PERCEPTIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS








A Study in Thought

sa032



by





Marius Heuff

Chapter 1

Content

The sea of awarenesses.
Moments of reflection.
The need to become aware of our awarenesses.
The utilitarian aspects of our sense impressions and beliefs.
An outline of the mechanisms of comprehension.
Awareness of the "input-side" of behaviour.
A review of animal life-forms.
The ability to move, and the loss of the ability to synthesise food-stuffs from inorganic building-blocks.
Positive and negative stimuli.
Predation, parasitism and symbiosis.
Mechanisms to distinguish between positive and negative stimuli.
The unity of form and function.
The slow fluidity of a blind search for possibilities to exist.
The catastrophe, and a defense in multitudes.
The development of what is needed.

We all live in a sea of awarenesses, and this sea forms the only reality we have, but, most of the time, we are so involved with our actions and reactions when pursuing our goals, that we hardly realise, how vague, imprecise and changing these awarenesses are. Yet, this ability to be aware of an enormous variety of sense impressions, together with the ability to form ideas and concepts as a summarising grasp over these sense impressions, forms the basis for an adequate behavioural response to our environment.

Once in a while, we may reflect on this complex process, and, we ask ourselves, for a moment, how all these awarenesses come-about; how it is possible to find our way through this web of notions, ideas, knowledge and opinions, feelings and desires. We may even ask ourselves, in a moment of bewilderment, how we are able to rely upon the truth or validity of our awarenesses, but, quickly, we forget such disturbing thoughts, because questioning the validity of what we believe to be true, makes us confused and uncertain of ourselves.

We only feel a need to ask these fundamental questions about the reality of our awarenesses, when our experiences and expectations have shown that our conclusions and ideas are defective. Then, we realise, that, for one reason or another, the reality-pictures upon which we rely for our behaviour, are not accurate and lead to more problems than we can handle. Then, we may be willing to re-examine the fundamental principles upon which our reality perceptions are based. Then, we are intuitively looking for an adaptation in our beliefs, because we have experienced the fact, that a reliance on the usual the interpretation of our realities leads to unsatisfactory results. We slowly become aware of the fact, that a fundamental re-structuring of our reality perceptions is necessary, in order to regain our confidence and to find, once again, this essential harmony between comprehension and experience, letting us formulate a coherent behavioural response.

For those of us, who are aware of the usefulness of such periodic checks on the validity and depth of our understanding, we will try to sketch an outline of the mechanisms of comprehension. This may help us to create a reality-image with a vastly improved coherence for this sea of awarenesses. By sketching, in broad outlines, the mechanisms of perception, as well as the influence of conscious awarenesses upon our behavioural choices, we may be able to present a useful and persuasive concept of the way we create an image of "the truth". By following the arguments of scientific observations in the fields of biology and related subjects, (such as the evolution of life, and, in particular, the emergence of the faculties of conscious awareness, symbolic representation and language), we may be able to provide a picture of human consciousness that lets us see ourselves in a coherent light.

We have touched upon the same goals and objective on many occasions, and, we do not pretend to bring, here, a new or different concept. We will try to use these generally accepted ideas about perception, together with the ever-present possibility of erring in the interpretation of our perceptions, as the central theme of this essay. By reviewing the basic mechanisms of perception, we hope to weave a persuasive tapistry of thoughts about the function and purpose of conscious awareness, but, we will consider, also, at least, to some extent, the active, manipulative, motoric aspects of our existence.

Like a musical theme and variations, the central ideas of perception and interpretation will form the core around which we hope to construct a far-reaching, often discouragingly complex structure of abstract and generalised statements, which, we hope, will, eventually, illuminate this subject, and, hopefully, make it possible for the reader to experience a flash of recognition and understanding.

We have outlined the purpose of this essay, and, let us now proceed from a general introduction to the survey of all those aspects that play a role in the mechanisms of awareness and interpretation. We have to know these mechanisms, because they influence our judgements about truth and reality. Let us go back to the early evolution of the living organisms, where we see the origins of animal life with its capability of movement. The free-floating cell developed already some form of propulsion by forming a flattened area that could "undulate" to some extent. Later in evolution, more specialised structures appeared, such as hair-like appendages. These could be moved by the contraction and relaxation of specialised proteins in the cell's protoplasm, just like an oarsman moves his oars throught the water in order to propel his row-boat.

The ability to move has only meaning, if the watery environment of the cell is not uniform; if it contains areas, where it is beneficial for the cell to be, as well as areas, where the environment is indifferent, or, even, hostile to the existence of a cell. Beneficial stimuli will elicit a positive movements towards an area that may contain a source of consumable energy, but, there will be a movement away from an area that is not beneficial, or, even, potentially harmful.

Mobility provided such enormous advantages for a floating cell, that the entire evolutionary branch of animal life has been based upon this ability or characteristic. We are well aware of certain exceptions, or, apparent exceptions, because a few multi-cellular animal life-forms developed a stationary mode of existence, (such as barnacles and choral), and, we see, also, how some plants use the mobility of their leaves as a means to attack and capture a food source, just like an animal predator. The mobility of the leaves may also be used as a protection against a predatory attack from browsing animals. However, the overall division of life into the kingdoms of the plants and animals, based on the characteristic of mobility, is not invalidated by these few exceptions.

We see, that the ability to move exacts a toll from animal life, in particular, when animal life-forms became multi-cellular and more complex. This price was the loss of the ability to photo-synthesise; to make its own food-stuffs from inorganic materials with the help of the energy from the sun.

The ability to move, meant, that it became possible for animal life-forms to move towards another life-form and use the preformed, organic products of this life-form as a source of energy in a parasitic or predatory mode of existence. Predation is the ability to capture and kill other life-forms and digest them as a source of energy. This mode of behaviour, or relationship of dependence, developed, not only, between animals and plants, but also, between the various animal species', and, we see, that the entire structure of ecological relationships is based upon a "food chain", where the larger, more complex and more able animals feed upon the smaller ones, However, we see, also, that the energy requirements of the larger life-forms escalate dramatically, introducing a limiting factor in the possibilities for large and complex animals to exist.

We will not review, here, the numerous observations and facts we can see in the evolution of life, because we want to concentrate on the effects, which the development of movement brought-about in the course of animal evolution. Movement away from a harmful situation and towards a beneficial one, requires energy, which is energy in addition to the basic maintenance-energy all life-forms have to spend just to maintain the integrity of their cellular protoplasm.

Before the ability to move can be useful, the life-form has to be able to make a distinction between a harmful and a beneficial stimulus. Even the most elementary, floating cell can only benefit from its ability to move, if it can distinguish between what is beneficial and what is harmful.

How, exactly, such a single cell differentiates between a usable source of energy and the presence of noxious or toxic substances, is an open question, but, we may visualise, as a generalised concept, either, a "blocking", or, a "facilitation" of its internal biochemical energy-flow, depending on the nature of the stimulus. If there are substances around that are useful for the cell and its metabolic machinery, the energy-flow through the biochemical systems of the cell is speeded-up, and, automatically, there occurs a movement towards the side, where these useful chemical substances are located. This movement occurs, because there exists either a biochemical connection with some sort of propulsive machinery, or, the movement may be nothing more than a flow of the protoplasm itself, because the protoplasm becomes more "fluid" as its metabolic rate speeds-up.

It seems to be a basic characteristic of the protoplasmic substance that it becomes more liquid, whenever its metabolic rate increases, while it becomes more rigid, whenever its metabolic rate slows-down. This is partly due to changes in temperature, and, partly, to changes in the constituents of the protoplasmic material itself.

We should not visualise, at this stage of the evolution of life, that a sophisticated differentiation into muscles and nerves has already taken place, because such a development occurs, only, much later, in the development of multi-cellular existence. Then, we see the rise of specialised communities of cells, which form, together, the unit of a multi-cellular organism. We are talking, here, only about "contractile proteins" within the protoplasmic conglomerate of a single cell, which can be triggered by the energy-flow of a biochemical reaction in the protoplasm of the cell. These contractile proteins may result in the undulating movements of the protoplasm itself, or, a movement of specialised propulsive appendages, such as a hair-like, or "oar-like", protrusion from the cell.

We should remind ourselves about a general principle in evolutionary development, which is the simultaneous development of form and function. Form and function are only separate aspects in our way of looking at reality, but, they form an indivisible entity in organic evolution, as well as in all forms of existence. The life-form that has developed the most successful combination of spatial and chemical relationships to make an adequate response to the circumstances possible, will become, eventually, the most abundant form of living existence, and, these successful combinations of form and function become, slowly, more widespread and penetrate more widely into the gene-pool of the living organisms.

A characteristic, or special entity of form of and function, has then become genetically encoded, or locked-into, the reproductive instructions of a life-form, and, we have outlined, before, how the slow fluidity of a blind search for existence possibilities can captivate these fortuitous characteristics and combinations by virtue of the mechanisms of "genetic inheritance", or, rather, the functions of a reproductive template.

We go back to the single cell, reacting "automatically" with a biochemical facilitation or inhibition of its cellular machinery and moving, thereby, towards a beneficial environment, or, away from an indifferent or hostile one. Such a simple form of chemical or biochemical discrimination, means, that these uni-cellular animals will have no protection at all against the catastrophe of a very large predator, and, we see, indeed, how millions of cells may be scooped-up, together, by a large predator, such as a whale. The ability to recognise such a danger and to move out of the way of this catastrophe, is so far beyond the defensive capabilities of the simple life-form, that no attempts are made to avoid this type of disaster. The only evolutionary defense is an emphasis on the abundance of existence, ensuring, that the species is continued by the sheer vastness of its multitudes.

The principle of movement, together with the ability to differentiate between a beneficial and a harmful stimulus, becomes the driving force behind the evolution of the entire animal kingdom, and, we see, indeed, that all anatomical and physiological capabilities develop in response to the need to survive. The struggle for survival is carried-out with the help of the "tools" natural evolution has "given" to a particular species, and, these tools have become genetically encoded instructions for a large number of specific species', or, specific, self-duplicating units of form and function.

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Chapter 2

Content

Mechanisms of natural selection.
A variety of environmental pressures.
Random and selective pressures upon the ability to exist.
Tracing the essential features of human existence from the principles of natural selection.
Missing links.
A number of break-throughs.
The symbiosis of cells within a multi-cellular organism, and the competitive behaviour of multi-cellular units.
The development of the sensory apparatus.
An emphasis on significance in the evaluation of stimuli.
The constant need to repair damage of one sort or another.
Dissipating an energy-gradient in a flow of energy.
The genetic code, seen as a sequential organiser of biochemical events.
The super-imposition of "learned" behaviour.
The attenuation of a response because of the mechanisms of "exhaustion".

In our discsussions about predatory competition between animals, we have seen, that there are, often, severe pressures upon the existence possibilities of a life-form. A life-form that is slighly more capable or slightly superior to another life-form, will, eventually, gain the upper hand and curtail, to a large extent, the existence possibilities of the weaker life-form. Such an evolutionary pressure may push the existence of a weaker life-form into a specialised ecological niche, where it can escape, at least, to some extent, the predatory pressures of its foes. The contradictory force-fields of viability and predatory pressures constitute the concept of an "ecological balance". The range of dispersion and the density of the population of a species depend on this balance between the ability to secure its own existence, (and its offspring), and the combined pressures and challenges from its internal and external environments.

Changing geological or climatological circumstances in the habitat of a species play also a role in the make-up of this ecological balance, and, they determine the area a species occupies. This "area" is defined, not only, as a territory, but, also, as a specific "ecological niche", because many species' can live in the same geographical area without interfering with each other's existence because of differing requirements and modes of existence.

A species that is under severe existential pressures and has a large regenerative capacity, (which means, a rapid turn-over of generations and a large offspring), may adapt, quickly to changing circumstances. If, e.g., only a small fraction of each generation survives as a result of a particularly viable trait or capability, this trait or ability has a tendency to become quickly enhanced in the gene-pool of such a population, and, this crucially important trait or characteristic becomes "dominant" in the genetic code of the living generations. Since the gene-pool of a species or population is defined by the totality of the genetic material carried by the living generations, the make-up of the gene-pool can be changed into one direction or another by the presence of persistent, naturally selective pressures.

If the chances of adult survival are not influenced by a particular trait, then, no specific evolutionary development is favoured, in spite of the fact, that only a small fragment of the newborn generation may survive into adulthood, (e.g. the catastrophe of being scooped up by a whale). Many species' of fish have a very large offspring, but only a small fragment reaches adulthood. Nevertheless, their genetic constitution has not changed for many millions of years, e.g., the lobster. This means, then, that their survival ability it not determined by the presence or absence of a specific trait or characteristic We have outlined these general evolutionary principles before, and, we have recalled them in order to facilitate our efforts to retrace the evolutionary pathways from the biochemical reactions of a single cell, to the origins and functions of the human species.

It may be difficult to believe, that such a connection exists, or, that it is possible to trace such a development, since the distance traveled by evolution seems, indeed, enormous. The story becomes even more complex, when we realise, that this evolutionary pathway has not been traveled in a straight, goal-directed line, but has taken the form of a tortuous, blind search for possibilities of existence with numerous dead-end alleys and branching points. In addition, there are interesting incidences of "convergence" between different lines of evolutionary development, resulting in apparently similar forms of existence, but coming from different evolutionary backgrounds. We should also remind ourselves, that the picture of the living species' gives us an incomplete over-view of evolution, since almost all "connecting links" between the well-established species' are occupied by species' that have already become extinct.

The mechanisms of predation and competitive existence lead to a ruthless struggle for survival, and, these constant pressures provide the force behind evolutionary change. As we have discussed before, a monumental break-through occurred, when colonies of cells started to live in a symbiotic harmony and began to explore the mutual benefits coming from inter-dependent relationships and task-differentiations. This road was so successful, that it gave rise, eventually, to all the multi-cellular species' we know of, in the plant as well as animal kingdoms, but, we have only a vague idea, how it was possible for such a colony of cells to become an efficient, multi-cellular organism.

When we look at the way multi-cellular organisms react in relation to their environment and each other, we see, again, the same mechanisms of competitive strife and predation at work. The fight for survival amongst multi-cellular animals becomes spectacular for the human observer, because we are, then, dealing with life on a macroscopic scale. We can observe these events directly, and, we see, that we are in the midst of the forces of strife, predation and competition. We, ourselves, are one of these multi-cellular animal species'.

In the course of many generations, we have learned to observe and analyse the behaviour of the large animals in terms of organ-systems that function and work together, and, we have, thereby, increased our understanding and grasp over the behaviour of these multi-cellular conglomerates. Slowly, the evolutionary links between cellular and pre-cellular existence, as well as the behaviour of large animals and human beings, are coming into view, but, we still see, only, somewhat speculative outlines, and, we lack many precise details in this imagery of evolutionary transformations.

We know, now, from physiological studies, that the sense impressions of the larger animals became, not only, quite varied, but, the function of perceiving and registering sense impressions, the conduction of sensory impulses, as well as the execution of movements, became a complex series of cooperative efforts between a large number of cells. This led to a profound and wide-ranging specialisation of cellular functions, where some cells began to specalise in receiving, conducting or responding to a large number of stimuli. The nervous system represents cells that have specialised in the reception and conduction of stimuli, while others became supportive structures, such as bones, tendons, and connective tissues, or, they execute movements or make a product; e.g., muscle cells and glandular cells.

We should concentrate on the functions of awareness and perception, since we need to investigate, as precisely as we can, the essential concepts lying behind these developments. We know, now, that the entire capability of movement would be meaningless, if the animal would not be able to distinguish between harmful and beneficial circumstances. If an animal loses, for one reason or another, the ability to make such discriminatory judgements, it becomes restless, confused and extremely distressed, because it senses, that its existence is threatened. Similarly, if an animal does not need to inter-act with the environment, (e.g., when it is sheltered and satiated), it will contently fall asleep, if there are no strong, existentially significant sense impressions to keep it in a state of alertness.

We have mentioned, briefly, the fact, that every life-form requires a constant energy-flow to maintain its existence, because there are always repairs and restorative processes to be carried-out, which, if neglected, would endanger the possibility to exist. The biochemical machinery is a labile symbiosis of highly complex, highly reactable chemical substances, and, this biochemical conglomerate requires a constant flow of suitable energy in order to overcome dispersive, entropic tendencies. The reason for this is not directly obvious, but, this lability of existence has to do with the need for fluidity and reactability in order to function as an organisation of living existence. We will not repeat these considerations, here, but, we would like to emphasise the fact, that all living existence requires, to some extent, a constant flow of energy through its system in order to maintain the characteristic "togetherness", or social integration, of the living organism.

In previous discussions about biochemical evolution, we have speculated upon the nature of biochemical existence possibilities, and, we have developed the idea, that the biochemical reaction provides a pathway of least resistance for the dissipation of the energy-potential that resulted from the capture of solar energy in high-energy chemical bonds.

All living structures, from the single cell to the more complex multi-cellular organism, require the existence of a genetic code in order to guide their metabolic events and reproductive mechanisms. This code is a sequential organiser of biochemical events, channeling the reactions between biochemical substances that have been made possible by the availability of a suitable energy-source. These biochemical reaction-patterns are guided or channeled in such a way, that the genetic code, as well as the entire cell, reproduces itself in the mechanisms of mitotic duplication. This same code of genetic instructions is also necessary to keep the production processes going within the cell, and, we have discussed, how the introduction of the sexual mode of reproduction gives an extra dimension to the mechanisms exploring the viability of various genetic combinations.

