Conversation about

The central importance of aims

 

With the topic:

Gestalt Psychology

Universal scholar

Consciousness Restriction

hinking habits

Life Attitudes

Fear of death

Thirst for knowledge

 

The most important point is their nature: if they are not met, they urge (more or less), depending on the current or general value in a feeling self, somehow to be reached after all - even with alternatives.

 

"Aims are very important in your theory building," stated CP.

"In fact, everything is structured by it," I nodded. "Take the system of life. In every living being, there is a spectrum of aims that relativize, detach, connect with each other, form co-operative groups, cover up, wrestle for supremacy, and organize themselves into a partially alternate hierarchy. Aims are added, others change or go out. Each target has, or generates, its opponent, if other targets are touched and run the risk of being compromised. And every action takes place through a set of aims that each develop structures, compromise, reinforce or weaken. Many aims change in the course of life, except for the very low-lying, for example, the life instinct. This one always remains, even if you are very old."

"That sounds very complicated," said CP.

"It is, too," I nodded again. "The whole system is incredibly diverse and nested. That makes it so difficult to tell exactly where the driving forces of action come from.

Every behaviour, if traced back, will have its source in the life instinct. There are usually many intermediate stages between this and the current behaviour. That's why it's often hard to find the connections. But the younger a living being, the easier it is to determine. In the course of his life man differentiates more and more. It builds up increasingly, depending on the aims it carries. "

"Can you never get to the bottom of the psyche?"

"Not in the smallest detail. But if you want to try to recognize yourself, it helps to know that everything is designed in one of midpoints - like the aims of the SELF, which are in the brain and play an important role.

Ultimately, people are always circling around the same aims, only the content is different. The highest aim is, as a rule, the life instinct, which, it seems, always wants to grow, wants more and higher, closely followed by the aim of orientation, showing people his environment, which is of value to them, in positive or negative Meaning, in order to be able to react accordingly. The most important design factor is then the group - starting with two people - the society in which one lives. The aim of being recognized is probably one of the strongest things that shapes you in life. In this way, the society in which one lives can become totally one's own world. That is, they can talk about their goals, in other words: values that, among other things, were anchored by the socialization process, shape them absolutely and do not allow other goals to have a chance.”

"You say there's no life without a midpoint?"

"Let me redefine what I mean by 'midpoint': it means the world that is created to reach an aim. Everything else is more or less shielded. He selects from what he finds and believes he has a value for the aim, and gives shape to the world. Imagine the unimaginable: completely without aims. In you, the aim would no longer be to survive, to satisfy your needs, to orient oneself. From the very beginning of the first life in the world, you would find the aim of survival, which created the 'sight' and brought the found world into a form.

A strong aim can completely take over the human being for a period of time and structure it completely. This can be seen very well in the phenomenon of love, or when you have a task in front of you that completely engages you. Everything in one is aligned as much as possible."

"You meant the aims in man are hierarchical. Are you saying that there is a command center in the brain?”

"No, this is not existing. What I mean by this is that the more important the aims are, the higher the rank. To achieve this, neural networks join together to form jointly acting groups, ensembles. The hierarchy can change constantly according to the demands of the world."

"When and how did these networks actually come about?"

“Human brain development begins in the third week of pregnancy and is largely complete only 20 to 30 years after birth.

At the time of birth, the infant already has almost the entire number of neurons, but only a very small part of the nerve processes, i.e. synapses. These then multiply at breathtaking speed and network the neurons.

They are then amplified or dissipate again.”

 "By what rules?"

“According to the respective aims. It depends on what value they have and how intensively they are used. Experiences with the environment determine which neural networks become stronger, endure and which do not.”

"So the decisive factors are the experiences that the living being makes in the various phases?"

“Heredity also plays an important role in neural networks. Plant and environmental estimates assume that both contribute roughly half each. Which distribution they unite in detail depends on the respective aims.

The more important something is for a living being, the more it learns in this relationship. Neural networks are strengthened, reshaped, regenerate or die out.”

"Do the individual neurons only react to a specific impulse?"

"No, they can form structures for different impulses with different neurons, they have a multiple function, so to speak: For the respective aims, many nerve cells have the possibility, in milliseconds, of an impulse with other cells, which have an equal potential in themselves to organize.

Take about a life-threatening situation. This structure over various activated neurons lightnings fast your shape. The more life, the survival is affected, the stronger the activities. "

"So, no order is given from 'above'?"

"The 'command' is the perception, the impulse, which is then translated into reactions - if there is an aim for it, and the impulse has the corresponding valence."

