Join us for our Spring Liberal Arts Discussion
To reserve your spot please email Info@kibbitznest.org
Therefore, since nothing in the world can be controlled …
A discussion led by
Stephen C. Walker, Phd
It is hard to imagine this thought coming at the beginning of a lengthy book on governance. It sounds like pure defeatism, but in the right hands it turns out to be strangely empowering. The Huainanzi, an ancient Chinese manual for would-be power brokers, explains that since puny human efforts to control their situations always fail, the intelligent use of our abilities doesn’t aim at controlling things in the first place. Tonight we’ll try to figure out what this claim means, to what extent it might make sense, and how it might inform our efforts to stay healthy and effective in the face of overwhelming change.
The alternative to control, according to the writers of this text, is response. We’ll have to do some work to figure out exactly where “control” ends and “response” begins, but the general advice is fairly clear: soften yourself, to the extent that this is possible. Softening has nothing to do with passivity, since soft things are dynamic and can do a greater range of things than hard ones can. Softness does, however, involve loosening our explicit commitments and letting our self-image blur, which explains why we so often find the prospect frightening. The Huainanzi’s portrait of a healthy, effective agent centers on dynamic and creative responses that would not be possible if that agent held on to rigid definitions of themselves or what they care about. The point is not to rule out assertive (or even combative) behavior, but to rule out behavior that wastes assertive energy by seeking to impose itself on situations rather than reflecting them.
Free & open to the public, to reserve your spot, please email: info@kibbitznest.org
Join us during our Spring Liberal Arts Discussion Series
A collaboration with the
The University of Chicago Graham School
hosting presentations and discussions of original research