Robert jay lifton biography of michael

I was suspicious of the cultivated European voices translating the words of the survivors. Where was the center of this irony and at whose expense? I thought the subtleties of Dr. Mutilated bodies look the same, don't they, at death camps and at Dresden and at train wrecks? What, in this wretched century, is so special about Hiroshima? Lifton was one of the first organizers of therapeutic discussion groups on this subject in which mental health practitioners met with veterans face-to-face.

He and Dr. Totalism , a word which he first used in Thought Reform , is Lifton's term for the characteristics of ideological movements and organizations that desire total control over human behavior and thought. Lifton's usage differs from theories of totalitarianism , as it can be applied to the ideology of groups that do not wield governmental power.

In Lifton's opinion, though such attempts always fail, they follow a common pattern and cause predictable types of psychological damage in individuals and societies. He finds two common motives in totalistic movements: the fear and denial of death, channeled into violence against scapegoat groups that set up to represent a metaphorical threat to survival, and a reactionary fear of social change.

In his later work, Lifton has focused on defining the type of change to which totalism is opposed, for which he coined the term the protean self. In the book of the same title, he states that the development of a "fluid and many-sided personality" is a positive trend in modern societies. He said that mental health now requires "continuous exploration and personal experiment", which requires the growth of a purely relativist society that is willing to discard and diminish previously established cultures and traditions.

Following his work with Hiroshima survivors, Lifton became a vocal opponent of nuclear weapons , arguing that nuclear strategy and warfighting doctrine made even mass genocide banal and conceivable. While not a strict pacifist , he has spoken against U. What's happening there [in Bosnia] merits the use of the word genocide. There is an effort to systematically destroy an entire group.

It's even been conceptualized by Serbian nationalists as so-called "ethnic cleansing. Lifton regards terrorism as an increasingly serious threat due to the proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons and totalist ideologies. He has, however, criticized the Bush administration's " War on Terrorism " as a misguided and dangerous attempt to "destroy all vulnerability".

Lifton is featured in the documentary Flight From Death , a film that investigates the relationship of human violence to fear of death, as related to subconscious influences. In , Lifton appeared in a documentary on cults on the History Channel , Decoding the Past , along with fellow psychiatrist Peter A. NPR Fresh Air interviews:.

Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Such means of adapting to the thought of ultimate destruction has resulted in the emergence of a psychological type that Lifton calls Protean Man. Lifton's strongly expressed opinions and analyses of these processes have aroused controversy among critics. Gates saw Lifton's work as "supercritical when he starts exhorting.

Resnik, writing about History and Human Survival, maintained: "Whatever his method or its inconsistencies, Lifton has superb talent as a journalist; there is virtually no psychohistorical content in his description of a week's visit to Vietnam, but the essay, which stands somewhat apart from the rest, is a bitingly understated indictment of the American presence in Southeast Asia , and is worthwhile reading in any context.

While Lifton's arguments may prove controversial to some readers, others see justification in his stance. Lifton "is trying to persuade us that we are living in mortal sin. Some of us may not feel the guilt, but that is because we have been numbed," contended Locke. The author, stated the reviewer, feels he must cure us out of our moral numbness.

The book "is a clear, concise, and affirmative look at how humans adapt to a constantly changing world," remarked Brian McCombie in Booklist. In what a Publishers Weekly contributor called a "highly stimulating, original synthesis," Lifton describes how the Protean Self assembles bits of experience and constantly seeks to reinvent itself. Those most in tune with their Protean Selves are achievers interested in personal development and growth, who are not content with the traditional patterns and paths of life, and who devise new ways to make their way in the world while seeking alternatives to narrow career options and life paths.

Lifton includes biographical profiles of individuals he considers protean, including Vaclav Havel , novelist Gordon Parks , author Kurt Vonnegut , and a variety of activists and advocates. With such a focus on improvement and transformation, Lifton offers the optimistic suggestion that humans are living more hopeful, positive, and focused lives than previously thought possible in a postmodern world.

With Hiroshima in America: Fifty Years of Denial, Lifton once again turns his attention to the subject of Hiroshima, this time in terms of how the impact of the Hiroshima bombing has been downplayed and sometimes outright ignored in American historical contexts. Lifton and coauthor Greg Mitchell document how a documentary film of the effects of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, created by a collaboration between American and Japanese filmmakers, was suppressed for more than two decades after the war until it was released by the Japanese government.

Lifton finds the fate of that film illustrative of the American approach to the bombing, which amounts to, he asserts, a massive and systemic coverup. The United States , according to Lifton, has routinely engaged in the "suppression of information that might put a human face on what happened to the men, women, and children of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," commented Mike Moore in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

The authors seek to disprove the commonly held belief that the dropping of the atomic bomb helped to speed the end of World War II. They argue that, even six decades later, there is a "lasting, harmful impact of Hiroshima on American society" in the form of acceptance of the presence and use of nuclear weapons, arms buildups, governmental secrecy, and denial and suppression of information on radiation's influence on health, remarked a Publishers Weekly reviewer.

In Destroying the World to Save It: Aum Shinrikyo , Apocalyptic Violence, and the New Global Terrorism, Lifton deeply profiles the Japanese doomsday cult notorious for releasing deadly sarin gas on the Tokyo subway, killing eleven and injuring thousands. He explores the "psychological traits of the mostly educated followers of Aum's guru," Shoiko Asahara, noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer.

In addition, Lifton considers the psychological aspects of the group's aims and motives.

Robert jay lifton biography of michael

He describes the characteristics of Aum's belief system as a combination of New Age religion, Buddhism, and apocalyptic thinking. Lifton offers insight into the daily life of Aum members and into the rationalizations that Aum members use to justify their beliefs and behaviors. Lifton also looks at some other well-known cults in the United States, including Heaven's Gate, the Jim Jones and Charles Manson cults, and the various white supremacist groups at large in America, comparing their characteristics to those of Aum Shinrikyo.

Stephen L. Hupp, writing in Library Journal, called the book a "gripping work," while Booklist reviewer David Pitt declared it to be "an intelligent, ambitious exploration of the power of cults and a definite eye-opener. In Who Owns Death? Capital Punishment, the American Conscience, and the End of Executions, Lifton and coauthor Greg Mitchell look carefully at the historical, social, and ethical aspects of the death penalty in America, "highlighting the faulty logic behind it as well as its inherent conflict with the nation's moral conscience," noted Philip Y.

Blue in Library Journal. The authors provide a history of executions in America, with information on the various methods used and data on patterns of conviction. Lifton and Mitchell assign culpability to every person involved in the lengthy bureaucratic process of establishing, applying, and carrying out a death sentence, from judges and juries to defense attorneys and state legislators.

After him are Lothrop Stoddard , Charles A. Robert Jay Lifton Robert Jay Lifton born May 16, is an American psychiatrist and author, chiefly known for his studies of the psychological causes and effects of wars and political violence, and for his theory of thought reform. Others Born in Go to all Rankings. Others born in United States Go to all Rankings.

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