“People are disturbed not by events, but by the views which they take of them,” said the Greek philosopher Epictetus 2000 years ago. 20 th century psychologist Albert Ellis [1913-2007] said the same thing in slightly different words, “ People disturb themselves by the things that happen to them, and by their views, feelings, and actions.” It is facile to argue that Salman Rushdie or Wendy Doniger disturbs us with their books. The fact is they don’t. There are more people in the world who are not disturbed by their books than those who are. What makes the difference? There is a model in psychology known as the A-B-C framework . A stands for activating agent , B for belief , and C for Consequence (emotional and behavioural). A book may be the activating agent. It creates a belief in us: that our religion or god is in danger or something of the sort. And the consequence is anger, frustration, or some such reaction. ...
Cerebrate and Celebrate