The idea of a ‘soul’ or life force (psyche) evolved out of the writings of Aristotle and the Pauline anthropology and is a word commonly used to refer to the hidden spirit of something. We often refer to the ‘soul’ of politics, law or the ‘soul’ of a nation. Sometimes we call a person a kind or … [Read more...] about The Soul of Mental Health
Robert Long
Identity and Safety
The term identity politics has its source in the 1970s and defines the political identity of groups under various forms of oppression. Often this expression ‘identity politics’ is used pejoratively (https://www.vox.com/identities/2016/12/2/13718770/identity-politics ) and coupled with other silly … [Read more...] about Identity and Safety
Psychosocial Controls and Measures for Who?
The fixation and psychosis of the safety industry with ‘controls’ and ‘measures’ creates the delusion that psychosocial issues can be controlled and measured. When it comes to psychosocial issues, the last thing that helps is quantitative language and simplistic mythology. And the latest Worksafe … [Read more...] about Psychosocial Controls and Measures for Who?
Linguistics and Safety
When I was teaching Linguistics in Secondary and Tertiary contexts, I would always repeat the well-known aphorism: ‘say what you mean and mean what you say’. How unfortunate that the safety industry has no interest in Linguistics and thinks it is fine to speak gobbledygook to people … [Read more...] about Linguistics and Safety
Not a Profession’s Bootlace
How easy to let that word ‘professional’ roll off your tongue, when you are not in a profession! How easy to brand something that it is not and then wonder why people walk away in droves (icare-workers-compensation-insider-speaks-out). How easy to spruik zero harm when it’s the opposite … [Read more...] about Not a Profession’s Bootlace
History and Safety
The beginning of History is felt in Historiography, the philosophy of History. The projection of History as a collection of facts and dates demonstrates that one doesn’t know History. One of the best schools of History to help learn History is the Annales School of History. The Annales School or, … [Read more...] about History and Safety
It’s the –ism That Matters
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be safe but Safetyism is a psychosis (see: The Sickness of Safetyism). There’s nothing wrong with Science but scientism is dehumanizing. There is nothing wrong with being rational but rationalism warps a sense of human ‘being’. The notion of an ‘ism’ infers … [Read more...] about It’s the –ism That Matters
More Safety Code to Disguise Behaviourism
It’s always entertaining when Safety talks about what it believes in and it’s ‘values’ by omitting what it believes in and naming its values. Such is safety code (https://safetyrisk.net/deciphering-safety-code/). Take for example this piece, clearly Behaviourist (SHP meets Bertrand Gibert) that … [Read more...] about More Safety Code to Disguise Behaviourism
Understanding Safety as an Archetype
We all accept the idea of archetypes in our language and speech everyday. We often talk about how Love won through and how the Market behaves. We talk about the condition of the Economy and how ‘Hope springs eternal’ (Pope 1734). We talk about what Society does and we personify Evil and Good. This … [Read more...] about Understanding Safety as an Archetype
The Purpose of Safety
‘The primary task for any organism—the task that must be accomplished before all others—is the preservation of life and the furtherance of conditions for the organism’s growth’ Damasio (2003) Looking for Spinoza, Joy, Sorrow and the Feeling Brain. Damasio begins by observing, in Looking for … [Read more...] about The Purpose of Safety