Manipulation LO735
jack@his.com
Tue, 11 Apr 95 15:05:31
Since it was I who first raised the issue of perceived "manipulation"
(never dreaming that it would trigger such an extensive dialogue), I
thought I might interject at this point my sense as to why the word has
strong negative connotations (and why the executives of whom I wrote would
want to identify and avoid the appearance of such behavior). In our
culture, we share a myth of freedom which includes a theory of free will.
Existentialists and Baptists (as polar examples) alike prefer to believe
that we are individually responsible and accountable for our behavior.
"Manipulation" suggests a behind-the-scenes operator, a puppeteer,
controlling our behavior for its own (sinister) purposes. It evokes the
same contradictions in rational people that produces support of open
battle while condemning covert operations."
--
Jack Hirschfeld A kiddly divey too, wouldn't you?
jack@his.com