AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION

 

After an wide-ranging conversation with my grandnephew, John, a young man now in graduate school, I texted him a note which resulted in the following exchange:

[Rose] Our conversation yesterday reminded me of this (one of my favorite) quotes:  "If one is to come up to his full measure, he must become conscious of his infinite capacity for carrying himself still further; he must realize the duties it involves, and he must feel its intoxicating wonder."

[John]  Great quote. I’m assuming that’s from Jung.  Typed the quote into chatGPT and kinda started poking and prodding ChatGPT about it and the deeper meaning behind it.  Went down a rabbit hole asking it about the quote and the Jungian way of thinking.  One big thing I asked it is that if God is viewed as that “inner forces driving you,” then how do you explain evil people (like Hitler for example)?  It said something along the lines of the idea that the unconscious contains light and dark.  “Evil” people are often controlled by this shadow in their unconscious.  ChatGPT then said “seeking within doesn’t mean trusting every thought or feeling. It means bringing the unconscious into consciousness so you can see what’s driving you instead of being driven by it.  Evil, in Jung’s view, is what happens when people never do that--when they let their shadow run the show.” Thought that was a reasonable explanation that answered my questions.  It had a quote towards the end of our chat that I enjoyed: “it’s one of the reasons that Jung saw religion, myth, and evil itself as necessary.  They are mirrors of our psyche.  They show us what we might become if we stay unconscious.” That’s a great quote as it kinda made me realize that religious books are just as much of a guide to life as they are a guide to what can happen when things go wrong.  Anyways, wanted to highlight some good quotes I found and how awesome ChatGPT can be.

[Rose]  It’s actually a Teilhard de Chardin quote.  Thank you for your response!  In your short paragraph, I learned more about the power of AI and how spot-on it can be with FACTS and history.  One thing your summary brings home is how truly great minds (probably evil ones, too) can come up with similar ideas.