Reflections on Prometheus Rising

“What the Thinker thinks, the Prover proves.”

Robert Anton Wilson

Domesticated primates (humans) think themselves into neurological realities. Within the framework of these “realities,” they make assumptions about what is true and false, right and wrong, essential and inessential, real and fake.

Humans filter the universe through their nervous systems. They don’t perceive what is objectively true (which is not to say that an objective truth does or doesn’t exist), but rather, they interpret particular aspects of reality. Mediated through their beliefs, experiences, conditioning, and so on, they may view their existence through the “reality tunnel” of a Marxist, Fascist, Atheist, Christian, Buddhist, feminist, misogynist, Democrat, Republican, protestor, cop, doctor, patient, Caucasian male, African American female, pessimist, optimist, nihilist, clumsy lover, fighter, bad son, good daughter, and so on.

People make endless guesses about their identities and the identities of others, often without realizing they are doing so. While it is easier to see the prejudices and biases in others, it is far more difficult to see those same qualities within.

Robert Anton Wilson once said in a lecture:

Every type of bigotry, every type of racism, sexism, prejudice, every dogmatic ideology that allows people to kill other people with a clear conscience, every stupid cult, every superstition, written religion, every kind of ignorance in the world all results from not realizing that our perceptions are gambles.

We believe what we see and then we believe our interpretation of it; we don’t even know we are making an interpretation most of the time. We think that this is reality.

People not only don’t know all of reality but they don’t know what they don’t know. Their “reality” seems like the real reality, while other people’s realities, the more they diverge from their own…