What if I were very, very sad
And all I did was smile?
I wonder after a while
What might become of my sadness?
What if I were very, very angry,
And all I did was sit
And never think about it?
What might become of my anger?
Philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett believed that the more we are deceived, the less we are free. Free will, he asserted, is predicated upon education and information, yes, but also, importantly, self-reflection.
Where would they go, and what would they do
If I couldn't let them out?
Maybe I'd fall, maybe get sick
Or doubt.
The longer I've lived, the more suspicious I've become of this idea of objective truth at least when it comes to finding something that is true for everyone all the time everywhere. It's quite obvious that this kind of external truth, the kind of pursued by scientists, simply isn't part of reality. Truth is always a matter of perspective. There is always one more way to look at something, one more thing we haven't considered, which is why truth is never a destination, but always a journey of discovery. It's a journey that takes us beyond our current selves, transforming us, but it always begins with self-reflection because more often than not we have deceived ourselves. We've convinced ourselves that we're not really angry or sad.
But what if I could know the truth
And say just how I feel?
I think I'd learn a lot that's real
About freedom.
Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living", which is a call to regularly question our beliefs, actions, and assumptions about ourselves and the world in which we find ourselves. It takes courage. Reflecting on "exactly how I feel inside of me", for instance, is often painful and frightening because it demands that we face our self-deceptions and accept that things are not as they once appeared.
No one ever said that freedom would be easy. For most of us, most of the time, we are our own worst jailor. This is why we need other people to help us in learning to tell the truth. The term "self-reflection" suggests a solitary journey, but it's virtually impossible without the help and support of others, especially those people we love, if only because from their perspective our self-deception is far more obvious than the perspective from within where it looks like truth.
I'm learning to sing a sad song when I'm sad.
I'm learning to say I'm angry when I'm very mad.
I'm learning to shout,
I'm getting it out,
I'm happy, learning
Exactly how I feel inside of me
This is the struggle. It is the struggle of education and of life. We all know people who have stopped growing, who have determined that they possess objective truth and anything, any perspective, that challenges that, is a threat. We know these people are sad and angry, even if they don't. They are both the perfect prisoner and the perfect jailor. And we know we cannot help them be free unless they want to be helped. These people tend to not be children. Indeed, they tend to be old, which is why we must remain vigilant as we age, but of course there are plenty of exceptions that prove the rule.
Young children have the advantage on us if only because every day shows them new perspectives that they must puzzle into what they already think they know. Their capacity for delight and curiosity is less restrained by the certainty of the incomplete truth of their current perspective. They are more likely to trust their senses and, when necessary, abandon the illusions of perspective that keep us from discovering the truth that will make us free.
I'm learning to know the truth
I'm learning to tell the truth
Discovering truth will make me free.
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