Creativity 101 (9.15.2005)

Do I think for myself? I have honestly sat here for about 30 minutes asking myself this question. Is it possible to know if we think for ourselves? Do we even have free will? I’m not sure of what I think, but the possibility that free thought is impossible to achieve is certainly worth considering and discussing. Our reasoning is undeniable based on outside forces. No one lives in a vacuum without other people or possible impacts to consider. These determinants shape thought. For example, the atmosphere in which one grows up, such as being raised with narration and character stories, shapes the way one thinks. Regardless of what framework one is raised in, there is no way of telling if we make our own choices or not because the costs and benefits of actions and outcomes are going to be shaded by our experiences and varying perceptions. Perhaps these early experiences shape our conscious mind which invariably shapes our decisions. Natalie Goldberg’s analogy of the conscious mind as a dot made me think about my separation of unconscious and conscious thoughts. She explains,

“The blue sky is wild mind. I’m going to climb up to that sky straight over our heads and put one dot on it with a Magic Marker. See that dot? That dot is what Zen calls monkey mind of what western psychology calls part of conscious mind. We give all our attention to that one dot. So when it says we can’t write, that we’re no good, are failures, fools for even picking up a pen, we listen to it” (180).

If outside forces have shaped the dot that affects our choices, is it possible to think for ourselves? Even if forces from our childhood don’t shape our decisions, are we even able to separate ourselves from our current situations? By trying to think independently, do we really tune out the opinions and atmosphere that surround us? Can we really tune out the opinions and atmosphere that surround us?

In this reading, I also found the discussion of nature interesting. Burch recognizes that

“…nature is always composed within a specific frame of motives and expectations. Each human group develops its special collection of motives which designate the appropriate and inappropriate forms of conduct in regard to other men, other groups, and the nonhuman environment, and these selective perceptions determine whether the nonhuman environment will become a resource, a taboo, or remain unseen” (189).

I think the concept of socialization is interesting. If we weren’t socialized like we are, would the world seem like complete chaos? Or is there some common thread that binds different forms of human socialization together?

While this entry isn’t completely reactionary or personal, I believe these are interesting questions worth discussing.