ANALYSIS OF "THE SOCIOLOGICALLY EXAMINED LIFE" (part 41)

Reconditioning Ourselves

by

Charles Lamson

Upon hearing an argument about inner resources, a student said, "But isn't this a lot like in nature? You know, who survive and succeed are the fittest---the one who for whatever reason, best adapted to the environment." the teacher said yes, the situation could be seen that way, but there are two differences.

One difference is that in nature, creatures are what they are by virtue of genetic endowment; they do not become what they are by going to school, learning skills, and acquiring the habits and dispositions that allow them to survive. In the social world, however, we must devote conscious effort to all the tasks needed to turn children into fully functioning talented adults. If we do not do this, human beings can be damaged or stunted.

The second way things are different with humans, the teacher said,  is that our environment is not simply given to us by nature, but is socially constructed. The survival of the fittest analogy is thus wrong, because the social world can be changed to make it safe and nurturing for all kinds of people. We do not have to sacrifice human beings as if they were little fish deserving to be eaten by bigger fish. That kind of predatory arrangement does not make for a very humane world.

Reconditioning ourselves is always a possibility. If a lack of self-confidence is the problem, we can practice setting achievable goals, and then work to achieve them, thus boosting our self confidence. We can also learn new skills, habits, and ideas at any time. This becomes more difficult, of course, as we get older and settle into comfortable ruts. It might also be that others whose ruts run parallel to ours, will resist our efforts to change.

Yet, with support from others, remarkable change remains possible. If our relationships with others make us what we are, then we can potentially remake ourselves by relating differently to others, or by forming relationships with different others. As long as there exists the possibility of doing this, of making these kinds of changes, we need not resign ourselves to accepting everything that has been instilled in us by a particular form of social life. We can always pursue change and growth in directions of our own choosing.

In Conclusion

Being sociologically mindful, we can see how certain highly visible facts of social life---such as huge inequalities in wealth, status, and power can lead to inequalities in the distribution of invisible resources. The old adage "To them that have shall be given" is a poetic way of making the same point, which is that advantages tend to accumulate. If we are mindful of the bad results that arise from this tendency, we can decide to reorganize ourselves to make things turn out differently, with greater justice for all.

*SOURCE: THE SOCIOLOGICALLY EXAMINED LIFE, 2ND EDITION, 2001, MICHAEL SCHWALBE, PGS. 181-182

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