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The Benefits of Societal Awareness

In “Immune to Reality”, Daniel Gilbert, a psychology professor at Harvard University,

identifies the existence of a psychological immune system: a defense mechanism that protects

one’s mental state by cooking facts to help him view very painful experiences in a positive way.

Synthetic happiness, when we don’t get what we want, is comprised of positive views created

unconsciously. Furthermore, when an individual experiences natural happiness, or when we get

what we want, he is aware of the motivators behind such contentment. Therefore, Gilbert

encourages people to try to become more aware of the unconscious process of synthesizing

happiness and of our mental functioning in general. In “This is Water”, David Foster Wallace, a

Pulitzer-winning author, names the unconscious mental function a natural default setting, which

is like the psychological immune system in that it is automatic; however, the default setting

promotes a self-centered perspective. Contrary to Gilbert’s statements, Wallace believes that a

conscious choice to deviate from the natural default setting elicits awareness that positively

affects an individual’s psychological condition. Therefore, gaining awareness of unconscious

mental processes is the most effective method in developing a greater understanding of one’s

own mental state and that of others as well.

An unconscious mental process institutes initial contentment but has negative long-term

effects, whereas awareness of experiences provides lasting contentment. While the authors may

disagree on the type of unconscious process involved, both agree that becoming aware of this

process is crucial. Daniel Gilbert declares the primary function of the psychological immune

system as the “cooking” of facts. This practice is the brain’s method of transforming facts to fit a

positive view of experiences. However, there are tradeoffs when cooking facts; although “the

benefit of all this unconscious cookery is that it works, […] the cost is that it makes us strangers

to ourselves” (Gilbert 135). The secretive nature of the psychological immune system makes it
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difficult for an individual to anticipate the way he will act, and understand the extent to which his

emotional state is being manipulated. Unresolved traumatic experiences will result in emotions

that are unprocessed and that could re-emerge at a later time. With this in mind, traumatic events

and situations that we are stuck with trigger the psychological immune system, but are never

fully resolved. Moreover, David Foster Wallace asserts that someone can choose to eschew the

natural default setting, and that “if [he wants] to operate on [his] default setting – then [he], like

[Wallace] will not consider possibilities that aren’t pointless or annoying” (Wallace 6). The

natural default setting is an unconscious process and initially, it has dominance over one’s

perception to create a self-centered viewpoint. Although this function provides a feeling of self-

importance and value, it opens an individual to trivial annoyances caused by other people that

affect his quality of life in the long run. Wallace believes that by choice, an individual can

change his perspective, and in doing so, gain an appreciation for his and others’ emotional

dispositions. Furthermore, once awareness is reached, people can begin to understand their inner

workings better, as well as those of other people.

A shift in perspective leads to awareness of one’s current and future emotional states,

thereby increasing the chance that the individual will experience contentment. Gilbert identifies

a pattern of unconsciously creating positive views of negative situations, and states that “because

[one does] not realize that [he has] created a positive view of [his] current experience, [he] does

not realize that [he] will do so again in the future” (Gilbert 145-146). When someone finally

breaks the psychological immune system’s hold, he can begin to process traumatic experiences,

and begin to understand his perspective and any subsequent behaviors. Wallace believes that the

path to happiness is paved by practicing a constant method of moving away from one’s default

setting, or self-centered perspective, and he deems this “learning to think…[which] really means

learning how to exercise control over […] what you pay attention to and how you construct
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meaning from experience” (Wallace 3). Forming meaning from experience leads to a consistent

and reliable understanding of someone’s emotional reactions. With each episode a person

undergoes with a constant method of thinking, his self-awareness increases and he can more

accurately predict how he will react in certain situations. Self-awareness develops a clearer

understanding of one’s biased perception; in this case, one’s unconscious mental process imparts

bias. By shifting perception, people can stop being strangers to themselves and become content

with a constant effort to become aware of their emotions and mentalities.

After shifting to an unselfish perspective and developing self-awareness, an individual

has the ability to show empathy for the frustrations that everyone experiences throughout life.

Daniel Gilbert posits that the psychological immune system hinders an individual’s relationships

with himself and other people because the defense mechanism automatically shifts blame onto

others. He expresses that “[the] psychological immune system causes [an individual] to

mispredict the circumstances under which [he] will blame others” (Gilbert 137). Taking

responsibility for one’s blame requires both self-awareness and empathy for others. There is no

empathy present when shifting blame because the ability to understand the perspective of others

is not present, and this is where self-awareness comes into play. Self-awareness promotes a

person’s ability to understand what he is thinking or feeling, thereby enabling him to begin to

understand the thoughts and feelings of others. David Foster Wallace’s natural default setting “is

the certainty that situations […] are really all about [him] and […] everybody else is just in his

way” (Wallace 4-5). This self-centered outlook on life is solved by a conscious change in

attitude, creating the prospect that an individual can figuratively place himself in another’s shoes.

Moreover, that prospect develops empathetic action because when it comes down to it, if a

person can begin to understand his feelings, he can begin to understand the feelings of other

people. Awareness of one’s emotional state will remain constant regardless of other people’s
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actions, so the choice to experience reality with an open mind opens a world of possibilities,

which is a tremendous departure from the “day in, day out” syndrome of adult life that Wallace

describes. This is why a conscious departure from the psychological immune system/natural

default setting is so challenging, and yet can be so rewarding as well.

Developing awareness is the most effective method of developing a greater

understanding of one’s own emotional state as well as the problems other people face because it

works in a trickle-down scheme. An individual initially changes his perspective, learns more

about himself and his emotional condition, and in turn uses his unbiased viewpoint to understand

common challenges that he shares with others. Awareness of the frustrations of life helps people

develop better connections and relationships. A common side effect of awareness is contentment

through better relationships with others. In the 21st century, when lifestyles are busier, more

technology-oriented, and less personal than previous eras, people experience greater difficulty in

building connections to others. A majority of this issue can be resolved through this system of

spreading “societal awareness;” the idea that through unselfish perspectives, everyone can

acknowledge that however different the lives of humans may be, they are equally as similar.

Rather than individuals being strangers to themselves, a cohesive, understanding, and most

importantly, aware society is formed and held together by the glue of a common struggle.