The most important point to keep in mind, here, is the fact, that the mechanisms of reproduction and metabolism are controled by these sequential organisers of biochemical events, and, as an extention of this principle on a macroscopic scale, the functions and structures of all living organisms are guided by this code of genetic instructions. In other words, the mechanisms whereby an animal obtains its food, avoids its predators and secures it existence, are determined, and prescribed, by the unity of function and form. This unity of form and function constitutes the essence of an organism's existence, and, it is a direct expression of this actualised or functioning genetic code; a complex sequence of nucleic acids that is able to regulate metabolic functions from moment to moment. It is also able to induce the numerous forms of specialisation and inter-dependence, which these cells have to undergo during the formative stages of embryogenesis; before the cellular community can become a viable, well-integrated, multi-cellular unit.

At this stage of the evolutionary development of the multi-cellular life-forms, we visualise the genetic code as the sole carrier of the criteria of viability. If the animal requires adaptations in its behaviour in order to survive, the genetic code will be slowly transformed by evolutionary pressures through the mechanisms of natural selection, and, the function and form of the animal will be adapted in such a way, (over a number of generations), that its survival as a specific organisation of living existence, has been enhanced.

There is no significant development, as yet, of the mechanisms of learning, nor, is there any evidence for the accumulation of a collection of experiences or memory-traces in order to enhance the chances of individual survival. Nevertheless, we see, that there is always a measure of variability in the execution of a response, and, this means, that the potential for learning has been present since the earliest stages of the evolution of the living organisation. Even "primitive" animals, such as single cells, show the phenomenon of "habituation" to a repeated, mildly noxious or somewhat startling stimulus. Intially, the response is quite vivid, but, after a series of stimuli, administered over a short period of time, the response becomes less pronounced, or "attenuated".

Probably, this phenomenon of habituation or attenuation is the result of a certain degree of "exhaustion" of the metabolic pathways that have to respond repeatedly. If the experiment is stopped and repeated after a period of rest, a fresh response is again seen. Of course, other factors may play a role, here, as well, and, we only mention this rather theoretical and sketchy outline of many different physiological experiments, to show, that the response to a stimulus is not always the same, but can be modified by a variety of factors or circumstances.

Some changes seem to be merely the result of exhaustion, or, a deterioration of the cellular mechanisms that are being studied during a physiological experiment, but, a measure of behavioural modification is also possible in the intact animal, depending on the existential significance of its reponse to a stimulus. When a movement or response is "rewarded", the response is likely to be enhanced because of a positive "evaluation" of the results. When there is no reward, or, if the results are harmful, the movement is attenuated, because of the negative "feed-back" associated with a negative or harmful response.

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Chapter 3

Content

The "conditioned reflex"; a review.
The foundation for all learning and behavioural modifications during the life-span of an individual organism.
Shifting patterns of significance.
The need to be "finely in tune" with the situation "as is".
The criteria of need and usefulness.
The need for individual behaviour-patterns to secure the continuation of the species as a whole.
The concept, that all human behaviour, including awarenesses and beliefs, are behavioural tools, designed to construct a viable response to the demands of the moment.
The three break-throughs upon which human behaviour is based; behavioural flexibility, social integration, and the ability of voluntary image-recall.
A review of these developments.
The problems of a "slowed-down" genetic turn-over in the larger and more complex animals.
The radiation of life into numerous, highly varied, ecological circumstances; genetic isolation.
Rapidly fluctuating circumstances, and the slowness of the methods of genetic encoding.
Behavioural modification on the basis of personal epxeriences and the imitation of parental behaviour.
Communicating by emotional synchronisation.
The non-genetic method of transferring viable behaviour-patterns.
The early evolutionary experiments with behavioural flexibility, secondary socialisation, and image-recall are still visible in the human species, today.
The break-through of socially integrated behaviour, seen as an analogy to the symbiosis of the multi-cellular community.
Similarities and differences.
The emergence of contrasting and contradictory behaviour-patterns because of varying criteria of viability.
When natural selection starts to "work" at the level of social groupings, rather than individual existence.

The modification of a response is related to the mechanisms summarised in the concept of a "conditioned reflex", where the fixed relationship between a stimulus and reponse is altered by the introduction of a new stimulus. Even animals with a markedly rigid or stereotyped response to a certain stimulus can be made to respond to a closely related, but, intially, non-significant stimulus, provided, that this stimulus is frequently and consistently associated with a meaningful stimulus. If an animal is shown a non-significant visual or auditory stimulus in conjunction with a sudden, existentially significant experience, e.g., an electric shock, the animal will, eventually, anticipate the electric shock, when it receives the non-significant stimulus. The non-significant stimulus has now become significant due to a constant association with the significant stimulus, and the animal shows this change in the evaluation of existential significance by a change in its reactions.

These experiments show, that it is possible for a neutral stimulus to acquire significance by frequent and consistent linkage with a highly significant experience. This is the basis of all learning, but, it is important to realise, that, on the basis of a fundamental, biologial or physiological mechanism, the strength of a reaction to a repeated stimulus may decrease, even, if the strength of the stimulus remains the same. However, the main emphasis of our discussion lies on the fact, that the significance of a neutral and, therefore, unnoticed stimulus can become significant, if such a stimulus is artificially, or naturally, linked with a highly significant experience.

We may justifiably conclude from these observations, that an organism will notice only those stimuli that are meaningful for its existence or survival. These stimuli may be positive or negative, and, the organism will ignore, or, is not even capable of receiving, most other, non-significant stimuli. The reason for this is logical, because there is, obviously, a need to be able to discriminate, as finely as possible, between the individual experiences that lie within the entire range of significant stimuli, while those stimuli that have no existential significance, do not play a role in this web of evolutionary force-fields, which is shaping a particular sensory or motoric capability.

While the developments of smell, hearing and sight occur long before we see the mammals emerge, we see, in the evolution of various mammalian species', how the accent of significance may be placed upon one specialised sense-organ or another. Rarely are all special sense-organs equally well developed, and the emphasis is always placed upon the sense that is needed most, or, rather, upon which the species has begun to rely the most.

It will not come as a surprise, therefore, that the mechanisms of perception, including the sense impressions arising from the specialised and general sense-organs, have been developed under the evolutionary pressures of need and usefulness, and, we see, therefore, that the range of perceptions an animal organism is capable of, and, the range of stimuli it pays attention to, are stimuli that are meaningful to the organism. This meaning can be broadly classified as "positive" or "negative".

We have discussed the elaborate genetic encoding of an organism's structure and function, including those patterns of behaviour, where an organism is instructed to mate and keep its species in existence. Such a reproductive goal for the species as a whole, has, in essence, no meaning for the individual organism, and, these behavioural traits are, therefore, sharpened as a genetically encoded "instinct", or drive. This shows us the reasons, why a species survives, and, why its viability depends as much upon individual survival as on the ability, and willingness, to engage in sexual activities and bear the burdens and responsibilities of parenthood.

All behaviour, including the reception, registration and evaluation of sense impressions, has, therefore, a utilitarian function, and, these behaviour-patterns have been shaped by the genetic code of the species to which the living organism belongs. Is it unreasonable, then, to expect the human being to obey the same evolutionary principles? Is it unreasonable to expect clear and comprehensive answers to questions of human behaviour, if we keep analysing and interpreting the evolutionary trends which led, eventually, to the development of mankind?

For many people, the perceptions and awarenesses that are evoked by a study of biology and related fields, are insufficient and too fragmentary to allow a feeling of confidence in the evolutionary interpretation of reality. At the present time, it seems, indeed, a bold attempt to explain human nature, entirely, from an evolutionary point of view, but, we have made several attempts to do just that, and, we will not repeat our reasons for being confident, that such an approach will, eventually, dominate our reality perceptions, all over the world.

Let us go back to the mechanisms of perception and awareness, and, we will now trace, briefly, the specific steps that took place in the evolution of the species of mankind. Two monumental developments took place, which made it possible for the human species to emerge as a dominant life-form on earth. These developments were, in a nutshell, the trend of behavioural flexibility, which led to the development of memory, and, secondly, the possibility of voluntary image-recall with the help of mimicry and symbolic representations. Both developments are crucial for an adequate understanding of the human being, and, a review of these evolutionary trends is necessary, before we can begin a more detailed analysis of perceptions, awarenesses, reality-images, as well as the many chances of error in the interpretation of awarenesses and perceptions.

We should, first, discuss the change in direction that took place, when nature started to explore the possibilities of existence with the adaptation of individual behaviour on the basis of past experiences. We can not over-emphasise the importance of such a branching point in the evolution of animal existence. The concept of randomness in the evolutionary search for existence possibilities, implies, that all avenues are explored, and, that evolutionary progression occurs, only, along those pathways that are rewarded with some sort of an advantage or increased viability.

We have hinted, before, that life-forms have a tendency to become larger and more complex in the search for viability, but, such an increase in size and complexity of individual life-forms led to a more difficult and time-consuming process of reproduction. In addition, a slowing-down of the "genetic turn-over", as well as a decrease in the number of offspring, curtailed, also, the possibilities for genetic adaptations. The invasion of "dry land" by the living organisation, meant, that life-forms had to exist under remarkably varying circumstances, much more so than in a watery environment. This fact contributed to the wide radiation of life-forms on dry land into a large number of different species', which became genetically, and, therefore, sexually isolated from each other. All these factors led to a reduction in the number of "genetic experiments", or, individual actualisations within the species' of large and complex animals, and, it also meant a reduction in the chances of finding and developing suitable adaptations. We should not be surprised, therefore, to see evolution "try" a new avenue in the search for viability. The forces of natural selection began to explore the possibilities of "behavioural fine-tuning" for the individual members of a particular species during the course of their existence.

In "behavioural fine-tuning", the final adaptation of an organism's behaviour depends on its past experiences and its particular "interpretation", or classification, of locally existing conditions and circumstances. This ability of behavioural fine-tuning is usually built upon a program of behaviour that is taken-over from the parental generation by a process of imitation.

The sure-footed, extremely stable, but very slow method of genetically encoding the precise form and function of an actualised member of the species, became too slow and too cumbersome a process for those larger and more complex life-forms, where population density and the speed with which each generation reached maturity, were inadequate to allow for a finely adjusted penetration of the desired traits into the genetic code.

Besides, many circumstances would fluctuate so rapidly, that the adaptation would have become obsolete by the time it had finally penetrated into the genetic code. As we have discussed before, an insufficient constancy of conditions makes it impossible to select a particular trait, and, natural selection has always been limited to adaptations to long-standing and slowly changing circumstances; at least, long-standing and slowly changing in relation to the rate of growth and the "generation-time", or reproduction-time, of a particular species.

The ability of an organism to modify, slightly, its behaviour on the basis of a past experience, and, perhaps, even more importantly, the ability of the younger generations to imitate and adopt the acquired habits of successful parents, became an extremely useful method for evolutionary adaptations. The emphasis in the search for viable behaviour was now being shifted from a genetically instructed and precisely programmed package of form, function and behaviour, to a type of existence, that allowed the growing youngster to adopt a set of behaviour-patterns on the basis of behavioural examples from the older generations.

It order to make such a behavioural adaptation possible, the genetically encoded behaviour-patterns had to be "loosened". They had to be outlined by the genetic code as a generalised instruction, (within a limited range of variability, of course), but, the details of the behavioural adaptation had to be left to the initiative of the individual, based on personal experiences and parental examples. Many basic functions remained precisely instructed, however, such as the feeding or sucking reflexes of the mammalian youngster, but, otherwise, the instructions for actual patterns of behaviour were left open to an input from the parental generation, or, from the prevailing conditions and circumstances of the local environment.

Such a novel method for behavioural adaptation allowed for further refinements in the behaviour-patterns of the younger generations, but, it required, also, a new form of contact between the members of a species and their natural or social surroundings, in order to facilitate a transfer of "habits" or "learned" behaviour-patterns. We are not thinking, here, about the transfer of symbolic or factual information, but, we are describing a much older process of communication, where animals develop the ability to synchronise their state of alertness, or their "moods", by imitating a behavioural example.

We still see these early evolutionary mechanisms of behavioural flexibility and adaptation at work in our own behaviour, especially, when we look at the importance of behavioural imitation and the ability to become "emotionaly synchronised" with a number of people in our environment. We know, now, that the ability to imitate forms an essential foundation for the much later development of "symbolic representation".

We have frequently proposed the idea, that all our emotional reactions are based, at least, in part, upon phylogenetically "old", and, therefore, genetically encoded instructions. These instructions for our behaviour are given "in outline" only, and the details are filled-in by the content of the actual circumstances and experiences prevailing at the moment of our existence; whenever a behavioural response has to be formulated.

Behavioural fine-tuning, or flexibility, is one particular method nature used for obtaining an increase in viability, as well as an improved rate of adaptation, but, other ways were explored simultaneously. One such development was foreshadowed in the fusion of a multi-cellular community into a viable, multi-cellular unit of symbiotic relationships, when predatory competitiveness had resulted in a stalemate between uni-cellular life-forms. The change to symbiotic relationships opened-up new avenues in the search for a possibility to exist, as we see in the enormous increase in existence possibilities for the multi-cellular organisms compared to those available to uni-cellular life-forms.

The pressures upon each other's existence resulting from the fierce competitiveness of the members of a multi-cellular species, show the same limitations of a natural balance which came to the fore in the uni-cellular stalemate, because viability is always severely affected by territorial strife and savage infighting.

The solution to such competitive and inhibiting pressures can be found in several ways; either, in a further specialisation into different species', with differing ecological niches, whereby the competitors are again separated from each other, or, viability may be sought, and found, in a mechanism of specialisation in function and mutual inter-dependence, without further differentiations in form and function, and, without genetic isolation and the emergence of a separate species. In the latter form of specialisation in function and the mechanisms of mutual inter-dependence, we see the beginnings of social or secondarily integrated behaviour in a group of large and complex, but essentially similar, sexually compatible, but competitive members of a single species.

Multi-cellular members of a unit of social integration move freely in relation to each other, and, we do not see the same level of strict, genetically encoded control over these relationships, as we see, so clearly, in the multi-cellular organism. The multi-cellular community of the single individual makes use of a precise genetic encoding of the behavioural instructions for its cellular members, and, it ensures, thereby, a remarkable degree of cohesiveness for its existence as a multi-cellular organism.

The consequences of a successful relationship of mutual inter-dependence and specialisation in function were spectacular, and, these developments led to important shifts in the behavioural make-up of the members of a sociallly oriented species. While in a situation of all-out competitive strife, the behavioural goals of the members of a species were entirely geared to exploit the possibilities of an egocentric maintenance of possibilities of existence, the mechanisms of socialisation called for a set of cooperative and "caring" attitudes, which, on occasion, were even more highly rewarded with viability than the qualities of aggression or a vigorous defense.

The ability to submit to authority, or, to assume leadership with an attitude of tolerance and care; the ability to care for offspring and weaker members of the group, as well as the ability to coordinate complex activities, such as a hunt or a migration, gave the group an added measure of viability, which, in turn, enhanced the viability of each member. These behavioural traits opened the way for a further exploration of inter-dependence and cooperation, as well as a division of tasks or a specialisation in function, again, enhancing viability.

An increased importance of the mechanisms of collective viability, meant, that, individual viability started to depend, increasingly, on the survival of the group as a whole. Consequently, the gene-pools of groups of socially integrated individuals were, now, in a state of competitive strife with each other, rather than individual members of the species.

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Chapter 4

Content

Collective rather than individual survival; a trend that has been well-established before the emergence of the human species.
The trend towards gigantism in the search for viability.
Potentially fatal flaws in the behavioural instructions of the human species.
Reasons, why evolutionary interpretations seem to be contradicted by the evidence of our naked senses.
Evolutionary ideas have an overwhelming support of circumstantial evidence, verifiable for anyone who cares to make the effort, but "proof" is difficult, and the conceptual structures are complex.
Numerous blind alleys.
Evolution takes place in spurts.
The living conditions of our ancestors; the anthropoids.
Fierce competition and the survival of Homo Sapiens as the only living species of the anthropoids of the plains.
Some anthropoids survived because of their withdrawal from competition with Homo Sapiens.
Agility, intelligence, clever opportunism, and a flexible armamentarium of discardable weapons.
Social behaviour in small groups, and the experiment with image-recall.

Long before the emergence of man, the emphasis on collective survival of a small social grouping, together with the trend towards flexibility of the behavioural response, resulted in a shift away from a genetically endowed, anatomical and physiological differentiation of fighting tools or protective shields; e.g., fangs, claws or armoured plates. Viability was sought, and found, in a flexible and intelligent form of behaviour that made use of the possibilities of agility, cunning and cooperation. At least, this seems a reasonable explanation of the developments that took place, but, we should not forget, that many other evolutionary trends played a role as well. For example, the search for viability led, in some species', to the evolution of very large members, but the trend towards gigantism had its own draw-backs, because large bodies require a lot of energy to sustain themselves. In addition, a large size made an individual sluggish and vulnerable to a hit an run attack by a much smaller, but more agile life-form.

We know, how nature experimented with very large individual organisms because of the fossil legacy of the dinosaurs, but, let us not forget, that, behavioural flexibility has its own limitations as well, as we can see in nature's experiment with highly flexible, highly intelligent, but very unstable human behaviour-patterns. We may become extinct, like the dinosaurs, because we may, also, have a fatal flaw in our genetic endowment for long-term viability. Such a course of events is not far-fetched in view of our technological capabilities and the explosive nature of human behaviour, which is prone to orgies of mass-destruction.

