This blog will deal with some topics that have become somewhat taboo in recent years and for the sake of simplicity this will on occasion require some generalisations.
For example, I may talk about “men” (men’s issues is something I will be discussing a lot). When I talk about these things it doesn’t mean that every single man on the planet is going to conform to a particular opinion or behaviour, equally, I am not implying that the same or similar behaviour isn’t pertinent to some women or that some opposite position applies to the other sex (or any other generalised group for that matter).
Generalisation is a necessary shortcut to avoid articles becoming long lists of disclaimers and little actual discussion of something that’s common amongst one group or another. It does not mean that the author things there is a single ubiquitous source of truth and that no other experiences are valid.
The great thing about humans is that we are so diverse in many ways and have different ideas and experiences and that is a good thing. At the same time I also think that we can get trapped in a form of tribalism where we see people as group characteristics rather than as individuals and this can be very divisive.
We should be able to talk about the differences in the way we think and do things and celebrate the colour that those differences bring to our lives but simultaneously we must remember that we all have a lot more in common than we have differences and looking for that commonality can bring people together and make the world a better place.
I will use this blog to challenge questionable generalisations that I think are holding us back from achieving more empathy for our fellow man or woman, but I will also discuss the differences in behaviours and the reasons why I believe these differences have come to exist.
When you discuss topics such as evolutionary psychology and how our species has been shaped by our battle for survival, it is often misconstrued as a desire for fixed roles or biological essentialism and that is simply not the case.
In contrast, evolutionary psychology is the completion of the feedback loop, how pressures from our environment get fed back into our biology, such as men being taller than women on average and women having superior taste differentiation. The fact that there are women that are taller than men does not mean that it is untrue that men are, on average taller.
There is a tendency to see observation of “what is” as if it were a moral statement about what should be. we should not conflate the two. We are where we are, and understanding why does not mean that an individual has to conform to general patterns.
People should be free to be whom they are and we should be respectful of other human beings. There is no contradiction between observation of patterns of behaviour in a population and the existence and acceptance of exceptions, nor is it wrong to learn from those observations instead of pretending that human beings are identikit blocks of sameness. That would be very boring and thankfully it isn’t true, despite its popularity in the modern zeitgeist.
Lets have difficult discussion about aspects of the human experience and not be afraid to stand our ground when there is pressure to change the way we think based on what we feel should be, because if we do that we’re simply deluding ourselves and the path to hell is paved with virtuous intentions.
Vive la difference! Celebrate the commonality
Rant Over 