It's already begun:
I have some kind of irrational emotion, and I understand why I'm having it. Well that's convenient and useful for emotional well-being, but it can happen when I have whims too, dreams, lovely sentiments... Reason and knowledge of the mind swoop in and explain away all mystery.
I've only taken two psychology courses at McGill, and the way of thinking behind them has already infected my mind.
I realize the word "infected" makes it sound entirely unpleasant, but really, it's not completely, and I use "infected" only because once this mindset grabs hold of you, it becomes difficult to ever let it go. Being able to explain human behaviour, or at least feel like you can, does have its perks: it helps enormously in conflict resolution, counselling, moving past harmful irrationality, understanding others... etc. etc. The trouble is, there are times when I don't want to understand everything, and don't want to unravel every mystery. Naturally, this begs the deeper question: is it wrong to want to avoid knowledge, to remain in ignorance?
Generally, my answer to this question would be yes, it is wrong: one should seek truth!
I do stand by that, but I think that when it comes to the human mind, there are times when explanations turn out to be inaccurate and/or unnecessary. Inaccurate in that they don't do justice to the mind's true state of affairs, and unnecessary in that they can stifle creativity and imagination.
Life is nice with a little mystery, with a few things that can't be explained away by logic, and humans are one of the more mysterious and interesting groups to observe! Human life and emotion in all its complexity is fascinating to wonder about and experience. Often, when realism kicks in in the middle of some imaginative train of thought, it kills it, and all you're left with is a feeling of "Oh. Well, I suppose that makes sense then." It can be quite the letdown.
The reason I'm so focused on psychology is because I'm considering studying both it and linguistics, and the time for course selection has arrived. At this moment, the thought of pursuing courses that try to explain and understand human behaviour and mental processes is a little disheartening. I feel as though it might quash some of my creative spirit. Maybe that's silly. Maybe, like the physicist who understands matter and goes on to research the possibility of string theory, I could use this knowledge to think past what is and consider what more could be discovered - that requires imagination!
(I know that physics isn't the same as psychology, yes yes, but allow me to draw the hopeful parallel.)
After all, isn't all education about seeking to understand more and more?
It really does change your perspective though, psychology. It applies to everything, making it hard to get out of your mind, because it's the study of, well, you, and everyone around you, which is why it's so popular! And important. Sometimes, this seems fascinating, but at other times, like right now, I feel as though I don't want to have a bundle of knowledge explaining away the wonderment and curiosity that comes from having mysteries of the mind to explore. Is it wrong to purposefully avoid certain knowledge and simply live out the human experience?
If anyone has an opinion, I would very much like to hear it!
I avoided biology because I don't really care about biology. Do you care about understanding human behavior? And if so, do you think you need a psychology class to achieve that?
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really interesting post!! Especially interesting since I'll be studying psychology next semester as well (Lord willing!)
ReplyDeleteI think that anytime you immerse yourself into a discipline or field of study, it kind of takes over the way your mind works and processes things (I mean "the general public kind of you" not like YOU, PERSONALLY). The word infected kind of sums that up nicely :) It's almost like a filter, or something - kind of changing your perception and sparking up little reminders of "oh! I just learned something about that!"
At least, that's how I feel after having studied in a Visual Arts program. I don't really know how to put it to words but I kind of see things in terms of composition. Like, it's almost as if I'm imagining the world as a giiiiiant picture plane (if the world was an art work, what would I say about it - that type of thing).
Maybe that doesn't make sense but what I'm getting at is that I understand what you're saying. And I also understand that there are some things that are easier to leave as mysteries. Sometimes it's just nice to not know and to instead wonder about what the explanation cooooould be. Sometimes it's (almost) comforting to feel like you DON'T know everything and to lay back in the fact that God does!
In terms of human beings, I think that there isn't really a rule book explaining everything (maybe that opinion will change once I actually being my psychology studies...) because everyone's so different! We are fearfully and wonderfully made and it's hard to narrow that down to something we can assuredly understand.
Phew! Sorry for the long comment... but again, loved the post!
I find myself avoiding thought about those "mysteries" that I cannot crack... some of the topics include space, spirituality, and how sound and video can be put onto a disc. I think that a time and place will come when you WANT to delve into these mysteries, and at that point solving them will become so much more fun, intriguing, and satisfying.
ReplyDeleteBut it is nice to figure out those intricate (sometimes frustrating) puzzles when writing essays. Having everything click is a great feeling, especially in academics. Makes me feel a little bit smarter than before at least.
Curiosity and wonder are the engines that keep people interested and engaged in daily life, its why we love travel.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing I've come to realise is that through having experiences the things you already know, books read, songs hummed to etc... start making more sense. They begin to resonate anew, its a really rewarding feeling. To quote a scene in The Assassination of Jesse James, "your body knows, it's your mind that forgot".
Learning psychology today would be one thing but knowing for yourself later in the future is when it really sets in.