IN SEARCH OF REALITY IV
The Emotional Personality
A Study in Thought
by
Marius Heuff
@M.Heuff
Chapter 1
Emotions and feedback mechanisms; a detailed analysis.It remains difficult to describe and define an emotion accurately. This reflects our muddled thinking about the conscious awareness of our feelings, but, it also reflects a vagueness in the way we understand each other, whenever we try to communicate feelings and awarenesses associated with an emotional experience. While we have tried to define an emotional state as the instinctive organisation of a behavioural response-pattern that is, nevertheless, influenced, to some extent, by rational and more flexible or finely-tuned modes of behaviour, it seems to me, that such a definition still does not adequately express the neural or biological mechanisms that play a role in shaping our behaviour.
For example, the feed-back mechanisms involved in the smooth performance of a simple muscular reaction provide the means for a continuous adaptation of the muscular action that is in progress. This is accomplished by shaping and adjusting the energy-level and instruction-patterns that are required to fit the muscular contractions, or motoric performance, into a useful, overall behavioural response. Similarly, we notice, that mental objectives are playing a role in all our goal-directed behaviour patterns, and the mental picture of the desired end-result serves as a guide for the necessary adjustments of our behavioural actions. This implies the existence of a continuous judgement function, monitoring the degree of progress we are making, or, the degree of failure we are experiencing.
The importance of this judgement function, going-on, continuously, within our central nervous system, lies in the fact that it allows us to interpret the results of our behavioural actions; either positively, emphasising the rate of progress towards our objectives, or negatively, high-lighting the lack of achievement, so far. These judgements cause a widely fluctuating ambivalence of our moods and colour our expectations from one moment to the next.
An expectation is based on the judgement, whether a planned course of action or a set of goal-oriented behavioural acts will be relatively easy, or, rather difficult, to bring to a successful conclusion. This judgement is based, in part, on a comparison with similar situations encountered in the past, and, partly, the evaluation is based on an under-tone or ground-swell of optimistic or cautious judgements about our qualities and skills.
If the progress of a planned action confirms our expectations, a feeling of confidence and satisfaction will result in a positive mood, while disappointing experiences will lead to frustration or anger. The latter is an attempt to force success by increased but crudely applied pressure. We may also experience a mood of pessimism, or, even, anxiety, depending on the degree of importance or existential significance of the experienced failure. Even our routine, every-day behaviour is an assortment of numerous short- and longer-term tasks, partly executed deliberately and consciously, but, often, performed almost sub-consciously. All our actions are continuously monitored, and, with the help of a "feed-back flow" of information, we remain aware of the degree of success or failure we encounter, when trying to accomplish our tasks.
The precision of the mental imagery about a certain task has a remarkable influence on the likelyhood of bringing this task to a successful end. However, we are often unable to outline a task in precise detail, and, we have to embark upon this task by "feeling our way"; by continuously adjusting and improvising our actions as we go along, relying on feed-back information, judgements and flexibility, in order to come, eventually, to a successful conclusion. A lack of definition about the task we have to complete, creates a feeling of uncertainty and leads to a measure of anxiety. If we rely, too strongly, upon a detailed mental image of the task to be completed and the steps we have to take, we approach a compulsive type of behaviour, where we ignore or mistrust the need for flexibility, feed-back and improvisation. This inability to trust our improvisational skills is felt as a serious stress.
On the other hand, a marked lack of the ability to organise and visualise the many details of the tasks at hand, leads to a confused behavioural performance; where the negative, anxiety-providing feed-back is attenuated, to some degree, by an increased reliance upon improvisational skills, as well as a decreased expectation of significant results. Indeed, a powerful way to attenuate the anxiety, caused by a failure to obtain a set of goals or accomplish the necessary tasks, is, to defuse the importance of these goals and tasks by adopting an attitude of ridicule, laughter or caricature towards them. The essence of ridicule or caricature is, always, an attempt to defuse the importance of a serious goal, set by society or an individual, and, an act of ridicule is, at the same time, an attempt to defuse the painful feed-back of failure in obtaining these goals.
A change in the priorities of our goals, or, even, a complete denial of their importance, is a powerful method to cope with failure, and, it is one of the most important mechanisms for adjusting our attitudes and goal-patterns. The serious and sensitive individual has a high degree of feed-back, partially positive and partially negative, and, this person will swing, emotionally, between optimistic expectations and fearful forebodings, depending on the nature of his judgements. These judgements may emphasise, either, the gain and progress, or, the failure and difficulties encountered. The importance of the objective is, subconsciously, enhanced by an attitude of tenaciously clinging to these goal-patterns, because the adoption of purposeful attitudes re-enforces the significance of the efforts to reach a specific objective.
Most of us are able to vary the degree of compulsion or tenacity we adopt when striving towards our goals, and, we avoid the continuous fuzziness of the poorly organised, happy-go-lucky individual, but, we shun, also, the all-consuming obsession with a project which the compulsive individual can not let-go.
A balance is, therefore, necessary between the stress required to obtain success and the stress of failure, when we give up. We need such a balance for our mental sanity, but, where this balance-point lies, is difficult to say. Not only, will this point of balance vary from one individual to the next, but each one of us will have to make these judgements from time to time, partly deliberately and partly subconsciously, as we decide, how much we are willing to pay, in stress, for our goals and ideals.
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Chapter 2
Feedback mechanisms.
Moods and emotions of the individual and the social environment.
Bureaucratic inertia and corruption.
Evolutionary developments and varying degrees of behavioural efficiency.A mood can be classified, roughly, as positive or negative, ranging from mild optimism and confidence, to joy, exuberance, or, even, mystical exaltation, as well as from slight disappointment to deep anxiety and despair. Most of us will experience a continuously varying mixture of positive and negative moods, stimulated by positive and negative experiences, as well as ever varying judgements and evaluations.
Actually, a necessary brake upon wild, emotional swings is provided by the contradictory nature of our sense impressions and feed-back mechanisms. Each positive evaluation is tempered by a negative one and vice versa. As a result of this balanced input, we are able to withstand various stressful impulses and situations better, since we do not allow the prima facia aspect of an event or judgement to colour our behaviour entirely. We have, even, a tendency to look, deliberately, for the opposing stimulus or judgement, if it is not immediately apparent. When we experience a sudden, unexpected bonus or windfall, or any kind of positive stimulus, we look, suspiciously, for the other side of the coin of evidence, but, at the same time, we are able to assimilate a negative input, a set-back, or a disappointment, with a balanced recall of various compensating factors.
Our ability to form a clear mental image of the tasks at hand, together with the steps to be taken to accomplish these tasks, form the basis for our intelligence and the ability to manipulate the prevailing circumstances to our advantage. The more complex the task we can accomplish, the greater is our power, influence and mastery over the environment and ourselves. However, obstacles in the way of successfully concluding a task are not exclusively dependent on the ability, skill and originality of one individual, since most of our tasks require the cooperation and the manipulative skills of other people as well.
The efforts involved in trying to persuade someone else to cooperate with us, (usually for our own advantage), sharpens the ability to perceive mental mechanisms; perhaps, not sufficiently to conceptualise them accurately, but, we perceive them in a pragmatic, intuitive manner. The feed-back to the manipulated individual will always be somewhat contradictory, however. On the one hand, the positive, persuasive aspects of the project, task or action proposed by the manipulator, appear to be attractive, but, at the same time, there is a vague awareness that the interests of the manipulator are never the same as those of the individual whose cooperation is being sought.
For example, in a social environment with a complex hierarchy, (such as a government bureaucracy), we see, how a multitude of tasks needs to be organised and carried-out by a large number of people, and, we see, that, often, these tasks are poorly defined and clumsily executed. The leaders of society are confronted with a complex and conflicting mass of data or "information", and this contradictory input comes from various segments within society. The input from a complex social environment has to be contradictory, because the interests of the various segments of the population are inevitably conflicting with each other, and, it is understandable that social goals and bureaucratic objectives are, often, poorly defined, while the leadership is busily searching for compromises and points of agreement.
Confused directives to the massive government bureaucracies lead, inevitably, to vague, ill-defined tasks and poorly delineated boundaries of jurisdiction, and, it is clear, that the instructions received by people working within a bureaucracy are, often, confused and contradictory. The result is massive inertia, where goals and ideals become hidden behind the existential anxieties of the people who work there. Personal initiatives and ideas are quickly censored in order to prevent further chaos and confusion, or, they are used to blame someone for failures. Imagination and enthousiasm suffer, as individual initiatives and ingenuity are curtailed. Short-comings, failures or outright corruption disappear in an anonymous morass of non-accountability, unless a luck-less group or individual becomes the target for blame and criticism. This is likely to happen, whenever such a group or individual has become vulnerable with a bold initiative or a well-meant short-cut to action.
When the leadership of a society is weak, the mental images of the tasks to be completed are fuzzy, and, the tasks that have to be carried-out by the government bureaucracies, will, necessarily, be contradictory, inefficient, redundant and imprecise. This leads to a marked inrease in the risk of serious errors, attempts to cover-up these errors, outright failures, as well as essentially corrupt practices, resulting in an increasing restlessness of the people and a profound distrust for their government institutions.
What is more natural than to freeze in an attitude of self-defense? Almost all the energy of the bureaucracy is then directed to individual self-preservation, rather than the performance of a poorly understood and even less cared-for task. By scrupulously adhering to regulations, guidelines and systems of reference; by behavioural conformity with colleagues and superiors; by the shrewd use of information and influence, the bureaucracy defends, not only, its system of operation, transforming itself into a fortress of immobility, but, the common bonds of self-preservation will react, strongly, against any changes in authority or reduction in man-power.
The inevitable growth of a bureaucracy is assured by the fact, that there is no method more secure in convincing one's superior of the importance of a certain post, than to prove the need for an assistant. Once the assistant becomes part of the system, his instinct for self-preservation will make him, or her, conform.
Streamlining a government bureaucracy is, therefore, extremely difficult, and, few leaders in an emasculated democratic society can galvanise the bureaucracy into a meaningful performance. The bureaucratic society becomes a class apart, intent on its own preservation, and, in doing so, it reveals its only essential flaw. Because a bureaucracy is non-productive, paid-for with the people's taxes, it alienates itself from the productive classes, represented by the average, working citizen, and, a bureaucracy may become, therefore, a target for reform.
After this digression, we return to the personality of the single individual. The inertia, immobility and the mental paralysis of a bureaucracy may be reflected in the psychological make-up of some people, since individual human behaviour is characterised, in essence, by the guidance, coordination and leadership given to a mass of conflicting, contradictory impulses, sensations and judgements. The ability of an individual to come to a decision is frequently undermined, especially, when a person has been allowed to grow-up and remain in an over-protected environment. It is during these all-important formative years, that the need for organised, decisive behaviour has to be developed, primarily, as a need to carry-out acts of self-preservation in response to a variety of challenging and stressful circumstances.
In an over-protected or psychologically defective environment, some people never learn to make decisions for themselves, and the experience of a conflicting input at a later age, when decisions have to be made, is then felt as a severe burden. The result is indecision, leading to a sense of failure, anxiety and stress. A paralysing, neurotic, mentally chaotic situation may occur, where the failure of the ability to make decisions is soothed, temporarily, by the stimulation of sensual experiences. Inevitably, however, the problems will re-assert themselves and the flight or escape into sensual pleasures will be repeated, until such behaviour is, finally, recognised for what it is; unproductive, weak, another failure.
An extremely unorganised mind, allowed to exist as a result of the absence of serious existential pressures, will, eventually, destroy itself, since the sense of failure and inadequacy will become so great, that the stress of existence will be felt as an intolerable burden.
