Kolya on 16/8/2014 at 09:36
The concept you have presented so far is very political by the way: Consciously or not you are circling Marx' theory of (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx%27s_theory_of_alienation) Alienation. It occurs because the situation in which we work (eg your office culture) puts us in competition with each other and hides the cooperative aspect of work.
It's in the nature of humans to want to work and create and they do so with joy. But if forced to do the same thing every day and kept in fear of competing workers who might do our job better or faster than us, work becomes a chore and we become estranged from the joy of work.
It is replaced with (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_fetishism) Commodity fetishism: Ordinary products are enshrouded in a vague mystery and regarded as magical objects (think iPhones). This hides the origin of any value these products have: The work of people.
So this is an inherently political issue and you shouldn't shy away from that aspect as if politics was necessarily unscientific or even poisonous to science. As a scientist - especially as a sociologist - you can turn a blind eye on the political implications of your work. But that doesn't make them go away. It only means that you don't get to control their influence but others will do it for you.
faetal on 16/8/2014 at 10:20
The problem isn't science nearly as much as it is the way the media reports science. Some research groups don't help either when they garner attention for themselves by playing up their findings for the media. The media doesn't want to talk about iterative baby steps towards better answers, or even large discoveries which change the direction of an existing model - it wants to talk about final answers to things, which then inevitably get superseded later, leading the public thinking "but they told us it was A, how can it now be B?". Psychology is definitely a greyer area than most, particularly when it isn't corroborated by neuroscience, but that doesn't mean it isn't useful.
kidmystik101 on 16/8/2014 at 13:12
i though we were just being upset at the passing of a great actor and comedian but then again ttlg
Tony_Tarantula on 16/8/2014 at 17:48
Quote Posted by Kolya
The concept you have presented so far is very political by the way: Consciously or not you are circling Marx' theory of (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marx%27s_theory_of_alienation) Alienation. It occurs because the situation in which we work (eg your office culture) puts us in competition with each other and hides the cooperative aspect of work.
That's a good way of putting it......and one thing you quickly learn in business is that a lot of managers deliberately create a climate that focuses on competition because they believe it gives them more control over their employees. In other words, a boss like that is mostly interested in a workplace where all their subordinates are required to spend all day kissing his ass. That's a solid majority of businesses. One thing that stands out about successful entrepeneurships is that the employees usually feel a strong sense of co-operation in the office and are driven to work as a team to accomplish the company's mission.
When it comes to commodity fetishism that isn't good for mental health either. There's a constant pressure to have the newest and flashiest item out there in order to maintain your social status.
