Introduction Circuit 1 - Bio-survival Circuit 2 - Emotional/Territorial Circuit 3 - Intellectual Circuit 4 - Socio-sexual Intermission Circuit 5 - Holistic/neurosomatic
I was inspired, after reading Robert Anton Wilson's 'Prometheus Rising', to write a little something about Leary's work. It seems to me a great shame that he's best remembered for one rather throwaway phrase, oft quoted by snickering students and wannabe trippers: "Turn on, tune in, drop out." Whilst taking on greater resonance with consideration, it's not quite the thing to sell the drug scene to sceptics. But there was so much more that the good doctor accomplished in his life, particularly his Eight Neurological Circuit model of the evolution of human consciousness. It is on this that Wilson writes so deceptively flippantly: his style may deter the over-serious reader, but I found it rather refreshing.
But the subject matter itself: the first four circuits should be familiar to all, if not in name then at least description. These Leary considered historical, common to all humans. His elucidation nonetheless is fresh and interesting. But the remaining four he considered to be those determining the future direction of humanity, and here things get really fascinating: many people will recognise at least intimations of some of these circuits' first firings...
I've also followed the example here and included the substance(s) likely to be favoured by those most strongly imprinted with each circuit. Of course, this isn't to say that these people do take anything, rather to highlight the likely preference, should they be so inclined.
The oldest circuit, shared with all life. The driver of fight-or-flight. Clearly a very important factor in the evolution of life, but we need to look critically at its function now. Wilson wryly points out that the current form of the circuit's satisfaction resides in the acquisition of "bio-survival tickets" (read "money"). In our 'civilised' society, once we're effectively established as 'normal adults', there should be no real need to activate this circuit. Yet it's still a huge driving force for the majority, and why? Because they haven't realised the meaning of the word 'satisfaction'. They tie themselves down to materialistic existence by walking into a series of traps so gently laid and lavishly baited by the Establishment: as large a mortgage as their salary will allow; a vehicle to take them from their residence (so carefully selected to be a sufficient distance away as to require this 'necessity') to the workplace - bubble-to-bubble in another bubble, all stiflingly heated; and then offspring, holidays, stuff-stuff-stuff... This has, then, become the norm, the baseline below which they must never drop. To maintain this baseline requires a steady influx of those bio-survival tickets, to really live requires the promise of a steady increase in their influx. Thus is the trap of consumerism the new driver of the bio-survival circuit.
Recognition of true satisfaction is the way out of the trap: and the path to recognition requires a complete reprogramming of how the world is perceived. The call to live more simply has never echoed with such resonance as the Earth's resources are blindly plundered for short-term gain: without action soon, circuit 1 will rediscover its original employment...
Substance(s) of choice: heroin, crack cocaine, benzodiazepines, other narcotics...
Basically, anything that removes anxiety and effectively returns us to the womb. Circuit 1-fixators are often those who have been abused as children or are simply not equipped to cope with life's vicissitudes.
How we love to hear the birds sing! Yet they're engaging in classic circuit 2 behaviour, the establishment of territory, and indeed the pecking order (sic). The first stirrings of this circuit in humans may be observed in the screaming baby and later, more sophisticated, in the manipulative toddler, pressing the parents' emotional buttons to gain a small advantage.
This, therefore, is the earliest manifestation of the rudimenatary ego, crudely carving out for itself every possible gain in order to better the survival chances of its host. And that word 'survival' begins to show how these circuits build, superimpose one on the other. First a basic binary on/off survival check, then a somewhat more complex tactic of building reserves of peripherals, the better to furnish a virtual-bubble to effectively repel the possibility of circuit 1-based danger. In short, deterrence.
In combination with circuit 1, circuit 2 creates a crude 2 x 2 matrix of types. A brief visual summary, containing categories from various established psychological models, is provided below:
Obviously very few fit purely into the defined regions, but the model sometimes provides a useful visual reference for an initial personality screening.
Substance(s) of choice: principally alcohol, also indisciminate use of amphetamine and cocaine, even the milder caffeine in some cases.
