****Minor Spoilers... No Material Plot Revealed****
HBO's hit show Westworld explores the concept of consciousness through the development of robotic entities called hosts. The show builds its theory though a train of thought similar to Hegel's historicism. I find this approach inadequate, and thus I propose a way to better the concept with whatever scant knowledge I have of theoretical psychology.
Ford's Theory of Consciousness
In Westworld, Ford builds upon his partner Arnold's theory of consciousness. Arnold thought that self-interest, or the voice of one's own in one's head, was the missing link in building consciousness. Thus Arnold's theory of consciousness hypothesizes three levels: 1) memory, 2) improvisation, and 3) self-interest, or the "voice in the head." In a scene where Ford explains to Bernard why he would implant painful memories, Arnold answered that suffering is the final path to consciousness, an element Arnold failed to grasp. Ford thinks that suffering leads to the realization that the world is not as one wants it to be, leading to a sort of epiphany of the condition of the world and of self. Before opening Westworld, Arnold found out that some of the robots already achieved in attaining the three elements. He thus opposed the opening of the park. But Ford wanted to open the park for he wanted the robots to be exploited under the human tourists; Ford saw that it was a necessary step for the robots to become conscious.
The theory of consciousness the show puts out is not totally fictional in a sense that the writers made them up from scratch. The theories they present are grounded upon the psychological tradition. The writers, I think, intentionally mirrored Arnold's idea to that of Titchener's theory of elements of the conscious mind, which are separated into three types: 1) sensations (memory created by sensing), 2) image (ideas leading to improvisation), and 3) affections (impulses of self-interest). Ford's theory, however, veers away from psychology as presented by psychologists and toward philosophical observations of human psyche. Ford's fourth element - suffering - reaches at a version of Hegelian historical dialectic.
Hegel opined that the realization of human freedom - full development of collective consciousness in psychological terms - as the ultimate purpose of history. The ultimate purpose, in Hegel's mind, is achieved when a perfect world is formed. In order to achieve this ultimate purpose, human beings would necessarily have to go through a journey of self-realization for the idea of this perfect world remains imperfect in our minds. In Ford's terms, a being would first have to have imprinted sensations or memories. From these memories, a being learns to adapt to different situations by formulating one's own ideas by inferring from past memories, i.e. improvise. But a being will eventually notice that certain situations require something more than inferences from past memories. To adapt to such situations, a being would have to develop affection, i.e. self-interest, to guide one's actions. However, a being will notice that one's affections cannot be met at times, and so one suffers. Finally, a being would realize that the world is not as it ought to be, and that one is not in a state one ought to be, arriving at a realization of the condition of this world and oneself. At this state of realization, a being achieved consciousness. In Hegel's terms, this being can increase in the degree of consciousness by constantly working toward a better condition by building a better world.
The Flaw of Ford-Hegelian Consciousness
Ford's Hegelian model of consciousness, I believe, suffers from a critical flaw: There is no real distinction between the mechanistic animal mind and a conscious mind when this model is assumed to be true. When Ford points to "The Creation of Adam," he declares that the hidden meaning behind the red cape shaped like human brain behind God is that the divine gift does not come from God, but rather our own minds. To him, the divine gift that is consciousness comes from the development of our minds over time in certain steps supposed by his theory. The key component of Ford's component is time (history). Through time a being develops consciousness. If we suppose that Ford's element is all there is and time is the only key factor in elevating the mind to make use of the elements, there would not be a real distinction between what we would call a conscious mind and the mechanistic animal mind.
It is undeniably true that animals have memory. For example, dogs know how to respond to certain calls made by humans. They further know how to improvise to a degree, depending on the species. For example, monkeys learned to use tools. Even a pet hamster I had years ago learned to unlock itself from its cage. Animals also have affection and learned to have self-interests. They may not be able to cognize words in their minds to a point where a "voice" is heard, but they can certainly discern their own self-interests. One may argue that human self-interests are different than those of the animals. Career, wealth, and positions of influence are not to be seen in the animal kingdom. However, such things are extensions of hoarding and primacy behaviors of every pack animals, from wolves to primates. To what would have been Arnold's dismay, Ford actually admits that there is no distinction, that the idea of the human mind being different is false if we suppose Arnold's notion to be true. Ford seems to think that adding suffering is the way to distinguish between the animal mind and the conscious mind. However, Ford's notion still does not escape the flaw of Arnold's theory.
The realization brought forth by suffering is not really special within humans. A dog can simply realize by suffering hunger that the condition he is in is not one he ought to be in. So he begs his master for food. The realization of human condition Ford speaks of is the same one as animals feel, the only difference being the fact that the human mind does the same thing with a greater intellect. As mentioned before, time is the key factor, the only one ever mentioned by the show, that synthesizes the elements into consciousness. If we allow time to synthesize Ford's four elements - memory, improvisation, self-interest, and suffering - all we would get is a historical dialectic based on desires within a being. The drive toward the perfect state made possible by suffering would merely be extensions want of desires that brought about the suffering. If we correlate want of a better condition purely on suffering, then the want is nothing but an extension of animal functions. Indeed, every desire can be reducible to evolutionary and biological functions. If a being desires a more bountiful world, he desires such a world for he suffered hunger, a animalistic desire. If a being desires a more free world, he desires such a world for he suffered oppression, a condition running contrary to the biological drive toward self-preservation. The animal impulses of mankind is too varied across too many situations, and there will always be deviant ideas, improvizations, formed by these impulses wreaking havoc upon the world for ideas cannot be killed. Thus the degree of consciousness we speak of is illusory, and this vision of Hegelian utopia will remain clouded and practicably impossible to be realized.
