LET'S TALK ABOUT . . .



                                                       FEELING ABSOLUTELY ADRIFT


In my last blog I proposed that as limited finite human beings we are all vulnerable to being deceived, to believing that something is true when in fact it is not.  We all buy into the way things appear rather than the way they really are.  This happens to us as individuals and as societies, in specific moments and across the years. 

Hegel's Dialectic proposed that history moves from thesis to antithesis to synthesis.  While this may be true, it is not always the course history is taking in the bigger picture or on all levels.  We must acknowledge that history is both fact and interpretation, or perceived reality. 

Our perceptions of reality are so integral to the way we see life, we lose sight of the power of perception in our lives.  When we talk about the grids through which we approach and interact with others and our worlds we are talking about perceptual realities.  Further, perceptual realities are influenced by numerous factors from internal and external sources.  Internally, we are affected by bio-genetics, personality constructs, diet and medications, health, illness, aging, etc.  Externally, we are affected by familial and societal conditioning; educational factors; geographic, political and financial factors; life events, etc.

As limited finite human beings we need to acknowledge that none of us has a total grasp of reality at any given moment or time in history.  We just simply are not capable of that.  It would require a capacity we simply do not possess.  So then, where are we to seek truth and reality in our lives?  At best, perceived reality may be just that, perceived reality.  Your perceived reality may be just as valid as mine if that is the only resource we have.  That, in turn, would support the findings of relativism and pluralism that have been the product of twentieth century enlightenment.

There is another option that is worthy of our consideration.  Perhaps we need to embrace a little bit of Hegel's philosophy of history and swing back toward more of a "synthetic position" away from the extreme swing that lead to a perceptual revolution of relativism.  It has locked much of humanity in a closed system, desperately hoping we can come up with the solutions required to solve what appears to be insurmountable problems on multiple levels in our world.  No wonder anxiety and depression are on the rise.  No wonder narcissism and entitlement are equally on the rise.

What would happen if we could swing back to some kind of "synthetic," middle ground position where we are truly comfortable with a more humble view of ourselves in keeping with the reality that we are in fact limited and finite beings.  What if everything isn't relative?  What if we have gotten carried away with that notion?  What if there actually are absolutes?   Would you really like to live in a world where that is NOT true.?  What if you woke up tomorrow and middle C wasn't middle C anymore?  What if 4 wasn't 4? What if English wasn't English? 

As a young university student I was a calculus major; I never would have guessed I would end up on the soft side of science, working among social scientists for years.  I am probably a bit of a hybrid.  I will never forget the final exam where I needed to prove that zero actually existed. . . gives me a headache to even think about it now!  One of the lessons I did learn is that there are both absolutes and there are relative realities.  The challenge before us is to discern which are which.  How are we going to attempt that? 

I am proposing that in order to even attempt such we need to accept that because of our limited finite nature we need both external and internal reference points held in humble tension.  My question for your consideration in this blog is, what are the absolutes you cling to for some kind of stability in your life?  Are they more inside of you or outside of you?

If we are going to seek some kind of absolute truth or reality to embrace internally, we need an external plumb line to keep us moored, anchored, so as not to be adrift the sea of relativism referred to in the first blog.  What is your external plumb line?  Is it an absolute or a relative entity?  Does it enable you to hold those realities in some kind of tension?  What is the nature of that tension?

Have you got a headache yet?  I hope this is not too heavy; we need to lay a foundation on which to build in future blogs.  But for now it is good for us to consider and think about these issues.  We are all living lives based on conclusions to these issues, whether we are conscious of it or not.    


Until next time. . . this is, Just Janice!