Leading psychoanalysts throughout the last century have studied what motivates human beings. As the Western World has progressed—from a society based on industrialization, to one of information, shifting to an age of conceptualization—what motivates a human being is a question the Federal Reserve board asked key academic institutions to investigate twenty years ago because the American people were not producing new ideas in a competitive global economy.
Based on studies by social and educational psychologists once a task calls for rudimentary cognitive skills, the higher the reward leads to poorer performance. This is the nature of the problem which Dan Pink, author of A Whole Knew Mind emphasizes, arguing the essential abilities needed in the twenty-first century are design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. Investigating motivation in his newest authorship, Drive, he argues that tapping into human potential by providing an infrastructure for intrinsic motivation in the pursuit of self-mastery through autonomy, mastery, and purpose hold the keys to the success for our future. The purpose of this research is to explicate on the nuances found in Pink’s research that draws on core beliefs held in religious faiths and humanist philosophies by utilizing research in the humanities throughout history. I hope to demonstrate a deterrent of human motivation is rooted in the concept of identity or sameness in both religious and secular thought.
In the contemporary study of human beings—what it means to be human—a new paradigm for answering basic reoccurring questions about, language, literature and aesthetics in contemporary culture is a qualitative lens that is emerging new in-sight in the humanities. Theoretically, conceptualization is the ability to form a concept or idea about something. Sarah Copland, PhD candidate in the Department of English at the University of Toronto, looks at cognitive scientist’s Gilles Fauconnier and Mark Turner’s theory called Conceptual Blending—the mental operation of combining two mental packets of meaning selectively and under constraints to create a third mental packet of meaning that has a new emergent meaning—and draws on similarities of philosophers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Individual, cultural and the realities of the world we live in by seeing things in terms of each other was a philosophical quest that shook the establishment of nineteenth century moral philosophy. The German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) theorizes, seeing things in terms of each other or relational thinking—similarity seeing and difference seeing—in human cognition. Copland agrees with his premise when she writes, “According to Nietzsche, concept formation is rooted in the practice of seeing likenesses among individual phenomena in order to create concepts…despite the absence of total identity or sameness…”(Copland 6). It is from this mental process—conceptual blending—that new concepts emerge coined, “emergent meaning” forming a new mental space with a new meaning, that although shares similar properties is no longer the same concept. Thus, reinforcing the need for flexibility in human cognition where the concept and meaning can change.
Those who may be unfamiliar with this school of thought called, analytical philosophy, can come to appreciate the similarities with yet another philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein whose considered by many to be the greatest philosopher of the twentieth century. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy credits him as playing a central role in analytic (Greek analutikos meaning 'unloose') philosophy—the study of logic and linguistics that have largely shaped academics in the Western World. Moreover, Wittgenstein’s philosophy has influenced topics as diverse as logic and language, perception and intention, ethics and religion, aesthetics and culture.
Drawing on the similarities of conceptual blending, Copland points our attention to Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations and his concept of aspect seeing where he posits two different usages of the word “see”—the first usage as a copy or sameness (identity), and the latter as noticing similarities and differences (aspect) of something. Copland agrees with Wittgenstein when she writes:
The first use of the word “see” is rooted in recognition of identity—thorough going sameness—and can be captured, as Wittgenstein suggests, in a mimetic act, “a description, a drawing, a copy.” The other use of the word “see,” however, is rooted in recognition of “likeness,” not total identity, but similarity that has as its co-requisite the presence of difference. This is the concept of seeing that Wittgenstein calls “noticing an aspect,” also known as aspect seeing or seeing as. It is a relational form of seeing because it involves seeing one thing in terms of another, thereby contrasting. (Copland 7)
The study of language and literature is concerned with patterns of thought, expression, and the nature of their relationship. More importantly, it is how patterns of meanings pair and new meanings emerge as our thinking evolves. It is through “aspect seeing” that allows room for this integration of blending concepts to take place. It provides the needed space and fluidity for similarities and differences—compare and contrast—according to Fauconnier and Turner, what they coin, “integration of motion.”
At this point, I would like to draw upon similar concepts in religious thought by reiterating the work of one of the most prolific writers of the twentieth century. Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk and systematic theologian, who is widely understood to be the man who opened a door for interfaith dialogue between Catholicism and Buddhism. He was interested in comparison studies of Eastern religions, which for Merton, were mostly untainted by the dualistic philosophy of the mind. Thus, he had much to offer in terms of how to think of and understand the meaning of person in our shared human experience by his exploration of Confucian thought. Moreover, how Merton thinks the misconception of person in the west became a propaganda scheme by industries in marketing to shift the meaning to personality distorting the meaning in religious thought of the word self.
