The parallel to this is the show is Ford in the minds of Dolores (in season one) and Bernard (in season two). Both experience Ford as a distinct entity who offers contrasting opinions, perspectives, and at times, commands. Ultimately, the pair realize that Ford is actually their own internal thoughts- which is what Jaynes called the breakdown of bicameralism.
This is what the Maze in the show represents- the journey inward to finding the origin of the voice of thought. In my model, however, rather than the voice, the center of the Maze corresponds to the pure observer of consciousness (the man on the island from The Wisdom of Solomon). Additionally, my model of mind would consider the two halves of the mind as the Master and the Disciple, respective to the god-voices and the individual in Jaynes’ theory.
The Master is mental equivalent of our highest ideals (god, the authoritative father, the superego, and the judge). When we act in a way that is in disagreement with our ethics, the Master creates cognitive dissonance- judgement. I want to clarify that I am not advocating the existence of anything supernatural here, rather, I believe the tendency for man to externalize a monotheistic God is actually the ritualization of this internal phenomenon. Hence Matthew 7:1-3 (NASB),
“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”
Jaynes’ theory suggests that our initial state of consciousness would be to perceive such commands as an external experience, however, I would wager it’s far more likely (at least in modern times) that we simply don’t identify with this internal standard of judgement and order (the Master). Rather, we identify with the Disciple, which in this model represents our tendency to submit to an external source of authority and law. The religious impulse, then, is actually our initial predisposition to believe that we are somehow separate and lesser than the order-giving Master in the mind. Prayer is a ritual expression of the inner, one way communication from the Disciple to the silent Master. The cognitive dissonance of judgement is how the Master speaks to the Disciple- the ideal self measured against the actual.
Again, I’ll point to Ford and the two hosts in the show. Ford, in effect, functions as the god of the Westworld park- the Master. He (ostensibly) gives life to the hosts and shapes the landscape of the park at his whims. Additionally, he creates narratives and dictates the personalities and mannerisms of his creations. The hosts are simply acting as Disciples, according to Ford’s dictates. Then, however, Ford dies (as Nietzsche said, “God is dead,”), although he still lives through Dolores and Bernard- until they realize that what they previously thought of as god (the Master) was actually themselves the whole time.
What this means, in a larger sense, is that the rituals which externalize (exoteric religious practices and outward searches for spirituality and meaning) are no longer valid- the metaphor is unraveled, leaving only the quest to understand what it signified. We can analogize the Master and Disciple with the Father and the Son, as in John 10:30,
“I and the Father are one.”
What is meant to be realized here is that there is no separation between the Master and Disciple- the pursuit of the Master by the Disciple is the force that unifies the mind and creates metaconsciousness.
In another parallel, there is the guru/student relationship in yoga. As it is said, “when the student is ready, the Guru appears.” This could be taken externally, as an expression of some magic karmic forces, or understood to be what it truly means. When one is ready to learn and begin the journey from ignorance to Truth, one begins the unification of the opposites to create the non-dual, metaconscious Self- the realization that the Master and the Disciple are one and the same. From Matthew 6:22 (KJV),
“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”
(Interestingly enough, each of your eyes is connected to the opposite side of the brain- one for the Master and one for the Disciple.)
The plot of Westworld, in this sense, is another ritualization of our internal experience. All that is required is to see beyond the metaphor-
“If any man have ears to hear, let him hear!”
The Allegory of the Cave: In the Pursuit of Truth
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave has managed to remain relevant for well over two millennia. The story comes from the philosopher’s most famous book, Republic. In it, the philosopher contemplates the nature of our perceptions and the limits that are placed on them by our environment. Generally, commentary on the allegory discusses either epistemology (how we come to know things) or politics, but we’re going to take a different approach to the tale. The Cave, in my belief, represents the most fundamental question- how can we lead others to the Truth?
In the allegory, Plato proposes that there are a number of people chained to the wall of a darkened cave. These prisoners have been there from the moment of their birth, and they are constrained in such a fashion that they are unable to look anywhere other than directly ahead. Behind the wall, there is a fire which projects the shadows of figures. These shapes are held by people who are walking back and forth and chattering amongst themselves. It’s a bizarre puppet show, to be sure.
Plato concludes that, because the prisoners have never seen anything else, they will inevitably attribute the noises to these shadows and assume that the shadows are reality.
Now, imagine one of these prisoners is freed. He looks around and sees the fire, which hurts his eyes. Because he doesn’t know any better, he would be unable to believe that the fire is real. Plato believes that the pain of this would cause him to run immediately back into the prison he is accustomed to. He then suggests that someone comes to drag the prisoner out of the cave and into the light of day. At first, the man would be blinded by the light of the sun, although slowly his eyes adjust until he is able to look directly into the sun and think about what it is.