"What determines the valence?"

"The aims that lie in one."

"But if you say that the life instinct is usually at the top of the hierarchy, then it would have to be found somewhere!"

"It lies in the primordial structures of living beings that have passed it on through DNA."

"Could one define the goals in humans as neuron associations, which e.g. stimulated by stimuli to form a structure?"

"Yes. And in the same way that neurons can have multiple functions, so too are the individual aims: They can organize themselves into groups – into goals that can form forms of action. Various goals are then always stimulated in parallel, which together form structures.”

"Let me repeat: the impulse, the stimulus from outside or inside activates aims, these activate further neural networks and these again solution programs."

"That's the procedure," I confirmed.

"When you go from one midpoint to the other, is it like switching from one neural network to another?"

"Yes."

"Once again asked: Everything is subject to aims?"

"Yes, whether inorganic or organic."

"So not just the living beings?"

"Look: After the big bang there was mostly hydrogen, helium and some lithium and beryllium. From these gases galaxies with solar systems and planets developed under great pressures, and all the elements we know today formed during this time. All this was inorganic until a certain point in time. "

"And was shaped based on aims?"

"When substances or their environment are changed, different forms and laws result.

Everything has the aim of forming a figure according to the laws. Exactly that is also subject to everything organic. What they all have in common is that they are guided by aims. From this perspective, there is no difference between the inanimate and the animated. With the latter, ‘only’ the aims of survival are added, which have led to ever more complex structures.'

"Why do you often not see that aims shape you?"

"Quite simply because you believe you are shaping yourself with your consciousness."

--- Gestalt psychology ---

After a break, CP continued.

"You certainly know Max Wertheimer, who said: 'There are relationships in which not everything that happens as a whole derives from the way the individual pieces are and are composed, but conversely, where - in a pertinent case - what, what in a part of this whole happens, determined by internal structural laws of this its whole. '"

I nodded. “These inner structural laws result from aims in the human being; they absorb what he is receptive to, what is important to him and store this as a whole. This is e.g. when listening to music, of course, the melody and not the individual instruments.

 

This holistic view is an important property of all living beings.”

"Wertheimer's Gestalt theory, then, seeks to clarify the laws by which the brain joins elements into a whole," concluded CP.

“These are explained neither by the laws of the individual parts nor by their sum,” I added. “But they are explained by the respective aim in the human being, which brings all parts with its midpoint into a structure appropriate to the aim, which is then stored in the brain.

Holistic recognition makes sense to handle situations better and faster. "

"I'll recap," GP said. “The holistic view of the brain has the aim of being able to make quick decisions – if it went into all the details every time, this would delay its understanding or decision-making. This holistic view arises in people through experiences that they have already had in similar situations. However, since these are only similar, it does not necessarily mean that they are appropriate in relation to this goal, or that it correctly interprets what lies in front of it.

"Right. This usually results in a structure that you can work with without getting bogged down in the details.”

--- Universal scholar ---

"And you say everything in the universe is shaped by aims," GP continued to be curious.

"Everything has the aim to form a figure according to the respective laws. Everything is aligned with aims. "

"Even a lifeless stone?" CP smiled.

"By 'lifeless stone' you probably mean something lying around somewhere. Well, I would like to say: First, there is movement within the stone, because it consists of atoms or even smaller particle waves, which are not motionless and also run according to laws. And secondly, when this stone is moved, then it forms with its environment, the circumstances of a particular structure according to the laws. That's what I mean when I say: everything has the aim of forming a figure according to the laws."

"Could a stone form a structure even without laws?"

"How come? This is impossible because the laws are inherent in the substances. Nothing can happen without laws, because the substances are laws! "

"And so, you came to the conclusion that everything has the aim of forming a figure according to the laws."

“Right, this happens completely automatically. It is not that a stone has a consciousness that is out to obtain information. It's not alive. But since, as I said, everything runs according to laws, the aim automatically arises to create structures according to the laws of nature.

The same thing happens to the living beings, except that here the aim of survival is added. This aim shapes the human being. This is what I call midpoint or midpoint-mechanics.

Imagine a person who has no more aims. So do not eat anymore, drink, etc. What would happen to that? "

"He would probably die."

“By the way: without an aim, the placebo effect wouldn't work either. The aim here is to achieve something through medication. This creates a midpoint that pulls in everything that is useful for that aim. Of course, also experiences that were made when you were already taking any medication that helped. The logic of the brain is: If a suitable drug, which comes from a competent person, is taken against this disease, then this aim will also be fulfilled.

