"The higher 'soul,' or higher faculty as I would prefer to say, has absolutely no value in itself. Many who have attained it have remained imbeciles or worse; some have 'graduated' to higher imbecility, or fanaticism. The 'vegetative soul,' or oldest part of the brain, merely perceives simple sensations: hot or cold, damp or dry, seemingly safe or seemingly noxious. The 'animal' soul, or middle brain, perceives the body language of similar organisms and can, somewhat, predict their behavior from this. The 'human' soul, or later brain, perceives the structures of a simple, mechanical kind. The 'fourth soul,' or emerging brain, perceives the invisible web of connections between all things; but it is no more infallible than the rest of the brain, or the gut, or the liver, or the gonads. It merely works without effort, unlike the more primitive parts of the brain, which is why meanings seem to flow into us, when this is activated, and we forget that we are still creating the meanings. We imagine we are 'receiving revelations,' and hence we do not take responsibility or exercise any prudence or common sense. This is why there are so many 'holy fools' and so few holy wise men."
-Robert Anton Wilson, The Widow's Son: The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles, Volume Two
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jackshoegazer
