190 A Programmer’s Guide to the Mind
With sufficient Perceiver confidence I can pass the chocolate store without
pangs of agony.
However, suppose that we modify this rule further: “Take a cookie and
you will get fat and others will think that you are ugly.” We are now back
to a mixture of natural and approval 'conscience.' A Even though „getting
fat‟ is the result of natural law, the bad Mercy emotion comes not from the
obesity itself, but from the disapproval of people. This type of rule will not
stop me from eating. Rather, it will encourage me to hide my fat by
wearing loose clothing, to avoid disapproval by choosing the company of
other fat people, or to echo disapproval back to those who make
disparaging comments about my weight.
I suggest that it is possible to combine approval 'conscience' and natural
conscience under one circumstance. The problem with approval
'conscience' is the changing opinions and the limited awareness of people.
Suppose that approval or disapproval came from a person who did not
change and who saw everything, including my thoughts. If this type of
person existed, then approval 'conscience' and natural conscience would be
compatible.
While the content of approval and natural conscience would now be
compatible, we still would have the underlying contradiction between
emotional 'facts' and logical facts. However, at least the focus of the battle
would change. This paragraph may seem somewhat theoretical at the
moment, but keep it in mind. We will study it in depth in the next volume.
The Rule of Law
We have looked at ways in which parents can stimulate the
development of Perceiver processing in the young child. We also presented
some parenting tips for developing this kind of thought in the maturing
teen. I suggest that it is also possible to set up an environment which
encourages adults to use Perceiver thought.
But why do we have to use an indirect approach? Why not just teach
Perceiver thinking? Because, as I mentioned before, that is a contradiction
in terms. Direct pressure overwhelms the Perceiver observer and creates
emotional 'truth,' precisely what we are attempting to avoid. Therefore, we
can only plant the seed, water the soil, and hope that Perceiver confidence
and thinking will somehow grow.
So how do we create an environment which encourages Perceiver
thought? In essence, we set up roadblocks which frustrate the use of
emotional 'truth,' and which uphold the application of Perceiver confidence.
A You can tell that we are back to approval because opinions on obesity
vary between time and place. In some societies, being „pleasantly plump‟
is regarded with favor.