Andersen KG et al. The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2. Nature Medicine, March 2020.

Cases of Covid-19 first emerged in December 2019, when a mysterious illness was reported in in the city of Wuhan, China. The cause of the disease was soon confirmed as a new kind of coronavirus, and the infection has since caused a large-scale epidemic and spread to more than 70 other countries. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are related to a broad spectrum of illnesses, the first of which was the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in China. A second outbreak of severe illnesses began in 2012 in Saudi Arabia with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). On December 31 of 2019, Chinese authorities alerted the World Health Organization of an outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2 causing severe illness. As of February 20, 2020, nearly 167,500 Covid-19 cases have been reported, though many milder cases have likely gone undiagnosed. More than 6,600 people have already died as a result of contracting this virus – and the numbers will be much higher when you will be reading this article. Chinese scientists sequenced the genome of SARS-CoV-2 very shortly after the epidemic began and made the data available worldwide. The analyses of genomic sequence data have shown that Chinese authorities rapidly detected the epidemic and that the number of Covid-19 cases have been increasing because of human to human transmission after a single introduction into the human population.

Recently, a group of scientists used this sequencing data to explore the origins of SARS-CoV-2 and how it has become the version that it is now. The scientists specifically focused on the genetic codes for spike proteins, the mechanical framework on the outside of the virus that it uses to grab and penetrate the outer walls of human and animal cells. There are 2 major parts of the spike proteins: the receptor-binding domain (RBD), a molecular hook that grips onto host cells, and the cleavage site, a molecular can opener that allows the virus to crack open and enter host cells. The scientists found that the RBD portion of the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins mutated to effectively target a molecular feature on the outside of human cells called ACE2, a receptor normally involved in regulating blood pressure. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was exceptionally effective at binding to human cells, and the scientists concluded this could only be a product after a natural selection process and not the product of human-designed genetic engineering. This evidence was further strengthened by data on SARS-CoV-2’s backbone molecular structure. If someone were to engineer a new coronavirus as a pathogen, they would have constructed it from the backbone of a virus known to cause illness. But the scientists found that the SARS-CoV-2 backbone differed substantially from those of already known coronaviruses and mostly resembled related viruses found in bats and pangolins. These two features of the virus, the mutations in the RBD portion of the spike protein and its distinct backbone, basically ruled out laboratory manipulation as a potential origin for SARS-CoV-2. Based on their genomic sequencing analysis, scientists came up with two possible scenarios as the most likely origins for SARS-CoV-2.

In the first scenario, the current pathogenic state of SARS-CoV-2 has emerged naturally in non-human hosts such as bats or pangolins and then jumped to humans. Coronaviruses are well known to undergo genetic recombination. In fact, this is exactly how previous coronavirus outbreaks have emerged, with humans contracting the virus after direct exposure to civets (SARS) and camels (MERS). The researchers proposed horseshoe bats as the most likely reservoir for SARS-CoV-2 as it is very similar to a bat coronavirus. There are no documented cases of direct bat-human transmission so far, suggesting that an intermediate host was likely involved between bats and humans.

In this particular scenario, both of the distinctive features of SARS-CoV-2’s spike protein and the cleavage site would have mutated to their current pathogenic state prior to entering humans. In this case, the current epidemic would probably have emerged rapidly as soon as humans were infected, as the virus would have already equipped with the features that make it pathogenic and able to spread between people.

In the second proposed scenario, a non-pathogenic version of the virus jumped from an animal host into humans and after a mutation process it has acquired its current pathogenic state within the human population. For instance, some coronaviruses from pangolins, armadillo-like mammals found in Asia and Africa, have a spike protein very similar to that of SARS-CoV-2. A coronavirus from a pangolin could possibly have been transmitted to a human, either directly or through an intermediary host such as civets or ferrets.

In this scenario, only the cleavage site could have mutated within a human host, possibly via limited undetected circulation in the human population for months or maybe years prior to the beginning of the epidemic. The researchers found that the SARS-CoV-2 cleavage sites have similarities that resemble strains of bird flu that can transmit easily between people. In the case of SARS-CoV-2, such a virulent cleavage site could have been formed in human cells and soon the current epidemic got initiated, as the coronavirus would possibly have become far more capable of spreading between people.

At this point, it is almost impossible to know for sure which of the scenarios is most likely. If the SARS-CoV-2 entered humans in its current pathogenic form from an animal source, it raises the probability of future outbreaks, as the illness-causing strain of the virus could still be circulating in those animal populations and might come back to humans again. It is still noteworthy that a non-pathogenic coronavirus entering the human population and then acquiring properties similar to SARS-CoV-2, the second scenario, is less likely than the first scenario.

In conclusion, this study brings an evidence-based view to the baseless rumors and conspiracy theories that the SARS-CoV-2 was deliberately manufactured in a lab and concludes that the virus has emerged after a natural process that took place in multiple hosts over time. These genetic findings are also consistent with how SARS-CoV2 is currently behaving. The virus has a low fatality rate (1% to 3.4%) and does not seem to act like a bioweapon compared to pathogens such as anthrax or Ebola. Given the previous coronavirus epidemics and the persistence of the culture of eating exotic mammals in China and other parts of the world, the current COVID19 epidemic is unfortunately not a big surprise for scientists and experts. We have to take necessary measures to be more prepared for such outbreaks that may take place in future.

All human beings have similar organs, but each organ has qualities unique to itself and to the person it belongs to. Research has revealed that even some of the genes of monozygotic twins are different [1]. As opposed to the previous assumption that “when it comes to DNA, every cell in the body is essentially identical to every other cell,” it has been found that each cell has a DNA of its own [2]. This uniqueness originates from the fact that the order and number of molecules and proteins are different, which is valid for atoms and sub-atom particles as well. Having spent countless hours on microscopes and spectroscopes, a university professor of mine once said, “I witnessed different structures of iron atom each time I observed one. We even need to produce a separate periodic table for the iron element alone.”

We also witness that particles have been created uniquely, just like human beings are. From the micro universe (one millionth of a meter) down to femto universe (one quadrillionth of a meter), each particle is called a boson or fermion. When particles are examined to find out in what conditions they resemble each other in the femto universe, doors of a new world will be opened in terms of knowledge and contemplation. According to this new perspective, while the things and events are sometimes explained through mathematical equations and formulations, they are sometimes explained through experiments of thought trying to attain the truth behind them. Pauli exclusion principle is one such experiment.

Pauli Principle

There are around 380 sub-atomic particles [3]. In atomic and subatomic dimensions, two fermions (e.g. two electrons) of an atom cannot have the same set of quantum numbers. Wolfgang Pauli first explained this principle in 1925 and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1945 after experiments proved that the theory was correct. This theory has gone down in history as the Pauli Exclusion Principle.

The motion equations of subatomic particles are expressed by their magnetic states. Pauli said that none of the electrons of an atom can share the same quantum state at the same time. In other words, two electrons in the same atom cannot share the physical features such as magnetism, motion, position and velocity in the same state [2].