We come back to the conclusion, that, on a psychological as well as a biological plane of perceiving reality, the evolutionary forces and pressures of natural selection shape the form of behaviour that is best adapted to survival in a particular ecological niche or set of circumstances. Behaviour is, of course, nothing more, than the organisation and interaction of the multi-cellular organism as a whole with its environment, in accordance with the criteria of viability. Mental and physical aspects of existence are, therefore, inseparable in concept and function. Behavioural defects, caused by isolation, deprivation or over-protection during the formative years, can be as lethal for the organism as severe organic birth-defects, and, some behavioural aberrations are, indeed, incompatible with life within a social environment.
We have learned to recognise a variety of organic disease processes, as well as behavioural aberrations in the many forms of living existence we have become familiar with, including ourselves. Our ability to identify with other people and to feel compassion, has led to remarkably ambivalent feelings towards the mentally diseased or physically handicapped members of society. On the one hand, we feel a natural fear and aversion towards disease processes that incapacitate or weaken the existence of human life, but, on the other hand, we have learned to recognise, that, in many instances, we are affected ourselves, at least, to some extent, by a variety of disease processes, and, we pity people who are being overwhelmed by their physical or mental handicaps. We are frightened, yet, at the same time, these insights make us more reflective and tolerant of each others peculiarities.
Compassion, and the ability to identify with each other's problems, belong to man's greatest evolutionary assets on which his ethical behaviour and social organisation depend; yet, these same developments contribute to our drive to explore the possibilities of correcting various defects and interfering with the mechanisms of natural selection. The consequences of such interference are far from clear at the present time.
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Chapter 3
Stress and emotions.
The function of hope in religious belief structures.
The absence of stress and its effects on the relevance of Christian beliefs
Placing our trust in the Will of God.
Varying view-points.When we find ourselves in a period of severe stress, or, under difficult and challenging circumstances, (be it physically, mentally or a combination of both), the pain, anguish and sorrow associated with such experiences provoke strong emotional responses that colour our decisions and behavioural choices. In short, these emotional reactions to stress pervade our entire outlook and colour our judgements about ourselves, our environment and our expectations for the future.
The rapid and often complete destruction of a cherished way of life, including our objectives, the loss of property, freedom and privacy, the loss of friends, relatives and familiar surroundings, is a trauma of such magnitude, that our imagination in times of comfort and success lacks the ability, and the inclination, to consider such experiences in detail; or, to sympathise with others in a full understanding of the effects of such stress.
The confusion of conflicting impulses, the chaos of lost guidelines and goal-patterns, the regret about missed opportunities, missed appreciations for the blessings and comforts of the past, the unpredictability of the future, and, especially, the frustrating, paralysing fear for the inability to ward-off even greater stresses and dangers; all these factors create a feeling of hopelessness and an attitude of despair, weakening the individual further and reducing the ability to endure the prevailing conditions of stress.
In order to endure, there must be hope. There must be a rallying point for the mind. There must be some form of guidance-pattern for our behavioural choices. Our outlook must remain intact, and hopeful expectations become ever more important, because all other guidelines and objectives have been stripped away.
Hope, the expectation that the situation will improve; that the stress will lessen, and, that survival or salvation is possible, has to be based on the intellectual justification of such a possibility. In the concept of God, a personally interfering God, and, a God to whom we can, not only, pray, but, in Whom we can believe as a source of personal assistance, we see such a possibility for hopeful expectations, even, if the expectation takes, often, the form of mental or spiritual help, rather than an expectation of literal, physical assistance.
The identification with a God Who knows what it means to suffer, is an extremely powerful mechanism of mental adaptation, especially, during periods of severe stress, and, such an adaptation provides an enormous psychological support. The greater the stress, the closer the suffering human being feels himself to his God, until he merges, psychologically, with his God during the final agony of his death, when reality and imagination are fusing together. At that time, the physical and mental pain of the impending dissolution of body and mind have been fully accepted, and the natural resistance to death has, finally, been overcome by an Absolute Certainty, which comes to the fore during the actual experience of becoming one with one's Creator.
This belief structure, supported by an act of identification with the Suffering Christ, as well as the expectation of being united with Christ after a full Resurrection of body and mind, is a perfect framework for a superlative mental and physical adaptation to the experience of severe stress. Any additional stress that is applied by an oppressor to bring-about a change in the religious belief pattern, only serves to re-enforce this belief. Unfortunately, (but perfectly understandable), the only way for such a belief structure to lose its appeal and to be banned into the background of a framework of behavioural guidelines and beliefs, is the absence of all stress.
A long period of easy comforts and optimum living conditions, together with a prolonged exposure to a condition of affluence and wealth, (especially, when associated with the inevitable boredom of a younger generation that has been born into a position of ease and luxury), will make these religious belief structures, based on identification with a Suffering Christ, irrelevant, if not quietly incomprehensible.
The temptation to explore "forbidden" behaviour patterns during boredom and affluence becomes ever stronger, as the elan vital of the young and affluent generations begins to seek its own forms of emotional and physical gratification. Traditionally inherited cultural guidelines of mores and beliefs are becoming ever more confused, because they are handed-over with increasing indifference and shallowness of understanding by the successively more degenerated, untried generations, born into affluence and comfort.
This trend is inevitable, and, rather than deploring the ever returning follies of the succeeding generations, we should recognise in this process the essential mobility and lability of living organisms, which are seeking new possibilities of existence, or, are trying to hold-on to the possibilities they have already found. Whenever secondarily acquired trends and experiences are culturally transmitted, the learned patterns of behaviour and experience are attenuated rapidly; whenever the level of recognition and understanding declines. These trends are accentuated, when the formative circumstances that gave rise to a particular cultural code, have disappeared during the phase of maturity and senescence of a specific social environment.
The inevitability of decline after success gives others a chance, but, these mechanisms are, also, responsible for a repetition of the same cycles of defeat, enslavement and death, as well as the ever-recurrent experiences of suffering and despair. Despair and suffering are the psychological equivalents of the death and disappearance of the slightly less successful organisms during the mechanisms of stress-adaptation or natural evolutionary change. These mechanisms reflect the relentless, evolutionary pressures that are exerted by other lifeforms, whose competitive existence and development is made possible by the defeat and disappearance of those who have lost-out.
In our emotions of hope, the strong expectation of a turn for the better, towards a more favourable situation, is an expression of the tenacity of our instinctive desire to cling to life as long as we can. Regardless of the manner in which we cling to life, we must have some form of belief to sustain this element of hope. This belief structure does not have to be religious in nature, but, it is undoubtely true, that rational reasons for maintaining an attitude of hope are more easily exhausted and destroyed by a hostile or adverse force compared to a religious structure of beliefs.
Hope, then, has to be sustained by some kind of a belief. By far the most durable belief structure is based upon an act of faith, where the responsibility for finding a plausible reason to "hope" can be "thrown back" upon the Will of an Omnipotent, all-loving God. This is, in essence, an act of absolute trust, even, if the reasons for such an act of trust can not be clearly justified. We throw our burdens upon the Lord, and, such a psychological act provides an immense relief. Now, we are not responsible, any longer, for maintaining hope on reasonable, rational grounds. The painful, exhausting process of anxiously balancing the positive and negative aspects of the situation, has been replaced by a simple act of placing our trust in God. The experience of freedom and resilience is overwhelming, and, this simple act of Faith increases, as a rule, the chances for survival significantly.
Yet, is it always possible to place our burdens upon the Lord? Often, stressful situations are not extreme, but they may last a long time. The intellectual justification for a blind trust in a Divine Will may be questioned frequently, especially, when we see, how people, who trust God implicitly and completely, still fall victim to various forms of severe stress. We also note, that those, who come through a period of stress without relying on God, often show a remarkable resilience and peace of mind as well.
Is every act of trust in God, are all acts of prayer, even, the deepest conviction and commitment to the Will of God, then, in essence, a natural, psychological mechanism? Does this mechanism reflect a conscious or subconscious act to help us endure stress? Observation and reasoning seem to indicate, that, from an outsiders point of view, such an analysis and conclusion in psychological terms is, indeed, a valid way of looking at these mechanisms.
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Chapter 4
Varying stress-adaptations.
The role of reason and understanding in avoiding stress.
Our inclination to opt for a fight.
The biological heritage and pathways of stress-reduction.Let us consider, now, a different form of adaptation to psychological stress. No organism, not even a human being, will enjoy severe, punishing stress, but the mild forms of deliberately and carefully chosen challenges are certainly enjoyable and stimulating. The reason why a vigorous organism needs to test and develop its capabilities, finds its origin in the drive of the elan vital, which represents the growth-energy of every young and healthy organism. This vitality, this energy, has to be spent and used-up in various challenges. If there is no chance to do so, boredom and confusion, as well as poorly directed objectives, will easily lead to mischievous, anti-social behaviour, as well as an unbalanced, emotional search for sensual pleasures.
However, severe stress is extremely painful and disrupting, in particular for the mature or older individual, but a mature human being will, often, be able to anticipate stressful changes, as he understands the reasons for, as well as the development of, potentially stressful and harmful circumstances. Often, such situations can be avoided, or, the anticipating and intelligent person will be able to adopt attitudes that rapidly minimise the need for a futile, stressful struggle.
It is this process of insight, of analysis and accurate foresight, of balancing and understanding the stress-producing factors honestly; it is this insight into the situation as it is, as it was, or, as it will be, which provides us with the most powerful weapon to counteract stress. By understanding the forces of stress, we are able to avoid the futile polarisation of the forces of apparent good and evil.
The religious stress-adaptation leads, so often, to a stubborn and unnecessary accentuation of the conditions of stress, since the world is seen as an antithesis, or polarisation, between good and evil. The world is seen as a battle ground, or, as a titanic struggle between God and Satan; a world, that has been divided between darkness and light.
If reason and understanding have been nurtured by a sweeping view of life, where the earth and the cosmos are seen in their totality, and, where life's requirements and cause-effect relationships have been acknowledged, reason and understanding will lead, not only, to a lessened chance to be involved in stressful conflict-situations, but, it may be possible to defuse many stressful situations of conflict by making the adversaries aware of the logic and reason for each other's view-points and concerns. Stress-adaptation, and, especially, stress-prevention through the mechanisms of understanding and reasoning are the most useful, and, ultimately, the most viable attitudes we have at our disposal.
Rather than tolerating severe stress by a death-defying heroic act of a psychological conversion, (where we induce a blurring of reality and evoke hopeful beliefs, intensifying, often, stress unnecessarily), the stress-reducing attitudes of reason and understanding facilitate an exchange of views, as well as an increased insight into the basic mechanisms of life and the common denominators of the combatants.
This form of stress-adaptation and stress-prevention is "new". At least, in evolutionary terms, it is the latest form of behaviour to arise in the intelligent animal, "man", but its existence is fragile, because such a rational approach to a situation of conflict is prone to be viewed with attitudes of suspicion and hatred on both sides of a conflict. The absence of unswerving loyalty and the refusal to be polarised into clear-cut battle-lines, is felt, by many, to be unnatural, unmanly, weak or treacherous. Nature has given us a very strong impulse, indeed, to settle a conflict by strife, to end stressful confrontations by an act of warfare, and, to invoke the solution of all-out combat.
Man, the aggressive animal, loves to fight, but, there must be, on both sides, the conviction, that victory is possible, or, even, likely. Yet, it does not take a sage to point out, that only one side can be victorious. While each camp soaks-up an unreasonable euphoria of confidence and faith in ultimate victory, the seeds for death, destruction and disaster are being laid. While the doctrines and dogmas of each side are being hardened by an atmosphere of over-confident belligerence into a state of unquestionable righteousness, the opportunities for dialogue and compromise are wasted, and, suffering and death are becoming, once more, a grim and inevitable reality.
As long as we do not realise, that it is our biological nature to drive towards violent confrontations as the easiest way to settle a conflict, we will suffer. As long as we let our irrealistic expectations of a glorious victory colour our judgements and reasoning, and, as long as we continue to bask in the emotional delight of victorious dreams about a triumphant aggression, we keep sowing the seeds of sorrow, misery and destruction.
