Difference between revisions of "Point Omega (summary)"

Revision as of 17:38, 29 July 2012

✰ <level 1>   This summary and the data it refers to consist of only scientific data, devoid of and often contrary to popular beliefs. Wishful thinking is eliminated wherever it is traced. All data presented are derived from scientific research and can be traced and checked by anybody interested. The novelty about it is in the unusual combination of facts and data from different disciplines, rendering an overall picture of the human condition with quite unexpected perspectives. The prediction of a Point Omega transition that can materialize in a relatively short period of time, results from simple and clean thinking. The only speculative part is the quantification of timing; when can it / will it happen ?

This summary consists of four parts.

1. The human species is peculiarly unable to think clearly about its own behaviour. Our intelligent capacities are effectively blocked regarding our personal and social functioning. It will be argued that this specific blindness, a blindness which started to develop some half million to two million years ago, is a prerequisite for the evolution of high intelligence (no matter how peculiar and contradictory this sounds). We will explore the consequences of this phenomenon, in the past as well as for the (near) future.
2. The second part is about how the dynamics of our emotions and motivations are organized. We will deal only with the most elementary of these motivational dynamics. I will present the basics of “Reversal Theory” (developed by Apter and Smith) and explain how this theory explains the basics of our learning process and why this is important to be aware of.
3. What controls our lives at present? Human autonomy is an illusion. Instead, highly impersonal power structures are in charge. This development started with the agricultural revolution, some 10.000 years ago. Since then we gradually ended up in a situation where humans only do have any value insofar as they are suitable carriers of “memes”, belonging to winning power structures. However, this millennia old state of affairs has become highly unstable lately, leading us to discussion item 4.
4. On the probability of a Point Omega transition, possibly within the near future.

Self Blindness and Social-role Blindness

✰ <level 1>   We can put a man on the moon, we can dive to the bottom of the deepest oceans, we have produced Hydrogen bombs, we can annihilate the whole of the human world population within one day, but we cannot think clearly in front of a mirror. How strange !

The human species is peculiarly unable to think clearly about its own behaviour. Our intelligent capacities are effectively blocked regarding our personal and social functioning. It can be argued that this specific blindness, a blindness which started to develop some half million to two million years ago, is a prerequisite for the evolution of high intelligence. Social and personal blindness is a prerequisite for the evolution of intelligence, any intelligence, beyond a certain level.

Social and personal blindness is culturally supported by massive and multidimensional organized ignorance and superstition. It can easily be shown experimentally that human beings are quite unawares of the way they socially interact and how their capacity to understand matters is effectively blocked to give ample space to primordial social reflexes.

The reason, why in such matters intellectual capacities are blocked in favor of original, primordial reflexes, is stemming from the functional conflict between proximal and ultimal causes of behaviour. I will explain why this is so, and what are its consequences. In short, it means that ultimal reasons for behaviour, the evolutionary usefulness of behaviour, are not the same as the short-term reasons why we behave like we do. We derive feelings of satisfaction from obeying emotional drives and instincts successfully, drinking, eating, sleeping, sex, exploration, etc. These instincts are organized in such a way that, ultimally, they serve procreational purposes.

Intelligence may / might be used to find – easier - shortcuts to short term satisfaction. However, such shortcuts are quite likely to outflank the collateral behavioural effects of those primordial instincts, collaterals that serve procreational purposes, for which reasons those instincts were evolutionarily selected for in the first place. Intelligence, applied on our own behaviour, therefore quickly leads to sterile behaviour, no matter how satisfactory from a personal emotional (very proximal) point of view. For that reason awareness blocks for the own behaviour had to develop, parallel to the development of superior intelligent capacities. Otherwise the latter never could have evolved further than a certain, not dangerous, level.

However, from an evolutionary point of view, it is also unavoidable that at some point in time the paradox of a high intelligence, paired to not understanding oneself, becomes technically too unstable to continue.

Point Omega (term of Teilhard de Chardin) is when the present system collapses, when collective ignorance cannot be maintained any longer and understanding of self and social relationships starts to spread like a prairie fire, releasing at the same time unparalleled amounts of energy, boosting in turn this process itself. It will function as a sort of chain reaction resulting in an explosion of awareness and clarity.

The presently ruling awareness blocks for one’s own behaviour, one’s emotions and motivations, imply that human beings are in particular blind to how they interact socially. For more on this phenomenon of “Social-Role Blindness” and for exploring some examples of how this works and what are its consequences for the present as well as for the future, click here(***) .

Some of the consequences of Self Blindness:
Present:

• Socially, we act like animals, especially where things matter very much.
• Nepotism
• Tribalism
• Fears continue and are not understood. Thus human beings are more easily locked up in neurotic systems permanently.

Implications for the future:

• Breaking awareness / intelligence blocks is of crucial importance.
• Awareness of the own personal motivations opens strategic moves for change and escape from neurotic imprisonment.
• This awareness and the breaking of the intelligence blocks is crucial antidote against the power structures in charge.

