We should keep in mind that Gebser postulates both an efficient (an upswing, uptake, positive surge) and a deficient (downswing, negative surge) phase of each structure of consciousness. Magic, for example, becomes deficient when it no longer supports our interaction with the world but degenerates, say, into the mere casting of spells or the yearning for power. (It should be remembered that Anglo-speakers "spell", that is, specify the letters that constitute a word; in olden times, knowing (and being able to write) the runes that constituted someone's name gave the writer power over that other person. Think about the implications we carry around with us even today.) The very rise of what we in the West like to think of as "civilization", with the Greeks, was a reaction against the mythologies that had become so diffuse and confusing that they no longer supported our interaction with the world.
Our own shift toward the deficient aspect of the Mental structure of consciousness can be clearly identified, and Gebser places in squarely in the Renaissance and the "discovery" of perspective. Leonardo da Vinci wrote one of the first treatises on the subject, and if you look at painting prior to that time, you will notice a very big difference in how the world was (could be) graphically represented. Granted, perspective opens up a whole new way of seeing things (and the pun is intended), but at the same time, it is exceedingly limiting for it focuses only on an aspect of the whole and it almost always differs from the point-of-view that even similarly minded people may have of a given subject. We have got to the point where it is almost impossible for most people to even consider seeing the world from a point-of-view different from their own. What's happening in Washington is obvious anyone who is even slightly aware of what Gebser is trying to tell us.
But, as the first two examples, the Magical and Mythical, have illustrated, the shift comes when the chaos finally becomes intolerable. When we "lose the plot", to put it in modern terms, things go downhill, and even the slowest and least observant among us realize that we're accelerating in our degeneracy. Yes, when things start going downhill, things start falling apart very fast.
And let's face it, we're right in the thick of things. There's not one of our "systems" these days that is not on the verge of collapse. First, we have the "little" systems, as I like to call them, things like social services, healthcare, social security, and the like. But the "big" systems are imploding too. Science is in a crisis due to its inability and unwillingness to address issues like "consciousness" seriously, or because it refuses to acknowledge new discoveries that not only challenge our "accepted wisdom", but turn it on its head. Politics have become impossible, and I don't care in which country or under which system you have to live. Economics has failed us miserably: if it all worked as planned, why aren't we all rich and living a life luxury? Religion? Even the Pope has taken a new tack and has shook up the traditional Church Establishment. In psychology, the behaviorist model has not only been discredited, it has been exposed for what it is: a mere method of manipulation; the latest "crisis" is trying to find a way to come to terms with the increasing degree of ephemeralization (doing ever more with ever less) and virtualization (the over-abstraction of reality). Even our sociology is being challenged as social networks reveal the impossible dichotomy of "human interaction" and access to unlimited amounts of information, much of which we never even knew existed. The Chinese believe one should be blessed to live in exciting times, well, they are getting their wish as far as I'm concerned.
Truth be told, we have no idea what to do. Most of us are simply lost, confused, frustrated, and overwhelmed. We have every reason to be, but we have to come to terms with the fact that things ... hell, nothing ... is as it used to be. What we also have to come to terms with is the fact that they never will that way again.
What humankind has done in every consciousness shift prior to this one is to hold fast to what they thought they "knew". It hasn't worked yet, and I can assure you, it's not going to work this time around. We need to get with it, to ride the wave, to go with the flow ... there are lots of ways to say it, but they all boil down to the same thing: it's time to wake up and smell the coffee.
No comments:
Post a Comment