The Illusion of Comprehension

One of the things that have fascinated me over the years is how most people generally convince themselves that they know, that they understand. Be it a situation, or a thought-form, or a person. These people will tell with utmost conviction that they have the complete picture. That no one else can see things better than they do. I myself have fallen in this trap several times, only to painfully extract myself from this grand illusion and proclaim (to myself more than anyone else) my ignorance of the scheme of things.

The human mind is a remarkable tool. It can analyze and assess a person or a situation based on the conditioning it has received in the past. For example, an Caucasian would have a different view on hygiene when compared to an Indian. Or an urban-dweller and a slum-dweller would look at filth and garbage from different perspectives and degrees of acceptance. A man’s take on relationships is different from that of a woman’s. And yet, each of these individuals would hold fast to their views. Some may make a hue and cry of the other’s opinion, the rest may take it easy; sort of a live and let live policy. But the opinion is concrete in conviction. Or is it? Sometimes that very same person may have differing opinions on the same subject as time passes by. Haven’t we all come across rebels who have sobered as they age? I am aware of some of my own convictions that have mellowed in a span of ten to twenty years.

The fact is each person is different in their mental constructs. Every thought is made up of multiple layers that may present a particular understanding at one point of time and another at a later point. This is because how the mind understands also changes. Most of us never really realize this aspect of the human mind. For example, what you make of a situation when you are angry is different from what you make of it when you are calm. Ever wondered why? This is because the process of understanding is based on the pattern-based recognition and meta-cognition. As we grow up, we all encounter numerous forms of conditioning from our parents, family, peers, media, society, and religion. For each person, the permutation and combination of these factors differ. These factors form the base, the foundation on which further and more complex forms of conditioning are impacted and stored. Even the slightest difference contributes to a major change in the process of understanding. Between siblings too, there is a gradual and yet strong differentiation in seeing things. So, when a new situation or a person arrives in your life, you automatically try to pigeon-hole the characteristics and attributes into a pattern that already exists. Instead of carefully analyzing and interpreting an objective view, we are quick to form an opinion based on existing facts in our life.

The truth of the matter is that we can never have a holistic view on anything or anyone. No one can understand a person or a situation completely. Why? Because even if we have a clear view, there are so many details lying hidden in the background. The psyche is such a mysterious entity with so many layers. Freud may have interpreted three dimensions to consciousness, Jung may have integrated it into two major archetypes, and Deleuze sees an endless series. According to Deleuze, “To confront reality honestly, we must grasp beings exactly as they are, and concepts of identity (forms, categories, resemblances, unities of apperception, predicates, etc.) fail to attain a difference in itself.” What this means is that one can never know the complete picture. Like the Zen saints, if you can concentrate your psychic energy on a single subject for many years, you can slowly peel off the layers and attain a greater understanding. Imagine us puny beings distracted every minute of every day by the multitude of sensory signals, never concentrating on anything beyond a basic level. Even when we listen to another person, our mind is chattering with personal opinions and prejudices. And we claim to know a person more than that person knows him/herself… funny, isn’t it?

This is where Socrates makes a lot of sense when he claims that ‘all he knows is that he knows nothing’ and that he knows he is wiser than others because ‘others claim to know something or everything when in fact even they know nothing.’ The gist of this mind-bender is that the only thing differentiating a human being from another is the awareness of ignorance. The moment one says ‘I know’ there ends the spirit of enquiry. Because no matter how much you analyze and interpret and understand, there is still far more to be known. Every question leads to another question and to another, and no answer can fully satisfy the real pursuit of truth. The question to be asked is ‘Are you really seeking the truth or are you just pretending to?’

As far as I know, every person I have known so far is a collection of thoughts and emotions. Some are rigid and some open to change. Some are active in the pursuit of knowledge, some are meandering along the bylanes of life waiting for something or someone to show them the way. Some are straight as an arrow in all their dealings, some are crooked and convoluted. All of them have a reason or two for being so. But the greatest mystery is that everyone, including myself, believe that our thoughts are valid, our feelings and opinions are real; we are all convinced in this illusion of comprehension, and this my friends, is what makes life as we know it, go on and on.