When a small group of white, well-to-do, middle aged men met
in Philadelphia in 1776 and declared “All men are
created equal” who did they have in mind? Perhaps only people like those
they could see in the room at the time. It was not until 1865 that slaves were
free under the law, 1870 that blacks gained the right to vote, and 1964 for civil
rights to be legally declared. In
1920 women finally got the
right to vote throughout the United States. The Equal Rights
Amendment, requiring only “Equality of rights under the law shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex”
never passed. Equality based on sexual orientation continues to be debated.
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| The Sun Appears to Rise Each Morning |
Overcoming obvious conclusions based on local perspective
has required centuries of work, and is still ongoing. Ever since humans first
saw the sun rise in the morning, move across the sky, and set in the evening,
the direct
evidence has been clear and obvious: the sun circles the earth each day. The
earth
is the center of the universe, because the Earth is here for me. These
ideas were challenged when Nicolaus Copernicus
carefully described a model which placed the Sun at the center of the universe.
His major theory was widely ignored or discredited after it was published in
1543. Continued work by Galileo,
and Isaac Newton slowly
overcame the objections
of the Pope, and our perspective on the universe expanded.
Continued improvements and careful use of the telescope have
helped to expand our perspective. Prior
to 1920 our own Milky Way
galaxy was thought to be the full extent of the universe. Billions of galaxies
have been observed since then, and now it is apparent that the universe
has no center. Many illusions had to be overcome in shifting from the
perspective of the earth as the center of the universe to understanding the
universe is so vast it has no center.
While the telescope was providing us an expanding
perspective on the extent of the universe, the microscope was helping discover
and explore the tiniest structures of the universe. In 1676, Antonie van
Leeuwenhoek reported the discovery of micro-organisms. Eventually the germ theory of
disease displaced the four
humors model and physicians became less likely to prescribe bloodletting.
The search for elements making up the universe expands our
perspective as we overcome more illusions. The Greek system of four classical elements
(Earth, Water, Air, Fire, and Aether) dates from approximately 450 BC and
persisted throughout the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, deeply
influencing European thought and culture. This simplistic yet obvious model was
eventually superseded as the chemical elements were
explored. The word atom, derived from the ancient
Greek word ἄτομος—meaning indivisible, cannot be cut—turned out to be a
misnomer. The inner structure of atoms was revealed as electrons, protons, and
neutrons were discovered. Even these subatomic particles
are now known to consist of various combinations of quarks. It seems that seeing is
no longer a reliable basis for believing.
Even our ancient religions are adopting a
broader perspective as they learn and adapt at their own deliberate pace.
Evidence of religious
belief and practice began when humans first intentionally marked burial
sites perhaps as long as 250,000 years ago. It is likely these prehistoric
religions encompassed only a very narrow perspective. The initial form of Stonehenge was completed
around 3100 BCE, and the oldest surviving Egyptian
Pyramid is commissioned around 2620 BCE but we still don’t know what
religious beliefs people might have had at that time. Did they think small as
they built big? The citizens of the Minoan Civilization
in Crete worshiped a variety of goddesses in 2200 BCE. In retrospect the beliefs
of ancient religions strike us as quaint, naïve, and perhaps a bit silly. How
will today’s religious beliefs endure the test of time and the scrutiny of a
truly global perspective?
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| What was Atlas Standing on? |
According to the Ussher chronology, Noah's Ark and the Great Flood wiped out all
previous civilizations in 2348 BCE, however, Asian cultures seem to know
nothing of this catastrophe, despite claims it was global. Reporting the flood
as a global event is an example of not seeing through the illusion that my world is the entire world. As pagan myths yielded to
more modern religions, the scope of each belief system expanded from village,
to empire, to today’s world-wide patchwork of sacred doctrine, each making
exclusive claims on revealed truth. However, this variety of religious dogma is
obviously inconsistent, and is slowly yielding to more universal beliefs. Belief
systems such as Unitarian
Universalism, Humanism,
various forms of irreligion,
and nontheism, and the charter for
compassion all work to transcend
dogma as they seek understanding from a global perspective. Only when our
basis for moral virtue transcends
religious dogma are we ready to see past our tribal illusions and adopt a
global perspective.
This process of expanding our perspective as we learn more
about the universe continues. What are the illusions we don’t yet see through?
Where are we failing to adopt a global perspective?
Our own ego
involvement creates perhaps the most pervasive illusion. The constant
perception that what I see, think, feel, and want is special—and perhaps all
that matters—leads to inherently selfish behaviors. Our own minds distort what we
see and how we see it to maintain the illusion that we are special. If we can
attain humility
we can begin to see through this illusion. Despite what we see every day, we
need to know the sun shines with equal brightness on each of us. It shines no
more brightly on you, and just as importantly, it shines on you as brightly as
others. Humility is the realization that although we are each very special, we
are nobody special. Learn to detach from your
ego and see through the many illusions it is creating.
Other illusions cause us to misattribute causes to effects.
These include false pattern recognition,
which cause to see patterns in random data and the fundamental
attribution error where we assign intent when none exists.
