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With this 1996 article, Fanita English continued her
interest in autocratic structures and in Master/Follower relationships, or what
she called in her 1987 article: Power, Mental Energy, and Inertia (TAJ 17/3),
Type II and Type I relationships respectively. She reasserts her ideas about
two contrasting character types, Oversure for Masters, and Undersure for
Followers and relates them to existential positions suggesting that such
relationships in the extreme are third degree games.
She explores the attractions of fundamentalism, regarding
Masters' definitions of morality and absolutist versions of “The
Truth” and discusses how unnerving a changing realty can be, and how
oversimplified versions of good and evil offer a promise of control and safety.
English asks the question: do humans yearn to dedicate
themselves and lists several movements in the U.S., where this is apparently
so. She then explains these ideas from her “existential pattern
theory” developed by her over several years (TAJ 1987, 17/3; 1992 23/1)
and proposing three basic human drives: Survival, Expressive, and Quiescence.
She then relates these drives to developmental stages and relates this to a
case history.
In the closing paragraphs English remarks about the
fundamentalist Christian Coalition and concludes with some remarks about
threats to our basic liberties.
This article which appeared in a TAJ theme issue on TA and
Social applications (1996, 26/1) again demonstrates how transactional analysis
can be applied to large social systems in very specific, and I think relevant
ways.
With this 1996 article, Fanita English continued her
interest in autocratic structures and in Master/Follower relationships, or what
she called in her 1987 article: Power, Mental Energy, and Inertia (TAJ 17/3),
Type II and Type I relationships respectively. She reasserts her ideas about
two contrasting character types, Oversure sure for Masters, and Undersure for
Followers and relates them to existential positions suggesting that such
relationships in the extreme are third degree games.
She explores the attractions of fundamentalism, regarding
Masters' definitions of morality and absolutist versions of “The
Truth” and discusses how unnerving a changing realty can be, and how
oversimplified versions of good and evil offer a promise of control and safety.
English asks the question: do humans yearn to dedicate
themselves and lists several movements in the U.S., where this is apparently
so. She then explains these ideas from her “existential pattern
theory” developed by her over several years (TAJ 1987, 17/3; 1992 23/1)
and proposing three basic human drives: Survival, Expressive, and Quiescence.
She then relates these drives to developmental stages and relates this to a
case history.
In the closing paragraphs English remarks about the
fundamentalist Christian Coalition and concludes with some remarks about
threats to our basic liberties.
This article which appeared in a TAJ theme issue on TA and
Social applications (1996, 26/1) again demonstrates how transactional analysis
can be applied to large social systems in very specific, and I think relevant
ways.
Alan Jacobs, Editor.
June 20, 1999
TAJnet reprint of the
1996 article The Lure of Fundamentalism by Fanita English...
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