The recent Atheist meeting in Melbourne brought up quite a lot of conversation and controversy. Interestingly many articles in the opinion columns of newspapers weren't theists attacking atheists... but atheists attacking atheists.
Atheist attacking atheists? This usually happens very often but is, perhap surprisingly, not as complex an issue as it might appear.
On the surface it is quite straight forward, there are two camps of atheists: militant atheists and hippy atheists. Of course neither group would approve of being called either of those terms because those are the names the oposing group calls the other. Which I use here because it actually tells you exactly where the disagreement is coming from:
Militant atheists consider the threat from theists to be so serious that one should guard against them and work to actively thwart their expansion at every opportunity otherwise they could seize control of the country and unleash a reign of terror.
Hippy atheists consider theists to be generally very little threat and believe that that through better education the theists will disappear like an aspirin in water.
In other words: the argument is about "how dangerous are religious people?"
This is a very interesting question... when I think of all of the theists I know I am forced to say well... most of them are really harmless. Even the ones in the clergy are hardly extreme or authoritarian.
When I think of the theists in Iran, a country I know a great deal about, I'm forced to say that they are extremely dangerous to human wellbeing, dignity and world peace.
When I think about the theists in history I'm just going to repeat what I said about Iran.
So... I would consider myself in the militant atheist group because even though I know dozens, if not hundreds of theists who are gentle, wise, kind and just... those are all people from my culture. A culture that emphasises equality, respect, kindness, compassion, fairness and freedom of speech ahead of religious dogma. Theists from outside my culture are just pure destruction (spiritually, academically and physically) in human form.
So... I'm actually also quite sympathetic with the hippy atheists as well because all they have to do is say, "Look around you, do you see any evil theists?" well, while there are lots of annoying and bad theists in Australia, the evil theists are nonetheless so rare I can see why they wouldn't consider them a threat.
But here's the thing... I used to be a hippy atheist...
September 11, End of Faith and the events in Iran over the last 31 years have all convinced me to go militant.
But at the end of that day, this whole disagreement between two groups of atheists doesn't upset me at all. Simply because atheists don't kill, maim, rape or destroy in the name of atheism and these two groups of atheists are never going to exchange more then heated words with each other and well... that is the society we want after all: where everyone is free to voice their opinion without fear of being brutally silenced.
I believe that if a theist group attempted to seize power in Australia then all of the hippy atheists would jump to the militant atheist camp. I also believe that once theism is routed the militant theists will start pouring into the hippy theist camp en masse.
27 March, 2010
09 March, 2010
Transference: The Good, The Bad and The Spiritual
One of the most exciting developments in neuroscience recently has been the discovery of mirror neurons. Admittedly, our level of understanding of what these neurons actually do it mostly speculative. But such speculation is greatly intriging for those who are interested in the Philosophy of Mind. But for me personally, I believe that these brain circuits are an essential component in explaining where spirituality comes from.
I'm particularly interested in how these concepts might explain the psychological phenomenon called 'transference' which has many definitions. My personal definition is: "the transferal from one person to another of their emotions, complexes and experiences to another person." That might sound suspiciuously like telepathy. Well in a sense it is, but it isn't supernatural, it happens every day and is one of the wonders of being a human being.
Today I'm going to highlight three experiences I've had with transference and hopefully convince some people that this is a worthwhile thought experiment to investigate.
The Good:
The other week I was feeling deeply insecure and afraid. I have a series of maxims and comforting words I tell myself when I feel like this to soothe myself like soothing a distressed child. I find that when there is just one crisis in my life I am easily able to soothe my troubled heart... but when there are multiple crises after I have soothed one another one needs my attention and then the next and so on until I'm too tired to hold back the deluge of misery.
It is in times like this that a like spirit can offer considerable psychological aid. When you walk down the street and you see someone laughing or smiling and it makes you laugh or smile this is transference. It isn't usually that intense with a stranger... but with someone whom you understand well it can be quite intense. If they are willing and courageous enough to take the risk to open themselves up to transference.
The other day a like spirit shared with me some of her peace of mind(/heart?) which helped me enormously to regain my peace of mind. It was a beautiful gift because when someone opens themselves up for transference like this there is always the risk that they will take on your anxieties, worries and complexes... which would be a borrowing someone's car and then returning it covered in mud and no petrol.
The thing with transference is that the better you know someone the better it works... although the experience isn't always such a pleasant one of peace and love shared with a like spirit. It can actually be quite disturbing.
The Bad:
Two days ago I experienced a violent assault on my psyche. I was being beaten up emotionally with the intention of overpowering me through my sympathies and guilt. In short I had the peace of mind and power to soothe that another person wanted so they sought to take these from me by using guilt, they intented to coerce me to give them care and love at my own psychological expense. They were basically throwing their emotional turmoil at me to make it my problem too with the hope that I could drag them up when I dealt with their issues for them. Of course, I have enough issues right now and the resulting conflict only dragged me down into their pit of woe, despair and anguish with them.