For more, click here: Social Role Blindness(***).

Reversal Theory of Emotions and Motivations

✰ <level 1>   Children learn and develop by playing. Almost everybody is aware of that. Children play for fun. They like to explore and to venture out. In between they seek - and generally find - cover, security and reassurance. Alternating between venturing out playfully and seeking cover and reassurance, they gather experience in optimal quantities and thus develop their skills and behavioural repertoire. Adults show less playful behaviour. They are "mature" and their behavioural repertoire is supposed to be fully grown. Still, human adults and also semi adults, show less playful exploration than what seems natural. It seems that large and by humanity lost its ability to learn by playing. The CEL (Cognition-Energy-Learning model)(*), based on Reversal Theory, explains how this works in detail and this Wiki elsewhere deals with the reasons why humanity lost most of its capacity to learn by playing in the natural way and what are the implications of this defect for the present human situation.

“Reversal Theory" (developed by Apter and Smith) explains the basics of our learning process. The basic principles are explained on a different page with graphs, pictures and examples. click: Reversal Theory(***)

Since these mechanisms of emotions and motivations are the very basis of our behaviour and thus of our very existence, consciousness of these mechanisms is of crucial importance. It is striking and highly peculiar, that awareness of these mechanisms has not always already been the normal state of affairs. Our cultures invariably have taken care of blinding us specifically for these basic aspects of our existence, utilizing and enhancing the already innate specific human blindness for the self, establishing and maintaining numerous structures to consolidate that blindness.

Becoming aware of the reversal mechanisms in our emotional organization is therefore a key to any attempt of mankind to (re)gain autonomy.

Once these basic mechanisms of collecting and digesting experience, and from there the dynamics of learning, are understood, it is much easier to optimize instructional and educational methods, helping to enlighten mankind. In fact, this very theory can render the tools to boost self-actualization processes on a massive scale. It enables people to effortlessly enhance and stimulate general developmental processes in one another.

Before diving into the details of Reversal Theory(***) it is good to realize that whereas the mechanics of the motivational reversals are basically very, very simple from a purely technical point of view, they are nevertheless very difficult to grasp for most people. This is because of clear evolutionary reasons, resulting in the unavoidable specific human blindness for oneself and for all mechanisms involved.

Impersonal power structures ruling our world

✰ <level 1>   Since the agricultural revolution, some 10.000 years ago, human evolution switched to another level and took a novel course. Evolution up to that point basically was an affair of competing gene structures, in humans just as in any other living creatures; the familiar Darwinian stuff. From that time on however, power structures (meme-structures) took over. This means that, essentially, meme-structures (term of Dawkins) started to compete more strongly with each other in a struggle for survival. The major evolutionary forces, working on mankind, from that time on also operated on the level of memes. The evolution of memes runs much faster than the evolution of genes. The classical evolution of genes is lagging behind, now responding to the requirements imposed by the evolving meme structures. As a consequence, the genes humans carry in their bodies, have become just subsidiary to those goals. We have to be suitable meme carriers in the first place. From being merely gene’s survival machines, we have become the pawns of power structures as well. From the time of the agricultural revolution, some 10.000 years ago, up till this moment, it has been in the interest of the power structures in charge to keep us humans in a perpetual state of neurosis and stress. Neuroticism renders a lower than optimal useful output, but this lower output per individual is more than compensated by increased pushing power and retaliation force of the meme structures in charge. Besides, the neurotic state also enhances controllability and malleability of masses, which is an important advantage for the power structures. The collective neurotic state is characterized among other things by a high average fear level and as a consequence over-dominance of the telic meta-motivational state (***), which in turn hampers healthy developmental processes in the individual. (For more details click here (***))

Because meme-selection occurs much faster than gene-selection, there is a time squeeze involved. We humans, as the only carriers of those meme-structures, find ourselves at the interface between the ancient gene-evolution and the novel meme-evolution. We humans therefore get the full load of that time squeeze, our gene-evolution lagging behind our meme-evolution, with all the internal and external frictions involved (see also here (**)).

An easy way to explain the human situation is by utilizing terms from computer technology. We human beings, with our intelligence and learning capacity, are the carriers of information, of memes. The suitability for that task is determined in the first place by our genes. The genes make our hardware so to speak. We are the PC’s. The memes we carry, are the software. We humans contain flesh and soul, hardware and software. We are subject to evolutionary forces on two levels, the old evolution of hardware and the new, much faster, evolution of software.

However, there are good reasons to assume that this state of mass neurosis and slavery regarding the power structures in control (**), has become highly unstable lately, leading us to issue number 4, Point Omega and mass enlightenment.

(To return to the Guided Tour click here (*).)

Point Omega / Mass enlightenment

✰ <level 1>   There are reasons why we can predict that the old scheme will collapse and enlightenment (once more) will spread (and this time will win for good).