Our biological heritage is so strong and so ancient, and, our intellectual reasoning abilities are so fragile, so weak, so dependent upon cultural traditions and experiences, that it remains very much an open question to what degree reason and understanding will be able to guide mankind in the overall course of human history.
It may well be, however, that the general level of reasoning and understanding is, indeed, increasing rapidly throughout the world, and, it is possible, that our contemporary period in history will leave as its legacy, not so much the consumerist affluence of a comfort-loving self-indulgence, but, a globally experienced level of insight and well-being that has been made possible by the technological break-throughs of contacts and communications on a world-wide scale.
If we all are reasonably comfortable, and, if we are all reasonably well informed about each other, we will have very few reasons to engage in a serious conflict. Then, we will lose a great deal during a violent confrontation, and, if we experience a reasonable degree of justice and freedom, we will also lessen the need for strong emotions of hope, or, the need for a fanatic, revolutionary or religious zeal.
The religious stress-adaptation, made possible by identifying with the Sufferings of Christ, was the great legacy of an era, when mankind became sensitive to the suffering and misery human beings were causing each other. The question, why this was the case, became very important and had to be answered. Now, we have a different answer. Now, we know, not only, how to resist stress, how to defy death and the devil, but, we know, also, why we thought and behaved the way we did. Now, we have some ideas about the main features of the living organisation and the characteristics of natural evolution. We know, now, that these mechanisms determine, to a large extent, the nature of our existence and behaviour. We are able to acknowledge, that we can grasp and understand the causes of conflict, and, we can see ourselves, now, a little better than before, as a product of natural evolution; as an earthly experiment of nature with the possibilities of intelligent behaviour.
We see ourselves not anymore as a creature that has been created in the image of an all-powerful God. We have become less egocentric and less anthropocentric in our reality perceptions, and, this increase in our angle of vision should help us to reduce mutually inflicted stress.
Stress caused by interhuman strife will lessen gradually, if contemporary trends persist, and, if the level of insight and social justice keeps rising. Increasingly, we will have to direct our vital energies to the tasks of surviving in a severely polluted, earthly incubator of terrestial life. Terrestial life is, probably, a common and undistinguished example of life when seen on a galactic scale, but, so far, it is the only form of life we know. It is the only form of reflective intelligence we know about, and the earth is the only planetary incubator we have.
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Chapter 5
Anxiety; its mechanisms, traced from our biological origins.
A review of our biological origins.
Possibilities for the human faculty of reflection.
A short summary of the structure of the human personality.Anxiety is caused by an ever-present feeling of insecurity and worry, as well as a painful awareness of failure, weakness or threat. It is a relatively recent verbalised abstraction, but, as an experience, anxiety is as old as mankind itself. There is good reason to believe, that the phenomenon of anxiety in its existential or behavioural form is as old as the existence of life.
The conceptual expression of anxiety, in particular the feelings associated with the verbal symbolisation and conceptual communication of the word "anxiety", are recent abstractions. It is, therefore, not surprising, that the relationships and origins of the underlying experiences are only vaguely described or comprehended, and, it is not surprising, that many different words and expressions are in use to indicate similar phenomena, which may all have an identical origin in nature and can be observed throughout the living world.
It seems fair to assume, that the basis of human anxiety will be found in the general characteristics of the organisation of life. With the ability to react to environmental stimuli, it becomes necessary for all life-forms to make a choice; or, to differentiate in their reactions between the harmful and beneficial stimuli that are coming from the natural environment.
The fragility of all lifeforms, together with the persistent need to utilise some form of suitable energy in order to maintain the integrity of the living organisation, leads to a constant search for a suitable form of energy. Competitive existence implies, that all life-forms are subjected to adverse influences and forces, whenever an attempt is made by competing lifeforms to use the same source of energy or building-blocks. The development of animal life has even introduced the likelyhood, that one's existence will be prematurely terminated through a deliberate act of predation.
The existence of harmful and beneficial stimuli, is, therefore, a basic fact for all lifeforms, at least on this planet. From a very early stage in evolutionary development, living behaviour has been divided into a pattern that is, either, "aggressive" towards the beneficial stimulus, or, "defensive" against the harmful one. The most successful living organisms, (as determined by their anatomical structure and physiological characteristics), become the surviving lifeforms and the parents of the next generation. The flow of evolutionary development proceeds, therefore, always into the direction of the most viable lifeforms.
When analysing lifeforms in evolution, we tend to emphasise the static appearance of the fossil records, or the killed specimens under the microscope, since anatomical differentiations and embryological developments are easier to describe and measure than behavioural characteristics, but, we have learned to evaluate and describe a species much more completely by looking at its behaviour patterns, its physical tools, and its relationships with the environment.
We have come to the conclusion, that anatomical and physiological differentiations in the evolutionary processes are only part of, and intricately interwoven with, the totatiliy of the behavioural complex, where the interplay of the various organ-systems of a body determines the success of the individual just as much as the availability of a specific feature or structure. The differentiation of living organisms occurs in response to evolutionary pressures on their existence. In an effort to cope with, and adapt to, changing environmental stress-patterns, the central nervous system of animal organisms becomes the foundation for the organisation and development of the behavioural response. The central nervous system is therefore also under the influence of the evolutionary forces of natural selection, just as the other physical characteristics of the organism.
This is the reason, why it is artificial and somewhat misleading to analyse the function of an individual, or a species, exclusively in terms of organ-systems. The totality of interreacting organs and parts within the overall anatomical structure and physiological unit of the living organism, leads to the concept, that the viability of the various parts lies in their interdependence. The neural systems of complex animal organisms are an anatomical expression of the various interdependencies the animal organism relies upon for its survival. Interestingly, the build-up of the central nervous system reflects, to a remarkable extent, the pathways of its evolutionary history.
The development of a certain capability, be it stereoscopic, binocular vision, manipulative and tactile use of the prehensile forelimbs, or, the faculty of balance, muscle coordination, and the discrimination of smells and sounds; all these capabilities develop in relation to other functions of the body. These faculties have to merge into a viable entity of individualised behaviour, since it is the successful integration of the behavioural complex that determines the viability and the chances of survival for a specific multi-cellular individual of organic existence.
Therefore, behaviour patterns, especially, those involved in the search for food, shelter and reproduction, are determined, developed and transmitted by the genetic code, together with the more obvious physical and physiological characteristics of the organism. The basic, integrated behaviour patterns, such as those of reproduction, food procurement, aggressive or defensive movements, were inherited by the human species, long before we became the reflecting animals we are, now. Even the possibility to develop flexible behaviour patterns in response to rapid but temporary variations in local circumstances, developed under the pressures of evolutionary demands; long before the emergence of the species of mankind, and, these faculties are, therefore, part of our biological inheritance.
Interestingly, the features of behavioural flexibility are less noticeable in the examination of external physical characteristics or physiological functions of the human being, except, perhaps, in the development of the hand. However, the brain forms large areas of neuronal networks that allow modifying influences to play a role in changing the stereotyped, inherited behavioural responses. These neuronal networks are situated in between the more specifically organised areas of the brain, which are responsible for the reception of primary sensory stimuli and the organisation of motoric or physiological responses.
The reflective capabilities of the human mind have made it possible to become aware, verbalise and communicate the conceptual abstractions of psychological functions, which are associated with the execution of various, instinctively engraved patterns of behaviour. With the conceptualisation of these varying states of biologically determined behaviour patterns, (which we correctly call "emotions" because of the tendency to lead to some sort of movement), we also become aware of the relative autonomy of such behaviour patterns, in spite of the fact, that they are, to some extent, under the influence of our voluntary will and rational choice. We experience the fact, that we are "being moved" into a rather set pattern of behaviour by a strong emotion, the dynamics of which we still poorly understand and verbalise. However, the fact, that strong drives and impulses can make us behave in an emotional manner, is well known and is experienced by us all.
If the assumption is correct, that emotional behaviour represents organically inherited patterns of integrated responses, (based on evolutionary pressures, and, tested by persistent existential requirements over a long period of time), we should be able to classify our emotions according to the primary needs of the individual and the species we belong to.
In other words, the responses we engage in when under emotional or instinctive patterns of behaviour, are, primarily, responses to existentially significant stimuli. These stimuli are either beneficial or harmful. They are beneficial or harmful to the individual, to the socially integrated environment, or to the species as a whole. The basic judgement every living organism has to make, time and again, is the decision, whether or not a certain condition of existence is a threat, and, a thorough analysis of this fundamental discrimination between beneficial and harmful stimuli or circumstances, should give us an insight how to classify emotional manifestations and mechanisms.
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Chapter 6
The emotional ground-tone and subconscious judgement patterns.
The zone of emotional neutrality.
Anxiety and the concept of a "behavioural organiser".
Confused reality perceptions and other causes of stress in affluent surroundings.
Mood-altering drugs and the temporary suppression of anxiety.
The concept of an emotional bias.
Financial burdens and the tendency to consume.The main emotional "tone", or subconscious judgement of one's condition or situation, may range from a feeling of being threatened to the feeling of being essentially secure. From this primary judgement, (a function that is carried-out at a subconscious level and not as an intellectual evaluation of many separate sensory data), stems the emotional "ground-tone". This is the basic "feeling", or "mood", in which the individual is going to evaluate everything that is happening to him or her at any particular moment.
It is now possible to see that this ground-tone should be "emotionally neutral", when there is a relative absence of strongly positive or negative impulses or stimuli. This is indeed the case, but, the "homeostatic setting" of the emotional ground-tone in the human being may show a "bias" towards one side or the other; towards pessimism, defensiveness and anxiety, or, towards optimism, confidence and exuberance.
We assume, that a genetic influence plays a significant role in the setting of this "bias" in the balance-point between a positive and negative mood, but, it is more likely, that crucially important experiences with a marked existential significance, (especially, when received in early childhood), will determine a life-long bias in the homeostatic setting of the emotional ground-tone. All other emotional differentiations can be fitted into this broad classification of positive and negative evaluations, since all sensory stimuli can be categorised as positive or negative; leading, either, to a confident, aggressive attitude, or, a defensive, anxious pattern of behavioural responses.
The complexity of contradictory stimuli, sense impressions, drives and motivations, as well as variable moods and feelings, makes a precise classification of emotional behaviour certainly difficult, and these efforts become a fruitful objective for extensive discussions, but, it seems, that this basic differentiation into positive and negative aspects is helpful in bringing order to our chaotic notions about this subject. We will later discuss the place and importance of the somewhat separate category of drives and emotions associated with reproductive behaviour.
Anxiety can be caused by many harmful, or potentially harmful stimuli, circumstances or pressures, but the experience of a deep, ill-defined feeling of anxiety, so common to many of us, is present without a clearly identifiable cause or reason, and, it is more than just a specific mood, or, one of our emotional tendencies.
This chronic, ill-defined and deep-seated anxiety is a result of the subconscious awareness of life's fragility. It is a subconscious awareness of our personal vulnerability, the inevitiability of death, the possibility, or likelyhood, of failure and disease, the weakening of physical and mental powers, the ever-present threat to our existence, in one way or another; be it an upheaval of the social order, or a physical or psychological threat to our individual viability.
Far from being a harmful, paralysing state of the mind, anxiety can be the most powerful organiser of our behaviour, and, it often becomes the cautious moderator of an exuberant confidence; whenever we are giving free reign to our aggressive tendencies and impulsive drives.
However, the presence of a strong, persistent, and, especially an exaggerated and inappropriate level of anxiety may, indeed, become crippling and paralysing, and, it may increase our difficulties when trying to cope with mental or physical stress. Such a degree of anxiety is abnormal. It is a diseased form of our common existential anxieties. It may be caused by a defective personality development, an unbalanced exposure to stressful forces in early childhood, or, a severely defective framework for the classification of our reality perceptions. This framework of beliefs that categorises all our awarenesses, is represented by a variety of secondarily acquired conceptual guidance patterns, which are so necessary for a consistent and sociallly acceptable mode of behaviour.
