June 30, 2020<\/p>\n
\nWhy?<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
In view of the possible collapse of the world economy and devastation of the health of millions, we should cherish every straw of possible relief. Conceptually, we do so. Subconceptually, I see nothing of the sort until now. It fills me with desperation. I cry out for help.<\/p>\n
On top of this, for short-sighted economic reasons, the world is presently taking risks into the unknown, risks that may backfire immensely. In writing previous texts, I have made it clear, to myself at least, that we are dancing at the brink of the real precipice that we haven\u2019t seen yet. Economy-wise, many countries cannot take a second hit, including prosperous ones like China, the US, and European countries. In the second, larger hit, a renewed general lockdown will be necessary and impossible.<\/p>\n
In all this mayhem, it is understandable that one wants this nightmare to go away, but one cannot just wish it away. Europe and the US seem full of people who, one way or another, think they can. Acting as if the virus is away doesn\u2019t make it go away. A child knows that, from around an age of four. So, why don\u2019t we collectively<\/u> see this quite obvious precipice? Why didn\u2019t we see the one we just fell into \u2013 even while many are still falling? And why don\u2019t we see the mind in this?<\/p>\n
Attentive readers of Minding Corona<\/em> may, by now, already tell me some reasons. Indeed, it is hard to see the mind in anything. Can a seer see himself if he doesn\u2019t have access to a proper mirror? Also, we encountered body-mind dualism and the denial of nonconscious yet meaningful mental processing. Our blindfolds to these factors are culturally and profoundly embedded, thus with many associations into many domains. While at the surface, these domains seem independent, they are, in reality, very interdependent. This is also how we treat the world. It is also how we treat ourselves, for instance, in healthcare: as a mechanism of separate sub-elements: a heart, a brain, an immune system, even \u2018a mind.\u2019 At many levels, the reality is much more interdependent than what many people hold on to.<\/p>\n
\nDenial?<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
A lot has been written about denial also in a social context. Denial by fear of having to change one\u2019s usual ways of doing and relating, by blindness, incapacity, or unwillingness to see or even look whether there is anything to see in the first place. Denial by an act of faith: technology will solve our problems, so we don\u2019t have to delve into anything that might turn out to be a cesspit (thus, the cesspit remains). And didn\u2019t it work out well (denying the cesspit) in the past? Denial by fear of losing one\u2019s status, money, reputation, and carrier, of losing the prospect of a future that one has imagined already so vividly \u2014 better keep the dream a while longer. Denial by habit of denialing.<\/p>\n
Denial because it\u2019s hard work to change an existing paradigm, and can be dangerous carrier-wise. Indeed, even nature wants it so because it\u2019s costly to change paradigm. Nature is a tinkerer; evolution changes in little steps, trying to live life in the moment. A big change can be too costly and mean the end of everything \u2013 not sustainable, of course.<\/p>\n
Being part of nature, we naturally tend to be in denial for many things as long as \u2013 in our perception \u2013 the cost of the alternative is higher than the cost of staying put. No revolution today, please. One can see this in science as anywhere else. Notably, Thomas Kuhn has written about the difficulty of scientific paradigm shifts.<\/p>\n
\nFollowing nature<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
If nature wants it so, then I think we should follow that. Is this surprising? Of course, this doesn\u2019t mean we should keep ourselves in denial and let the virus wreak havoc. The cost of the latter is way too high. Fortunately, following nature and having it our way may go together. At least, if we succeed in getting past any straightforward denial of our true selves \u2013 nature within us \u2013 that is getting increasingly and immensely costly. We are organisms, not mechanisms. We shouldn\u2019t treat workers as mechanisms. We shouldn\u2019t treat our personal health as that of a mechanism. We should also not treat animals as mechanisms. It is unnatural. We try to impose a mechanical paradigm upon nature. Nature resists. We feel it in an ever-increasing number of burnouts. We see it in climate change. We encounter it in this viral pandemic and more to come. It will not stop until we learn.<\/p>\n
The present conundrum may even be seen as a test from nature. If we \u2013 as a human species \u2013 pass this test, we can get propelled into a bright future. If we don\u2019t, we\u2019ll have to redo the academic year and try better. Of course, nature is not a professor. It doesn\u2019t even think as we do. But it made us, didn\u2019t it? So, there is something one could very broadly call \u2018intelligence,\u2019 one way or another. I use \u2018test\u2019 metaphorically. Still, we might not pass it.<\/p>\n
\nUnderlying principle: us<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
At the basis of the COVID-19-crisis lies the same as what risks making it much worse, as well as why it is hard for many to see the mind in this even while it\u2019s increasingly obvious if one cares to keenly look.<\/p>\n
One may wonder why it\u2019s so hard to get beyond the denial of one\u2019s own deeper mind. The world is on fire, and we have to look the dragon into the eyes. I did that, and I saw a princess. I\u2019m talking about nonconscious, subconceptual mental processing itself, the \u2018thing inside that is invisible.\u2019 And I\u2019m not surprised by this since I earned a Ph.D. in medical science on this subject. It drives us in mind and body. If we don\u2019t see that it is who we are, then it seems like a stranger driving us. Denying that, the stranger may become a symbolic dragon. Since one cannot see a symbol, the situation may become precarious. We then ‘see’ the dragon in something outside, whether it’s a virus or a person from another culture, religion or race. Of course, those things or people are really there. The problem starts when they become recipients of negative symbolism.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s frightening and so near, and so frightening because it\u2019s near. At the same time, through denial and resistance, it\u2019s also functionally far away. Then it\u2019s terrifying because it\u2019s far away and unknown and strange and,<\/em> at the same time, still so near. Nothing can be nearer.<\/p>\n
This is what we collectively need to see in order to pass the exam and get the prize\u2019 cum laude.\u2019 The immediate reward: much less suffering shortly. A long-term bonus: getting to know ourselves better and see how our self-ignorance is bringing us this and many other problems. Many of these are also health-related.<\/p>\n
\nWho listens?<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Almost nobody at the time of writing. Hey, that\u2019s why I\u2019m writing. Maybe you, dear reader, are listening while reading. Then please try to comprehend it as well as possible. Don\u2019t take anything at face value.<\/p>\n
Also, please help to get this message out.<\/p>\n
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