Let us not get ahead of our discussion, because, so far, we have only reached this crucial experiment of nature with the beginning of behavioural flexibility, and, the human species has not even appeared on the scene, as yet. We have discussed, briefly, the experiment with the socialisation of flexibly behaving animals, such as the mammals. We should now consider the main break-through that made the evolution of the human species possible. We are referring, here, to the break-through of concept formation and language communication.

Many of us still have a difficult time accepting the idea, that we can, indeed, trace the evolution of the human being, with all its contrasting, poorly understood tendencies and capabilities, from the natural evolution of life on earth. The ability of the human being to think and speak, and, to worship his God and Creator, seems to place a very large distance between us and the rest of our living environment, and, the idea that man evolved from the same pool of life as all other animal organisms, is, therefore, a strange and unappealing concept.

The most popular ideas about the origin of man, have, as a rule, emphasised a somewhat special relationship between man and his Creator. Not only, is the evolution of man from other life-forms not easily supported by direct observations, but, the whole idea of evolution, of species' evolving from each other, is a concept, which has only recently been given a large amount of supportive evidence, in spite of the fact, that the concepts of an evolutionary origin of life, have been tentatively advanced in the past.

The evidence in support of a concept of a natural evolution of all life-forms is now so overwhelming and abundant, that, anyone, who wants to familiarise him- or herself with the observations that have been made, will be able to verify them and will have a difficult time to adhere to the idea of separate acts of Divine Creation.

Tangible evidence for the accuracy of evolutionary mechanisms is gigantic, but, this does not mean, that we have a complete picture of the many varied pathways evolution has taken. The numerous blind alleys which, eventually, led to the extinction of a species, or, a whole series of species', are so complex, that it will take a long time, before we have a comprehensive picture of the natural evolutionary experiments that have taken place since the origins of terrestial life, and, are still taking place today.

We have elaborated, before, the concept, that evolutionary developments take place in spurts. They take place in certain areas of the living spectrum, especially, in life-forms that are exposed to the pressures of changing circumstances, and feel, therefore, the greatest need to adapt in order to survive. Failure to meet the challenge of adaptative requirements successfully, results in extinction; another dead-end, another evolutionary blind alley.

The principles of evolutionary change and genetic adaptation have been used as a corner-stone in our efforts to build-up a cohesive image of living and non-living existence, including the Universe itself. Increasingly, evolutionary ideas form the foundation for a mental imagery of wide-ranging understanding. In order to make the evolutionary insights a valid, convincing and persuasive reality perception, we have to show, with a measure of conviction, the steps that may have taken place in preparation for the emergence of the human species, including the characteristics of the human psyche.

We visualise, partly on sound scientific evidence, and, partly, on a cautious speculative imagery, that man's ancestors, insignificant, tree-dwelling animals, were finding a possibility of existence in a rather precarious and difficult environment. The ground was unsafe, because of the many large, powerful animals dominating the grass-lands, (the open plains between the forests), and, even, the sky was dangerous on account of large birds, or, rather, gliding reptiles, which were, probably, still around at the time man's ancestors explored, cautiously, the edges of the great forests.

Even in the trees, hopping, swinging and jumping from branch to branch, life was not easy but full of dangerous situations and ferocious competitors. A small mishap was sufficient to jeopardise existence, and, life in the trees required agility, excellent balance, stereoscopic vision and powerful grasping arms and legs.

When the great forests started to recede, more and more grass-lands took their place. These were interrupted, here and there, by a cluster of trees. We have good reasons to believe, that man's ancestors lived, primarily, in this border area between the forests and the grass-lands, and, this idea is supported by scientific archeological evidence. We do not intend to recall this story in detail, because we are merely refreshing our memories with the overall outlines of man's physical evolution. Therefore, it is not important, here, to attach names to the various species', which, we think, belonged to the ancestry of mankind; neither is it important to speculate on the time-periods that played a role in the development of the human species.

We may jump, now, to a time-period that existed approximately fifteen million years ago, when the plains, the savannahs and the forests were teeming with a large variety of wild-life, existing in a state of fierce competition with each other. The mammalian species' had become dominant, after the fairly sudden decline and nearly complete extinction of the large reptiles. There were many anthropoid life-forms; species' that where were closely related to man's ancestors, and, they were on a similar evolutionary course as the species that eventually developed into mankind.

We think, that man, or Homo Sapiens, is the only survivor of this group of anthropoids. Probably, most anthropoids became extinct because they all competed for essentially the same ecological niche, and, man won-out. A few species' survived, because they withdrew from a competitive effort with Homo Sapiens and retreated far back into the forests. Man became, therefore, the single survivor of the group that experimented with the possibilities of symbolic representation and the manipulation of tools and weapons.

We can be sure, that life was fiercely competitive for these animals, and, the species' of mammalian life that were related or ancestral to mankind, were, therefore, subjected to severe evolutionary pressures. Against this background, we have to sketch a speculative picture about what happened. We have to guess, at least, to some extent, if we want to give a reasonable explanation for the features that were being developed and accentuated in the human species. We have to guess, why these traits led, eventually, to a complete or nearly complete dominance by such a tiny fragment of life over this seething, competing jungle of gene-pools and their actualised members.

Obviously, the viability of man's ancestors and their relatives did not depend on physical strength or a physiological weaponry, because man was not difficult to hunt or unpalatable to eat. No, man's survival rested, primarily, on agility and intelligence; upon his ability to climb the trees and to coordinate his movements, quickly and precisely, and, perhaps, to carry-out hit and run attacks upon the larger animals, bringing them, eventually, down with stones or clubs. In short, the prehensile forelimbs, developed during the period of arboreal existence of man's ancestors, were now used as a weapon or tool-handling instrument, and, there can be little doubt, that this development gave the anthropoids an important boost in their ability to survive.

The major advantage of this trend was the fact, that man's ancestors did not have to become "armored animals". Their weaponry remained flexible. It could be discarded at the moment of flight, and, the use of tools and weapons could be adjusted, rapidly, according to the changing requirements of the moment. Flexibility of behaviour, in addition to motoric agility, coordination and good stereoscopic vision, as well as the flexible use of tools and weapons, became the basis for viability and success for the species that was on the way to become human.

We should not forget, that man, or, rather, man's ancestors, had already inherited the trend of flexibility of behaviour, based on personal or parental experiences, and, they were, also, heir to the experiment with socialisation or social integration of the members of a small grouping. Ferocity and audacity towards the hostile environment, as well as in the hunt of large animals, paid-off handsomely, and, so did the ability to take care of the weaker members of the group; the young, the old, and the pregnant females.

Yet, we would be mistaken, if we assumed, that we developed from the same animals that now exist as the anthropoid apes. It may well be, that the anthropoid apes and the human lineage were very close together, millions of years ago, but, man deviated from the path of the presently living anthropoid apes a long time ago. Man is the only surviving species that dominated the areas between the plains and the forests, and started to use symbolic representations and language communications, while the present anthropoid life-forms survived, because they fled from a competitive, head-on confrontation with this dangerous and ruthless species; Home Sapiens.

Only deep in the jungle were the still living anthropoids relatively safe from man's onslaught, since the evolutionary break-through of man's intelligence and flexibility resulted in an uneven match for survival between man and the other anthropoids. Anthropoids were, on all accounts, the losers.

We should discuss the development of man's evolution and the break-through of conscious awareness in more detail. At least, we are now entering a stage of evolution, where anthropoids were, not only, consciously aware of an image of reality, (whenever a reality perception presented itself to the animal), but, our ancestors began to develop the ability to recall such reality-images and memory-traces with the help of gesticulations and acts of mimicry. We have to speculate a great deal about these events, because none of them left any significant trace in the soil, except, perhaps, in the form of artifacts and burial sites, which show some evidence for the way these early human beings were developing their mental and psychological capabilities.

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Chapter 5

Content

Survival in coordination.
A shift away from purely egocentric concerns.
The art of anticipating correctly.
The emergence of cerebral classification mechanisms.
Mechanisms of recognition.
Cerebral generalisations, abstractions and classifications.
The sharpness of the focus of recognition.
The act of mimicry and imitation.
Memory-recall in relative safety.
Constant refinements in the sharpness of mental images.
The naming or labeling of awarenesses.
The need for a rapid symbolic form of communication.
Hieroglyphics and road-signs.
Parallels between cerebral and mental classification systems.
The basis for logical thinking.
Explanations and beliefs.
Levels of abstraction and generalisation.

Survival became a matter of coordination and cooperation, and, in order to facilitate such activities as the hunt or the defense of the small community of human or pre-human ancestors, the weaker members and the youngsters had to be protected and cared-for. This shift away form an attitude of ruthlessly egocentric concerns was extremely important, since extra-ordinary demands were being made upon the ability of pre-human animals to anticipate correctly what was going to happen in the immediate future.

Not only, became it necessary for these animals to communicate instructions, before they could coordinate their activities and make each other's behaviour predictable during the hunt or the defense of their territory, but, the anticipation of the behaviour of a large prey became, also, an important feature of success, because it would lessen the dangers associated with the strenuous tasks of hunting these large animals. The ability to anticipate events correctly, including a change in the weather or seasonal changes, also started to play a role in the ability to live in harsher environments. The building of shelters became a necessity, as well as the efficient storage and preservation of left-over foods.

We should analyse, for a moment, the monumental developments that were taking place in the central nervous system of our ancestors. We have seen, that flexibility of behaviour had already been fully developed, and, all mammals began to rely upon an adaptation of the behavioural response according to their experiences. This meant, that the brain was able to store and classify sense impressions in an orderly manner, making it possible for an animal to recognise a similar experience on a subsequent occasion, and, to modify its response in accordance with this act of recognition and the mental recall of its significance.

We have to introduce the idea of a classification and abstraction of general qualities from specific events or awarenesses, otherwise, the act of recognition would not be possible. If an experience or sense impression would be recorded with photographic exactness, the recognition of a similar but never identical experience, would be very difficult, since the remaining discrepancies would prevent the fusion between a past memory-trace and a presently occurring experience. The incidence of recognition would drop to very low levels, and, the usefulness of such a mental or cerebral tool as "memory" would then be adversely affected. On the other hand, if an experience or sense impression would be recorded with very few details, experiences with a significantly different meaning for the animal could be "lumped together" and given an erroneous existential significance. Then, the behavioural adaptation would be based on a "mistake", and, this would quickly lead to a disaster.

It is, therefore, necessary, that a practical and useful generalising process takes place in the brains of animal species' that were beginning to rely on past experiences. The generalising capabilities of the brain ensure, that the main and relevant aspects of a sense impression are recorded, and, that a similar sense impression with a similar significance can be recognised as such. This allows a useful and sufficiently frequent occurrence of the process of recognition, without running the risk of lumping together too great a diversity of stimuli or sense impressions, which may have a vastly different existential meaning for the organism.

The sharpness of the focus of recognition will, therefore, seek, automatically, its most useful level of operation; not too finely discriminatory, (so that the incidence of recognition of a similarity drops-off to useless levels), but, neither too general a focus in order to avoid grouping-together too many dissimilarities with too many contradictory aspects. We will see, that these same concepts play an important role, when we start to analyse the mechanisms of perception and awareness for the contemporary generations of mankind.

So far, the only way an animal can communicate the results of his experiences, is to provide a model of behaviour for the younger generations, but, in the pre-human animal, on the way to becoming human, the techniques of communication enlarged beyond anything seen in other animal species', and, these developments form the corner-stone of contemporary human behaviour and its mental capabilities.

An animal can not recall, voluntarily or deliberately, a sense impression, but, it has to wait, until actual circumstances or experiences activate this process of memory-recall. We see, that this faculty of voluntary memory-recall has become the foundation for the concept of "consciousness" or, rather, the existence of "verbalisable awareness", and, this distinction between verbalisable and non-verbalisable awareness underlies the statement, that an animal is aware that it receives sense impressions, but, an animal is not aware of the fact, that it has the faculty to experience sense impressions, because it can not name or evoke these sense impressions at will, by verbal or symbolic means.

We visualise an enormously important process to have taken place in the dawn of human evolution. The essence of this process is the gradual emergence of the act of mimicry, where members of a community began to imitate the events of the hunt or the happenings of the day, or, the behaviour of certain animals around them. It seems reasonable to assume, that such "play-acting" occurred in the relative safety of a "home base", preferably, after a good meal. The act of mimicry stimulated in the audience, as well as the author, a simultaneous re-activation of the collective or shared memory-traces of the day, and, we may imagine, how a wave of recognition passed through the audience, if such an act of mimicry was successful and recalled a particular happening to the focus of their conscious awareness.

We see others leaping to their feet, re-creating in a similar act of mimicry and gesticulation, a specific facet of the events which stood-out in their minds. In short, we see, that the act of mimicry and gesticulation, aided by all sorts of vocal imitations, provided a basis for the voluntary recall of collective experiences, and, we also notice the important fact, that such an image-recall would take place in an atmosphere of relative safety and relaxation, rather than an actual experience "in real life", which is always associated with the real dangers of an analogous experience. Animals without the ability to recall, voluntarily, their memory-traces have to rely upon such a re-stimulation of their memory-traces by an analogous experience in real life, and, they lack, therefore, an important level of mental manipulability, or freedom.

This technique of mental recall by mimicry leads to a remarkable advantage, because these mental images have a tendency to become sharpened by frequent and voluntary recall, without the actual dangers that are associated with the "real" experience. The increasing sharpness of the mental imagery and the refinements of the techniques of mental recall, led, eventually, to a form of "directed recall", where a specific mental image was deliberately evoked into the focus of attention by an act of communication, in order to guide or direct a particular individual into a specific form of behaviour. In this way, we see specific, symbolically represented communications develop with a content of "information", or a "command". The contents of this information, or the commands of coordination and planning, acquired, thereby, an opportunity to become increasingly precise.

This, in a nutshell, is the major break-through, that, eventually, led to a "verbal short-hand" or "speech", and, much later, to the recording of symbols in stone, clay or on paper. The significance of this last development lies in the fact, that a large time-span could be bridged without losing too much of the sharpness of a specific imagery or meaning; e.g., when contemporary members of a society are trying to understand those who lived many generations before them.

Such a speculative visualisation of the likely manner in which symbolic representations developed from mimicry, gestures and vocalisations, all the way to speech and writing, is sufficient to explain the development of human consciousness, or verbalisable awareness. We learn, from an early age, to put a name or a label on an experience or a generally accepted awareness, and, because of this ability to put a name or label on our awarenesses, whenever we want, or, whenever other people in our environment use these same names and labels, we grow-up with the faculty of "voluntary memory-recall". Often, we learn the name first, and, only later, we develop the complete mental imagery that corresponds with a particular name.

Certainly, the early gestures and symbols, and, probably, the early vocalisations as well, were elaborate and fairly accurate reproductions or imitations of a particular sense impression, but, soon, the representations became more stylised in an effort to speed-up the tempo of communication. Eventually, the stylised representations evolved into a somewhat arbitrary symbol, geared to the need for a rapid communication and easy recognition, rather than representing a faithful facsimile of the image that was being represented.

However, we should not forget, that such an arbitrary connection between a symbol and its meaning, has to be "learned", and, we all know, that it is easier to remember the meaning of a symbol, if this symbol can still evoke the appropriate mental imagery because of a natural similarity. Then, we have to spend less time and effort learning about the often rather arbitrary connection between a specific symbol and the mental image it represents.

In hieroglyphics, but, also, in many modern road-signs, we see a deliberate attempt to correlate the symbol with the meaning it represents, but, in all our ordinary writing, as well as the majority of the words we use, the correlation between sound or shape of the symbol, and its meaning, has to be learned and memorised.

There is one more development we have to discuss, before we can turn our attention to a more specific discussion of the processes of perception and interpretation. We have to outline a remarkable parallel of this process of cerebral classifications, because a classification of symbolic representations had to take place, too, as soon as man learned to manipulate a large number of mental images with the help of these symbolic representations. The classification of mental images in a deliberate structure of logical relationships and categories of similarities, mirrors, quite accurately, the cerebral classifying mechanisms, which developed when an animal started to rely upon past experiences in order to "fine-tune" its behaviour.

We have discussed the need for the brain to develop the possibility to extract the relevant generalised characteristics of a series of similar appearances in existence or event. These cerebral classification mechanisms are based upon a grouping-together of experiences and sense impressions with a similar meaning, and, this classification of similar sense impressions makes it possible to "recognise" a similar experience or sense impression as it occurs. This ability of the central nervous system to classify experiences into categories of similarities, became a genetically encoded instruction in all species' that started to rely upon memory-recall as a means of behavioural adaptation.

The human ability to become aware of a mental image, (facilitated, or developed, by the methods of voluntary recall with the help of mimicry and, later, with all kinds of symbolic representations), led, quickly, to a profusion of mental images. This profusion of recallable mental images would, rapidly, lead to confusion, unless these awarenesses could, again, be classified along lines of similarity. We see, then, the formation of a structure of conceptual coherence. The factors that act as classifying criteria in the categorisation of symbolic awarenesses, become, eventually, an awareness on their own, and, we have then seen the development of an "abstraction". The classification of numerous abstract ideas and concepts lead to further abstractions, etc., until our language became full of "intangibles"; ideas and mental awarenesses, which are "abstract", and have no separate existence or equivalent in the world of tangible realities.

