Machiavellian, Amoral Member of the Dark Triad

Psychologists have a term for a collection of three undesirable personality traits:  narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellian-ism.  They call it the Dark Triad.  The third trait was named after Niccolo Machiavelli, the second chancellor from Florence, Italy who lived from 1469 to 1527.  In his book The Prince, Machiavelli discusses ways in which rulers of nations can use political expediency above morality and gain control of the people, basically through manipulation and deceit.

What kind of man Machiavelli was is surely demonstrated by the company he keeps in the triad:  narcissists and psychopaths.  Yet, we all know people such as he; therefore we must call it like it is and more importantly know it for what it means. Power Word #13, Machiavellian.

Definition
Machiavellian:  of or relating to Machiavelli; cunning, scheming, unscrupulous, amoral, opportunist, duplicitous, cut throat, unconscionable, unethical.  Can be used as an adjective or a noun--a person who follows the beliefs of Machiavelli.

Origin
Named for Niccolo Machiavelli, with the publication of his book The Prince in 1513

Examples
1.  Johnson's Machiavellian tendency to detach himself from any form of community building made him an ineffective member of the welcoming committee.

2.  The Machiavellian battle of ISIS to gain and control power over Syria and Iraq has been viewed by the West as a dark pessimistic view of brutal opportunism.

3.  During her last semester of college, Janie's philosophy professor assigned The Prince, the book that analyzes Machiavellian methods of governing people with manipulation, craft, and deceit.


Everyday life with its often mundane duties of jobs, school, and family life--hobbies and a bit of relaxation thrown in, often discourages serious responses toward leadership, including our government.  Generally the most we can hope for in exercising citizenship for the good of humanity is casting our informed vote in each election.  Furthermore, the average person is not a psychologist trained in the science of recognizing and diagnosing personality disorders. Yet, leaders of government, industry and business, and even education have indeed exhibited the cold selfishness that results in high priorities of money, power, and the advancement of one's career or position at the expense of the less powerful.  We don't need to look far to observe it happening today. Harsh management tactics and manipulative behaviors tend to stifle if not enslave people, and frequently because of our constraints of time and training and even consciousness, we are helpless in preventing them.

Thus, unfortunately, you won't find any answers to such madness in this post, but as you know, "Consciousness is as good as it gets."  Perhaps an awareness of the word might engender an awareness of our growing lack of tolerance for the actions of such power hungry leaders.

Savoir Faire, a Pleasure to Meet You

Some people never seem to get it right in social situations.  They get tongue-tied, or the words that they do manage to emit offend people, and what's worse, their lack of sophistication follows them like a bad penny, irrevocably repeating the behavior that holds them back from success. It has been said that skill with language is one of the most important qualities for getting ahead in life.


That being said, people with the ability to say and do the appropriate and graceful thing in these same social situations most assuredly have the advantage.  These are the people who show restraint and good judgment when speaking about delicate situations in public.  Savoir Faire is the man or woman with a firm handshake; a cautious, calm and appropriately friendly demeanor.  This social smoothness seems to serve them well, and they are remembered for it, which of course means they can climb the social ladder--or any other ladder they desire, with ease.


Yes, my friends, we have a word for it, savoir faire, thanks to the French who, by the way, invented many of the words we use for these important social skill-and-grace matters.  More on this in a moment.


Definition
Savoir faire:  the ability or instinctive knowledge to behave in a correct and confident way in different situations.  Used as both noun and adjective.


Origin
Savoir faire:  French, savoir--to know; faire--to do (to know how to do)
                       Latin, sapere + facare= to know + to do
First recorded use: 1815


Examples

1.  Jasmine, a savoir faire sophisticate, responded to the brutal questions posed by the reporters with tact and delicacy in light of the latest Washington scandal.


2.  Lucy Hargraves mingled among the attendees at the party, many A-list guests from around the world, with her usual savoir faire, greeting them with graciousness and charm.


