21 levels of Self-Deception: THIRD EDITION by Tom Wallace - HTML preview

T W E N T Y - O N E L E V E L S

I have chosen to ascribe particular aspects of our behaviour and of culture to each of the terms in order to try to draw out particular concerns. This apportioning as either ‘spiritual’ or ‘soulful’ is not entirely random! I am particularly indebted to the writings of Thomas Moore for identifying the relevance of the terms and applying them in a specific way. Of most importance is the relation of soul to body that will be explored in a later chapter and this is largely contrary to the understanding given to the word soul in its common religious usage.

I am deliberately staying with the terms spirit and soul in this work for two reasons. The first reason is that it continues with our theme of considering the splits within our thinking. It has been noted that some splits go unnoticed almost entirely, others are recognised and seen as completely literal, whilst others still are recognised but misunderstood. Whilst considering that all splits are ultimately unreal, they can nevertheless be used in helping us to understand and perhaps challenge the status quo. The second reason for keeping with the terms spirit and soul is that although this is not essentially a religious work, nonetheless so much of what is said relates back to religion and to spirituality. Some authors, Hegel in particular, see genuine desire being met solely through religion, whilst others certainly acknowledge religious faith as being at least ‘useful’ in this regard. As the argument progresses it will be seen that unfortunately the way religion operates in the Western world unwittingly maintains and indeed reinforces the problems that this work seeks to illuminate and to challenge. Nonetheless, in seeking a

56