I keep finding that asking What is ____________? opens doors, good questions and educates me.
What is Communism?
What is Nazism?
What is hypnotism?
Usually, the word is a subject, a noun about which books are written, often something that lives are dedicated to, or in opposition to. My friend Mary Elizabeth Raines recently wrote a new book "How to Help and Heal with Hypnosis: An Advanced Guide to Hypnotism." It turns out that people don't exactly agree as to what hypnotism is and maybe it is more than one thing.
My friend, Dr. Scott Metskas was talking about freedom today. He and I are aware that if we say the word "freedom", many Americans will immediately come to attention. Before we come to some sort of reflexive saluting or genuflecting, it can be helpful to ask "What is freedom?" or "What sort of freedom are we talking about?" If you have a PhD person at hand versed in the subject of the moment, you might address the question to that person. "What do YOU mean by ____________?" is not the same as "What is __________?" Often the answer to "What is…?" is complex and not easily dealt with. Sometimes, a person has strong feelings about a concept but can not say what it means to them.
I find it helpful to put the question or versions of it into Google. Almost always the answers found in Google or Duckduckgo broaden the range of answers and my understanding.