3.  Alone in her convictions but tolerant of others, Sophia sailed through the school year with savoir faire, skillful in her dignity and good judgment for someone only thirteen years old.


Thinking about this new Power Word, savoir faire, I tried to conjure up all the famous and not-so-famous people I knew, or knew of, who might be contenders for the right of ownership.  Few people came to mind in the true sense of consistent behavior and not just a one-off.  The title is a demanding one, and so those who are the true savoir faire sophisticates are rare gems:  Franklin Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy, the screenwriter/playwright Moss Hart.  There are others, of course, but then savoir faire wouldn't be a power word, would it, if all of us held this esteemed position.


Because of its power, the word savoir faire and its meaning have been adopted by cruise lines, restaurants and hotels, culinary arts, photography, tourist spots, theme parties, the perfect job interview that went without a hitch, the deal made so seamlessly, hosting the quintessentially elegant party, and French culture.  What do they all have in common?  Refinement, luxury, the peak of principled actions and speech.  Once again the power of persuasion in marketing is about the language we use--words, metaphors, and the etiquette by which we define our behavior day by day.

No doubt the French have cornered the market on savoir faire.  After all, they did invent the word, but the French may have also been the first to demand refinement throughout their culture.  Take a look at this list of French words and expressions that reveal their interest in a suave facility of life:

• bon vivant--an epicurean who enjoys the good life
• coup de maître--master stroke, planned action skillfully done
• de rigueur--required or expected, especially in fashion
• déclassé--inferior social status
• élan--distinctive flair or style
• Haute Ecole--prestigious higher education
• joie de vivre--joy of life
• panache--verve, flamboyance
• par excellance--quintessential, the very best
• savoir-vivre--etiquette
• soigne--fashionable, polished

So...
Voila, mes amies!  There you have it, friends.  Most of us do not consider ourselves savoir faire sophisticates with worldly wise experiences and that touch of elegance.  We're not perfect.  We make mistakes and say the wrong things.  Nevertheless, setting a goal to develop the skill and graciousness for speaking and responding adroitly to the people around us is a good beginning that deserves our attention; it comes with the promise of a better life.  N'est-ce-pas? Right?


Right.

Sentient, Hearts and Brains Wanted

One of my favorite Jungian scholars, James Hollis, has quite often remarked that, "Consciousness is as good as it gets."  Hollis, who after serving the C.G. Jung Center in Houston, Texas for many years, is now the Executive Director of the Jung Society of Washington, D.C.  In his comment, he refers to a keen awareness of ourselves, a mindfulness of who we are, what we want, and what we must do to move forward. So, yes, I would say that's pretty close to the top of where we'd like to be in life.


Today's Power Word #11 offers us a way to express that consciousness: sentient.


First, let's get the pronunciation out of the way.  The preferred pronunciation seems to sound like this, two syllables with the accent on the first syllable:  (sent shuhnt)


A second pronunciation would sound like this, with three syllables, the accent again on the first syllable:  (sent tee uhnt)


Your choice.  The British use the first one and Americans use both, if they use it at all, which is why I chose sentient as word #11. This is one of those words with exactness of meaning, not to mention using the word will make you sound smart, which never hurts.


Origin
Sentient:  From the Latin sentire, to feel or perceive; present participle form, sentient, sentiens
First recorded use:  1595-1605


Definition
Sentient: conscious of sense impressions; sensitive to perception or feeling
Synonyms:  aware, conscious, mindful, cognizant, perceptive
Antonyms:  insentient, devoid of feeling and consciousness


Uses
Adjective:  sentient
Adverb:  sentiently
Noun: sentient (a person who is keenly aware of his/her surroundings and thoughts)


Examples
1.  Taking the life of a sentient being is not always a crime, especially if the victim is an animal used for food.


2.  Vegetarians choose the path of avoiding meat for health reasons but also because they believe all living creatures are sentient, making it a sin to slaughter them.


3.  The electronic robotic vacuum whisked across the floor with its sentient detection of dust, magically disappearing in its wake.