During times of great turmoil and quickly changing social circumstances, the ability of an individual to adapt will be taxed to the limit, and, the sudden shifts in hierarchical relationships are especially hard on those, whose security has been based, largely, on the stability of their local social order. A confused reality perception, poorly organised concepts about moral and social mechanisms, rapid changes and an uncertain future; all these factors emphasise the need for alert adaptations and create a feeling of stress and anxiety.
Financial and social stress are the main reasons for the experience of anxiety in affluent societies, where the fulfillment of basic physical necessities is relatively easy and, often, taken for granted. Wasteful attitudes, as well as the loss of a feeling of gratefulness and common-sense, lead to an obsession with prestige. This is reflected by the drive to compete with neighbours through ostentatious consumerist attitudes, the tensions of job-related frictions, as well as an uncritical acceptance of fashionable trends and commercial interests. All these mechanisms lead, easily, to confusion and anxiety, because the basic skills of survival have long been forgotten in the large suburban settings of affluence, and a poorly acknowledged or appreciated vulnerability results in neurotic tensions.
The need to cope with feelings of anxiety leads to a re-evaluation of one's situation. A powerful way to counteract a feeling of anxiety, based on a sense of inadequacy, non-fulfillment or frustration, is to emphasise one's conditions in comparison with less fortunate people. In the process of comparing, we accentuate the positive aspects and we create, be it somewhat artificially and temporarily, a feeling of gratitude for the fact that the situation is not worse than it is.
However, even more important is the realisation, that a certain degree of anxiety is unavoidable and actually beneficial, since it helps us in our evaluations and adaptations. Of course, there is a fine line between productive and unproductive anxiety, and, often, we have to lessen the input of anxiety-provoking stimuli by lessening our ambitions; by seeking easier forms of employment; by accepting limitations and short-comings; by accepting a measure of social isolation in return for increased personal freedoms.
Sometimes, widely shared feelings of threat and anxiety will crystallise into collective acts of aggression, such as a revolution or serious internal conflicts and upheavals, while an intense, personal anxiety may, occasionally, be tempered by reflection and study. Unfortunately, anxiety can be suppressed easily, but only temporarily, by mood-altering drugs. A variety of drugs, in particular alcohol, have been used for this purpose since the early history of mankind. It is clear, that this is not a solution to the problem of anxiety, but, only, a temporary suppression, paid-for by a tendency to chronic intoxication, addiction and self-destruction.
Sometimes, we have to accept a persistent bias in our emotional homeostasis, which is usually oriented towards the negative side. However, the reasons for such a bias may be difficult to understand. Perhaps, we can use some of these defensive feelings of anxiety to understand ourselves a little better. We will never be able to live, and, we should not expect to live entirely without anxieties, since we need a productive dose of anxiety to sharpen our faculties of alertness.
In our affluent and confusing societies, where behavioural guidelines are, now, more loosely organised and confusing than they used to be, it is easy to see, how people are getting trapped; primarily, by giving-in, unthinkingly, to the instinctive drives of consumption and acquisition, leading to a morass of financial and social obligations. Then, the pressures and forces an individual is subjected to, increase dramatically, and one's freedom to relax and choose the most beneficial and pleasant way to live, will have been severely limited. Then, we have woven an ever increasing network of obligations and pressures around ourselves, and, as a result, frantic efforts are needed to cope with these pressures. This rather surreptitiously induced anxiety leads, intially, to a heightened performance, but the threat of exhaustion and collapse is always near.
Most people settle, eventually, into a manageable web of pressures and they find a measure of security, and boredom, in an inescapable round of obligations. Others do indeed collapse, and their anxieties reach a state of paralysis resulting in inadeqate performance levels in their social and family relationships. A profusion of contradictory reality perceptions, the inability to foresee the consequences of a reckless accumulation of obligations and financial burdens, the temporary satisfaction that comes with the purchase of a new item of possession; all these factors result in a situation that is somewhat similar to the temporary dulling of anxiety by taking drugs, and, it is not surprising, that the affluent and decadent individual suffers from a serious drug or drinking problem.
Paradoxically, affluence leads, only very temporarily, to happiness. The reason is simple. Man is happy and confident, if he sees his way clear towards an objective; if he can concentrate his mental and physical energies on the formulation and accomplishment of a realistic goal. The final consummation of reaching this goal, gives rise to the most intense feelings of happiness; but, inevitably, a new goal has to be formulated in order to occupy the remaining vital energies.
We have to set objectives in order to avoid boredom, confusion and a pre-occupation with self-indulgence and excessive egocentric pleasure-seeking. This is the reason, why the purchase of an item of consumption in order to fight a depression is similar to the use of drugs. Soon after the object has been bought or consumed, one's attention is shifted to something else, while the financial burdens and commitments linger on, intensifying the feelings of depression and entrapment.
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Chapter 7
Anxiety and depression.
Agitated and depressed states of the mind.
The communal response to stress.
The buoyancy of increased interhuman contacts.
Neurotic dependencies in behavioural relations.
The physician and the salesman.
The momentum of synchronised existential concerns in economic activities.Anxiety and depression are similar but not synonymous. While anxiety describes an active response-pattern that is stimulated into a defensive attitude or activity, depression represents a feeling of entrapment. It represents the experience of an inability to change the situation; a feeling of hopelessness. The agitated phase of anxiety gives way to the paralysed state of depression, especially, when the failure of corrective attempts, instituted in the agitated state, re-enforces the anxiety and transforms it into a helpless paralysis.
Almost always, anxiety and depression are self-induced; in the sense, that the reasons for being anxious and depressed depend on the subjective evaluation of the situation by an individual. Similarly, the presence of marked anxiety-provoking circumstances are, almost always, caused by the behaviour of the individuals themselves. Circumstances that are beyond the control of the individual, such as war, or, a widespread social disruption, are rare occurrences, and, such large communal calamities tend to drive people together into more cohesive social units, as they start to act together and cooperate in order to cope with the situation of stress.
The sudden increase in interpersonal contacts that comes with a healthy communal adaptation to a situation of shared stress, may create, at least temporarily, a greater need for mutual assistance and reliance, and this increased level of communication is a powerful antidote to feelings of anxiety and depression. Of course, this does not always happen. Often, conflicts and suspicions are accentuated by social chaos, in particular, when an ideological conflict, or serious differences in outlook, bring about a polarisation of public opinion.
Insufficient contact is one of the most common sources of anxiety and depression, and the severance of meaningful communications by the dislocation of people into large, anonymous urban groupings, is a major cause for feelings of isolation and inadequacy, until new relationships have been built-up. We all need contacts and meaningful communications, but the concept of a need implies the possibility to develop a dependency upon someone else. However, the concept of "meaningful contacts" indicates an ability, as well as a willingness, to help and understand each other.
A one-way dependency on contacts is, essentially, neurotic in nature, where an individual depends, continuously, on someone else for help, be it emotional, intellectual, or otherwise. The one-way channel for a flow of support creates a feeling of burden in the supporting party, and this may, eventually, lead to an irritation with the relationship. The relationships between a physician and his patients may also develop into a neurotic dependency of the patient upon his physician, but, indeed, such professional relationships should remain, entirely, an emotional one-way street; even, if the physician benefits, in a professional sense, from a wide experience, as well as a monetary compensation for his time and efforts.
It is not surprising, however, that the conscientious physician, especially, when dealing with emotional problems, is exhausted and somewhat irritable when he comes home from work. The fact that neurotic people lack clear-cut guidance patterns for their behaviour, and, the inability of the physician to change social or personal circumstances for his patients, gives the encounter, often, a sense of futility. Initially, the physician may feel a genuine sympathy with the neurotic patient, but the exposure to the same problems, day after day, as well as the slowly emerging conviction, that, almost always, neurotic people are themselves to blame for the trouble they are in, leaves the physician with a somewhat cynical outlook. He starts to concentrate on his own sanity, still giving his time and energies to his patients, but, these efforts are measured, rather carefully, in order to avoid exhaustion, while he becomes increasingly pre-occupied with his own financial, emotional and family problems.
These, rather specific considerations apply equally well, and, probably, with even greater relevance, to anyone employed in the commercial world; or, anyone, who is saddled with the responsibility of persuading other people to buy or invest in a particular product. If the salesman realises, that his arguments are biased, a half-truth, or, even, outright fraudulent, the tensions created by such an awareness make it difficult to function properly. The existential pressures for the salesman are often so strong, that he has to make a choice between his needs and his conscience. In such a situation, the conscientious salesman would be virtually paralysed, unless he can rationalise his activities by adopting, primarily subconsciously, a favourable bias towards the product or the company he works for.
The momentum, generated by the existential pressures of people with a vested interest in a biased communication or point of view, is astonishing and frightening. Collectively, our vested interests sway public opinion in a confusing, anxiety-provoking and chaotic pattern of groping trends and meaningless fads, as we allow our moods and instincts to be manipulated for the purpose of commercial gains.
The topic of consumerism and the detrimental influence of a relentless pull towards consumeristic practicies and egocentric attitudes, will be the subject of another discussion. Let us say, here, only, that anxiety has many aspects, but it represents, in essence, an egocentric orientation of our existential concerns.
Affluence and opulence are the inevitable outcome of every successful society, which sows its own seeds of destruction by the gradual deterioriation and irrelevance of behavioural guidelines that arose during difficult times. The gradual rise in the level of tensions and frictions between groupings within an affluent society, leaves it wide open to the processes of internal decay and external attack, because many of the insights of good, old common-sense have been forgotten.
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Chapter 8
Compassion and concern; useful attitudes for social evolution.
Attitudes and evolutionary developments.
A look back at the mechanisms of natural selection.Compassion and concern are obviously beneficial attitudes for a successful social integration, but, these attitudes remain, in many instances, elusive objectives. The origin of these attitudes, characterised by the ability to feel compassion for another individual and to be concerned with the well-being of a large group of people, has been attributed, most often, to divine influences or commandments. Rarely, if ever, has an attempt been made to see the development of these mental and behavioural characteristics as a necessary product of natural evolutionary change.
The impressions we gained from our earlier insights into the processes of natural evolution emphasised the principles of a ruthless struggle for survival, characterised by the raw power of strong and successful, competitive organisms. Yet, we have also been able to trace the elements of mutual trust and interdependence, which make the social clustering of individuals possible. These elements of our behaviour go back to the evolution of the hierarchical order and the phenomenon of task-specialisations. These developments lead to an exchange of behavioural functions, as well as an enlargement of the sphere of concern beyond the boundaries of individual requirements.
Throughout history, we see a gradual enlargement of the social grouping to which feelings of concern and the functions of mutual identification can be applied. Increased interdependence between individuals within a group is necessary for the successful functioning of a tightly interwoven social entity, but, this development is paid-for by a reduced ability to settle internal conflicts in a violent manner, as well as a reduced tolerance by society, and its leaders, of a blatantly egocentric orientation or behavioural choice.
We have alluded to the similarities between the community of cells, forming the society of a multi-cellular organism, and the multi-individual unit of the human society. In our studies of the life processes, (which led, eventually, to an articulation of the principles of natural selection), the attention was focussed on the development of a multitude of species', which were slowly evolving, one from the other, during countless generations of evolutionary change. These evolving lifeforms were, and still are, exposed to the forces of natural selection, the struggle for survival, the competition for energy and space, as well as the pressures of environmental change. All these elements of change continue to distort, again and again, the living conditions of a particular ecological niche, after a successful adaptation was finally reached.
The cellular communities of multi-cellular organisms were forged, slowly, into a variety of more or less successful patterns of organisation. These successful organisational patterns were, and still are, represented by the many species' of life that found, at one time or another, a possibility to exist. Successful modes of inter-cellular organisation were slowly encoded as genetic instructions that became shared by all successful multi-cellular species'. These concepts form the foundation for our ideas about the mechanisms of evolution and the forces of natural selection.
