glad nothing is booked for today!

I'm reading The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch. It was my rare good fortune to have been part of a couple of forums (Listserv, remember that?) with him during the early 2000's and so here I am, learning from David again, by asking how do we know what we know? This is epistemology, it is the beginning, and possibly the subject, of the whole book. Relevant to me because epistemology is a large part of my personal research into the mechanism of the compelling explanation. A compelling explanation often has only an emotional component to make it an explanation.  'We don't know how it works it just does ' isn't a good explanation. It doesn't create knowledge, and how knowledge isn't made, how it is suppressed and destroyed is also epistemology.

David was not a fan of magical thinking unless it was so absurd it was funny. For then the outcome of this variation of the compelling explanation was, along with other consequences of course, fun! And fun is an excellent outcome, one of the best.

So the therapist's theories were true in the light of an explanation, but not true in the light of the explanation he gave me. In particular that a strict therapeutic frame is therapeutic. 

I am proof that it isn't.

His compelling explanation preserved an unequal power dynamic that prevented me from understanding what was actually occurring (epistemic injustice). Epistemic injustice shouldn't be a part of therapy in any modality. And his wish that I simply let it go, tells me that I will feel better if I accept his compelling explanation (engaging my magical thinking circuits!) Simple! No more conflict in my mind! But my internal conflict was caused by explanations that felt inauthentic. Off target. A lie..so, hang on, if I'd agreed with him his behaviour would have been fine?! 

Obviously not. 

So he told me that I had a need to be contrary? From a safe distance away, this is almost funny.

To be honest I live most of my life being the opposite to contrary. My lack of curiosity and absence of any capacity to ask questions about some things is shocking. I tend to just move on and do something else if something isn't working.

But not in this case...

When therapy is causing psychological and emotional pain through creating similar conditions to those that caused the original trauma, therapy isn't therapeutic. When a person is told to believe someone else's theory, while a discussion around that theory is blocked -  this acts towards preserving an inequality of power and maintaining  ignorance.

Back to the question of how do we know what we know. Because how exactly do I know that what I'm stating is correct?

One more paradox before I get some hot chocolate and try to sleep!

Postmodern thinking is famous for deconstruction. And sometimes people suddenly notice that deconstruction does strange things to one's perception of truth and reality. Well, deconstruction is simply a tool. Postmodern thinking isn't anything more than that. The question about reality - is it all a solipsistic dream or is real really real, isn't very important to me. For me, reality is extremely real. A postmodern view allows me plurality in my personal visions, and personal truths. But reality is always there, and for as long as I live I can explore it.

Which is good... despite threats and compelling explanations!

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