In Chinese philosophy, the Oxford Dictionaries definition of Tao (Chinese, [right] way) is the absolute principle underlying the universe or code of behavior, that is in harmony with the natural order—what we understand as ethics. Confucian humanism is objective in nature, social in action, and even democratic in its universality with the human person at its core. In his book Mystics and Zen Masters, Merton uncovers the meaning of Great Learning, understood as self-government or awareness of oneself: “The Great Learning is by no means a matter of introspective self-awareness, still less of hyper subjective self-consciousness. It is objective, concrete, and dynamic” (Merton 61). What Merton is saying is authenticity of a human person or one’s true self—though intrinsically discovered—is dynamic in nature and outwardly experienced by practicing and engaging community as a living reality. This is the knowledge that we as the human species are capable of both respectable and erroneous actions—not an ideology projected on a society.
By way of contrast, it is important to note why Merton emphasized the modern western misconceptions concerning the development of the eastern meaning of person, and he claims in a word is succeed. He states, “…development of aggressiveness, of astuteness, of attractiveness, of diplomatic skills; in a word, the ability to succeed. ‘Personality’ in this sense is the power to impose yourself and your wishes on others” (Merton 63). This misconception is unhealthy because in distorting the human person it promotes an ideology in place of human authenticity.
In an age of information, heuristic (Greek: "Εὑρίσκω", meaning to "find" or "discover") is defined by the Oxford Dictionaries as a process or method enabling a person to discover or learn something for themselves. Where an exhaustive search is becoming more impractical, continental philosophies, using the heuristic method, can aid the process of finding a plausible solution to complex problems. Furthermore, heuristics is demonstrating effectiveness in aiding our conceptualization in religious studies.
Comparing the differences between the scientifically religious West, that have mastered matter of the material world and the scientifically religious East, that have mastered the mind by exploring the depths of the human spirit, Michael Dieciuc’s research revolves around the intersection between philosophy, psychology, mystical experiences, and spirituality. He has participated in three philosophy conferences, one of which was the Religion and Spirituality in Society Conference 2011 held at University Center, Chicago, USA— Stream: Sociology and Anthropology of Religion. He claims both endeavors have come up against the limits of their knowledge: an invisible wall, an asymptote separating the finite from the infinite.
Therefore, what is Mysticism and how do we know when we have arrived at this state of being? If we are triad beings—mind, body, and spirit— is it being fully aware when we participate in any given task?—a state of being of intuitive perception as “all is one”? According to Dieciuc, “Mystical consciousness contains the following phenomena expressed in their highest, purest, and most intense forms: ego-dissolution, time-dilation, integration of the unconscious, and dichotomy transcending logic” (Dieciuc 3). It is the loss of being aware of time and space, either/or, and non-dualistic models of consciousness. It is the being part of whom a person is that these non-ordinary experiences allow us to engage the world in a new way.
The meaning of holy in a religious context means, “called out.” The Catholic understanding is a verb or action word and concept that, right worship and right justice equals holiness. Holiness is not something one can obtain by mimic or rote learning, but is something one must practice—it is the being stuff—based on experience that can be both subjective and objective in nature. It is in our everyday experience and in making these comments, Dieciuc states:
Some of you may recognize these phenomena from your own experiences of reading, writing, listening, or playing music, working on a puzzle, playing a sport, dreams, déjà vu, daydreaming, or during sex, to say nothing of the more obviously spiritual activities of yoga, meditation, and prayer. (Dieciuc 3)
These are a few examples of activities we engage in that create non-ordinary experiences that, Dieciuc claims, happen on a regular basis that we tend to dismiss. And, with this said, I agree.
These experiences, he states, “allow us to see things differently, not see different things” and requires “nothing more than learning how to tap into our deeper recesses, which ultimately requires a few acts of unlearning” (Dieciuc 9). While I certainly can appreciate that many people have shared a similar experience and Dieciuc’s enthusiasm, I think this change in our perception often comes with maturity by life experience. We learn to accept ourselves for who we are, through life’s trials, the highs and lows, and we come to accept others for who they are.
While I agree every person on a practical daily level can experience these states of being, I am skeptical if the non-ordinary states are a realistic expectation under conditions out of one’s control when we experience sickness or other misfortunes that humanity faces. There are days, it is a mystery to have survived the events of the day.
