The College of Central Florida Department of Humanities and Social Sciences presented “The Evolving You” with Dr. Richard Moskovitz on October 11th and 12th. Moskovitz’s goal for these lectures was to encourage lifelong individual growth and a positive impact on society through critical and independent thinking.

Moskovitz earned his undergraduate degree and medical degree from Harvard University.... After completing his psychiatric residency at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he spent eight years as associate professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He is the author of “Lost in the Mirror: An Inside Look at Borderline Personality Disorder” and “Carousel Music,” a novel. He has appeared on “Prime Time Live” and A&E's “The Unexplained.” He recently retired from 25 years of private practice in psychiatry in Ocala.

Dr. Moskovitz started his lecture talking about Erikson’s 8th development stage, Integrity vs. Despair. Erikson's stages of psychosocial development are eight stages through which a healthily developing human should pass from infancy to late adulthood. In each stage, the person confronts, and hopefully masters, new challenges. He then went into Erikson’s 6th stage, Intimacy vs. Isolation. He proclaimed that, in his opinion, the 6th stage is the most important developmental stage for a long healthy life.

“Loneliness is bad for your health” he said. Studies have shown that there is a higher mortality rate in people with poor social connections. There have even been studies that show a correlation between immune system response and our social relationships. In the study, a group of people were all infected with the common cold and those with more friends showed symptoms for a less amount of time or never showed signs of the illness at all.

There is also a dark side to affiliation. Peer pressure does not just affect kids. Self defeating behaviors have been known to spread through peer groups like wild fire, some examples being violence in street gangs, crime families, and also the tendency for people in power to abuse their superiority. Are all these individuals monsters? Or are they just us in bad situations or instances?

The diffusion of responsibility is also a dangerous byproduct of social behavior. For example, the bystander effect: It has been proven that we are less likely to help someone that falls or is being attacked if there are 3 or more people around. Another is the Nazis during World War II, “just follow orders”. In situations like this people often look back with regret and deep remorse, but in the moment are not bothered because others are acting the same way.

Investing in bubbles is as well a self defeating social behavior. In recent years everyone was investing in Tech Stocks, until the well dried up then we all flocked to real estate and boy did that bubble bust. Look at investing in bubbles like fishing, if you have been in the same spot all day, then you notice a group of boats on the other side of the lake all catching fish. You are going to go over there to attempt to cash in, but usually by the time you get there all the fish have been caught.

Irrational ideas are a huge problem in our country’s society. We all cling to ideas too quickly and will defend them until the cows come home, without taking time to look at other points of view or even the facts. It is extremely difficult to remove, by logic, ideas what was not put there by logic.

Dr. Moskovitz said in his opinion, wisdom is having the ability to find that balance between affiliation and critical thinking. Wisdom is having the open mindedness to recognize exceptions and inconsistencies. Wisdom is the capacity to think independently, articulately, and responsibly.

Dr. Moskovitz closed his lecture with a video of philosopher Lord Bertrand Russell, and his final words to the world’s descendants. To watch the two minute video of the last works of one of the most influential and intellectual minds the world has ever known, follow this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3jnEqXhDNI