On Becoming Self-Conscious: A Meditation

ON BECOMING SELF-CONSCIOUS: A MEDITATION DOUGLAS DIX* Occasionally along ourjourney through the dark fantastic maze which our minds inhabit as reality, we have chanced to catch what seemed a glimpse of light. In discoveries such as language, religion, art, and science , we found outlets for our need to work. And by working we have become sophisticated—to the point where pursuit of sophistication is characteristic ofour species. But the important questions remain. Are we making progress in ourjourney through the maze which we call reality? Are we approaching a goal? Or are we simply learning to scurry faster in more complex formations along new routes? Can we assay for progress? The history of our search for such an assay can be divided into two approaches according to method. In the subjective method, progress is assayed intuitively by elite individuals. Unfortunately, the elite are often not unanimous in their intuition, thus leaving the unelite to choose among them. But being unelite, we are ill equipped to make the choice. Opinions flourish and change. Progress is not obvious. In the objective method, progress is assayed by reproducibility. Observations are considered objective only if they remain invariant with time and observer. "An objective method is one which ensures that all who use it will agree in their conclusions" [I]. But agreement is not unique to the objective method. AU who use the English language will agree in grammar, as will all Catholics in dogma and all patrons in appreciation for their art form. If there is something unique about the objective method it must be contained in the clause "all who use it." Everyone cannot use the English language, or Catholic dogma, or a given art form. This is precisely the problem with attempting to assay progress subjectively. The objective method would be unique ifeveryone could use it. Unfortunately everyone cannot participate in most objective observations. For instance, a proportion of our population cannot observe the blue color of a clear sky. Some of these nonconformists are blind, others are color blind, and others suffer hallucinations. How does The author is grateful to Dr. Patricia Cohen for many valuable conversations.»Department of Biology, University of Hartford, West Hartford, Connecticut 061 17.© 1981 by The University of Chicago. 0031-5982/81/2404-0236$01.00 Perspectives inBiology andMedicine · Summer 1981 | 543 disagreement in the objective method—the color of the sky, for instance—differ from disagreement in the subjective method, such as the beauty of a Beethoven symphony? To the musically uneducated, a Beethoven symphony can be beautiful or ugly [2], while those who understand symphonic art also find Beethoven's efforts to be beautiful or ugly [3]. Appreciation is not coupled with understanding in the subjective method. In contrast, understanding is a necessary and sufficient condition for appreciation in the objective method. Only those who understand how to observe color can appreciate blue, and only those who do not understand how to observe color fail to appreciate blue. The unique aspect of the objective method is the potential for agreement which is unanimous among all members of our species. Progress is a simple function of education. "If you cannot—in the long run—tell everyone what you have been doing, your doing has been worthless" [4, p. 8]. If those who could not observe color were educated in the wave theory of light and the operation of a spectrophotometer, they could appreciate blue by means of a meter deflection. The potential for unanimity is approached on some issues. It would be difficult, for instance, to find more than one opinion on the shape ofour planet, the existence of genetic information, the need to eat protein, or the efficacy of vaccination. But such examples are rare. Few issues can be tested by the majority of our population. Few issues can be tested by the majority of highly educated individuals. Most of the conclusions we accept as being objective consist of testimony from elite observers who claim or are reputed to be objective. Although these "objective" elite are often unanimous, they constitute a minute fraction of our educated population, represent a similar personality type, and censor their own communication [5]. To be honest, we...