Essentially, anything that gives a strong ego-boost, especially coupled with increased aggression. Circuit 2-fixators are powerfully ego-driven, in the main to mask a deep-seated fear or lack of confidence. Racists, xenophobes, religious extremists are all to be found in this group. Less extreme examples include power-motivated high-achievers and 'jobsworths'.
The most sophisticated ego-based circuit, this relies not on physical force or perceived reputation or hierarchical status but on the potentially more democratic quantity of brain-development. Insufficient in itself to be truly effective in broad-spectrum survival tactics, it is nevertheless highly effective in combination with its predecessors. Its proclaimed realm is the sphere of debate and arguments, its tools learnable techniques, its currency facts, statistics, hard information... Abuse of this circuit's power lies in various subterfuges relating to the familiar concept of 'spin', that is techniques used deliberately to distort and interpret data without actually reporting outright lies (verifiably incorrect data).
First stirrings may be observed once more in the manipulative toddler, playing off one parent against the other.
Substance(s) of choice: caffeine, controlled use of amphetamine and cocaine, 'smart' drugs.
Anything that enhances cognitive 'edge'. This is where we find Brights and high-achieving academics, especially those with a strong scientific bent and an aversion to (read fear of) anything smacking slightly of the mystical.
The last of the first group, breaking away from the previous ego-driven circuits, this begins to expand outwards to factor in the reality of societal living. The concept of morality, especially in the context of social responsibility, is introduced. It's interesting to muse on the fact that this is considered a 'higher' circuit than the ego-driven ones, yet is clearly the prime driver in other species' (e.g. colony insects) behaviour.
Substance(s) of choice: controlled use of alcohol and cannabis, low dose MDMA.
The promotion of social cohesion is the prime mover here. A 'type' to be found in this group would be sociable family-orientated adults, materially content types who fancy themselves as 'complete human beings'. Kids in bed, the adults gather for a glass or two of wine and pass a joint around. This is not to denigrate, rather to provide an example. Indeed, at the present evolutionary state in materially rich environments, this type should be the norm. In less materially rich cultures, at least healthy ones, again most members of the society would be expected to display Circuit 4 behaviours.
So far, we've examined what Leary designates the "terrestrially imprinted circuits", that is those whose associated behaviours are evolutionarily hardwired into the majority of humans. The Eight-Circuit Model hasn't found favour with orthodox science as no physical structures have been discovered that directly correspond to their alleged functionality. My own take on this fact: brain structure = computer hardware; individual behaviours = computer software; and the neurological circuits? How about firmware? Upgradeable without replacing the hardware, given knowledge of how to do so. And therefore essentially hardware-independent in the sense that they need not be directly associated with any single hardware structure. A metaphor only, of course, but at least it provides an example of what their nature is relative to more familiar aspects of the mind-brain.
And so to the future: these circuits are considered to be "extraterrestrially imprinted", that is their triggers and results are only loosely defined, are malleable, not morphogenetically 'firmed-up'. So, unless they fire up spontaneously, there is always an element of risk in attempting to stimulate them by whatever chosen measures, especially the higher ones. But in these accelerated times, it seems appropriate that we should find shortcuts to the future in order to help define it before it happens. Prepare for an exponential ride!
Perhaps one thread running through the 'terrestrial' circuits is a kind of negative flip-side to everything: guilt, embarrassment, hate, fear... the full range. Circuit 5 shows a state beyond this, and it is often appraised as the 'rapture' or 'hedonic' circuit. Consideration suggests that one needs to have discharged the negative baggage of the earlier circuits in order to more fully occupy this space, although most people should have experienced occasional bouts of Circuit 5 firing.
Substance(s) of choice: cannabis, full dose MDMA and low dose psilocybin.
This is all about bliss, that sadly rare mind state in which everything seems right, nothing negative impinges and the moment is all. I have seen young people in tears after festivals (and no doubt their first MDMA session), mourning the loss of that feeling. But of course, one feels truly lucky when it arrives spontaneously...