Unlocking the Power of Practical Axiology: Making Better Decisions for a Better World with Art Ellis, Ph.D.

Apr 17, 2024

In this episode of the Wake Up Eager Workforce podcast, Suzie Price speaks with return podcast guest Art Ellis, Ph.D., on Unlocking the Power of Practical Axiology. The two discuss Dr. Robert Hartman's "Freedom to Live", outlining Hartman's journey and the foundations of practical Axiology.

Art Ellis discusses the legacy of Robert Hartman, who developed Axiology after escaping the atrocities of Hitler, striving to create a structure that organizes good. They explore the origins of the manuscript, its purpose in relation to seminars with Nationwide Insurance Company, and Hartman's personal journey from surviving in Germany during World War II to becoming a philosopher in the United States.

Ellis shares his passion for reading multiple books at once, ranging from deep philosophical works to entertaining mysteries. He also mentions his addiction to playing Wordle and his ability to solve it in three or four guesses.

The two discuss health, spirit, and wisdom, and engage in a conversation about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including dietary preferences and physical activities. They also delve into the significance of travel on their spirits and share their involvement in music and storytelling.

Additionally, Ellis reflects on the advice he would give his younger self, emphasizing the importance of learning about family history and interacting with significant individuals.

The podcast delves into the concept of infusing artificial intelligence with a value-based decision-making process, contemplating the potential implications for the future. They consider the idea of incorporating a Hartman value axiology model algorithm into AI and emphasize the importance of ensuring that AI decisions are based on a calculus of values, including intrinsic, extrinsic, and systemic factors.

In this episode:

[00:00:01] Suzie Price: Today I'm talking with licensed professional counselor Art Ellis, Ph.D. You're going to want to tune in today if you love to learn about others journeys. If you want to feel more hope about the world, if you're curious about the idea that we can measure how we think, feel, and make decisions. If you want to know more about Axiology and try metrics. If you like being inspired by others, you're going to learn more about Robert Hartman's story of escaping Hitler and using the trauma of watching Hitler organize evil, and taking that and turning it into creation of a structure that organizes good, which is what Axiology is.

[00:12:35] Art Ellis: So he came up with the idea of good, the meaning of good of a thing is that it is what it is supposed to be. And in philosophical terminology, or in fact, mathematical terminology, it means it has all of the properties that it is supposed to have. If it is the best thing it can be, it has all of them. 

[00:20:30] Suzie Price: Other philosophers have usually found intrinsic value only in universal, repeatable qualities like pleasure, knowledge, virtue, law, creativity, but not an individual. So that is, you know, when you talk about intrinsic and I think that's where people's hearts get touched through Hartman's work is this understanding of intrinsic and the value of it. And I think that's one of the differentiators. Not only does he talk about how we think and help us understand the ordering principle for our lives, but then he talks about the richness of intrinsic and helps us remember something. And it apparently, before he started talking about it the way he did back in the 1960s, that was not a common practice.

[00:43:35] Art Ellis: Then we have to take those numbers and turn them into a person. Because we're not doing an assessment to see what's wrong with this person. We're doing an assessment to look at a reflection of this person and our working with those numbers in our descriptions and our our speculations about what this kind of score, combination and pattern means. We have to turn that back into a real person. So, you know, that's the three elements of working with it. 

[00:55:50] Suzie Price: So see what happens. Yes. So you had quite a journey to get approval, and maybe we could just tell a short version of that where I don't know what age you were at the time, but you basically on your own dime and dollar and time, tracked Rita Hartman down to get approval to publish this.

[01:05:56] Art Ellis: Was a major thing, I think, when the Institute was able to get the copyright back and issue the second edition, because it made it much more accessible to people who were coming along who needed to see this. And it's great grounding for anybody who is a practitioner to get enough of a sense of what formal axiology is all about and what Hartman was all about to use this background in for the applications that you put it to use. So it's great. Yeah. Kind of grounding.

[01:09:48] Art Ellis: He says the same kind of evil represented by Hitler in his contempt and hate for other people is present in the US today. And he's writing this in the 60s. 

Links & Resources:

Related Podcasts:

Episode #74 Axiology Influencers: Why Robert S. Hartman's Work Matters Today - A Discussion with Licensed  Professional Counselor Art Ellis, Ph.D. - https://www.pricelessprofessional.com/axiology-influencers-artellis.html

Episode #73 Axiology Influencers: Why Robert S. Hartman's Work Matters Today - A Discussion with K.T. Connor, PhD - https://www.pricelessprofessional.com/axiology-influencers-ktconnor.html

Connect with Suzie:

Priceless Professional - https://www.pricelessprofessional.com/

LinkedIn: Suzie Price - https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzieprice/

LinkedIn: Priceless Professional Development - https://www.linkedin.com/company/priceless-professional-development

LinkedIn: Wake Up Eager Workforce Podcast - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wakeupeagerworkforcepodcast

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