On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
I'm thinking about Diane's post about midterm disappointment, and about the way only crazy American optimists would have even allowed themselves to hope, no less fully expect, that they'd completely change their nation's political climate in two years. In Turkey there'd have been no hope, and therefore no disappointment.
I'm also thinking about the terrorist attack last week up the street from me, at Taksim Square, and the way that some things in life, no matter how hard you work or how well you plan, are out of your control. And I'm thinking of my disgust with people who nonetheless turn up their hands in fatalistic regret and say, "Well, no point trying to change anything, since it's all out of our control."
Yes, that latter attitude has its origins in Islamic theology with its emphasis on submission to God's will, but it also has a certain empirical support: You live long enough and you do get the sense that in the end, it's all mostly out of your control. You also get the sense that the only way to find any peace in this world is somehow to accept that many things are, indeed, out of your control, and just to stop fighting that.
The problem, of course, as that cliched AA serenity prayer suggests, is that it's so hard to figure out what is and isn't out of your control, so easy to succumb to narcissistic delusions about one's real ability to make a difference. It's also so easy to give in to defeatism as an excuse for cowardice.
Without all that crazy optimism, the election results would never have been the very real triumph they actually were. Being unrealistic about what can be achieved is useful. It's hard to muster the energy to fight with everything you've got if you can't see spectacular victory in sight and if you don't really think you can change much. You have to think that, or you just won't even try.
But at what point does it become the kind of naivete and self-destructive delusionality that keeps you from seeing what's really going on, and reacting appropriately?
And how does one ever know?
- Comment (19)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (2)
Comments :
Jul '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
But at what point does it become the kind of naivete and self-destructive delusionality that keeps you from seeing what's really going on, and reacting appropriately?
And how does one ever know? ·
That point is reached when you ask such a question for the ages, then allow only 200 words for a response.
You know when smart-alecks like me point it out.
Jul '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
Claire Berlinski, Ed.:But at what point does it become the kind of naivete and self-destructive delusionality that keeps you from seeing what's really going on, and reacting appropriately?
And how does one ever know? ·
When criticism is seen as proof of defeatism.
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
Palaeologus
Claire Berlinski, Ed.:But at what point does it become the kind of naivete and self-destructive delusionality that keeps you from seeing what's really going on, and reacting appropriately?
And how does one ever know? ·
When criticism is seen as proof of defeatism. · Nov 5 at 7:06am
Can you elaborate? You have a few more words to work with here. I'm really curious about what you mean--it sounds wise, but I'm not sure I get it.
Aug '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
If we successfully tap into the universal mind - God, Providence, Natural Law, Collective Unconscious; call it what you will - everything appears in a different light. Failure isn't fatal, and success isn't final. Good fortune sometimes turns terrible and ruins you; disaster often creates great opportunities and success.
Patterns emerge that seem obvious to you and others like you, but which most people don't see. Then there are no more 'accidents' or 'coincidences' in your life; Synchronicity (as Carl Jung described it) rules.
We've just witnessed a classic Greek tragedy. Young hero emerges on a shining chariot from on High to rescue the miserable and downtrodden, to chasten the oppressors and the rich; but his hubris causes Nemisis to unfold her wings and lay waste and devastation to the Hero and his godless, ungrateful, and impious mobs.
Remember how depressed we were when the Democrats won control of both houses of Congress? All appeared lost and it seemed the gods were on their side. But now, because of the great sweep of their victory, all the scorn and opprobrium falls on their shoulders.
Join the club of those who worship the Creator of all, not the creation.
May '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
Claire Berlinski, Ed.: But at what point does it become the kind of naivete and self-destructive delusionality that keeps you from seeing what's really going on, and reacting appropriately?
And how does one ever know? ·
When you keep jumping for the stars and collide with the moon. At that point, the healthy mind looks back and says, "Wow! Look how far I made it." The unhealthy perspective is to look back at the stars and lament that they are just as far away as when you began. (Not saying that I practice what I preach, though.)
Another note, Claire - your posts on the election offer a great perspective. My time abroad was not nearly as extensive as yours, but the time away made me appreciate what we have here.