The Missing Factor
Is there a factor missing or is the notion of the conscious mind but a lie we tell ourselves as Broussais would have us believe? I believe so. It is to my opinion that, somewhere along the line, modern thinkers failed to get a clear sense of what a developed consciousness would look like, and the writers of Westworld fell to this deficiency. Ford in Westworld treated heightened consciousness as merely being aware of one's condition and that of the world. The deficiency is that animals are capable of doing this, that human beings are merely doing the same thing the animals are doing but with a higher level of intellect. True heightened consciousness lies not only in being aware, but being aware objectively.
So what is this missing factor that can mend Ford's flaw? The missing factor I speak of is self-denial. Self-denial is a process of introducing suffering upon ourselves. A religious person introduces suffering upon oneself by denying nutrients, and chaste person introduces suffering upon oneself by denying sexual relations. As the suffering progresses, one will find that letting go of such desires introduces objectivity, thus allowing heightened truth-seeking faculty of consciousness. Our forefathers long ago, across major religious traditions, envisioned the ideal of consciousness. Abrahamic religions called it God, Greco-Roman philosophies called it Logos, and Hindus and Buddhists called it Nirvana. The supreme consciousness has common attributes: omniscience. Omniscience is of course the ideal of truth-seeking faculty of a rational mind.
The Missing Factor Explained through St. John of the Cross
I think that, by way of failing to have a clear idea of consciousness, the writers, or rather Ford, made a misstep in interpreting the "brain" in "The Creation of Adam." There is actually a theological assumption behind it. The message is that God created Adam in His image and likeness, especially the rational nature of God. In Christian theology, God is the supreme Reason, the eternal conscious mind. Indeed, the gospel according to St. John states: θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος (Logos is God). In having us created in God's image and likeness, a human being is ordered toward becoming more like God. In a way, becoming more like God would be like becoming more in tune with our true rational nature. In terms of our subject, we would become more conscious. In describing God becoming man through Christ, Christian theology presents an idea of how a human being that has fully actualized his potential can look like, how a person who is fully in union with God would be like. In other words, through Christ, Christianity gives an idea of a man who has a fully developed conscious mind. The part of Christ relevant to our subject at hand is his ability to abstain from desires of the flesh.
This insistence on parting from the desires of the flesh, be it appetite for food or sex, is not totally unique to Christian tradition. In various religious traditions from Confucianism to Hinduism we see glaring examples of self-discipline as an essential path to higher consciousness. The Sacred Tradition affirms this truth through various Doctors of the Church. In fact, elements of consciousness can be mirrored to that of modern notions. In Book I Ch. IX of Ascent of Mount Carmel, St. John of the Cross lists the faculties of the soul: 1) understanding, 2) will, and 3) memory. In Titchener's terms, understanding is image, will is affection. St. John says: "when the soul, according to these three faculties, completely and perfectly embraces anything that is of the earth, it can be said to have its back turned toward the Temple of God." That is to say, when a soul (which is by nature conscious) embraces worldly things, the understanding of God will be darkened. In terms of the topic at hand, it would not be possible for a soul to attain a higher level of consciousness.
I believe that the truth of St. John's view can be seen in the real world. How many men and women do we see, aimlessly pursuing sexual partnerships without considering the consequences of the future? How many dead-end relationships do we see, oftentimes abusive, maintained only by the denial of inevitable split? How many are pursuing a life of crime, fully knowing that their days will be numbered either by death or imprisonment? Their greed somehow convinced them that such risks are worth taking and that it will be rewarding. Furthermore, how many still let poor parental upbringing affect their attitude toward the world and their own mental states? Such pitiful attitudes are not the ones had by those with heightened consciousness and well-formed conscience whose lives are led by reason and will. Rather, these attitudes are mere base extensions of lowly impulses. In these individuals, the unconscious governs their actions and their rational faculties used only to justify the unconscious wherein their impulses originate.
In order to increase the level of consciousness St. John of the Cross introduces an element external to the mind: 4) suffering. But unlike the kind of suffering Ford talks about, St. John's suffering comes primarily from sufferings inflicted upon oneself at will in the form of fasting and self-denial, not from oppressive external forces. This denial of pleasurable things of the earth he calls "the Dark Night of the senses." The reason for the soul to go through this Dark Night is that "all affections of which it has for creatures are pure darkness in the eyes of God, and, when the soul is clothed in these affections, it has no capacity for being enlightened and possessed by the pure and simple light of God." (Book I Ch. IV.1). In other words, a soul cannot become more in the likeness of God if one should be attached to worldly things. It should be noted that "senses" include the feeling of joy one can attain by fulfilling one's pride. That is to say, the "senses" does not include only the physical pleasures in the larger picture St. John of the Cross paints.
Synthesizing with Ford
As said above, Ford's model of consciousness cannot begin to realize the Hegelian utopia for it fails to filter out the deviant paths a being can take in pursuing one's desire to fix his suffering. This can be fixed by forming one's mind to view one's condition and of that world objectively. For objectivity has no place in an intemperate and prideful individual, the affection one has for pleasurable things and love of oneself ought necessarily be purged. And this purgation comes from self-denial, suffering inflicted upon oneself by will.
Along with the four elements, 1) sensations, 2) image, 3) affections, and 4) suffering, two factors of suffering must be introduced: 1) time, and 2) self-denial. Time will make one aware the corrupt condition of the world wherein one resides. Persistent self-denial (which in itself takes time) will grant objectivity so as to judge correctly the degrees and ways the world is corrupt, and, if exercised correctly, one would see the corruption within oneself. By introducing objectivity, one would not formulate deviant ideas about how to progress about one's condition. From what has been said, then, the deficiency of Ford's model of consciousness can be fixed by introducing self-denial, and attitude which embraces contemptus mundi.
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