x) Challenging Minds
Not understanding the paradox of changing minds. During youth, the mind changes relatively easily. Remember: at around 10 years old, peer group pressure replaces adults as having the greatest impact on youth. On the other hand, the mind is a surprisingly conservative mechanism, with theories, concepts, stories, skills, etc being formed early, becoming entrenched and may resist specific change
"...it is more difficult to change the mind when perspectives are held strongly, and publicly, and by individuals of rigid temperament. It is easy to change minds when individuals find themselves in new environments, surrounded by fears of different persuasion......for when individuals undergo shattering experiences (for example, a severe accident, a divorce, or an unexpected death) or encounter luminous personalities......the opportunities for backsliding are patent..... it's easy to talk of changing mind in general than to effect enduring changes in any particular mind..."
Howard Gardner, 2006
There are 6 different arenas in which mind changing can take place. It is like an inverted pyramid
"... large-scale changes involving the diverse population of a region or an entire nation
large-scale changes involving a more uniform or homogeneous group
changes brought about through works of art or science
changes within formal instructional settings
intimate forms of mind changing
changing one's own mind..."
Howard Gardner, 2006
Examples of the first arena include the pervasive influence of exceptional political leaders, such as President Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, etc; the second arena includes organisations, corporations, clubs, etc; examples of the third arena include the influence of Karl Marx, Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, the Beatles, etc; the fourth arena includes schools, etc,; the fifth arena includes the family, friends, work mates, etc; the six arena is usually linked with an external agent or factor.
. Not realising that mind changes can occur indirectly through scientific discovery, scholarly breakthroughs and artistic creations. Generally the indirect leaders operate outside the political sphere. Consider the impact, for example, of Albert Einstein in physics, Charles Darwin in biology, etc in the scientific arena; artists, such as Pablo Picasso, etc; writers such as, William Shakespeare, philosophers such as Karl Marx, etc, have all had major impacts on changing people's minds. In many cases, their names became known and ideas spread without public awareness of the identity of the creators.
Howard Gardner (2006) has suggested that artistic masters change our minds in 3 ways, ie
i) they expand our knowledge of what is possible in artistic medium by developing new skills in a medium that ask the audiences to develop a complementary ensemble of perceptual skills
ii) by employing new methods
iii) the artists help the audience understand and define the spirit of an era
. Sometime matters of faith or strong fundamentalism views will restrict people from changing their mind.
"...all of the efforts within the fundamentalist community are directed towards shoring up the current belief system and rejecting alternative notions..."
Howard Gardner, 2006
Furthermore,
"...A monolithic framework does not create a critical mind. Where there is only one self-evident truth, nothing ever gets challenged and no sparks of creativity getting it generated?..."
David Hartman as quoted by Howard Gardner, 2006
For example, scientists with strong fundamental religious beliefs found it hard to accept Darwin ideas on evolution. Other examples include
"...skepticism greeted Copernicus's heliocentric views of the universe, Einstein's theory of relativity, Heisenberg's quantum mechanics, Freud's theory on the unconscious, and Wegener's Continental drift, amongst others..."
Howard Gardner, 2006
Furthermore, it is suggested that people
"...trained in the old ways of thinking, would have to abandon deeply ingrained and dearly held notions. The new paradigm is most likely to be embraced by individuals who are just beginning to work in a particular domain.......the young turks' lack of vested interest in the old perspective, they are more likely to be flexible, and, indeed (particularly if they are later-born)......they may gain a certain pleasure in seeing the old dogmas overthrown and in having the opportunity to pursue a fresh approach......for a youthful or iconoclastic segment of the population, then, the very resistance to an idea in general can incline members of that segment to accept the idea more readily..."
Howard Gardner, 2006
. Not realising the importance of oscillating between periods of relative free exploration and carefully cultivated disciplines and skill
More on the Mind
Introduction
"...the mind/body problem, the centuries-old challenges reconciling the brain, a gelatinous mass of physical tissue, and human consciousness, the realm of emotion, volition and boundless imagination......The human mind arises from neurons in the brain rather than from an ineffable soul......is nearly universally accepted amongst neuroscientists..."
Eliezer Sternberg 2018
Even though cerebral hemispheres, like right and left brain, are anatomically identical, they perform different functions and abilities. The 2 sides are able to function independently.
"...the mind is an 'emergent property' of neural circuitry. While the individual cells and synopsis are not themselves conscious, consciousness emerges through interaction at the highest level of processing..."
Eliezer Sternberg 2018
Instinct
"...consciousness is an instinct. An instinct.........is an innate, pre-programmed behaviour pattern exhibited by animals, such as a caterpillar building cocoons or baby kangaroos climbing into their mothers' pouches to suckle......instincts are programs, that correlate to the intricate hardware of the brain..."
Michael Gazzaniga as quoted by Eliezer Sternberg 2018
It is
"... The faculty of acting in such a way as to produce certain ends, without foresight of the ends, and without previous education in the performance..."
William James as quoted by Eliezer Sternberg 2018
Consciousness (essence of humanity)
Is it automatic and pre-programmed?
"...the low-level instincts that initiate symbol behaviours are sequenced in a coordinated fashion for more complex actions that make them look an awful lot like higher order instincts. This sequencing occurs through competitive dynamics of the countless bubbles of low-level instincts trying to bubble their way up to the top level of brain processing, where the 'top bubble ultimately bursts into an idea'......complex instincts are the state of societal relationships.....Consciousness emerges......generated by layers and layers of neuronal bureaucracy, that we experience as fear, desire, determination, reasoning and decision-making..."
Michael Gazzaniga as quoted by Eliezer Sternberg 2018