Henry Gobus
| Henry Gobus | |
|---|---|
 Henry Gobus.jpg | |
| Born | Henry Hubert Gobus August 8, 1954 Hollandia (now Jayapura), Indonesia |
| 💼 Occupation | Author, Psychologist |
| 🌐 Website | http://www.henrygobus.com/ |
Henry Hubert Gobus (born 8 August 1954), B(Psych) P.G. Dip Psych, is an Australian psychologist and author, and the only person besides ⠀⠀Charles Darwin to provide a complete and extensive process of evolution through his book Human Ascent.[1] Therefore, there are only two explained processes of evolution. One theory presented by Darwin 150 years ago is that of Natural Selection or the Survival of the Fittest. The other, presented by Henry Gobus in 2009, describes a process of increasing emotional attachment and decreasing instinct. Intelligence increases over the course of evolution. (Flinn, M.V.,Geary, D.C. & Ward, C.V.(2005). Ecological dominance, social competition, and coalitionary arms races: Why humans evolved extraordinary intelligence. Evolution and Human Behaviour, 26, 10-46). Gobus asserts that increased emotional attachment leads to higher intelligence and self-awareness. (Gobus, H.H. (2009) Human Ascent. Cairns: Gobus, H.)
Early life and education
Henry Gobus was born in Indonesia, on the 8th of August 1954. He was the youngest of six. His father, Alexander Gobus, was in the military, and Mary Eugene Gobus was his mother (née Merkelbach). His mother, Mary, was raised in an orphanage in Malang, Indonesia. Neither parent enjoyed higher education, and Henry was the first and only child among his siblings to attain a University Degree in Psychology.
Gobus' early education was in a technical school in the Netherlands, where he studied Architecture. Gobus was an immigrant to the Netherlands from Indonesia. During his early childhood, he experienced strong discrimination. In 1972, Gobus was accepted as an aspirant to the Municipality Police of Zoetermeer, which is a satellite city of The Hague. Having lived in Indonesia and South America, Gobus always desired to return to a tropical climate.
Emigration to Australia
In February 1977, Gobus emigrated to Australia and moved to Cairns, Queensland. In 1980, Gobus joined the Queensland Police Service. During his police career, Gobus worked in General duties, the Bureau of Criminal Intelligence, the Drug Squad, and police prosecutions. In 1990, the Fitzgerald inquiry investigated police corruption. Gobus became disillusioned with the Police Force and left the Police Service. Gobus purchased a Taxi license, which he kept for a couple of years. After Gobus sold the Taxi license, he leased a license and enjoyed his life with minimal responsibilities. Gobus' second wife, Erin Gobus (née Downing), was a nurse and was career-oriented and focused on education. When Gobus worked on the Taxi, Erin suggested that he should do something serious with his life. Erin suggested that Gobus should attain a university degree. Gobus accepted the idea and enrolled as a mature-age student in a Psychology Degree at James Cook University.
University and psychology
After his first lecture in Psychology, Gobus told Erin that they must all be mad. Gobus commented on the lecture and the specific issues the lecturer had addressed, stating that the lecturer viewed all those issues from an entirely erroneous perspective.
During his entire psychology degree, Gobus struggled with psychological concepts because most of them did not make any sense. It was not until his third year that Gobus started to enjoy his studies, inspired by Professor Prescott's lectures on Sensation and Perception. In his fourth year, Gobus entered his postgraduate diploma under the supervision of Professor Prescott. Professor Prescott was a specialist in perceptions of taste.
To attain an Honours Degree in psychology, Gobus needed to attain a distinction average for all his third-year subjects. Gobus was on track with three subjects and faced his final exam in sensation and perception.
During his third year, Gobus had purchased an investment home on his street. The house needed some minor renovations, which Gobus attended to. Air conditioners fitted, painting and so on. As a result of these tasks, Gobus neglected his studies. When his exam date came around, Gobus discussed with Erin the possibility of getting a Doctor's sick certificate to sit the exam at another time. Erin queried Gobus, and he told her that he would probably pass the subject but would not be able to get a distinction. They together decided for Gobus to sit the exam and get on with his degree. Gobus had to return to the workforce as soon as possible to support the household. Gobus sat the exam and scraped through with a pass.
As a result, Gobus was only able to enter a postgraduate diploma rather than an Honours Degree. The difference is that Honours degree students do their fourth-year thesis by themselves, while postgraduate diploma students do their thesis in a group of either three or four students. Gobus selected a thesis in sensation and perception and entered a group supervised by Professor Prescott. At the time, a Dutch Professor, Koster (who was called Ab), along with two Master's degree assistants in psychology, attended JCU to complete a research study. This Dutch Professor had worked closely with Professor Prescott in the past. Professor Prescott wanted Gobus' thesis to further the research conducted by Professor Ab.
