Does A Person Have Neurophysiological Control Over Their Compulsions? Relating Robinson Crusoe to Brain and Mind in the 'Long' 18th Century

Marisa Martini

ENG 364

Weekly Response 9/3/13

Question: Does a person have neurophysiological control over their compulsions?

Quote 1: “But I that was born to be my own Destroyer, could no more resist the Offer than I could restrain my first rambling Designs, when my Father’s good Counsel was lost upon me.” (Defoe 31)

Quote 2: “ ‘As for the movements of our passions… it is… very clear that they do not depend on thought, because they often occur in spite of us.’ ” (C.U.M. Smith 17)

While reading Robinson Crusoe it becomes clear from the very beginning that Robinson Crusoe’s desire for a life of exploration at sea cannot be thwarted by reason or logic. His father explains to him the comfort of a “middle station” lifestyle and the inevitable dangers that will ensue by venturing out to sea. Robinson Crusoe displays mental competence and a full understanding of his father’s logic, but, simultaneously, knows how unsatisfied he will be if he does not fulfill his compulsion to go to the sea. It seems reasonable to assume that if one knows the risks associated with the action they are considering taking they would steer clear of doing what could potentially be dangerous. Instead, even after experiencing horrific storms, pirates, slavery, shipwrecks, and countless other near-death experiences, Robinson Crusoe voyages to the sea time after time. In the first quote above, Robinson Crusoe expresses his inability to resist or restrain from his inexplicable desires that draw him to the sea. He is, as he says, born to be self-destructive, reaffirming the idea that he could not be deterred from his desires no matter how deadly they may be in nature. A theme begins to emerge: even against one’s better judgment, their compulsions will ultimately drive their actions. The Brain and Mind in the ‘Long’ Eighteenth Century reading focuses on how the nervous system plays a role in our movement, the transmission of our thoughts, and the conversion of thought to action. In the quote above, Descartes wrote how the passions within our soul are not interconnected with rational thought since our tendency is to completely disregard what we know would be the better choice in order to follow our passions. This idea from the Enlightenment period coincides with the actions taken by Defoe’s protagonist, Robinson Crusoe; Robinson Crusoe’s “rambling Designs” are these inexplicable, illogical passions. Defoe is acknowledging that something else that is not neurophysiologically controlled is at play when it comes to making decisions based on one’s compulsions – something that may be psychological and motivated by feelings and emotions rather than logic and reason.