The ruthless sequence of birth, feeding and being eaten, leaves us little evidence for any factors that could, even remotely, be related to compassion or mutual affection. Yet, we are also aware of numerous forms of parasitic dependence and symbiotic relationships, where two or more, clearly separate and identifiable lifeforms exhibit the characteristic features of mutual dependence, leading, eventually, to a mutually beneficial mode of existence.
We still tend to neglect the fact, that every multi-cellular organism is a highly complex organisation of millions, or, even, billions of cells, living together in a "symbiotic harmony". The development of the numerous species' of life was, essentially, a result of the ever-present force-fields of natural selection, molding and testing the various patterns of inter-cellular organisation, until viable and durable patterns had been found and were preserved through genetic encoding.
It was in the competitiveness between multi-cellular organisations that the basic ruthlessness of the mechanisms of living existence first became apparent to us. The earlier developments of cellular compatibility and interdependence of single cells remained, for a long time, somewhat hidden and elusive processes, and they are, still, given little attention by most people, whenever they formulate their ideas and judgements about the mechanisms of natural evolutionary change.
While the cellular communities of multi-cellular organisms were still struggling for the survival of the most successful entity, the multi-cellular community of the healthy individual had already solved, a long time ago, the difficulty of co-existence on a cellular level. Except in disease processes, such as neoplastic growth, the individual, multi-cellular organism has been well organised, internally. Indeed, the main reason for a significant change in the condition of a multi-cellular organisation results from an engagement of the organism as a whole with its external world, including contacts with many other cellular communities.
Therefore, the elements of cellular interdependence and tolerance were already operative and functioning well, while cellular communities as a whole, (in the form of individual organisms of multi-cellular existence), still had to learn to formulate the principles of mutual dependence and tolerance in their interactions.
We see the same developments take place in the earlier experiments with secondary social integration of the more intelligent, multi-cellular lifeforms, where, slowly, mutual interdependence began to play a role. At the same time, we note, that, conflict-situations between small groups are still being fought at a primitive level of "survival of the strongest"; yet, between the members of the same family grouping or tribal unit, the attitudes of tolerance, trust, interdependence, mutual concern and compassion are already coming to the fore with a great deal of clarity and cohesion. If we look at the events of our modern times, we see essentially the same mechanisms at work.
However, we have to acknowledge that the slow development of tolerance, cooperation and interdependence in the intelligent forms of life, such as human beings, has been complicated, by the development of the faculty of "behavioural plasticity". Behavioural plasticity, or flexibility, is the ability to "finely tune" a behavioural choice. This important feature in the evolution of the living organisation will become the subject of attention in the next chapter.
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Chapter 9
Nature's experiment with individualised learning.
Differences between genetic and cultural guidelines.
The advantages of seeing man as a product of natural selection.
The development of a "conscience".
Limitations of the mechanisms of natural selection in determining the most viable social organisation.
The dangers of revolutionary dogmatism.
A plea for understanding ourselves from an evolutionary point of view.We have seen, how nature experimented with the faculties of memory, as well as flexibility of the behavioural choice, in order to short-circuit the laborious process of encoding, genetically, the precise behavioural responses for each individual member of a species. By allowing the possibility to learn from experience, the behaviour of an individual could be adapted to its greatest advantage by a finely tuned response to the prevailing circumstances. This "fine-tuning" could take place during the entire life-span of the behaviourally flexible individual, and the criteria of viability did not have to wait for the slow incorporation of an appropriate behavioural response into the genetic code. In this way, a lifeform could make use of small, rapidly fluctuating opportunities and respond to the transient circumstances of the moment.
As an interesting aside, we should mention the fact, that the community of an insect colony, (so highly successful and precisely organised), is the product of a precise genetic encoding, with precise and, therefore, essentially inflexible behaviour patterns for the individual members. Such insect colonies resemble, therefore, more the structure of the multi-cellular organism with its rigid, internal cohesion, rather than the social organisations of intelligent, behaviourally flexible lifeforms, such as the societies of mankind.
The development of behavioural flexibility and the possibilities for individualised learning, (on which the success of human evolution has been firmly based), lead to a different way of developing the mechanisms of interdependence and tolerance. While the cells of our body are precisely programmed to behave in a rigid, invariable code of mutual interdependence and task specialisation, the behavioural code for individual interdependence in the social organisation of human beings, can not be recorded genetically. No precise instructions can be laid-down for the flexible behavioural patterns of the human individual, who has to vary his response, from moment to moment, according to the prevailing circumstances. The existential demands for, and evolutionary pressures upon, patterns of cooperation, tolerance and task specialisation, will have to find additional ways and means of encoding and transmitting their instructions.
We are on fairly safe grounds, if we say, that the successful behaviour patterns for cooperation between human beings are, to a large extent, "externally" recorded. This means, that they are transmitted from generation to generation as a "cultural heritage". A review of the history of mankind makes it clear, how weak and vulnerable such a haphazard system of cultural transfer really is. The flexibility of human behaviour patterns implies, that we have to excercise an individualised, volitional control and choice over our behaviour, because we have to choose the way we want to relate to each other, and, these behavioural choices are strongly influenced by our culturally transmitted beliefs and guidelines.
We have seen, how the members of the smaller human groupings developed strong links of interdependence as a result of the need to survive. As a result, they were able to develop attitudes of mutual trust, reliance, and, even, atttitudes of love, sadness and grief in their interactions. Because the patterns of human interdependence became so variable and adaptable to a wide range of circumstances, the rigid instructions of a genetic heritage, guiding a multi-cellular community, were not suited for the organisation of social interdependence between human beings.
The method of precise genetic encoding is, in essence, incompatible with the trends of behavioural flexibility, where the genetic code takes a "back seat" in so far as the instruction of an organism about the way it should behave under specific conditions and circumstances. Therefore, genetically determined behaviour patterns are incompatible with our newly won flexibility of behaviour. This is the reason, why we experience the functions of the "free will", and it is, also, the reason, why we need to come to a conscious or deliberate behavioural choice. Both aspects have become an essential feature of human existence.
While inter-cellular cooperation and tolerance is rigidly encoded in the biochemical instructions of the genetic keys, the volitional, freely chosen, flexible behaviour patterns of the human "will" have to form a foundation for the psychological attitudes of cooperation and mutual trust. At the same time, we realise, that these behaviour patterns are more vulnerable to change or disappearance because of this volitional and deliberate type of behaviour, together with their dependence upon culturally transmitted patterns of beliefs and attitudes. The psychological mechanisms that lead to naturally fluid and relaxed attitudes of tolerance and cooperation, are the attitudes of concern, compassion, mutual identification, and trust.
The religious belief structure is the traditional pathway to foster the development of such socially beneficial attitudes, and, these belief structures see man as a being who is under the guidance and authority of a divine leadership. This divine leadership imposes on man, as a divine commandment, the socially beneficial behavioural attitudes. Because the religious interpretation of nature is, frequently, seen as an essentially dualistic force-field, with good and evil tendencies, the acceptance of ethical commandments that are based on authority rather than understanding, leads to efforts to suppress those drives, instincts or tendencies that are judged to be "evil" in nature.
If we would be able to trace, convincingly, on evolutionary grounds, the natural foundation for the moral attitudes of compassion, love, conscience and tolerance, we should be able to understand, better, the origins of those force-fields that seem to impede or contradict the implementation of these moral and socially beneficial attitudes. The principle advantage, however, of seeing man's tendencies as a product of natural evolution, will be the possibility for a greater understanding of the price that has to be paid for the faculty of behavioural flexibility. With the concepts of natural evolution, we become aware of the fragile and relative nature of moral guidelines and social behavioural codes, which are so haphazardly transmitted by a cultural rather than a genetic code of instructions.
The inconsistent, transient and fragile nature of our moral behaviour is a direct result of our behavioural flexibility, where we can slide, effortlessly, between varying degrees of egocentricity and altruism. The development of attitudes of compassion and concern has to be paid for by a measure of control over our primary instinct of aggression.
Is the ability to develop a "conscience"; a feeling for what is right and wrong; a tendency to be considerate and compassionate towards those who are close to us; a tolerance for seemingly strange attitudes; is this potential, (which seems to be widely spread amongst all human beings), indeed, only culturally transmitted? Not really. With the potential of behavioural flexibility and the emergence of a "free will", or, a voluntary choice, we have also inherited the ability to develop multi-individual concerns and mutual identifications. At least, it is likely, that the early, evolutionary molding of the human personality emphasised these behavioural features as a result of our mammalian way of life. Man was, already, closely tied to a socially integrated mode of existence, because our pre-human ancestors could not survive as solitary animals.
The development of moral behaviour, then, (certainly in the early nomadic groupings of mankind), took place because of the strong survival value of such socially integrated and cooperative behaviour patterns. Therefore, the ability, or potential, to behave morally is engraved in us all as a genetic endowment, but, the details of the instructions for moral behaviour, or, rather, the format of the guidelines and the contents of its expression are different for each community. These behavioural guidelines are always centered around the existential interests of the group in which these guidelines have come to the fore as a conscious expression of certain beliefs, and, it is not surprising, therefore, that their content is determined by the cultural heritage of a particular community or social grouping.
We have hinted upon the fact, that there were insufficient social groupings available to allow the mechanisms of natural selection to play a full role in the evolutionary search for all possibilities of viable social existence. We have also pointed to the fact, that the mechanisms of natural selection have, now, in our modern times, no chance, whatsoever, to shape socially viable behaviour patterns as a result of the rapid development of a world-wide interdependence and the fusion of mankind into a single unit of existential concerns.
The evolutionary development of the mechanisms of cellular compatibility, (before the compatibility of multi-cellular individuals came to the fore), finds a ready parallel in the development of human compatibility on an individual level, or, in closely-knit family-groupings, long before we see a compatibility, or "symbiotic harmony", of the larger societies; such as nations, large ethnic groupings, or mankind as a whole.
We have pointed to the ever-present tendency for the human being to group along lines of common interests within larger social structures, such as national political entities and other large-scale, socially integrated groupings that emphasise only a specific aspect of coherence. We know how divisive and elitist such a grouping-together may become; be it on the basis of an emotional synchrony, intellectual beliefs, professional abilities, or, the elitism of wealth, power and influence.
There is the disastrously elitist attitude of revolutionaries, synchronising their anger and frustrations in an orgy of violence and death; yet, historically, we can not deny, that some of these great revolutions were, often, the "earth-quakes" of long-standing tensions and feelings of injustice; releasing on a gigantic scale the pent-up energy of anger and frustration, which had been building-up with an increase in the level of awareness and education. On other occasions, revolutionary terror and anarchy seemed to represent a step backwards, when misguided emotions were fanned into an exaggerated and slovenly revered activism, squandering the energy and existence of many young people.
Therefore, let the revolutionary be aware of the same dangers of divisive elitism as the establishment. No revolution for the sake of satisfying aggressive instincts or a blind demand for change. No bloodshed for the sake of primitive emotions and short-sighted objectives. While, on occasion, a revolutionary change may bring a large majority of people into a state of increased mental and physical well-being, (where the just rebellion against oppression, tyranny and exploitation does not find any significant obstacles in winning popular support), often, the activities of rebellion represent only a narrow hot-bed of egotistical aspirations; a primitive, opportunistic search for possibilities of existence, made possible by a crumbling structure of leadership and a lack of social cohesion. Sometimes, the anarchy and lawlessness of rebellious change is as courageous, or, as meaningful, as the mugging of a senior citizen, whenever a rheumatic society is searching, tentatively, for new possibilities of peaceful rejuvenation and reform.
Compassion and concern for everyone; a gospel of social change that is sometimes championed by the establishment, and, sometimes, by revolutionaries, but, often, these life-giving attitudes are crushed and debased by both.
Let us avoid seeing the guidelines for moral behaviour and the structure of society as a divine inspiration or commandment, in spite of the fact, that the early development of our grasp over such phenomena made it necessary to interpret reality in the light of religious beliefs. Let us try to understand our behavioural possibilities and choices in the light of our natural evolutionary origins, where we see the totality of our complex behaviour as a logical result from the fact, that our behaviour patterns are emerging from a sub-conscious, biological background, and are now coming into the limelight of a conscious, psychological experience.
