Life, Lotto, Lawsuits and Steroids part 1
Tuesday
Aug 5, 2008
Catchy title huh? What do these things all have in common? They all have what people have come to call ‘the magic pill mentality’ as the backbone of the thought process. This foundation is rotten, and as such, any structure (thought) built upon it will also be questionable. Before we get ahead of ourselves let’s take a quick detour through the different parts of the brain, perceptual filters, Evolution and Freud’s concept structure of the mind.
Evolution moves at a very slow pace. During most of the course history humanity lived in tribal societies. I actually read some kind of outrageous statistic that said there has been more knowledge created and documented in the last 100 years then in all the thousands of years combined before it! I totally believe this. Growing up I found history to be a really boring topic but now I am fascinated it- so much of what our behavior and our cultures / customs are based on events are based on the past.
One thing I have always found super-interesting are nature shows like the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, National Geographic, etc. Animals are amazing creatures to watch and to see their behavior in their natural surroundings can be breathtaking. Since we evolved from animals (I am not going to get into debate over creationism), a lot of our behaviors can be found in creatures like apes, gorillas, chimps, etc. One extremely interesting theory proposed by Paul D. MacLean is that of the reptilian complex or R-Complex. This theory seeks to explain brain function through the evolution of existing structures of the human brain. The triune brain consists of:
1. The R-complex (also known as the “brainstem”),
2. The Limbic system and
3. The neo-cortex.
The R-complex is named for the most advanced part of the brain higher mammals share with reptiles. It is responsible for rage, xenophobia and basic survival fight-or-flight responses. Often, the R-Complex can override the more rational function of the brain and result in unpredictable, primitive behavior in even the most sentient of creatures, humans included. The reptilian complex is the most ancient part of a very successful brain scheme, evolutionarily speaking.
Now on to Freud’s structure model of the Psyche. This should be a really basic review for anyone who has taken Psyche 101. Dr. Freud proposed there are three parts of the so called ‘psychic apparatus’. These structures are known as the Id, the Ego & the Superego. Today, we are most concerned with the Id.
The Id is dominated by what is called the pleasure principle. Well what is the pleasure principle you ask? The pleasure principle is a psychoanalytical term coined by our friend Dr Freud that deals with the ability to withhold gratification vs. instant gratification. This concept is the fundamental tenet of behavior modification (reward / punishment and pleasure / pain). That is another article unto itself. Back to the Id we find that the Id is responsible our basic (read animal) drives such as food, sex, aggression, protection of our territory and dislike of others not like us. You can picture the Id as a permanent two year who wants what he wants, when he wants, and will not accept no for an answer. The Id is a part of the physce but also functions as a survival mechanism (much like most of our other hardwired behavioral patterns).
Perceptual filters are outside the scope of this article and will be discussed in a forthcoming article but I would still like to touch on it briefly. Our beliefs, values and experiences create almost an aura of how we interpret and perceive reality. It is the glass is half full vs. half empty mentality. Sinn once told me a quote that has always stuck with me. “The person who says they can and the person who says they cant are both right- which person are you?”
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