In addition to the three quantum numbers (principal, subordinate, and magnetic quantum numbers) described so far, Pauli defined a quantum number for the spin of a fermion (e.g. electron). The spin quantum number is related to the rotation of the electron around its axis because an electron rotates around its own axis as it rotates around the atomic nucleus. According to the Pauli Principle, if an orbit has an electron with a spin of 1/2, an electron with a spin of -1/2 can be placed in the same orbit. If we assume that the spin of an electron rotating clockwise is 1/2 the spin of an electron rotating counterclockwise will be -1/2. Thus, with Pauli’s contribution, four quantum numbers were defined for subatomic particles and it was stated that even if the other three quantum numbers were the same, electrons with different spin quantum numbers could circulate in the same orbit.

The Pauli Principle shows that atoms are not identical. This principle also applies to solid crystals, that is, the materials we use daily. The Principle is also able to explain the fact that the ores that make up the element are different, and the fact that there are different elements in the periodic table. With this principle, important properties of superconductors have been discovered.

In 1927, based on the Pauli Principle, German physicist Karl Werner Heisenberg showed that it is not possible to measure the physical properties of a particle, such as the position and momentum, at the same time and that these results can only be expressed with uncertain probability and statistics [5].

This uniqueness also manifests itself in the space we call the macro world. Stars consisting of only neutrons are called neutron stars. A neutron star is very dense: its mass is 2–3 times that of the Sun, but only about 10 km in diameter. A neutron star should theoretically collapse into a black hole, but this does not happen. The reason for this, it has been discovered, is that neutrons that cannot share the same position prevent collapse and that neutron stars remain in balance [6].

The universe has been created with balance, and everything, from the minutest particles to the stars in the outer space, follows their particular courses to maintain the order.

References

1. scientificamerican.com/article/identical-twins-exhibit-d/
2. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090715131449.htm
3. lbl.gov/2017/listings/contents_listings.html
4. wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Pauli
5. phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/uncer.html
6. phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/pauli.html

Violence. It surrounds us. It is all over the media. It is so common in our society today that violence has become the norm rather than the exception. Perhaps one out of every ten people in the United States have experienced or witnessed a violent crime. Psychology Today states that homicide is the 5^th most common cause of death in the United States in all age brackets between 1 and 44 years. Violence to one’s self, in the form of suicide, is ranked second only to death by accidental causes. As violence is a behavior, it is common to lay the blame for violence to a psychological abnormality. Unfortunately, that is not the cut and dried case.

The potential for violence exists in all of us. It is part of our biology. Especially in males. Men are far more predisposed to violence than women, and this has been the case since the dawn of time. We were violent to hunt for food, protect ourselves and our families and to maintain order in society. As we can see, violence is still required today to do much the same thing.

Everywhere, we see the potential for violence. In how the police keep the peace, in how the military defends politics and diplomacy across the globe. In how one group seizes property, or food, or people against their will through the use of violence.

While we are predisposed to violence as a species, let us not forget that we haven’t brought ourselves to the point of extinction yet. This is because for all of our violent tendencies, society has developed a moral structure. Whether it’s because of a common belief in a spiritual concept, a religion, or just some inner moral compass, society has evolved with laws. These laws guide us through what is right and what is wrong. Such an evolution has brought some structure to societies, and has maintained some control over humanity’s violent aspects.

While yes, psychology is part of the equation of violence, there are other determining factors that make a person more predisposed to violence. For instance, it has often been discussed that environment, and external influence play a large part in violent behavior. A person who grows up in a violent environment, or around violent people may be more apt to be violent themselves. This can be seen across the United States where people grow up, and live in rough neighborhoods. Young impressionable people tend to go with the flow in order to be accepted by the elder violent natured individuals in their society. Observing aggressive behavior makes children learn new aggressive behaviors, for we tend to imitate the specific behaviors that we see, and start to believe that it is OK to do the same (Bandura 1973).

Influences in that environment could be a constant state of war such as we see in developing countries. It could be gang members who recruit younger people through coercion, or exposure to violence. It could be any number of hate groups who are able to influence people, imparting to them at a young age that one race or another is inferior, or to blame for something. In doing so, such groups are able to convince people that an ethnic group is deserving violence. So it can successfully be debated that environment, and external influence, are definitely keys to violent behavior.

There are others who argue that it is only biology that is the defining factor regarding violent behavior. In an article for Medical News Today, the author writes that the Hypothalamus, the ventrolateral part of the ventromedial hypothalamus, and the Lateral Septum areas of the brain are specifically to blame for violent behavior. Biology can be a factor to understand violent behavior in relation to build-up of electrical impulses that finally get released in a physical expression. But it surely does not help to explain exactly why these impulses get built-up.

In my opinion, I believe it is a combination of factors. I am United States Air Force veteran who has deployed to numerous locations where violence is common, and then spent time as a contractor there. From my exposure to these other cultures, I can say that I believe that environment plays a large part in violent behavior along with external influence. The more people are fed the idea that violence is acceptable, the more they are inclined to exhibit violent behavior.

It is true though that biology is really the tie that binds all of us into a predisposition for violence. Studies have shown that any person placed under enough negative mental stress will react violently to the situation they are in. In effect the Fight or Flight response is triggered. This is because regardless of environment, influence, or predisposition, we are all human and are all hardwired in the same way. Violence is a product of the Fight or Flight response. When presented with a given situation imbued with enough negative mental stress, we will either fight or run. Factors such as environment and influence will either mitigate or exacerbate our response.

To make matters worse, the ingestion of certain drugs such as amphetamines can produce states where the individual is more prone to be violent. The same can be said for alcohol, which is notorious for lowering impulse control. If the condition is chronic, then the individual will become violent over and over again. Again this is a matter of an external influence.

Now having said that, there are certain people who argue that psychology is the only defining factor. According many health professionals, mental illness is widely considered the principal cause for violent behavior.

People with psychotic tendencies who have no real sense of right or wrong are certainly more predisposed to violence. This is especially so in Paranoid Schizophrenics, where people come to believe they are being persecuted. They may then attack the person they believe is persecuting them. The same can be said of people who are sexually deviant. Often they will perform violent acts against other people to satisfy a psychological need. However, there is a standing argument that sexual deviance is a product of both environment, and the individual being a victim of sexual violence themselves. Therefore, potentially, sexual deviance is a result of environment and negative external influence.

The trend of violence in today’s society has reached epidemic proportions. In violent riots, people may act out violently because people around him or her are acting violently. It is perceived as normal to do so in such situations in which peer pressure, an external influence, lowers an individual’s self-control, thus allowing for violent behavior.

A child with a history of parental abuse kills small animals for the sheer enjoyment of doing so. The child has experienced violent behavior and is looking for an outlet to express his or her own violent tendencies. Once the child knows he or she has an outlet, they will continue to find ways to express their violent tendencies. The concern here is that as this person gets older, the need for release will need to be satisfied to a greater degree. Much in the way a drug addict needs larger and larger doses to maintain a high.

A soldier acts out violently on numerous occasions. He has a string of prior violent actions before joining the Army. Because of his violent tendencies, he is more accepted as a soldier. In such a situation, where violence is considered the norm, a person with a predisposition to violence could function for years before anyone caught on that they were actually emotionally disturbed.