4.  Being out on the street and hungry, the disheveled man was fully sentient of his degraded state.


No doubt we sentients are capable of feelings, sensing all things around us, but do we always take time to engage in mindfulness?  Do we slow down just a bit and really think about the needs of others as well as our own needs, not just the material needs but those of the heart and spirit?  And if we did, what do you think would happen?


Psychologists explain that consciousness and mindfulness incline the heart toward good will, the first steps toward kindness, generosity, compassion, and wisdom.


We are not robots.  We are the Tin Man and the Scarecrow looking for our hearts and brains.  When we find them, we become the sentient people we were meant to be.

Draconian, Hyperbole of Fairy Tales?

Draconian, power word #10, has an interesting history, but its current use begs the filter of hyperbole.  Cinderella's stepmother comes to mind. Before we examine that hyperbole, let's take a look at the backstory.


Once upon a time, say the eighth century B.C.E., a group of powerful Athenians controlled land, politics, and money, which also means that the law favored them over most other Athenians who lived in poverty.  This is already beginning to sound like Cinderella.


At any rate, things got so bad for the poor by year 621 B.C.E. that they approached an Athenian legislator named Draco, who responded by creating a written code of law.  The problem was, however, his code got so out of hand that even the most minor offenses were punishable by death, and failure to pay one's debts would result in slavery.  Ironically, the code led to even greater power of the aristocracy over the poor. Although the laws were eventually changed, today any measures that have severe, unrealistic results in which the punishment does not fit the crime might be called draconian, thanks to the Athenian Draco.


Definition
Draconian/draconian (lower case as well): an adjective meaning unusually cruel or severe; rigorous


Origin
Draconian:  Greek, drakon; Latin, dracon--stem of draco: a kind of serpent, the sharp sighted one.
It's interesting to note that the root of Draco and Draconian is also the root of dragon. Here's a superb example of a metaphor turned hyperbole as you will see in the examples.
First recorded use: 1810-1820


From Metaphor to Hyperbole
The use of figurative language in our everyday speech adds color and vitality to whatever we want to communicate, whether it's telling a joke or writing a serious essay.  Power word #10, draconian, offers hyperbole, that is, a word used in exaggeration.  If you refer to something as draconian, your intention might be to exaggerate the number of times the coach made you run around the track, even though her request wasn't really out of the ordinary in terms of team practice and even your good health.  Somehow, exaggeration seems to make us feel better, and we can even laugh about the cleverness of it. And you really do like your coach.  She's not the dragon type.


Animation, especially a number of Disney characters, boasts some of the most dramatic and memorable examples of draconian behavior.  No one likes Cinderella's cruel and heartless stepmother who turns the lovely image of sweetness, Ella, into a kitchen wench full of ashes with no hope of meeting the prince.  What a dragon!


Then there's Cruella Deville and the wicked witch who gives Snow White the poisoned apple, and Rapunzel's wicked stepmother who imprisons her in a tower--the endless list of draconian women in fairy tales old and new.  Have you ever wondered why they're mainly women?


Examples:
1.  Ella pulled on the door knob, and realizing her dreams of meeting the prince drift away behind a door shut tight by her draconian stepmother, she allowed the tears to fall.


2.  The guidelines for taking lunch breaks, instituted by the new manager of the store's shoe department, seemed draconian to the clerks who had been abusing the system for years.


3.  As Billy looked at the list of homework assignments in his planner juxtaposed with his athletic schedule, he began to doodle caricatures of his draconian task masters.


While the word draconian has evolved into the metaphor-hyperbole state and our exaggerations are somewhat harmless, we know that we live in a world in which the soft underbelly of the dragon cannot atone for the fiery breath that sears the soul and scourges the lives of those who in reality struggle to survive as well as all of us who long for justice.

