Psybermagick: Advanced Ideas in Chaos Magic - Peter J. Carroll 2000

Heresy II Predictions

1) Chemistry undid Personality.

2) Physics undid Determinacy.

3) Biology will soon undo most of our preconceptions about ’human beings’.

4) Memory modification will eventually undo the rest.

Commentary 21

1) Psychopharmacy reveals that personality depends entirely upon chemistry and thus consists entirely of chemistry. In vino veritas indeed. Chemicals can make you schizophrenic, ecstatic, depressed, extrovert, introvert, libidinous, celibate, aggressive or passive. So much for the notion of essential self.

2) Today does not completely determine tomorrow, much less next week. We have awoken to Chaos from Newton’s sleep and single vision.

3) If intelligent aliens haven’t shown up within a couple of decades, we will probably have made our own.

We now seem within spitting distance of making our own aliens from either meat or machinery.

4) Memory Defines Identity. Think about it, or if you can’t, try reading Philip K. Dick.

We may not even need direct neural interfaces to rewrite memory. In my own lifetime I have seen the history books rewritten for sociopolitical purposes.