Psychology

Psychology is another huge topic that will be distilled to a few paragraphs that can't possibly do it justice. Keep in mind we're here to put the pieces together, not to provide all the background information.
“If you deliberately plan on being less than you are capable of being, then I warn you that you’ll be unhappy for the rest of your life.” -Abraham Maslow
Since a primary goal of this wiki is to provide scientific grounding for valid spiritual concepts, psychology is naturally the field of study most relevant to this endeavor. The vast majority of religious belief and practice has to do with the study of the self, the mind, and how we work together in societies. Research into the brain has given us ample evidence for how and why they work to produce happiness. This helps deepen your ethical convictions without reliance on faith.
Psychology Pages
Related wiki pages about mental stuff.
- Brain, Neural Networks, and Neurophysiology
- Consciousness and Subjective Mind
- Free Will and Addiction
- Happiness and Well-Being versus Suffering
- Finding Meaning and Wonder
- Optimism and the God Concept
- Spirituality, Religion, In-Group, and Rituals
- Psychedelics
- Self-Awareness
- Cognitive Dissonance
- Language, Humor, and Persuasion
- Art, Music, Poetry, Games, and Dance
- Emotions
- Safety
- Outrage, Contrarianism, and Trolling
- Lying, Cheating, and Misinformation
- Motivational Salience, Delayed Gratification and Temptation
- Variety and Neuroplasticity
- Placebo Effect
Positive Psychology
metaculture acknowledges the need to diagnose and treat mental illness and anxiety. However, the study of the human mind should not focus exclusively on its problems. In a healthy culture, the majority of people need to focus on finding greater happiness and meaning in life, not treating debilitating conditions. Positive Psychology is the branch of psychology that focuses on improving the subjective experience of consciousness, not just making it tolerable enough to continue participating in capitalism.
There is also evidence that pathologizing and focusing attention on psychological traits that are probably within the boundaries of normal human behavior is also damaging. That is why this wiki doesn't spend much time ruminating on things that are bad.
The focus of this wiki is not to replicate the DSM. It is to give you practical insights in to how the brain and consciousness work, and how to construct a belief system that provides meaning and maximizes happiness. By doing so, you can inoculate yourself against many of the disorders that you'll find in the DSM. But if you've got serious problems, see a therapist, not a wiki.
For more information, check out these Positive Psychology Resources.
Self-Help, Optimization, Therapy, and Neuroscience
Depending on your political persuasion, you may see psychology and spirituality from the perspective of self-help, optimization, therapy, or neuroscience. Here is a summary of these perspectives.
This insight is borrowed from James Pogue and Ezra Klein's excellent interview about the alliance between alt-right authoritarianism and technology oligarchs. [1][2]
Self-Help
The self-help perspective focuses on positive affirmations, good habits, and other generic advice. It provides some practical tools to help you develop good habits and achieve goals, but doesn't provide any deep understanding of how the brain works. It is politically centrist and blindly pro-capitalist.
Optimization
Optimization is self-help on steroids--sometimes metaphorically, sometimes literally. It is an obsessive, addictive view of self-help that tries to maximize every aspect of the self. It uses the term "maxxing." It is popular with the manosphere, hustle culture, and crypto-bros. They tend to lean libertarian politically. [3]
Therapy
The therapy mindset focuses on identifying problems within the psyche and either ruminating on them or coming up with creative pharmacological methods for suppressing them. These are your stereotypical liberals.
Neuroscience
While members of all political/psychological persuasions will name-drop neuroscience to sound more credible, the usage here should be considered in contrast to the other three perspectives. The neuroscience perspective considers a holistic view of the brain, body, and the culture it exists in. It seeks a robust, rational understanding of human flourishing and a political perspective that prioritizes happiness over ideology and monetary addiction. It doesn't fully align to any current political movement, though progressives share many values.
What Is Psychology?
Learn the basics. There's one for kids, one for adults, and the complete intro course from Yale for you to choose from.
Frontier Psychiatry
It's psychosomatic! That boy needs therapy.