[From Bruce Nevin (2003.12.05 12:25 EST)]
Bruce gregory (2003.12.05.0658)–
···
At 06:59 AM 12/5/2003 -0500, Bruce Gregory wrote:
Rick Marken (2003.12.04.2200)
Bruce Gregory (2003.12.04.1730)–
[…]
Can I want something without controlling for it?Yes, if you consider controlling for an imagined version of the
perception to be not actually controlling (since you are not acting on
the world to get the perceptual variable into the wanted state).
So if I want to retire but am doing nothing about retiring, I am
controlling in imagination for being retired. Sounds strained, but PCT
explanation noted.
It is also possible to want something and control it unsuccessfully. “Wanting” literally means “lacking” and refers here to the difference between reference and perception and to the emotion-laden states that can arise with it.
This can mean not controlling successfully yet. Much as the cat by the hole is controlling a mouse that is not yet present, and the bully by the door is controlling a victim who is not yet present, a person wanting to retire can be controlling the means to retire that are not yet present.
There is an element of confident expectation also in the case of the fearful victim or the person wanting to retire is anxious about it. The perception that evokes fear can perversely be the reference signal and can be successfully controlled to their dismay. Hence, the extensive realm of positive thinking etc.
My daughter is writing a dissertation (senior honors, not PhD) in Cognitive Science. I recently suggested to her that the distress she was feeling about the still disorganized state of her notes and of her understanding of her material could be thought of as the vacuum that nature abhors, and will fill. It’s like fishing, in that you have to wait for a real bite without disturbing the water; confident expectation is an important aspect of the want. And it’s like dropping a seed crystal into a supersaturated solution; again, you can’t disturb the ‘soup’ with anything else. Here, want refers both to the angst and to the reference signal (the seed crystal).
/Bruce Nevin