The whole ordeal left me feeling angry, miserable, exhausted and deeply conflicted. Even as I write this I'm still tense and uncomfortable. As I mentioned earlier, when I'm upset I have a repertoire of maxims which I use to soothe and calm myself down... but these had been usurped by the traumas and complexes of the other person who had thrown them at me. This were unfamiliar problems for me... I just don't have these insecurities and so I find that my maxims are just inadequate to deal with them. I find myself stewing over these kinds of unsettling transferences for days as I have to mull over and wrench each issue from my mind to restore my inner peace. Just as a friend was able to transmit some of her inner peace to me this person was transmitting their inner chaos to me. Giving me fears and anxieties that I don't normal worry about.
I believe that there is an etiquet regarding these kinds of things and most of us learn it unconsciously during our lives: when retelling an emotional event to a person don't be intense and theatrical! If a person tells you a story calmly versus if they were to tell it intensely it has a very different affect on the listener. Poets and story tellers have been using this technique for thousands of years to draw their audience into the story. So when someone is always being melodramatic whenever they relate a story be wary that they could be trying to overwhelm you emotionally and use to for manipulative purposes.
Simply put, a person who plays up their emotions is subconciously saying "listen to me, my emotions are important" which is ok if they are considerate with what emotions they choose to share such as joy, wonder, awe and peace of mind. But when they won't let you have the space and time to share your emotions with them they are saying, "listen to me, my emotion are more important than yours!" This is psychological abuse and it is harmful.
The Spiritual:
Since my father's death I've been dealing with the unfortunate circumstances of his departing. He only just started to open up to me but in the 45 minutes we had alone together in his final days we had only just started to redefine our rocky relationship. There were a lot matters left undiscussed, unresolved and unsaid.
Fortunately for me I have a psychological memory of my father. Not just memories of his existence by a 'living' memory of his fears, feelings, complexes and attitudes. In a sense part of him still lives inside of me. This is only possible via tranference because it has allowed me to keep part of my father alive passed his death. I actually have an extensive 'library' of people, friends and relatives that I've built up throughout my life.
I suppose that I am perceived as quite an intense person for this reason: When I meet new friends I'm eager to 'get inside' their minds and figure them out. I greedily devour my every moment with them taking in their thoughts, feelings, reflections and mannerisms. I like to cultivate an environment of peace and total security if I can manage it for them because it helps them to share with me these precious parts of their psyche. I find this experience very rewarding because it helps me to form new maxims and enhance my own psychological resilience to trauma... also it gives me new interests and hobbies which increase my interest and enjoyment of life. It also provides me with endless challenges and creative inspiration. Although recently I've also come to realise that it comforts me when they are gone... either because they have died or because they don't want to be my friend anymore. When I'm writing stories I like to take elements from people I know and blend them into new personalities to write into my stories.
But sometimes when I'm feeling intense sadness, joy or awe my ability to readily accept transference starts to behave in rather unusual ways. For example, it stops applying just to other people but to things. Take a drop of water for example. The molecules of water cling to each other but not to other things. The molecules themselves actually have a very complicated atomic relationship with each other and during these intensely emotional moments just observing a drop of water can feel sublime. It is as though all the rules and laws of the world I've learned to live and interact in have been forgotten and this drop of water is the one law that explains the universe and everything within it. The great mass of humanity is suddenly percieved as a great psychological pool of water and we're all interconnected to each other in complex and unconcious ways. It is usually a very moving and visual experience with little linguistic content.
In a sense, to borrow a Neitzche idea, while we peer out into the universe around us, through transference, the universe is able to peer into us. I'm not going to make any grand claims that this is where we come in contact with the fabric of reality because I just can't see how human beings could ever know reality. But there is a peace in this state of mind that dulls the fear of death and this is certainly worthy of investigation by thought experiment.
I'm particularly interested in how these concepts might explain the psychological phenomenon called 'transference' which has many definitions. My personal definition is: "the transferal from one person to another of their emotions, complexes and experiences to another person." That might sound suspiciuously like telepathy. Well in a sense it is, but it isn't supernatural, it happens every day and is one of the wonders of being a human being.
Today I'm going to highlight three experiences I've had with transference and hopefully convince some people that this is a worthwhile thought experiment to investigate.
The Good:
The other week I was feeling deeply insecure and afraid. I have a series of maxims and comforting words I tell myself when I feel like this to soothe myself like soothing a distressed child. I find that when there is just one crisis in my life I am easily able to soothe my troubled heart... but when there are multiple crises after I have soothed one another one needs my attention and then the next and so on until I'm too tired to hold back the deluge of misery.
It is in times like this that a like spirit can offer considerable psychological aid. When you walk down the street and you see someone laughing or smiling and it makes you laugh or smile this is transference. It isn't usually that intense with a stranger... but with someone whom you understand well it can be quite intense. If they are willing and courageous enough to take the risk to open themselves up to transference.
