Humiliations Galore
actually the title has nothing to do with the thrust of the post, I just felt like quoting "The Princess Bride."
I was reading this post by Todd, who is suddenly blogging up a storm, and thought I would put my own thoughts down in response to his final concerns- how do we find a way between certitude and the need to question, between hope and fear, the positive and the negative.
I know that like Todd, I frequently oscillate between the two extremes- often too far for my own liking. I wouldn't go so far as to call myself ill, or anything like that, but it does sometimes seem like I spend all of my time on a high, or in a low, and not too much in the muddle between.
To a certain degree I think it is a matter of choice- we can choose to look for the silver lining, or the glimmer of hope, or we can choose to see the glass as half empty, or to let our inner voices of fear take charge. but there is more to it than that. certainly sometimes you are just going to be sad, or angry, or happy- for example at a funeral, or wedding or through the birth of a child- so it is also situational. some people also argue that it is just chemical- but as Ezra Klein points out, it is all chemical, so that sort of description is rather useless.
so how do we pick our way through the emotional minefields? for me it is trying to find a blend between faith, or certitude if you like, and doubt, or a desire to question if you prefer. I find that in today's world, I have to take a lot of things on faith, and that doesn't necessarily mean there is no "proof" of those things, but rather that I simply don't have the time to confirm the research myself. for example, my knowledge of physics more advanced than many, but in truth, I don't understand very much- I would put myself at an advanced High School knowledge level- so I have only the vaguest idea how most modern appliances work- but i obviously have faith that so long as the electricity is flowing my computer, TV, Refrigerator, etc... will all work just fine. only when things don't seem to work right do I begin to question the reason why.
I guess the best way to describe my attitude towards most anything is "trust, but verify" -- I'll take just about anything on face value, but am always willing to review my options. I don't know that this is the best approach, but it seems to work for me so far.
I was reading this post by Todd, who is suddenly blogging up a storm, and thought I would put my own thoughts down in response to his final concerns- how do we find a way between certitude and the need to question, between hope and fear, the positive and the negative.
I know that like Todd, I frequently oscillate between the two extremes- often too far for my own liking. I wouldn't go so far as to call myself ill, or anything like that, but it does sometimes seem like I spend all of my time on a high, or in a low, and not too much in the muddle between.
To a certain degree I think it is a matter of choice- we can choose to look for the silver lining, or the glimmer of hope, or we can choose to see the glass as half empty, or to let our inner voices of fear take charge. but there is more to it than that. certainly sometimes you are just going to be sad, or angry, or happy- for example at a funeral, or wedding or through the birth of a child- so it is also situational. some people also argue that it is just chemical- but as Ezra Klein points out, it is all chemical, so that sort of description is rather useless.
so how do we pick our way through the emotional minefields? for me it is trying to find a blend between faith, or certitude if you like, and doubt, or a desire to question if you prefer. I find that in today's world, I have to take a lot of things on faith, and that doesn't necessarily mean there is no "proof" of those things, but rather that I simply don't have the time to confirm the research myself. for example, my knowledge of physics more advanced than many, but in truth, I don't understand very much- I would put myself at an advanced High School knowledge level- so I have only the vaguest idea how most modern appliances work- but i obviously have faith that so long as the electricity is flowing my computer, TV, Refrigerator, etc... will all work just fine. only when things don't seem to work right do I begin to question the reason why.
I guess the best way to describe my attitude towards most anything is "trust, but verify" -- I'll take just about anything on face value, but am always willing to review my options. I don't know that this is the best approach, but it seems to work for me so far.
posted by Eric at 8:36 AM
1 Comments:
Hey Eric. I'm glad someone is occasionally reading what I've written. I'm trying to write more regularly, if only for my own sanity.
What you say about trust is very interesting. Anthony Giddens wrote a book 'The Consequences of Modernity' that I find myself referring to frequently. One of the central themes of the book is trust. According to Giddens modernity is different because we place so much trust in systems that are outside of our control. Physics and the automobile, the airplane, or just about any other high-tech device are good examples.
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