Having seen the world for what it truly is, Plato then postulates that the former prisoner now returns to free his brethren. Because his eyes had been adjusted to the sun, he is now blind in the darkness, and the other prisoners believe that he has been harmed by his leaving. Because of this, the other prisoners will kill him for trying to free them from their chains.
The allegory paints a bleak picture to be sure, although we have several real-life instances of this to compare it to. This allegory, more or less, explains why so many famous leaders end up getting murdered- the people crucified Jesus, shot Gandhi, and even Plato’s teacher, Socrates, was driven to drink hemlock. Almost universally, we strive to kill those who only seek to show us the Truth.
Let’s break the allegory down into its constituent parts. I will add that in this exegesis, I’m going to be using Plato’s allegory as a means to examine our world rather than to determine what Plato may or may not have meant.
We are the prisoners, and the chains that hold us are our innate ignorance of the true nature of the world. The shadows on the wall are our false views of the world that come from our lack of ability to question our state. The metaphor supposes that we are confined at the whims of those conducting the puppet show, but I believe that they, too must be operating under the influence of some other form of ignorance. I generally doubt that most people are motivated by pure malice, so presumably these are people that have a degree of knowledge about the outside world and are trying to convey it to the prisoners.
Who are the players in the puppet show in our world, then? There are many- priests, politicians, scientists, philosophers- anyone who seeks to show the ignorant the facts of the world. However, this approach is inherently flawed- the shadows are the ideologies created by these limited approximations of the Truth. The fact is that the prisoners are the only people capable of freeing themselves, and as a result, trying to show people what reality is will never be a sufficient replacement for the direct experience o
f reality.
This is why the people who attempt to free the prisoners of their ignorance are made to be martyrs- the pursuit of truth is inherently painful. Before we develop knowledge of our Self, we treat our flawed worldviews (the shadows on the wall) as something that’s actually real. We literally cannot tell the difference between a (perceived) attack on our thoughts and an actual attack on ourselves. As a result, we become just as defensive to protect against the death of our petty ego, because we see it as an actual death.
Think about the nature of pain- we have the sensation to detect threats to our life, and somehow we have evolved to attribute that sensation to our thoughts as well. This is cognitive dissonance, which for some reason has helped our species to survive in the world. We all hate to be wrong, and the realization that we are wrong causes our old view of the world, our old self, to die. Because these thoughts cause us mental pain, we effectively treat them as a physical threat. If the source of this pain is a person, we kill them before they can kill our petty ego.
I will clarify something here- the petty ego is different from the Ego proper. Imagine the petty ego as one’s identification with the belief that a sports team is good (and the subsequent anger expressed when someone criticizes the team) versus the Ego proper, which is one’s core, immutable personality that are consistent over time. Obviously one would treat attacks to these two parts of one’s self the same way. However, the reason that these are distinguishable is that one can be changed and one cannot. This distinction is important because it allows us to reconcile the notion of the religious and eastern philosophical traditions that the ego is bad with the more modern western notion that the Ego is a good thing. I am currently working on a more complete discussion of this topic and will link it here when it is finished.
This leaves us with the most important question- how can we lead others to the Truth? Obviously simply presenting a worldview doesn’t work- that method ultimately devolves into the ideologies of the puppet show. Worse still is the attempt to free people by force- I, for one, have no desire to be a martyr, and presumably you do not either, dear reader. Martyrs simply end up used as ideological puppets in the show to try and enlighten the prisoners.
So what are we left with? First- we, ourselves, must have the desire to question the nature of our reality- which I believe is the root of true self-consciousness. A person who does not actively question their reality is, in some sense, not fully conscious. How many times have you seen someone actively engaged in behaviors that cause themselves pain, without any awareness of this fact? That’s the grand irony of the situation- we fear the pain of waking up when it’s staying asleep that really hurts.
However, what is the origin of the desire to question reality? Where does the spark of doubt come from, and how do we convey that to others without attempting to force them to see? This is the fundamental question that drives myself, and it is this question that this site ultimately exists to attempt an answer to. Theoretically, there has to be some combination of words that, when seriously reflected on, cause one to begin to break their chains and wake up. I believe this is the thought behind prayers, mantras, and koans, but that’s a topic for another day.
With that, I leave you with the same question that I have.
Until it is answered, may we all be led from ignorance to the Truth.
10 Brutal Truths That You Must Accept
If you’re the kind of person who this site is meant for, then you’re the type who strives to seek the Truth. You love knowledge and know that by learning, you’ll become a better person. You know that it’s your responsibility to face your demons and change yourself before you try to change the world. If this doesn’t describe you, leave now- you aren’t going to be able to handle these 10 brutal truths.