Aug '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
Like any leap of faith, one must go on. The act is self-fulfilling. The unseen force which compels us to defy logic and expected results.
May '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
It didn't quite defy logic. The results were solidly in the range of prediction, unless you live in California. And it was a sky-high range of prediction.
You do need the really optimistic footsoldiers, but this is a social phenomenon. If you get both angry and enthusiastic, but nobody else does, it's delusional. If you say something and a whole lot of people say "yeah! that's what I think too!", then you're in with a chance. We're past the days when a rump could run the Media or mount a coup.
Jul '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
Life is a testing place, not a Resting Place ---
On my personal website I have quotes I like to repeat in order to make people upset. Since I live in the Seattle area there is no shortage of leftists to upset with these thoughts.
Things like,
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world;
the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.
Therefore: All progress depends on the unreasonable man."
....George Bernard Shaw .
"We are defined by our choices, not by our circumstances."
...Unknown
"Consensus is the Negation of leadership!"
....Margaret Thatcher
The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist
...Keyser Söze quoting Baudelaire
The main upthrust is that the whole difference between Right and Left is that the Left believes that life is totally out of control for the 'victims' of the world and Government MUST help them in order for them to participate.
That is why so many on the right Aimed High. Beter to Aim High and fall somewhat short, than to Aim Low and Hit Right on.
If con is the opposite of pro,
does that make Congress the opposite of Progress?
Jul '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
I think we risk straying into self-delusion when we keep a goal, but lose sight of the next step on the path toward it. I feel most people look at a person's life of accomplishment, see the change from point 'A' to point 'Z' and say,"Wow! How did they ever know how to, and that they would, achieve this?" When, for that person, it was a fairly logical and rational series of small steps that seemed to follow one another in a natural order. Ms. Berlinski, given where you came from, and where you are now, was there a quantum leap at any point? Or did each step seem logical?
An answer for your Islamic friend throwing up his hands, "Apparently, the man detonating the bomb is not as submissive to God's Will. If he can take action, and still be considered true to the faith, what would justify such an extremely fatalistic attitude?" In other words, if all is as Allah wills, then why do imams issue fatwas? If Allah wills fatwas, what doesn't Allah will?
There! Under 200 words.
Oct '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Yes, that latter attitude has its origins in Islamic theology with its emphasis on submission to God's will, but it also has a certain empirical support: You live long enough and you do get the sense that in the end, it's all mostly out of your control.
Claire,
I think you might be experieince some East vs. West. metaphysical differences. As I understand it, Islamic submission to God takes the form of a fatalistic view that there isn't anything that can be done to change His will. Is that correct?
The Christian view also relies heavily on submission to God's will, but teaches that believers can influence God's will through things like prayer. We're not just cogs in a system that we can't change or influence. Our free will and our relationship with God provides us with options and the end result isn't a forgone conclusion. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, we're even taught that this can happen on a national scale.
Judeo-Christian optimism is pervasive in our culture and it's one of the reasons we are a great nation.
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
Mr. Canis, truth be told, many of the steps in my life were quite illogical, driven much more by sentiment and impulse than real planning; and if you'd asked me five, ten, or twenty years ago what my life would be like now, I don't think I'd have predicted any of its major elements.
Aug '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
How do you make God laugh ?
Jul '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Mr. Canis, truth be told, many of the steps in my life were quite illogical, driven much more by sentiment and impulse than real planning; and if you'd asked me five, ten, or twenty years ago what my life would be like now, I don't think I'd have predicted any of its major elements. · Nov 5 at 8:45am
Now we pick apart the knot. Self-delusion requires two things: a goal, and a plan, or method, for achieving that goal. If my goal is to become Speaker of the House, and I choose as my method sitting in my basement playing video games, I am self-deluding. A passing acquaintance with reality is necessary to match goal to method, and to avoid fooling yourself.
The other way, which is my personal choice, is to have no goals. In such a case, all methods are correct.
You recognize self-delusion to the extent that you recognize that the chosen method does not achieve the chosen goal.
Jul '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
In World War II, the attempt to capture a bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem, The Netherlands, was self delusional because the method employed was inadequate to the obstacles perceived, and those who should have recognized this chose not to. Their self image stood between them and reality. If we find our own image of ourselves more important than the reality in which we exist, we are probably lost. The only other option is to mold reality to your self image (see Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon). Nobody in public view at this time seems to be cut from that cloth!
