At the end of my "response to critics" re Democratic Capitalism I
included a recently noticed illustration that "the cultural heritage" may have
been effecting some changes on the "cultural inhabitants"–i.e. on human beings.
(A website on "narcissistic abuse" published by "Dr. Sam Vaknin".)
This was a hasty way of calling attention to a theme raised at least as long
ago as Thorstein Veblen (consumption behaviors) and carried through some of his
"institutionalist" students, particularly Harold Adams Innis, whose own student
was Marshall McLuhan. That is, that the technological environment, particularly
communications technology, has impacts on individual human brains. This can
affect the way that individuals respond to various stimuli. The papers on the
promise of a "leisure society" that I have noticed as recommended Social Credit
fare date from mid-century, before these concerns were given a higher profile by
the likes of McLuhan.
My manifest skepticism about the breadth of Vaknin’s scope was taken further
by Bill Ryan who quickly "googled" up the information appended below. It appears
that Vaknin’s "doctoral" credential was awarded by a diploma mill. When I
relayed this information to the bona fide doctor who referred me to Vaknin’s
site, the response was a laugh: "Well, he says frankly in his papers on the
subject that he is a narcissist himself; that is how he can spot them so
easily!" Here is what Bill found, and asked me to relay to the list:
http://samvak.tripod.com/cv.html
Education
Graduated a few semesters in
the Technion - Israel
Institute of Technology, Haifa.
Ph.D. in Philosophy
(major: Philosophy of Physics) -
Pacific Western University, California,
USA.
Graduate of numerous courses in Finance Theory and
International
Trading.
Certified E-Commerce Concepts Analyst by Brainbench.
Certified in
Psychological Counselling Techniques by
Brainbench.
Certified Financial
Analyst by Brainbench.
---
"Pacific Western University" is a notorious
diploma
mill:" (I believe this comment is inserted by
Bill.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Western_University
Today,
it offers Bachelor of Arts, Master of Business
Administration, and Ph.D.
degrees in Public
Administration, Business Administration, and
Management,
with prices ranging between $6,500 and
$9,400. Degrees are awarded for a
combination of
"experiential learning credits" and distance
learning
coursework culminating in multiple-choice, true/false,or
fill-in-the-blank exams [4].
Investigative reporters from television
station KVOA
of Tucson, Arizona described the Los Angeles campus,
"We
don't find students, classrooms or professors.
Only a small office with two
receptionists and a man
who introduces himself as the dean." [5]
John
Bear, an expert on nontraditional education
stated that,
"...[a degree
from PWU] holds no merit in the academic
world."
[6]
---
"Brainbench" is the equivalent of a diploma mill
that
grants online "certifications" for
$49.99.
http://www.brainbench.com/xml/bb/common/testcenter/alltests.xml
(I believe the comment about Brainbench is by Bill. Their diplomas might
actually cost more than that!!)
Bill’s opening comment to me was that [quote] "Dr." Vaknin is a phony with a
pumped up resume. I request that you post a clarification to
socialcredit@elistas.com :- [end quote].
That the resume is pumped up is highly believable, but it does not exactly
discredit the entire content of Vaknin’s material–which as I have already noted
does have some scholarly supporters. Furthermore, I have noticed that wikipedia,
for one example, does published biased information from time to time, as
submitted by readers who are likewise not vetted for their own academic
credentials. This is not intended as a defense of Vaknin. It is one of the
problems implied in the warnings of McLuhan. (These were noted briefly by Lewis
Lapham in his recent book Gag Rule about the failures and even the
perfidy of the U.S. media establishment and its sycophantic
employees).
Critics of Carey r
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