A man with an automatic rifle walks in to a church and opens fire, killing dozens of people. Perhaps he has a deep seated hatred for an ethnic group. Or perhaps he has an issue with the religion being preached in the church. What is disturbing is that he has convinced himself over time that his actions are acceptable. He has decided that it is right to render violence to other people.

We see so much violence now that we have become jaded to it. Oversaturation of the topic by the media has made us numb to the violence in our society. We have in fact come to expect it. This is because the media knows that bad news sells better than good news. This is another example of external influence.

It is therefore my opinion that yes psychology does play a part. So does environment and external influence. When these three factors are combined with the fact that we are by nature, and biology violent creatures, the predisposition for violence increases exponentially. A word of caution however in stereotyping people who, based on these factors, are predisposed to violent behavior. We are all capable of violence. It merely depends on the situation we find ourselves in at a given moment in time.

References

• Bandura, A. (1973). Aggression: A social learning analysis. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

·       Fields. R. Douglas. 2016. “The Science of Violence,” Psychology Today.

• https://psychweb.chbs.jmu.edu/Graysojh/pdfs/Volume101-ChildrenWhoAbuseAnimals.pdf
• https://www.traversebaycac.org/2018/06/15/animal-abuse-child-abuse-link/

Advertising is an age-old concept of conveying the messages to the people. In prehistoric days, people used to write with chalk, which was available in plenty, in their own languages the messages they wanted to propagate on the walls of the caves or on tree trunks. While doing excavations in Pompeii, signs and evidence were found that services and goods were advertised as early as in 79 A.D.

Later, Egyptians wrote the messages and drew images on papyrus. When paper and printing press were invented, advertising became popular, first in Great Britain, then in other countries. Illustrated ads were placed in newspapers and magazines. Products like Pears soap, Woodbury’s Facial soap, Michelin Tires and Encyclopedia Britannica were among the first to advertise. Advertising companies like J. Walter Thomson, Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, Volney Palmer and N.W. Ayer were among the pioneers, responsible for creating ads and getting them placed in newspapers and magazines. J. Walter Thomson was however the first to expand internationally.

Today, we live in the world of advertising. Nothing sells without advertising; may it be a product or service. It is a well-known fact that you need to create an awareness of the product you want to sale, then promote it through means of advertising; hence the importance of advertising cannot be denied. That is why ad agencies are flourishing and their clients are spending millions of dollars to promote their products or services. Ads should be clever and to the point. Yet, many advertisers rely on belittling the competitors’ products which results in a big confusion in the minds of consumers.

David Ogilvy, the guru of advertising, said that ‘a good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing the attention to itself.’. One wonders how many ads these days conform to this belief. The Chief Executive of one the agencies where I used to work way back in Pakistan had a motto framed behind his desk. It read: Advertising is supposed to be impactful and clever without being overpowering. In short, be subtle.

There are various outlets where the ads are placed. Generally, your product is promoted through TV, Radio and social media, newspapers and magazines, billboards and brochures and your product gets consumers’ awareness and impulse to buy. This is the common practice, yet there is another means to advertise. It is called subliminal advertising, and it has been found that this means alone can soar the sale of your product. Only few clients and advertisers know and realize the positive effect such advertising would produce. Others simply do not believe in its efficacy and consider it a fallacy.

Subliminal Advertising

Subliminal advertising is described as the use of images, logos and sounds to influence consumers’ responses without being conscious of it. A subliminal message passes below the normal perception. It might be inaudible to the conscious mind, but audible to the subconscious mind, because it is a brief flash of the product, escaping the conscious level of mind but getting stored in the subconscious mind, so that when a consumer goes to the market and sees the product along with other products, he is inclined to buy the product subliminally advertised.  They are ‘hidden persuaders’ – as said by Vance Packard in his book,’ Hidden Persuaders’ which was published in 1957. There are various ways to do it:

Single Frame Effect

This was often practiced in the days when movies were processed by 35 mm cameras. It involves the insertion of ‘hidden’ messages into movies or TV programs. The concept ‘moving pictures’ relies on persistence of vision to create movement in a series of images projected at 25 frames per second. A single frame of the ad is then inserted after every 25 frames on the editing table. The hidden command in a single frame flashes across the screen so quickly that it is not perceived consciously but is registered in the subconscious mind.

As mentioned in QUORA journal, an experiment was conducted by James Vicari, a marketing researcher and psychologist, in 1957 when a popular movie PICNIC was released. Every five seconds the words, Hungry? Eat popcorns. Drink Coca-Cola, were projected for 0.003 seconds. The sales of popcorn and Coke in that New Jersey theater increased by 57.8 percent and 18.1 percent respectively.  

In the early seventies, we, at an advertising agency where I worked, made a similar experiment. In the cinema house where one of our client’s products was advertised subliminally through the screening of the movie, I stood near a concession stand. During the interval – in those days we had intervals of 10 to 15 minutes – a good number of moviegoers were seen to buy that soft drink.

You may think that this is a very easy and economical way of advertising. No, it is not. It took a series of meetings with the client to convince him about this method of promotion. The client eventually agreed, but still seemed doubtful. Then we had to approach the movie producer who was shooting a blockbuster movie with famous stars. After being assured that it would not make any difference in projection, and paying him the agreed amount, he consented. When the movie was shot and ready for editing, I went to see the editor to get the frames of our product inserted after every 25 frames of the movie. The editor simply shook his head and said that it was just an experience in futility, but he had to do it, because the producer asked him to do that. It took him two weeks to complete the editing. I met him again and saw that the one frame of the product was inserted after every 25 seconds in the master print of the movie. I was happy to learn that and took the editor, who had by now become a good friend, for a lunch at a Chinese restaurant on my expense account.

The client later reported that the sale of his soft drink had increased by thirty-five per cent.

This form of subliminal advertising was gaining grounds and proving to be an effective vehicle for promoting products. This became a matter of concern for public relations officials and some advertising agencies, probably because they feared that budgets for regular advertising on TV and press would plummet, resulting in lesser profit. They argued that such a way of promotion is ineffective, counter-productive and unethical since it invaded the minds of the people without their consent. The other school of thoughts pleaded that it is not the only way that does that, there are many happenings in everyday life that do so, and on which we do not have any control.

In USA, Federal Communications Commission took up the matter, held several hearings and declared that subliminal advertising is contrary to public interest, because it involved ‘intentional deception’.

Terry Lane in CHRON journal reported, ‘While the US Congress has never passed a law restricting subliminal advertising, government agencies have said that the practice is unfair and could result in enforcements, especially for broadcast stations.’

Since then this form of advertising gradually decreased. It may still be in existence, but countries like Australia, U.K. and Canada have banned it. Other forms of subliminal advertising, like product-placement and hidden messages through logos are very much in practice throughout the world.

Product placement

A highly popular technique is product placement. Here again you need a movie producer or a TV show producer. Subject to his consent and agreed payment, a can or a box of food products such as cereal, jam, jelly, butter or a soft drink is strategically placed on a dining table – or any other place – at a home. When the scene of a family dinner is shot, the product is placed on the table in such a manner that it is quite visible. It is flashed for only a few seconds, and the message is delivered.

Products or services are also promoted when a character drives a car and it passes through a street where there is a billboard or a store front where it is displayed. The camera briefly focuses on it while the car is passing by.