This of course, has been the challenge of spirituality—balance—and empathy. While one may hold a belief in mystical experiences it is interesting to note, before Christianity became a World Religion the earliest Christians were coined “followers of the way.” The rule of faith is experience trumps scripture and one of the greatest theological debates in Christianity. Moreover, the divinity and humanity of Jesus or the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is a theological contention between the Westerns religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and the Eastern religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucian). While all religions share similarities, there are differences and our perception and culture shapes the way we think, our beliefs, and guide our actions. Interestingly, a similarity of mystical experiences—no matter a person’s religion or non-religion—is the change that takes place within a person.
Thomas Forsthoefel is a Professor of Religious Studies at Mercyhurst College. His book Soulsong: Seeking Holiness, Coming Home, is a contemporary inspirational account of what it means to be a religious person in our modern world. Drawing on his vast knowledge and personal experience, he offers an understanding that to be at home with oneself is part of our deepest level of being home with the other.
Forsthoefel draws on religious in-sight of both the east and the west, and uses his in-sight as an invitation to jump into the depths of the deep in our universal human experience. He engages the reader on the practical, yet, profound level of what it means to be fully human, what it means to be holy. How it is often found through our experience of the other and how a place of brokenness is a place to be reverenced and not avoided in our search for meaning—our search for truth.
What is wisdom and how do we know when we have found it? Is it an intuitive feeling that surpasses our rational mind of reason and logic? Many seekers of understanding have asked these questions throughout history and seem to share a similar understanding that it is the integration of both. It is in this content we will look at the Greek term for “word” (logos) which also means reason and the human drive for meaning.
Victor Frankl lays a foundation in his timeless classic, Man’s Search for Meaning where the search for a meaning in life is the primary motivational force in human beings. Drawing on Frankl’s logotherapy, Forsthoefel tells us, “Frankl succinctly states that we are endowed with a will to meaning far stronger and far more important than either the will to power or the will to pleasure. The absence of meaning provokes a genuine crisis, an existential distress, and logotherapy offers the client the context in which to reexamine or redefine meaning” (Forsthoefel 109). It is in this paradox that lays our human condition, our greatest strength, and our greatest weakness, our joys and sorrows in our struggle to seeks and find meaning in our individual lives.
Drawing on the premise that Frankl’s use of reason can be interpreted as, “…a rational examination to discover meaning and purpose.”—Forsthoefel goes further for the use of reason and adds, “We are called to be human…” or “our authentic way of being human” (Forsthoefel 110). While we rarely admit as much, finding our uniqueness, often frowned upon, as a personality quirk – a faux pas – is inevitably what makes us different and allows our perception to change and see the world in a new way.
Reflection and awareness of not only our successes in life, but also our failures, may share similarities but they are not the same. Through experience, learning, and healing a person has something authentic to offer the community around them. More importantly, it provokes acceptance: “We are who we are after all; coming to accept and love ourselves as we are, not as we’d like to be or as others want us to be, is essential to our path of integration” (Forsthoefel 90). It is in this act—integration— that we become authentic, not only with ourselves but with others. This freedom allows us to live purposely and meaningfully by neither denying nor escaping our individuality, but by respecting and embracing life, not under obligation but as genuine love.
The struggle to remain in this freedom is an important challenge. The American-German psychologist and humanistic philosopher, Erich Fromm, who lived in the shadow of Nazism, tried to make sense of how humans lose their individuality. For Fromm, it was turning to authoritarians or conformity that human beings lose their individuality and disintegration occurs.
Similar to Thomas Merton’s concerns of a distorted understanding of human success, Fromm saw a danger in ideological marketing that projected conformism. Based on his experience, his concern with losing one’s integrity by conformity and trivial nuances of differences was a threat to our authenticity. He himself writes, “His main aim is profitable exchange of his skills, knowledge, and of himself, his ‘personality package’ with others who are equally intent on a fair and profitable exchange” (Fromm 97). It is in the projection of success and the absence of conflict that one’s life loses clarity. Furthermore, the ability to communicate in reality from what Fromm calls our “central experience” in our shared humanity and risk freedom, enslaved by an image.
Theories in the late twentieth century on human motivation are a growing market in American society. Edward Barney—also known as the father of public relations—nephew of Sigmund Freud, used his uncles psychoanalytic sexuality theory known as the Oedipus complex in marketing based on human desire and he proposed a total reconfiguration of Western industry. There has been a lot of criticism of Freud’s theory and rightly so. Nevertheless, the importance of human sexuality is in demonstrating a deterrent of human motivation— rooted in the concept of identity or sameness—can also be found in secularism, regardless of religious or non-religious belief.
