The Phenomenal Truth

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact.
Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”

 —  Marcus Aurelius 

The understanding that all of my thoughts, feelings, and perceptions are mental processes created by my nervous system is called Meta-Cognitive Awareness. Those who lack Meta-Cognitive Awareness are more certain of their interpretations than they should be, and so are vulnerable to recurring patterns of self-sabotaging emotions [Neurotic Disorders] and appetites [Addictive Disorders]. Consider how the examples of a neurotic and an addictive trap described below look from the Meta-Cognitive perspective as compared with the first-person perspective of the individual caught in the trap:

I. Where Poignancy is the Neurosis

Bad things happen and feeling depressed when they do is not indicative of a mood disorder. However, the tendency to parse negative events into a touching story of the unfairness of the world, or luck so bad that it defies the laws of probability seem designed to arouse pity or sorrow in an audience that consists primarily of the narrator and perhaps a few confidants.

To the narrator, the poignant story seems to be an accurate to description of the events in her life. She is not trying to arouse pity and, in fact, may not share it with anyone else. From her perspective, she is telling it like it is. However, as seen from the therapist's perspective, her touching narrative is a cause— as well as an effect— of her melancholia. This is a seductive trap and those who have become comfortable in it resist changing their poignant narrative. [To explore a fresh narrative: See Detachment from Outcomes].

II. Addiction: Where Solemn Vows Are Easily Violated

The predicament of a problem drinker, described below, illustrates how the same event [a first lapse] is appraised differently before it happens than in retrospect. Ernest sincerely intends to control his drinking, but he later thoughtlessly violates it. The familiar sequence leads to self-loathing and a sincere intention to control his drinking next time.

State-Dependent Motivation: Problem Drinking

Brief description of this trap: Before the lapse Earnest appraises the payoffs of a first drink differently than he will later when he looks back on it [or than he did earlier when he made his vow].   He really meant it when, after his second DUI, he vowed to quit drinking — "and this time I really mean it." Nevertheless, a few weeks later when the sting of his arrest was no longer as salient, he appraised things differently. He vowed abstinence in one motivational state, and violated it in another. Needless to say, Earnest will—like he did the other times— discover that having a first drink was a mistake. When he does he will sincerely vow to control his drinking in the future and this time he will really mean it.

Immediately after his DUI, Earnest's vow to quit drinking was in accord with his local motivational state. Since he was unaware that motivation is state-dependent, he assumed that he would always appraise the costs and benefits of drinking as he did at that moment. Despite his previous experience, he assumes that it will be easy to adhere to this vow and so does not bother figuring out how he will cope with the high-risk situations that he is bound to encounter. His history of repeatedly failing to adhere to his vow is not due to stupidity or a disease, but is the result of being taken in by the Soul Illusion. His current bias [either the motivation to drink or the shame of failure] is always invisible to him and he assumes that he sees things as they really are and will always see things as he does now.

Problem drinkers are notorious for appraising the wisdom of a first drink differently before it happens than in retrospect. This perverse pattern of vowing to change and then relapsing, illustrates two corollaries of the Soul Illusion.

  1. Illusion of Sate Permanence: The fact that he has made this same mistake many times and each time believes that he has learned the lesson this time, and will never make this mistake again illustrates the
  2. The Illusion of Certainty is illustrated by his willingness to make the vow with little attention to how he will get himself to adhere to it. He is so certain that he has learned the lesson that it will require no effort to get himself to act in accord with it in the future.

Reification seals the trap

Reification refers to treating an abstraction as if it had concrete or material existence. Earnest treats his current appraisal [whatever it is] as if it were true and so he assumes he will always appraise the costs and benefits of a first drink as he does now. In this sense he Reifies his current appraisal and so takes it more seriously than he should. This thinking error is the primary mechanism of addictive and neurotic traps—see Reification and De-Reification.

 

 

Meta Cognitive Awareness > >
^ Back to Top