First, take a look at this list:
Life is not fair.
Your circumstances don’t matter.
There is no conspiracy.
No one is coming to save you.
It is no fault but your own.
You are delusional.
You are capable of bad things.
Potential is worthless.
You will fail.
You will die alone.
If you think it seems bleak, it is. The natural state of the world is violence- the fact that we have a civilization at all is completely astounding, and that it’s as safe as it is should be taken as nothing less than miraculous.
As we go through this list, you may experience feelings of disagreement or, perhaps, you’ll even try to attack me, your humble writer, for making these claims. That feeling is called cognitive dissonance- it’s what happens when we receive information that conflicts with our worldview. If you are not happy with where you are in life, this information will either liberate you or cause you to lie to yourself to avoid it.
This is the final warning- turn back now if you are weak.
I. LIFE IS NOT FAIR
No one asks to be born, and to be born is to be thrown unwillingly into a world that does not care about you. From the beginning of your life, you are constrained by reality- you need food, water, shelter, money, and the means to gain these things. You will work, and work is hard. Much work is meaningless, and you will likely hate much of the work you do. You will have your freedom restricted by others and you will be robbed of your innocence continually by the harsh nature of the others who occupy this world. Whether you deserve any of this or not does not matter. Life does not offer sympathy and sympathy does not help you live.
II. YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES DON’T MATTER.
Because life is not fair, you may have been born poor, handicapped, stupid, or otherwise disadvantaged. Your parents may not both be together, or alive, and perhaps they never even wanted you to begin with. You may be the product of a drunken mistake. You must accept that, regardless, the world did not ask for you and certainly does not care about any of the above. You can spend your life blaming the world for these circumstances, and if you choose to do so, you will die a pathetic victim. Remember, there have been many people born poor, handicapped, stupid, or otherwise at a disadvantage who have gone down in history despite the odds.
The only difference between you and them is that they didn’t accept their fate.
III. THERE IS NO CONSPIRACY.
You are not so special that anyone cares enough to go out of their way to keep you from succeeding. People are generally egocentric, and no one thinks about you as much as you think about you. The notion that some group or government, secret or not, is so afraid of you that they’re going to go out of the way to keep you down is absolutely insane. The notion that you would be successful if not for these people out to get you is not only insane, it’s pathetic. The world only begins to oppose people when they’re actually creating change, not when they’re working at an entry level job or a miserable 9-5.
IV. NO ONE IS COMING TO SAVE YOU.
You are not a princess in a tower, and there are not knights in the world anymore. Why would anyone want to save you if you can’t even save yourself? You are not special, you don’t have some secret potential that some magic person will recognize and reward you for. Even if you won the lottery, you would not know what to do with yourself and you would be back where you started eventually. Your boss is not suddenly going to recognize you and give you a corner office for no reason. You are not going to marry a millionaire and never have to work again. Either you will change your life, or life will crush you- no can stop it but you.
V. IT IS NO FAULT BUT YOUR OWN.
You are promised nothing, and where you started was determined randomly. You can believe that everything that has ever happened to you has nothing to do with you, and maybe that was true when you were a child. However, you are not a child any more. If you don’t make rent because you spent your money on partying, you will get evicted. If you don’t make it to work because you’re hungover, your boss will fire you. You can blame your landlord for being an asshole or your boss for being too harsh, but tha
t blame will not keep you warm when you are on the street, and that blame will not put gas in your car or food on your table. The only blame that can benefit you is blame you give yourself. Everything else is masturbation.
VI. YOU ARE DELUSIONAL.
There is scientific evidence to prove that you have a flawed perception of yourself. The Dunning-Kruger effect is the tendency for people who are incompetent to believe they are above average.Overconfidence bias is the tendency for people to be proportionally more wrong the more confident they are about it. You think you are better looking than you are. You think you are smarter than you are. What’s worse, the people with the least delusional judgement are depressed. If you are not honest with yourself about the reality of your abilities and your place in life, you cannot improve.
VII. YOU ARE CAPABLE OF BAD THINGS.
There is no major difference between you and the guards at the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. No one wakes up and says, “I’m going to be evil and go out of my way to be malicious today,” yet evil, malicious people exist. Everyone thinks they are a good person, yet bad people exist. If you do not believe you are capable of evil, you could have done (or be doing) evil things and have not realized it. You are capable of walking past a person who is bleeding out on the sidewalk and then rationalizing the fact of that action. You are capable of killing the innocent because you do not question authority.
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