Sunday, 21 September
 |
| The Dream - Henri Rousseau |
Good Morning Jacob…
Why did the chicken cross
the road? Why does anything
do anything? Why does a
beetle suddenly change directions? It suddenly decides to pursue a new direction
after walking a fair piece. Can it be a tiny mind such as it has
makes decisions as we know it? The
beetle becomes impatient or bored with its current path. Maybe it is
curious about what is going on to its left. That makes for one
emotionally rich insect, doesn't it?
More likely the beetle simply responds to something detected in its current
surroundings. It rules that a change in course will, on balance, be more
favorable to its existence. Hogwash. How can an animal with such
puny problem solving capacity display clear, logical reasoning? Yet,
insects and even minuter, seemingly insignificant beings make choices in a manner
that suggests a reasoned approach. But reason requires some degree of
consciousness. What consciousness is there without a measure of self-awareness?
The alternative
explanation for insect decision-making is a mental process that is comparable
to computer programming where sensual inputs are weighted by their degree of
importance to animal survival. These
priorities are determined by the process of natural selection. Making choices in one’s behavior is
hard-coded by the DNA that provides the individual’s nervous system. It’s all quite mechanistic sounding
but it is feasible so long as the animal isn’t confronted with a situation that
isn’t accounted for in its genetic coding.
Such an encounter might provoke the animal into performing actions
counter to its best interests. It
could ignore or be deceived by the potential threat. It may display signs of hysteria – heightened
excitement combined with confusion. Imagine
a fly banging repeatedly against a window pane.
Consider the complexity
of having an animal’s every response being dependent on its DNA coding. First, all significant factors
involved in its existence must be detectable and capable of being prioritized as
to their relative importance to the animal. An individual’s combined sensory
organs may be sending many various inputs each moment for the nervous system to
evaluate. These inputs need
to be graded individually and as groups in order for a determination to be made
in real time as to its best course of action. Add to these external forms of
stimulus the information constantly sent to the brain regarding the animal’s internal
environment or physiology. Is
it overheating or is it too cold? What
is its recourse here? What
nutrients is it most in need of replenishing?
How is its energy level? If
it is ingesting a vital food source but it is also becoming overheated by
direct sunlight what should it do? The
risks are weighed and the response is made – all by its DNA coding. If the solution is incorrect the
animal dies and does not live to reproduce the offspring having its deficient
genetics.
Why did the chicken cross
the road? Its life is more
complex and enriching than that of the beetle but the chicken’s decision
remains fundamentally based on DNA coding. We observe the bird’s action and
possibly infer some degree of emotional motivation. Was curiosity involved?
What is the basis for our
own emotions? A beetle’s
nervous system need only command the entity to do something and it responds
without question. However our own brain
is incomparably more complex. We aren't robots. There are numerous areas of the mind that
appear to compete with one another – even to work at cross purposes. We have both reason and emotion. Our heart tells us we are in love but our head says this path flirts
with danger. Now here is a
case of mind-boggling DNA coding. One
point of view does not usually win out over the other. Instead we choose
to suspend the conflict unresolved. Can
we always juggle, never to drop the ball? What tension this creates. Where is
the remedy? Aha! We find something that applies to
our circumstance in a movie we see, a story we read. Maybe some form found in an artist’s
painting stimulates our imagining. An
undercurrent springs to life from within the unconscious. A dolphin is in
the tree. This is just another cockeyed dream - of beetle signs and
coils of life and endless romantic themes.
Love,
Dad
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