We primarily think of actors as the ones playing a role and pretending to be someone they really are not. But in a sense everyone wears a mask and acts out a charade. This can be done deliberately, but most of the time is quite subconscious and involuntary. What are the purposes of putting on an invisibile mask? What would life be like without them? And how many layers of masks does a person actually wear?
Watch the Full Episode:
Listen to the Full Episode:
Notes:
The lecture “The Stuff of Thought: Language as a window into human nature” by Steven Pinker gives some examples and explanations of persons choosing to express their intention indirectly in order to get the best possible outcome with the least possible risk.
Other Episodes:
Ep. 39: From the Life of a Psycho Therapist
What does it take for a person interested in helping other people with their mental healing process to becoming a fully-fledged psycho therapist? Koji Okumura devoted many years to the necessary academic training including a Ph.D. in order to not only treat individuals, but also to lecture on the topic...
Ep. 37: The Trap of Conceptualisation
The Western world view is one of engineering and logic. It has solidified the already pervasive habit of intellectualising the human experience. By applying mental concepts to our surroundings, our identity and our mind, we severely limit and even distort our perception thereof.
Ep. 36: I Surrender - Freedom through Acceptance
Apathy is not caring about what goes on with you and around you. Acceptance, on the other hand, is deliberately allowing things within and around you to be the way they are. It is the absence of expectations and intellectual concepts. With this absence the subconscious, and nature in general,...
Ep. 35: Why Anger?!
You cannot be angry at someone without first being angry at yourself. What exactly is the process that happens automatically, subconsciously and with lightning speed which is triggered by something not going the way we wanted or expected? Steve and William share their current understanding of this topic and how...