If the world were not given a false coherence by means of your unconscious projections, you would see yourself as being equal to every other individual, whilst not possessing any essential characteristics that you consider to eternally define your overall identity. This true capacity for spontaneity applies to few -- and even then, not always to these few.
The regressive part of our consciousness is particularly adept at bringing us into conformity with power hierarchies by re-proportioning parts of our personality so as to be able to accept our position within them as "natural". We project the sense of self-competency upwards in the hierarchy, and the sense of our own incompetency downwards towards those who are defined as lower than us in the social/political hierarchy. The altogether human tendency to project into others is so ubiquitous that one would not do justice to the human mind to label this dimension as always and inevitably pathological.
In some cases, the "pre-oedipal field" (the part that is involved with belongingness and hierarchy, as well as psychological projections) can also have a positive value if it is not entirely immature but has developed towards appreciating the existence of others. Shamanistic initiation ought to bring about such a sense of the nature of Being as a quality of sharing one's existence with others. To empathize also involves projecting, only we project our understanding and sensations into situations that are not purely ours.
ADDENDUM: this is not a plea for a rigid form of 'equality', but rather conforms to the Nietzschean view that when you are as spontaneous as can be, you will rise or fall to your level.
No comments:
Post a Comment