One of the more ego-dampening things I have read is from E.O. Wilson's Consilience. Wilson writes about the brain, complexity, evolution, etc. but this is what I liked.
In talking about what the brain does automatically he says the when presented with a situation via the senses the brain processes information and first cathects memories that share to various degrees the same information (same room, same food, same words, etc.). It then constructs possible actions (say 'yes', 'no', just eat, etc.) and imagines the events that would follow these various actions. This process is automatic and almost always unavailable to our conscience. IOW, we don't preceive our brain doing this.
The brain then discerns which of the possible outcomes has the greatest value with re. to evolution of the species (community building, self-preservation, procreation, etc.) and we THEN experience a desire for the action that would bring about that outcome, i.e. we sense that we want to say 'yes' or 'no' or just eat, etc. And we do this with varying degrees of awareness. The greater the complexity, unfamiliarity, ambiguity of the situation the longer the process takes and the more aware we become of the process. The more difficult the 'decision' seems.
Now here's the kicker. Wilson says 1) this happens as automatically as the functioning of our other organs. 2) we experience the time it takes for the brain to accomplish this task, the time between perception of the situation and the discernment of the most evolutionarily positive action as "I am making a decision." But there is no "I" there acting on freewill and coming to some sort of rational, calculated decision. There is simply the brain doing what it has evolved to do--remembering, imagining, calculating/discerning, motivating the actor via desire. The perception of an independent actor is an illusion that arises in that time lapse while the brain is working.
It is, of course, happening with far greater complexity and speed than can be written/read about but the implications are very, very provocative.
In talking about what the brain does automatically he says the when presented with a situation via the senses the brain processes information and first cathects memories that share to various degrees the same information (same room, same food, same words, etc.). It then constructs possible actions (say 'yes', 'no', just eat, etc.) and imagines the events that would follow these various actions. This process is automatic and almost always unavailable to our conscience. IOW, we don't preceive our brain doing this.
The brain then discerns which of the possible outcomes has the greatest value with re. to evolution of the species (community building, self-preservation, procreation, etc.) and we THEN experience a desire for the action that would bring about that outcome, i.e. we sense that we want to say 'yes' or 'no' or just eat, etc. And we do this with varying degrees of awareness. The greater the complexity, unfamiliarity, ambiguity of the situation the longer the process takes and the more aware we become of the process. The more difficult the 'decision' seems.
Now here's the kicker. Wilson says 1) this happens as automatically as the functioning of our other organs. 2) we experience the time it takes for the brain to accomplish this task, the time between perception of the situation and the discernment of the most evolutionarily positive action as "I am making a decision." But there is no "I" there acting on freewill and coming to some sort of rational, calculated decision. There is simply the brain doing what it has evolved to do--remembering, imagining, calculating/discerning, motivating the actor via desire. The perception of an independent actor is an illusion that arises in that time lapse while the brain is working.
It is, of course, happening with far greater complexity and speed than can be written/read about but the implications are very, very provocative.
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