In this way, secondary abstractions, generalised ideas and concepts develop, which structure the profusion of imagined or evoked awarenesses into a logical and manageable framework of inter-relationships and secondary dependencies. The basis of logical reasoning is to be found in the construction of such a guidance structure for the classification of ideas and concepts. This structure allows the individual, who is manipulating numerous awarenesses, to orden them into a coherent framework of relationships and references.

We have now arrived at the stage, where categories of awarenesses are becoming "explained" by referring to an encompassing structure of coherent relationships, and, we see, then, the development of a "belief structure", especially, if great validity and reliability have been assigned to such a framework of relating or classifying concepts. The rewards of increased predictability and increased mastery over a large number of awarenesses are the main reason for conveying an aura of sanctity to such a beautiful and valuable structure of explanations and beliefs.

Since all awarenesses of mental images, as well as all forms of symbolic representation, develop in a process of communications, these secondary guidance-structures or conceptual frameworks for the ordening and classification of the primary awarenesses, are also developed as the result of a process of communication, or "dialogue".

We have summarised, here, briefly, the development of human communications with symbolic representations, as well as the fusion of the criteria of viability with the qualities of intelligent, socially oriented behaviour. Increasingly, behavioural adaptations require a more refined perception and interpretation of sense impressions, and, the profusion of awarenesses requires a more sophisticated structure of secondary abstractions and coherent explanations. The crux of this framework of coherence and explanation is found in the development of a small number of generalised principles or classifying criteria, which act as major organisors for the way we classify our experiences.

This process of abstraction and generalisation is the main reason, why we have the ability to see a complex and enormously varied perception of reality in a more or less coherent light, because the main classifying principles help us to transform this profusion of awarenesses into a logical cohesion. These major organisors or principles of classification are the fundamental belief structures with which we interpret the realities around and within us.

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Chapter 6

Content

Pre-programmed behavioural responses; emotions.
Rationality and emotional neutrality.
Errors in interpretation; mistakes, as well as deliberate or subconscious deceptions and self-deceptions.
A review of the meaning of our sense impressions.
The enlargement of the area of concern, and, an increased variability of meaning and interpretation for our sense impressions.
The ambivalence of meaning, and the wide range of motivations.
Awareness of non-significant stimuli.
The elan vital, and the channels necessary to guide the dissipation of surplus energies.
The phenomenon of curiosity.
Emotional neutrality, and a somewhat confusing mixture of slightly positive and negative stimuli.
Shifting fields of vision.
The risks of exploratory or curious behaviour-patterns.
The fragility of rational behaviour.

We have laid some sort of a foundation upon which we can build a more detailed description of the phenomenon of conscious awareness, as well as the factors that may lead to erroneous or less satisfactory conclusions or interpretations. Before we proceed with this line of thought, we like to emphasise one more aspect in the development of human behaviour. We have noted, briefly, that most of our behavioural responses are "pre-programmed". At least, some reaction-patterns seem to be innate and do not depend on past experiences. This seems to be the case, when we look at the stereotyped responses of strongly emotional behaviour-patterns. We have also discussed the idea, that, in the emotionally more or less neutral zone, the analysis of essentially non-significant information, together with a mixture of mildly positive and negative aspects, becomes the most fruitful area for the mechanisms of behavioural fine-tuning.

In a finely tuned or adapted behavioural response, the situation "as is", is compared with whatever relevant information is available in the memory-banks of the individual. As a result, a "rational" response is constructed, which is as finely as possible "in tune" with the requirements of the moment. We will, here, only recall a brief summary of these mechanisms, and, we do not intend to discuss them in detail, because it would detract from our efforts to concentrate upon the concepts of perception and interpretation. Sometimes, an error in interpretation is a simple mistake, sometimes, it is a deliberate self-deception, based on the fact, that we are frightened by the "cold reality", and, on occasion, a mis-interpretation is the result of a historic and retrospective judgement, where we conclude, after careful study, that an entire society has erred in the interpretation of its realities and in the formulation of its beliefs.

One of the most important observations we can make about a perception, is the meaning it has for the perceiving individual. From a biological point of view, we have seen, that the entire development of the ability to receive sense impressions, came-about because of the need to survive, and, the entire faculty of perception is, therefore, a tool in the overall behavioural repertoir of an organism. In the human being, we see the same principles at work, and, we see, that the relationships between the perception and interpretation of sense impressions, as well as the behavioural responses of an individual, give the ultimate meaning to the existence of awarenesses.

The range of positive and negative signals encloses the entire spectrum of existential meaning. The positive stimuli are grouped along lines of energy-supply, or, they function as an outlet for the drive for dominance. In short, positive stimuli evoke a mood of aggressive, confident behaviour, while the entire complex of negative or anxiety-provoking stimuli ranges from mild caution to deep fear, and, eventually, to a panic, resulting in a wild flight to escape impending annihilation.

Somewhat separate to this classification into positive and negative meaning, lies this entire complex of stimuli which has to do with reproduction, and has the subjective connotion of being sexually stimulating. As we discussed before, we see, here, the activation of complex instinctive behaviour-patterns that have been shaped by nature for the purpose of perpetuating the gene-pool of the species, but such a behaviour has, in essence, no existential meaning for the individual, and is, therefore, the result of a somewhat blind obediance to an instinctive urge.

The existential meaning of a stimulus is, therefore, a basic characteristic of all sense impressions, but, in the human being, this primary biological triangle of existential interpretations becomes elaborated by the super-imposition of several other mechanisms. The first and, perhaps, most significant mechanism is shared by all socially integrated, flexible animals, and, it is characterised by the enlargement of the area or sphere of meaning and concern, to include other members of the socially integrated grouping. We have traced the origins of this development to a biological instinct, when it became necessary for the mechanisms of natural selection to enlarge the attitudes of parental concern for the offspring of behaviourally flexible animal species'. The trigger to the unfolding of this genetically shaped behaviour of parental concern has always been the total helplessness of the newly born infant.

In addition, we see an enlargement of the sphere of mutual concern, when the attitudes of trust remain intact, at least, to some extent, especially, between relatives and friends, and, we have argued, on previous occasions, why it seems reasonable to explain the attitudes of trust and reliance between the members of a small family-grouping on the "lingering" of bonds of trust that were generated by the instincts of parental care and concern.

The meaning of sense impressions or perceptions becomes more variable as an infant learns to discriminate between a large number of sense impressions with different meanings. A young child soon learns that it may have to "fight" for attention or for what it wants to have or to get. We have reviewed the conflicts of interests that may occur between egocentric concerns and a concern for the well-being or interests of others. We will only remind ourselves, here, that, as a result of the fluctuating orientation and intensity of the sphere of concern, the meaning of a particular awareness may fluctuate widely, and may become ambivalent. This ambivalence of the meaning of a perception or awareness is quite obvious, if we reflect upon on our own experiences. The meaning of a sense impression may fluctuate so widely and rapidly, that we experience rapidly fluctuating moods, thoughts and emotions. The interpretation of a perception becomes, then, difficult, and, often, confusing.

The fluctuating and often conflicting interpretations that are given to a perception, an experience, a thought, or any type of awareness, are, not only, the result of shifting areas of concern, but, these fluctuations may also be caused by other factors that change the outcome of our evaluation processes; e.g., variations in our emotional bias, fluctuations in the level of our confidence, as well as the "investment" in reliance and trust we have made in a particular perception or interpretation of reality. All these mechanisms make human behaviour difficult to analyse and even more difficult to predict.

The bewildering variety of emotions and evaluations we may experience, gives our behaviour its very broad range; from unparalleled examples of altruistic, sublime and highly ethical behaviour, to equally unparalleled examples of cynical brutality and cruelty. Yet, let us not try to explain this extreme variability of our behaviour, simply, on fluctuating areas of concern or fluctuating assignments to the value and meaning of sense impressions, because there are many other factors promoting a broad range of awarenesses and behavioural responses. We will devote an entire essay to the structure and function of the human personality, and, we will concentrate, here, on the aspects of perceptions and their interpretations.

While it is obvious, and understandable, that the pressures of natural selection perfected the sensory mechanisms in such a way, that they were able to receive and analyse, adequately, the existentially meaningful information from an organism's environment, we see, nevertheless, the capability develop, (especially in the human being), to become aware of a large number of awarenesses that do not have a strong or clear-cut existential significance. This broad class of awarenesses, sense impressions or potential awarenesses has been termed "emotionally neutral", realising, that there are no sharp boundaries between emotionally neutral and emotionally coloured or existentially significant stimuli. However, even a minute change in the circumstances, or, in the mood of an organism, may, suddenly, give meaning to a sense impression that did not have any meaning before, and was almost totally ignored as a result.

Nevertheless, we have found it very helpful for our efforts to become aware of the mechanisms of awareness, to use the concept of an emotionally neutral zone of sense impressions, as well as the idea, that an organism is in an emotionally neutral state, whenever it is not subjected to existential pressures or tensions of one sort or another. We have also discussed, how, and why, an organism has a tendency to drift-off to sleep in such a state of emotional neutrality, and, this tendency is seen in ourselves, too. However, a vigorous, healthy, confident animal or human being may not go to sleep, when it finds itself in an emotionally neutral state. Under the influence of its "elan vital", (a concept that has been described as the difference between the required maintenance-energy and the total energy-flow that is available), we see, that an animal, as well as a human being, has to dissipate its surplus energy, and, this dissipation of surplus energies takes place in the activities of exploration, channeled by the attitude of "curiosity".

While it is tempting to call this drive an instinct, it seems somewhat contradictory to do so, because we define instinctive behaviour as being stimulated by existentially meaningful stimuli, and, here, we are describing a searching, non-directed, exploratory activity, where an organism is willing to take a certain risk as it dissipates its surplus energies. Certainly, the attention of an energy-dissipating organism can become focussed upon something that is intriguing or meaningful, and, a goal or direction is then established, once again, according to the criteria of existential significance, but the choice of such a goal is haphazard and essentially random, and, it is usually not directly related to an existential need.

Let us come back to the concept of emotional neutrality and the idea, that, in many, but not all apparently existentially insignificant sense impressions, a mixture of mildly contradictory stimuli exists; some having slightly positive aspects and others somewhat negative features. The focus of awareness and the ability to distinguish between fine details, is, then, not sharp enough to analyse and separate these contradictory and mildly meaningful stimuli. The overall impression is slightly confusing, but, with a fluctuating focus of attention, meaning may suddenly arise as the attention is focussed, in quick succession, on the different details of such a contradictory mixture of sense impressions.

This ability to shift our focus of attention, quickly, from one small field of vision to an overall, wide-angled view, and, vice versa, is an important faculty, and, this ability is excercised, especially, during a condition of vigorous health in a state of emotional neutrality, when the attitude of curiosity provides a pathway for the dissipation of the elan vital of a healthy and well-rested organism. Emotional neutrality and a healthy surplus of vital energies require a pathway of activities, and, because no existential needs have to be taken care of, the activities assume a searching, exploratory, evolutionary character.

This mechanism applies to healthy human youngsters, but, also, to a healthy, young and vigorous community of human beings. The successful community will rear its young with relative ease, and, an experienced society will provide carefully regulated channels for the dissipation of this youthful vitality, recognising, intuitively, the need to channel these energies into productive goals, if disorder and disaster are to be avoided. If such channels are not available, the elan vital will seek-out, blindly, in a true evolutionary manner, the various possibilities for dissipating this excess energy, and, if meaningful channels can not be found, their activities will, invariably, turn into frustration, boredom, rebellion or acts of outright vandalism and destructiveness.

For the human being, (an animal endowed with a well-developed capability to finely tune its behaviour with "rational" or emotionally more or less neutral decisions), the drive to explore has paid-off handsomely, because the human species is eminently suited to exploit a seemingly non-significant set of awarenesses or circumstances to its advantage. The human being learned quite early in its development, that the risks of exploration could easily be compensated for by the discovery of something valuable.

Emotional neutrality became a tool for innovation and discovery. It became, in essence, a positive stimulus that was precariously balanced by the negative possibilities of sudden disaster or death. The emotionally more or less neutral complexes of awareness were slowly and surely dissected by increasingly sharp analyses, and, these awarenesses became mastered in ever more coherent and comprehensive structures of belief and interpretation.

The human being was on the way to becoming fully human, but, we like to emphasise, here, that this is not a judgement of evolutionary superiority or advancement. We see, only, the successful development of a trend, given by the possibilities of natural evolution. We see, here, the continuation of a trend that began long before the human being appeared on the scene. The fruits of conceptual analysis and conscious awarenesses became the exclusive tools of Homo Sapiens, when the other species' that were experimenting with these possibilities, became extinct, and, these mental faculties are, now, essential to secure and maintain the survival of mankind.

The fragile nature of these faculties, together with the risk of sudden extinction, (if these tools fail, or, if the effects of their use back-fire), have been outlined on many occasions. The significance of rational thought and the value of rational attitudes are lost, time and again, when confusion, chaos and contradictions rear their head. This sequence of events seems to be a seemingly unavoidable by-product of man's efforts to use the tools of rational thought and analysis.

However, we are straying, here, somewhat, from our intended line of thought. After discussing the significance of sensory stimuli and perceptions, in particular, those of the emotionally more or less neutral zone, we will now return to another important aspect of perception. We are going to look at the influence of the focus of our attention, because this focus determines the sharpness or definition of our awarenesses. The concept of a "focus" includes the factor of "distance" or "focal length" between observer and the object of observation, because this distance influences the nature of our awarenesses, as well as the area of our concerns.

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Chapter 7

Content

Varying the distance between subject and object.
Variations in the angle of vision, and the field of awarenesses.
Varying objectives.
The sequential analysis of a complex phenomenon.
Reality perceptions, seen as a smoothly varying kaleidoscope.
The unending road of finer details and discriminations.
Criteria of relevance, determining the degree of detail and the broadness in scope.
Varying levels of relevance, resulting from specialisations in function.
Difficulties with communications.
The fading certainty of beliefs in the larger societies.
The relationships between reality perceptions, and a reality "as it really exists".
The existential need for certainty.
Mood, seen as a filter in the evaluation of sense impressions.
Difficulties, when trying to anticipate events.
Existential entanglements.

We all know, that we have to come closer to an object, if we want to examine its details, and, that we have to stand back to oversee a wide variety of features or a large perspective. This change in our field of vision applies to all observations, and, the same mechanisms play a role in our reality perceptions. We have to describe a reality in general terms, if we want to take-in a large area as our subject, while our focus of attention or visual field has to be narrow in order to see details.

If we want to describe a wide perspective, we have to forego the details, while in the narrow perspective, we have to lose sight of the overall relationships. In a description of an aspect of reality, we may compensate for these mutually exclusive properties of narrow and wide angles of vision, by constantly varying this field of vision. We, often, start with an overall, introductory view. Then, we focus our attention in quick succession upon a variety of details, and, we conclude with a wide-angled view in the form of a summary.

We solve the problem of these contradictory requirements for detail and an overall perspective by the technique of a "sequential analysis". By considering aspects, features and details in succession, we are able to build-up a picture of reality combining the various microscopic and large-scale features in a unified mental structure. This structure does not appear, anymore, as a photographic copy of reality, but represents a smoothly varying kaleidoscope, where a number of varying visual fields are linked in succession by our classifying structures of coherent thought.

Regardless, how close we come to scrutinising a subject or a fragment of a particular circumstance or event, we can always see more details as we come closer, and, we all know, how the use of magnifying tools opens-up entirely new vistas of this same detail of reality. Soon, however, we lose sight of the relevance of such a detailed examination, and, we are reminded, thereby, that our sense impressions have a utilitarian function. They are meant to be used as a tool to help us interpret reality and find an appropriate behavioural response, according to the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

The same limitations of a declining relevance come into view, whenever we enlarge our field of vision to such an extent, that the generalities we are left to work with, become too broad to have any practical meaning or usefulness for the guidance of our behaviour. Relevance criteria determine, therefore, the range and definition of our observations, but, relevance criteria are themselves flexible. We have seen, how relevance may shift dramatically, once we abandon a strictly egocentric point of view, and, the gradual enlargement of our concerns, prompted by the practical necessity of trying to live in some sort of harmony with other people, is one of the main reasons, why the relevance of what we observe and see, varies continuously; from one moment to the next, from one generation to the next, from individual to individual, and from one society to another.

For example, we have seen, how the somewhat artificial meaning of a detailed study of a particular fragment of reality, becomes highly meaningful for the scientific specialist, if his "raison d`etre" and his existential security become intricately interwoven with such a detailed study. Therefore, we may come to the somewhat self-evident conclusion, that the focus of relevance starts to diverge, whenever specialisations in function are taking place, and, as soon as sub-groupings are beginning to emerge in the social environment.

This divergence is one of the main reasons, why communications between specialised interests become more difficult. Not only, is there a divergence in the use of the vocabulary, or "jargon", to describe reality, but, the main reason for difficulties in understanding each other lies in the fact, that the criteria of relevance are diverging as well, in spite of the fact that sub-groupings are supposed to represent only variations within a common cultural core. This divergence is a real difficulty, and, it is one of the most common undesirable side-effects of too much specialisation. It is aggravated, if the specialised status is revered, and, if the specialist is given a wider range of authority than is justified on the basis of the importance of his field of expertise. The fact, that the overall society provides the basis of viability for all specialisations and sub-groupings, is, unfortunately, quickly forgotten or neglected.