Bernard Stiegler a French philosopher at Goldsmiths, University of London and at the University of Technology of Compiègne explores the concept of desire to understand the relation between economics and psychoanalysis or between social and psychic investment of what Stiegler calls the libidinal economies. Utilization of Stiegler’s work is an attempt to draw in-sight in attempting a balanced approach for pondering if our human potential is being guided to a better future.
Throughout history, there have been debates on what is consciousness and with sciences help; we know that we all have unconscious biases. Stielger’s thesis argues that there is in principle a historicity of the unconscious and he states, “Psychopower controls the individual and collective behavior of consumers by channeling their libidinal energy toward commodities - by provoking the investment of desire in the object of consumption it becomes possible to derive profits from industrial investment in the apparatus of production” (Stielger 1). The Oxford Dictionaries defines the word libidinal as a derivative from libido: In psychoanalysis the energy of the sexual drive as a component of the life instinct; Origin: early 20th century from Latin, literally 'desire, lust'.
Desire of the human person in our vulnerability, it can be highly exploited if our understanding is one of rigidness or lacks the respect of what is at the core of our human experience. What makes us human—humanness—can be idealized, objectified, and dehumanized. Stielger proposes that needs and desires equally become an idealization of objects that presuppose an economy of what he calls, “consistences” in the forms of, “infantile, amorous, artistic, scientific, philosophical, political, and religious…” (Stiegler 2). In addition, we can witness this in our society today that takes shape in political and economic theory that provokes action counter to the pursuit of human equality.
Our sexuality is part of who we are and we cannot leave home without it. Interestingly, Stielger draws on critics aware of psycho technologies use investigating of the unconscious whose concern was it could make possible a dis-economy by the destruction of human libido. Stielger is collaborating the long-standing axiom that, “In the consumerist economy, the drives are diverted from their aims and toward artificial needs - needs that fail to constitute any desires” (Stielger 2). This in-sight can bring awareness to the planetary crisis and collapse of our world’s natural resources that humanity faces as a collective species. In trying to understand what it means to be human, I ponder if in reality an ideology rooted on a concept of identity is in actuality depleting our energy.
Thus far, I have explored works of religious, philosophical, and psychological thinkers and now we turn to modern science. Beginning in the late 50s at California Institute of Technology, research began on the split-brain phenomenon on patients with special neurological conditions. Psycho biologist, Michael Gazzaniga along with Roger Sperry pioneered research on the split-brain theory that laid the foundations in the field of cognitive neuroscience. In an interview, conducted by Erin Rasmussen a PhD in experimental psychology, Gazzaniga explains—with the advent of brain imaging—brain organization and how cognitive processing is divided between the two hemispheres. In addition, in a normally intact brain how people differ in this process can help psychologists understand conscious versus unconscious processes on in-sight drawing on cortical lesions –patients who suffer from neglect and blindsight.
Psychology has become a dominate field used in American culture. I will use an excerpt from the interview that I feel is most relevant with the growing access of information in our modern society. Rasmussen asks Gazzaniga, if he were to teach an introductory psychology class, what he would teach his undergraduate students not found in their textbooks. Gazzaniga’s answer is riveting, and he suggests with evidence and in understanding the brain, humans have a moral compass, but more importantly, he advocates for what he calls a “level of analysis” approach:
…a full understanding of any psychological question requires addressing it at several different levels of analysis, from gene expression to cultural and social forces. Much of the work going on in psychology and neuroscience raises ethical questions and sometimes these are difficult to get into textbook. (Rasmussen 2)
My point in using this interview excerpt is that Gazzaniga’s answer should interest those that want to have a broader understanding. Beyond the limited audience of neuroscience, his point should speak to anyone who cares about the larger issues of culture, ethics, and their effect on human cognition and behavior. In addition, how the integration of the left (analytic) and right (synthetic) hemispheres communicates, helping our understanding of how much information we process outside of our conscious awareness.
Growing concern in academic debate is when it comes to deciding on a field of study, is it best to borrow down into one specific field of specialization or to have a broader education that one finds at a liberal arts college. Gazzaniga suggest, “Details are necessary but today’s psychological scientist absolutely has to keep abreast of research that spans many areas…. It takes time to gain such a perspective…” (Gazzaniga 3). In offering, a broader approach for finding solutions to complex problems—in view of our fast-paced culture that puts an emphasis on immediacy—this provides fluidity in pursuit of discovery for solutions.
