We as people learn from experience.
From the day we are born, we are taught how to behave, move, and socialize. Not
only do we learn this from teachers and parents but also from our culture,
peers, and society. Through these experiences, we form a sense of self and
ideals. However, we all aren’t the same. Families, countries, and individual
people develop different religions, customs, and views on controversial issues.
Meaning that while we all have similarities, we also develop distinct views and
attitudes that make us different from everyone else in the world.
However, there is one problem with
these limited experiences, we learn to value conformity. We are taught to act
in accordance to society and in this we lose ourselves. More often than not we
chose to wear certain things, follow a certain ideal, or react in a specific
way because this will help us fit in. We become quick to judge those who are
different and fear to venture from “normal” or “right.”
Then the question of “how do we
know what is right?” comes in. With so many opinions flying at us for a variety
of sources, how do we know who and what to believe? It is easy to say that
water is polar and the earth revolves around the sun because it is supported by
scientific evidence. But what about the unknowns? How should I respond in this
situation? Is God real? Do mermaids exist? This is where I think personal
opinion comes to matter. Sure we can learn the facts, but in some cases, we may
never know the truth. To some extend we have to be able to form our own
opinions and ignore the judgment of others. In the end, we are influenced by
what we see, but how we interpret it all makes us unique.
I think it's so great how you pointed out our misplaced value on conformity. I agree very much that opinions change much of what we "know."
ReplyDeleteWhat makes it even more important is that most people would not admit to being conformists. The unfortunate part about 'knowledge conformity' is that we may 'know' something that is not so truthful.
ReplyDeleteMr. McCarthy totally stole my thunder with is self actualization comment. I think your ideas are totally on and to take it a step further, some people may not admit to conforming, but even more may not realize that they are conforming. Ideas of what makes behavior socially acceptable is pushed upon us from all sides at all times so much so that it becomes hard to know if anything we do is an informed decision, or just a sheep following a herd.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you present a new question. My blog was about learning from experience and how knowledge is different than belief. I never considered that learning from experience isn't such a great thing. Our society isn't really fit to be having strong influences on how people develop, so I'm kind of concerned now...But in a good way.
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