Sociology and Awareness: A quantum perspective

A substantial majority of the human race eschews extremes. Not because it is inimical to their existence, but more likely, because they feel uncomfortable when confronted with a vastly different state of existence. The state of existence may encompass belief systems, human nature, capabilities or even styles of living. 

Consider belief systems. One such example is the left-right imbroglio. Almost everybody has a stated point of view in the Conservative- liberal or left-right continuum of beliefs. Some are more left than others, while others are more right. A few ensconce themselves at the extreme left or right. Whatever the vantage point, a human is likely to feel comfortable only with a small neighbourhood of viewpoints around them. For example, a person who has a centre-of-right outlook may feel at home with a centrist or a moderate leftist but may feel fish out of water when placed next to an extreme leftist. Leave them together for a while, and you can feel the palpable tension in the atmosphere.

The same is true of Human nature as well. If one were to characterize humans on the intellectual- heartfulness space, some humans are more intellectual than others. They weigh viewpoints logically and use their left brain to sift through information. Primary decisions are made based on a logical perusal of options and widespread use of their intellectual prowess. Tangible, visible, proven by modern science are their crutches, and they term anything that deviates from this reality as gobbledygook. The intellectuals are more focussed on the external world and cringe to take an inward journey. They may fail to realize the first steps and any aspect that reminds them of the existence of an inner world makes them uncomfortable. On the other extreme are those who base their decisions and choices on their emotions. They rely primarily on their feelings, gut feel and heartfulness to wade through the vagaries of the world. Most of the populace imbibe varying degrees of one or the other characteristic. Leave an intellectual with a heartful person, and you can feel the discomfort. 

Take any viewpoint, human nature or living style, and one would unearth a similar pattern. The fundamental behaviour also explains why most humans live in islands. The similarity in viewpoints, human nature and living styles characterize the contour of the islands. 

There is, however, an exception to this rule. There exists a minority of human beings who seem free from these norms of behaviour. They feel equally comfortable with a leftist or a rightist. They wade along as effortlessly in the company of an intellectual as that of a heartful person. Such humans display a unique quality of neuroplasticity that enables them to get along with almost everyone.

In a natural state, when nobody is paying attention or raking up controversies, the humans exist in an amorphous form concerning these beliefs. They do not come to the forefront, and the extent of the boundaries of the islands become inchoate. Very akin to the quantum world where particles exist in an amorphous superposition of probabilities when no attention paid to them. It is when one pays attention that the situation starts to become more dynamic. If the degree of observation is intense, in the quantum world, the particle collapses into absolute positions and abandon their probabilistic nature. We notice a very similar behaviour when human society is polarized whenever one brings such beliefs to the forefront. When the visibility increases, humans force themselves to a crystallized point of view. The islands which were widespread now shrink and the boundaries become sclerotic. Emotions overflow, conflict increases, and in some situations, civil unrest can follow. Demagogues, dictators and duces use this innate nature of human beings to exploit and whip up the public feelings, create schisms and establish a fanatical following for themselves(e.g. Hitler, Mussolini and many more in the recent times).

What lies underneath such behaviour, that for centuries has laid the path for the evolution of human societies? 

When in the presence of somebody who is fundamentally different from us, we feel a sense of insecurity, distaste or disgust. For example, if we are amidst a person of vastly superior intellect, we feel inferior and out of place. The same behaviour happens when we juxtapose with a person who is wealthier, more popular or more loving. It reminds us of the qualities that we (possibly) lack. Humans hate to be reminded that they are worse than others, and they will avoid any situation that envisages such a possibility. If we encounter a person who has a different set of habits than us, we may feel distaste. If the person has opposing beliefs, we may feel angst or disgust. Disgust, angst, insecurities all ensure that we remain entrenched in our comfort zone. The world creates many more such provocations as we muddle through life, and we tend to build many such insecurities and belief systems. 

It is possible to transcend such habit-forming behaviours of our mind if we allow awareness to become more prevalent. Awareness expands boundaries just as belief systems and insecurities shrink them. In quantum terminology, awareness is the equivalent of lack of observation and hence lack of polarisation. In a state of heightened awareness, multiple possibilities, beliefs, and realities can co-exist(just as in a natural state particle exists in a superposition of states).

If we use conscience and integrity to drive awareness, it is possible to weed away such beliefs and insecurities as they form. However, such behaviour calls for unparalleled levels of honesty and integrity, especially when it comes to dealing with ourselves. It requires one to go beyond our comfort zone on an everyday basis. When a human routinely goes beyond the comfort zone, they reach higher levels of consciousness.

If a sufficient number of humans imbibe and develop higher levels of consciousness, they can melt and dissolve the hardened boundaries that exist in our societies. Interestingly the power of such a heightened state of consciousness is significantly more pronounced than the potency of belief systems. 

This is good news for humans - for a small minority of humans who reach a particular level of consciousness can counteract the polarisations created by unscrupulous leaders and shenanigans of society. Just imagine - if we can collectively resolve to reach such levels of awareness. In that case, there can be a dramatic resurgence of humanity and the utopian world that we all yearn for can come to fruition.