Useful publication on psychology

Carl Rogers saha Nuthana Manovidyava (Carl Rogers and Modern Psychology)

Editors: Daya Edirisinghe and Gamini Hapuarachchi

Wathma Publishers, Dehiwala, 2006

152 pages, Rs. 280

Review: Padmal de SILVA, University of London

PSYCHOLOGY: Psychology is a well established academic discipline, and now enjoys an important place in the ‘map of knowledge’. It is one of the most popular subjects in universities in many parts of the world.

The applications of psychology now pervade most areas of life, and the rapid growth of professional disciplines, such as clinical psychology, reflect the formalization of these applications.

Books on psychology written in Sinhala are still rare, despite the fact that the subject has been taught in the universities of Sri Lanka for some time. Psychology was initially taught as part of other subjects, such as education, sociology and philosophy.

In more recent years, it has begun to be taught as an independent subject. This is a major development, and one that has led to the need for more books and other reading materials in the national languages.

Professor Daya Edirisinghe and his colleagues have published several books over the last decade or so in this area.

In their endeavours to make reading material in psychology available to the students of the subject as well as to the interested lay readers in Sinhala, they have covered many areas of this discipline.

Collective effort

The present book is a collective effort by four members of the Philosophy Department of the Kelaniya University - the two editors, plus Tulsi Alahakone and Muditha Karunasinghe.

It gives an introductory account of some areas of modern psychology. The contents are organised under eight chapters, which are summarized below.

The first chapter is a discussion of the all-important question ‘What is psychology? The nature of the subject, and how it relates to other disciplines, are considered here.

In chapter two, an account is given of the historical development of psychology. The history of psychology is a fascinating affair, with various milestones, major individual contributions and key trends.

This discussion is continued in the third chapter, which deals with the main theories in the field, and consideration of some key concepts. Chapter four concentrates of learning, a major content area of psychology.

In the following chapter an account is given of Carl Rogers’s contribution to the field, with special focus on his humanistic approach to psychology.

Chapter six deals with two specific topics: parapsychology and the concept of super-consciousness.

In chapter seven, a somewhat detailed account of counselling psychology is provided, covering different approaches and formats.

The final chapter is headed ‘Contemporary applied psychology’ and focuses on four areas: organisational psychology, feminist psychology, environmental psychology, and sports psychology.

Modern life

As can be seen from the above, the book covers a variety of topics in psychology. It is not a comprehensive text on the subject, and does not claim to be one.

It does, however, address a range of topics that are of interest to the present-day student, and are relevant to modern life.

The inclusion of a brief section on environmental psychology is laudable, as environmental issues are rapidly taking centre stage in today’s world concerns. The book also gives, at the end, a valuable glossary of technical terms. Nearly two hundred and fifty terms are included.

I welcome this addition to the still small literature on psychology in Sinhala The editors and their colleagues deserve the readers’ gratitude for this contribution.

There are some minor flaws, which should not detract from the overall value of the work. I must, however, confess to a sense of puzzlement - to put it mildly - about the title of the book.

The title leads one to expect a work that deals with Carl Rogers’s contribution to, or influence on, modern psychology. The book does not attempt this; it is instead a series of chapters on various key aspects of the field, including one on Rogers and his work.

So the title is misleading, and I am sure the editors will not dispute this. It is not clear why the editors chose this title. This criticism apart, the book is a most welcome publication and is likely to be widely read.

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Thought-provoking book on religion

Irshiyakarayage Ana (Orders of the Jealous Personality)

Author: Dr. Harischandra Wijayatunga

Publishers: S. Godage and Bros, Colombo 10

Price: Rs. 350

Review: W.T.A. Leslie FERNANDO

CHRISTIANITY: Today Christianity is at cross-roads. There are over 20,000 sects of Christians all over the world who vie with each other claiming that only their sect presents the true teachings of Christ.

In the West where you get most of the Christians, the religion is not taken seriously. Even in Catholic countries in Europe only around 10% seem to practise the religion and churches are almost empty even on Sundays.

Besides morality is at a very low ebb in the Christian West. Although Christianity preaches “What God has joined together let no man put it asunder,” there are more divorces in the West than in this part of the world.

Married couples living in adultery are not taken seriously at all in Europe. Even in Catholic countries you get swimming pools where both men and women step into them fully naked.

In the meantime there are various fundamental sects that go from house to house in Sri Lanka with a Bible in hand and try to convert people to Christianity at any cost.

There are some Catholic clergy who place pictures of Christ on one side and that of Lord Buddha on the other and preach that Buddhism and Christianity as parallel religions.

In recent years at Vesak statues of Lord Buddha are placed in church premises, Bhikkhus preach Bana, Vesak Bhakti Gee are recited and Vesak lanterns are lit in Catholic churches.

In this background, the book “Irshiyakarayage Ana” or orders of the jealous personality by Dr. Harischnadra Wijayatunga is most informative, instructive and revealing.

Buddhists

At the outset the author confesses that people are entitled to have their beliefs and does not want to condemn them for that right. He explains that his endeavour is to present the true facts for the benefit of people specially to the Buddhists.

The author expresses that the almighty God in the Bible is a jealous personality as the title of the book implies.

According to the Old Testament the 2nd commandment of God in the version of the Bible approved by King James is “I am the Lord thy God am a jealous God”. But what is now found in the Bible is “Because I am the Lord your God, I tolerate no rivals”.

He illustrates his point by quoting further from the Bible. In the Old Testament God has ordered to kill even close relatives who entice people to worship other Gods by stoning them to death. (Deuteronomy 13-9,10). Christ in the New Testament has said “Do not think I have come to bring peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword ...... He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me”. (Matthew 10-34 to 38).