Science is providing evidence that our culture could play a role in how our brain is wired. Christopher Fisher, PhD in Clinical Health Psychology & Behavioral Medicine uses research by psychological scientists Denise C. Park from the University of Texas at Dallas and Chih-Mao Huang from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to discuss ways in which brain structure and function may be influenced by culture. By looking at the differences of the collectivist nature of East Asian cultures and the individualistic nature of Western cultures, Fisher, attempts to bridge an understanding for our differences.
How we process information is research pioneered by neuropsychologists and now using advanced technology, cognitive neuroscience is finding empirical evidence that cultures shape our perceptions. Fisher states, “There is evidence that the collectivist nature of East Asian cultures versus individualistic Western cultures affects both brain and behavior. East Asians tend to process information in a global manner whereas Westerners tend to focus on individual objects” (Fisher 1). Due to globalization the world is more connected. Understanding cognitive processing differences are beneficial for cross-cultural communication
The differences in cognitive processing suggest that attention, categorization, and reasoning can help bridge an understanding of how differences in values, shape function and structure of the brain. In a study using pictures and tracking eye movements, outcomes validate focal objects is one thing Westerners spent more time on, while Easterners—using the same pictures—spent more time on contextual background (Fisher 1). The research results can apply to not only visual imaging, but also how people can interpret storytelling and literature differently. Moreover, how this research can bring us to a deeper understanding of why peoples cultures and ethics are different.
Describing a theory requires more than simply reporting numbers and conclusion. Rather than getting to the important aspect, it is important first to describe the hypotheses, methods, and results that led to the conclusion. That is exactly what Dan Pink demonstrates in his book, A Whole New Mind. Pink argues, once a task calls for rudimentary cognitive skills, the higher the reward leads to poorer performance. External motivation based on rewards and punishment, what Pink coins “carrots and sticks,” used in the twentieth century are inadequate.
This discovery will have significant applications for the qualities of purpose, intrinsic motivation and meaning and the essential aptitudes needed are design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning in the twenty-first century (Pink 60,61). Further examining motivation in his book Drive, Pink maintains in chapters 4-6 that providing an infrastructure for intrinsic motivation in the pursuit of self-mastery through autonomy, mastery, andpurpose hold the keys to the success for our future. Pink draws on a vast amount of research based on studies by social and educational psychologists.
In summing, I have tried to explicate on religious and humanist philosophies by utilizing research in the humanities, demonstrating a common running thread throughout history and a deterrent of human motivation is rooted in the concept of identity or sameness in both religious and secular thought. Dan Pink advocates a radical revision in human motivation: One providing an infrastructure, intrinsic in meaning, found through autonomy, mastery, and purpose. One that is not new as we discover what it means to be human.
Works Cited
Anata, Biletzki and Matar, Anata. “Ludwig Wittgenstein.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2009. The Metaphysics Research Lab Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford University. 23 December 2009. Web. 19 February 2012.http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/wittgenstein/
Copland, Sarah. “Reading in the Blend: Collaborative Conceptual Blending in the Silent Traveller Narratives.” Narrative16. 2, (May 2008): 23, 140-162, 23. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 December 2011.
Dieciuc, Michael. “The Mystical Mind: The Philosophical and Psychological Significance of Mystical Experiences.” International Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Society 1. 2 (2011): 10, 149-158. Academic Search Complete. Web. 7 December 2011.
Fisher, Christopher. “Culture Wires The Brain: A Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective.” The Behavior Medicine Report. The Behavior Medicine Report. 4 August 2010. Web. 9 December 2011.
Forsthoefel, Thomas. “Soulsong: Seeking Holiness, Coming Home.” New York: Orbis Books and Maryknoll, 2006. Print.
Fromm, Erich. “The Art of Loving.” New York: HarperCollins, 2006. Print.
Merton, Thomas. “Mystics and Zen Masters.” New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999. Print.
“Oxford Dictionaries”. Oxford University Press. 2012 Web. 11 February 2012. http://oxforddictionaries.com/
Pink, Dan. “A Whole New Mind.” New York: Riverhead Books, 2006. Print.
Pink, Dan. “Drive: The Surprising Truth of What Motivates Us.” New York: Riverhead Books, 2009. Print.
Rasmussen, Erin B. “Expanding Your Coverage of Neuroscience: An Interview With Michael Gazzaniga.” Teaching of Psychology 33. (2006): 212-215, 4. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 December. 2011.
Stiegler, Bernard. “Pharmacology of Desire: Drive-Based Capitalism and Libidinal Dis Economy.” New Formations 72Summer 2011:150-161, 12. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Feb 2012.
Comments