Reasoning: your Greatest Enemy

 

 (This post is part of series of posts, indexed here. It is recommended they be read collectively, and in order.)  

"For the natural man is an enemy to God..." 

    - Mosiah 3:19  (Book of Mormon)

This statement is remarkably profound, in light of what we know about the human machine. Though he is as much our enemy as God's

Perhaps you already concluded that the enemy would be you, based on comments from earlier posts, most notably The Liar Within.

However, that we lie to ourselves, that we distort our own perception of reality, barely scratches the surface of the threat you pose to yourself.

In the previous post, we considered some of the fundamental mechanisms of the human machine; the underpinning, biological programming which serves to keep us alive, both individually and as a species.

1. Seek Pleasure

2. Avoid Pain

3. Conserve Energy

Our bodies have fascinating mechanisms to drive these priorities. through the regulation of a variety of chemicals - Dopamine, Serotonin, Adrenaline, etc...

A few examples:

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- You are walking though the jungle (or a grocery store, for a less primitive example), and you see a potential food source. Your body releases a bit of dopamine, to motivate you to pursue/hunt that bit of food. The more promising the food source appears to you, the larger that hit of dopamine. Then your body utilizes mechanisms to create an equal and opposing reaction, putting you in a state of... pain... So now not only do you desire the object, you must have the object in order to remove the pain.  (priorities one and two at essentially the same time.)

- You are again walking through the Jungle. you are hungry, and you see a piece of fruit. However, it  looks rotten, and is in a spot which will be difficult to get to. Your body depletes the the levels of certain chemicals (Dopamine, Serotonin...). In your system. Creating a mood which, in extreme levels, we call depression. This reduces your motivation to pursue the object, even though you are hungry, and you continue on your way (yes, depression does in fact serve a practical purpose, in appropriate levels and under appropriate circumstances).

- You see a strange animal, one which you have never seen before. It has large claws, and enormous, fang-like teeth. Although you don't recognize this animal, you do recognize those features from other animals you have seen, and which you know to be dangerous. Your brain automatically categorizes this creature as a potential threat, and alters various chemicals to place you in a state of heightened awareness (we often call it anxiety), prepared for a fight/flight/freeze response.

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These systems are quite amazing. They work well to keep us alive, driving us toward that which is necessary for our survival, and away from potential danger.

However, these systems can be hijacked. They can 'misfire', and can ultimately work contrary to their intended purpose.

In  1954, James Olds and Peter Milner discovered if they wired a button to the pleasure center in a rat's brain, the rat would push the button repeatedly, ignoring opportunities for food or mating. They would push the button until they collapsed from exhaustion. They would prefer the button to the point of starvation. 

(Positive reinforcement produced by electrical stimulation of septal area and other regions of rat brain. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1955-06866-001)

Conversely, scientists discovered that by disconnecting the dopaminergic mechanism in a rat's brain, the rat would lay about lethargically, ignoring opportunities to mate or eat. It wouldn't exert the effort to eat food placed directly in front of it, and would ultimately starve to death.

(Feeding behavior in dopamine-deficient mice - PMC https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC18425/)

Yet another study observed rats ignoring other foods - and even cocaine - in favor of the filling of Oreo cookies. The high, sugar, high fat content appeals to priorities one and three - high levels of tasty calories with little expended effort. (Sadly, the mechanism is a trifle weak when it comes to identifying key nutrients which are needed, in addition to the calories).

(2013 · Connecticut College News https://www.conncoll.edu/news/news-archive/2013/student-faculty-research-suggests-oreos-can-be-compared-to-drugs-of-abuse-in-lab-rats.html)

For a system so important to our survival, it is surprisingly unsophisticated.

For instance, the chemical signature in our bodies for the experience of fear is nearly identical to that of excitement. We often can't distinguish clearly the difference between physical attraction and a threat to our life (this was the subject of an experiment in 1974 performed by Don Dutton and Arthur Aaron at the Capilano Suspension Bridge.) 

(https://www2.psych.ubc.ca/~schaller/308Readings/GeorgiaStraight2011.pdf)

Additionally, these systems treat a threat to your ego as equal in order of magnitude to a threat to your physical well-being. Your body's response to the threat of losing an argument, and the threat of being stabbed can be indistinguishable. If you have selected a particular position on a topic, or a method of accomplishing a certain task, your brain will literally fabricate logical-sounding justifications to support your position, and will discard sound evidence to the contrary. It will work to support and defend your decision to the point of irrationality.

The very system meant to keep you alive - to keep your entire species alive - can (intentionally or unintentionally) be subverted, leading to addiction, compulsion, unbounded anxiety or depression, irrational prejudice... It can drive us to neglect or even harm ourselves.

But not just ourselves; our friends, neighbors, loved ones, even our own offspring. The most dangerous enemy we face - and the most difficult enemy to conquer. Is ourself. It is an ever present enemy, always lurking just below the surface, ready to strike. All it needs is for you to be distracted, overwhelmed, or inattentive, and it will assume control.

This is why mastering the art of reasoning is so critical. It is the one tool we have in our arsenal capable of subduing this inner enemy.