And now, to conform my pedantic self image with the reality of people not caring any more, I'll shut up.
Aug '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
George Gilder, in one of his books (probably Wealth and Poverty) regards this as the basis of capitalism. We're not merely rational economic actors, and all real economic progress depends upon people unrealistically creating a supply of something for which there as yet exists no demand.
But at what point does it become the kind of naivete and self-destructive delusionality that keeps you from seeing what's really going on, and reacting appropriately?
And how does one ever know? ·
Gilder's point is that you can't know. If you want the spectacular successes, you have to accept that there will also be a lot of failures. Socialism, or leftism in general, is largely about banning failure, and guaranteeing success. Ironically, that is guaranteed to fail.
So your Mom is right: you need to get an education and find a safe, secure job, to avoid hardship and misery. But if we all listened to our Mom, the society at large would be mired in hardship and misery.
Sep '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
Job’s wife’s “Curse God and die” predates Islam by several centuries, but that aside my optimism stems not from any faith placed in the GOP. Limited government, individual rights, and free market capitalism are a better way, (more moral, humane and efficient) than any other yet discovered. This election cycle saw, by a large margin, more people who think this to be correct being active than any in my memory. Post election they seem to be as active as ever. This is what fuels my optimism. The collective wisdom of the people being governed is what will provide the solutions to the problems facing this country not the schemes of a political class, R’s and D’s, whose actions indicate they are more concerned with their political careers than their country. The value of faith is determined by its object. The “Serenity Prayer” was adopted to keep people sober not to provide answers to all of life’s problems. It seems to be working at least for today.
Oct '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
While I wholeheartedly agree that classical liberal values are a better way, I don't think we can make the leap that a majority of Americans embrace the concept of a constitutional republic. We long since lost the Constitution and I don't see any signs that the American public as a whole even recognizes that much less wants to restore the concept of a limited government with enumerated powers.
This election feels more like a rejection of Obama and the Democratic party rather than a national embrace of constitutional republicanism. I do find that the Tea Party movement, however, is a great source of hope for a potential constitutional restoration. It's going to take a lot of work.
Oct '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
You make predictions, at least in your own head, about how the big things are likely to play out, and then you observe the results and recalibrate.
To me, and overgeneralizing quite a bit, the big difference between hard Left and Right is that the hard Left doesn't do that last bit. Economic stimulus never fails because Leftist economics is wrong; it fails because the stimulus just wasn't big enough. Terrorists don't attack us because of irreconcilable world views coupled with projected paranoid delusions; the attack us because we haven't implemented the Kyoto Protocols or because we have women in the military. Businesses don't avoid hiring people because of regulatory uncertainty; they avoid hiring people because 0% interest is still too high. Most Leftist "theories" aren't even falsifiable.
BTW, if you want an entertaining and informative read on how to know how much to bet on a given proposition, be sure to read William Poundstone's Fortune's Formula. It's a great layman's introduction to the Kelly Criterion.
Jul '10
Re: On the Wisdom of Knowing the Difference
it sounds wise, but I'm not sure I get it. · Nov 5 at 7:09am
Ha! 'Course it sounded wise, it was brief and vague in an authoritative tone. I don't have anything profound to offer. Nevertheless, I'll elaborate:
If objection to the plausiblity of a goal is automatically presumed to be an attempt to undermine acheivement, then self-delusion is approaching.
Self-criticism is useful insofar as it isn't an excuse. Here is a Know Thyself moment. The question becomes: Am I derogating the possibility of achieving X because I really believe it's implausible, or as an excuse?
External critcism can be harder to judge. But it's still about assessing the honesty & accuracy of the source.
In either instance, the desire to ignore a criticism is only rooted in wisdom if the criticism seems erroneous. Attempting to ignore problems because they are problems leads to "the kind of naivete and self-destructive delusionality that keeps you from seeing what's really going on, and reacting appropriately."
That said, wisdom and greatness aren't necessarily compatible, no matter how much we might wish otherwise. Big winners (like big losers) often make silly bets.