NietzscheÕs Overman ÒWe are all far better artists than we knowÓ By: John Constantine Note: The following is a summary of my understanding of relativity applied to the individual mental/social sphere. It's the pitifully small amount of information I've been able to figure out about life thus far in this incarnation. It's condensed, yet at the same time verbose, and has an academese flavor. it makes no claims for originality.(I wrote it for a class) Anyway, enjoy (if this is the kind of thing that gives you a boner.) The German philosopher, Nietzsche, conceived of the world as a chaotic mass of energy, an eternal play of opposites, upon which we consciously and unconsciously impose order and form. [cover] ÒWe are all far better artists than we know.Ó, he said. Shortly thereafter, Freud and other more recent psychologists began to define several of the ways we consciously and unconsciously interpret the chaotic flux of information surrounding us. As the process of enculturation proceeds, society imposes upon us the consensus reality of the particular day and age. There is an old saying that no absurdity is impossible to engrave upon the human soul, so long as it is done before the age of five. By the time most of us have reached adolescence we view reality through a sort of tunnel society has constructed and fixed upon our vision. This is only one of innumerable tunnels each containing a unique perspective on the universe which more often than not conflicts with the perspectives of other tunnels, other cultures. William Blake may be referring to this concept in his famous passage from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: Ò If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things throÕ narrow chinks of his cavern.Ó [Blake p. 31] As modern perception psychology demonstrates, we are alert almost solely to things we know, that our culture has trained us to be aware of. Eskimos for example are able to perceive seven different types of snow whereas we at most make the simple distinction between ÔwetÕ and ÔdryÕ snow. [Tart p. 38] Pieces of information and human potentials which donÕt fit into a particular cultures consensus reality are likely to be marked as ÔevilÕ, ÔirrelevantÕ, or simply Ônon-existentÕ and individuals are encouraged from early childhood to either ignore or repress them, constructing elaborate defense mechanisms in order to do so. Thus the child's brain can be likened unto a paint brush and palette (or a computer) awaiting the hand of a talented artist (or a programmer) to paint the canvas of his mind (program him). This artist, the Great Magician or Maya of Buddhism, is our culture and language. These factors combine to paint so complete a picture of reality that we do not even realize it is a picture. NietzscheÕs overman is one who has recognized his reality-tunnel for what it is and has begun to consciously reevaluate and to expand it, stripping away what inhibits the full development of his potential and adding (or keeping) what does. The overman is one who has successfully wrestled control of his mind from historyÕs iron grip. John Lilly, a prominent figure in neurological research, described manÕs situation in this way, ÒIn the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes true within certain limits, to be found experientially and experimentally. These limits are beliefs to be transcended.Ó [Lilly p. 24] In this essay, I will attempt to explain NietzscheÕs statement that ÒWe are all far better artists than we know.Ó I will also discuss a few ways in which this applies to both the overman and contemporary society but will focus primarily on a psychological interpretation of the above statement. Physicists have observed that light behaves both as particles and waves, depending on the type of instrumentation used. Our instruments are our creations, extensions of the human nervous system, which is itself an instrument, our most basic one, from which all other instruments originate. In WilsonÕs book, Quantum Psychology, four elements in the creation of reality-tunnels are described. The first is genetic makeup. This determines the structure of the nervous system and varies widely between species. Thus the relationship between humans, other primates, and certain mammals is close enough for empathy, friendship, and communication to occur. Snakes, however, exist in a vastly different reality-tunnel. Their visual field consists of heat waves and they presumably do not see what we would call concrete Òobjects.Ó We donÕt generally form close relationships with snakes or other reptiles. According to Wilson, ÓThe belief that the human world view reveals ÔrealityÕ seems, in this perspective, as naive as the notion that a yardstick shows more ÔrealityÕ than a voltmeter.Ó Thus we can not assume Òthe world revealed / created by our senses and brain equals the real world or the only real world. It equals some, but not all of it.Ó [Wilson p. 92] The second element in the process is imprinting. Konrad Lorenz, in the 1970Õs, demonstrated that the normal snow-goose will shortly after birth imprint itÕs mother as distinct from all other snow-geese. These imprints, according to Wilson, ÒPermanently bond neurons into reflex networks which seemingly remain for life.