An unethical and detrimental trend is now prevalent in our movies and TV dramas and shows. The hero or another important character is shown smoking a cigarette or a cigar leisurely and enjoying the puffs, while at the bottom of the screen you read a sign ‘smoking is injurious to health’. This is a subliminal advertising for tobacco smoking, and one is sure that some tobacco companies must be paying the producers or channels to promote this habit among viewers, especially youngsters. The tobacco companies have to rely on such a means for advertising, because they are not allowed to advertise directly through electronic or print media or through billboards. Authorities should take note of this and take proper action to stop such a practice.

Meaning of logos

Logo is an intelligent way of subliminal advertising. Let us look at some logos:

• amazon.com. Did you find a hidden message? Observe carefully. There is a curved line connecting a and z, meaning that everything from A to Z is available on this online store.
• Logo of FedEx shows an arrow in white space, an indication of the company’s speed and ability to deliver.
• In the current TOSTITOS logo, can you see two friends sharing chips and salsa?
• In the SONY VAIO logo, the design of the word Vaio shows the symbol of analogue and digital that defines the two worlds in which the brand works.

Our hands are vital for performing tasks throughout our daily lives and must be taken care of and cleaned regularly. They can easily spread germs, bacteria, or viruses such as Covid-19 (Coronavirus). Coronavirus has spread rapidly throughout the entire world in the past few months and health officials are very adamant that hand hygiene can help prevent further escalation of the virus. The reason is simple; viruses can spread from our hands to other objects that we touch, to which other people can touch those same objects and possibly contract the virus by putting their hands on their face. According to the World Health Organization, proper hand sanitation that uses alcohol-based rub or hot water and soap can kill Coronavirus and other viruses [1].

For some people, such as healthcare professionals, there are actually major consequences for neglecting hand hygiene. For example, the dirty hands of these professionals have a negative impact of 40% in the transport and spread of resistant microorganisms among patients. Hospital infections are actually among one of the main catalysts for increased disability and death rates in hospitals, along with additional healthcare costs [2]. In the United States, 1.7 million patients develop health-related infections every year, and 100,000 of them die. This increases the length of hospital stay by 20 times and the cost of treatment by 5 times [3].

It was not until the 19^th century that we began to understand that infectious diseases can be prevented by washing our hands. In the middle of the same century, the pioneer of antiseptic processes, known as the “savior of mothers,” Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis, showed that microorganisms could be transmitted to patients via the hands of medical staff. This discovery began a new era of hygiene and healthcare. It is now well known that microbes reproduce rapidly, and that it is possible to prevent the spread of disease by keeping the hands and body, which is possible by following personal hygiene rules.

Hand hygiene is maintained in different ways in modern medicine. In daily life, washing hands with soap and water to remove dirt is called “social hand washing.” Common examples include washing after a meal and when visiting the toilet. For this purpose, it is sufficient to rub the hands and fingers for 15 seconds with a non-antimicrobial feature soap, rinse, dry with a disposable towel, and turn off the tap with a towel. Cloth towels used by many people in public places are not considered suitable for hygiene.

The more serious and professional form of hand washing is “hygienic hand washing,” where antimicrobial soaps are used in the washing process before and after contact with patients and bodily fluids. Other hand hygiene methods during surgical operations cover applications where alcohol-based 3-5 ml hand-disinfectant is rubbed until dry along with hand disinfection and surgical hand antisepsis, which includes washing the hands, including the forearms, with chemical solutions such as soaps, isopropanol, chlorhexidine specifically produced for this purpose for 2-3 minutes, and later wearing sterile gloves until the end of any procedures.

The World Health Organization published a guide on proper hand hygienics and explained when, how often, and how healthcare providers should wash their hands [4]. Despite the development of various programs and policies, especially hand hygiene, and increasing material expenditures in the fight against infections observed in health services, the control of infections remains well below the desired level.

Today, research also looks at the effects of hand washing on individual psychology. An experiment carried out by two psychologists from the University of Michigan, Spike W.S. Lee and Norbert Schwarz, shows that hand-washing reduces this classic post-decisional dissonance effect:

In individual sessions, 40 undergraduates browsed 30 CD covers as part of an alleged consumer survey as if they were in a music store. They selected 10 CDs they would like to own and ranked them by preference. Later, the experimenter offered them a choice between their 5th and 6th ranked CDs as a token of appreciation from the sponsor. Following the choice, participants completed an ostensibly unrelated product survey that asked for evaluations of a liquid soap; half merely examined the bottle before answering, whereas others tested the soap by washing their hands. After a filler task, participants ranked the 10 CDs again, allegedly because the sponsor wanted to know what people think about the CDs after leaving the store.

For those who merely examined the soap, the preference for the chosen over the rejected alternative increased from before choice to after choice by an average of 1.9 ranks, replicating the standard dissonance effect. In contrast, for those who washed their hands, preferences were unaffected by their decision. Thus, handwashing significantly reduced the need to justify one’s choice by increasing the perceived difference between alternatives. “Washing one’s hands after making a choice eliminates post-decisional dissonance effects, suggesting that hand-washing psychologically removes traces of the past, including concerns about past decisions” [5].

In another study conducted in 2008, Schnall, et. Al. “hypothesized that physical cleanliness reduces the severity of moral judgments. In support of this idea, they found that individuals make less severe judgments when they are primed with the concept of cleanliness and when they wash their hands after experiencing disgust” [6]. This effect of hand washing, which relieves conscience, is called the “Macbeth Effect.”

Washing hands is one of those simple but compulsory practices we tend to take for granted and lose interest in as we progress in science and education. Simple practices like using each of our hands for different purposes and frequent hand-washing will surely contribute to the fight against healthcare infections and infectious diseases that threaten public health.

There are several traditions of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in which washing hands is strongly emphasized.

“The blessings of food lie in washing hands before and after eating.”

“Wash your hands after you wake up; you do not know where your hands have moved while you were sleeping.”

The Prophet advised using each hand for different tasks. It is narrated that his wife Aisha said: “The right hand of the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) was for his purification and food, and his left hand was for using the restroom and anything that was dirty.”

Notes

1. “Advice for Public.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public.
2. Pittet D, Allegranzi B, Storr J, Donaldson L. Clean care is safer care: the global patient safety challenge 2005-2006. Int J Infect Dis. 2006; 10(6): 419–24.
3. Allegranzi B, Storr J, Dziekan G, Leotsakos A, Donaldson L, Pittet D. The first global patient safety challenge “Clean care is safer care”: from launch to current progress and achievements. J Hosp Infect. 2007; 65(Suppl. 2): 115–23.
4. WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care, www.who.int/gpsc/5may/tools/9789241597906/en/
5. Lee SW, Schwarz N. Washing away postdecisional dissonance. Science. 2010 May 7;328(5979):709. doi: 10.1126/science.1186799.
6. Schnall S, Benton J, Harvey S. With a clean conscience: cleanliness reduces the severity of moral judgments. Psychol Sci. 2008 Dec;19(12):1219-22. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02227.x. Also see https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2014-20922-011.html in which Johnson, D. J. et. al. suggest that “researchers investigating the connections between cleanliness and morality should therefore use large sample sizes to have the necessary power to detect subtle effects.”

