Pucc-H:aeq@CS-Mordred.UUCP (11/18/83)
I have recently discovered that I can be rationally convinced of something, yet not really accept it as true. I propose that there is a central part of us--call it the Will--which is deeper than emotion, deeper than rationality (though both of these influence it), and which makes the ultimate choices as to what we actually consider true and thus governs the way we respond to the world. I will take the small risk of giving the example whereby I made this discovery. Most of my life, I have had difficulty attracting women. In the past several months, my rational mind has become quite well aware that I have numerous good characteristics which could easily attract women. Yet even in these recent months, when I have sought to form and deepen relationships with women to whom I was attracted, I have failed and been rejected. I finally discovered that all along, at bottom, quite apart from my rational knowledge of my own attractive qualities, I really didn't believe that I could attract a woman. The above experience suggests a model of human character that includes the rational mind, the emotions, and something deeper and stronger than both. Does this agree or disagree with the Objectivist model, or with the model given by some other philosophical system with which readers of this group may be familiar? Note that I reached this model from a Christian perspective (prayer is excellent and inexpensive psychoanalysis/therapy). A discussion of this and other models of human character, if any, would make this group much more interesting than it has been for some time. -- Jeff Sargent/...pur-ee!pucc-h:aeq (I hope--you never know with 4.1c)
ark@rabbit.UUCP (11/19/83)
Something stronger than rationality or emotion? I'd call it a conditioned reflex (or, in some cases, an innate reflex). If you are wired up to electrodes so that you can get a shock, and you hear a bell ring and then get the shock, you will eventually get to a state where you will flinch from the expected shock when you hear the bell. I claim that if this is done enough, you will be unable to keep from flinching even if you first cut the wires to the electrodes, thus making the shock impossible. As for innate things, try keeping your eyes open while you sneeze.