Nicholas Zilhaver

Professor Smith

English-101-29

9/19/2016

An Inquisition into the Development of Intelligence and Consciousness

In the text aptly titled, “This is Water”, the author, David Foster Wallace makes evident that we are all by default slaves to our ingrained instincts. He claims that we are born with a natural default setting in which our immediate needs and desires take precedence over those of others, which have to be communicated to us. Wallace states that as a result of this, we are “slaves to our own heads”, and that the only way to escape this inconsiderate misery is to be conscious of other perspectives and thereby become free from the natural default setting. Throughout his work however, Wallace makes distinctions between consciousness and intelligence, to make clear the moral connotation and function of consciousness. In this paper, I will argue that in order to make his case, Wallace makes evident that there are in reality two distinct varieties of and communities of thought: Intelligence and consciousness, and deploys clichés, and the function of liberal arts education to draw contrast between them. 

Wallace deploys a number of clichés with the intention of establishing several situations in which the two separate schools of thought may be deployed to illustrate contrast between them. Wallace intentionally exploits each one using two separate perceptions, so as to create contrasting points of view to illustrate how they are different. In one example, Wallace cites the cliché that, “the mind (is) an excellent servant but a terrible master” (XIV). It is not by accident that Wallace deploys this cliché. In an intellectual school of thought, which can be identified through direct interpretation of the text, the direct meaning may be interpreted as follows: That control over your own thoughts is absolutely vital, because if the mind is a better servant than a master, it is within one’s best interest to control it. However, Wallace immediately changes direction by soon stating, “It is not the least bit coincidental that adults who commit suicide with firearms almost always shoot themselves in the head. And the truth is that most of these suicides are actually dead long before they pull the trigger” (XIV). This complete change in thought is actually the application of another school of thought: Consciousness. Wallace deploys an eventuality of his cliché rather than an interpretation. Consciousness is unlike intelligence, in that it is an awareness rather than a fact or concept. This eventuality that Wallace deploys is preceded by his stating, “This, like many clichés, so lame and unexciting on the surface, actually expresses a great and terrible truth” (XIV). Intelligence may lead one to perceive subconsciously the literal meaning behind the cliché explored. Consciousness however, by definition, is awareness, and therefore it allows one realize the terrible reality of the cliché in question: it’s eventuality and true result when broken away from its abstract concept or in other words, made tangible, and applied to the real world. 

The age old cliché of the mind’s servitude is not the only one deployed by Wallace however. He states that, “The liberal-arts cliché about “teaching you how to think” is actually shorthand for a much deeper, more serious idea: “Learning how to think” really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience,” (XIV). Wallace begins by explaining the age old “Cliché” about learning how to think is actually a method by which consciousness is developed. He further states that, “the real, no-bull- value of your liberal-arts education is supposed to be about: How to keep from going through your comfortable, prosperous, respectable adult life dead, unconscious, a slave to your head and to your natural default-setting of being uniquely, completely, imperially alone, day in and day out" (XIV). It is important to note Wallace use of contradictory words. He makes clear that Liberal arts educations keep you from going through your "Comfortable, prosperous, respectable adult life dead, unconscious, a slave... (and) imperially alone" (XIV). Wallace makes the point that consciousness is the only way to effectively combat all the negative emotions and internal conflict which is embedded into an otherwise comfortable and prosperous life. He states that liberal arts education, which as previously mentioned is a development of consciousness, is the only way to prevent this raw, vile reality from becoming your own. Wallace later mentions that, "the world of men and money and power hums along quite nicely on the fuel of fear and contempt and frustration and craving and the worship of self. Our own present culture has harnessed these forces in ways that have yielded extraordinary wealth and comfort and personal freedom" (XVI). This is designed to illustrate the reality that worship of self, wealth, freedom, and a number of factors operates as a motivational tool, almost like a hotdog on a stick, to entice individuals to quell an insatiable hunger for those things worshiped. The importance of this comes from its connection to the importance of liberal arts. Worship of intelligence as stated by Wallace, can lead one to progress their intelligence further, and yield great results which can in turn establish a "comfortable, prosperous, and respectable adult life" (XIV). Therefore, it can actually be viewed as a tool which has the potential to accomplish many great things, but like many tools, can be used for both progress and hindrance. Take a gun for example. It is a contradiction in itself. Some significant percentage of the population claims that firearms are an important part of personal protection which can be very true. However, they can also be utilized as weapons of mass destruction and mass terror. Everything about this tool, is dependent upon the person who yields it and for what intention. It has no awareness of itself, but rather only purpose which can be utilized or exploited. In continuation, Consciousness is represented by the contradicting part of Wallace's claim. Intelligence can give you a very comfortable and prosperous life, however true freedom and happiness can only be attained by being conscious and having the power to exercise control over your interpretation and derived meaning of events. 

In conclusion, David Foster Wallace draws contrast between the concepts of consciousness and intelligence so that he may make his case that consciousness is the only way to be free of the slavery of our own natural instincts. He deploys several clichés which are then interpreted using two schools of thought yielding very different interpretations of an otherwise unoriginal and overused concept. Wallace later states the purpose of liberal arts educations, and by doing so he reveals that intelligence is only a tool which can be used in a number of ways. It can deliver prosperity, comfort and personal freedom, while also having the power to deliver misery, death, and self-imprisonment for those use exploit it. The reality that Wallace illustrates is that Consciousness is the only control mechanism for intelligence and like any person behind the scope of a rifle, has the power to interpret reality in a higher capacity and make a significant impact in the lives of both the individual and those he impacts. Intelligence is a firearm. Consciousness, is the brain behind the trigger.

Works Cited

Wallace, David Foster. "This is Water." The Carolina Reader for English 101, edited by Ben

Harley and Nicole Fisk, Hayden-Mcneil, pp. X-XVII

 