There is often mixed joy and sorrow when traveling abroad, sometimes discovered in the journeying, sometimes found at the destination. Such a mixture was mine on a recent trip with Hizmet to India, where interfaith dialogue and its wonderful fruits across the many faiths of that subcontinent were very clearly evident, but that alongside increasing communal discord and even serious and extensive street violence in the face of protests against government policies of division and exclusion. Unfortunately, such social upheavals are today not limited to India; they seem to be spreading like fires in drought-stricken forests around the world, engulfing too many developing and developed countries, alike.

Early one morning around 2am, when sleep evaded me, I deeply felt the poignancy of this turbulent travel, while my mind drifted to recollect some stories often told of St Francis of Assisi preaching not only to human beings but to birds, as well as other creatures of creation:

When he drew nigh unto Bevagna he came unto a spot wherein a great multitude of birds of divers species were gathered together. When the holy man of God perceived them, he ran with all speed unto the place and greeted them as if they shared in human understanding. They on their part all awaited him and turned toward him, those that were perched on bushes bending their heads as he drew nigh them, and looking on him in unwonted wise, while he came right among them, and diligently exhorted them all to hear the word of God, saying: “My brothers the birds, much ought ye to praise your Creator, Who hath clothed you with feathers and given you wings to fly, and hath made over unto you the pure air, and careth for you without your taking thought for yourselves.” While he was speaking unto them these and other like words, the little birds—behaving themselves in wondrous wise—began to stretch their necks, to spread their wings, to open their beaks, and to look intently on him. He, with wondrous fervour of spirit, passed in and out among them, touching them with his habit, nor did one of them move from the spot until he had made the sign of the Cross over them and given them leave; then, with the blessing of the man of God, they all flew away together. All these things were witnessed by his companions that stood awaiting him by the way. Returning unto them, the simple and holy man began to blame himself for neglect in that he had not afore then preached unto the birds. [Saint Bonaventura, The Life of Saint Francis, 12.3]

And so I wondered (dreamed?), what might the birds tell us of their lives and struggles in this newly disruptive age?

The Birds: A Parable

Once upon a time, there was a bountiful flock of birds, all with iridescent blue-green plumage and a melodic trilling song of thanks through God for their heritage as a single community: together they preened, together they sang, together they lived and thrived upon the resource-laden land God gifted to their stewardship.

As time passed, other flocks were drawn to this same rich territory, as well, all with their varied distinctive plumage—fiery yellows and reds, subdued grayish-browns, and dazzling whites—and all with their individual God-given songs of praise.

The original flock generously welcomed all these newcomers, judging that sharing was better than selfish hoarding, opening better than closing ranks, and accepting different characteristics better than demanding uniformity in attributes. Together they fashioned a unity in their very diversity, sharing the riches of the land, extolling their variegated colors in songs to their Creator, generating a harmonious chorale that exemplified the Creator’s love for all of His making, as stewards of land and of one another, together…together. Generations passed in peace, colors and songs filled the land, and unity was manifested.

But a season came when a spirit of fearful possessiveness arose among some of the descendants of the blue-green flock, who began looking askance at those whose colors and songs differed. “What place have these foreigners amongst us? Have they not intruded into our way of life, depleted our resources and now threaten our very existence? Let them depart to other lands, apart from us, with their own kind.”

Though few in actual number in the beginning, these dissident voices seeded fear and discord, which took root and grew widely where once unity had thrived. For although the ones they called “foreigners” had passed many generations upon the shared land and even now comprised only a small proportion of the overall population, hardship borne of dissimulation had come to many of the birds across all the flocks. Stewardship of the land had been overshadowed by exploitation of resources for the benefit of a greedy few, and the detriment of many. Now, a scapegoat was needed to divert attention from the real causes of increasing distress and hardship.

Arbitrary hierarchies were manufactured and enforced, purporting to be inherent and according to “purity” of color and song. Only those deemed worthy now had a proper place in society, and their numbers were strictly circumscribed by documented ancestry via sole descent from the first flock. All others were relegated to some separate, ignoble status. And now, uniformity and unison in song, rather than harmony of distinctives, became the priority: “How else could the Creator receive proper praise? So-called harmony was really just cacophony, and no God could be pleased with that!” If the song were different, it had no arena, even when the song was echoing celestial praise; if the bird’s color and song were different, the bird was no longer welcomed, it had no place.

Unity was shattered, harmony disappeared, estrangement normalized. Jealously ostracizing others became the common rule. Harsh words became the norm…violence the ready remedy…destruction, injury and death the ultimate result.

More fully awake, now, I considered, “Can the birds recover themselves? Can they listen anew to St Francis’ call together joyously to offer praise to their Creator and so be content? Or is it too late?”

Perhaps more importantly, is there more than a fanciful story, here? what might these birds tell us of today’s challenges to our societies…to our very humanity? Can we, today, respond to the call of St Francis as did the birds of the field near Bevagna, to live together in peace unto the praise our Creator, seeking only His commendation?

When President Trump recently visited India, banners were emblazoned with the slogan that the world’s oldest democracy was meeting with the world’s largest democracy. Thomas Mann, in 1947 testimony before a U.S. congressional committee, noted a depressing increase in “spiritual intolerance, political inquisitions, and declining legal security,” that typically foreshadows an ultimate breakdown in democracy itself, which can only finally usher in a breakdown in societal peace and prosperity (subsequently realized in the fever of McCarthyism in the US, and the violent partition of India). Where there is no sense of the sacred through acceptance of difference and mutuality in dialogue, there is eventually only polarization: there will be those who agree to think the same way who are called friends; while all the rest are demonized as enemies. And where there are only friends and enemies, insiders and outsiders, “us” and “them,” civil war—metaphoric at least, actual bloodletting at worst—is inevitable.

So, can India recover itself? It was once the standard bearer of secular/multi-faith democracy in the developing world—or is it too late? Can we in the US recover ourselves? We were once the standard bearer of an immigrant-filled country grounded on practicing civil discourse in the developed world—or is it too late?

May the Creator grant that we all together comprehend and affirm His path of acceptance, affirmation, and peacemaking:

The Spirit has never ceased brooding over the waters … ever creating, superintending, re-creating, all that is, according to the counsel of God’s own purposive will. Together with the angels and saints, we rejoice in faith, hope and love, as the Only Holy One continually, eternally renews the face of the heavens and the earth.
Our Only Creator
through His creation
is creating us
is sustaining us
is provisioning us
is re-creating us
unto the restoration
of all His creation.

In the language of Sufism, tahqiq (verification) means that not only does an initiate who has almost come to the final step of the journey know the Unique, Eternally Besought One with His Existence and Perfect Attributes in accordance with the Qur’anic presentation of Him, but also that the truth of Divinity is felt beyond all concepts of modality and His special manifestations in the individual’s consciousness and other spiritual faculties. Those who have found the truth and reached this level continue their journey in the horizon of journeying in God or journeying from God, according to their capacity, without suffering doubts or hesitations any more. They are no longer exposed to any feelings of being eclipsed by God’s permission, for they see by God’s Seeing, hear by His Hearing, and feel everything in the light of His Attributes. In other words, such heroes of verification are always on the way to God and live for His sake and feel His constant company. This is a rank which is regarded as the rank of being loved by God and implies a special favor of the All-Beloved. One who has attained this rank is loved by the Almighty and, as a reflection of this love, by the inhabitants of heaven and by people with sincere hearts on the earth. The visible sign of this invisible Divine love is attachment to the performance of supererogatory acts of worship in addition to faultless performance of the obligatory acts.

