Nurturing Our Humanity by Riane Eisler & Douglas P. Fry

Author:Riane Eisler & Douglas P. Fry [Eisler, Riane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2019-07-04T22:00:00+00:00

8

Contracting or Expanding Consciousness

What we see and reality are not necessarily the same. Even the two physical qualities we take for granted as objective reality—space and time—are not absolute. Relative to the observer, as Einstein showed, both change significantly near the speed of light.1

As for the effect of culture on how we perceive reality, in some societies people blame illness on germs, while in others they believe illness is caused by a deity, witchcraft, or even a sudden fright. For instance, the Batek of Malaysia believe that the creator being, Tohan, would bring a fatal disease to someone who committed a serious offense, such as physically harming another person, and the Zapotec of Mexico believe that experiencing an unexpected fright, such as a snake dropping out of the house rafters, can cause a debilitating sickness called susto, requiring treatment by a curer.2

The recognition that what we consider reality is largely filtered through the lens of culture informs much of sociology, cultural anthropology, and social psychology. However, this is only part of the story.

As we glimpsed in Chapter 3, neuroscientist Antonio Damasio distinguishes between core consciousness, which we share with other species, and the expanded consciousness made possible by our human brain.3 Expanded consciousness requires a large stored memory, the ability to reason, and the capacity to reflect on ourselves and our relationship with the environment. This in turn is connected with what Damasio calls the autobiographical self, which he notes “is not just dependent on, but is even regulated by, the environment.”4

In other words, the extent to which expanded consciousness develops, or fails to develop, is not something we are born with. It is regulated by environmental influences, and hence by culture.

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