Filter Evolution

 

Pollan, in his book “The Botany of Desire”, at one point states that drugs, “work by subtracting some of the filters that consciousness normally interposes between us and the world.”  He sees drugs as a tool used to somehow make our world more simple.  They do not alter reality, they only alter our perception of reality.  It is as if a video contained a black censor bar covering the naked breasts of a woman.  If the bars were removed, a viewer would perceive the image in very different way, even though the action of the video remained entirely the same.   The viewer may be moved to different feelings or emotions just as a user may feel or act differently after consuming a drug.

Over time, it seems as though a species evolves to filter certain aspects of the world so that every individual perceives reality as being the same.  In this way, the members of the species can better interact with and relate to one another.  Sure, there may be minor changes in perception from being to being, stemming from problems like blurred vision or muffled hearing, but overall their perceptions are almost identical.  I believe it is the desire to exist, even for a moment, in a world different from the common one we know that drives people to experiment with drugs.

How many times have you looked up at a bird and wished you were it, flying high above the ground?  If someone told you that you could exist as a dog for an hour would you do it? What if there was a drug that made us unable to see color and interpret language?  What if this drug transported us into a dog reality?  Would this be any less a reality than the one we know?  What if we were able to remove all the filters?  What would reality be like then?