Knowing versus 'Knowing' 191Remember, though, that we are dealing now with a society of adults—they
are capable of using Perceiver logic. Children started out with emotional
'logic'—there was no choice. Therefore, they needed special situations
which allowed them to operate under emotional 'truth,' and which helped
them to develop adult thinking so that they could enter adult society.
Grown-ups, in contrast, are capable of both learning and practicing
Perceiver thinking in the real world.
Note that this puts a different slant on the label of „child‟ and „adult.‟ In
today‟s society, a child is accepted as an adult when he reaches a certain
biological age, regardless of his mental maturity. I suggest that a child
becomes an adult, rather, when he has gained the mental ability to act and
think like one. When all people in a society are maturing at similar rates,
then it is possible to pretend that biological age is related to mental
maturity. But, if one is to compare so-called adult society in dissimilar
places such as Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and North America, then I
suggest that one must take into account the fact that age and adulthood are
not necessarily related.
As before, I would like to make two major suggestions, one related to
the fact that conscience involves time, and the other linked to its
relationship with generality. We will start by looking at time, and then this
discussion will lead naturally to generality.
I suggest that the connection between rules and time can be taught to
adults through opportunity. An opportunity is a result which can be
achieved by performing some action—over time. It is not an instant
payback. Rather, it is a matter of sowing and reaping. The United States,
for instance, has often been called „The Land of Opportunity.‟ The
„American Dream‟ itself is based in opportunity: Work hard and you will
be successful. On the whole, there is some validity to this „American
Dream.‟ At time of writing, the United States is the world‟s richest nation
and its only superpower. Yet, when we look at American society, we find
that this paradise is often blighted with crime and poverty. Why? I suggest
that it is because the American system does not distinguish between
various types of opportunity.
Suppose, for instance, that I come
across a beautiful leather jacket. Here is an
opportunity: I can steal the jacket and make
it mine. But, let us analyze the type of
mental circuit which is driving this behavior.
It starts with a Mercy experience, involving
me and the lovely leather jacket in close
proximity. This situation is associated with
a strong emotion—I want that jacket. If Perceiver confidence is weak, then
the feelings of the event will mesmerize Perceiver thought into 'knowing'
that me and the jacket belong together. This emotional 'truth' will override
any other Perceiver facts about connections between people and objects. In