The study conducted by Professor Ab focused on detecting changes in individuals' perspectives by scoring Just Noticeable Differences (JND) in tastes. Austrian researchers replicated Professor Ab's study and confirmed his findings. All four students received copies of the Professor's previous work and the Austrian study. After reading the material, the students met again in the laboratory. Gobus then had a discussion with Professor Ab and informed him gently that, in his opinion, the Professor's research study was flawed and that the Professor could not draw the conclusions he had reached. The discussion became a little heated, with the Professor defending his study and Gobus pointing out the anomalies.
Professor John Prescott jumped in and intervened, but there was no clear decision on Gobus' concerns. Gobus discussed the matter with Erin, and she told Gobus to put up and get his diploma and get a job. Gobus pointed out to Erin that this is his thesis and that he needed to work on it for a whole year. They agreed that Gobus would write an email to his supervising Professor John Prescott and detail his concerns; if Professor Prescott dismissed the concerns, Gobus would continue his studies without raising it again.
The following day, Gobus was in a lecture conducted by Professor Prescott, and Gobus asked the Professor if he had received his email. Professor Prescott turned around and said," Yes, and you are wrong." Gobus replied, "You want to bet?" Professor Prescott smiled and said, "I have already called a meeting, and you can address us after the lecture." After the lecture, Gobus returned to the laboratory where Professor Ab and his two assistants were waiting. Professor Prescott told the group that Gobus had concerns about Professor Ab's research study and invited Gobus to address the group. After Gobus explained the anomalies in detail, Professor Ab stated, "Yes, I didn't control for that."
The thesis was then reconsidered, and it was decided to challenge the research study conducted by Professor Ab and the Austrian researchers. During Gobus' work in the fourth year, issues arose that were not readily explainable. But just as in previous occasions, insights would come to Gobus, and Professor Prescott was impressed, or at least pleased with the clarifications.
Writing career
Professor Prescott had his personal collection of journal articles, all of which were numbered. The students had access to them but were not allowed to take them off-campus. While Gobus was working on the experiment to support the thesis, Professor Prescott walked into the laboratory and started a conversation with him. Professor Prescott said," You know, Henry, there is a phenomenon called 'neophobia." Gobus asked the Professor what neophobia was, as he was not familiar with it. Professor Prescott explained that neophobia is a behaviour in 2.5 to 3-year-old children, during which they reject unfamiliar food. Gobus asked why young children did that. Prescott answered, "No one knows." Gobus expressed his interest and asked if the Professor had any journal articles on the subject. Professor Prescott then produced a bundle of his private journal articles, which he had held behind his back. Gobus asked if he could take the journal articles home to read. Professor Prescott permitted him to do so. When Gobus arrived home that afternoon, he withdrew to his study room and read the journal articles on neophobia. Gobus described his experiences as being inundated with insights. It was as if everything was reorganised, many connections changed – the order and the relationships between studies were different from how he had learnt them. From reading the material on neophobia, Gobus' perceptions changed significantly.
After Gobus had read the journal articles and his perspectives had changed, he walked out of his study room into the hallway towards the living room. Erin was sitting in a lounge chair at the end of the hallway, and as Gobus walked towards her, he proclaimed, "Everything is wrong – intelligence is wrong – social psychology is wrong– evolution is wrong, it's all wrong." Erin didn't answer him but stared at him, dumbfounded.
Gobus realised that the experiments and results he had studied were correct, but their interpretation was incorrect. The picture of what life is and how it presents itself is the opposite of how we believe it to be. Gobus emailed Professor Prescott that evening and said that he was able to explain neophobia. Professor Prescott replied, " Good, I'll see you tomorrow." The next morning, Gobus had a superficial discussion with Professor Prescott. Gobus was very guarded of his insights because he realised their incredible significance. In short, Gobus told Professor Prescott that everything was wrong. It was all upside down and back to front. Gobus said that intelligence was wrong, social psychology and the Natural Selection evolution model were also wrong. Gobus also told him that the reward and punishment principles associated with behaviourism are flawed. Professor Prescott responded by saying something like," Do you know what Darwin did before he came up with his theory?" Gobus replied something like: "I do not need to visit the Galapagos Islands, I have a university library at my fingertips, I know what he did, and his model is wrong. "Gobus asked Professor Prescott to pull him out of the group thesis, and he offered him a thesis of 10,000 words on intelligence, social behaviour, and evolution. Professor Prescott declined, stating that JCU is a research university and requires an experimental thesis.
Gobus lost interest in his thesis and spent most of his time in the library researching his new insights. Most afternoons, Gobus spends time in the library reading selected books and journal articles for research. Erin criticised Gobus for spending so much time on his new visions. Erin was crude and told him that he was delusional. Erin said, "How is it, Henry, that no one else can see these new concepts but you?" Gobus replied, "I don't know". Erin made other unpleasant remarks, but essentially, she made it clear that she didn't believe Gobus could see new concepts while so many others did not come up with these ideas.
