philosophy of ideology

Waves and ideology

When I went for my jog by the sea this morning, I noticed that it was unusually stormy. It reminded me of a story told by my uncle.

Years ago, his friend and he went for a swim – in the dark – in a storm – after a few pints. Yeah, as you do. They barely made it out alive. My uncle credits his survival to one strategy – and he made sure to emphasise this lesson to me:

The waves are in charge, not you, so your job is to stop resisting the waves and work with them instead by allowing them to move you, slowly and iteratively, towards the shore.

As I ran along, I thought, isn’t that just a great metaphor in general – rather than just a “how to” for when you’re drunkenly getting out of a stormy sea?

philosophy of ideology

It then hit me that it is – for some people. However, there are some people for whom it really isn’t. As I discussed in my WordPress treatise on good advice vs bad advice, for advice to be useful, it has to be contextual. For over-ambitious people, the wave metaphor is great – as it bring them closer to reality. Their standard belief is that they can resist and accomplish, so the metaphor helps to remember that that’s not always the best strategy. However, for over-laid-back people, this metaphor is a disaster – for obvious reasons.

The whole point of these metaphors is that they allow one to see a side of things that they’re currently not seeing. In other words, heuristics need to be tailored to the specific unhelpful beliefs of a given individual.

 

I would argue that the point of metaphors, pondering advice and addressing one’s beliefs is to bring oneself closer to reality – and away from stereotypes and patterns that have stopped being useful.

All too often, however, these metaphors grow into ideologies. What’s worse is that people are generally drawn to ideologies that resonate with their off-kilter beliefs and idiosyncrasies, and so strengthen them – rather that being interested in ideologies that could take them out of their confusion and bring them closer to reality.

This happens through our intuitive confirmation bias, attentional bias, producing an even more biased closed minded echo chamber. This is one of the reasons why I am moving away from ideologies. An ideology is a fantasy loosely based on reality that is applicable only under a certain set of circumstances. This may still be called an ideology, but for me, observing nature – in the broadest sense of the word – is all we’ve got as our teacher.

choosing an ideology

24 thoughts on “Waves and ideology”

      1. More than tempting. Consider that the less information one has the more important it becomes to adhere to a specific ideology. If you didn’t know how to read your socio-cultural group’s “general wisdom” would be all you could rely on to survive and not confuse the sugar with the arsenic 😀

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  5. Pingback: On Waves and Ideology – Daedelus Kite

  6. Thankyou for the thought-provoking ideas. On having the ideology of no-ideology – this is quite Zen; also – a little anarchistic and it certainly experiences a similar conundrum of being defined as undefinable.

    I find the value of social media and blogging lies in that one idea, string of words or set of concepts can inspire a new, re-concatenated pattern of thought or set of concepts. The interference patterns of two semantic wave-forms can create beautiful conceptual resonances. Reflecting on your thoughts led me somewhere else: https://daedeluskite.wordpress.com/2017/01/05/on-waves-and-ideology/

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  7. “An ideology is a fantasy loosely based on reality that is applicable only under a certain set of circumstances.” Perfect.

    I think – and not to be oversimplistic – it is fear that causes so many to grasp onto ideologies like life rafts or guideposts with which to navigate existence. Those of us who are used to stretching our minds/consciousness can embrace ‘whatever comes,’ we can be mindful, attentive and open at the same time – but I really do see these kinds of people just boxed in by their fears. They are religion’s best targets – though I don’t want to be unduly critical any means by which adherents attempt to ‘be better human beings.’

    You were referred by Marvelleux/Pink, and I’m thrilled to have found you. Learning from nature makes sense in a physical dimension of existence. Pretty sure these bodies hold amazing mysteries, as well. It’s all matter, or it all matters 😉 Aloha.

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      5. Lazy thinkers, story tellers, emotionally trapped…is it a wonder humans developed ideology as a means of soothing large masses of the population given the cultural divides existing within a social structure that transformed from tribal to urban?

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