Psychofraud and Ethical Therapy

Preface

Having learned from experience that the usual trappings of success — sensual pleasure, riches, and fame — were not in themselves lasting sources of satisfaction, I resolved to find a way of achieving a truly meaningful life. I had long felt, without knowing why, that the greatest joys in life came from learning and helping others learn something that was true, new, and important. However, I saw the cleverest persons around me obsessed, not with knowledge, but with convincing others that they had knowledge. In so doing, it seemed to me, they deceived themselves and others about what was truly important. They seemed more concerned with being or appearing clever than with seeking truth. They usually strived to excel in a very narrow field which they never related to the rest of human activity. I asked myself, "Can a person be truly intelligent and creative while ignoring matters which affect the very survival of our species?" I decided that this could not be the case.

I had found that businessmen cared mainly about making money and that academicians cared mainly about proving how clever they were. Surely, I thought, those persons who have deliberately chosen careers in organizations that have no other stated purpose than to help people and to guide public policy must be wiser than the businessmen or the academicians. I therefore joined those persons who are politicians and/or work for government agencies and nonprofit foundations to see if they were living worthwhile lives.

After having worked with them for a time, I found them as venal as the businessmen but much less courageous and as irrelevant as the academicians but much less clever. Furthermore, it seemed to me they were not really trying to help anyone except themselves by acquiring power or finding a secure, bureaucratic niche within a large, seemingly immortal organization. This left me in a quandary, for it seemed that there was no way one could lead a truly good and creative life and still be part of the rest of society.

I decided that what had to be done was to change society into something better. I considered the communist approach an utter failure, both in its orthodox and "new left" forms. I could not accept the mystical approach which was becoming increasingly popular. I chose instead an entirely new approach which involved a synthesis of evolution, science, and objective ethics. This approach was developed in considerable detail in my last book, The Moral Society: A Rational Alternative to Death.

Psychofraud and Ethical Therapy may serve as an introduction as well as a sequel to my last book. It is much simpler in structure and more limited in scope. My last book showed what has to be done from a social and political point of view. This book shows what has to be done from a personal point of view. My last book was about evolution on a cosmic scale. This book is about evolution on an individual scale. It is a book to help each person become more fully human and creative, while avoiding the lure of charlatans, false prophets, and others who prey on the gullible who are seeking truth and a more meaningful life.

The book should be read in sequence from the beginning. If the reader has forgotten some definitions or arguments, he can find them again with the help of the glossary or the index. However, the basic structure of the book is easy to follow.

Any errors in this book are solely my responsibility. I would like to thank my editors at Whitmore for their useful comments and suggestions. I would particularly like to thank Blair Simon and Tony Parrotto for their interest and help. I would also like to thank my friends Sandra Hass and Mary Ward for their extensive help in preparing the manuscript. Finally, I would like to thank the many readers of The Moral Society who have written to me, made criticisms, asked questions, and have been helpful in many ways. I hope that this will answer some of your questions.

Potomac, Maryland
November 20, 1973
John David Garcia

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© John David Garcia, 1974, All rights Reserved.