The existential question of existence is one that all humans contend with in their lives. Sure, they do so in different ways, at different times, to different extents; but, the questions, ‘Who am I?’, ‘Why am I here?’, and ‘What is my purpose?’ are as perennial for teenagers as pimples, popularity and pubic hair!
This week, in the context of exploring the syllabus, we have begun to explore these questions.
We have asked what it may be to have a sense of ourselves, the world and our place in it. We have sought to “critically engage” with (interrogate) ideas to do with happiness and, in turn, asked why it is that simply wanting to be happy might be a questionable pursuit – perhaps contentment, joy and peace might be better goals towards which we might strive?
We have questioned the definition of happiness in a capitalistic, materialistic society such as ours that equates ‘happiness’ with wealth, possessions, status and capital ownership. We have questioned this as a cynical definition that can and should be challenged by greater ideals such as emotional and spiritual fulfilment, learning about and service to one another, knowledge acquisition and ‘deeper’ understanding about life.
We have questioned the notion of identity and what this is; whether it is something that can be ‘found’ (and in this context, something that is static and discernible) or whether it is the result of the process, of looking for it that matters most (in this sense, identity as fluid and changing). In one of my classes, we discussed the idea that if you had the answers to these questions above (or even one, who am I?) on a piece of upturned paper in front of you, would you turn it over? If so, then how would you contend with life if not fuelled by the desire to search, to ask questions? In my other class, we discussed this idea in terms of tabula rasa, John Locke’s ideas about the human mind being a blank slate at birth, a slate upon which our identity is inscribed as a result of our experiences – both individual and shared.
In our discussions this week, we spoke about the human propensity to look for answers and, having found them, to switch off and consider the topic ‘done’. This part of our discussions arose from ideas about the nature of thinking, of searching, of growing up. Some students, as Aristotle said, concluded that it is better to stay with the question longer than merely seeking for concrete answers that might limit growth and identity development. In this sense, Caulfield’s search, his journey through The Catcher in the Rye elicits very few answers – this is not the point. His journey, his asking of questions, his pursuit for understanding is the point.
Some of my students (the rest will next week) took a personality test. This test allowed them to see what their core values were, ranked in order of importance. These included things like, humility, love, self-regulation, forgiveness, learning, prudence, curiosity, perspective, fairness, gratitude, zest, creativity, hope and spirituality. There were many more. We then spoke of how these values (heart) underpin our beliefs (heads) which, in turn, underpin our attitudes (hands). We spoke of how these three things are different yet interconnected; that they cannot be discussed as a tripartite or inseparable set.
We also talked about innocence and childhood as an invention, as a concept borne out of the industrial revolution and, perhaps, earlier. We spoke briefly about what it is to be a teenager. We looked at the idea that one might define these concepts denotatively (as in dictionary and literal meaning) as opposed to connotatively (symbolic, signification). For example, the idea that innocence denotes “lack of guile and purity” but that, perhaps more usefully, it connotes a lack of experience, naivety, ignorance, youthfulness. That, in this context, innocence is not an attribute of age, but of experience – even this 47 year old being innocent because he has a lot left to learn; hopefully!
We touched upon The Catcher in the Rye as incorporating many of these issues – identity, loss of innocence, existential crisis, teenage-hood. For example, Caulfield’s movement through the text as a movement towards self-discovery, as a movement against the structures and strictures that he feels are phoney and controlling, as a ‘push-back’ against an adult world of rules, expectations, morality and control that he detests. A movement typically, in fact (as the first teenage protagonist), prototypically teenage.
I wonder what you learnt this week?
So, below, write a short piece on one area of this week that you enjoyed, found interesting, one conversation or point that want to know more about. Use any of the things above, or anything else you discovered during our discussions. To make your ideas more sophisticated, think of how and why questions to interrogate your own thinking.
THINK BEFORE YOU WRITE!
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