I believe that fate is closely related to our consciousness, especially to our subconscious.
Firstly, we need to distinguish between the "I" as the subject and self-awareness. The "I" of the subject possesses three characteristics: 1. Pursuing benefits and avoiding harm, which is determined by the will of all life to survive, and humans are no exception. 2. Inductive ability, which is determined by our genetic experience or what a friend refers to as pre installed genetic information, is an innate survival ability inherent in our minds. 3. The ability of rational thinking is determined by Kant's prior perceptual ability, that is, the ability of intellect to synthesize various appearances into knowledge through categories. These three characteristics together shape the "I" as the subject, enabling me to explore, respond, and think about the world, and to be mentally prepared to take responsibility for the consequences of behavior, also known as subjective agency.
And the so-called self-awareness is a self perceived "truth" that we perceive in the present, such as when you can perceive the light, smell, temperature, etc. around you, which are all things you can truly feel in the present, but in reality, they are only a part of the stream of consciousness. This stream of consciousness also includes genetic experiences, daily experiences accumulated from past rational thinking, and so on. However, limited to physiological perceptual abilities, we can only perceive the present.
In addition, I believe that self-awareness also includes the basic value judgments we currently hold, such as praising or helping someone who does good, hating or stopping someone who does evil, being happy or showing humility when praised, and so on. These basic value judgments are not directly related to survival, so they are cognitive responses that go beyond genetic experience. These value judgments can be quickly expressed without our thinking, so we can also say that they have become a part of self-awareness unconsciously, just like pre installed in our brain.
However, modern psychological research has shown that our consciousness is not only limited to our current self-awareness, but also includes the subconscious that is not directly sensed by us in our daily lives. And I believe that it is these unfamiliar streams of consciousness hidden deep in the brain that give us too much restraint and regulation.
The subconscious is not an innate genetic experience, they are actually the accumulation of our daily experiences. For example, if you live in a place with poor public security, you will subconsciously accumulate experience in preventing robbery and theft. If you live in a poor environment, you will subconsciously accumulate frugal experiences. If you live in an environment that advocates etiquette, you will subconsciously accumulate experience in treating others with courtesy. Wait a minute. In short, these daily experiences will unconsciously accumulate in your brain, forming a subtle influence on your self-awareness, and thus playing a crucial role in your immediate decision-making.
So we can say that what kind of environment can shape what kind of person, and what kind of experience accumulation determines what kind of reaction you will make when facing current things. The present is largely determined by the past, and the future is also highly likely to be determined by the present. This may not sound unreasonable, but I think it is precisely a manifestation of our lives and even the entire society being unconsciously regulated by the subconscious accumulation of rational thinking. Kant pointed out that the ability of intellect to comprehensively process various appearances is actually the foundation of this rational thinking. It has shaped human civilization, but it has tightly bound us.
In my opinion, the biggest problem with the subconscious is that we cannot traverse them and fully evaluate them. They are like a pile of important documents locked into a safe, we cannot know what is inside, but our current decisions are deeply influenced or even completely decided by them. If they are all good and positive, it doesn't matter if we can't understand them. But what if they are evil and corrupt? Our present and future are already destined for a terrible ending.
For example, if you have unintentionally encountered many cruel scenes, even if you have long forgotten, at some point in the future, these scenes will still come to mind and sting your nerves. For example, if you have unintentionally been tempted by others to do something unethical and experienced pleasure, even if you have never done the same thing again, this pleasure will still come to mind one day when you face the same temptation, tempting you to try again. There are many similar examples, even though your current self-awareness has moved away from what you have experienced in the past, it still cannot avoid the subconscious giving you a decisive influence at a certain moment.
These evil and corrupt experiences are almost inevitable, and more importantly, they are likely deliberately instilled in you by others or a certain group. For example, some power groups want the people to be obedient, willing to be mediocre, and corrupt. Then they will constantly instill values that are conducive to their rule and exploitation of you, deepening over and over again in your subconscious until you are completely defeated.
So, if you want to break free from the fate dominated by the subconscious, first you need to understand that the self is not just self-awareness, but actually an extended whole composed of self-awareness and subconsciousness. Self awareness is like a storefront window, for customers it is their first and almost complete impression of the store. And the store also has corresponding warehouses, office areas, etc. Without these, the store cannot achieve the complete function of selling goods. Secondly, we should have a self-awareness to break free from past experiences and make decisions directly using our sensory abilities. That is to say, whether our past experiences are good and positive, or evil and corrupt, there is no need to rely on experience in everything. This is not only to avoid being regulated and decided by negative subconscious thoughts in the past, but also to create more possibilities for our lives.
For example, what we usually say is that the distance between lines is like a mountain. This statement may sound like a typical rational thinking, but it is actually easy to refute, and can even be said to be a fallacy. When you question whether you can transition from this technology to other industries and learn other technologies, have you ever thought that when you first learned this technology and entered this industry, you were also a novice who didn't understand anything? To understand this truth, what you need to question is no longer whether you can successfully transform, but whether you can accept the anxiety and anxiety that you will face when entering a new industry as a beginner again. So, we can say that many possibilities in life are actually eliminated by our own rational thinking. Only by breaking free from the inertia of rational thinking can we break free from the decisive influence of our subconscious and embrace more possibilities in life.
This process can be called self retreat. This is not going against reason, but a reversal effort after fully understanding the mechanism of fate formation, a brave adventure in the face of the unknown and the future.
Of course, there is another way to minimize the negative impact of the subconscious on us, which is to strive for a better environment and strictly demand oneself, so that the good and positive experiences accumulated in the present can be used in the future. This is not impossible, in fact, almost all successful and happy people in this world do it this way. But in this way, we unconsciously fall into a deliberate mechanization pattern, which is actually a typical form of self programming. If one always insists on walking the right path, they will often go to another extreme and inevitably exhibit a narrowness after self wrapping. Moreover, evil and corruption always exist in this world, and not everyone has the opportunity to escape the accumulation of negative experiences. If you cannot escape the harsh environment, will you accept your fate?
We all rely on past experiences and rational thinking to make current judgments, and the subconscious is like an invisible pair of big hands controlling our lives, making it difficult for us to escape the fate determined by others and the past. But if we don't rely on experience and rationality, what else can we rely on to make decisions? Don't forget what I said above, as the subject, "I" also have the will to seek benefits and avoid harm, as well as innate sensing ability. We can collectively refer to these two things as instincts.
Let's first seriously consider this question: a one year old child, you don't need to teach him who is bad and who is good, but he can still judge the other person's attitude towards him through facial expressions, knowing who is scaring him and who wants to kiss him. This child has zero knowledge and no rational thinking at this time, but he can still make the decision of avoiding or getting close to the other party. How did this decision-making ability come about? This is actually an instinct that everyone is born with.
This is not something that science can explain, but you cannot say it is pseudoscience because it has gone beyond the scope of science. In addition to possessing the ability to think rationally, humans also have a natural ability to sense the environment.
In fact, rational thinking is not only binding individuals, but also applies to the entire society and country. Relying too much on rationality will lead to fewer opportunities for the emergence of possibilities, because human rationality is always limited. Why are authoritarian countries very short-lived? In fact, it is to impose the rational thinking of the individual dictator on the entire country for implementation, ultimately blocking the emergence of other possibilities.
I don't advocate setting aside rational thinking to make daily decisions, but if you're tired of rigid work and life, try to find some different inspirations. I suggest you occasionally try clearing your brain and letting your instincts point you in other possible directions.