There are some who put forward a theory that Christ had lived in India for some time and was influenced by Buddhism.

The author completely dismisses this theory. On the contrary he subscribes to the school of thought that there was no person called Christ who lived in this world. This view looks far-fetched on the face of it. However the arguments adduced by the author in this respect could not be lightly brushed aside.

Contradictions

Firstly the author draws attention to the major contradictions in the four Gospels. Next he finds that according to the Gospels Christ was an extraordinary person born of virgin, who performed miracles, walked on the sea, raised the dead to life, brought about a social revolution and had a following.

According to the Gospel of Matthew, at the death of Christ so many dead had come out of tombs.

The author queries why the life of Christ is not mentioned in the records of contemporary historians and eminent men in Rome, Greece and Palestine. He gives a long list of such intellectuals.

The author concedes that Christ is mentioned in the record of one Jewish priest called Josephus Ben Matthias who was born five years after the death of Christ. But here the reference is limited to one paragraph about miracles and resurrection of Christ.

The author wonders if Christ had risen from the death why he remained a Jewish priest without being a follower of Christ. According to the author it was a later interpolation by one Eussbeous who advocated to lie for religion.

Long before Christ there have been pagan Gods like Osiris of Egypt, Dionysus of Greece, Adonis of Syria, Bakkhus of Italy, and De Mithras of Persia who are said to have risen from the dead.

The author contends that this phenomenon has been developed to create the story of Christ as well. as the Romans were great law-givers the author doubts.

Whether a Roman Governor could have condemned a person to death, when he found him to be innocent merely because people demanded on the instigation of Chief Priests.

Old Testament

According to the author the followers of the Old testament have entered into a covenant to destroy other religions. The first commandment of God is “Worship no God but me”.

In the New Testament Christ has commanded “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mattew 28-19,20). As such Christians are bound to convert others to Christianity.

He accuses that the theory propounded by some multi-religious forums that all religions are similar or have a common factor is a ploy to mislead Buddhists and Hindus with a hidden agenda.

Finally the author draws attention to a remark made by Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Cantubury who has a following of over 70 million in the Church of England as it was reported in The “Island” on January 03, 2005.

When people were devastated by the Tsunami he had expressed to the “Daily Telegraph” - “How can you believe in a God who permits suffering in this scale”, If an Archbishop feels so what could Buddhists expect from an Almighty God, queries the author.

As a Roman Catholic believing in God and the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church I cannot endorse some of the views expressed in this book. Our position is that human nature is such our mind cannot apprehend ways and doings of God.

Nevertheless there are so many persons and organizations funded by foreign agencies who want to mix religions saying all are the same. This would lead to the destruction of all religions. In that sense I welcome this book.

Although this book deals with philosophical aspects, it is presented in readable language in the inimitable style of Dr. Harischandra Wijayatunga and it provides fascinating reading.

It is neatly printed in glossy paper and provides some relevant pictures as well. All those who are interested in religion should read this book.

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Book of wisdom for everybody

Lokopakaraya

Author: Ven. Ranasgalle Thera

Translator: Premachandra Alwis

Sooriya Publishers, Colombo 10.

75 pp Price Rs. 200

Review: R. S. KARUNARATNE

WISDOM: Ven. Ranasgalle Thera’s Lokopakaraya which helped people over the years to be aware of the state of the world has been translated by Premachandra Alwis.

The book running into just 75 pages advises people what should be done and what should not be done to live a meaningful life.

Ven. Ranasgalle Thera is supposed to have lived in the Thotagamuwe Vihara, near Hikkaduwa. The book was written during the Jayewardenepura (Kotte) literary period (1410-1554 AD).

This is the first ever English translation of the original Sinhala stanzas. The book gives both the Sinhala and English versions.

Lokopakaraya is a remarkable literary work which is endowed with a variety of similies and metaphors. Although the original work consisted of two-lined stanzas, the translator has thought it fit to write them in prose style, maintaining the numerical order of the original.

Here are a few gems culled from the translated text:

* “To explain a perfect science to an ignorant is nothing but giving a mirror to a blind to see his face.”

* “Those who are in association with gamblers, performers, prostitutes, robbers, drunkards and the likes will definitely perish.”

* “Violent and sinful persons go to hell after their death; just as a house merges in the darkness once the lamps is blown out.”

Taken as a whole, Lokopakaraya is a handy guide to lead a trouble-free life in this world. Some typographical errors could have been easily eliminated.

Books of this nature should be free from errors because readers use them frequently to become better human beings.

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Democracy and counterterrorism

Edited by Robert J. Art and Louise Richardson

POLITICS: Democracy and Counterterrorism offers unparalleled breadth in its comparative study of the policies, strategies, and instruments employed in the fight against terrorism.

The distinguished contributors - some scholars, some practitioners, and all renowned experts - examine no fewer than fourteen cases, featuring thirteen states and sixteen major terrorist groups.

Each case study includes a brief overview, a detailed analysis of the policies and techniques that the government employed, and an assessment of which measures proved most effective and instructive.

The substantial conclusion draws together common threads from the individual cases and asks what lessons their collective experience can offer to the democracies now battling al Qaeda and the global jihadists.

Among the answers sure to interest policymakers as well as academics is that the constraints within which democracies must fight terrorism are actually a source of strength; democratic governments that seek simply to obliterate terrorism by force usually succeed only in making their problems worse.

The book is available at United Institute of Peace Press P.O. Box 605 Herndon, VA 20172 Readers may also visit their bookshop http://bookstore.usip.org