Plato And Psychology

[Fulgurator]

"Malitiam vero deterrimi et omnibus vitiis inbuti hominis ducebat esse; quod accidere censebat, cum optima et rationabilis portio et quae etiam imperitare ceteris debet, servit aliis.... "

As mentioned, I got seriously into Latin and then found the study of psychology was familiar to the ancient world. So, above, it states that being essentially a bad person is a result of ignorance and when logic and reason comes to dominate the functioning of the mind, we become ethical and "good".
This agrees in fact with Hans Asperger's assertion that those autistic children he treated, who demonstrated higher intellect went on to attain success in some area of special interest. Not all autists have that success but Temple Grandin would be one example. She was very autistic at school but, with therapy and support, she now has a doctorate.
Note, the Latin text above states that logic and reason must dominate the whole psyche, not serve the baser instincts, as we see in high I.Q. criminals or politicians.
I would agree from experience the theory is correct. Autism in childhood impacted on my behaviour and awareness of ethical values but, in later years, I compensated by relying more on intellect than social conditioning. I would add too most wars, crime, conflict is a consequence of ignorance and being led by greed, ego and so forth.

[Candid]

I see caput is a latin word. Does it mean the same as kaput in modern parlance?

That's interesting stuff about aspergers 'sufferers' having special gifts. H (another aspie) has a phenomenal memory and is great at maths. He'll say to me it's simple, this is what you do... and I know I need pen and paper to work it out. His ability to make plans I consider complicated (if not impossible) is little short of fantastic. Unfortunately his capacity to do so many things more efficiently than anyone else means many calls on his time, a lot of them from people who only show up when they need his services. I get it that he's 'difficult'. He could never hold a job for long.

Nobody can live with either of us, apparently, and we've lived several times, always at my behest. Finally we found the solution: separate homes in the same area. Now we can see each other every day without him blowing my head up.

I wonder whether there've been any studies on aspies' effects on their partners. I can see it's made me lazy in some ways, because he can do so many things better and more efficiently than I can.

We saw a bio of Temple Grandin some years ago. Could be good to see it again sometime.

[Fulgurator]

I met someone today who "might" have Aspergers. From Canada. He seemed a bit child-like but his motor skills were pretty bad. He couldn't seem to figure out that to draw a gate bolt shut, the two gates need to be in line first. He seemed helpless to solve it. Very rarely do I meet people with that syndrome. Yes, I have it myself but as a part of other neurological issues. Recently Antony Hopkins was diagnosed as having it mildly - he was unteachable at school and considered to be thick. Clearly his music talent and interest in drama compensated enough not to hold him all the way back.

[Fulgurator]

"I see caput is a latin word. Does it mean the same as kaput in modern parlance?"

Caput means "head". Latin is also a very difficult language to learn but there are a few things I should point out:
There are texts to read in Latin much better than the stuff institutions forced on students for decades. There's a lot of pagan writing on the paranormal or psychic phenomena and spiritual world I found fascinating. Also, some non-Romans used Latin, or translated other ancient texts to it. I'm a great believer in psychic and paranormal experience and 2000 years ago, pagan cultures had a deeper connection to the natural world than we do. Still, the language is hard to crack. When the Roman world fell, the education system wasn't developed enough to keep the language in common use. So, communities simplified Latin and vulgar languages appeared, like Spanish. Future generations lost a lot of knowledge, medicine, psychology and occult knowledge.

[Fulgurator]

Apuleius has written in Latin on the subject of epilepsy. It's a medical description. Some academics have suggested Socrates had epilepsy as he heard "voices". However, it seems to me the hallucinatory voices in Schizophrenia differ from what's called " clairaudience". Socrates seems to have experienced clairaudience.
In Schizophrenia, the voices heard are normally unpleasant and negative and reflect the fragmentation of the personality. The personality is in conflict.
Clairaudience, however, is a psychic phenomenon. Socrates sometimes heard a voice that urged him to change his course of action. I believe sometimes you can have both. Some schizophrenics may also be psychic, subject to hallucinations and psychic phenomena.

[Candid]

I'm a great believer in psychic and paranormal experience...

Me too, although I prefer to call it inexplicable by normal understanding.
For instance: Go to any crowded area, pick your target person, and just watch them. More often than not the target will then look directly at you. How does this happen? Surely it has to be thought-transference by no recognised channel.

[Fulgurator]

Well, prophecy isn't just biblical. Prophets were common in the ancient world. They also studied flights of birds or clouds to predict the future. Cassandra was my favourite as she was cursed by the gods so nobody would believe her prophecies.
I'm reading a lot of occult science in Latin but it's striking how psychology was on a par with modern times, apart from the biology aspect. I agree with Plato's view that mental illness has a connection with the virtues. They created an image of Asperger's today as if we're saints but Asperger himself stressed too the dark side of his patients, the rages and destructive tendencies. I found people who lose touch with reality have deep anger issues or emotional issues. Then, the more ethical you become, the greater your perception. Plato defines the mind virtues as wisdom, restraint and courage. We see the opposite today in people such as ignorance, recklessness and cowardice. Given modern societies don't even teach ethics, the result is plain to see. So, really, the ancient world was very developed but when it collapsed we never recovered all the knowledge.

[quietvoice]

Given modern societies don't even teach ethics,

/
. . . because then the joos would be booted out like they have been OVER 1000 TIMES in history!

/

[Fulgurator]

I see Quiet Voice has just escaped from the rehab ward but hopefully the medics will come to give her a sedative.

[Candid]

I see Quiet Voice has just escaped from the rehab ward but hopefully the medics will come to give her a sedative.

She's definitely wasted here!