RE: Do you control what you believe?
October 23, 2012 at 10:42 pm
(This post was last modified: October 23, 2012 at 10:44 pm by Whateverist.)
(October 23, 2012 at 8:20 pm)Darkstar Wrote:(October 23, 2012 at 8:16 pm)festive1 Wrote: Ah, but one can train their mind to override these natural responses... Just look at training for special military forces, or behavioral therapy to treat anxiety.
Many of them, yes. But can you get your body to release certain hormones on command, or stop your reflexes? Anything that is voluntaary can be controlled by the conscious mind. I am only referring to the involuntary.
Not addressed to me but I'm not one to stand on ceremony.
That addresses the "could it" question. Let's say you're right. If it is possible, then "should we" try? Do we always know what's best consciously? There is a lot of anecdotal evidence of people resolving problems in their dreams, such as the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA. I think important decisions demand focused, conscious effort. But when it comes to the sheer number of presuppositions and decisions necessary to to perform complex tasks, it is questionable whether you really want to try and make all of these consciously.
A happy working relationship between the conscious mind and the subconscious pays big dividends functionally. Take forgetting. What to forget happens below the threshold of consciousness, but would we really want to decide consciously what to keep and what to get rid of? Can you imagine if you had to do that deliberately the way you manage your computer's memory? You'd be very busy. If such functions didn't happen subliminally we would have no time for life's big decisions.
Even if we could take total control of our brain's many functions, it is questionable whether that would be a life worth living or whether you could actually perform as well within the limits of the conscious mind as you're able to from the totality of your mind.