Ó [Wilson p. 92] During moments of imprint vulnerability, almost anything can be imprinted. Lorenz, for example, relates the story of a gosling, who in the mothers absence, imprinted a ping-pong ball. The gosling treated the ball as if it were itÕs mother and, during adulthood, attempted to mate with it. Similarly, some psychologists argue that human beings have moments of imprint vulnerability where features of personality, such as sexual orientation, and social dominance / submissiveness are imprinted. The length of human infancy, much greater than that of most other species, may allow for a greater number and a wider variety of periods of imprint vulnerability. Thus the great variety we see among individuals of even the same culture. Conditioning is a third element which plays an important role in forming our perception and interpretation of experience. Conditioning requires the same experience to be repeated over and over again for it to set in and, after it has set in, may be reversed. One period of intensive conditioning is puberty. During this period the child is developing new interests and constructing belief systems which will most likely last throughout his entire life. Most cultures have special initiation type ceremonies at this time which take advantage of this period by guiding the child's attention away from the development of socially unacceptable potentials and directing it toward the study of socially accepted dogmas. They generally involve periods of preparation during which the child memorizes and repeats special slogans or prayers (ÒWe must support the president.Ó ÒThe Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.Ó ÒJust say No.Ó ÒThou shalt not...Ó ) which form the basis of the particular cultures reality-tunnel. The child is then rewarded for evidence of the internalization of these principles. When the child is deemed ready (after the internalization of the societies belief systems) a ritual is performed and the child becomes an adult who no longer poses any threat to the cultures reality-tunnel because he has been trained to dismiss as evil or non-existent what contradicts his training. What work of art could possibly be greater than the sculpting of another individuals reality, save besides the creation of your own? Speaking of ÒReason in philosophyÓ, Nietzsche says ÒIt is no different in this case than with the movement of the sun: there our eye is the constant advocate of error, here it is our language.Ó [Nietzsche p. 482] According to Nietzsche, the very structure of language contains fallacies which lead reason into error. The Òis of identityÓ in the English language, for example, leads us into the error of assuming a permanent ego and of confusing being with becoming, causing us to create Òconcept-mummies.Ó ÒWhatever has being,Ó Nietzsche says, Òdoes not become; whatever becomes does not have being.Ó [Nietzsche p. 480] Thus when we make a statement like, ÒMary ÔisÕ a member of the catholic faith.Ó and, several hours later, receive a phone call informing us that Mary just had an abortion we find ourselves rather befuddled. After all, didnÕt the Pope just tell us abortion ÔisÕ wrong? IsnÕt a catholic one who obeys the precepts of the church as handed down, defined, and enforced by the Pope? ÔIsÕ Mary a catholic simply because her parents were? Or ÔisÕ she a catholic because she went to church last Sunday, or a Jesuit school twenty years ago? Just what ÔisÕ Mary? According to NietzscheÕs philosophy Mary ÔisÕ non- existent, undefinable in terms of being. Mary ÔisÕ a word, merely the name we assign to a group of rapidly changing internal and external phenomenon. MaryÕs external, and most of her internal, features change at a slow enough pace for us to conveniently label her ÔMary.Õ Nevertheless, Mary is a becoming rather than a being, an ever-changing process as opposed to a stable ego. When we stop Mary from becoming by defining her in terms of being we kill her and in her place erect a Òconcept-mummy.Ó Thus our art, our use of and conditioning by language, creates the illusion of stability, of a permanent and unified ego. Language Òprojects this faith in the ego-substance upon all things -- only thereby does it first create the concept of Ôthing.Õ Everywhere ÔbeingÕ is projected by thought, pushed underneath, as the cause; the concept of being follows, and is a derivative of, the concept of ego.Ó [Nietzsche p. 483] Thus our language conditions us to think in terms of absolute being. We say ÒMary ÔisÕ a catholic.Ó rather than ÒAt this particular point in time and space, Mary exhibits the qualities I have come to call catholic.Ó, ÒAbortion ÔisÕ wrong and pro-choicers ÔareÕ evil.Ó instead of, ÒAfter going through the following thought process ÔXÕ I, coming from such and such a background, have concluded that abortion tends to be a negative social force contributing to the unhappiness of both the mother and the unborn child and should therefore be made illegal.