Analysis of the usual state of affairs and the evolutionary selection mechanisms keeping us there, renders a number of insights (and reasons for optimism):

• The information explosion. Power structures derive much of their power from information gaps. Information privileges are breaking down these days. Also, unpopular power actions are increasingly more difficult to hide. Secrecy schemes are evaporating all over the world.
• Power structures derive great advantages from ignorance and superstition, making their meme carriers / subjects more malleable and manageable. The information explosion renders a strong democratization of information. Ignorance is therefore increasingly more difficult to induce and to maintain. Structures of superstition, like religions and such, are rapidly losing their stability and influence.
• Like neuroticism, self-actualization is very contagious. The communication explosion of this era reduces distances. Through the Internet all sorts of groups emerge with increasing ease. Self-actualizers, historically a small minority, therefore also can easier find their likes nowadays. Critical sizes of self-actualizing groups can therefore develop easier and can eventually trigger chain reactions of contagious self-actualization. That will undermine the usual thoughtless and massive subservience to power structures.
• Birth control is inducing more and more children being born wanted with parents who are ready to bring them up successfully in more harmonious situations. This increases the percentage of children growing up with sufficient basic security. This in turn increases the likelihood of self-actualization and thus of enlightenment.
• Two other genetic mechanisms will be discussed each of which is quickly losing its age-old function and evolutionary purpose. That way some cornerstones are taken out of the foundation of the power structures in charge.

• .. One of these is the effect of selection forces against self-will and creativity in any type of organization.

• .. Another one is the disastrous effect of genetic pollution wherever there is a relatively even distribution of wealth and reproductive capacities.

• Both of these primordial causes for periodic catastrophes and disaster always thwarted any attempt to establish schemes for larger scale self-actualization and made them inherently unstable in time. Scientific understanding of these genetic and social mechanisms can take also these stings out of human evolutionary existence, freeing the way for a stabilization of massive self-actualization and enlightenment.
• There are a number of threats for the (pleasant) survival of mankind that force more and more people to think over thoroughly the human condition and the options that we have. There is mass pollution, there is the nuclear capacity to destroy the human species large and by or completely, waging war is nearing more and more to potential massive self-destruction, etc. etc. These urgencies trigger more awareness about our own situation and our own functioning than has been usually the case, due to the innate blocks to be aware of and to think clearly about our own behaviour and our own (social) situation. Such increased awareness therefore sooner or later undermines the ultimate power of the meme structures in charge.
• Etc.

In order to compensate for the changes as mentioned above, the power structures in charge would need to step up selection forces to make their meme carriers even more reliable then before. That would mean: more blindness for the own behaviour than before, more neurotic and thus more malleable then before, less intelligent then before, etc. However, many of the changes as mentioned above, occur in such a rapidly increasing speed, that there simply is not enough time any more for the selection pressure to change the properties of us meme carriers quickly enough to secure the safety and evolutionary success of the meme-power-structures. The whole of the meme structures is rapidly slipping towards a point of no return, where the meme world will inescapably start to understand itself.

Whereas it is difficult to estimate what type of time schedule follows from the above insights, the conclusion is that in a not too far future the all pervading power of the meme structures in charge will be overruled and that the subsequent neurotic and subservient state of the human species will also end and be replaced by mass enlightenment, which has been mankind’s primordial potential to start with. The natural state of enlightenment is where we come from, be it without the awareness at that time of all our behavioural mechanisms, behavioural reflexes, that took us for a (rough) ride during the last 10.000 years, since the agricultural revolution. Becoming aware, and with our present day technological tool box, we finally can reclaim our long lost right to lead complete lives, and we can take the evolutionary lead ourselves. And besides, ................... we have no choice.

Speaking about mass enlightenment we should clarify one common misconception. We do not mean to claim that after passing Point Omega mankind will enter in a stable state of eternal "happiness". Happiness is a very relative concept. In the Canadian philosopher Tennesson's words: "happiness is for the pigs". We are designed to feel and become aware of differences. Steady states tend to slip out of conscious awareness. Feeling happy therefore refers to a change in mood. Thinking of it as a steady state to be sought after is therefore a delusion. What will be mankind's condition after point omega, as is the condition of present day enlightened persons, is a state in which the rather continuous emotional and motivational friction, caused and fueled by the functional discrepancies between P-Feelings and N-demands. As is discussed elsewhere in more detail, P-feelings, "Primordial" feelings, stem from our primordial evolutionary heritage, representing our most basic feelings, preferences and tendencies. N-demands, "New" demands, stem from the relatively recent, less than 10.000 years old, complex social power structures we live in since the agricultural revolution. After Point Omega we will not so much "feel" more happy, we will "only" be more happy from an objective point of view (which we do not feel). In particular, the functional friction and stress between the P-feelings and the N-demands will be reduced by a basic and thorough understanding of how it all works, an awareness that will take us humans "off the hook". That's all. Whereas it will not be felt so much, it is sufficiently worthwhile to rejoice! It will affect our real behaviour, not our subjective, delusionary perception of it.

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