Within the field of psychology, the term - schema - is used to refer to one's perspective on life, or one's world view. If we think of this schema as a lens with filters on it, much like a camera, we can appreciate its significance to the formation of separate realities. It could be said that the world is neutral and only through our interpretations do we experience what we see as good and bad. Let us not get caught up on the values of good and bad at this point in time, this will be a topic for another day. What I am getting at here is the process of individual interpretation of what we call life. Our schemas, or perspectives, are formed and change throughout the course of our lives. We all have experienced the world in different times and places; the context of our experience has given us a unique point of view. Can you "see" your schema? That is, can you observe how you are creating the experience of life through the lens and filters that we all wear?
I am sure that we all can reflect back onto some point in our lives when we were caught up in some type of argument, probably with someone close to us, and then there was a realization that we were not seeing the issue as the other person. This realization that we all are creating and thus experiencing separate realities, is critical for truly understanding social change. Whether we are talking about micro level changes within a small social group or macro level changes within the larger society, the reality of separate realities is a fundamental structural component of these groups.
If we look at the concept of ethnocentrism, which is believing one's beliefs are superior to another's, the concept of separate realities becomes very important. We are entering onto a slippery slope here, because the opposite of ethnocentrism is the equally destructive perspective of relativism. I say equally destructive because the relativist perspective at its extreme, states that - one cannot judge another from one's own point of view. We do not need to look any further than Nazi Germany to see why we need a balance between ethnocentrism and relativism to create a society that is built on justice.
Please be aware that my intentions here are to bring up questions within you, as much as I am trying to put ideas forward for you. I believe that we all have access to the solutions that our society and our world so desperately needs, and that these solutions reside within the connection between the heart and the head. It could be said that it is the questions that we are willing to ask that will lead to the solutions which we need. It takes great courage to ask the questions that challenge our version of reality.
So, is there a single reality? Who's reality are we agreeing on?
A bit of caution here is needed if you have not thought much about this concept of relative reality. Life can get very fuzzy when the veil of reality is lifted, so be careful. I often use the analogy of getting lost in the woods here - getting lost is a state of mind and has very little to do with where you are at. There is more adventure in not knowing...
When we have the courage to acknowledge that we are seeing the world as we think it is and not as it is, we have the opportunity to reappraise our entire life's experience. I also believe that through this process of acknowledging separate realities, we create compassion for one another. Living life with a compassionate perspective could be the most powerful mechanism of social change that we all can do right now.
The timing of this blog is fasinating to me, I have been in the proccess of putting many of these ideas into a comprehensive form, and really appreciate a place to sound out ideas regarding the nature of reality, and our relationship to it. My thoughts regarding this have been heading steadily toward a philosophy which embraces ideas that are positive, and tries to look at the positive aspects of all ideas. I believe that there are truly no answers to questions regarding the nature of reality, but rather the pursuit of truth is the real reason for asking them. Each perspective has in it some element to truth, and some thing that can be learned from it. I have been thinking of this a philosophy of yes, and it incorporates an understanding that there are forces in the world that we cannot understand, and cannot even see what our present perspective does not already incorporate into our rationale. With this perspective, one can look at the world as a child might. All ideas have some level of validity, and if we look at them from a new perspective, they can be explored and used to build what we would like that world to be.
ReplyDeleteWinterholler (Tyler or Valerie?), yes it is time for this type of dialogue. I like your thinking and parts of it reminds me of Gandhi and Mother Teresa. One thing that I really appreciate about their lives was the positive message that they communicated with their actions. I know that they were both very human in the bigger picture, and that makes their message even more salient to us all. I agree with you that our world would be much better off if we valued questioning more than knowing. The idea and role of an expert seems to have lead us astray. I think of the Eastern philosophy that speaks to the expert's mind being limited and the beginner's mind being limitless. Our society seems to have confused the value of being educated and knowing, with the value of being intelligent and wise. I think the latter is much more powerful and leads to well-being.
ReplyDeleteThese are very interesting thoughts. I think our realities come from our experiences, which form what we believe to be true (reality). If we are wise we will understand that something can be learned from anyone, even if it contradicts what we think we know to be true. That I believe is the difference between the expert and the beginner. Like the saying goes 'the more you know, the more you realize how much you don't know'. In order for us to learn from each other, I think we need to break down the stereotypes we have of each other and stop categorizing people. Inclusion and diversity is the key to our future on a global level. Like it or not.
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