Master of Spirituality - Lesson #5
The thinking process is as impossible to comprehend as it is to describe. What is agreed is that a constant stream of thoughts continuously enter consciousness but where they come from remains a mystery; however these thoughts are very powerful for determining actions, decisions, prejudices and values. It is thought that human-beings have multi-layers of consciousness most of which are out of sight and unconscious. However, from these hidden depths come many influences which drive us as people put there during childhood by parents, teachers and other influential people. The trusting child accepts these things as "truth" without questioning them but in doing so absorbs the prejudices, habits and phobias etc. of these who put them there. And it was against this kind of blind "acceptance" that Socrates became infamous and finally condemned to death by the Athenian authorities. Socrates was disillusioned with the physical enquiries of the natural philosophers which he held to be speculative rather than knowledge. These philosophers spoke as if they were there at the beginning of things yet they couldn't even agree amongst themselves besides which their theories were subject to constant revision. Socrates held that such knowledge was beyond the human ability to fully attain. And this makes good sense. Why? Because humanity is part of what it seeks to explain. Human-beings are not on the outside looking in, as it were, but on the inside looking out. Socrates dismissed such speculations as dogmatic and useless because no-one knew if they were true or not. (Before and After Socrates, by F.M. Cornford, p, 30). This is a sobering thought especially when we consider that much of what is learnt is set-down during childhood, imparted by people whose views are just as dogmatic and flawed. Socrates turned his attention in the opposite direction to "man" and the ends for which man lives which he concluded was happiness i.e. the "perfection of the soul." To this end Socrates debated with anyone who would listen questioning what they believed, why they believed it and how they knew what they believed to be true knowledge –the "good" being the ultimate perfection of the soul. Indeed Socrates is credited as having been the one who discovered the soul. Socrates wanted people to think for themselves rather than accept what other people told them no matter how noble it was. This is similar to Descartes who, in the pursuit of knowledge, resolved to reject everything he had ever been taught plus everything that came to him via his senses. It was having obtained this that he made his famous declaration: "I think therefore I am." For Socrates knowledge was insight into the value of what people desire. i.e. "virtue is knowledge" (particularly self-knowledge). According to him every individual should judge for him/herself what is good and then allow one's "inner-judge" to clarity it. We might call this inner-judge conscience, spirit or soul; the soul possessing perfect knowledge of what is good, true and trustworthy. What Socrates appears to be saying is that somethings in life can never be known while others things should be tested before being accepted as "knowledge." And each person must reach that point in their own time and in their own way. No-one should force their views on anyone else as they will inevitable be partial, culture-bound and/or incorrect. Yet we see exactly this every-day in many walks of life from newspaper headlines to TV and religious dogma – yet often what is stated is little more than opinion (and opinion is subjective rather than fact). Sure, there are some things I can know. I know when I'm hungry because my stomach tells me and I know when the kettle boils because I hear it switch off. But sometimes my eye tricks me into seeing what's not there and my ears fail to hear my name being called or the phone ringing. So, other than in a few areas of life I can know very little for certain and that goes for everyone else too. And I become acutely aware of this whenever I complete a course of study realising at the end just how little I really know and how impossible would be to learn anymore no matter how long a life-time lasted. Even an atheist cannot be sure that the belief he/she holds in there being no god is anything other than speculative. It's having an open mind and always being open to correction and new-learning that will lead to the kind of wisdom Socrates spoke about. The problem is people are resistant to change (especially changing their minds), while those holding the reins of power are just as reluctant to release them. We see this in the authorities' attitude towards Jesus; we see it also on the world stage every day of the week. Yet religious allegiance is often an accident of birth rather than to a choice made; as such one has little control over it. Yet despite this people often insist that "we're right and you're wrong" instead of taking an overview of the whole. For when viewed from another, more objective perspective, some beliefs may appear incredible or contradictory. And as Carl Jung once said: "Prejudice cripples and injures the full phenomenon of psychic life….people identify themselves almost exclusively with their consciousness, and imagine that they are only what they know about themselves. Yet anyone with even a smattering of psychology can see how limited this knowledge is. Rationalism and doctrinarism are the diseases of our time" (Memories, Dreams, Reflections by C. G. Jung, p, 330). The fact is humankind knows, really knows, very little and in my view will always be so. For example despite increased knowledge of the human brain science is still unable to define consciousness or decide if humans are conscious all the time, some of the time or not at all. The best it can do at the moment is tell us that the human brain weighs around one and a half kilograms and consists of over a billion neurons. These neurons together make many billions of interconnections (circuits) to enable perception, memory, consciousness, and language etc. When a person thinks, speaks, acts and moves etc. a host of chemical neurotransmitters act on synapses causing them to "fire" –which can be seen on an MRI scan. Nevertheless, the process of thinking is as much a mystery as God is a mystery who (in the Hebrew Scriptures) says: my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways. Directing those elusive thoughts towards God, and being open to correction, will direct the conscience towards true "knowledge" – and in matters of faith; trust and submission to God are essential for clarity if one is to attain the "perfection of the soul." Hopefully both the scientist and the theologian would be able to agree on that as a starting point and then move forward together.
Rog
24th January 2016
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