Our brains are excellent at recognizing
patterns. This is an essential skill for recognizing faces, reading,
recalling melodies, and other important daily tasks. A consequence of this
ability is the frequent illusion that a pattern is present when it is not. The common
experience of seeing meaningful patterns or connections in random or
meaningless data is called apophenia. A belief that events occur in groups of three is
one example. While favoring trios is harmless, people consume tremendous energy
chasing ghost sightings, conspiracy theories, mysticism, superstitions, and
gambling because they fail to see through the illusion and recognize that no
meaningful pattern exists.
We are prone to make attribution
errors that we soon regard as factual explanations. We often attribute an
action to the deliberate intent of some agent, often the ill will of some distrusted
outsider. This is called the fundamental attribution
error, or more recently correspondence
bias. One example is when we blame the bus driver for deliberately frustrating
us as it seems the bus is always late when we are early and the bus is early
when we are late. Actually, it is most likely that this is not about you, the
driver has not been thinking about you all morning, and the arrival times
simply reflect the random variations of the bus operations. It is a fallacy to
believe you can correctly guess a person's intent for behaving as they do.
Their actions may or may not be deliberate. Their actions may or may not be
directed at you. Their actions may have unintended consequences or may result
from an accident or chance. Learn to see through this illusion; it’s not about
you.
Illusions that cause us to mistake what we cannot change for something
we can are a common source of frustration. We spend too much time and waste too
much energy in futile attempts to change what we cannot change. It is a major
cause of frustration and other forms of anger. The rational evidence for
determining what we can change and what we cannot is overwhelming, but our
behavior often tries to defy this reason and logic. The disappointment of
trying so hard to change something that is immune to our efforts is wasteful,
as are the opportunities we miss when we are resigned to being unable to change
those things we can change. Understand
the true scope of the choices you can
make. Abandon the illusion that you can change those things you cannot change as
you shatter the illusion that you cannot change so many other things.
Many believe we can change
another person. In fact you cannot change another person; they will change
only if they decide to do so. We can be
helpful and influential to other people and this may result in their deciding to
change. Strive to see through the illusion that we can change other people who
don’t yet want to change.
Although we often confuse the two mental sensations, wanting and liking
are separate. This explains why longtime smokers often want, indeed feel they need, a cigarette yet gain no pleasure
from smoking it. We are prone to want, seek, acquire, and consume without
getting the level of long-term satisfaction we expected. Overcome your addictions. Work to increase
your impulse
control; earn that second
marshmallow. Don’t become consumed;
abandon opulence and strive to see through the illusion that to flourish you must instantly
get whatever you feel you want.
Work to see through the illusions created by slot machines, WrestleMania, infomercials, advertising, fear mongering, terrorism, gossip, conspiracy theories,
advocacy groups, charlatans, confidence tricks, Ponzi schemes, monkey traps, emotional
upset, impaired judgment, logical fallacies and mental distortions,
short-term focus, narrow focus, urban legends, superstitions,
archaic traditions, folklore,
myths, obsolete and unfounded
beliefs, fairy tales, and compelling but
false narratives
of all kinds and sophistication. Think about how you think, know how you know. Develop your own
robust theory of
knowledge and think for yourself. Become
open to
experience. Whenever the facts outgrow our worldview “The task then becomes
to set once-treasured worldviews
into larger more integrative worldviews.”[1]
Align and realign your worldview with all
that is. Strive to attain a global perspective.
No doubt we are often misled by even larger and more subtle
illusions. Based on his understanding of interconnections and energy flows throughout
the universe, Richard Trowbridge cautions: “To perceive the world in terms of
separate objects, or of anything that can be named or conceived is illusionary.”[2]
Similarly Alan Rayner tells
us: “...all form is flow-form, a mutual inclusion of tangible and intangible
presence, not one and/or the other alone. Whatever may appear to be solid from
a distance and in the short term is always revealed on closer and longer
acquaintance to be full of dynamically lined space”[3]
as he strives to convey the concept of natural inclusion as a way of seeing through
the pervasive illusion of abstract rationality.
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| It can be uncomfortable to abandon an Illusion |
With everything and everyone circulating within her tiny reach
our two-year-old granddaughter is certain
she is the center of the universe. We hope she learns to see through this
illusion as she matures and overcomes her ego involvement. Some people never
do. Many—perhaps most—get stuck somewhere short of attaining a comprehensive
awareness by egotistically sealing themselves or their club off from their
natural neighborhood. What illusions are you failing to see? How are they
limiting your understanding? How broad is your perspective? How accurate and complete
is your worldview? “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a
child, I thought as a child” the sage tells us “but when I became a man I put
away childish things.”[4]
It is time to abandon kid logic, and see past the many illusions that continue to
mislead us as adults. Strive to attain a global perspective; then see through
that too.
[1] The Flourishing Earth, A Vision of Humans
Who Are Wise, Richard Hawley Trowbridge, January 13, 2013, Page 44.
[2] The Flourishing Earth, A Vision of Humans
Who Are Wise, Richard Hawley Trowbridge, January 13, 2013, Prolog.
[3] His
ideas on Natural Inclusion are shared at www.inclusionality.org
and in his recent book NaturesScope –
Unlocking Our Natural Empathy and Creativity.
[4] Christian
Bible, Corinthians 13. Translations vary.
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