With compassion and concern, we lose the ability to triumph in aggression, but, we also lessen the likelyhood of suffering and humiliation in defeat. We may lose ever-lasting life in a Heaven of Eternal Bliss, but, we may also avoid the anxiety of an eternal damnation in Hell. We lose the emotional and psychological comfort of belonging to an elite of the "chosen few", but, we also avoid the need to condemn infidels and heretics.
There can be little doubt, that true compassion and concern will come to the fore as a result of the mechanisms of understanding, and not from a divine commandment. Similarities in the mechanisms of understanding will require an equality of living conditions, just as the cells in our body enjoy equal standards of living. While the cells are rigidly instructed to behave for the common good of the multi-cellular organism as a whole, (and, we see the disastrous results, if, occasionally, a cell, or a group of cells, escapes from these biological control mechanisms and starts to explore growth and possibilities of existence on its own), in our human societies, we will have to shape the functions of mutual cooperation, to a large extent, ourselves. In order to accomplish this, we have to use the tools of our free will and a voluntary, deliberate, behavioural choice, based on a rational grasp over our realities.
Before we are able, or willing, to undertake, together, a fully conscious choice into this direction, we will have to understand ourselves. We will have to agree amongst ourselves, who we are, and, we will have to live on a roughly equal level of well-being and insight. We will also have to realise the price we are going to pay for such a state of far-reaching, symbiotic interdependence.
A traditional religious faith will never be able to accomplish this objective of social integration on a global scale, unless it is the faith of a widely persuasive social contract of agreement and understanding. The inevitable elitism that is associated with the propagation of absolute beliefs, and, the inevitable discrepancies between professed beliefs and behavioural practices, make the attitudes of compassion and concern for all of mankind, based on the belief in a divine commandment, intellectually incomprehensible and impossible to sustain in practice. Let us understand and equalise first; then, we will be able to increase the sphere of mutual identification and tolerance.
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Chapter 10
Mechanisms of the experience of beauty.
The temporary disappearance of the discrepancy between the situation "as is", and as it "should be".
The mechanisms of crying.
The concept of a release phenomenon.
Emotional surges.
Variable goal-patterns; re-adjustments.
Defusing the importance of goal-patterns by laughter and ridicule.
The balanced personality.When we ask ourselves, what mechanisms play a role in the sensation of beauty, we come to the conclusion, that it is an emotional feeling, as well as an intuitive judgement. What we consider to be full of beauty, triggers an emotional response and creates a certain state of the mind, which is pleasant and agreeable; even, if the strength of an emotion may be unsettling and bring tears to the eyes. What is happening within us, when we experience a sensation of beauty, or, when we experience the emotional feelings that make us consider an object or a situation to be beautiful and moving?
It is probably fair to say, that we are happy at the time we experience a sensation of beauty, and, that we consider the state of being, now, at the time we are happy, to be equivalent with a state of being we desire or were striving towards.
Most often, happiness will result from the successful completion of a task or objective, and, the accomplishment of such an objective, or, the fruition of a drive, fuses the goal and the obtained status into a temporary state of harmony. This state of harmony cancels, at least for a while, the formation of new goal-patterns and more far-reaching objectives.
The impulse to set new goals and objectives flows from a discrepancy between the situation "as it is", and the situation "we would like to be in". The absence of such a discrepancy between what and where we are, and, what we would like to be or become, gives a remarkable sense of tranquility or peace of mind, but, in the final stages of an impending fusion between those two evaluations or judgements, the mind seems to experience a strong flow of energy; a strong feeling of happiness, blotting-out any residual appreciation of negative or disturbing stimuli.
The sensation of harmony, of existing in a totally satisfactory situation, with nothing left to be desired, and, the associated, if temporary, strong feelings of happiness, belong, obviously, to some of our most important emotional experiences. A temporary decrease in discriminatory and critical faculties takes place, which accounts for the strong feelings of harmony and happiness. Why this should lead to an involuntary secretion of tears, is not immediately obvious, since the expression of severe sorrow and unhappiness is also associated with "crying", which is, by definition, the involuntary secretion of tears. It may well be, that crying, in the form of shedding tears, depends more on the strength of a rather sudden emotional surge, rather than on the nature, or the reasons, for such a surge of emotional feelings.
Yet, the sudden anger and explosive rage-reaction is not associated with crying, but the sudden realisation of frustration is. Anger, rage and aggression are actively organised, primitive, emotional response-patterns directed towards an individual or circumstance, but the experience of a sudden happiness, an overwhelming joy, or, the release of a pent-up energy, (when a nervous break-down in the resistance to stress has taken place); all these mechanisms lead to a shedding of tears when there is a strong emotional experience of sorrow or frustration. Crying in extreme happiness, or, in sorrow and frustration, is an emotional reaction-pattern that has clear-cut characteristics of a "release phenomenon", just as the venting of anger in a rage or act of violence is also a release phenomenon.
In crying, associated with the emotion of sorrow or frustration, the individual has, for some time, resisted the expression of grief or unhappiness by holding back his expressions. This creates a discrepancy between the behaviour pattern the individual thinks he ought to have, and the behaviour patterns his emotional drive urges him or her to adopt. A sudden release of the resistance to the expression of a natural behaviour-pattern, produces a fusion of the two patterns with a surge of the emotional energy-flow, stimulating the secretion of tears. The common factor seems to be, therefore, the removal of a tension between the status "as is" and the status thought to be appropriate or desired.
In happiness, the status "as is" co-incides with the fruition of the goal or ideal, while in sorrow and frustration, the fusion comes about, when the individual gives-in and removes the last, standing barriers to a natural form of expressing failure, sorrow or disappointment. The individual then "lets go" of the projected behaviour which was thought to be appropriate. This projected pattern of behaviour acts like a super-ego image to be desired or obtained. Letting-go of this image, or objective, leads to a surge of liberated emotional energy, when the super-ego image has been given-up and reality has been acknowledged. The contradictions are, therefore, more apparent than real, and the analysis of emotional drives and goal-patterns is useful for understanding our psycho-dynamics.
We have indicated the strong tendency to set goals or objectives for our psychological and physical existence. We live, continuously, with a large variety of conscious or subconsciously formulated goals, ranging from the hundreds of routine, daily chores, to tasks that require a much larger degree of preparation and consciously willed long-term objectives and ideals, acting as "navigation beacons" for the overall organisation of our outlook on life.
The more complex, long-term and distant goal-patterns are, usually, broken-down into a more or less flexible set of intermediate goal-patterns. Variability in approach, as well as the substitution of intermediate goals, allow for a flexibility in behaviour that enhances adaptative processes and secures an increased chance to obtain distant objectives.
The very fact, that we are always engaged in a large variety of objectives, (directing our attention to practical tasks, as well as the accomplishment of moral, overall behavioural choices), results in a continuous flow of stimuli that make us aware of the discrepancies between goal and achievement. Somewhere, there is always a somewhat painful awareness that we are not succeeding in one area or another. This tension between projected objective and evaluated accomplishment, becomes a powerful stimulus to try to close the gap, or, to devise new ways to come closer to the goals we are after. At the same time, however, the feed-back from this discrepancy is a source of anxiety, or, it leads to a sense of failure and foreboding, and this awareness provokes a defensive mood.
Essentially, there are two ways to deal with the ever existing discrepancies between objective and accomplishment. We can modify, reduce and streamline our goal-patterns to more easily obtainable objectives, or, we can increase our efforts to accomplish what we set-out to do. We have to make a choice about priorities, and, we may, then, concentrate on those goal-patterns that are judged to be the most important, while reducing others to a position of lesser significance.
We all are engaged in these processes, regardless, whether we are aware of them or not, and, most of us are able to work-out, intuitively, a smoothly adapted compromise; working harder and more efficiently at some goals, while we curtail and modify our most ambitious and far-reaching projects to a more realistic and more easily obtainable level.
One powerful method for defusing the importance and attraction of a goal-pattern, is to laugh or joke about it. In this way we announce, publicly and privately, as well as subconsciously, that we do not think this particular goal-pattern to be worth our efforts and struggles.
The individual, who increases his efforts to reach his goals in a rigid, humorless way, shows traits of obsessive compulsiveness, while those, who can not be bothered to accomplish any objective at all, or, whose goal-patterns are vague and poorly defined, are lackadaisical non-achievers. Yet, sooner or later, a certain accomplishment is required, be it only for purely existential reasons, and, none of us can totally ignore all goal-patterns without coming into great difficulties. We all have to try to maintain our mental sanity, social position, as well as physical integrity.
The accomplishment of a goal, or, the abolition of a discrepancy between what we are and what we like to be, relieves a tension and frees a surge of emotional energy, but the experience of this happy situation is transient. The next goal or task is demanding, already, its share of attention.
The balanced, relatively happy, tranquil and stable personality has a well-formed but realistically scaled pattern of goals at which the individual works with a determined but easily sustainable effort. He does not shift patterns or priorities lightly, and, he is able to tolerate a certain amount of failure, insecurity and anxiety, without undue stress. His feelings of success and happiness are tempered by the realisation that the next problem is just around the corner; yet, he is able to review, calmly, those areas, where there exists a great or near permanent discrepancy between his goals and achievements, and, he adjust his behaviour patterns accordingly.
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Chapter 11
The balanced personality and its social environment.
Mechanisms of frustration.
Sensual gratifications.
A definition of wisdom.The balanced personality is critical when evaluating incoming information, and does not change concepts easily or quickly because of inconsistent or contradictory sense impressions. Yet, a balanced personality is not so rigid, that one loses the ability to adapt conceptual patterns all-together. This personality is in tune with his social environment, to the extent, that he can communicate with others and has meaningful contacts, yet, he is not dictated by every whim and fashion of public opinion.
This, by itself, indicates the presence of a certain tension between the balanced personality and the social environment, and, this slight feeling of isolation and loneliness is a powerful spur to the intelligent evaluation of long-term individualised and socially oriented goal-patterns. However, this tension should not reach paralysing proportions, nor, should it result in unduly cynical and negative attitudes towards the social environment.
Frustration is the tension between an objective and the status of non-fulfillment; especially, when a strong desire towards achievement is blocked by the absence of progress, or, the absence of a solution to circumvent existing problems. When a strong and chronic situation of frustration is present, the continuous influx of negative stimuli from this discrepancy is mentally crippling, in particular, when the individual's entire energy-output has been directed towards the frustrated objective.
However, most people are able to divert the blocked energy-flow into another channel and resolve, thereby, gradually, the pent-up tensions; even, if it means a drastic re-arrangement of goal-patterns. The energy can be re-channeled into creative activities, such as artistic creations and other forms of endeavour; be it a handicraft, sports, or social activities. This re-channeling of our energy-flow as an outlet of frustration or unhappiness, forms an essential element in our understanding and appreciation of beauty or wisdom, and, it may become the origin of numerous valuable artifacts.
Of course, an art-expression may be an initial objective, and, it may not have been based on a re-channeling of a psychological energy-flow. As a matter of fact, an artistic activity is, often, the cause of frustrations and tensions, rather than their solution. Therefore, re-channeling an energy-flow is no guarantee, that the mechanisms of frustration will not repeat themselves.
We all experience some failures and frustrations, from time to time, even, if they are mostly forgotten and suppressed, because the constant reminder of failure is hard to accept and live with. Most of us find, eventually, a happy balance, or rather, we find a workable balance between success and failure.
A high level of frustration needs to be decreased; either by a re-arrangement of relevant goal-patterns, or, by a lessening of ambitious objectives. An increase in energy output does not relieve, but aggravates the tensions of frustration, even, if it is occasionally possible to overcome frustrating tensions by sheer force.
