Standing in Two Worlds with Doctor Sam Juni -Episode 22 -The slippery slope of Secular Humanism

Rabbi Kivelevitz begins the podcast by noting recent social events where contemporary notions of human rights are given precedence to traditional ideas of religious freedom. He particularly points to such causes as climate change and environmental consciousness as values which gained high visibility. Prof. Juni then addresses the religious, psychological, and psychiatric notions of morality and values. He points out that many modern thinkers have promoted the notion that science can be the basis for human values, in contrast to Locke and other philosophers whose notions of human rights were based on divine revelation (as incorporated into the U.S. Constitution). He also notes that psychiatry definitely views individuals who do not have a sense of right and wrong as defective. At the same time, Prof. Juni notes that even the psychiatric diagnostic formulation of psychopathy has been seen by some critics (notably Thomas Szasz) as reflecting political social enforcement tools rather than being medically based as such. Kivelevitz responds by discussing morality under the philosophical notion of natural law. He points out that the biblical stories of Cain and Abel and Sodom/Gomorrah hinge on values before they were codified in the Torah. He also cites underlying themes of morality throughout the Torah (particularly in citations from Isaiah) which are not linked to specific commandments, arguing that right and wrong have historically been viewed as intrinsic human notions. Juxtaposing that with the elevation of environmentalism (being green) to the more traditional moral values, Juni and Kivelevitz grapple with the chicken-egg problem --whether intuitive notions of right and wrong proceeded codified religious/social mandates versus the converse. Dr. Juni notes that notions of “should” or “ought” originate developmentally from parental injunctions which are then internalized, eventually becoming autonomous concepts which no longer link to external reinforcers.Outlining the perspective of the Rishonim (middle age Talmudic authorities of the first half of the 11thto 12thCentury) on the nature of morality, Kivelevitz argues that Western intelligentsia essentially hijack religious imperatives as they formulate universal values (such as democracy) bereft of their religious sources. He cites the contemporary prevalence of politico-social enforcers (exemplified by Cancel-Culture and PETA shaming strategies) as deplorable means of inculcating positive values. Doctor Samuel Juniis one of the foremost research psychologists in the world today.He has published groundbreaking original research in seventy different peer reviewed journals, and is cited continuously with respect by colleagues and experts in the field who have built on his theories and observations.Samuel Juni studied inYeshivas Chaim Berlinunder Rav Yitzchack Hutner, and in Yeshiva University as aTalmidof Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchick.ProfessorJuni is a prominent member of theAssociation of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, and has regularly presented addresses to captivated audiences.Associated with NYU since 1979,Juni has served as Director of MA and PhD programs, all the while heading teams engaged in important research.Professor Juni's scholarship on aberrant behavior across the cultural, ethnic, and religious spectrum is founded onpsychometric methodologyand based on a psycho-dynamicpsychopathologyperspective.He is arguably the preeminent expert inDifferential Diagnostics, with each of his myriad studiesentailing parallel efforts in theory construction and empirical data collection from normative and clinical populations.Professor Juni created and directed NYU's Graduate Program in Tel Aviv titledCross-Cultural Group Dynamics in Stressful Environments.Based inYerushalayim, he collaborates with Israeli academic and mental health specialists in the study of dissonant factors and tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict and those within the Orthodox Jewish community, while exploring personality challenges of second-generation Holocaust survivors.Below is a partial list of the journalsto which Professor Juni has contributed over 120 articles.Many are available on lineJournal of Forensic PsychologyJournal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma.International Review of VictimologyThe Journal of Nervous and Mental DiseaseInternational Forum of PsychoanalysisJournal of Personality AssessmentJournal of Abnormal PsychologyJournal of Psychoanalytic AnthropologyPsychophysiologyPsychology and Human DevelopmentJournal of Sex ResearchJournal of Psychology and JudaismContemporary Family TherapyAmerican Journal on AddictionsJournal of Criminal PsychologyMental Health, Religion & CultureAs Rosh Beis Medrash, Rabbi Avraham Kivelevitz serves asRavandPosekfor the morningminyanat IDT.Hundreds of listeners around the globe look forward to his weeklyShiurinTshuvos and Poskim.Rav Kivelevitz is aMaggid ShiurforDirshu Internationalin Talmud and Halacha as well as a Dayan with theBeth Din of America.Please leave us a review or email us at [email protected] more information on this podcast visityeshivaofnewark.jewishpodcasts.org See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. 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