We should look at yet another aspect that plays a role in the variability of opinions, conclusions and interpretations of reality, especially, in a society that is becoming increasingly complex and is forming ever more sub-groupings. The certainty of a particular reality interpretation begins to fade, as a variety of beliefs clash, and, this fact may, eventually persuade us to interpret reality in a relativistic manner. We have discussed these ideas before, and, we have seen, that the mental image we obtain from observing or examining a detail of the overall reality, has no absolute validity or meaning. We come, inevitably, to the conclusion, that there is no particular relationship between the reality as we, humans, perceive it, (primarily on the basis of our biological structure and physiological capabilities), and, the reality as it may exist, independently from human existence.

We will not repeat these arguments here, except to say, that it becomes meaningless and impossible to reach for a concept that would reflect a reality "as is"; an absolute reality that is totally independent from human observation and thought. Simply, any such concept is a conclusion of human imagination or logical thinking, and, the existence of the faculty of conscious awareness, as we know it, including the content of any possible reality-image, must, necessarily, reflect the particular, or, perhaps, peculiar capabilities and properties of human existence and behaviour.

We have pointed to other specifically human features in the perception of reality, such as the focussed aspects, the varying fields of vision, as well as the sequential progression of a reality description. The form in which we perceive reality, shows, clearly, our commonly shared biological heritage, while the content of our beliefs, reflects, primarily, the specific cultural influences of our social environment. Let us remind ourselves, that we always imply a human reality, whenever we talk about "reality", and, that we do not attempt, in any way, to determine, either the nature or presence of an extra-human or absolute reality, nor, are we trying to infer any conclusions about a possible convergence between such an extra-human reality and this "sea" of mental images and awarenesses which constitutes "our particular reality".

If we try to sneak-in a discussion of a possible, or probable, level of correspondence, or convergence, between our reality-images and the reality "as it really exists", we tacitly assume, that it is possible, or, that it will be possible in the future, to obtain a glimpse of such an extra-human, absolute reality. The reasons, why we are so prone to give-in to such temptations, as well as the erroneous assumptions that lie behind these emotional behaviour-patterns, will be discussed further-on in this essay, when we emphasise the urgent need we all experience to have a measure of "certainty". Here, we want to return to the observation, that, reality is, not only, far more complex than our perceptions indicate, but, this field of observations, which we have tacitly assumed to be emotionally more or less neutral, is, in fact, a confusing cacaphony of stimuli with a widely diverging significance.

If we analyse the complex and shifting aspects of human behaviour, we notice, that we have a tendency to filter the phenomena of observation in a certain "bias" or mood. We may be emphasising the optimistic, positive, inspiring aspects of our impressions and inter-actions, or, we may see the depressing, decaying, chaotic and weakening features of our social surroundings. This "filtering" of observations is an important factor in the perception of reality, in particular, when we have to deal with social pressures and demands, without being able to analyse, clearly, every factor that plays a role. Then, we have to react "intuitively", and hope for the best.

Whether we decide to use, subconsciously, of course, a filter that lets us see the more positive or the more negative aspects of what is happening in society, depends, to a large extent, on our own position. If we have committed ourselves to the belief, that the course of events will be favourable, to us, we tend to see the overall developments of society in a light that justifies our optimistic expectations. If, on the other hand, we have taken a defensive posture in the expectation that we are going to go through a period of social chaos and decline, we, naturally, tend to filter the appearances of the events in this particular light.

Yet, it would be simplistic to see the bias or filter of observations merely as a result of personal expectations; of wishful thoughts or anxious forebodings about a our own particular future. Most of us will try to come to a more objective evaluation of our sensory data, and, we will relate these data, to the best of our knowledge, with the totality of our past experiences. The difficulties associated with the attempt to observe and predict, accurately, trends and events of the society we are necessarily involved with and entangled in, are obvious, and, we know, that, being so close to the events of our own society, prevents us from accurately evaluating the relative importance of the various trends we are in contact with.

The closeness of the object of observation to the scrutinising focus of our attention, is, not only, a matter of insufficient distance between ourselves and our social environment, but, it reflects, also, a measure of our emotional involvement, because our security depends, necessarily, on the well-being of our social surroundings. We can not cope well with a mental image that lets us foresee a complete social collapse, or a total destruction of our security. These factors make it understandable, why the reality perceptions about the society we live in, are, so often, inaccurate, and, it is, therefore, logical, that predictions about social trends turn-out to be, so often, completely wrong.

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Chapter 8

Content

A brief review of what has been discussed, and a short summary of topics still to be reviewed.
A review of the cerebral generalisation processes, as well as the mental classification of verbalisable awarenesses.
Varying levels of precision in the meaning of our concepts; reasons.
The artificial and agreed-upon "purity of meaning" of mathematical symbols.
Life can not be reduced to mathematical symbols and equations.
The nature of our most common concepts.
Precision of meaning is entirely a function of agreement; a "convention".
The usefulness of a deliberate vagueness in meaning.
The evolution of concepts and ideas.
The deliberate vagueness of sacred symbols.
The role and usefulness of unquestionability.
Sanctification and authority.
Verbal communications, seen as the tip of an ice-berg.
Intuitive and emotional factors determine the overall meaning of a communication.

We have discussed various aspects of our perceptions and beliefs. We have seen, that there is a need for a variable field of vision, and, consequently, widely fluctuating levels of visual resolution. We have reviewed the sequential analysis that is needed to build-up a more comprehensive picture of reality, and, we have talked about the influence of the criteria of relevance on the scope of our perceptions.

We have seen, that criteria of relevance begin to diverge, whenever people are becoming specialised in their ways of living. We have noted the strains of incomprehension and misunderstanding that arise in contacts between people with different foci of interest. We have also speculated, briefly, about a possible link between our perceptions and beliefs, and a hypothetical, absolute reality. These arguments have only been summarised, since we have discussed them extensively elsewhere. Finally, we have discused the phenomenon of "filtering", which is the influence of an existential bias, whenever the subject is closely involved with the object of observation; e.g., when anyone attempts to evaluate the society in which one lives.

We certainly have not exhausted all these lines of thought, but, we want to focus our attention on yet another aspect of the perception of reality. We want to review the factors that play a role in the sharpening of a mental imagery, or, the precision of meaning that can be given to an idea or concept. As a corollary, we will see many remarkably vague and non-verbalised ways of understanding and communicating, which still play a significant role in our contacts. We will, then, slide into a discussion of this large field of "the subconscious". These are vaguely remembered experiences that are unavailable for an act of voluntary recall, but excercise, nevertheless, an influence upon our moods and perceptions. Such influences are, in essence, beyond our conscious awareness and control. In addition, we will briefly discuss the area of "intuition", where enormous quanta of data are processed and reacted to in a subconscious or intuitive manner. Here, we arrive at conclusions and decisions without a clear-cut sequence of logical analysis or reasoning.

We have mentioned, that the memory-trace of an object or event, even, the most specific event or object, has to take the form of a cerebral generalisation, or, a "skeletal outline". This is necessary in order to make the act of recognition possible, whenever we encounter a similar object or event. Since no two objects or events are identical, recognition would be impossible, if a photographic similarity would be required to stimulate the recall of a memory-trace. Super-imposed on this neurological or cerebral mechanism of generalising or abstracting common qualities from a group of sense impressions, we construct a similar framework of generalisations for the classification of our verbalised awarenesses.

For example, any common object we call by a name, exists as a category or class of objects we recognise as similar, but, we can still see differences between the members of a particular class, if we want to do so, or, whenever it becomes important to make such a distinction. In addition, we notice, that these classes of named objects or events are themselves again classified into categories of similarities, where the common denominator becomes a separately existing concept or idea, again named. This process may repeat itself several times, until we work and live with a conceptual structure that has many levels of verbalisable abstractions, which are also represented by symbolic means.

We are, to some extent, aware of the various levels of abstraction we employ in our symbolic communications, but, because of our confused notions about the origin, development and significance of reality perceptions, as well as our persistent tendency to hang our entire conceptual belief structure upon the framework of an absolute but illusory certainty, we still engage in interminable discussions about the reality of sense impressions, items of existence, concepts, categories, abstractions and other conscious awarenesses.

In these discussions, we also become aware of another difficulty or characteristic of our conceptual vocabulary. We notice, that the precision of meaning of our concepts is quite variable, and, again, an insufficient awareness of the essentially human, communicable and social nature of conceptual precision, has led to a seemingly never-ending search for absolute precision. The ideal situation of absolute precision has only been reached in the highly abstract, but, indeed, precise meaning of mathematical symbols. However, life can not be reduced to mathematical relationships, and, the realisation that any measurement in real life is imprecise and always subject to certain errors and variations, highlights the artificial and idealised precision of our mathematical symbols.

The mathematical symbols are only precise, because we have agreed amongst ourselves to give such a high degree of precision to the meaning of these symbols. The precision of the meaning of "one" is precisely due to the convention to call "one" only "one", and nothing else, and, this concept of "one" is not affected by the measurement of any specific reality. It is only an abstraction, but, most of our concepts are generalisations of much more complex realities, which are conveniently or necessarily lumped-together because of considerations of relevance and limitation, and, they contain, therefore, slight dissimilarities, whenever we analyse and scrutinise them carefully.

The degree of precision we attach to a symbol depends, therefore, entirely on a "convention" of agreement, where a number of people analyse, communicate, and, eventually, agree about the meaning of a particular symbol. Living members of a society decide mostly intuitively, and, sanctioned by practice, convenience and the passage of time, they decide that a particular symbolic representation is useful. If the symbol is too imprecise to function satisfactorily, it will be broken-up into a number of concepts that are related to each other, and, if the precision is too great and too trivial in the description of certain differences, the distinctions will eventually fade-away and become obsolete.

The degree of precision of a verbalisable symbol is determined, in essence, by the needs of the people or the criteria of relevance, and, we, members of a community, tend to accept the vagueness or the degree of precision of the various concepts and symbols, mostly intuitively. In addition, we remind ourselves about the variability of the fragment we happen to absorb or assimilate from the overall cultural pool of notions, concepts and ideas.

Vagueness and imprecision of a large number of concepts, means, inevitably, that the members of society have somewhat differing notions, feelings and connotations, when using a particular symbolic representation, but, if such divergences become too great, a natural process of refinement will begin, whereby the concept is discussed and questioned, until an intuitively satisfactory level of precision has been reached. Discrepancies are clarified, and, if some of them are considered significant, they will acquire their own symbolic sign. Symbols that have become less relevant, less current and less useful, become more imprecise and may acquire a wider range of meaning. Eventually, they may be dropped all-together from the communal pool of verbalisable awarenesses.

This is the background of the processes that are commonly, but somewhat vaguely, summarised as the "living aspects of a language". If we keep our attention focussed on the social and utilitarian aspects of the origin and function of idea structures and concepts used by a specific community, we will understand, much easier, that it is futile to search for a greater degree of precision than is "given", or agreed-upon, by common consent. One may arbitrarily sharpen the precision of a meaning, and, one may feel a great need to do so, but, unless it is possible to convince other members of the community to go along, this degree of precision is still-born and meaningless.

However, let us not come to the erroneous conclusion, that all our communications are subject to a slow process of ever increasing precision in meaning, because only our conscious awarenesses of daily use have a tendency to be sharpened by dialogue, while those awarenesses that are subconscious, emotionally charged, or, invested with a great deal of sanctity, have a tendency to remain vague. In particular, the concepts that are associated with religious explanations and an attitude of worship, have a tendency to remain imprecise, and, we have discussed the reasons, why it is beneficial for them to remain vague, undiscussed and unquestioned.

Reverent attitudes are able to preserve behavioural guidelines that were shaped generations ago. These guidelines were obviously significant, relevant and successful in strengthening the structure of society; at least, at the time of their origin. We will not discuss, here, the problems associated with lingering attitudes of reverence and unquestionability, because this is a large subject that deserves a separate essay. We only want to emphasise the fact, that, many notions and attitudes remain, or become, imprecise as a result of a process of "sanctification", and, we know, that, sooner or later, the loss of definition may lead to a loss of relevance. The value of such notions, attitudes or practices will then deteriorate sharply, even, if such a process of declining relevance is not immediately recognised by the members of society.

Slowly shifting patterns of relevance, varying degrees of acceptability to scrutinise sacred symbols, varying levels of tolerance for innovation and experimentation, as well as varying levels of rigidity and sanctity, all these factors determine the changes that are taking place in the conceptual vocabulary of a society, and, together, these factors determine, which areas of the cultural pool are evolving quickly, and, which are stagnant or in danger of extinction.

The field of verbalisable symbols is, primarily, a tool of communication for our emotionally neutral and rational behaviour-patterns, but, there are many other forms of communication that are mainly based on intuition, or, an attitude of obedience and submission to authority. The field of verbal communications is only the tip of an ice-berg of complex inter-personal contacts, but, non-verbalised communications are even less precise than the symbolic forms, and, they function, primarily, through the mechanisms of "emotional synchronisation".

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Chapter 9

Content

Verbal and non-verbal communications.
The bewilderment of the logical debater.
A slowly emerging awareness of subconscious mechanisms.
A tool to understand the subconscious.
The limitations of voluntary recall.
The need for proper scanning procedures in order to "access" our memory-banks efficiently.
The internal logic of what we want to say, seen as the organising principle in forming sentences, or "speech".
The "deja vue" experience.
Mechanisms of the "emotional ground-tone", or "colour", of our personality.
A reminder of the biological nature of our reality perceptions.
The effects of a "traumatic" experience.
The mechanisms of suppression and digestion.
Feeling our way, "intuitively", towards a solution.
Intuition can be emotionally more or less neutral.
The "action-side" of our behaviour.
Elaborate goal-structures and belief-structures.
Goals of the young and old.
Errors and deliberate distortions in the perception of reality.

There are varying levels of precision in the cultural tools of symbolic representation and concept-formation, but, we have to keep in mind, that this type of communication is augmented by a far more imprecise, more emotional and phylogenetically older form of non-verbal communications. This is the reason, why, so often, a perfectly logical argument fails to be convincing and make its expected impact. Attitudes of fear, suspicion, disbelief and irritation play an important role, and, these factors are often forgotten by those, who have discovered a certain dexterity in manipulating ideas and concepts.

However, as we become more sophisticated and skilled in handling our symbolic representations, we learn to visualise and verbalise many of the more subtle attitudes and emotional states, and, because of this, we are becoming consciously aware of intuitive and subconscious mechanisms. Without these sophisticated conceptual tools, we would not be able to unravel the baffling aspects of human behaviour. Because of the ability to conceptualise, we are now aware of the less verbalised aspects in our communications, and, we have learned to appreciate the enormously vast repertoir of sensations, experiences and other memory-traces, which have been laid-down during the course of our existence.

Yet, we also know, that only a very small fraction of these experiences, notions, impressions and conceptual awarenesses are available for immediate, voluntary recall. Most of our sensations, memories, and, even, most of our conceptual vocabulary can only be triggered into a conscious focus of attention by the appropriate stimulation of related or associated ideas and images. Our conceptual vocabulary depends, therefore, to a large extent, on "proper scanning procedures", which are largely a function of the sense of logic. In this way, a large variety of mental images may be recalled, or "accessed", and, they are then able to form a coherent flow of concepts and ideas.

Many concepts and ideas, as well as specific memory-traces, can not be easily recalled without such accessing techniques, and, perhaps, they can not be recalled at all without a systematic scanning procedure, executed by a coherent progression of relevant thoughts. Is not the writing of a sentence, or, the flow of words of a speaker a good example of this idea? Here, the words flow "naturally", one after the other, when expressing a thought or an idea, and, this flow of words comes into being under the guidance of our conceptual reference systems. Without the internal logic of what we want to say, the flow of words is halted, fragmented, arbitrary, and, then, it is primarily guided by a process of recall that depends on somewhat haphazard associations.

The "subconscious" is a large repository of experiences, memory-traces and emotional behaviour-patterns, and, it has a vague and variable border with the area of our conscious verbalisable awarenesses. By far the majority of our experiences can not be recalled anymore voluntarily, but, occasionally, a long forgotten experience may be recalled with startling vividness and clarity of detail. This occurs through a process of association with, or recognition of, a similar experience we are undergoing at a particular moment. If our powers of discrimination are weak, and, if we are unable to distinguish, with precision, the differences between the actual experience and the evoked or recalled memory-traces, we may experience a sudden fusion of these two images in a "deja vue" experience.

However, most memory-traces are permanently unavailable for a mechanism of specific recall, and yet, a generalised abstraction of these experiences is making its influence felt in the form of a "value" or "meaning" that is attached to a current sense impression. If we undergo a similar experience, our mood or interpretation is then coloured by this meaning, because a subconscious association is taking place with a previous experience, but we are not aware of this specific experience, which gave rise to the "colour", or "emotional ground-tone", of a particular mood.

We have no way of knowing to what extent an experience becomes buried in the subconscious, or, when an experience has ceased to have any influence upon our behaviour. We must assume, that, during our life-time, evaluations change continuously, if slowly, and, we assume, that the emotional tone, or colour, evoked by an actual experience, indicates, that the generalised abstraction of a category of similar experiences, is responsible for this particular tone or quality that has been evoked by a specific, contemporary sense impression. However, the meaning of an experience can always change, because we add continuously to our reservoir of experiences, and, the evaluation of these experiences may change in the light of recent awarenesses or interpretations.