Gobus kept making notes and a draft plan for the book Human Ascent. Gobus worked on the book until the early hours of every morning. Gobus had numerous discussions with Professor Prescott on various topics in psychology without revealing key concepts to him. One of the issues they discussed was reward and punishment in the behaviourist model. Behaviourists view animal and human behaviour as equal. Gobus expressed his disagreement with those principles. One day, Gobus attended a tutorial when Professor Prescott took him on in front of the other students. Professor Prescott was lecturing on punishment and reward, and Gobus remained silent. Professor Prescott knew Gobus' opposition to this, and Gobus did not need a public discussion. When the Professor had finished lecturing, he turned to the students and said," And Henry does not believe in this."
Gobus replied, "No, I don't." Prescott then said: Alright, I'll give you 100 dollars if you pick up that chair and place it in the hallway. Will you do it?" Gobus answered. "Yes, I will." Professor Prescott said, "See, reward it works." Gobus then replied: "Offer me five cents and see if I will do it." Professor Prescott didn't answer but just looked at Gobus. Gobus went on to say: "Reward, it doesn't work – but the question is this: 'What is the difference?' Why does one reward work for me and not the other?" Gobus went on to say: "Now, place a large or small piece of cheese on a rat trap – will the rat come? Yes, it will. Gobus posed the question: "Why is it that the size difference in reward is not an issue for the rat?" The Professor did not answer Gobus. Gobus became painstakingly aware that he could see an entirely different world.
On one occasion, Gobus and Professor Prescott were walking to the laboratory. Professor Prescott said, "Why don't you apply for your PhD?" Gobus replied, "I can't because I am only a graduate diploma student; I can only apply for my Master's. Professor Prescott said, "You apply for your master's, and I will approve that. You have six months to draft your research thesis. After three months, your request that your application is upgraded to a PhD, and I will approve that". Gobus thanked him for the offer and told him that he needed to discuss this with his wife, Erin. A PhD would mean that Gobus had another three years of study ahead of him. Erin was pregnant, and Gobus had to return to employment as soon as possible to support his family. Gobus declined Professor Prescott's offer.
Writing Human Ascent
Gobus completed his postgraduate diploma thesis, for which he received a distinction, and initially worked in child safety before moving to Queensland Health. Gobus worked on his book, writing most evenings after the children went to bed until 3-4 am, and then went to work in the morning. Gobus did this for five years until December 2009. Gobus shopped for an editor and felt blessed that he stumbled across Graham Warden. Graham is an ex-CSIRO scientist, but his work at CSIRO was to translate research findings into layman's terms. Gobus thought that Graham was particularly well-suited to the task. Gobus found Graham on the internet, and they met one day over a coffee. Gobus perceived Graham as a no-nonsense individual with immutable moral and ethical standards. Gobus described Graham as a kind, deep-thinking and considered person.
Graham accepted the editing task, and they agreed on a fee per chapter. Gobus handed Graham a draft copy of Human Ascent, and after reading it, Graham returned it with a note – “no one can read this, and neither can I”. Gobus had written the book in university slang, which was ingrained in him during his studies. Gobus acknowledged that he is not a writer, and he had great difficulty expressing himself in written form. But as the years ticked by, it got easier. Graham was, unbeknownst to Gobus, a staunch Darwinist. Gobus has issues with attitudes that are firmly for or against something else. Gobus’ attitude is to let the chips fall where they may and stay focused on the truth – no matter the outcome.
Graham returned the first few sections to Gobus with very harsh words and criticisms. Sometimes blatantly crude, with notes stating that some paragraphs were just utter rubbish. Usually, these paragraphs were those that undermined Darwin's model of evolution. Graham's remarks were helpful to Gobus because they highlighted areas where he was unclear. After Gobus elaborated and explained himself better, the re-edited sections were without sharp remarks. Gobus realised that because some issues are self-explanatory to him, they are not for other people. After only a couple of sections in the first six months, Graham did not make any more harsh remarks – he also failed to charge for his work. Gobus kept urging him to send an invoice, which Graham simply ignored. Graham became Gobus’ rock and confidant, remaining the book's editor for five years until its completion. Graham has an uncanny skill to remain on track. Sometimes Gobus strayed in the book, and Graham would pull him back, making him refocus on the issues of intelligence and evolution. Gobus said that he owes Graham immensely. Graham never accepted any payments after the first couple of sections and said that he enjoyed the work. Gobus acknowledged that he could not have completed the work without Graham.
No one knew the content of the book, besides Graham. Gobus always looked forward to the edited returns of sections, as they provided at least some communication. Gobus has five sons, and four of them are adults. Although they supported Gobus, they often questioned him about why Gobus was the only person who could see the new concepts and why no one else had thought of this before. Gobus, of course, was unable to answer those questions.
