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Episode 141: 18:53 Working Tools Series – “Sapere Aude!” · Minnesota Masonic Histories and Mysteries

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The origins of Freemasonry, its ceremonies, and its influence have long been objects of speculation and analysis by scholars exploring the craft The craft existed in secret or relative secrecy until the 18th century, when its popularity expanded during the complex social, cultural, and political movement commonly known as the Enlightenment.
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This era has been seen by many political theorists and historians as a decisive period in the development of liberal thought.
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The most well-known definition of the program was coined by Immanuel Kant.
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He famously characterized the Enlightenment as, quote,"Man's emergence from his self-imposed immaturity," unquote.
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Borrowing from the poet Horace.
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he proposed as a motto for the era, Have the courage to use your understanding.
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Freemasonry has been seen by many scholars as an important element in this revolutionary process.
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In this view, as Freemasonry spread to almost every nation in Europe, it encouraged its members to achieve a higher level of individual moral and spiritual development Recent scholarship has seriously questioned the received storyline of the Enlightenment as the harbinger of modernity and scientific thought and Freemasonry as its handmaiden.
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Some pointing out that Freemasonry's expressed values are more aligned with Medieval and Renaissance philosophy than 18th century skepticism It's likely best to take Masonry's own words as the best guide for understanding its intellectual agenda.
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Almost every member of the fraternity is familiar with the traditional definition of the craft.
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Freemasonry is a regular system of morality conceived in a strain of interesting allegory which readily unfolds its beauties to the candid and industrious inquirer.
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While impressive sounding, it's only the first step in understanding how the organization actually teaches its lessons.
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Traditionally, Masonic instruction is accomplished through ritual, lecture, and private instruction.
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Modern writers such as Robert Davis, the other guy, argue that even today, ritual occupies the central position within the Masonic project.
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After all, it can rightfully be said that ritual is what Freemasons do.
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But how exactly does Masonry accomplish this goal of teaching?
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Is there a psychological or perhaps a physiological aspect to Freemasonry that's part of its method of instruction?
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Before examining Masonic ritual specifically, it's important to restate the Hermetic roots of the Enlightenment and the intellectual atmosphere of that era.
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Magical thinking was not a new phenomenon.
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as historian John Fleming points out, during the 18th century, the study of numbers looking for hidden meanings in their patterns was highly popular.
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It's also germane to remember that Christianity had been using ritual, symbolism, and Eucharistic transformation for over 1,000 years in its religious teaching.
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However the Enlightenment promoted reason, human nature never changed.
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Current research about the brain has shown that traditional views about rational thinking are mostly myth.
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The brain does not work like a computer.
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Surprisingly, Freemasonry's methods of teaching through ceremony and ritual anticipated these new discoveries, probably by chance.
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This could help explain both Freemasonry's attraction and its staying power over the course of the last three hundred years.
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It also raises questions about the wisdom of altering Masonic rituals and procedures in the present era.
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Masonic ritual seems designed to appeal to the emotional, irrational side of human nature.
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Lights, smells, symbols, and solemn meditations on death and duty were used, as well as allegory and mythology.
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A strange way one would think to reach the rational mind.
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Counterintuitively, this has proven to be one of the unexamined strengths of the craft while a complex cultural phenomenon, Enlightenment philosophy was generally hostile to superstition, skeptical of establishment authority, especially in religion and politics, and open to reason and rationality as governing norms for society.
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Prejudice, intolerance, and unthinking attachments to custom and habit were seen as responsible for most problems in political or public life If humans could be encouraged to think rationally and to question social conditions, the result would be greater understanding and harmony.
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During the eighteenth century, the educated population of Europe became enthralled with this new vision of humanity.
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In every country, they tended to gather together to share information, debate new ideas, and keep in touch with other like-minded individuals The individual was seen as a perfectible creature.
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with untapped resources within his intellect.
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Although he did not use the exact term, John Locke posited that the human mind was a blank slate at birth.
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The purpose of education was to fill in that blank slate with facts, knowledge, philosophy, and an appreciation of liberty and freedom Once the proper data was inserted into the brain, the individual would continue to grow and develop intellectually.
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As new experiences impinged on each person, he would process the facts, weigh them in the balance, and choose what was best for himself and society.
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Education and rationality were thus the keystones of the Enlightenment project to improve the human race.
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Freemasonry quickly spread to almost every nation in Europe.
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It was an organization dedicated to helping its members achieve a higher level of individual moral and spiritual developments.
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Democratic principles taught in the lodges were also spread through Western Europe by Masons.
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some have suggested that lodges were organized partly by accident as laboratories of republicanism.
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One would expect, given the 18th century's emphasis on logic and rationality, that an appeal to the human intellect would be the method by which Masonic lessons would be imparted.
