“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci (Adopted by Steve Jobs)
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A Traveler was about to set forth upon a journey. He stood at the door, calling for his Dog. Finally, after looking, he found his Dog laying sleeping.
As he woke the Dog, and Dog stretched and yawned, and the Traveler asked the Dog sharply: “Why do you rest? Everything is ready but you, so come with me instantly.”
The Dog, wagging his tail, replied: “Why should you say that? I was waiting for you!”
Moral of the Story: Beware of excuse by projection. (Sloth will find an excuse.)
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Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue
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Why We Loved It: Aesop taught about self-responsibility in The Eagle and the Arrow [1] and self-actualization in Hercules and the Waggoner [2], and he taught about clever excuses in The Ass’s Brains [3], all corollaries of the blame game. In this fable, we find another variation, blame projection.
The usual “moral of the story” for this fable is customarily, “sloth will find an excuse.“ And, so it is that sloth does find an excuse, but there is a finer point for critical analysis. There is wisdom in this knowledge of human nature, so let us tier it down and dig deeper, remembering that each fable was the illustration or summary example for a larger and more complex lesson.
What we discover to be really special about this 2,000 year old ancient fable is that it exposes us to what we now consider to be “complex modern psychology,” being the stuff of elevated doctorate degrees. More specifically, the modern psychology concept of blame projection. A new theory or name perhaps, but not new humanity.
By casting against type, Aesop uses the least likely character to make his point: “Man’s best friend,” being the Dog. The Dog, who is customarily perceived to be loyal, and always ready to go for a walk or a ride (perhaps in a chariot), is used to project blame back onto the Man. Indeed, Aesop suggests that, if Man’s best friend will do it, anyone will do it. Aesop even has the Dog wagging his tail, with an implication that the Dog knows exactly what he is doing.
For a learned exposition of the modern psychological concept, we can refer to George Simon, Ph.D and one of his blogs at counsellingresource.com, paraphrasing a portion below:
Perhaps no behavior which disordered characters are prone to displaying is more common than their tendency to blame others when they do something wrong….The tactic of blaming has sometimes been called projecting the blame….
In this way, they simultaneously evade responsibility as well as manipulate and manage the impressions of others. The tactic goes hand in hand with the tactic of portraying oneself as a victim. It’s typically an effective tactic that gets others to pay attention to everyone or everything else except the disordered character and his wrongful behavior as the source of a problem…
Sometimes the tactic of blaming can be quite subtle. By calling attention to a wide variety of contributing circumstances, a manipulator can effectively obscure his or her role in the creation of a problem. This “it wasn’t me” tactic is hard to detect when your attention is drawn to other ‘culprits’ through this diversionary sleight of hand….“
[4] An evasive tactic was implemented by the beguiling Fox in the ancient text-book, The Ass’s Brains [3] moving the Lion’s attention away from the Fox as culprit. Whether the act is by being clever, or by some form of mental disorder, it is immaterial. Different causation to same effect.
But, for those interested in a general rule of thumb to determine whether the actor’s mental condition is clever or disordered, we can assess it using a old-school rule-of-thumb as to whether the actor is in a “true state” of unhappiness. Although not conclusive by any means, a blame disorder (internal harmony failure) and anger are often correlated, noting that Aesop’s Dog is waging his tail. The reason: clever, witty, beguiling blame can be a controlled form of calculated rhetoric, true anger is a disharmonious loss of control. The tendency is not for internal disorder and peaceful ordered internal harmony to co-exist in the same space at the same time.
The Dog here is playing a sophisticated game of sorts, as was the Fox in The Ass’s Brains [3]. In the The Ass’s Brains, the Fox played the game of displacing blame by target’s vain desire to embrace the excuse. In this fable, somewhat inversely, the Dog plays the game of displacement of blame onto the target by “hot potato” projection.
Nevertheless, the lesson here is for wisdom to be vigilant to recognize the context for projection, and if not also to respect the time-tested power of Ancient Master Aesop.
Thus the adage, “Simplicitas in arte eius est, non in scientia eius.” (“Simplicity is in the art of it, not in the science of it.”)
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci (Adopted by Steve Jobs)
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© 2013 Arnold Zegarelli and Gregg Zegarelli, Esq. Gregg can be contacted through LinkedIn. Arnold Zegarelli can be contacted through Facebook.
http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/projection-fault-displacement-easy-excuses-95-his-zegarelli-esq-/
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