As a result, the previous internal structure in this relationship can change up to the fulfillment of the aim: from illness to health.”

"And this is done by the brain just because it “recognized" a drug that helps in his view?"

"Yes, that is enough. Unless, for example, the consciousness (better: the perception of the senses) gives the information that there is no active ingredient in the drug or that one does not trust the person who prescribed it. This would severely limit or negate the effect.

--- Consciousness restriction ---

The vast majority of human reactions are unaware. Consciousness becomes only a very small part, and always when something important occurs. Then information about the consciousness is obtained. If they are relevant, the brain processes them with the midpoints.

All other reactions and behaviours occur through general attention.

Attention wanders; absorbs the outer and inner world with the senses more loosely.

(This is the basic principle of all life: to learn particularly information about dangers and food resources).

Awareness, i.e. increased attention, deals with something in a targeted manner.

"But that must be an incredible amount of aims with their midpoints that shape the people!"

"Yes, you can say that. Just such a simple act as picking up a newspaper requires many learned aims that have been summarized and then run automatically.

Time and again, I hear that people have trouble understanding that everything is guided by aims, including themselves. I think its daily life that makes them fail to understand that sentence. Because everything is so natural, what happens. If they dig deeper, then they could see that every action, every movement is guided by aims and moves them. For example, the handle to the glass of water and drink from it. "

"Many people I've talked to actually have trouble understanding what 'aim' means," CP nodded. "For them, one aim is to complete a task or strive for something. But such a simple thing, such as bringing a spoon to your mouth, is not an aim for them!"

"Because it runs automatically, without paying more attention to this process. If they were to get to the bottom of this, they would come closer to the fact that every single hand movement must first be learned. The motivation for this was aims.

Because that's just the treachery for the realization that simple actions are taken for granted and not further think about it. Not realized that very specific aim-oriented processes are behind it."

"Yes, that's right," CP remarked thoughtfully.

“Lots of amazing achievements by people who are often based on island talents, for example to remember a large number of things in a limited time, to perform complex arithmetic operations in a few seconds or to learn a new language in a short time, would not be possible without an aim. This provides the structure that leads to the solution. Even artificial intelligence, which works with algorithms, does not come to a conclusion without a specified aim. "

--- thinking habits ---

I took a short break.

Then I continued: "Until the 16th century, people knew virtually no laws. Everything was determined from God's perspective. But even in our time, many are far from seeing everything controlled by aims, thinking that most things happen by themselves anyway, and still viewing consciousness as something metaphysical or something. These views have passed from generation to generation and still shape some philosophers and people who deal with these issues. Everyone else usually just takes it that way because they do not even think about it. "

"Why don't man often see that aims shape him?"

"Simply because man believe that he shapes himself with his consciousness."

"What if they were to throw their antiquated views overboard and start thinking that consciousness is indeed just a brain information provider?"

"Most people are too caught up in their views, their habits of thinking. In the least, the aim is to get to the bottom of the processes in them, to deal intensively with the course of their consciousness, as with this topic. Added to this there are innumerable people who live in the world of esoteric mysticism and, if they accept this insight, injure their world. For them consciousness is an essential element in the mystical view of the world, which is shaped by a metaphysical aim with its midpoint in them. "

"You mean they create this aim themself? "

"Secure. Without noticing it."

"The truth does not interest them, do you mean to say that," said CP.

“They are interested in the truth,” I replied, “but only their truth”. Everything else is labelled as nonsense.

One can call this the drama of the blinded human being. Its midpoint, the mystical world, surrounds it like a bell shielding all other views and evidence."

"Pity," regretted CP, "I find it always very exciting to hear and discuss new views."

“I feel the same way”, I nodded. “Unfortunately, it is often the case that each of us has a world view that involves a more or less strong perseverance. Changes to beloved settings are reluctant to make.

For example, branded images and ideas of the culture in which you grew up are transported from generation to generation. Only too rarely are these questioned, and if so, often with bad feelings, because they question the structures they have created: in themselves and in society. Resistance quickly builds up, trying by all means to maintain the old structures. "

"Self-knowledge apparently does not belong to the aims of many people," said CP.

"I have that impression too. Self-knowledge comes through self-observation. Who does that?"

"Funny, I enjoy watching myself and sometimes have to laugh heartily when I've seen things wrong or insisted on an erroneous point of view. By introspection, one comes closer, sees moves in ones that have not yet noticed, especially in new or critical situations.

