POLAR BEARS AND HIMALAYAN BEARS: ARE THEY TO LEARN THE SAME TA?
Vladimir Goussakovski, PTSTA (P)
Abstract
This presentation is to explore if there are any limits for developing TA worldwide. Eric Berne founded TA based on the philosophical concept of autonomy of separate human beings. It fits well to the North American and Western Europe culture. Other autonomous units were found in human history: families, social groups, nations, cultures, religions, and other forms of communities. Should we consider them as unhealthy symbiosis that restricts autonomy and hence is pathology or as normal conditions? Do we need to revise basics of TA to apply it in different regions of the Earth? Is there any predisposition to TA in human genes, temperaments, climate conditions, cultures, etc? These and many other questions are still open and become important for developing TA in countries with different ethnical, cultural and political background.
Introduction
There is a Russian fairytale about a little girl who
managed to outsmart a big fierce bear (apparently Parental character) and made
him carry her home in a big basket on his shoulders instead of eating her. I
could not find any Adult fairytale character that made contracts in open
direct game-free transactions like in TA textbooks. Does it mean that Russian
fairytale bears lack TA knowledge? Or folks wisdom has found more effective
ways of communication then it is known in TA? I dont know if bears in
fairytales of other folks are more successful in negotiations!
Autonomy
Eric Berne put autonomy as the top goal of the whole
TA philosophy. Could it be not nice if someone develops capacities of
awareness, spontaneity and intimacy? I remember the case I ran TA workshop on
problem solving skills for families in Kazakhstan. This is a former USSR
country in Middle Asia, which is slightly Islamic. Most of the workshop
participants were women. They were very enthusiastic about the topic, asked a
lot of questions and took an active part in exercises. Just at the end during
the feedback circle one of them said: It was very interesting, but if I said
about these ideas to my husband, he would kill me. I was puzzled, it was
completely opposite to the results I expected. It seems that the best sign of
autonomy for this woman would be to refuse using skills gained in TA workshop
in her family!
Symbiosis
Jacky Shiff considered symbiosis as a normal condition
just for small children. I would mention another Russian fairytale about Ivan
the prince who was going to fight evil and save his bride. Directing to his
darling he saved duck, hare, bear and some other animals instead of eating them
while staying hungry. And at the very decisive moment they gathered together to
save him and made his mission possible. Is it an ode to symbiosis? They havent
had any contracts to help each other!
Why
a person?
The idea of autonomy was applied by Berne mostly to a
single person communicating with others to reach his/her goals. For some
cultures such a perspective sounds selfish, individualistic, and egoistic.
Nearly in every 101 course I run in Russia I needed to explain on participants
questions that TA ego-states theory is not a theory of egoism. We could think
of other autonomous units except of single person that were found in human
history: families, social groups, nations, cultures, religions, etc. Its like
anthill, which is an autonomous system, but not a single ant, which is not.
Humans from the very start of civilisation were social creatures and lived in
clans, tribes, and other groups with strict distribution of roles. It looks
like symbiosis and it was helpful for survival and developing of human race.
May be we needed to take it more into account while developing TA theory and
practice. From the other side it is not clear how autonomous people in TA sense
would live as a community!
Where
to go?
It seems that on the way of developing TA in countries
with different ethnical, cultural and political backgrounds we came to the
point where we need to make important decisions. We can claim to keep TA basics
clean according to ideas of Berne and other TA originators. In this case we
could find that developing TA worldwide would come to its upper limit. There is
a risk in this case that countries, political systems and cultures outside of
TA area would be considered as being not OK. There is just one step from here
to the war like we have in Iraq. Or we need to revise basics of TA to apply it
in different regions of the Earth taking into account races, temperaments,
climate conditions, cultures, history, etc? It would continue the course to
creating multicultural TA. The risk in this case is for TA to loose its
original identity. I would state it as an open question that needs to be solved
in the near future.