The voices
The nature of our beingness as humans, the question of free will, positing a distinction between brain and mind, the experience with a virtual reality, and the order of the universe which can be discussed using the language of math are thoughts which have been rolling around in my conscious thought process for as long as I can recall.
On the one hand there are a myriad of factors which affect when and how the neurons in our human brains fire. Yesterday I was talking to a person who lives with a depressive disorder. This very bright, highly educated person sometimes perceives reality through the lens of clinical depression. Clinical depression blocks out the automatic experience of positives and movement. Thus, if examining oneself or something which is considered to be outside of oneself, one, if depressed, will experience negatives and often blame oneself for negatives. One’s perception will also be limited in terms of time. Thus, one might experience the world or self as always having been negative and always going to be negative. Medication, changes in diet, exercise, positive support or some other factors can sometimes decrease the distortions of clinical depression. One can also frequently, with help, access other voices in one’s head which offer a different truth. Those voices may be able to correct the distortions of the depressive voice. One might still feel as if life is not worth living, but another part of one will “know” that it is the depression which is determining one’s feeling and perception of reality.
One can also have an addictive disorder which causes one’s brain to have what is often an overwhelming urge or desire to use a substance which will make one act in ways which are contrary to one’s core values. A person who has been very loyal, honest, and trustworthy will, when actively addicted steal, lie and otherwise mistreat those he or she loves.
When depression, addiction and certain other brain conditions are present it seems as if one is unable to exercise free will. Those factors affecting the ability of certain neurons to fire resulting in a thought which can direct one’s behavior seem to be in charge. However, as soon as another voice can be accessed in one’s head one can begin to have an active internal dialogue with the other thought process. Then one can at least consider other behavioral options. This process is, I think, what we mean by free will. The longer one has lived with a single so-called thought process the less likely one can have an internal dialogue and, thus the less access to the exercise of what is thought of as free will. Some of the individuals who come to me for help have lived with an addictive disorder or other distorted thinking since they were very young. It seems as if there are no other voices in their head to engage in an internal dialogue. Sometimes that person can seem to eventually develop and/or access other voices which will suggest different behavioral options. That person may then begin to have the option of what we mean by free will.
Abraham Maslow, the psychologist, posited a theory based on the hierarchy of needs. He suggested that the more one was able to move up the hierarchy the more one was capable of considering the needs of others. When one, for example, needed to focus on just getting enough to eat, drink and stay out of the elements one could not worry about how one’s behavior affects others. As, one is able to satisfy physical, safety, love/belonging, and esteem needs one moves toward self-actualization and self-transcendence and is then able to make decisions based on the needs of others as well as oneself. The more one exists on the lower rungs of the hierarchy the less free will one has.
Margaret Wertheim, physicist (philosopher/author) and philosophers/theologians Kristra Tippett explore questions such as free will, the mind-brain distinction, the increasing experience with virtual reality, the power of the language of math as expressed in nature and other topics related to the beingness and interconnectedness of humans and the rest of “creation” in their discussion of April 23, 2015 which was recently rebroadcast on On Being.
The question of “true reality” and the nature of humans as embodied beings has been explored by theologians, philosophers, physicists and mathematicians since some humans have had the luxury of moving beyond the satisfaction of basic physical needs. This exploration has eventually led to discussions of justice, free will, responsibility and, of course the nature and structure of form. The language of math has been a necessary and invaluable part of this journey. We moved from the work/thinking of Plato, Pythagoras, Newton, Descarte, to the world of the theory of relativity and then on to quantum physics and string theory.
Still, as we gain in the art of answers while simultaneously becoming more sophisticated in destroying each other and destroying the planet we come back to what I think of as the first questions – the questions of what it means to be what Margaret Wertheim and others label as embodied beings – what it means to be human.
Nica Shy in an article “Human Beings as an Embodied Spirit” published 24 June, 2013 on prezi.com states:
“Embodied spirit is the living animating core within each of us, the driving force behind all that we think, say and do.”
As with all else, my personal inquiry has more to do with the exploration of first questions than it does with answers. It seems to me that we find ourselves in an age and at a time when the moral imperative is to closely examine what questions we ask and the possible answer for which we allow. It may be that the answers do not fit our historic dualities or either/or distinctions. How we view leadership, violence, responsibility, punishment, justice, free will and other constructs vital to the occupation of this planet and this earth may be dependent on the humility with which we formulate the questions.