Maybe it's also because I can accept myself and my behaviour, with the sentence, 'What happened, had to happen as it happened.' "

"I feel the same way," I confirmed. "That's why I enjoy talking to you. I've learned a lot from you already. "

"The compliment I can give back, the discussions with you are very stimulating for me.

 

What aims should one have?", he continued.

“I can't answer that like that. The aim is to dictate something to others, not within me. Everyone has their own values. I can only speak for myself here, for my aims: The most important thing for me is knowledge. I can completely immerse myself in it.

What comes to mind is that dissatisfaction always depends on the level of expectation."

"You mean, the decisive factor is the respective aim?"

"The more you have achieved an aim, the higher the satisfaction - and vice versa. Here you can find roots for euphoria and especially depression.

Therefore, one should think carefully, which aims one undertakes. Are its wrong aims, for example, that cannot be achieved, then you open the door to bad mood or depression. False aims can severely burden the psyche. "

"Do you have ideals?"

--- life attitudes ---

"Not really, unless you count the truth."

"Would wealth and fame give you something?"

"If I had the sense of wealth, then I would have to write for the people according to their expectations. So, fairy tales, sex, crime. These would not be desirable aims for me. I am absolutely satisfied with my life, in which I search for new insights. I have nothing of wealth, because what I want to know is primarily in me and rises spontaneously. So, much money would not help me in this respect.

And fame could possibly create vanity in me that does not help my actual aims, but rather hinders them. It could stop me from time to time questioning my theses and possibly insisting on them, even against legitimate objections.

There are enough examples of famous personalities. "

 

"You are different than most people."

"I did not aspire to that. I am the way I am, and that's how I take myself. "

"Why do people strive for greatness, for wanting to have more and more?"

"One reason will be vanity. An essential element of life is the recognition in the group, the society. The general reasons will lie in the primordial structures. "

"Therefore, people are striving for wealth, build taller buildings, clothe themselves conspicuously, show what they have, try to achieve a high position in society?"

"I think that's the driving force. Many people are shaped by this. "

--- fear of death ---

"Are you afraid of death?"

"I know that the midpoint of life-drive creates this fear to drive people to continue living. For example, it does not matter to him whether human being is terminally ill and suffers from horrible pain or only wishes to die. Knowing the reason makes it easier for me to deal with these feelings. And: If you're dead, the reason is gone anyway, then feelings logically play no role anymore."

"Why do many people think that death is something very bad?"

"Because the life instinct is fooling everyone. He is the strongest midpoint of life. "

"But in the end, he's just a target."

"Naturally. Therefore, for example, the suicide is also nothing wrong. Anyone who believes this merely reflects his own opinion or that of the society in which he grew up or lives. "

"And the own opinion is always relative," CP added.

 

"What do you think about near-death experiences?" He asked.

"Dying is the extinction of the organ functions of a living being, which leads to death. Death is the function setting of the neural networks in the brain.

Experiences can always only be gained through the brain. And as long as this is not dead, it is capable of producing fantasies. When the brain is dead, you do not experience anything anymore.

Near-death experiences come clearly from the brain. And the brain is not always right with what's coming out of it - that we see very clearly in the dreams."

So, one should not attach great importance to near-death experiences."

--- thirst for knowledge ---

"Can one say, Mr. Hermsch, you are always on the trail of yourself?"

"That's not quite true, but I often spontaneously have thoughts and feelings that I follow, with which I study intensively. I research, compare, falsify and verify and try, if they help me in my desire to understand, finally to bring them understandable on paper. Hoping to get criticized if I'm wrong about a view.

In addition, there is a strange striving for perfection in the relationship that I want to answer questions that are in me to the smallest detail. These aims are sustainable in me, so even if I have answered questions, they pop up again and again and make me check to see if my answer was correct or had any errors. "

"From uncertainty?"

"Out of openness and the pursuit of perfection."

“So, it's not just the urge for an answer that makes you think of something, it's the urge for it?"

"Through this quest for perfection fall to me answers. And since these aims are sustainable in me, there seems to be no end to it. That's why criticism is important to me. And that's why I write.

In addition, dealing with a question always raises new questions. So, my urge to learn never actually comes to a conclusion.

Even while falling asleep, there are suddenly thoughts or ideas, for example, about topics that I had once occupied myself with, but where I had no solution.

I then take notes for a moment, because I had the experience that if I did not write it down right away, the thoughts would have disappeared the next day. A voluntary retrieval of these target solutions is not possible for me after I wake up again. "

"All this seems to give you a lot," presumed CP.

“I can be completely absorbed in it”, I confirmed.