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The Construct  |
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A concept central to the PAR Model is the notion of "the construct." In their normal state of consciousness, human beings are not consciously aware of every piece of information coming from the reality they are in moment to moment. This reality is called the "universal field." We construct our experience of reality from this field. By reframing the construct about violence through a cognitive approach, violence is seen in a new way — one that differs significantly from the "punitive" way we've seen violence historically and one in which we can more effectively deal with and prevent violence.
The construct is the experience of reality one creates by selecting information (almost always unconsciously) from the "universal field" (the totality of reality), filtering it through the "sensory-experiential-cultural sensor" (also called the "SEC sensor" or "the sensor") and projecting the interpreted and associated information selection as "reality." This construct is commonly mistaken for complete reality, when in fact, it is a partial representation of total reality (the universal field).
The way in which we view, prevent, and respond to violence is based upon the way in which we describe "the reality" of violence (e.g., a construct). The test of the validity of any construct is the congruency of that construct with the outcomes we want – most often peace, reduced crime, fewer injuries, and so forth.
The notion that violence is an unhealthy strategy to get power and control is generally accepted. While the strategy is often effective over the short term, it is rarely sustainable (ask anyone incarcerated for a violent crime how it worked for them). Since acts of violence have the desire for power and control as an antecedent, the PAR Model recognizes the value of achieving the power goal, but in a healthy, long-term way. This requires interrupting that part of the construct of a person with violence so that the power sought in the violent act is nullified and a healthy alternative is substituted (referred to in the PAR Model as a "power swap").
This is achieved by introducing "disrupter memes" into the construct. The PAR Model draws heavily upon memetic theory (originally described by Richard Dawkins in 1976 in The Selfish Gene – for an excellent summary, refer to the discussion by Anders Sandberg and others on the web). The model takes the position that existence must "make sense," i.e., be congruent. Without congruency, one has the experience of insanity. Therefore, all constructs have a structure that is congruent. This is true of constructs which include violence as normative behavior. The disrupter meme is a widely accepted and comprehendible concept which causes the unhealthy part of the construct to loose its congruency – that is, the malignant part of the construct collapses. A common example of this process is when one's hypocrisy is brought to light.
The following illustrates this process:
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During an outdoor music concert, a belligerent biker approaches and says menacingly, "I can take your frigging head off [or words to that effect] . . . In fact, I think I'll do it right now." The person who is the object of his attention has been "mapping" the biker (interactive mapping is a process described by the PAR Model), and responds, "Take my head off? That's no achievement. Just about anyone can do that. Thank God there are people like you around so that, if I ever got a serious threat from someone about taking my head off, you could probably make sure it didn't happen. True?" The biker then responds, "Yeah, I could probably handle that." The discussion continues about how important it is to have someone powerful enough to stop violence at these music events.
The power of the threat is invalidated and a healthy power frame (via the "hero" meme) is immediately introduced (the "power swap"). The "hero" meme is the disrupter and initiates the power frame (choice, e.g. the question, "True?"). The biker achieves his goal of experiencing power and the object of his interest retains his head. [This example is based upon an actual incident.] |
The PAR Model offers an alternative to the existing shared violence construct. Using new language and concepts for violence, it reframes violence in a way that makes the phenomenon of violence more understandable, predictable, and manageable. Violence and the Alchemy of Being describes the process through which this reframing takes place.
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