Lovers of truth who perform the obligatory acts of worship perfectly and punctually, later making up those which they were not able to perform at the correct time with a serious, sincere feeling of remorse, and who feel great, heartfelt concern for the supererogatory acts, always feel the Ultimate Truth, always “see” Him, walk toward Him, and uphold truth in life. It is inconceivable that anything else save Him can find a way into such persons’ hearts and anything or anyone that is lovable from the heart can catch their eyes. Even if sometimes a mist may appear on their horizon, it comes and goes like the mists of spring, indicating new expansions of spirit. Such people always advance, whether they are in distress or whether they are rejoicing.

Ismail Haqqi Bursawi depicts such heroes of verification as follows:

The people of truth have clearly found in their souls,
that the Light of the Ultimate Truth is extremely near to the creation.
The Ultimate Truth declared: He hears by Me and sees by Me, for one that was created from water and dust has found His Light.
If that one of water and dust had not found that Pure Light,
the form of the meaning would not have been manifested so clearly.
Those people of the heart who have found the Light
belonging to neither east nor west
have become the lamp of this Light.
The people of truth have found Unity in multiplicity,
they are safe and secure, and in prosperity.
O Haqqi, submit to the Ultimate Truth and commit your affairs to Him,
then you can find the One Who does whatever He wills,
how excellent a Helper He is.

From another perspective, verification denotes that initiates deepen their belief with the knowledge of God and their knowledge of God with the love of Him, and pursues only God’s approval and good pleasure in all the stations that they call at according to the horizon of each station. This exalted truth is felt differently at each step of the spiritual journey. For the belief, knowledge, love and yearning of each traveler is in direct proportion with the individual’s certainty and gradations in belief, knowledge and love of God, and the spiritual pleasures are the results of gradations in verification. Belief based on theoretical knowledge, no matter how strong, cannot be, as stated in the saying, Hearing something is not like seeing it, like certainty based on the vision and spiritual discovery of the unseen object of belief and certainty with its signs. Such certainty cannot, likewise, be the same as a perfect conviction that has been deeply ingrained in the heart and become a part of human nature. Theoretical knowledge can only be “a capital of scant worth” (12:88) even though it is expected that Divine grace may come to its help on the way to verification. It is possible to bring certainty based on vision and spiritual discovery to fruition with the munificence of the All-Munificent One, despite such certainty being relative. As for perfect conviction, it is the pure fruit, even the juice, that the rays of His Existence have first annihilated and then given a new existence to with different characteristics. There is reference to the beginning of verification in Prophet Abraham’s appeal, “My Lord, show me how You will restore life to the dead,” and to its perfection in his expression of the reason why he made such an appeal, “So that my heart may be at rest” (2:260). We should point out here that it is not possible for us to understand either the certainty of this noble, great Messenger that came from his knowledge, or his certainty that came from his observations and seeing, or his certainty that came from his experience. We can only cite him as an example in order to offer a point of comparison and a perspective that will enable us to explain the subject matter. Our Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, stresses this fact by declaring, We are more liable to such a doubt than Abraham [1]; lest doubts appear in people’s hearts concerning the certainty of Abraham in particular, and the certainty of all the Prophets in general. Everyone has a relative horizon and final point of certainty particular to their individual capacity, and everyone needs rest and contentment according to their individual horizon. The smallest degree of certainty of a Prophet is much greater and stronger than the greatest degree of the most spiritually advanced of all other people.

The heroes of verification turn to and concentrate on the Divine Being alone with their belief, love, yearning, zeal, and spiritual pleasure. Accepting His approval and good pleasure as their sole aim, they never consider the blows of Majesty as a cause of suffering nor the breezes of Grace as a means of joy. In their view, whatever comes from Him, be it retribution or favor, is the same.

They consider all His treatment of them as a necessity of being on the way to Him and, without becoming entangled therein, regard everything apart from the true goal to which they have been dedicated, as a transient shadow, and are resolved to reach Him.

Heroes of verification bear all suffering, resist all carnal impulses and meticulously observe the religious orders and prohibitions. They rise without stopping toward heaven with “He” as their sole goal. They feel that they are welcomed with a new contentment at every turn and with a different manifestation of Divine approval at every station. They feel the following melodies echoing in their outer and inner senses:

A call has come to me from the Ultimate Truth:
“Come, O lover, you have intimacy with Us!
This is the station of intimacy;
I have found you a faithful one!”
(Nasimi)

This is truly such a rank that one who has reached it feels that his or her belief comes from Him, just as his or her knowledge, love and zeal also come from Him. What confirms these feelings is the impressive acknowledgment (2:32), All-Glorified are You, we have no knowledge except what You have taught us, and the sole truth felt in consciousness is, He is the All-Permanent, the Eternal, the Perpetual. Many diverse things catch the eyes and ears until they reach this rank. However, when the steps end here and the state is transformed into a station, human nature melts away voicing (40:16), All the commandment belongs to Him Who is the One, the All-Overwhelming, and the truth (55:27), There remains forever the “Face” of your Lord, the One of Majesty and Munificence, echoes from all sides. The human logic which has divided time into the past, the present and the future, becomes lost in the truth, You are the First, there is nothing preceding You; You are the Last, there is nothing to succeed You [2]. It even occurs that the consciousness makes the initiates’ relative existence sink into oblivion and allows them to feel deeply the meaning of “There was God without there being anything that existed with Him” [3]. They whisper, “Neither union nor incarnation is true; the true existence belongs to You only, and all else is a shadow of Your Light,” and feel honored by being attributed to Him. In their modesty, humility and feeling of nothingness, they taste in their spirit the virtues of being favored with being the best pattern of creation.

O God! I ask You for Your forgiveness, health, and Your approval, regard, breezes of favor, and friendship, and Your love and company! And bestow blessings and peace on our master Muhammad, Your servant and Messenger, and on his Companions who loved You and whom You made near to You.

Notes

1. al-Bukhari, “Tafsir Suratu’l-Baqara,” 2; Muslim, “Iman,” 238.
2. Muslim, “Dhikr,” 61; Abu Dawud, “Adab,” 98.
3. al-Bukhari, “Tawhid,” 1; Ibn Hanbal, al–Musnad, 4:431.

– Hello grandma, how is everything?

– Oh, my dear Seyma, is that you? Since you are calling all the way from America I will not waste much. I am doing well, take good care of yourself and never forget to put aside your charity before Friday prayer every week.

– Sure, grandma, is there anything you ask of me?

– Tell me, if I were to come to collect donations for the orphans in my town, would President Clinton give me any?

– My dearest grandma, you ask this all the time; I am in America, but I really do not meet with President Clinton at all. I am an ordinary college student and he does not roam around the streets.

I then wondered and chuckled, “the audacity to ask the President of the States when you live far away in a rural part of Anatolia!”

