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sustainablephilosopher's picture

Domination of the unconscious

I wonder whether the unconscious is really a more primitive force in humans. Perhaps it is our bias that the consciousness is more 'developed' or 'advanced.' Nietzsche writes that "consciousness is our poorest and most erring organ." Given the fact that we are only conscious of 10% of the sensory-perception data that we are receiving at any moment, he certainly seems onto something. The focused, ordering structure of the conscious, rational mind scarcely seems capable of competing with the raw, free-associative power of the unconscious mind. I love having powerful, vivid dreams, where I wake up still attached to that powerful other world that had been crafted either by my mind or some nebulous realm. Waking up from dream worlds is often a huge disappointment; I often feel that nothing in my waking life is worth being woken up for, even on the best of days. There's just something preferable about the unconscious, a comfort to being ensconced in its languid, fluid realm that trumps conscious life. When I am caught in deep sleep, I often feel palpably connected to the primordial source of things, and this connection is rapturous.

I think the unconscious is more of a unity than the conscious, as it seeks to make experience whole and make connections, while the conscious mind dissects and distinguishes between things, drawing difference between yourself and the world. Unfortunately, I think we have created a society that has completely immersed itself in the practical so as that is our only reality, which is depressing and woeful indeed. Science, technology, and pragmatism dominate while art, imagination, and the humanities, which are equally or more vital to life, suffer. Einstein agrees:

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
-Albert Einstein

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