The other day a like spirit shared with me some of her peace of mind(/heart?) which helped me enormously to regain my peace of mind. It was a beautiful gift because when someone opens themselves up for transference like this there is always the risk that they will take on your anxieties, worries and complexes... which would be a borrowing someone's car and then returning it covered in mud and no petrol.
The thing with transference is that the better you know someone the better it works... although the experience isn't always such a pleasant one of peace and love shared with a like spirit. It can actually be quite disturbing.
The Bad:
Two days ago I experienced a violent assault on my psyche. I was being beaten up emotionally with the intention of overpowering me through my sympathies and guilt. In short I had the peace of mind and power to soothe that another person wanted so they sought to take these from me by using guilt, they intented to coerce me to give them care and love at my own psychological expense. They were basically throwing their emotional turmoil at me to make it my problem too with the hope that I could drag them up when I dealt with their issues for them. Of course, I have enough issues right now and the resulting conflict only dragged me down into their pit of woe, despair and anguish with them.
The whole ordeal left me feeling angry, miserable, exhausted and deeply conflicted. Even as I write this I'm still tense and uncomfortable. As I mentioned earlier, when I'm upset I have a repertoire of maxims which I use to soothe and calm myself down... but these had been usurped by the traumas and complexes of the other person who had thrown them at me. This were unfamiliar problems for me... I just don't have these insecurities and so I find that my maxims are just inadequate to deal with them. I find myself stewing over these kinds of unsettling transferences for days as I have to mull over and wrench each issue from my mind to restore my inner peace. Just as a friend was able to transmit some of her inner peace to me this person was transmitting their inner chaos to me. Giving me fears and anxieties that I don't normal worry about.
I believe that there is an etiquet regarding these kinds of things and most of us learn it unconsciously during our lives: when retelling an emotional event to a person don't be intense and theatrical! If a person tells you a story calmly versus if they were to tell it intensely it has a very different affect on the listener. Poets and story tellers have been using this technique for thousands of years to draw their audience into the story. So when someone is always being melodramatic whenever they relate a story be wary that they could be trying to overwhelm you emotionally and use to for manipulative purposes.
Simply put, a person who plays up their emotions is subconciously saying "listen to me, my emotions are important" which is ok if they are considerate with what emotions they choose to share such as joy, wonder, awe and peace of mind. But when they won't let you have the space and time to share your emotions with them they are saying, "listen to me, my emotion are more important than yours!" This is psychological abuse and it is harmful.
The Spiritual:
Since my father's death I've been dealing with the unfortunate circumstances of his departing. He only just started to open up to me but in the 45 minutes we had alone together in his final days we had only just started to redefine our rocky relationship. There were a lot matters left undiscussed, unresolved and unsaid.
Fortunately for me I have a psychological memory of my father. Not just memories of his existence by a 'living' memory of his fears, feelings, complexes and attitudes. In a sense part of him still lives inside of me. This is only possible via tranference because it has allowed me to keep part of my father alive passed his death. I actually have an extensive 'library' of people, friends and relatives that I've built up throughout my life.
I suppose that I am perceived as quite an intense person for this reason: When I meet new friends I'm eager to 'get inside' their minds and figure them out. I greedily devour my every moment with them taking in their thoughts, feelings, reflections and mannerisms. I like to cultivate an environment of peace and total security if I can manage it for them because it helps them to share with me these precious parts of their psyche. I find this experience very rewarding because it helps me to form new maxims and enhance my own psychological resilience to trauma... also it gives me new interests and hobbies which increase my interest and enjoyment of life. It also provides me with endless challenges and creative inspiration. Although recently I've also come to realise that it comforts me when they are gone... either because they have died or because they don't want to be my friend anymore. When I'm writing stories I like to take elements from people I know and blend them into new personalities to write into my stories.
But sometimes when I'm feeling intense sadness, joy or awe my ability to readily accept transference starts to behave in rather unusual ways. For example, it stops applying just to other people but to things. Take a drop of water for example. The molecules of water cling to each other but not to other things. The molecules themselves actually have a very complicated atomic relationship with each other and during these intensely emotional moments just observing a drop of water can feel sublime. It is as though all the rules and laws of the world I've learned to live and interact in have been forgotten and this drop of water is the one law that explains the universe and everything within it. The great mass of humanity is suddenly percieved as a great psychological pool of water and we're all interconnected to each other in complex and unconcious ways. It is usually a very moving and visual experience with little linguistic content.
In a sense, to borrow a Neitzche idea, while we peer out into the universe around us, through transference, the universe is able to peer into us. I'm not going to make any grand claims that this is where we come in contact with the fabric of reality because I just can't see how human beings could ever know reality. But there is a peace in this state of mind that dulls the fear of death and this is certainly worthy of investigation by thought experiment.
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