It is, therefore, in keeping with our ideas about the utilitarian nature of biological functions to consider the faculty of conscious awareness, as well as the existence of the entire central nervous system, as a tool that lets us make the most appropriate behavioural decisions under a set of specific contemporary conditions. A frightening, unsettling experience, may, therefore, be recorded quite deeply, and, it may become firmly etched in our memory-banks. Its influence may evoke sustained, even crippling levels of chronic anxiety, and, in such a case, this "traumatic" experience will be actively suppressed in an attempt to overcome the unduly strong chronic anxiety that is associated with its frequent, or, even, obsessive recall. Yet, this memory-trace can not be erased at will, and, on occasion, it will make its influence felt, whenever it is stimulated into a more conscious level of awareness by an association with, or the recognition of, a similar experience.

The unduly strong and crippling influence of such a penetrating and strongly emotional experience can be resolved by a successful and deep suppression, with a gradual attenuation of its influence as time goes by, or, the crippling anxiety may be mitigated by a slow, conscious acceptance of its occurrence, together with a rational analysis of the events and circumstances which led to, or were associated with, a particular event. The experience has then been "digested", or, it has been successfully integrated by placing the experience in a broader, less dominant and unsettling perspective.

Therefore, we see that an enormous influence is excercised by this vast pool of subconscious experiences, partly faded, partly suppressed, partly digested and integrated, but colouring our feelings, nevertheless, from moment to moment, and, clothing our experiences and awarenesses with a mood, in the form of an emotional bias, or "ground-tone".

This vast storehouse of subconscious experiences and bits of information also provides the basis for our intuitive decision-making processes, where we may arrive at sound and viable decisions by a "feeling" for the general direction we have to follow, rather than on the basis of a tightly reasoned, logical sequence of deductions and conclusions. The prevalence of intuitive aspects in our behaviour has been discussed before, as well as the fact, that we rarely realise to what extent intuitive decisions play a role in our behaviour, and, we like to remind ourselves that intuitive processes may be emotionally more or less neutral.

It is not surprising, then, that subconscious processes play an important role in the construction of our beliefs, since we have seen, how often, the reason for believing strongly in the validity of a particular concept, is not based on careful, rational evaluations, but on the acceptance of authority and credibility. In addition, we accept a structure of beliefs on the basis of what we want or need to believe, and, it seems, that, unfortunately, the rational factors in the acceptance of a belief are often pushed into the background.

We will come back in our discussion about deception and self-deception on the mechanisms that underlie the selection and acceptance of a belief structure. The influence of our subconscious memories is significant, and, it is, therefore, important to know something about the content of this structure of the subconscious personality, if we want to analyse and understand the reasons and motivations of our behaviour.

We should now look, for a moment, at the "action side" of our behaviour. Again, we will not go into details about the personality structure, but, it is necessary to recall the fact, that the entire complex of stimuli, sense impressions, awarenesses and conceptual manipulations, is only a part of our total behavioural complex, as well as a necessary foundation upon which our behavioural reactions are based. After all, we have to react, respond and behave, in order to maintain our existence. We have traced on previous occasions the evolution of locomotion; from cellular movements to the emergence of elaborate goal-patterns in the more complex organisms, and, we have seen, that all these behavioural activities are necessary to maintain this elusive quality of viability; the possibility to exist.

The human being in particular, has developed an elaborate goal-structure, and, we have seen, how, as a result of the development of the faculty of conceptual awareness, human goal-patterns are not merely the result of genetic instructions, (based upon physiological possibilities and biological necessities), but, our objectives assume a new dimension of variability through the elaboration of structures of belief. Beliefs may vary enormously, from one community to another, adding a new dimension of flexibility to the behaviour of man's social units, but, these variable structures of belief also allow the possibility of selecting erroneous, unviable, unphysiological and self-defeating goal-patterns.

With the freedom to choose finely tuned behaviour-patterns, arising from the radiation of a variety of belief structures, comes also the vulnerability of having to rely upon a cultural, and, therefore, fickle and transient code of transmission. The genetic instructions are still there, in a generalised and much less detailed manner, but, the details, and, often, the major goals of human beings are shaped by the cultural contents of the communal pool of notions and awarenesses.

Our goals reflect our beliefs, and, these objectives give guidance and meaning to our existence. The goal-structure provides the young, healthy and unfolding personality with a channel for the dissipation of its elan vital, while, in the older, conservative and mature individuals, the goals become, often, an extensive web of defensive fortifications in order to prevent competitive dislodging and the loss of a position of influence and prestige.

Certainly, these are only a few of the aspects of our goal-patterns, because we have seen, how variable they become whenever they reflect changing levels of concern, orientation and anxiety. This is merely a summary overview of the "action-side" of human behaviour; a side, we have to keep in mind, if we want our discussion of the sensory side of our existence to remain relevant.

We will now discuss a variety of manipulations, errors or deviations, such as, e.g., the mechanisms of deception and self-deception, which are deviations from the primary reality perceptions and interpretations we have built-up. There are many possibilities for egocentric advantage-taking, whenever we deliberately deceive other people, because we see, that such a manipulation gives us a powerful tool to influence the behaviour of others; to our advantage, of course. We will, also, consider the factors and reasons that may induce an individual to deceive himself; by altering, subconsciously, or, perhaps, deliberately, the perception of him- or herself, and, at the same time, this individual alters the sense impressions that come-in from the social and natural surroundings.

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Chapter 10

Content

The crumbling of a belief structure.
Anxiety, due to a loss of guiding principles.
Scrutiny, and the opening of Pandorra's box.
Discrepancies between beliefs and experiences.
The reasons for collective hypocritical behaviour.
Beliefs and prejudices.
The poor awareness of an incoherence in belief structures.
Elitism and prejudice.
Emotional neutrality and emotional experiences of dissatisfaction.
There is no absolute validity for any particular reality perception.
Criteria of careful scrutiny and thought.
The egocentric orientation of most of our beliefs.
Why a relativistic perception of reality should have relevance and validity for people all over the world.
The price of rigidity in beliefs, and the price of too rapid an adaptation in matters of Faith.
Discarding, quickly, a series of emotionally neutral observations and conclusions, while maintaining a steady and constant method for emotionally neutral scrutiny.
The difficulties with broadening the scope of our vision.
A positive or negative bias in perceptions.
All reality distortions interfere with the quality of our grasp over reality.
A few examples to show the importance of good classifying mechanisms and an accurate identification of our sense impressions.

We should first discuss the errors in interpretation that come to the fore, whenever an individual or a community begins to realise that the reality perceptions one has relied upon for such a long time, are beginning to crumble. The reality perceptions are becoming less useful, less accurate and reliable as a foundation for a behavioural response. The more implicitly a society or individual relies upon the accuracy of a certain awareness or belief, the more difficult it becomes to acknowledge, that such a belief has become defective.

This rigidity is particularly apparent in the sacred structures of belief, and, we have discussed the fact, that a strong reliance upon the validity of a belief indicates a high level of emotional investment. We have also seen the painful disorientation that comes to the fore whenever such a belief has to be abandoned, before a suitable replacement has been found.

Any attempt to scrutinise the validity of sacred beliefs will cause anxiety, because of the intuitive realisation that questioning these beliefs may open a Pandorra's box of cracks and inefficiencies. We are loyal to our dearest beliefs and deepest convictions, because we have often worked hard or suffered for them, and, they are therefore prone to develop a remarkable level of error, or "ageing", whenever we look at them from an outsider's point of view. Indeed, these beliefs may persist, even, after they have ceased to be of any use at all, showing, almost continuously, their faults and short-comings.

Our deeply held convictions are, often, interpreted as prejudices or superstitions by those, who do not share them, and, indeed, we are rarely aware of the fact, that most of our beliefs are poorly formulated, incoherent and fragmented. As a result, we become easily defensive when questioned and challenged about their validity.

However, people in society may show a rather remarkable form of adaptation in response to the irrelevance of their official and communally sanctioned beliefs. When these accepted beliefs are showing signs of irrelevance, we see, almost invariably, that the intuitive pragmatism of the common people has already acknowledged, tacitly or subconsciously, the fact that these beliefs are outdated. Outwardly, people may profess to believe them, because they feel that there is nothing to be gained by an open rejection, and, they know, that such rebellious attitudes will cause trouble for everyone around.

Many people are afraid of the inevitable confusion whenever a community abandons its beliefs all-together. A discrepancy between professed beliefs and practical behavour is, therefore, so common, that nearly all our behaviour-patterns have some hypocritical features. There is, nearly always, some evidence for a lack of consistency in thought and behaviour, and, the more obvious this discrepancy becomes, the more anxious and confused the members will be, until it is possible to take the audacious step to abandon the formal belief structures all-together, and adopt a more credible and coherent framework of reality perceptions.

Even, if we are able to abandon parts of our outdated beliefs, we usually cling tenaciously to a few prejudices and notions that are poorly substantiated, but are important for our sense of self-worth. It is so difficult to make a radical shift in our beliefs and attitudes, and, the loss of a communally shared, official belief structure, leads, as a rule, to confusion and an increasing divergence between the members of society. This divergence is due to the fact, that the bonds of togetherness have a tendency to disappear all-together, whenever a shared but out-dated official belief structure has been abandoned. In addition, there are strains and differences between the various sub-groupings, because the process of intellectual renewal rarely takes place uniformly throughout a large society.

Sure, many prejudicial opinions and fragmentary beliefs are widely shared. However, an intellectually well-founded, explicit structure of religious beliefs tends to harmonise cultural and ethnic differences, while the uncontroled growth of prejudicial opinions, usually, accentuates the mechanisms of strife and elitism.

There are, therefore, powerful mechanisms at work that explain, why a belief structure may be at great variance with the reality perceptions that come into being on the basis of emotionally more neutral observations. At the same time, we see, here, the reasons, why an emotionally neutral observation is, often, incapable of satisfying the needs of the people. There seems to be little opportunity to extract from such an emotionally "cold" imagery of reality, the hope and belief, that there will be an improvement in the near future. An emotionally neutral perception of reality also lacks the justification for aggressive and dominating behaviour-patterns.

The emotionally neutral complex of observations is just that; complex, difficult to grasp, and, seemingly foreign to the ego of the individual, who is nearly always engaged in some sort of a struggle. We have discussed these characteristics of the emotionally neutral reality perception before, and, we will not repeat them here. Let us go-on to the inadvertent and deliberate distortions in the perceptions of reality.

We like to emphasise, once more, that there is no definitive way to judge the validity of a reality perception, because, regardless, how much we dislike the notion of uncertainty, and, how much faith we place in the expectation of finding an absolute truth, it will always be unreliable to measure the validity of our reality perceptions against an absolute standard of reference. The only criteria to judge validity are those of careful scrutiny and thought. We can scrutinise our beliefs from all possible angles, including those of emotional neutrality, but, we should never forget, that our reality perceptions are pragmatic tools, designed to let us choose a course of action to enhance viability.

Let us learn to recognise, clearly, the emotional needs we are trying to satisfy, whenever we decide to give credence to one reality perception or another. A clear analysis of our hopes, expectations and satisfactions may influence our choice of reality, and, it may also show us, how egocentric the orientation of most of our reality perceptions really is, in particular, if we allow ourselves to be guided by emotional and existential needs when selecting our beliefs.

There are no absolute reference points to measure validity, and, even, the most carefully elaborated scientific images, reflecting a serious effort to approach the ideals of objectivity, scrupulous honesty and emotional neutrality, evolve and change dramatically as time goes by. Every reality perception is a behavioural tool, as well as an organic product of the communal, human mind. The more clearly we recognise and acknowledge the organic aspects of our reality images, the easier it will be to construct a truly relativistic perception of reality; a perception that should have a similar degree of relevance and validity for all the members of mankind.

Discrepancies between beliefs and experiences are caused by the existential need to hold-on to an image of certainty, but, inevitably, the strains are showing and the tensions are accumulating. The reluctance to make adaptative changes and the need to cope with increasing discrepancies, are the price we have to pay for a belief that promises absolute certainty and security. If a belief structure changes rapidly after it claims to have been divinely ordained, one has to ask oneself the question, at least, intuitively, how such a divinely ordained structure of beliefs can change. Have we, then, been deceived by those who profess to teach us these matters?

The more neutral observations, conclusions and beliefs are, indeed, meant to be discarded quickly, since their function is to help organise a finely tuned behavioural response for a particular moment, and, we see, that it is almost impossible for an emotionally neutral observation to remain relevant as a long-term guidance structure. Emotionally neutral observations are to be made and discarded, almost immediately after their use, and, this process has to be repeated from time to time, or, even, from moment to moment. Situations change, observations may be different, and a fresh observation and interpretation of reality is, therefore, required in order to construct a useful guidance-pattern for our behaviour.

While the content of the observations may change from moment to moment, the methods for making the observations and processing the results with an emotionally neutral frame of mind, should be constant and standardised. If this is not the case, we are not sure, that our observations are comparable, or, that our interpretations are correct. We hope to comment in another essay on the validity of the scientific method. Here, we only want to show, why it is natural that sacred beliefs are far more easily relied-upon for overall behavioural guidance, compared to the complex observations made in the emotionally neutral zone.

There are other reasons, of course, why there may be errors or deficiencies in our reality perceptions. For example, the field of vision may be too narrow, high-lighting irrelevant details, or, the field of vision may be too broad, leading to a lack of definition and difficulties with practical applications, whenever a specific problem has to be solved. As a rule, the ability to zero-in on a narrower field, after having mastered the broad outlines, is easier than the reverse, where familiarity with a small field is extra-polated and broadened into an overall view.

Finally, there is an important source of error that is introduced by an emotional bias. This applies, especially, to the evaluation of complex fields, full of signals with a contradictory and confusing meaning, as well as in those circumstances, where the distance between object and observer, is limited or nearly absent. The result of all these forms of error or distortion in the perception of reality, is a lessening of the accuracy to predict, precisely, the events of the immediate future.

Reality becomes less manipulable, predictable or transparent, and, confidence will suffer. We rarely realise the reasons, why our surroundings appear to be more confusing and chaotic, and a simple example may help us understand, how important it is to be able to recognise and classify, adequately and satisfactorily, all the sense impressions we are subjected to.

We all are familiar with the common occurrence, when we identify, wrongly, an object, because, for one reason or another, our cognitive functions falter momentarily. We see, for example, how important vision is, when, under a condition of poor visibility, a previously familiar surrounding becomes strange, even, frightening. Our sense of recognition fails, and, even many sounds, usually identified without any difficulties and supported, to a remarkable extent, by visual clues, become unfamiliar. On the other hand, we have a strong tendency to recognise something as "familiar", even, if we have to ignore discrepancies, pointing to the fact that we are not familiar with a particular sense impression. A persistent tendency to interpret unfamiliar or essentially meaningless perceptions in a particular light, may point to a fear, a phobia, a compulsion, or a pre-occupation, which tells us something about the make-up of a particular personality.

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Chapter 11

Content

The motions of the "heavenly bodies".
The influence of perceptions upon our religious beliefs.
The earth as a reference system for all our "prima facie" observations.
Sophisticated observations and arguments led to a completely different interpretation of the apparent motions of heavenly bodies.
The earth as a sphere, rather than a flat object.
The existential insignificance of errors in interpretation, applying equally to all organisms.
The existential significance of a distortion in the perception of reality which is unevenly distributed throughout the realm of life.
The importance of our modern reality interpretations.
Accepting the biological and evolutionary nature of all concepts.
The importance of obtaining long-term results, in contrast to the lure of short-term gains.
The need for a careful analysis, self-discipline and a sober, long-term view of our objectives.
The boundaries between errors in perception, self-deception and the loss of a viable grasp over reality.
Honest and dishonest forms of persuasion.
Leadership and the art of persuasion; varying interpretations.

There is an interesting example of a collective deception by our senses. Look at the field of motion, and, I am thinking, here, about the movement of celestial bodies in relation to each other. If we look at our history, we see, how strongly this collective, physiologial "error" of interpretation has influenced our ideas about the nature of man and his position on earth, and, how the apparent fact, that the earth is the center of the Universe, and man the center of God's Creation, contributed to the belief, that man and the planet earth were the "masterpieces" of God's Creation.

Obviously, it does not make any difference for our behavioural decisions, whether we interpret the apparent movement of the stars across the sky as a rotating celestial sphere, or, as the result of a rotation of the earth around its own axis. The sense-organs of all animals, including our own, did not develop any means, nor was there any need, to distinguish between these relative motions. Our sensory systems are not geared to detect any motion or force-field that is uniformly applied to our environment.

The absence of the possibility to detect the movements of the earth itself, makes the earth the center from which all motion is perceived or measured. It is, therefore, unavoidable, that man, looking at the skies, came to the conclusion, that the sun, moon and stars revolved around the earth. The general acceptance of a reality perception that visualises the apparent motion of the firmament as a result of the rotation of our own platform of observation, could only come-about, after a sophisticated and wide-ranging series of observations made such a reality perception far more coherent and plausible, compared to an interpretation that is based, solely, on primary sense impressions.

Similar considerations play a role in our acceptance of the fact, that the earth is round, and not flat. Before we could take an actual photograph of the round earth from space vehicles or high-flying rockets, the notion that the earth was round in stead of flat, was not supported by direct sensory evidence, and, acceptance of this concept came-about, only, after a lengthy process of trying to fit numerous observations into a coherent whole.

In a way, such distortions or limitations arising from the biological nature of our sensory apparatus, are a form of deception, but, obviously, these distortions or deceptions do not have any significance for the existence and evolution of a species, or the possibilities of existence for an individual member. It did not matter, because we were all subjected to the same distortions in our reality perceptions, and, as a result, this form of error did not shift the balance of advantages and disadvantages.

