Written by the creator of the celebrated film for peace, ADMISSIONS, winner of 26 International Awards, MIND WHAT MATTERS. A PEP TALK FOR HUMANITY is a rich treasure of inspiring stories and healing philosophies that eloquently articulate powerful shifts in thought that help human beings from all walks of life transcend the perennial obstacles to achieving happiness. John Viscount's deeply entertaining writing style expresses an important new voice on the literary stage and serves as a profound and uplifting guide to personal and global transformation. "This exquisitely written book overflows with the kind of transformational wisdom, inspired storytelling and unexpected humor that leads to joyful communion with our higher self. For anyone looking to change their mind into a trusted ally in the search for enduring peace and happiness, Mind What Matters receives our highest recommendation." Gerald G. Jampolsky, M.D. & Diane Cirincione-Jampolsky, Ph.D, Founders of Attitudinal Healing International

Your mind is not built to make you happy; it’s built to help you survive. So far, it’s done a great job! But in the process, it may have developed some bad habits, like avoiding new experiences or scrounging around for problems where none exist. Is it any wonder that worry, bad moods, and self-critical thoughts so often get in the way of enjoying life? The User’s Guide to the Human Mind is a road map to the puzzling inner workings of the human mind, replete with exercises for overriding the mind’s natural impulses toward worry, self-criticism, and fear, and helpful tips for acting in the service of your values and emotional well-being—even when your mind has other plans. Find out how your mind tries to limit your behavior and your potential Discover how pessimism functions as your mind’s error management system Learn why you shouldn’t believe everything you think Overrule your thoughts and feelings and take charge of your mind and your life

Our Human Herds presents a new theory in moral and political philosophy, called "dual morality." The theory proposes that just as the physical senses of sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing evolved to help us navigate our physical environment, two independent moral senses evolved to guide us to success in our social world. One prioritizes cooperation; the other, competition. The first bases moral justification on the egalitarianism that emphasizes our equal worth; the other finds moral justification in the inequalities that allow us to distinguish better from worse. "Liberal" and "conservative" are merely the names given to the political manifestations of these two forms of moral expression, just as "socialist" and "capitalist" describe their economic manifestations, and "personality" and "character" their psychological ones. Our Human Herds addresses what it means to be a human being, why we fight about the things that divide us, and why we unite behind the ideas that draw us together. The book examines all aspects of human social behavior, revealing how and why we often disagree in our approaches to education, history, war, crime, pleasure, happiness, politics, science and religion. "This is a learned, thoroughly researched study - and dazzlingly bright. The effervescent approach to writing makes its pages fly by ... Studies as brilliant as this one deserve a far wider audience. An engrossing and mind-expanding examination of morality" -Kirkus Reviews Book Review: A vast philosophical study charts the shifting moral landscape while tackling the weightiest question of human existence: what is the meaning of life? Humanity’s moral framework remains in a constant state of reconstruction. As the author points out in his opening chapter: “Two hundred years ago if a woman was raped and became pregnant we’d kill the rapist and spare the baby. Today, we spare rapist and kill the baby. Centuries ago many cultures condoned polygamy; today we put people in jail for it.” Over the course of this weighty tome, which is just shy of 1,000 pages, the author ponders what morality is (with an emphasis on humans as grouping or “herding” creatures) and the causes of its flux and reflux. Furthermore, there is an attempt to reconcile opposing philosophical theories by introducing a new conceptual model called “Dual Morality,” proposed as an “all-encompassing blueprint of human morality.” The study is logically structured, divided into four sections: “The Theory of Dual Moralism,” “The Explanation” (including investigations of the group and the self), “The Derivations” (which considers family, country, religion, and science/nature/technology), and finally “The Extrapolations” (a far-reaching look at everything from pleasure and happiness to suicide, murder, and abortion). The author possesses the rare skill of being able to explore himself with an enviable ease, drawing on palatable references to popular culture. For example: “Comedian Woody Allen said he laughs at his own jokes when they first come to him because humor originates in the unconscious. When his conscious mind hears them for the first time, it is as if they came from another place, and so we are, in a way, an audience to our own humor.” This approach, applied throughout, makes complex ideas not only accessible, but entertaining and enjoyable as well. The result is far from the predictable, dry academic thesis. This is a learned, thoroughly researched study—and dazzlingly bright. The effervescent approach to writing makes its 951 pages fly by. Fritz’s dedication is to “that miniscule fragment of humanity who read books like this.” Studies as brilliant as this one deserve a far wider audience. An engrossing and mind-expanding examination of morality. -- Kirkus Indie, Kirkus Media LLC, 6411 Burleson Rd., Austin, TX 78744 indie@kirkusreviews

Let us imagine that somewhere in present day South America a nation exists as the United States was constituted in 1789. George Washington is its president and Thomas Jefferson its secretary of state. It is a nation that allows only white males to vote, and its president, cabinet officials, and many of its citizens own slaves. If the America of 1789 existed right now, what would we think of it? Would it be right to invade it in order to liberate its people? Would we consider a complete embargo of it, until it changed its ways? Would it be a pariah among nations? Or would we recognize and cooperate with it, declaring its president and secretary of state political geniuses? Maybe we would just do nothing and trust that in 100 or so years it will straighten itself out? What would be the correct way to think of such a nation and its leaders? Three hundred years ago, if a woman was raped and became pregnant we'd kill the rapist and spare the baby. Today, we spare the rapist and kill the baby. One hundred years ago only heterosexual marriages were legal. Today political leaders around the world are celebrating gay relationships. How and why does our moral outlook change in such matters? By the time you are done reading this book, you will have concrete answers to these questions and many more. “This is a learned, thoroughly researched study - and dazzlingly bright. The effervescent approach to writing makes its pages fly by ... Studies as brilliant as this one deserve a far wider audience. An engrossing and mind-expanding examination of morality" —Kirkus Reviews

PERSONHOOD AND HEALTH CARE This book arose as a result of a pre-conference devoted to the topic held June 28, 1999 in Paris, France. The pre-conference preceded the Annual Congress of the International Academy ofLaw and Mental Health. Other chapters were solicited after the conference in order to more completely explore the relation of personhood to health care. The pre conference was held in honor of Yves Pelicier who led so many of our French colleagues in medicine, philosophy, and ethics as Christian Herve notes in his Tribute. As health care is aimed at healing persons, it is important to realize how difficult it is to construct a theory of personhood for health care, and thus, a theory of how healing in health care comes about or ought to occur. The book is divided into four parts, Concepts of the Person, Theories of Personhood in Relation to Health Care and Bioethics, Person and Identity, and Personhood and Hs Relations. Each section explores a critical arena in constructing the relation of personhood to health care. Although no exploration ofthis nature can be exhaustive, every effort was made to present both conflicting and complementary views of personhood from within similar and different philosophical and religious traditions. PART ONE: CONCEPTS OF THE PERSON Tracing the origins of the concept of person from antiquity through present day, Jean Delemeau provides an historical sketch of the development of a wide range of meanings.