***

All of our cousins, aunts, and uncles would gather in her large but simple 4-bedroom home every Eid. Sugar-loaded grandkids would look for trouble and would find money at every corner of the giant hand-woven rug, to which she anxiously warned: “This sac of money belongs to the fridge project for Ms. Aisha; the right corner belongs to the school supplies for Ms. Khadija’s daughters; and the red sack has the money for Ms. Fatima’s house project. Do not even touch, my dears, as these are sacred.”

She built dozens of houses with the funds that she collected bit by bit, day by day, cent by cent and would store it under the rug. She would never let a family go without fulfilling all of their needs and finding a sustainable source of income. A couple days a week, she would take the needy families down to the marketplace to visit businessmen and ask for help. Some of them knew of her sincere intentions while others complained when she arrived. However, she certainly did not care what others would think of her. She would be helping a family or two and they would sit around the table with all of us every Eid dinner. My uncles and aunts were the “elites” of the town, and so this notion was not something we were used to in our normal lives. I then grunted for her absurdness for squeezing us all with strangers.

***

She used to sit down on her old velvet couch with her green thousand-count prayer beads in her hands as she looked out the window and lamented why the municipality would turn on the light at 5:30 pm when it gets dark only slightly later. If she saw an unnecessarily lit area, no matter how tired she was and what time of the day it was, she would hastily run to turn them off despite her old age and swollen legs.

The most striking part of the story used to come when she turned the lights off when my grandfather was in the bathroom. It was typical in most houses to have light switches outside of the room. When he screamed for her to turn the light back on, she, with a great sense of humor and seriousness, shouted back “Get done and come out quickly, there is nothing to see there anyhow!”

The most memorable quote from her was the Qur’anic verse, “…eat and drink, but waste not by excess, for God does not love wasters” (7:31).

I thought she was exaggerating this a bit much.

***

– Granny, I have exams this week. Can you please pray for me?

– Oh, my sweetie, may God help all those in need including you. I will pray for everyone, God willing.

– No grandma, that is NOT what I want. I want you to pray for ME!

With a smile, she would embrace and kiss me on the head.

I was then heart-broken thinking that I wasn’t special to her.

***

Her first name was Ihsaniye, which means “the bestowed.” She met with her Beloved God on a Feb 14^th after a long battle with a heinous cancer. The whole town cried – and, I thought I even heard the sky cry – with chants of her nickname, “the Mother of Orphans.”

Now, I have your hand-woven blue-beige medallion-style wool rug, which was the container of your little sacks, maroon-ruby wedding ring, and your green thousand-count prayer beads in my hands to cherish your beautiful heart and soul, the giant heart to fit all of humanity, the soul that cared for the earth…

As I sip my dark and warm coffee in this light and spacious hall, in one of the country’s most sustainable buildings, Kroon Hall in New Haven, listening to professors, NGOs, and private sectors presenting their vision, solutions, and efforts on Climate Change, Sustainability, and Economic Empowerment, I sigh deeply, and remember the Mother of Orphans, my dearest grandmother.

We perceive several problems related to the functions in many situations in life and develop solutions accordingly. The function shows the effect of one (or more) variable(s) on another variable. In simple terms, one factor can be called the transformation of another factor. When you send a piece of mail by cargo, you pay according to the weight of your cargo. Or imagine using an hourly Internet service in a library or airplane; the more hours you use the Internet, the more you pay.

A group of people want to rent a bus. The number of people does not affect the cost of rent for a bus. However, the cost per person could change depending on of the number of people. The more passengers, the less fee they pay for each passenger. Conversely, if the number of passengers is less, the cost of the bus fee could be more.

The examples are given above help to understand the mathematical function more easily. We perceive several problems related to the functions in many situations in life and develop solutions accordingly. The function shows the effect of one (or more) variable(s) on another variable. In simple terms, one factor can be called the transformation of another factor.

Consider shipping by mail. There are actually two situations here; the weight of the cargo sent and the amount of money paid based upon the cargo’s weight. This gives us a hint for the payable amount. For example, we may know how many pounds of cargo can be sent for $10. We also may calculate how much money is needed to ship 5 pounds of cargo. We can formulate this shipping problem:  Let x be the weight of the cargo and let y be the amount to be paid. In addition, for each parcel sent, including taxes, let us assume that it costs $3. In this case, we get an equation such as y = 2x + 3. Here, the number 2 given in front of the variable x is the money paid per pound. We calculate how many dollars we will pay for a 4-pound cargo: (2×4) + 3 = $11. If 2 dollars per pound is received, a 4-pound package shipping fee is 11 dollars.

Another example would be the use of the Internet. If 40 cents is requested per hour, $1.2 will be given for 3 hours of internet usage. Thus, the equation can be written as y=40x, where x is internet usage time per hour, y is amount to be paid.

The bus rental example is slightly different from the above two examples. Although this example specifies the function, this time there is a reverse situation. In the first two examples, like (x or) input increases, (y or) output will increase. In the case of bus rental, the bus rental fee is fixed and as the number of passengers increases, the payment per person will decrease. Let’s say $400 is required for the daily rental of a bus. 40 people pay $10 per person while 8 people pay $50 per each person.  This equation would be; y=400/x, where x is the number of people, y is the amount of money paid per person. Functions are important in understanding the relationship between two variables.

Life is a function. In mathematics first, what is the function in its simplest form? Let us give the known definition in schools.

Function: Let A and B be two sets different from the empty set and there is a relation f from set A to set B. If the relation f associates each element of the set A to one and only one element of the set B, this relation is called the function from set A to set B. It is shown as f: A→B or A→B. A is called the definition set of the function and B is called the set of values. A set of elements that match the elements of set A in set B is called the set of images of the function and is denoted by f (A).

In this case, if we clarify the definition a little, a relationship from A to B to be defined in order to function f; the following conditions must be met:

1. There should be no elements in the definition set that do not have an image. However, the element can remain exposed in the value set.
2. Each element in the definition set must not have more than one image.

Let us try to find the reflections of the definition in our lives. We assume that A is the world in which we live. If we say “World” for Set A (Definition Set), we would call Group B “the Afterlife” (Value Set). Because there is a connection from this world to the other world. We will see our values in the afterlife against what we do in this world. As someone who fits the definition of a “good” person will be of high value, the definition of a “bad” person will consequently result in a lower value. So, set A considers the world and its elements as ‘living people’. We can think of all the people in the world and include them in this group since life is finite for all of us. The mathematical meaning of this reality is the following:  all elements will be moved from set A to set B (Let A and B be two sets different from an empty set and a relation f from set A to set B.). There is such a connection (or relation) that one who leaves the world cannot go to two places at the same time. Destinations are clear: abode of reward or abode of punishment. We will all be eventually placed into one of these two groups. In some cases, the last stop of the people will be paradise, even if there are those who go to hell first and purify their sins. Consequently, in the last case, no one will be in two places at the same time (If the relation f associates each element of the set A to one and only one of the set B, this relation is called the function from the set A to the set B).

Just because everyone has one final destination does not mean that that destination can only hold one person. If the levels of Heaven and Hell are considered correctly, it is possible that there is more than one person for each level or that no one has come to that level. It is possible that there are those who have sinners at the same level. We can speculate that there may even be such a level that is inaccessible to all people. The Creator creates such places in order to show His grace, mercy, and power. (In the definition set, there should not be any elements without an image. But in the value set, there may be exposed elements.)

