future evolution - nuanced and thoughtful

mental modules

The story line in this article emerged from the unconscious. This is because the inner mental mechanism keeps churning and tying bits and pieces together. Immediate inputs from the sense organs are merged with the pros and cons of the facts and feelings held in memory. Patterns and agents are thus created and there is a reaction – fight, flight or freeze. These products of deliberation can then be rated using feedback on the extent to which they are ‘useful’ and ‘good’. 

Some of the mental churn gets into the conscious attention centre as past and present oriented ‘facts’ buoyed up by mood music rooted in feelings and emotions. But, as part of being conscious, the space between the stimulus and response opens up. This allows for more nuanced and thoughtful responses to stimuli as opposed to simple and thoughtless reactions. 

The capacity for nuanced and thoughtful responding has evolved and is still evolving. As human beings we are capable of thinking about our thinking and of noticing what we notice. We are capable of being conscious of our consciousness and therefore, potentially, capable of determining the course of our future evolution.

But, as yet, most of us are not truly capable of realising that potential. This is because most people hypothesise a pattern and agency that we call ‘self’ or ‘ego’. This is a mind-made, mental illusion and delusion. It is an aberrant hypothesis but it is widespread in the human population and must therefore have survival value. It can be useful without being true. And, in evolution, the concern is not with perfection but only with good enough to beat the competition. 

The key concept is ‘survival of the fittest’. And in our present context this involves having more copies in the next generation than your peers. Copies of what? Genes, mental modules, individuals (with thoughts and feelings), local groups (sub cultures), widespread groups (cultures), and planetary ecosystems.

in first gear only

The thoughts and feelings of most people in the world today are constrained by the self delusion. They are not making best use of their brains and minds. It is as if their body was a sports car and they never move it out of first gear. 

 

So is it possible to get beyond the self delusion? Yes. It is our birthright, it is in our genes. It is possible to be self-less and non-egoic. Those who have achieved that altered state of consciousness report wonderful things – joy, bliss, equanimity, compassion, creativity etc. 

Screwed up selfish and egoic thinking was good enough to get us where we are today as rampant, capitalist consumers with an enormous underbelly of exploitation, poverty and mis-use of the environment etc.

So where might we be tomorrow? If we really are to determine the course of our future evolution then there is need to greatly increase our capacity for nuanced and thoughtful responses to the problems that we face. 

Everyday meditation

Are we then to encourage the promotion of enlightened and non-egoic mental churn -presumably by tapping in to the distinctive knowledge skills and attitudes of meditative mystics? What alternatives are there?