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posted by LaminatorX on Friday July 03 2015, @01:15AM   Printer-friendly
from the actually-old-theory dept.

Consciousness — the internal dialogue that seems to govern one's thoughts and actions — is far less powerful than people believe, serving as a passive conduit rather than an active force that exerts control, according to a new theory proposed by an SF State researcher. Associate Professor of Psychology Ezequiel Morsella.

Morsella and his coauthors' groundbreaking theory, published online on June 22 by the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences, contradicts intuitive beliefs about human consciousness and the notion of self.

According to Morsella's framework, the "free will" that people typically attribute to their conscious mind — the idea that our consciousness, as a "decider," guides us to a course of action — does not exist. Instead, consciousness only relays information to control "voluntary" action, or goal-oriented movement involving the skeletal muscle system.

http://scienceblog.com/79096/theory-consciousness-free/

Wonder if Edward Bernays would agree with this assessment. Enjoyed watching the very intriguing documentary, The Century of the Self a 2002 British television documentary series by Adam Curtis. It focuses on how the work of Sigmund Freud, Anna Freud, and Edward Bernays influenced the way corporations and governments have analyzed, dealt with, and controlled people.

You can see the documentary: The Century of the Self | Happiness Machines | Episode 1


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  • (Score: 1) by Francis on Friday July 03 2015, @03:18AM

    by Francis (5544) on Friday July 03 2015, @03:18AM (#204531)

    I think you misunderstood. The vast majority of what we do on a daily basis is the result of habit. That's one of the reasons why you can trip on a stair that's barely any different in height than the normal stairs are. It's also why when you get to the top of the stairs you sometimes take one too many because the actual process happens automatically until you recognize the top.

    Most things we do, even the way we talk is in large part a set of habits and because of that you might get called out for saying something you didn't think you said because you weren't listening.

    But, that being said, if somebody wants to make you do something that you really don't want to do, there are ways of handling it. In extreme cases you can effectively paralyze yourself by refusing to do anything at all.

    As the summary stated, our main choices are in terms of short term goals. If you construct the right set of short term goals then you will probably get what you want, assuming it's possible to get it.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 03 2015, @08:27PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 03 2015, @08:27PM (#204839)

    The vast majority of what we do on a daily basis is the result of habit.

    Sounds like you might have been reading G. I. Gurdjieff or related? His teachings (early/mid 20th century) often center on focusing on exactly what you are doing now and not relying on habits. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Way [wikipedia.org]

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 04 2015, @12:04AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 04 2015, @12:04AM (#204883)

    If you construct the right set of short term goals then you will probably get what you want, assuming it's possible to get it.

    This is a fascinating idea. I've a brain injury that causes me great difficulty with planning, or achieving anything. (Most likely pre-frontal cortex damage.)

    I'll have to think about this for a while, it may be quite useful (even if it's somewhat obvious). Sometimes the most obvious statement will contain something that can change your life, if you consider it for a while.