A

Another Look at Conscience 151

don‟t disappear spontaneously but rather stay in one place unless they are
moved. When our shoes cannot be found, we do not lose confidence in the
belief of the continuity of objects. Rather, we assume that these articles of
footware were moved and we yell down the stairs, “All right, who stole my
shoes.” This is common sense. Connections which occur within the
external world naturally teach principles of common sense to automatic
Perceiver strategy. These principles are repeated with such persistence that
our internal Perceiver worlds have no choice but to believe these facts and
pull them into the internal world of Perceiver thought.

Perceiver thought in a child develops simultaneously along two lines.

1) Parents and culture provide the first set of Perceiver absolutes.

 Emotional pressure mesmerizes the child‟s Perceiver observer.

2) The natural world and physical body develop common sense.

 Repetition wakes the Perceiver observer and builds confidence.

Perceiver principles of common sense may be obvious, but add
sufficient emotional pressure and Perceiver strategy can end up losing
confidence in even the most basic of beliefs. For instance, how many of us
have checked and rechecked to make sure that the stove is off or that the
door is locked? Don‟t we know that objects cannot move by themselves? Is
this not common sense? Yes. But, try adding some Mercy identification
such as the fear of experiencing possible disaster, the image of feeling the
heat of a house fire radiating through the bedroom door, or the personal
nightmare of being tied up and shot by burglars. Under this emotional
stress, stove dials gain the ability to turn spontaneously from „off‟ to „on,‟
and locked doors acquire the skill of opening by themselves. We may
chuckle at the idea of trees vanishing when we close our eyes, but we do
not laugh at double-checking locked doors and stove dials.A
We have seen how beliefs of common sense are subject to the standard
Mercy-Perceiver dialogue between emotion and confidence. I suggest that
these beliefs also must be learned, just like any other facts. That is why a
baby finds the game of „peek-a-boo‟ exciting. He has not yet learned to
believe fully in the continuity of objects. When he closes his eyes and no
longer sees an object, he does not have total confidence that it is still there.
Seeing Misty the cat disappear around the corner may not bring emotional
stress or trouble Perceiver belief in object stability, but when Daddy moves
out of sight, the emotion associated with him creates the vague dread that
he might be gone forever, never to return again. Seeing Daddy reappear is
definitely a relief. And, as we will see later, humor is related to the release
of emotional stress. Therefore, the child finds it funny to play „peek-a-
boo.‟

A This fear can grow into an obsession and become a medical condition.