What I took most from this week’s topic of Neuroscience and
art is the consciousness and unconscious portion. I believe it is because t
deals a lot with upbringing in a Buddhist home. Although my family does not
practice Buddhism to the extent of the Dahlia Lama or Buddha himself for that
matter, my own practice of the religion derives from my own pursuit of more
knowledge on the topic. This all began when I decided to practice Buddhism
verses Christianity (my father’s religion).
The Unconscious:
I do agree with Young, that Freud’s interpretation of the
topic is negative, and agree with his that it is also a source of creativity. From
many dreams that I have encountered in the past, some inspire me so much that I
write a story, song, or draw a picture as a reflection on it.
I also agree that his theory does come into light with the
involvement of religion and how it is a means of communication between all
types of people. Take for instance Buddhist art. Although the photos here are not
the one I wish to show, which hangs in my temple, the head monk told me that
the art is not a representation of a deity (because Buddhism is an atheist
religion), but a representation of a human emotion. People use those photos to
meditate on it, so that they may conquer that emotion. So I guess that can be
an example of communication through religious art (although art in general is a
nonverbal form of communication to me); especially for those practicing Buddhism.
I
see as consciousness and unconsciousness as binary
oppositions. Without the one, the other cannot exist. Meaning in Buddhism, from
with I have learned thus, the consciousness portion relates to how one must
realize that life is suffering and the unconsciousness portion takes place when
one is able to achieve enlightenment; it’s not something that can only be
attained through sleep and dreams.
Works Cited
Bateson, Gregory. Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unity. New York: Dutton, 1979. Print.
Vesna, Victoria.
"Neuroscience Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, 16 May 2012. Web. 18 May 2015.
Vesna, Victoria.
"Neuroscience Pt3." YouTube. YouTube, 16 May 2012. Web. 18 May 2015.
Vesna, Victoria.
"Neuroscience-pt1.mov." YouTube. YouTube, 17 May 2012. Web. 18 May 2015.
Hi Kimberly. I really enjoyed your post because it went beyond what was discussed in lecture this week. It is really interesting to me that most of your post was concerned with how buddhist see the conscious and unconscious. Your last paragraph on how Buddhist see the conscious as the part of your life that is suffering, while the unconscious related to how one achieves enlightenment. I had never considered that different faiths had different definitions of what the conscious versus unconscious means to them. I always just assumed that unconscious is related to sleep, similar to what you brought up. Your post was very interesting! However, I would have also briefly brought up some of the other important points that were made this week. Overall, great post!
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