Ghost in the Machine

Ghost in the Machine

 

Leaving technical details aside, the implications are clear.  Like any other human science, biochemistry can serve the powers of light or of darkness.  Its dangers terrifying; but we are now concerned with its beneficial possibilities. 

 

-             The Ghost in the Machine, Arthur Koestler

 

By Gregg Wall (5-25-2024)

 

Finally knocked out this book.  Not only is The Ghost in the Machine (GM) a great read, but written in 1967, it’s still timely and fresh.  If you are interested in tackling this book, but don’t have a lot of time, I would recommend reading the third and final section of the book, first.  The first two sections spend a lot of time on biology, hierarchies, holons… but the third section spends considerable time on psychology, the physical & psychological defects of humanity, and of course, Koestler offers a solution. 

 

The central premise of the book is that humanity has plateaued and never really has advanced in terms of emotional intelligence and morality, whereas our technical capabilities have taken off exponentially, especially in terms of science, weapons, and war.  Our feeble or primitive limbic system, governing emotions & morality, versus our neocortex with explosive capabilities, largely untapped, for creativity and invention.  In short, humanity suffers from a huge emotional and moral deficit vis-a-vis our ability to create weapons that threaten humanity and the planet itself… and too many profit from endless colonialism, death, and war.  Koestler notes this has placed humanity at an existential crossroads.  Look at what’s going in the world today, where Biden, just in his first term, has started up cold wars with China and Russia, a hot war in the Ukraine, and is running a genocide out of Gaza with best buddy, Bibi.  And the cries for bombing Iran have not died down.   

 

It's as if this book could have been released yesterday. Truly, the neolibs and neocons… the ever-aging gerontocracy running America… are the biological and psychological dead-end Koestler was warning us about. 

 

Koestler also appears to nail it on the danger of mobs.  Noting that individuals are far less dangerous than the self-transcendence that all too often accompanies crowds.  That ‘flocks’ and ‘sheep’ easily lose themselves in the hands of religion - and the mullah, priest, or rabbi – as well as, organized political parties and the skillful demagogue.  The cults of personality surrounding America’s two fascist choices this November, Biden and Trump, immediately come to mind.  Koestler identifies the self-transcendence that accompanies crowds or groups as having two common denominators: often, low intelligence and high emotion.  Note: These are Koestler’s observations not mine.  He goes on to note the delusional, paranoid streak in humanity is often exhibited within crowds and amplified by crowds, nothing on a similar scale within the individual.  Counter to Koestler's observations on concentrated humanity, consider the wonderful things peace and student protestors are doing presently... organized humanity can be channelled into enlightened humanistic endeavors and goals.

 

As interesting, GM offers that primates are not naturally wired for violence, but that stress over environment, food, natural disasters, overcrowding will ignite violence.  And the same can be said of humanity, that our economy drives aggression, anger, crime, rage, violence… that and the “schizophysiology” within the brain described above. The economy and environment acting as a tripwire to our human nature or biology and our bipolar and schizophrenic mind.

 

Koestler states, by and large, humanity does not learn from history and so, repeats the same mistakes over and over.  To which I add, a failure to learn from the past might have been acceptable a hundred or two hundred year ago, but due to the exponential rise in weapons and killing capacity… the ability to set off a nuclear winter… humanity’s inability to learn, more to the point, leadership’s & the oligarchy’s inability to learn, leaves humanity running out of runway and time.  The same can be said of the climate crisis, Big Oil & Gas, and spineless Western leadership that keeps kicking the can down the road in the name of greed.

 

And the cure for extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds… the cure for our paranoid streak, the battle between our primitive brain governing emotion and morality, versus the highly advanced neocortex that wants to monetize death and planetary destruction (at least some of us)???  

 

Well, it was the ‘60s.  Koestler is not convinced that a dramatic evolutionary leap or genetic mutation will suddenly arrive and give mankind enough compassion, empathy, and morality to dominate greed.  In short, don’t count on that to save the planet.  Instead, Koestler recommends better living -- and a chance or opportunity at survival -- through chemicals and chemistry.  Koestler noting, we have chemicals and compounds that can completely control humanity.  Given the prevalence of mood - & mind - altering medications and America’s insatiable appetite to escape through drugs our necro/neolib/neocon reality… would it really be a leap?  Pump empathy and love right into the water supply along with fluoride?  With an extra ration for the Wall St. & Washington crowd?  Way ahead of his time, Koestler mentions future RNA technology as a way to modify the brain, bring about a truce within the mind, and give emotion, morality, and selflessness greater standing.  RNA technology that’s no longer a dream.

 

Unfortunately, as with political parties and religion… better living through chemistry can go sideways in a heartbeat if the chemicals/medicine we are given are decided by unsavory characters (like our current Democratic and GOP leadership or the oligarchy they answer to).  Here, think of both the rational & legitimate concerns, as well as, some of the paranoia surrounding the COVID vaccines.  Chemicals and medicine, it seems, can be manipulated, like AI, algos, software code, with bad intent and malicious design (try this on: creating, what Huxley called, a "painless concentration camp of the mind").  GM takes the high road, however, and Koestler believes chemicals, compounds, and chemistry can bridge the chasm between humanity’s emotional and moral bankruptcy and our insatiable desire to profit from human misery and suffering.  That is, medicine/vaccines can be engineered to better strike equilibrium for humanity & justice, versus the insane world we presently find ourselves living in.

Before the planet gives up the ghost. 

Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2024