Dichotomy, a Necessary Balance

We live in a world of antithesis, stark opposites that sometimes seem quietly juxtaposed while at other times gnashing and crashing wildly into one another.  Whichever situation you might experience, the result is, at a basic level, the same: a dichotomy of two elements that are opposed or entirely different from each other.  When you point out a dichotomy, you draw a clear distinction between two things to illustrate the contrast. Hence, we now have power word #9, dichotomy.


Definition
Dichotomy:  a division into two parts or kinds that are different from each other; two ideas that are opposites


Origin
Greek, dichotomia.
     dicho--in two parts, in pairs
     tomia--to cut
First recorded use in 1600-1610


Examples
1.  Attempting to keep his students awake, the instructor injected humor into his lecture as he clarified the dichotomy between the social behavior of men and women.


2.  The dichotomy between light and dark in Hawthorne's writing supports the antithesis of good and evil.


3.  When Jane pointed out the dichotomy between their budget and their expenses, she drew a clear distinction between their values and their whimsical desires.


4.  The continually diverging policies of the two political candidates revealed the stark dichotomy between the visions of their campaigns.


Although we normally think of dichotomy as a division between people and things, the truth is without these necessary opposites, we would not have the concomitant tool that is necessary to teach us how to make decisions, how to have choices, and how to live a balanced life. 


Think of life without night and day, light and dark.  Imagine only good or only evil.  It's impossible because all of these contrasting elements complement each other.  As much as we struggle with frustration over the most unusual Presidential election we have experienced in our lifetime, we still would not want to live in a country without a two-party system, no matter how wide the dichotomy.


The only way to live a life of harmony is to insure a life of balance, the balance of opposites.

Symbiosis: Win-Win

Symbiosis, word #8, is a good word that can be useful in multiple contexts.  You will find its adjective form, symbiotic, more frequently used unless you happen to be a scientist, or at least a science aficionado.


Before I expound on the benefits of  knowing how to use the words symbiosis and symbiotic, let's look at a straightforward definition.




Definition
Symbiosis:  a close interaction between two living things that depend on each other.  This relationship could be biological species, organisms--actually any kind of living beings.  They work together and depend on each other.  Most of the time, that is, and when they don't, one becomes a parasite.




Origin
Greek:  sym, together; bio, to live (to live together)
First recorded use: 1615-1625


As history would have it, in 1877 the word symbiosis was used to describe the dependent relationship of lichens, and two years later scientists would refer to the coexistence of two unlike organisms.


Today English speakers employ the word in a more figurative way, which is typical of so many words and phrases that have become metaphors.  Symbiosis now frequently describes a relationship between two people or groups that work together as a team.  One helps the other as they progress through the daily routine of the relationship.  Occasionally, our language reverts to science in which we witness one organism taking without giving back.  So much for teamwork.  We might call that person a parasite.


Examples
The animal kingdom offers a sweet example.  Along any country road in Texas one might find a field of cattle accompanied by lovely white egrets, small white birds.  They're like bird groupies hanging out with the cows, but both the cattle and the birds have a quite satisfying symbiotic relationship.  The egrets like the insects stirred up by the hooves, but they also like to sit on the backs of the animals and eat those annoying bugs that bite the cattle, who no doubt appreciate the egrets' assistance. What a happy coexistence for both!


Another favorite example is the honey bee, who gathers nectar and pollen from flowers which she transfers to the hive but at the same time pollinates the plants so they can reproduce.  Win-win. Furthermore, what scientists have discovered is that flowers that are visited more often by bees will produce larger and more uniformly shaped fruit.  Most of the fruits and vegetables in our diet depend on pollination for growth and production, but the bee gets her due, a well-fed bee hive. I call that a symbiotic rock star.


Finally, I can't leave this article without mentioning the incredible human interaction that sometimes produces miracles when people work together to help each other strive and become the people they were meant to be.  The Olympic teams this year come to mind.  While the medalists certainly reap many benefits, their countries swell with pride--newfound hope, and experience the symbiotic relationship of what Maslow called the critical human need to find one's place, not in isolation, but in the whole of society. Definitely win-win.