Life itself is a function. God created life according to certain rules. We should do our best to explore, find, and use these rules. Seeing the beauties of life and being amazed by the astonishment and capturing happiness in both worlds is achieved by seeing the manifestations of God everywhere.

To attain happiness and to avoid mood disorders, which should we pursue

The messages of modern society are all too familiar to us: buy more, eat more, sleep more, take more pictures, and care less about the effects of our actions. We are encouraged to maximize pleasure while avoiding anything that inconveniences us. We cloister ourselves with our material goods and social media habits, promoting self-centeredness. This induces a fluctuating happiness in which phases of pleasure and displeasure repeatedly alternate, which can result in various mood disorders and has been linked to decreases in well-being. In this article, we are going to analyze self-centeredness and its consequences and also interpret its role in a variety of mood disorders and various areas of life.

The Self-centeredness / Selflessness Happiness Model (SSHM) is a theoretical model proposed by Dambrun et al. in 2011 [1]. This model represents different sorts of happiness that are dependent upon the self, particularly the structure of the self. They claim that self-centered psychological functioning derives from how someone perceives themselves and the belief that they are powerful, permanent, and independent. This functioning causes fluctuating happiness and afflictive affects which are also the roots of many mood disturbances. This is heavily contrasted by the perception of the self as flexible which leads to selfless psychological functioning and is a crucial factor at attaining more authentic/durable happiness [1].

After proposing this model, Michael Dambrun conducted a study in 2017 that built upon this model. According to this research, self-centered psychological functioning allows individuals to fluctuate between joy and sorrow, a vacillation that results in afflictive affects. Conversely, selfless psychological functioning gives the individual more emotional stability and feeling of harmony with the environment. They tested these hypotheses in two studies consisting of a heterogeneous sample of citizens (n=547). Analyses of these two studies indicate that self-centeredness (measured by egocentrism and materialism) and selflessness (measured by transcendence and connectedness to others) were two different psychological constructs rather than strict oppositional ideas.

In addition to showing the distinct functioning, these analyses also revealed that self-centered functioning is significantly associated with fluctuating happiness that is the root of afflictive affects. However, selflessness is linked to authentic/durable happiness, which is the result of perceiving the self as flexible and harmonious with the environment and universe. These associations are mediated by distinct psychological processes. For self-centeredness, afflictive affects play a crucial role in the correlation with fluctuating happiness in self-centered individuals.

In contrast, selfless individuals attain authentic-durable happiness that is partially mediated by emotional stability and perceiving themselves as harmonious with others and the universe (2).  In our view, individuals who are more concerned about their happiness are more susceptible to mood fluctuations and disorders, while individuals who have more significant interest for the happiness of others attain more robust and durable emotions.

These studies also suggest that self-centeredness causes problems in society; as such, we will to analyze the results later.

Fluctuating happiness in the self-centered individual

The idea of the self as a real, permanent entity with its distinct boundaries results in self-centered psychological functioning. Laborit’s [3] study suggests that each organized structure in the form of an entity seeks gratifications that positively reinforce it and avoids things that risk its homeostasis. The hedonic principal is a major ruler in self-centered functioning and is deeply associated with egoism, egocentrism, an exaggerated importance given to the self, and ego inflation (through material possessions, for example) (e.g. Higgins,1997) [4].

The hedonic principle and its associations are also correlated with some personality disorders, particularly narcissistic personality disorder [5]. This principle induces the individual to focus on attaining pleasure and avoiding displeasure. Feelings of temporary happiness, joy, and gratification are the result of impulsive actions for attaining pleasure and avoiding displeasure. However, only the presence or absence of certain stimuli reinforce the individual and only give temporary pleasure and happiness (Wallace & Shapiro, 2006 [6]). The experience of pleasure depends on circumstances, is an unstable condition that may soon become neutral or may be displaced with displeasure. (i.e., hedonic adaptation, e.g., Brickman, Coates & Janoff-Bulman, 1978; Lyubomirsky, 2011 [7]). Focusing on attaining more pleasure and avoiding displeasure lead an individual to recognize and realize the impossibility of attaining valued objects, durable pleasure, and cause them to repeatedly vacillate between pleasure and displeasure and the arising affects such as frustration, nervousness, anger, hostility, or jealousy, all of which damage their well-being and health (e.g., Miller) [8]. Contrarily, altruism, also called selflessness or focusing on others’ happiness, is significantly associated with a higher quality of well-being, health, and longevity [9].

Self-centeredness cause depressive symptomatology

A self-centered lifestyle may cause not only mood disorders but also social problems that also increase the prevalence of different mood disorders. Loneliness is a big problem in contemporary society, though we mostly live in crowded cities adorned with skyscrapers. As the title describes, a study conducted in 2017 shows loneliness and self-centeredness have a reciprocal effect that cause depression and various mood disorders, as well as health and social problems [10].

Loneliness increases not only the motivation to repair or replace deficient social relationships, but also the implicit motivation for self-preservation. John T. Cacioppo et al. reported a cross-lagged analysis of 10 waves of longitudinal data (n=229) on loneliness and self-centeredness (as gauged by Feeney and Collins’s measure of choric self-focus) in a representative sample of middle-aged and other adults. Loneliness increases the implicit motivation for self-preservation, and loneliness in the current year anticipates self-centeredness in the following year beyond what is reasoned by current-year demographic variables, self-centeredness, depressive symptomatology, and overall negative mood and emotions. Their study also revealed that self-centeredness in the current year foretells loneliness in the subsequent year, a reciprocal relationship that could potentially contribute to the maintenance of loneliness [12].

Generation Me and its consequences on human mood

An increase in narcissism with some indicators of increased self-focus in Americans born after 1970 leads authors to describe that generation as “Generation Me” [5, 12]. This narcissism and self-focus are also intimately related to self-centered psychological functioning since both are formed by an exaggerated importance given to the self, ego-inflation, and so on. We think self-centered psychological functioning may also be considered as a part of this dynamic, thus being a member of Generation Me may be one of the major risk factors for narcissistic personality traits and disorder [2, 12].

Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a personality disorder in which there is a long-term pattern of abnormal behavior characterized by a grandiose self-view, unrealistic sense of entitlement, exaggerated feelings of self-importance, and a lack of understanding of others’ feelings [13, 14]. Narcissists who consider themselves to be superior to others, and also have unrealistic expectations for the future, become angry and aggressive when in trouble, take more resources for themselves and leave less for others, and value money, fame, and image over family, helping others, and community. Though narcissism has some benefits, like public speaking, it has lots of adverse effects on human mood and behavior and comorbidities with psychological disorders [15].

Selfless functioning

The principle of “harmony” has a primary role in the selflessly functioning individual; harmony directs all mental activities (conation, motivation, attention, emotion, cognition, behavior). Harmony and emotional stability are associated with empathy, benevolence, compassion, and deep respect; all of these have a beneficial effect on behavior and a reduction of psychological distress [2]. Many studies have revealed the results of altruism on happiness and health and have consistently found a deep and intimate connection between altruism and current and future health and well-being.

References

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