The Human Animal (Humans)

by David Turell , Friday, August 14, 2009, 17:19 (5372 days ago) @ xeno6696

You don't have errant thoughts that break in and intrude when you are thinking about something else? When you sleep and you dream, you control that as well? You make some strong claims here. Lucid dreaming is of course possible, but not for most. - I admit that I do lots of weird dreaming, and I can identifiy some that come from a troubling undercurrect. My first wife died of an incurable cancer. She and I were quite young for this to happen. I decided to live my life after she was gone, actively. I did just that, remarrying. The dreams were of the first wife, still alive, but sick and I abandoned her. They lasted 4-5 years, on and off, and disappeared. Perfectly understandable, especially since my adult kids were bugging me. I did not control the dreams, but as I came to peace with MY decisions, they left. Did thoughts about my first wife pop up? Of course. I still occasionally call my wife by my first wife's name. Just my subconscious at work. - Lucid dreaming? No I can't but Richard Feynman could recognize his dreams and direct them. The fact that dreams can be controlled by some people dilutes your argument about free will. - 
> The fact that thoughts come unwilled definitely suggest that free will isn't absolute. It's an observation that's long mystified me. - My wife tells me that her brain is constantly going. She is a brilliant lady, very organized, very research oriented: She has a huge loose-leaf book on how we should improve and add to our horse pastures in our forest. I'm just the opposite. I do organize stuff in folders, but as I wrote each of my two books, the outlines for each chapter were in my head, and I had to search for the reference material in a folder when I needed to quote. I'm simply saying that each individual brain works as the individual developed it. Brains are plastic. Part of my IQ is that I was an only child with a brilliant Mother at home until age 4. My brother arrived, but he did not command her attention until I was 9, and he began to upset her. My brain wanders around as we all do, but I don't find myself in a chattering of different ideas and thoughts. I can stay very focused and concentrated, so much so, at this age (80) I can lose my reading glasses very easily. 
 
> Then take myself. When I was 16 I wanted to be a computer programmer. I thought I couldn't do the math. I tried to avoid it and now I'm where I should have been at 14 years ago... what role to you does the subconscious play, if you're so certain of free will? - Here you are talking about ego-defense mechanisms. We all have them. At age 14 lots of fears and doubts, and a frontal lobe that is not prepared for absolute decision making and security in one's decisions. I've had a background in psychology, psychiatry, etc. in my training for medicine. I read books on Transactional Analysis, an approach I favor. If you don't know this approach to therapy, Google it. We are all Parent, Adult, Child. We all play games. I've used this approach in practice, and now, everyday life. I still surprise my wife with my analysis of problem people we know. Helps me handle them better. - In summary: My brain is MY brain. I've made my conscious personality. My subconscious still harbors some ego-defense mechanisms. I know most of them. And my unconscious is not as bothersome as it was years ago. But I created it as I grew my personality. There is no outside force that makes unwanted supernatural intrusions. My reactions to people and events creates intrusions. We have free will, and we are free to change ego defense mechanisms that get in our way. I could not have counselled patients into better health if that were not so.