The Other Viewpoint

Until recently, I thought there was nothing more to life than what I perceived. There are facts. Facts form reality. Reality is rational. We live in a cold, rational, reality where people receive facts, process them, decide what to do, and execute on that decision.

My training as an economics major did little to help this. Economics deals with rational actors. Homo Economicus is the perfectly rational man. Granted, economists recognize the potential irrationality of people, but they still maintain that the best models assume perfect rationality.

Then I discovered that there was another part of the world that says, “You thought it was one way, but look from over here. See? Everything is different now.” Now this viewpoint is everywhere, beating on the walls of my cold, rational reality and demanding to be let in.

Even the world of economics isn’t sacred. I was recently exposed to the wonders of alternate avenues of analysis. We’ll take Marxism as an example.

I volunteered at a tribute dinner for Speaker Dennis Hastert a few weeks ago. As we sat around the fancy tables and ate an expensive dinner, I noticed that nearly every one of the 250+ guests was Caucasian, while many of the servers were black or Hispanic. While some would say that’s just how it is, it’s hard to ignore the Marxist interpretation of a privileged bourgeoisie being served by a lower class. It’s more than just reality: it’s a specific system that Marx allows us to understand.

The academic arena is not the only area in which my perception of the world may be incomplete. The world of art, literature, and music is a wonder waiting to be opened. Thanks to the efforts of many people over the past few years, particularly Tuppence, I’ve had just a small glimpse of another whole world. In that world, art can “irrationally” change the way we feel, evoking awe or wonder in us.

Art is so often what we in the rational world call “subjective.” Without embracing deconstructionism, we can safely assert that this world depends on the audience for some of its meaning. Which is to say that it doesn’t stand alone, aiming for one possible interpretation, as rational academic work does.

Finally, friendships have also taught me much about another world this past year. Again, Tuppence has been instrumental in showing me that the way I approach the world, or a friendship, is not necessarily the way everyone does. Some people are linear, some are non-linear. Some are artistic, others analytical. Some conversational, others quiet. And how we approach others must take into account those differences, or we’ll never get anywhere in life. (Credit also goes to Aniruhama for this one, especially during times of great difficulty.)

In the end, I have to admit there’s an entire world out there which I’m unfamiliar with. It’s an interesting world, a different one, where things might not make any sense to the denizens of the rational universe. It’s one I’d like to explore more, whether in academics or friendships, but I’ll need help from those who are already there. That may come in the form of a Marxist critique or a long conversation with a friend, but I hope someone will help.

One of my goals for the new year is to explore this new world, because there’s another whole reality out there.