The Soul Illusion

Nature never deceives us; it is always we who deceive ourselves.

- Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Some otherwise competent individuals repeatedly and knowingly act counter to their own interests. They are not intending to hurt themselves; they are taken in by an illusion. The presumed, but bogus, premise of perception is that we see the world as it really is. In fact, we see the world through a biological apparatus that filters and interprets the sensory input it receives. Subjective reality is state dependent — that is, our perception is biased by our current psychological state.

Consider Mr. Ernest Hasselbring who appraises the wisdom of a first drink after a period of sobriety differently before it happens than afterwards. Before the lapse it seemed like a good idea; the next day it seemed like a bad idea. In each case he assumed that his appraisal was valid, and that he would always feel the same way [the Illusion of State Permanence}. As is the case with optical illusions, learning does not prevent him from being taken in again and again.

The soul illusion is implicated in Neurotic Disorders and Incentive Use Disorders

But this time I really mean it

After Hasselbring’s second DUI he regretfully reviews how his drinking has harmed his family.  He really means it at the moment when he makes his solemn vow to never have another drink.  Nevertheless, on a Friday night some weeks later he is in an angry state (his wife again) and wants to have some fun for a change.  Now he is a different Hasselbring than the fellow who vowed to quit drinking. The contrite state following his DUI evoked a subjective reality that is different from the positive anticipatory state he is now experiencing; what seemed obvious then seems ridiculous now. He made his vow of abstinence in one state, and will break it in another. Needless to say, Hasselbring will discover that violating his vow was a mistake, an insight which will motivate him to make an even stronger vow to quit drinking “and this time I really mean it.”  He really will mean it. But naturally everything will look different when he encounters a subsequent high-risk situation and his good intentions and cognitive resources are far away.

Perceptual Bias and Will

The Rodney Dangerfield of philosophical questions: When a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, is there a sound? It gets no respect, because it seems to be one of those pointless questions that has no answer. But there is an answer - an answer with profound spiritual and practical implications. The answer is: There is no sound!

When the tree falls, it produces a series of pressure waves in the surrounding air. The ear drum converts these waves into a mechanical signal which is transmitted by 3 small bones to the fluid filled cochlea - the spiral bony canal of the inner ear. Hair cells of the cochlea are the actual receptors. Each is tuned to a particular frequency of the fluid waves. Hair cell vibrations are converted to electrical impulses, and transmitted along the auditory nerve to the auditory cortex where intensity and frequency of the vibrations are mapped. Neither pressure waves, physical movements of body parts [bones, hair], nor electrical signals are sound. The experience of sound exists only in the mind of the perceiver.

Perception differs qualitatively from the physical properties of the stimulus. The nervous system extracts only certain information from the natural world. We perceive fluctuations of air pressure not as pressure waves but as sounds that we hear. We perceive electromagnetic waves of different frequency as colors that we see. We perceive chemical compounds dissolved in air or water as specific smells or tastes. In the words of neurologist Sir John Eccles: "I want you to realize that there exists no color in the natural world, and no sound - nothing of this kind; no textures, no patterns, no beauty, no scent."

Sounds, colors, and patterns appear to have an independent reality, yet are, in fact, constructed by the mind. All our experience is our mind's interpretation of the input it receives.

Objective Reality & Subjective Experience

Subjective reality is not the same as objective reality, although to function in the real world we must assume it is.  The soul illusion is the consequence of failing to appreciate the difference between objective reality and subjective experience.  In eastern philosophy we are viewed as trapped in "Maya.”  The entrapment comes from accepting the tacit premise of subjective experience, namely that we perceive the world as it really is, and so we will always perceive it as we do now..  

We are biological creatures whose perception is distorted by our current psychological state—perception is state-dependent.  The same event will look different when we view it from different perspectives.  When Hasselbring  is looking forward to his first drink after several months of sobriety, he is blind to the consequences he knows will follow.  Likewise, when he looks back on that same drink he cannot believe he could be so foolish to allow the relapse to occur. . . and then when he vows to never drink again, he will be blind to the true nature of this challenge and what it really takes to prevent relapse despite his painful education.

No matter how many times he repeats his sequence of vows and relapse, he never seems to learn. In real time he does not appreciate what will be all too obvious to him in hindsight. The distortions are always invisible to him, because his perceptual system itself is subject to the state-dependent bias. He will continually be taken in by the soul illusion until he escapes the mentality of childhood.

Consider your current situation: Your subjective reality, trance, or psychological state influences how you appraise the wisdom of a first lapse. The Soul Illusion results from the tacit premise that you will always perceive things as you do now. If this were true, there would be little risk of relapse and the challenge ahead would be trivial and demand little preparation. However, the tacit premise of perception is bogus and results in a fatal underestimate of the challenge that faces you.

The states of mind that motivate self destructive behavior are subjective and temporary, but the actions they influence play out in the objective world, and so are irreversible. This is a challenge worthy of respect. However, it is not insurmountable; you can master it by developing the skills and faculties to act as intended despite the influence of local stressors and temptations.

As the last sentence suggests, the exercise of will involves acting as intended, but acting as who intends? The I who intended to control incentive use is different than the entity that violated that intention. Which is the real I? Is there a real I? To answer these questions, we need a stable definition of the word, "I."

Two Minds > >
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