A goal-pattern that is too easily accomplished, leads to an excess of under-utilised energy and creates boredom, unless this surplus energy can be channeled into another challenge. We all seek an optimum point of balance between frustration and challenge, between success and failure, and, from time to time, we need to examine, thoroughly, our goal-patterns in order to accomplish or re-adjust this balance.
An indulgence or pre-occupation with sensations of beauty and happiness may indicate a re-channeled flow of frustration-energy, and there is nothing wrong with this. We will discuss, later, some of the less beneficial side-effects associated with a strong pre-occupation with sensual pleasures. It is socially far more harmful, or, even, dangerous, if the frustration-energy would be re-channeled into an aggressive anger, directed, either to society, to someone else, or to oneself.
Wisdom is a keen appreciation of the art of the possible, as well as the realisation, that, to be pre-occupied with an existing frustration, is wasteful and destructive; especially, when seen in the light of large-scale, less egocentrically oriented relationships. A keen appreciation for the common needs and fulfillments of our existence, such as the presence of good health, as well as adequate food and shelter, is so easily forgotten in our affluent societies, where we take these basic aspects for granted, because, as a rule, we need to spend little time and effort to fulfill our essential existential requirements.
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Chapter 12
Further considerations of the mechanisms of "beauty".
The artist and the clumsy amateur.
Art and judgement.
Mechanisms of the appreciation of art.
The fragility of rational evaluation.What sort of circumstances will trigger a sensation of beauty, depends, to a large extent, upon the background of past experiences. Those, who have developed a rigid, compulsive attitude and an obsessive fixation on a particular frustration, will be less likely to a accomplish the necessary mental relaxation to allow a fusion between objective and present status to take place. As we have seen, this fusion is necessary to release the emotional energy-flow of a happiness-experience and a sensation of success.
But, the individual, who never experienced any significant tension between goal and self-evaluation, and, who has a poorly directed and inadequate drive, is equally incapable of experiencing a deeply satisfying feeling of beauty and happiness, which takes place, when a goal has finally been reached. The creative artist must have, therefore, by definition, a significant tension between his goals and his sense of accomplishment, and, he must be able to endure a relatively high level of tension and frustration in his daily life, in order to give depth, dimension and a general relevance to his artistic creations.
However, we should not neglect the very important aspect of skill and mastery over the material with which the artist has to work, before we jump to the conclusion, that all artistic master-pieces are pure concretisations of a frustration-energy. Skill and familiarity, as well as the characteristics of an individualised technique, are all-important factors, determining, to a large extent, the form and perfection of a work of art. It may well be argued, that the skillful, conscientious master of his art, can create a master-piece with the emotional stimulus comparable to the loss of a dime. The sheer artistic force, technical competence, and familiarity with the possibilities of the material, (be it sound or form, image or concept), will facilitate the production of a worthwhile expression; even, if the work done by the master-artist is routine in nature, as well as in emotional content.
In contrast, the clumsy amateur can only stammer and stutter, trying to unload the emotions of his heavily laden soul. The lack of skill and mastery frustrates every attempt at an adequate expression, and, it is, therefore, not surprising, that the conscientious art-lover, somewhat familiar with a particular medium, fails to be impressed by the well-meant, but hopelessly inadequate artistic efforts of an amateur. This remarkable reliance on skill and mastery is obvious in all fields of endeavour, including music, where the art of composition, as well as the skills of performance and interpretation, require a long and difficult period of study and devotion, before it becomes possible to compose and interpret with ease and precision of expression.
Before we can become sensitive to the beauty of an artistic expression, we have to be able to recognise the emotional validity and technical merits of the form and content of a work of art, and our admiration for the technical skills that come to the fore in the precision and perfection of a work of art, forms an integral part of our appreciation of beauty.
Do we now understand beauty? Undoubtedly, there are many more specific aspects to the circumstances and mechanisms that are able to provoke a feeling of happiness, inspiration or fulfilment. In essence, they can all be classified, roughly, as tension-relieving, or frustration-eliminating sensations, be it of a temporary nature, and, with varying degrees of intensity. I feel confident, that the idea of a fusion or near-fusion between the imagery of our objectives and the evaluation of our achievements, represents a valuable way to classify the many, vague but related feelings and sensations of beauty and happiness.
When we appreciate the beauty of an art-form, the fusion between a vaguely perceived objective and the contemporary reality of our interactions with a specific work of art, takes place through the intuitive recognition that the encountered art-expression corresponds with an ill-defined awareness of having found something of value.
We should not forget the remarkable influence of our previous experiences and sense impressions, before the mechanisms of a fusion can take place. A totally new or unfamiliar art-expression can not evoke any sensation of beauty or recognition, but a form of art an individual is familiar with, especially, a mode of expression one has become accustomed to during the formative years, may be able to create a remarkable feeling of recognition, and, it is, therefore, more likely to be appreciated as desirable and valuable. The appreciation of beauty depends, therefore, on a correspondence between presently received images and remembered, often idealised images, reflecting past experiences. It is logical, that no recognition can take place, unless the sense impressions can be classified or compared to something familiar, even, if only remotely so.
Whether or not we are willing to accept a new class of sense impressions, depends, very much, on external factors. If we are inclined to accept someone's judgement, and, if we are willing to be guided in our opinions by commonly accepted criteria of beauty, the individual allows for the reception of a "foreign class" of sensory stimuli, which, on subsequent exposure, may already acquire an element of recognition or familiarity. Then, the individual may become susceptible to a genuine, personally felt emotional reaction of beauty and happiness.
Of course, we are talking, here, about culturally transmitted judgement patterns or appreciations of beauty and happiness, together with regulatory mechanisms for shaping behavioural guidelines. During the formative years, the main programming of secondarily acquired judgements takes place, since the evaluation and content of the cultural code we are exposed to, is determined by the environment in which we grow-up.
Later, our judgements and evaluations become more personalised, more deliberate, and, they become influenced by personal experiences, but the individual also loses some flexibility in the acceptance and appreciation of newer expressions. The patterns of recognition, as well as the sensory stimuli that can elicit an appreciation of beauty, become more rigid, as well as somewhat stagnant, as we begin to live ever more with the experiences of the past.
The recognition of beauty depends, therefore, on past transfers of the cultural code, as well as more personal experiences, and the trigger for a sensation of beauty is, often, the recollection of a specific event. The recalled memory-trace becomes then associated with a feeling of happiness and beauty, because all memory traces are stored with their existential significance. Most often, however, the recognition of beauty is not associated with a specifically remembered event, but it is evoked as a general abstraction of a feeling of happiness. This feeling of happiness and contentment has been recalled, or brought to the fore, by the subconsciously remembered circumstances of a somewhat similar nature.
It is not surprising to conclude, that the appreciation of beauty is a faculty or function that increases in importance with age. If our emotions of happiness and beauty are triggered very easily, we approach a form of sentimentality. A high susceptibility to emotional surges may be the result of a disturbance in the steady routine. As a result, we feel insecure and our judgement functions are in a state of flux. When our judgements are uncertain, we change our reality perceptions and goal-patterns quickly, shifting priorities, as well as fundamental evaluations and interpretations. A state of emotional instability is associated with an increased likelyhood of experiencing strong emotional energy-fluxes. We also experience a lack of control over our emotional response patterns, especially, when our critical, emotionally neutral faculties are fuctioning poorly and allow wide swings in our moods.
Severe fatigue, exposure to physically demanding or harsh environmental circumstances, drugs and other unsettling experiences, tend to shake our confidence and our critical, evaluating faculties. We tend to behave less rationally, and, we are less in control of the mechanisms of behavioural fine-tuning and the evaluation of our sense impressions.
The rapidity and ease with which the ability of an intellectually precise and emotionally neutral evaluation disappears, even, under mild forms of stress, is a sure indication of its remarkably fragile nature. This fact confirms the concept, that we have to see the ability to finely tune our behaviour in a sphere of emotional near-neutrality, as the most recent acquisition in the hierarchy of evolutionary accomplishments.
We have argued the point before, on different occasions, and, there can be little doubt, that this capability to evaluate critically, in a state of emotional neutrality, is the highest, or, at least, the most recent evolutionary development in the establishment of human faculties, and, it also seems certain, that the so-called "higher states of consciousness" are undifferentiated, and, often, artificially induced emotional fluxes.
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Chapter 13
A reflective vignette.It is in those moments when our actions are not directed by a definable goal in the immediate future, that we may become aware of a feeling of being alive; of being conscious of our own existence. A certain bewilderment, or, even, confusion, is associated with such a reflective moment of insight, and, often, the awareness is short-lived. We are soon drawn back to the reality of our problems, the desires and passions associated with our biological needs, as well as demands from family members and the social environment.
As professionals, business people or politicians, but also, as average citizens, we are caught-up in a never-ending dance of desires and obligations, aspirations and responsibilities, and, the absence of well-defined, goal-oriented behavioural activities would be felt as an uneasy emptiness, an unproductive idleness, a wasteful and useless passivity, if it would last for any length of time.
It is the presence of such reflective moments, however, which may help us understand ourselves and our environment, and, without these moments of reflection and insight, we would not be able to break new grounds in our philosophical outlook. We would enslave ourselves, unthinkingly, to the traditions of the past, the platitudes of commonly accepted opinions and guidelines, as well as the simplified half-truths of our leaders; be they politicians, members of the clergy, or the many professionals we encounter in our journey through life.
Let us think, for a moment, about ourselves. Let us observe this creature that has the ability to work towards a multitude of distant and not so distant goals; juggling his behavioural responses according to the opportunities of the moment, yet, this individual is also guided by more generalised concepts of decency and norm, continuously compromising between the interests of the self and those of the social environment.
Man is capable of communicating with a fluent stream of diverse ideas and concepts, cajoling or threatening, yielding to or resisting a variety of diverging interests, but, man is also capable of feeling compassion and love for his friends and dependents.
A remarkably flexible range of expressions is available to the human being, laughing or mocking one moment, yet, serious or conniving a moment later. We are in a perpetually varying state of contact with other people, competing and inter-reacting. Sometimes, we interact in a framework of interdependence, at other times, we are seeking, aggressively, the limits of our sphere of influence, or, we are anxiously defending our position against envy and attack. We are able to manipulate each other, and, we have learned to manipulate our environment in a wide-ranging diversity of crafts and techniques, artistic endeavours and scientific disciplines.
If you get the impression that this summary description of human activities is heavily coloured with behavioural concepts and mechanisms, then, you are perfectly right, because this is, indeed, the crux of the matter. We have to see ourselves as a form of living organisation, carrying-out an individualised as well as a collective search for viable modes of existence. We are always exploring various possibilities for remaining alive and well. After all, these activities reflect the basic function of living organisms. These activities reflect the need to channel, continuously, energy of a consumable nature through the systems of our organism, while developing the potentials of this existence as they have been laid-down by the genetic code. This is the essence of the organic nature of our existence, because we are subjected to all sorts of force-fields, and, we are, often, severely limited by the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
Our mental images develop, partially, as an inherited possibility that has been shaped, slowly, in the countless generations of organic evolution, but, the content and variety of the concepts we use, depends, entirely, on the conditions and circumstances of the community we happen to have been born into. Our attitudes and customs, as well as the numerous subconscious guidelines for behaviour and expression, form as much a part of our cultural heritage as the more easily verbalised stories, legends and structures of religious or scientific beliefs.
Why then, is there a need to reflect, or, is it an abnormality, a weakness, a liability? It certainly can be. If a human being has the ability to loosen himself, occasionally, from immediate objectives and long-term concerns, he will be able to adjust the relative importance of his goal-patterns. He may be able to shift, at least, to some extent, the objectives and guidelines for his behaviour in order to conserve energy and reduce stress.
There will be little disagreement with the statement that it requires energy to fulfill our goals, and, it is clear, that the discrepancy between the goals we set for ourselves and the actual achievements we can look back upon, represents a form of stress. By shifting the goal-patterns towards a more realistic, more easily accomplished pattern, success becomes easier and the level of stress has been reduced. By varying the relative importance of our goal-patterns, we avoid the emotional ambiguity that is associated with a compromise. The reflective activity that leads to an overall reduction in the importance of even the most ambitious objectives, will, undoubtedly, remove some of the driving energy towards such goals, but the reduction in stress, as well as the time that comes free to ponder the present moment of our existence, may lead to a deeper, be it somewhat emotional mode of understanding.