However, if a distortion or deception occurs, only, in some members, and not in others, the differences in perception are likely to have serious existential consequences, and, such a reality distortion would immediately be subjected to selective pressures. Refinements in the sensory mechanisms could reveal, that there was a "better" and more realistic way to interpret the sensory data, and, such an advantage was likely to be rewarded with an increase in viability.

For example, the ability to see colours, or depth, (stereoscopic vision), was, obviously, a significant refinement in perception and led to a more appropriate behavioural response, and, such refinements were, therefore, exploited by the forces of natural selection. However, we should not forget, that perception and behaviour evolve together, and, we are justified to state, that, those members of a genetic spectrum which could see a little better, would have a better chance of making an appropriate response. Refinements in behaviour have, therefore, perceptual as well as motoric elements that are going hand in hand.

Yet, the ability to see reality in such a broad perspective that it becomes possible to distinguish, at least, conceptually, between the relative motions of the earth and other celestial bodies, has acquired a great deal of existential significance, because such a concept is part of a general comprehension of our environment, and, of space explorations in particular. Besides, this refined interpretation of reality leads to an unprecedented mastery over our environment and ourselves; at least, the potential for a development of mastery over ourselves is there, but we certainly have not explored this avenue, as yet, to any significant extent.

The broad, scientific reality perceptions that let us see the relative motions of the earth around its own axis or around the sun, as well as our origins in the mechanisms and force-fields of natural evolution, are ideas and concepts which are, only, just now, beginning to unfold their potentials. Even, at the present time, our reality perceptions are far from perfect, and, we can be sure, that they will change as time goes by. They will change as the more important long-term consequences of our collective behaviour-patterns become more clearly understood and visualised.

Whether or not we have been deceived, (either, by the primary sensory mechanisms of our physiological existence, or, by the cultural belief structures of a social environment), is, in essence, a retrospective judgement. Whenever we act according to our honest beliefs, we behave as well as we can. We can only acknowledge, later, that our beliefs were, indeed, erroneous in one way or another.

This brings us to a practical and common field of deception, judged from a broad, retro-spective point of view. We err and deceive ourselves, if we adopt a course of action that gives us immediate benefits without looking at the long-term consequences of our actions. If we really wanted to, we could see, quite clearly, many of these consequences in the more distant future.

We often exploit our environment with short-sighted attitudes and objectives, whenever we dig-up, or, cut-off, the natural resources as fast as we can, without giving any thought to the needs of tomorrow. We are tempted to exploit people in the same way, not realising, that such an act of callous exploitation must lead to resentment, hatred, and, eventually, deadly strife. Man behaves, as a rule, still very primitively, especially, on a large, collective scale, and, we will have to change our attitudes and behaviour-patterns a great deal, before we can be more confident about the long-term prospects of human existence.

Man has still not learned, that the method of settling a conflict of interests with all-out strife, has become a suicidal affair, and, most of us do not even realise to what extent the large-scale social units are needed to secure our existence. We have discussed these ideas before, in the essay on corruption, and, we will remain focussed, here, on the more specific aspects of deception and self-deception, defined as errors that are, either a deliberate, or a subconscious distortion in the imagery of reality.

Cunning is the deliberate distortion and manipulation of someone's perceptions in order to exploit this individual's behaviour and make him or her comply with the intentions of the cunning individual. Cunning is a form of persuasion, because it implies the absence of coercion. However, by making use of the mechanisms of credibility, such a form of persuasion is dishonest, because it manipulates the perceptions and interpretations of an individual purely for egocentric purposes.

Perhaps, the most common forms of a subtle but deliberate manipulation of a reality perception are associated with the way a story is reported by an individual, or, by the public media. Political leaders always try to influence public opinion in a way that suits them, and, many people will, therefore, argue, that the media should not be under the exclusive control of the overall political leadership. True, most leaders will not deceive their people in a cynical, cold-blooded manner, by telling them something that is completely untrue, but, leaders are often carried-away by their ability to manipulate and influence public sentiments, and, they are, often, tempted to play upon the emotions and credulity of their followers, as they start to believe themselves the distortions and the slanted information they are presenting.

If a concerned and honest leadership tries to persuade the public to support decisions, actions or policies that are completely in line with a genuine concern for the well-being of the community as a whole, (reflecting the best possible intentions of the leadership), then, we have to call such an effort a necessary and highly valuable feature of good leadership. However, as soon as egocentric motives start to play a role in the behaviour and decisions of the leadership, we have to conclude, that the people are being deceived by their own leaders.

If the leadership manipulates public opinion by selective reporting, suppressing or playing-down information that contradicts the statements of the leadership, or is embarrassing to it, we are back to an egocentric orientation. If public opinion is being manipulated for the sake of hiding mistakes and short-comings, we are seeing a form of deception. If a leadership inspires hope or an optimistic outlook in order to minimise an awareness of its failures, the community is being deceived. If the leadership tries to put the blame on a scapegoat, or, if it tries to direct communal sentiments of anger and frustration into a belligerent attitude towards outsiders or a minority grouping within society, (in a cynical attempt to unify a tension-ridden society), such a leadership is, not only, practicing deception, but, it is corrupt and criminal in its actions and intentions.

Yet, we must admit, that there is, often, a fine line and a difficult distinction between a deliberate deception and a justified manipulation of public opinion. Often, it seems, that people are asking to be deceived, because they demand to hear what they want to hear. Then, we may see the temptation to whip public sentiments into a mass-psychosis of communal self-deceptions, where the leadership also believes, at least, to some extent, its own half-truths. A leadership may, indeed, echo the hopes, prejudices, beliefs and expectations of its people without deliberately deceiving them for its own egocentric objectives.

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Chapter 12

Content

The delusions and self-deceptions of modern, affluent societies.
Advertising techniques in manufacturing and selling a generally acceptable imagery.
A question of truth.
Public expectations, and the barrage of propaganda.
Commercial interests and their powers.
Dangerous trends within affluent societies.
The glib acceptance of corrupting influences as a sign of "basic human nature".
Ignorance about the factors that secure social health, as well as those leading to social illness and decay.
A review of the possibilities for rationality and behavioural "fine-tuning".
The need to be confident and rewarded by the attitudes and practices of rational behaviour.
The image of ourselves; as we are to ourselves, to outsiders, and, as we would like to be.
Mood swings and widely fluctuating evaluations.
The mechanisms of neurotic behaviour.
Re-emphasising the absence of absolute criteria for judgeing truth and validity.
Mechanisms of behaviour; presenting a "front".
Compulsive behaviour and the appearance of modesty.
The imposter as a psychopathic personality.

Our modern, affluent societies call themselves "free and democratic" and, they have a tendency to see themselves as the guardians of human rights, as well as a model of virtue for the lesser developed nations. We are convinced, that we enjoy complete freedom of expression, and, because of this, we fail to notice the disturbing trend by politicians and officials alike, to manufacture or sell, deliberately, a certain imagery as the truth.

In a blatant and apparently acceptable trend to create, deliberately, a certain desirable image of an event or an individual, the mechanisms of persuasion and credibility are ruthlesslesly exploited in order to "manufacture" an appealing image. All public appearances, speeches, opinions and behavioural acts of an aspiring political candidate are carefully designed for maximum public impact, and, there seems to be no concern, anymore, with the question, whether or not we can truly believe what we hear, see, or are being told.

As a result of decades of intensive propaganda, public opinion and taste, and, even people's aspirations have become will-less slaves of the relentless and totally egocentric commercial interests. Therefore, we should not be surprisied to see advertising techniques applied to the "sale" of a political image as well. What is sad, is the fact, that, very few people feel that there is anything wrong with this. We have become so conditioned to a constant stream of advertising propaganda, that we expect to be bombarded with the same biased information and attitudes, when we have to choose our political colours or pick a candidate for public office. We have become so used to being jostled by commercial propaganda before buying, that we also expect an intensive propaganda campaign, before we even consider any political candidate worthy of our attention. If we fail to receive such a barrage, we wonder, what is wrong.

Commercial interests have obtained a complete monopoly over the mass-media and the minds of people in the affluent, Capitalist societies, and, these commercial interests determine, now, the goals, aspirations, taste and life-style of ordinary people. We have discussed these effects before, and, we have considered these trends to be pernicious and worse than just a form of deceit. These practices lead, inevitably, to social decay and chaos. We will not repeat, here, the arguments behind such an outright condemnation of the commerical bias in our societies, nor, will we re-iterate the outcry against it. We have done so. However, I can not help, but feel horrified at the consequences of this constant offensive of consumerist propaganda, and, I am fearful for the future of these societies. I am convinced, that, future historians, pondering the causes of the demise of the affluent societies, will point to consumerist attitudes, fostered by gigantic commercial interests, as one of the major causes for their collapse.

The deliberate deception, for the sake of securing an individual or collective advantage, is so commonly practiced in nearly all societies, that, many people will have difficulties recognising these practices as deceptive and corrupt; just as the full consequences of an egocentric orientation are still not fully realised and are glibly accepted as "basic human nature". The reason for this is the fact, that the origin, birth and growth of social cohesion and strength, have always taken place at a subconscious level. These mechanisms have always been a "historical accident"; a fortunate confluence of circumstances, and, consequently, the reasons for decay, chaos and social demise are rarely understood.

If we do not know, how, and why, societies are born and flourish, we can not expect to be able to diagnose the ills of a social environment. If we do not know the factors that play a role in making a society grow, and, if we do not realise the contributions each and every member has to make to the well-being of society, we will not be able to understand, why, and when, a social environment became fatally ill.

We do not blame anyone for the fact, that there is no understanding or appreciation for the disastrous effects of commercial propaganda and egocentric, consumerist attitudes, and, we can not hold it against people that they do not know, why these attitudes and practices are incompatible with the functions of a healthy, mature and viable society, but, we hope that a measure of understanding will arise, before the affluent society collapses completely.

I ask you; how can a body withstand the ravaging effects of an illness, if it does not even recognise the fact that it is sick? Are we practicing a form of collective or individual self-deception? Undoubtedly, but, what, really, is self-deception? What are its origins, mechanisms, motivations and consequences? In the final pages of this essay, we will try to concentrate on the phenomenon of self-deception, and, we hope to be able to clarify its mechanisms and the serious problems that follow.

We know, now, that an evaluation of our observations and awarenesses in a state of emotional neutrality allows us to finely tune our behaviour in the most efficient manner. After all, our entire structure of scientific and technological mastery has been built upon a conscious and deliberate effort to keep our observations as objective and emotionally neutral as possible. Yet, we all experience examples of behaviour, where the interpretation of sensory data, circumstances and other sense impressions, are continuously biased in one direction or another. We all can feel the temptation to believe what we want to believe, in spite of the fact, that such an attitude almost always interferes with our ability to react in the most intelligent and efficient manner possible.

It is obvious, that the attitude of emotional neutrality is not easy to maintain, especially, since most of our sense impressions are significant, and are, therefore, prone to evoke an emotional response. Unless we have a great deal of confidence in ourselves and faith in the methods of careful analysis and a rational choice of behaviour, an emotional bias will play an important role in colouring our perceptions and the type of response we are formulating.

We have to recall the fact, that we all live with a specific imagery or judgement of ourselves, and, we know, that this imagery does not often correspond to the imagery we would like to have of ourselves. These discrepancies are, often, hopelessly large and very difficult to bridge. In addition, the image of ourselves as we think we are, is, often, quite different from the way we appear to others. Therefore, there are three or, perhaps, more levels of perception, we have to live and work with.

The image we have of ourselves "as we would like to be", is a powerful beacon for the formulation of our overall goal-patterns, but, the tensions between the image "as we see ourselves", and, "what we would like to be", give also rise to fluctuating evaluations of our accomplishments, as well as swings in our moods.

If we emphasise in our conscious awareness a measure of progress towards a "super-ego" image, (the image as we would like to be), we are optimistic, confident, even aggressive or ebullient, but, if we are experiencing a particularly trying period in our efforts to reach super-ego status, we may be despondent, pessimistic, and, we exhibit a low level of self-esteem.

In addition, if there is a significant discrepancy between what we think we are, and the impression we give to other people, we find it difficult to understand the reactions of other people. If we have a poor insight into the impression we give, we make a somewhat dishonest, neurotic impression upon our environment, and, we have an additional burden to live with.

Certainly, we do not have absolute criteria whereby we can measure, who we are, or, to what extent our own impressions and those of others correspond with each other. Some people seem to be able to behave and express themselves in such a way, that there appears to be little tension between the image we receive as an observer, and the ideas an individual expresses about himself.

Here again, the situation may be complicated by the fact, that an individual may try to present, deliberately, a different image than the personality he thinks he is, because he may not be satisfied with this image. Anyone who experiences a marked tension or discrepancy between the images of his "ego" and "super-ego", has a tendency to present a super-ego image, or "front", rather than the person he is.

We should not call this necessarily a form of self-deception, because an individual may be very well aware of the fact, that he or she is "presenting a front". If, however, as is often the case, an individual's perception starts to lose sight of the difference between the role one plays and the facts of one's existence, the individual starts to believe, at least, to some extent, in the role or front that is being presented to the outside world, and, we are, then, dealing with a form of self-deception.

People with a compulsive, perfectionistic nature are, often, chronically depressed about the lack of their achievements, their failure to reach or approach the super-ego image, and, their self-image may be coloured somewhat negatively compared to the imagery received by an outsider. While such an individual may genuinely express a degree of self-worth that is less than perceived by his environment, (and such a person would then be viewed as a modest, unassuming personality), we have to be careful not to be deceived by such people. Subconsciously, or, perhaps, quite consciously, they have learned, that such a modest appearance finds favour in the eyes of their fellow citizens, because an appearance of modesty tends to disarm people, as people feel instinctively re-assured that there is no threat associated with such a modest, self-effacing personality.

If such an experience has been noted, the individual may try to exploit this type of "deliberately modest image" in an effort to win sympathy, favours or cooperation, and, we see a form of deception or manipulation arise, intermingled with a measure of self-deception, as the individual begins to believe in the role he or she is playing.

Therefore, we all are tempted to use the image we present to our environment for our own benefit. If the personality is insecure and unsophisticated, the manipulations may be somewhat naive and the presentation of an over-confident image may backfire completely, as the outside world sees through the maskerade and laughs at it.

With the qualities of charm, pseudo-modesty, and an elaborate camouflage, an individual is, occasionally, able to present a veritable theater of deceptive illusions, which are presented with great flair and finesse. We are, then, dealing with the "con-artist", the imposter, who shows often signs of a somewhat psychopathic but highly clever and intelligent behaviour. We have outlined, before, why we think that it is justified to call this form of behaviour psychopathic, because the elaborate, deceptive techniques indicate a complete absence of scruples about harming or exploiting other people with these deceptive charades.

Yet, we have to acnowledge, that the elaborate deceptions of the imposter are often acted-out with a remarkable skill and conviction. Then, it becomes difficult to distinguish, with any degree of certainty, whether or not the author of these deceptions still realises that he or she is play-acting. Complex motivations are playing a role, here, because, often, the imposter feels, with some justification, that he could easily be, in reality, the person he is impersonating, and, he feels, intuitively, that the talents needed to play-act are just as great as the talents and capabilities needed to play this role in "real life".

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Chapter 13

Content

Two basic solutions for resolving the tensions between the ego- and super-ego image; a careful advance upon the ladder of real achievement.
The hoax.
A discussion of the psychopathic deceiver.
Playing constantly a role; the gradual slide from deception to self-deception.
Withdrawal into a world of fantasy.
Increasing difficulties maintaining a position of viability in the "real world".
The road of drug use and abuse.
Death with hardly a ripple of resistance or regret.
The normal, horrified reaction of the healthy onlooker.
The balance between fantasy and reality.
Aspects of normal fantasizing.
The links between fantasizing and thinking.

We may see these phenomena also from a different perspective, because it seems reasonable to interpret the tensions between ego- and super-ego images as a problem that has, in essence, two solutions. The usual method is a slow advance upon the ladder of achievement, as we realistically evaluate our progress and analyse the difficulties. At the same time, we respect, carefully, all the criteria of normal reality perceptions that take into account the way others see us. The other method is a short-cut, which we may be tempted to try, if we feel, that social obstacles have prevented us from reaching our rightful objectives. The short-cut consists in presenting, with conviction and skill, an imagery that embodies our super-ego dreams and aspirations, and, in the process we may start to believe in the reality of the role we are playing.

Most people retain the ability to distinguish between reality and make-belief, and, they maintain satisfactory relationships with people in the "real world". The imposter, the compulsive deceiver, plays his role all the time, and, his relationships with the real world are beginning to depend on an acceptance of this role as "reality". Then, it becomes an advantage to forget about any distinction between role and reality, because the more the imposter really believes in the role he is playing, the less likely his disguise is going to be discovered.

We can, therefore, work our way, slowly, towards our goals, while remaining in a commonly accepted framework of reality perceptions, and transforming this reality into something that is closer to our dreams of achievement, or, we may begin to present an image, or "front", of being close to our achievements. The latter is, in essence, an elaborate hoax.

An emotionally neutral evaluation of the facts, as well as a methodical, rational, behavioural response is one way of trying to achieve what we want. Trying to make people believe what we want them to believe, and, to make ourselves believe in the imagery we are creating for others and ourselves, is another, widely used method to narrow the gap between the person, we think, we are, and the person, we think, we ought to be.