Ó If more people in todayÕs world took the principles inherent in NietzscheÕs claims seriously society would slow down a bit and speak a little more precisely. Then during conflicts we would be more likely to see things from the other guyÕs perspective. Instead of mindlessly flinging absolutes at one another we might come to a few more rational compromises and a few less ÔholyÕ wars. NietzscheÕs philosophy describes the world in terms of becoming. Most people though prefer the security the illusion of being offers them. Most of us remain unaware of another subtle form of conditioning we are subjected to. This is the internal monologue which in our verbally oriented culture is almost incessant. Anyone who doesnÕt believe this has merely to try stopping it for a minute. A fundamentalist preacher, for example, is exposed to a swirling dance of energy, a constellation of atoms all vibrating at a certain rate. His mind translates this into an image, a pin up poster of a scantily clad women advertising a beer. This image, the scantily clad woman, is quickly translated into verbal concepts such as sin, temptation, degradation, intemperance, loss of American moral values, etc. A feeling of righteous indignation emerges which many people find quite rewarding. Thus the particular reality-tunnel he inhabits is continually reinforced. Without even knowing it the individual is creating his reality. ÒEven the most rigid and compulsive people do a lot more re-associating, re-framing and creative editing than they consciously realize.Ó [Wilson p. 134] This goes on until an event occurs or some information is obtained which so radically contradicts his belief-system that it cannot be ignored. [Fig. 2] This then may lead to what Nietzsche called the re-valuation of all values, an important step on the road to the overman. A fourth element, learning, constitutes a small, yet potentially great, percentage of reality construction. It is unique in that it requires motivation. Snakes and geese show very little variation between members of their own species. Humans, however, because of the tremendously wide variety of imprints and conditioning among individuals have the capacity to expand their reality-tunnels by exposing themselves to, and learning from, others who view reality from a different perspective. More often than not though, we label individuals different than us Ôheretics.' In some minds this then justifies the expenditure of what sometimes proves to be hundreds of years worth of energy maiming and torturing them, trying to prove they are absolutely wrong and we are absolutely right. From this we see that a significant portion of our reality is created and reinforced by those surrounding us. We are conditioned to continually re-create and reinforce this reality. The portion of the mind that processes all input is constantly at work interpreting phenomenon in conditioned ways. It has been at work for so long in most of us that we no longer notice it and think we are seeing things as they are rather than our interpretations of them. NietzscheÕs overman is one who has realized this. The overman probes deeply into his experience instead of merely accepting the consensus reality label for it. The overman asks, ÒWhat did I really experience? What happened in me then, and around me? Was my reason bright enough? Was my will turned against all deceptions of the senses and was it courageous in itÕs resistance to the fantastic?Ó [Nietzsche p. 100] This, however, is not all Nietzsche requires of his overman. The overman must become a master of all the old forms, at home in and able to move about through various reality-tunnels at will. Only then can he look upon the chaos and begin to create his own, standing apart from the others. This break with old norms is Òconstructive only when accomplished not by one who wants to make things easy for himself, but by one who has previously subjected himself to the discipline of tradition. First comes the beast of burden, then the defiant lion, then creation.Ó [Kauffman p. 116] ÓWe are all far better artists than we know.Ó According to Wilson, Òunderstanding and internalizing (learning to use) all the principles inherent in this statement Òcan decrease dogma, intolerance, compulsive behavior, hostility, etc. and also may increase openness, continuous learning, `growthÕ and empathy.Ó all of which are important qualities of the overman and goals most people in contemporary society at least pay lip service to. [Wilson p. 95] If this is all true however, there remains one major question which is largely beyond the scope of this essay. Why did Nietzsche go mad? Various authorities, depending mainly upon whether or not they were in agreement with NietzscheÕs philosophy, have offered explanations ranging from general paresis to the wrath of god (some even consider the two equivalent). Carl Jung theorized that an answer may lie in Dionysus and in what Dionysus meant to Nietzsche. ÒThere can be no doubt that he knew, in the preliminary stages of his fatal illness, that the dismal fate of Zagreus was waiting for him. Dionysus is the abyss of impassioned dissolution, where all human distinctions are merged in the animal divinity of the primordial psyche -- a blissful and terrible experience. Humanity, hiding behind the walls of itÕs culture, believes is has escaped this experience, until it succeeds in letting loose another orgy of bloodshed.Ó [Jung p. 90] According to Jung, Nietzsche systematically stripped away all the veils between himself and chaos (Dionysus seems to be a personification of chaos). It is well known in Greek myth that very few people encounter Dionysus and escape with sanity intact. Jung claims to have gone through a similar experience after his break with Freud. His work, his family, and his patients kept Jung centered in consensus reality whereas Nietzsche with his sickly constitution was in his solitude Òblown away like a leaf.Ó We will probably never know for sure just what happened to Nietzsche and his end remains a dark shadow in the light of his philosophy.