It is a commonly mistaken belief that Darwin suggested a process of evolution. This is not true – many people considered evolution. For instance, Lamarck suggested a process of acquired traits. Therefore, evolution was not Darwin's idea. Darwin's idea is the process of evolution through natural selection. Darwin's obstacle in his time was that he needed to convince the predominantly religious society that we actually evolved from the primates. This was a significant and challenging task. Ironically, Darwinism is now so ingrained in our philosophies and view of life that his Natural Selection model is much like a religion. Because of this, Gobus’ challenge to dispel Darwin's Natural Selection theory is as formidable now as it was in Darwin's days to convince the population that humans evolved from the natural world.
Gobus published Human Ascent in 2009.
Differences between Darwin and Gobus theories
The differences between these two offered processes of evolution are stark. According to Gobus, Darwin never explained how organisms change, except to say it happened over millions of years through small increments. Gobus explained that the Y chromosome, which males carry, represents instinct. (Gobus. H.H. (2009) Human Ascent. Cairns: Gobus. H.) Instinct Gobus asserts is innate survival knowledge. Instinct is expressed through self-centeredness. Animals with high levels of instinct have little or no concern for others. Animals with a high level of instinct know how to survive. As instinct reduces, innate knowledge reduces. When instinct reduces, animals acquire the ability to survive through learning. Following the insects and reptiles, learning becomes the dominant feature as youngsters copy and model their parents and learn how to find food or hunt. (Gobus. H.H. (2009) Human Ascent. Cairns: Gobus. H.)
Gobus explains that the X chromosomes represent affection. (Gobus. H.H. (2009) Human Ascent. Cairns: Gobus. H.) Gobus explained that as instinct reduces, the features of emotional attachment become more pronounced over time. The increase in emotional attachment over time is unobtrusively observed throughout the entire course of evolution. Gobus explains the process of evolution by describing emotional attachment and instinct in each animal phase in evolution. In the insects, reptiles, birds, monotremes, marsupials and mammals. (Gobus. H.H. (2009) Human Ascent. Gobus. H.)
Gobus asserts that evolution is a predictable and organised process during which emotional attachment continuously increases and instinct decreases. This process, as a consequence, leads to increased intelligence and self-awareness. (Gobus. H.H. (2009) Human Ascent. Cairns: Gobus. H.)
According to Gobus, there are no processes of Natural Selection or Sexual Selection as described by Darwin. Because Natural Selection asserts that "..any variation in the least degree injurious will be rigidly destroyed.." (Darwin, C. (1859) On the Origin of Species. Appleton D. and Company). Darwin encountered insurmountable obstacles with the presentation of colourful bird feathers, which are often a hindrance to flight. Furthermore, male birds make loud noises and behave in ways that are not survival-oriented. To explain away that birds were not rigidly destroyed through Natural Selection, even though they possess seriously injurious features from a survival perspective. Gobus asserts that Darwin invented his second idea of Sexual Selection to explain the way birds look and behave. Darwin's two ideas of selection contradict each other. In Natural Selection, Darwin argued that a survival advantage is the feature for selection. In Sexual Selection, Darwin argued that beauty is the feature of selection. (Darwin, C. (1859). The Origin of Species. London: John Murray).
Gobus described that in each organism, there are two distinct processes. One process is instinct. The other is emotional attachment. (Timeline of evolution Figure 12 Human Ascent page 116). (Gobus. H.H. (2009) Human Ascent. Cairns: Gobus. H.)
Instinct is the innate knowledge to survive. The other process is emotional attachment. Emotional attachment is caring for others and affection. Over the entire course of evolution, emotional attachment continuously increases, and instinct continuously decreases. (fig 10 Human Ascent page 103) (Gobus, H.H. (2009) Human Ascent. Cairns: Gobus, H.)
Bibliography
- Human Ascent (with Henry Gobus): SE Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia, 2009
- It's Always the Love: SE Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia, 2014
See also
References
- ↑ Human Ascent. Google. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
Darwin, C. (1859). The Origin of Species. London: John Murray. Gobus. H.H. (2009) Human Ascent. Cairns: Gobus. H. Aitken, R.J. & Marshall Graves, J.A. (2002). The future of sex. Nature 415, 963. Flinn, M.V.,Geary, D.C. & Ward, C.V.(2005). Ecological dominance, social competition, and coalitionary arms races: Why humans evolved extraordinary intelligence. Evolution and Human Behaviour, 26, 10-46. MacLean, P. D. (1990). The triune brain in evolution: role in paleocerebral functions. New York: Plenum Press Zajonc, R. B. (1980). Feeling and thinking: Preference, need no inferences. American Psychologist, 35, 151-175. Zajonc, R.B. (1984). On the primacy of affect. American Psychologist, 39, 117-123.
External links
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