BEING VALUES AND BENEFICENT OBSESSIONS: APPLYING THEORIES FROM MASLOW AND ASSAGIOLI TO EVOLUTIONARY GUIDANCE MEDIA

Abstract

Memes are units of cultural information, the symbols that shape our worldview. In seeking to create a sustainable worldview we require memes, i.e., words, images, and systems, capable of serving as evolutionary guides for societies at varying levels of development. The evolutionary guidance systems framework designed by Bela H. Banathy is one such societal meme. Its application to media resulted in evolutionary guidance media, a framework for creating media designed to promote planetary consciousness. In continuing the design of evolutionary guidance media, this paper explores the application of Maslow’s theory of “metapathologies” as a means of isolating and/or diagnosing societal ills, and examines the use of “being values” as antidotes. To expedite the healing process Assagioli’s “technique of evocative words” and the “beneficent obsession” are presented.