The freedom from passionate goals, even, from such deep-rooted and universally accepted objectives as personal success and individualised prestige, may lead to fruitful insights. For example, if we are able to see ourselves as a manifestation of life, rooted in the same organic mechanisms we recognise in the lifeforms around us, we will be able to see, more clearly, the cause-and-effect relationships of our actions. If I compete, (not necessarily on the dead-serious level of a struggle for survival), but, if I compete, e.g., in the social games of prominence, I realise, that my triumph means, by definition, a defeat for someone else. However, we all need and want this feeling of triumph, from time to time, and it explains the reason why the successful individual is always worshipped by a public that discriminates against those, who do not quite measure-up to the standards of those who have become idolised.
In other words, there is always a process of stratification and jockeying for position going-on in every social grouping, and, we tend to classify people into varying levels of desirability and success, or, contempt and failure.
"Is it not the nature of all living existence", you will ask, "to be subjected to such a classification?". Are the social discriminations that are taking place all around us, not a reflection of these same force-fields, where a competitive struggle is reflected in less harsh terms than the all-out struggle of life and death in "raw nature? Is this process not beneficial to the social organisation of every grouping? Let us not try to answer these questions, here, but, let us recognise the fact, that triumph or success, means, that someone else will be defeated and, perhaps, humiliated. Excellence means, that someone else is judged inferior. These are contests that are decided, not by a battle, but by a judgement.
Some of our most powerful emotions are associated with a gratification of our desire for success, prestige, influence or power, and, we pay a price for the fulfillment of these drives. We pay a high price in terms of energy used and stress tolerated to reach a position of triumph and success. The reflective individual will, at some time, ask himself, whether or not the objective is worth all this stress. What is the real meaning of success and triumph? Does it contribute, in one way or another, to my happiness, or, the happiness of someone else, or, are we will-less slaves of our instinctive drives?
The remarkable effect of reflective behaviour is the insight, that the reflecting individual I happen to be, is such a tiny speck in the totality of humanity, and, even, so much smaller in the totality of the observable and imaginable Universe, that it becomes quite irrelevant what this I, this me, has accomplished in terms of immediate success or prestige. The reflecting I becomes then more concerned with the observed magnitude of strife and combat, the agony of death, and the miseries of defeat, enslavement and humiliation.
The attitudes and behavioural practices between competing human beings become almost incomprehensible to the reflecting I, since the differences between one person and another are beginning to blur in the comprehension of an overall reality, while the behaving combatants hardly recognise each other as human beings. The combatants in an all-out war resemble, to a remarkable extent, the primitive animal struggle for the survival of the strongest; the law of the jungle, where the price of victory is life, together with all its spoils, and, where defeat means irrevocable death.
Sure, in society, the struggle for power and influence, success and prestige has been muted to a less drastic form of combat, since mortal combat is totally unproductive and intolerable to society as a whole. If mortal combat is taking place within society, the society has already disappeared and decayed into irreconcilable factions, and, then, the only solution to a conflict of interests is an armed struggle.
In a society with an effective leadership, the leaders will identify with the society as a whole and prohibit destructive internal strife. Combat is replaced by institutionalised judgements and the mechanisms of binding arbitration, and, the struggle for success and power shows itself in a jostling for a position in the hierarchy. Often, a situation of conflict is resolved by an increased specialisation in function, as well as a trend towards interdependence with the other members of the social grouping.
By increasing the degree of interdependence, territorial requirements are lessened and a more stable population density becomes possible, without the disruptive pressures associated with internal conflict. The multi-cellular organism is the product of an evolutionary, organic differentiation of the cells into modes of existence that allow a dense population. In the human society, we see a similar process of interdependence and differentiation develop, leading, often, to a successful social existence with a behaviour pattern of vigorous expansion and aggression.
There must be an intuitive or tacit recognition by the members of a socially integrated grouping, that they belong together. The cementing substance, (which is the mechanism of mutual recognition and the subsequent inhibition of the most violent forms of competitive strife), must be a shared culture or custom, a language or belief; or, allegiance and submission to the same leadership structure. The degree of social cohesion may vary markedly, and, in almost every social entity, the emergence of sub-groupings based on kinship, occupation, ethnic origin, beliefs and specific cultural features, leads to the complex mosaics we can observe in the larger societies of mankind.
We observe two general principles, here. There may arise a vigorous and growing social nucleus that begins to challenge its more complacent neighbours, but, it is often difficult to grasp or define the reasons and circumstances leading to the birth of a new social nucleus. A variety of circumstances seem to play a role. A long period of invigorating, somewhat harsh circumstances, as well as the possibility of developing a particularly effective life-style or social organisation, seem to be regularly recurring features, but these mechanisms describe, by no means, all the reasons for such a spurt of growth and development. A somewhat facile generalisation would lead us to say, that the "circumstances were ripe", and, we will leave a detailed analysis to a later date.
The second principle of operation we can see at work, reflects the likelyhood, that a successful, growing social entity will, eventually, reach a state of "affluence", or, even, opulence. This is a direct result of its evolutionary success, and, the absence of significant external pressures prepares the society for its eventual demise. Societies are living organisms, as we have discussed before, and, they exhibit, therefore, the general characteristics of a life-cycle.
For the reflective individual, this process of insight into the inevitable decline and death of the social entity, as well as the reflective I, may become a focal point of despair and distress, and, these insights may lead to a meaningless "ennui", or, a fanatic religious revival, where the weak and decaying parts of society are judged to have been doomed, already, by an impending Divine Judgement. However, an attitude of religious fervor splits society, once again, into the good and the bad, the conquerors and the defeated, the saved and the damned. While the fanatic fervor of a religious convert may be able to muster a great surge of psychological and biological energy by this unquestioned adherence to an absolute truth, the consequences of religious fervor are disastrous and dangerous, for believers and non-believers alike.
The faltering goals of the larger society, the fragmentation and corruption of its leadership, the confusing immorality of a reckless and thoughtless populace; all these factors create a sense of tragedy for those, who are aware of the chaos and impending decay of a social giant. The road of contemplative thought is a difficult and lonely pathway to inner peace and conviction, and, for a large number of people, an explicit salvation-theory is necessary to sustain them in a morass of uncertainty and confusion.
While honestly believing and conducting himself according to his high moral principles, the fervent religious believer creates and accentuates, inevitably, a "we-they" division, which leads to further fragmentation and serious tensions. The fabric of the larger society disappears, as the various sub-groupings increase the tightness and cohesion of their structures. The autonomy and militance of the sub-groupings grow ever larger, and, it is not surprising to see, that the irreconcilable and dogmatic attitudes of conflicting sub-groupings lead, eventually, to strife and armed conflict.
These mechanisms are happening all the time, and, history seems to represent an endless succession of societies that are born and grow to varying sizes and degrees of maturity, while behaving rather aggressively towards their neighbours. Yet, it would be an oversight, if we fail to detect, in recent history, an increased tendency to coalesce, as well as a lessening of the desire to resort to violent confrontations on a large scale. Mutual recognition between human beings, regardless of belief or race, regardless of power or wealth, seems to be on the increase, reflecting a greater awareness of common human rights and aspirations. We hope, that a greater awareness of the intellectual foundation of these rights and aspirations, will make us, also, more aware of our commonly shared biological heritage.
There is one behavioural attitude a fervent religious believer can not prevent. This is the alienation between the believer and the non-believer. Certainly, the severity of this ideological conflict is often smoothed-over, at least intellectually; by the concept that God's love for the members of mankind will not be restricted to a narrow segment of explicit believers. Nevertheless, it remains, emotionally, almost impossible to adopt a truly brotherly love for the man, who laughs at these treasured beliefs and mocks the infallible truths of a religious Faith; who flaunts the divinely revealed precepts and guidelines, which the believer has to struggle with so consistently.
The social doctrine of the class-struggle, the salvation of the people at the expense of the wealthy, the elevation of the masses by the extinction of individual talent, the rigidity of absolute beliefs that do not allow dissent or questioning; all these dogmatic attitudes have the same divisive effects on society. All these attitudes, in particular, the emotional synchrony of the large and powerful masses of mankind, are based on the mistaken belief, that there are absolute truths; that there can be unquestionable moral values, or absolutely valid standards for human behaviour.
Together, the religious and the secular doctrines of absolute truth, worship on the altar of strife and success. They worship the idol of the conqueror, and, they bask in the glory of victory and triumph. Dogmatic attitudes will always create doubts and resistance, but, the suppression of reflection and dissent will stifle collective behaviour and turn people's attitudes into an empty shell of unviable social conventions within a generation or two.
We can not hope to live peacefully on earth, without understanding the relationships between our egocentric and altruistic drives, between our emotions and our rational faculties, as well as our desire for security, fair-play and justice. We have, as yet, to recognise the full implications of our aggressive instincts, and, we have, as yet, to understand the emotional sacrifices we have to make, before we can hope to eradicate misery and injustice. We have a long way to go, but, reflecting on the nature of our biological heritage, as well as an awareness of the consequences of our drives and emotional needs, may go a long way to get an appreciation for this faculty of understanding.
Individualised reflection may, eventually, help us to understand ourselves in a manner that truly considers the existence of other human beings as a "natural human right", without the need to eradicate the sinner or the dissenter.
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Summary.
Emotions and feedback mechanisms; a detailed analysis.
Feedback mechanisms.
Moods and emotions of the individual and the social environment.
Bureaucratic inertia and corruption.
Evolutionary developments and varying degrees of behavioural efficiency.
Stress and emotions.
The function of hope in religious belief structures.
The absence of stress and its effects on the relevance of Christian beliefs
Placing our trust in the Will of God.
Varying view-points.
Varying stress-adaptations.
The role of reason and understanding in avoiding stress.
Our inclination to opt for a fight.
The biological heritage and pathways of stress-reduction.
Anxiety; its mechanisms, traced from our biological origins.
A review of our biological origins.
Possibilities for the human faculty of reflection.
A short summary of the structure of the human personality.
The emotional ground-tone and subconscious judgement patterns.
The zone of emotional neutrality.
Anxiety and the concept of a "behavioural organiser".
Confused reality perceptions and other causes of stress in affluent surroundings.
Mood-altering drugs and the temporary suppression of anxiety.
The concept of an emotional bias.
Financial burdens and the tendency to consume.
Anxiety and depression.
Agitated and depressed states of the mind.
The communal response to stress.
The buoyancy of increased interhuman contacts.
Neurotic dependencies in behavioural relations.
The physician and the salesman.
The momentum of synchronised existential concerns in economic activities.
Compassion and concern; useful attitudes for social evolution.
Attitudes and evolutionary developments.
A look back at the mechanisms of natural selection.
Nature's experiment with individualised learning.
Differences between genetic and cultural guidelines.
The advantages of seeing man as a product of natural selection.
The development of a "conscience".
Limitations of the mechanisms of natural selection in determining the most viable social organisation.
The dangers of revolutionary dogmatism.
A plea for understanding ourselves from an evolutionary point of view.
Mechanisms of the experience of beauty.
The temporary disappearance of the discrepancy between the situation "as is", and as it "should be".
The mechanisms of crying.
The concept of a release phenomenon.
Emotional surges.
Variable goal-patterns; re-adjustments.
Defusing the importance of goal-patterns by laughter and ridicule.
The balanced personality.
The balanced personality and its social environment.
Mechanisms of frustration.
Sensual gratifications.
A definition of wisdom.
Further considerations of the mechanisms of "beauty".
The artist and the clumsy amateur.
Art and judgement.
Mechanisms of the appreciation of art.
The fragility of rational evaluation.
A reflective vignette.
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