We are tempted to travel the road of self-deception, if we are increasingly frustrated in realising our goals by conventional means. If we are uncertain about the effects of our actions, and, if we see less and less possibilities for realising our dreams, the level of anxiety rises and the emotional bias of our perceptions becomes tense and unpleasant. As a defense mechanism against such a rising level of frustrations, we begin to live in a world of hopeful expectations. As the input from reality becomes bleaker, the escape into hopeful expectations and fantasies becomes more attractive. Soon, it is the only avenue to find a measure of relief for our tensions and problems, and, eventually, the distinctions between hopeful expectations, wishful thinking and the perception of reality, blur into a world of our own making.

Then, the failures in the inter-actions with our environment become more frequent, because our manipulative grip over reality diminishes as a result of the tendency to see reality coloured by hopes and dreams. The negative aspects of reality are suppressed, and, the tendency to take refuge in dreams becomes ever stronger, until we reach a crucial point, where we are unable to maintain physical and mental integrity.

For most people, the need to become more realistic and face reality more honestly, becomes strong enough to prevent such a critical level of vulnerability. They are, then, able to maintain a status-quo that is a balance between an adequate and functional contact with reality, and, an acceptable level of fantasizing and escapist dreaming in a world of entertainment and imagined satisfactions.

It is logical, that people use a variety of drugs to evoke the happy world of dreams and fantasies, but, such practices are, not only, an extra burden on the contacts with the real world because of the extra expenses involved, but, the maintenance of a condition of health becomes much more difficult. The drug addict, including the addict to alcohol, becomes increasingly insensitive to the warning signals of a deteriorating situation, since the normal physiological and psychological reactions to danger have been blunted by the use of drugs.

As the withdrawal from reality becomes more permanent, the use of an elaborate deception, or hoax, becomes less important, because the individual begins to care less about his or her social environment. The victim of a sustained attitude of self-deception withdraws completely into a self-centered, autistic atmosphere of private sensory perceptions and sensual gratifications. The individual becomes a will-less prey in a miserable existence, prone to be exploited by predatory elements in his or her environment. Viability decreases constantly, as the resistance to physical and mental stress is disappearing, until death comes with hardly a ripple; without any fight from the will to live, and, without any regrets. The elan vital of the chronic drug-user has been sapped completely, and the addict hardly realises that he or she is dying.

For the healthy onlooker, who has not been caught in this deadly spiral of increasing drug-abuse and a retreat into a world of dreams and self-centered gratifications, such a course of events is alien and difficult to understand, because the normal elan vital of the onlooker provokes a severe anxiety reaction, while the victim slips unresistingly into a coma. It is impossible for the observer to know, what the autistic drug-user is experiencing, because his own reality perceptions have become too different from those of the drug-user. Similar mechanisms may play a role in the abnormal mental functions of a victim of a serious mental illness.

Even, if the habit of drug-use can be temporarily interrupted and the physical effects of a drug-dependence have been overcome, the realities of life, the unsatisfactory ego-image, the legacy of a dismal personal history, as well as the low resistance to stress, require an extra-ordinary effort from an essentially weak and diseased personality. These obstacles will seem insurmounable to such an essentially weak personality, and, sooner or later, the individual comes to the conclusion, that the results are not worth the effort and he or she relapses into a euphoric world of drug-abuse.

We may also point-out, here, that, those people, who are obsessed with living totally and exclusively in the world of reality, are, usually, healthy, vigorous and confident people, but, they are nevertheless somewhat frightened about this strange world of fantasies and dreams. Those, who become frightened or disturbed by the world of fantasy, suffer from hidden fears and anxieties, and, they tend to suppress the normal tendency to fantasize within reasonable limits.

A rigid rejection of the world of fantasy prevents us from understanding, fully, the range and scope of our feelings and motivations, and such a rigid attitude should be discouraged, just as we should frown-upon an attitude of indulgence in the world of fantasy.

It is important to acknowledge, that a measure of fantasizing is just as natural and important as the functions of rational thought. There may, actually, be a striking parallel between the mechanisms of thinking and dreaming. If we recall the ideas we have discussed about the way we think, we see, how thoughts can be characterised as an inter-play between imagined perceptions and imagined reactions, which are carried-out "in between" the reception of a sense impression and the execution of a behavioural response.

By evaluating and weighing, carefully, the meaning of our past experiences, as well as the input from the present, we try to formulate a variety of possible or potential behavioural responses. These hypothetical behavioural responses are "played-out" in our imagination, and, each imaginary result is evaluated, once again, for its possible consequences. The imagined results of our imaginary responses are used to construct an new series of hypothetical responses, each with their particular consequences, etc.

There are many different forms of thought-progression, depending on the level of control we excercise over a sequence of mental images. We may be controling our thoughts very carefully, whenever we apply a well-developed sense of logic to an equally well-defined and sharply focussed problem or situation, or, we may let our thoughts wander more freely through a maze of loose associations.

In the world of fantasy, we do the same thing. However, we act and play different roles, and, the imaginary events and results are not controled by a strict framework of logical relationships and checks against the external reality, but, they are guided by the hidden and partly overt motivations and needs of our personality. Behaviour-patterns that are not possible in reality because of desires that can not be fulfilled, are acted-out in a rosy light of favourable circumstances and desired results.

I like to emphasise, here, that there is no sharp border between thinking and fantasising. It is a matter of emphasising a different aspect or a differing set of criteria, whenever we look at the differences between thinking and fantasizing. In coherent thought, we make a deliberate effort to keep our emotions under control, as we function in the emotionally more or less neutral zone, evaluating our sense impressions and scanning the potential results of our behavioural options. Even, if the stakes are high, we attempt to stay in a zone of emotional neutrality, because we know, that, as a rule, we obtain, then, the most satisfactory results from our thought processes.

In day-dreaming or fantasizing, we do not use our mental images as a "play ground" to excercise or determine the most appropriate behavioural response in relation to the realities we are faced with, but, we use the mental imagery as a method to relieve frustrations and feelings of depression. We give a free reign to our imaginary actions, achievements, plans and desires, because we try to lose the bitter taste of failures and depressive moods, which stems from our contacts with the real world.

In a healthy and productive form of fantasizing, we are helped to acknowledge, digest and accept our failures, anxieties and short-comings, and, these activities will make us a more mature, understanding and gentler personality. In the diseased forms of fantasizing that are associated with drug-addition and certain mental illnesses, the contacts with the world of reality become ever more strained and less manageable, in stead of better and more mature, and, in this increasing loss of contact with the world of our reality perceptions and interpretations, we sow the seeds of our miseries, death and decay.

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Summary

1. The sea of awarenesses.
   Moments of reflection.
   The need to become aware of our awarenesses.
   The utilitarian aspects of our sense impressions and beliefs.
   An outline of the mechanisms of comprehension.
   Awareness of the "input-side" of behaviour.
   A review of animal life-forms.
   The ability to move, and the loss of the ability to synthesise food-stuffs from inorganic building-blocks.
   Positive and negative stimuli.
   Predation, parasitism and symbiosis.
   Mechanisms to distinguish between positive and negative stimuli.
   The unity of form and function.
   The slow fluidity of a blind search for possibilities to exist.
   The catastrophe, and a defense in multitudes.
   The development of what is needed.
   
   
   
2. Mechanisms of natural selection.
   A variety of environmental pressures.
   Random and selective pressures upon the ability to exist.
   Tracing the essential features of human existence from the principles of natural selection.
   Missing links.
   A number of break-throughs.
   The symbiosis of cells within a multi-cellular organism, and the competitive behaviour of multi-cellular units.
   The development of the sensory apparatus.
   An emphasis on significance in the evaluation of stimuli.
   The constant need to repair damage of one sort or another.
   Dissipating an energy-gradient in a flow of energy.
   The genetic code, seen as a sequential organiser of biochemical events.
   The super-imposition of "learned" behaviour.
   The attenuation of a response because of the mechanisms of "exhaustion".
   
   
   
3. The "conditioned reflex"; a review.
   The foundation for all learning and behavioural modifications during the life-span of an individual organism.
   Shifting patterns of significance.
   The need to be "finely in tune" with the situation "as is".
   The criteria of need and usefulness.
   The need for individual behaviour-patterns to secure the continuation of the species as a whole.
   The concept, that all human behaviour, including awarenesses and beliefs, are behavioural tools, designed to construct a viable response to the demands of the moment.
   The three break-throughs upon which human behaviour is based; behavioural flexibility, social integration, and the ability of voluntary image-recall.
   A review of these developments.
   The problems of a "slowed-down" genetic turn-over in the larger and more complex animals.
   The radiation of life into numerous, highly varied, ecological circumstances; genetic isolation.
   Rapidly fluctuating circumstances, and the slowness of the methods of genetic encoding.
   Behavioural modification on the basis of personal epxeriences and the imitation of parental behaviour.
   Communicating by emotional synchronisation.
   The non-genetic method of transferring viable behaviour-patterns.
   The early evolutionary experiments with behavioural flexibility, secondary socialisation, and image-recall are still visible in the human species, today.
   The break-through of socially integrated behaviour, seen as an analogy to the symbiosis of the multi-cellular community.
   Similarities and differences.
   The emergence of contrasting and contradictory behaviour-patterns because of varying criteria of viability.
   When natural selection starts to "work" at the level of social groupings, rather than individual existence.
   
   
   
4. Collective rather than individual survival; a trend that has been well-established before the emergence of the human species.
   The trend towards gigantism in the search for viability.
   Potentially fatal flaws in the behavioural instructions of the human species.
   Reasons, why evolutionary interpretations seem to be contradicted by the evidence of our naked senses.
   Evolutionary ideas have an overwhelming support of circumstantial evidence, verifiable for anyone who cares to make the effort, but "proof" is difficult, and the conceptual structures are complex.
   Numerous blind alleys.
   Evolution takes place in spurts.
   The living conditions of our ancestors; the anthropoids.
   Fierce competition and the survival of Homo Sapiens as the only living species of the anthropoids of the plains.
   Some anthropoids survived because of their withdrawal from competition with Homo Sapiens.
   Agility, intelligence, clever opportunism, and a flexible armamentarium of discardable weapons.
   Social behaviour in small groups, and the experiment with image-recall.
   
   
   
5. Survival in coordination.
   A shift away from purely egocentric concerns.
   The art of anticipating correctly.
   The emergence of cerebral classification mechanisms.
   Mechanisms of recognition.
   Cerebral generalisations, abstractions and classifications.
   The sharpness of the focus of recognition.
   The act of mimicry and imitation.
   Memory-recall in relative safety.
   Constant refinements in the sharpness of mental images.
   The naming or labeling of awarenesses.
   The need for a rapid symbolic form of communication.
   Hieroglyphics and road-signs.
   Parallels between cerebral and mental classification systems.
   The basis for logical thinking.
   Explanations and beliefs.
   Levels of abstraction and generalisation.
   
   
   
6. Pre-programmed behavioural responses; emotions.
   Rationality and emotional neutrality.
   Errors in interpretation; mistakes, as well as deliberate or subconscious deceptions and self-deceptions.
   A review of the meaning of our sense impressions.
   The enlargement of the area of concern, and, an increased variability of meaning and interpretation for our sense impressions.
   The ambivalence of meaning, and the wide range of motivations.
   Awareness of non-significant stimuli.
   The elan vital, and the channels necessary to guide the dissipation of surplus energies.
   The phenomenon of curiosity.
   Emotional neutrality, and a somewhat confusing mixture of slightly positive and negative stimuli.
   Shifting fields of vision.
   The risks of exploratory or curious behaviour-patterns.
   The fragility of rational behaviour.
   
   
   
7. Varying the distance between subject and object.
   Variations in the angle of vision, and the field of awarenesses.
   Varying objectives.
   The sequential analysis of a complex phenomenon.
   Reality perceptions, seen as a smoothly varying kaleidoscope.
   The unending road of finer details and discriminations.
   Criteria of relevance, determining the degree of detail and the broadness in scope.
   Varying levels of relevance, resulting from specialisations in function.
   Difficulties with communications.
   The fading certainty of beliefs in the larger societies.
   The relationships between reality perceptions, and a reality "as it really exists".
   The existential need for certainty.
   Mood, seen as a filter in the evaluation of sense impressions.
   Difficulties, when trying to anticipate events.
   Existential entanglements.
   
   
   
8. A brief review of what has been discussed, and a short summary of topics still to be reviewed.
   A review of the cerebral generalisation processes, as well as the mental classification of verbalisable awarenesses.
   Varying levels of precision in the meaning of our concepts; reasons.
   The artificial and agreed-upon "purity of meaning" of mathematical symbols.
   Life can not be reduced to mathematical symbols and equations.
   The nature of our most common concepts.
   Precision of meaning is entirely a function of agreement; a "convention".
   The usefulness of a deliberate vagueness in meaning.
   The evolution of concepts and ideas.
   The deliberate vagueness of sacred symbols.
   The role and usefulness of unquestionability.
   Sanctification and authority.
   Verbal communications, seen as the tip of an ice-berg.
   Intuitive and emotional factors determine the overall meaning of a communication.
   
   
   
9. Verbal and non-verbal communications.
   The bewilderment of the logical debater.
   A slowly emerging awareness of subconscious mechanisms.
   A tool to understand the subconscious.
   The limitations of voluntary recall.
   The need for proper scanning procedures in order to "access" our memory-banks efficiently.
   The internal logic of what we want to say, seen as the organising principle in forming sentences, or "speech".
   The "deja vue" experience.
   Mechanisms of the "emotional ground-tone", or "colour", of our personality.
   A reminder of the biological nature of our reality perceptions.
   The effects of a "traumatic" experience.
   The mechanisms of suppression and digestion.
   Feeling our way, "intuitively", towards a solution.
   Intuition can be emotionally more or less neutral.
   The "action-side" of our behaviour.
   Elaborate goal-structures and belief-structures.
   Goals of the young and old.
   Errors and deliberate distortions in the perception of reality.
   
   
   
10. The crumbling of a belief structure.
    Anxiety, due to a loss of guiding principles.
    Scrutiny, and the opening of Pandorra's box.
    Discrepancies between beliefs and experiences.
    The reasons for collective hypocritical behaviour.
    Beliefs and prejudices.
    The poor awareness of an incoherence in belief structures.
    Elitism and prejudice.
    Emotional neutrality and emotional experiences of dissatisfaction.
    There is no absolute validity for any particular reality perception.
    Criteria of careful scrutiny and thought.
    The egocentric orientation of most of our beliefs.
    Why a relativistic perception of reality should have relevance and validity for people all over the world.
    The price of rigidity in beliefs, and the price of too rapid an adaptation in matters of Faith.
    Discarding, quickly, a series of emotionally neutral observations and conclusions, while maintaining a steady and constant method for emotionally neutral scrutiny.
    The difficulties with broadening the scope of our vision.
    A positive or negative bias in perceptions.
    All reality distortions interfere with the quality of our grasp over reality.
    A few examples to show the importance of good classifying mechanisms and an accurate identification of our sense impressions.
    
    
    
11. The motions of the "heavenly bodies".
    The influence of perceptions upon our religious beliefs.
    The earth as a reference system for all our "prima facie" observations.
    Sophisticated observations and arguments led to a completely different interpretation of the apparent motions of heavenly bodies.
    The earth as a sphere, rather than a flat object.
    The existential insignificance of errors in interpretation, applying equally to all organisms.
    The existential significance of a distortion in the perception of reality which is unevenly distributed throughout the realm of life.
    The importance of our modern reality interpretations.
    Accepting the biological and evolutionary nature of all concepts.
    The importance of obtaining long-term results, in contrast to the lure of short-term gains.
    The need for a careful analysis, self-discipline and a sober, long-term view of our objectives.
    The boundaries between errors in perception, self-deception and the loss of a viable grasp over reality.
    Honest and dishonest forms of persuasion.
    Leadership and the art of persuasion; varying interpretations.
    
    
    
12. The delusions and self-deceptions of modern, affluent societies.
    Advertising techniques in manufacturing and selling a generally acceptable imagery.
    A question of truth.
    Public expectations, and the barrage of propaganda.
    Commercial interests and their powers.
    Dangerous trends within affluent societies.
    The glib acceptance of corrupting influences as a sign of "basic human nature".
    Ignorance about the factors that secure social health, as well as those leading to social illness and decay.
    A review of the possibilities for rationality and behavioural "fine-tuning".
    The need to be confident and rewarded by the attitudes and practices of rational behaviour.
    The image of ourselves; as we are to ourselves, to outsiders, and, as we would like to be.
    Mood swings and widely fluctuating evaluations.
    The mechanisms of neurotic behaviour.
    Re-emphasising the absence of absolute criteria for judgeing truth and validity.
    Mechanisms of behaviour; presenting a "front".
    Compulsive behaviour and the appearance of modesty.
    The imposter as a psychopathic personality.
    
    
    
13. Two basic solutions for resolving the tensions between the ego- and super-ego image; a careful advance upon the ladder of real achievement.
    The hoax.
    A discussion of the psychopathic deceiver.
    Playing constantly a role; the gradual slide from deception to self-deception.
    Withdrawal into a world of fantasy.
    Increasing difficulties maintaining a position of viability in the "real world".
    The road of drug use and abuse.
    Death with hardly a ripple of resistance or regret.
    The normal, horrified reaction of the healthy onlooker.
    The balance between fantasy and reality.
    Aspects of normal fantasizing.
    The links between fantasizing and thinking.

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