how to think; not what to think

I recently read an article called "Diagnosing and Treating the Ophelia Syndrome" by Dr. Thomas Plummer that really intrigued me.  He writes that the "Ophelia Syndrome" occurs when a person is being taught by someone in authority not to think for themselves, but to "think [themselves] a baby" and trust their teacher to tell them what to think. {see Hamlet, Act I sc. iii}


To describe the syndrome in modern terms, Dr. Plummer quotes S. I. Hayakawa: 

Most people don't know the answer to the question, "How are you? How do you feel?" The reason why they don't know is that they are so busy feeling what they are supposed feel, thinking what they are supposed to think, that they never get down to examining their own deepest feelings... With authority figures telling us what to think and how to feel, many of us are busy playing roles, fulfilling other people's expectations. Not many of us ask ourselves, "How do I feel? What do I think?" - and wait for an answer. (S.I. Hayakawa, "What Does It Mean to Be Creative?," Through the Communication Barrier. ed. Arthur Chandler [New York: Harper & Row, 1979], 104-105)

This struck me because I have at times felt like I had to give a certain answer. When people asked me how I was or how school was going, I would automatically say "good!" - even if it wasn't true. I'm supposed to feel good, and I'm supposed to like school, so I would just tell people what they wanted to hear. Or at school, I would just give the answer I knew the teacher was looking for, instead of voicing my honest opinion. It's easier that way, and you usually get a better grade. Teachers tell us the things to know; some would argue that that's their job. 

Dr. Plummer would disagree. He posits that,

"Eventually every discipline enters into the unknown, the uncertain, the theoretical, the hypothetical, where teachers can no longer tell students with certainty what they should think." 

I firmly believe it is more important for me to know how to learn, rather than what to learn. An ability to think and discover for myself will serve me far better than a memorized list of dates, facts, and figures.





Dr. Plummer offers several "treatments" for the Ophelia Syndrome, the third of which is to "Learn to Live with Uncertainty." He quotes John Keats: 

"…it struck me what quality went to form a Man [or Woman] of Achievement – I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason." 

I liked this because I think sometimes people worry to much about finding the right answer, and are not content to live with uncertainty. Negative Capability is a difficult thing to obtain, but as a person of faith I have had to learn to just accept things that I don't understand, and to realize that my inability to understand something doesn't mean it can't exist and be true. There is a certain beauty in uncertainty that cannot be found anywhere else; a feeling of wonder and awe at a universe too big for us to fully comprehend.

Dr. Plummer wrote, and I agree, that: 

"The world is a complex place, and absolute truth is elusive, indeed: the greatness in Shakesarepeare may be attributed to the fact that he didn’t feel inclined to explain what he could not, but only to portray the human condition as he saw it." 

Dr. Plummer's fourth treatment is, "Practice Dialectical Thinking," or, "thinking in alternatives and, if possible, in opposites." My favorite quotes from this section were: 

"Morality is the ability to see an issue from points of view other than just your own." Lawrence Kohlberg [I recognized the name Kohlberg from high school studies on the stages of moral development.] 

and, 

"Most of the trouble in the world is due to our inability to imagine the innerness of other lives." E.M. Forster

I definitely agree with these; it is very important to me to be able to understand where other people are coming from and how they are thinking. If people would try harder to understand others instead of forcing their own view on them, a lot more could be accomplished with a lot less stress and frustration. 


"If we both think the same way, one of us is unnecessary." 
One of my goals for this semester, then, is to bring a fresh viewpoint to group discussions, and to listen to and learn from my peers. I have to realize that my way of thinking is not the only way, and be humble enough to realize that maybe these kids can teach me something. :)