Written February 17. 2017
The nature of our beingness as humans, the question of free will, positing a distinction between brain and mind, the experience with a virtual reality, and the order of the universe which can be discussed using the language of math are thoughts which have been rolling around in my conscious thought process for as long as I can recall.
On the one hand there are a myriad of factors which affect when and how the neurons in our human brains fire. Yesterday I was talking to a person who lives with a depressive disorder. This very bright, highly educated person sometimes perceives reality through the lens of clinical depression. Clinical depression blocks out the automatic experience of positives and movement. Thus, if examining oneself or something which is considered to be outside of oneself, one, if depressed, will experience negatives and often blame oneself for negatives. One’s perception will also be limited in terms of time. Thus, one might experience the world or self as always having been negative and always going to be negative. Medication, changes in diet, exercise, positive support or some other factors can sometimes decrease the distortions of clinical depression. One can also frequently, with help, access other voices in one’s head which offer a different truth. Those voices may be able to correct the distortions of the depressive voice. One might still feel as if life is not worth living, but another part of one will “know” that it is the depression which is determining one’s feeling and perception of reality.
One can also have an addictive disorder which causes one’s brain to have what is often an overwhelming urge or desire to use a substance which will make one act in ways which are contrary to one’s core values. A person who has been very loyal, honest, and trustworthy will, when actively addicted steal, lie and otherwise mistreat those he or she loves.
When depression, addiction and certain other brain conditions are present it seems as if one is unable to exercise free will. Those factors affecting the ability of certain neurons to fire resulting in a thought which can direct one’s behavior seem to be in charge. However, as soon as another voice can be accessed in one’s head one can begin to have an active internal dialogue with the other thought process. Then one can at least consider other behavioral options. This process is, I think, what we mean by free will. The longer one has lived with a single so-called thought process the less likely one can have an internal dialogue and, thus the less access to the exercise of what is thought of as free will. Some of the individuals who come to me for help have lived with an addictive disorder or other distorted thinking since they were very young. It seems as if there are no other voices in their head to engage in an internal dialogue. Sometimes that person can seem to eventually develop and/or access other voices which will suggest different behavioral options. That person may then begin to have the option of what we mean by free will.
Abraham Maslow, the psychologist, posited a theory based on the hierarchy of needs. He suggested that the more one was able to move up the hierarchy the more one was capable of considering the needs of others. When one, for example, needed to focus on just getting enough to eat, drink and stay out of the elements one could not worry about how one’s behavior affects others. As, one is able to satisfy physical, safety, love/belonging, and esteem needs one moves toward self-actualization and self-transcendence and is then able to make decisions based on the needs of others as well as oneself. The more one exists on the lower rungs of the hierarchy the less free will one has.
Margaret Wertheim, physicist (philosopher/author) and philosophers/theologians Kristra Tippett explore questions such as free will, the mind-brain distinction, the increasing experience with virtual reality, the power of the language of math as expressed in nature and other topics related to the beingness and interconnectedness of humans and the rest of “creation” in their discussion of April 23, 2015 which was recently rebroadcast on On Being.
The question of “true reality” and the nature of humans as embodied beings has been explored by theologians, philosophers, physicists and mathematicians since some humans have had the luxury of moving beyond the satisfaction of basic physical needs. This exploration has eventually led to discussions of justice, free will, responsibility and, of course the nature and structure of form. The language of math has been a necessary and invaluable part of this journey. We moved from the work/thinking of Plato, Pythagoras, Newton, Descarte, to the world of the theory of relativity and then on to quantum physics and string theory.
Still, as we gain in the art of answers while simultaneously becoming more sophisticated in destroying each other and destroying the planet we come back to what I think of as the first questions – the questions of what it means to be what Margaret Wertheim and others label as embodied beings – what it means to be human.
Nica Shy in an article “Human Beings as an Embodied Spirit” published 24 June, 2013 on prezi.com states:
“Embodied spirit is the living animating core within each of us, the driving force behind all that we think, say and do.”
As with all else, my personal inquiry has more to do with the exploration of first questions than it does with answers. It seems to me that we find ourselves in an age and at a time when the moral imperative is to closely examine what questions we ask and the possible answer for which we allow. It may be that the answers do not fit our historic dualities or either/or distinctions. How we view leadership, violence, responsibility, punishment, justice, free will and other constructs vital to the occupation of this planet and this earth may be dependent on the humility with which we formulate the questions.
Written February 17. 2017
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