Chimera, Myth or Reality?

Chimera, Power Word #7, is an interesting choice dating back to Greek mythology, traveling through Latin, Old Norse, Middle English, and ending up in our language today with a myriad of useful meanings and metaphors.


Because of its complicated journey through etymology, I'll begin with a tale from Greek mythology.


The Chimera, sometimes spelled Chimaera, was a fire-breathing monster with the body of a lion, the head of a goat rising from its back, and a long tail that ended in a serpent's head.  In Greek mythology, it was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna and the sibling of Cerberus and Lernaean Hydra.  Can you imagine how terrified the Greeks must have been?  If their gods were real to them, which they were, then the possibility of a Chimera was, too.


The story goes something like this.  A fire-breathing monster residing in Lycia, the southern coast of Turkey, that ravages the land has to be stopped, right? Who better for the task than a Greek hero.  Because of a series of tasks that our Greek hero Bellerophon is required to perform (the reasons for it comprise another story), his favor with the gods allows him to bridle and ride Pegasus.  From high above on his winged horse, Bellerophon shoots arrows at the Chimera and kills it, redeeming Bellerophon as a hero once more.


Etymology:  Greek khimaros; Latin chimaera, Middle English chimera
                     Old Norse gymbr (a ewe lamb) + Latin heims and Greek cheimon
                      (winter) a ewe-lamb or goat one winter (year) old. 


Somewhere along the line, the goat must have been added to the lion and so forth.


Now let me direct you to the definitions that have arisen from this imaginary monster.


Definition 1:  a fire-breathing monster of Lycia composed of the parts of different animals, a lion, a goat, and a snake


Definition 2:  in genetics, an occurrence in humans when mutation or grafting results in at least two genetically different kinds of tissue.


Whoa.  Stop a minute.  What kind of mutation or grafting exactly?  Well, apparently people who have bone marrow transplants receive donor red blood cells from the marrow that are not genetically the same as other cells in their own body.  No harm done, let me add.


Another example of a genetic chimera takes place when fetal cells travel to the mother's organs during pregnancy and often stay there for a lifetime.  Cool.


My final example here illustrates the marvels of nature and the human body.  A fetus can assimilate its twin if one embryo dies very early in pregnancy and the cells are absorbed, resulting in two sets of DNA with the code to make two separate organisms.  Another chimera.  Mind-blowing science, isn't it.


Definition 3:  This meaning is the one you will most often use figuratively.  A chimera can also be something that is so strange and unlikely that logic tells you it shouldn't exist.  Yet it does.  Now that you know the origin of the word and its interesting scientific reference, this definition might not be so difficult to grasp.


Definition 4:  Or maybe you'd just like to stick with an easy definition--a chimera that exists in the imagination and is not possible in reality. None of us has actually seen a fire-breathing monster with body parts of a goat and a snake.  Not literally anyway.


Examples:


1.  Bellerophon, dropping the reins not a moment too soon, released his bow at the fiery Chimera, the arrow piercing the smoke-filled sky and slaying the beast who had scourged Lycia for the last time.


2.  It was an ordinary day when Marti came in for her lab work, but two weeks later a surprising report indicated an extraordinary chimera. Two sets of DNA resided in her body, which could only mean one thing: she once had been twins.


3.  The man standing at his door handing him a check for a million dollars undoubtedly was a chimera beyond his wildest imagination, and, sure he must be dreaming, Arthur laughed nervously and asked for the man's identification.


4.  The fire jumped from the stove to the wooden cabinets, licking the surface before devouring the wood, a virtual chimera that would soon destroy the small frame house.




How fortunate for all of us devotees of literacy that we have such creative choices in our language to describe whatever we wish:  a storytelling chimera, a scientific chimera, a metaphoric chimera, and a mythological allusion to chimera. In whatever way we choose to employ this lovely word, the image  rendered will be unforgettable. Never take for granted the power of words!