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What the new organization ended up doing, however, was to institute procedures that were seemingly designed to appeal to the emotional, irrational side of human nature In the last thirty years or so, many scientists have become convinced that the Enlightenment model of the human brain is wrong.
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To choose just one example, the classic Enlightenment view saw reason and emotion as opposed.
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Emotions got in the way of reason and interfered with rationality.
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One of the purposes of education was to teach the individual to ignore emotion and feeling in favor of facts and logic.
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However, research has shown that humans with brain damage that makes them incapable of experiencing emotion or seeing it in others cannot function rationally.
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They cannot perceive what decisions will lead to happiness or satisfaction for themselves or anyone else.
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Emotions actually fuel reason rather than impairing its use Until the late 20th century, scientists saw the brain as a triune organ.
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The product of evolution, it had three parts.
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The oldest part, the brain stem, was the seat of the survival instinct and was an inheritance from our reptilian ancestors.
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The middle segment, the limbic system, contained emotions and was derived from prehistoric mammals.
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The final element, the neocortex, was the largest part of the brain and regulated instincts and emotion.
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It was also the seat of rational thought, memory, and learning.
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Something similar to this model had been imagined by Plato over two thousand years ago.
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His theory of mind influenced everyone who came after him, from John Locke to Sigmund Freud to Charles Darwin.
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It was only in the late 1980s, thanks to research in molecular genetics, that scientists were able to study the physical structure and operation of the brain.
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What researchers found was that the human brain is not structurally different from that of any other creature.
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Reptiles and non-human mammals have the same kind of neurons that our brain has, even those within the neocortex.
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The human brain is larger because it has a more complex body to manage.
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It is not really superior to that of other species, however.
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It's just bigger What scientists seem to have found is that the brain is basically a network of 86 billion neurons that is constantly in operation most of what it does, regulating body temperature, glucose levels, oxygen intake, and processing various physical sensations is activity that is literally beyond one's control.
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Individuals don't have to consciously decide how fast their heart must beat, for example.
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Even more astounding, 98% of our thoughts within the neocortex occur without our being aware that they're even happening.
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That activity can be called the unconscious mind.
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This goes far beyond muscular reflex.
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What automobile driver has not arrived at a location with no memory of how they arrived?
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although you might not know how this happened, your cognitive unconscious certainly does.
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While these new discoveries about the human brain might be interesting, one might reasonably ask,"What does all of this have to do with Freemasonry?" The answer lies in the ability of the human brain to interact, respond, and adapt to other human brains, particularly in formal settings such as shared rituals and ceremonies.
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It appears from these new studies of the human brain that ritual is far from a dead, empty, meaningless activity.
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It is, in fact, one of the most important ways of teaching and expanding mental abilities.
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Initiatic practices are particularly powerful in shaping the actions and thoughts of the participants.
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Social scientists who study the effects of ritual have found that rituals can regulate deficits in cultural learning and affiliation.
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What this means in practical terms is that Freemasonry has a powerful, underappreciated tool for influencing its members and, in turn, affecting society as a whole.
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Our mind, or rather what we consider our rational mind, is largely emotional, empathetic, uses metaphor to understand the world, and is shaped by experience, prejudice, and non-rational learning.
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Probably through luck or perhaps because of its pre-enlightenment roots, Freemasonry stumbled upon an effective way to teach morality and self-development.
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Mysterious ceremony, symbols, memorized incantations, and otherworldly initiations are at the core of this Masonic teaching experience hopefully, the importance of Masonic ritual should now be obvious to the listener.
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The craft has a formidable tool that should be consciously used and treasured by its members.
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New discoveries about the human brain have reinforced the vital role that ceremony plays in our fraternal education.
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Instead of streamlining ritual or making it more accessible to modern initiates, grand lodges might be well advised to re-emphasize the correct performance of their rituals.
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these effective tools must be treated with respect and used in a serious manner.
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They are not to be treated lightly as something to be endured until the stated meeting is over.
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Sociologists long ago discovered that if ritual performs no transformative work and becomes an empty exercise performed without seriousness, it'll likely wither and be abandoned by the members of a group Although specific prescriptions for the future of Freemasonry are beyond the limits of this article, certain areas of interest to the craft have hopefully been presented that merit discussion.
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First, the classical view of the human brain is wrong.
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Second, ritual and ceremony are powerful vehicles for use in education and growth.
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Third, Freemasonry has developed, partly by chance, the ideal tools to help its members learn and develop as individuals.
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Finally, we should be cognizant of these new discoveries about the mind as we consider our ways of working the craft, and especially any proposed improvements to the ways in which we practice our tradition.
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Freemasonry has an underappreciated psychological tool in its possession.
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It should be used wisely and not allowed to fall into neglect