NUDGING THE HOUSE OF CARDS: BRAIN PHYSIOLOGY AND CRITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS

Abstract

For human beings, consciousness has both an illusory function and a critical function. The illusory function allows us to see rocks, trees, sky, animals, other humans instead of a constantly changing fluctuation of subatomic particles. While important in helping us adapt to our environment (and in evolution), the illusory function causes us to see what we expect to see, to think what we are used to thinking, to be habitually reactive rather than creative. The critical function, on the other hand, can help us to break out of habit, to be aware of the whole picture by looking for the unexpected and thinking in new ways. For most of us the critical function is overwhelmed by the illusory function as a result of living in social systems which are not self-conscious. The underdevelopment of critical consciousness in today's societies, both industrialized and industrializing, has led to the atrophy of the individual's self-conscious capacity to choose and, subsequently, to the relinquishing of decision-making power at both the personal and political levels. The study proposes that the development of critical consciousness requires the self-conscious capacity to choose, and that self-consciousness depends upon the training and use of our innate intuitive capacity. Further, the study presents physiological evidence for the role of intuition in developing the critical function of consciousness. Chapter II describes the need for a new paradigm within which to understand this aspect of consciousness which has remained "hidden." Chapter III emphasizes those aspects of brain physiology which underlie our intuitive capacity. Chapter IV describes how it is possible for us to become more self-conscious about our thought and action through training this capacity. Finally, specific skills in introspection are described for use in educational settings.