Human Consciousness?

Question

We are all like machines. Brainwashed from early childhood to live in a bubble, with certain beliefs and ideas. As a result we have created these destructive societies. We are very afraid to question our beliefs.
Is this possible to free the human mind, so that we can see things as they are? I emphasize, free not redecorate?

Scott.de,
It is a fact that we are evolved species and we have basic needs just like the other animals. In this respect, I agree that societies are OK. They provide us with food, clothes and shelter. But is this really all? How about our psychological needs and demands?

Are we really aware of the facts you mentioned? Or we(the intelligent ones) just agree with it and move on with our lives?

This really is not the reason behind all the brutality that is going on in the world. Are developed countries peaceful? Don't they indulge in every kind of brutality?

Don't you think individualism is one of the reasons behind many of the human crises.

Hadenough,

Freedom of choice?
You are given some options and asked to choose from them. It's like being in a prison having the option to choose your cell. The real freedom is when you have a mind that is completely, unconditionally free from everything. Only then you see the true nature of things and whatever you do then, would be the right action and you don't have to choose.

Answer 1

Robots--I don't think that is correct but I see why you asked.
We are more than just a body and a brain. We have special mental and emotional qualities.

A key part of our mental and emotional makeup is free will.
To begin with, think about this: Do you appreciate having the freedom to choose what you will do and say, what you will eat and wear, what kind of work you will do, and where and how you will live? Or would you want someone to dictate your every word and action every moment of your life?
No normal person wants his life taken out of his control so completely.
We have the ability to think, weigh matters, make decisions, and know right from wrong. Thus, free will based on intelligent choice. We were not made like mindless robots having no will of their own. Nor are we to act out of instinct as were the animals. Instead, our marvelous brain was designed to work in harmony with our freedom of choice.
Some choose not to go further than that childhood bubble as you call it. It is not like we are not offered choices. It feels safe to them. Yes, learning to reason and applying knowledge can be taught to free the mind----but you have to reach that person's heart first to make them want to change.

Add-on -another good point -this could go on and on-but the fact remains we do have reasoning power of out own. Not just choices given us. .Imagine how it would be without some limits? Imagine a busy city without any traffic laws, where everybody could drive in any direction at any speed. Would you want to drive under those conditions? No, that would be traffic anarchy and would surely result in many accidents.So we follow certain beliefs--but the power of how we choose is still ours. And I believe anyone can be reached and changed if you can reach their heart. Just my view. Touche on your add on.

Answer 2

Yes, it is possible, but it requires the diminishment of your ego. Those beliefs and ideas are held in high regard because they are YOUR ideas and beliefs, you have identity with them. It is the same with group identity (being a Christian, or a Voter, or a Target Worker) you have a vested interest in these ideas, you have attachment, which means when these ideas are assaulted, you regard yourself as assaulted. Those that shrink their egos, that lessen their attachment to ideas and things will not suffer as much because they have make their "targets" smaller. If I own a car that I love and is my prized possession, it would make me very angry if it were destroyed (even though this is an inevitability given enough time). If instead I under stand that the car is impermanent and eventually will no longer be a car, and thus is not worth really hanging onto, I will not be upset if something happens to it.

When we lessen our attachments and shrink out egos, making ourselves more humble, we no longer hold our ideas as paramount to others. If we have no vested interest in it being one way or another, we can rationally investigate an idea and make a conclusion based on truth instead of preference. The less our attachment to our own ideas and other ideas, the less our biases will effect our judgment.

We all have this idea that "I" am more important then "you" where in fact we are exactly equal, or maybe even null in the mechanics and interdependent laws of relationships that govern our existence. For example, a man who understands the rules of chess will exclaim with absolute certainty that it is impossible for a bishop to move sideways like a rook, but all that is required for one to do so is to move the piece sideways. It's not within the agreed upon rules of the game, but it's a perfectly acceptable move in nature. The rules of chess are artificial, just like the social games our society plays, and our many unexplored beliefs about the world.

I think meditation is key to this process of reduction as it is the practice of letting go while increasing your concentration of events as they happen in the moment without thinking about it. You don't think about the past or future, and not even what just happened or will happen. These are all projections of our beliefs about the world onto the moment of "now". Instead, you concentrate on experiencing the events of "now" as they happen without dwelling on them. If everyone did this, not only would we have calmer and more rational people, but we would be smarter and could see deeper too! (meditation build thickness in the neocortex with glial cells. The type of brain cell that Einstein had an abnormally high count of.) My 2 cents anyway.

Answer 3

well if you look at the way Thomas Hobbes (a famous philosopher) viewd human behaviour, he viewd all humans as being born selfish and looking out for themselves only, he also thought that society was created to keep humans under control, beacuse without that control we have with laws and such our lives would be short and full of brutality. Hobbes' believed that humans natural state was agressive, evil, brutal and short

I think that society was created by man so we wont have to resort to brutality and selfishness. We created society to help us work together and share our basic needs: food, shelter, water. If you look at poverty stricken countries, they are full of war and fighting (like africa for example) i believe this is because once there is a shortage of the basic needs, we will resort to brutality and do whatever it takes to fulfill those needs. This relates to Hobbes' theory because when humans belong to a strong society we will not have to worry about fulfilling our basic needs and thus not turning brutal.

Basically, places where society is lacking means the law is lacking so those places are more chaotic beacuse there is nothing to control our natural state and nothing to keep us in line. Plus it related to the shortage of basic needs, when a society is lacking, it normally isnt very rich in resources, so this is why humans go to their savage state in order to survive.

Think about it, if we all evolved from cavemen or apes, we were once wild animals, just like wild animals form packs to work together to survive, humans form societies and governments to survive. humans are animals essentialy, so we all have animla instincts, society just teaches and forces us how to control them. Sowhen society, law, and basic needs are non-existent, we will resort back to our animal instints to survive.

This is kind of irrelevant to what your asking but at the same time it is relevant beacause using this you can answer part of your question, and that is: yes society does brainwash us into controlling our instincts and beliefs and laws are created as a measure to make sure we all stay in line.

Answer 4

That is a Buddist ideal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddism

Answer 5

yes ..it's call Reality..http://www.churchofreality.org/wisdom/introduction/