Gradual approach to integration?

[simonsays]

Hey peoples,

Recently I have identified many areas of my life in which I am acting against my own values. My question is should I wipe my slate clean immediately and completely by putting everything right all in one go. Or, as long as I am heading in the right direction and eliminating areas of irrationality step by step, then this is good enough.

The immediate answer in my mind is that if I am harming myself that it makes sense to stop doing so immediately. However is there not some merit to taking a careful approach, eliminating irrationality gradually and over time?

You see, I don’t want my experience with Objectivism to be like some sort of religious experience where I get “born again” and become a completely different person overnight. Rather it would be great that if in five years time I can wake up having a completely non-contradictory sense of joy, after 5 years of effort in getting my actions aligned with my values.

But then, is this approach a cop out, an excuse to carry on acting irrationally in certain areas? You see, it is possible that the rational part of my brain sees certain areas of my life as immoral, yet the irrational part sees major benefits arising from this irrationality, benefits that would be a lot harder to achieve by acting rationally. If this is true then a gradual step by step approach to weeding out irrationality is really just an excuse to carry on acting irrationally for a little while longer.

I know I haven't provided any specific contexts from which to accurately judge the situation, but let me make up an example. If a student of Objectivism has spent the last 5 years bumming around and lying to people before he discovered Objectivism, and he realises he needs a better job more aligned with his values, would it make sense to lie on his resume (to hide his 5 years of bumming and instead make up something productive that he did in the last 5 years)? On the one hand he could reason that lying is wrong and in this instance it is fraud. On the other hand he could argue that he is already a liar and that one more lie in order to better himself is worth it because at least he is heading in the right direction and over time will become fully integrated.

This example is very similar to my actual problem so I think it would be a good place to start when answering my question.

Thanks for any advice.

[DavidOdden]

If a student of Objectivism has spent the last 5 years bumming around and lying to people before he discovered Objectivism, and he realises he needs a better job more aligned with his values, would it make sense to lie on his resume (to hide his 5 years of bumming and instead make up something productive that he did in the last 5 years)?

Given this, I would suggest that he stay with the present job. I can't see how perpetrating fraud would help him lead a rational life. The problem clearly isn't with the job, it's something else, and job-dissatisfaction is just one manifestation of that something else. I'd suggest figuring that part out, and then deciding what to do about the job, if indeed there is anything about the job that needs fixing. Never drink poison on the assumption that it will make you stronger.

[Cogito]

If this is true then a gradual step by step approach to weeding out irrationality is really just an excuse to carry on acting irrationally for a little while longer.

This is what it looks like to me. You shouldn't expect to become 100% rational overnight, but you should strive to. It is ok to make mistakes and sometimes slip into irrationality, but don't use that fact to justify purposely being irrational. In the case of the job application, you have a chance to think and act rationally, and you know what the rational answer is. You have to be constantly vigilant to make sure you don't slip back into previous habits. Remember, being rational is in your interest. Be rational.

[JMeganSnow]

Recently I have identified many areas of my life in which I am acting against my own values. My question is should I wipe my slate clean immediately and completely by putting everything right all in one go.

Is it even *possible* to wipe the slate clean immediately and completely and put everything right all in one go? I sincerely doubt it. At best, you might succeed in throwing the baby out with the bathwater . . . at worst, you keep the bathwater and throw out the baby, the tub, the soap, shower curtain, and sink.

If you're doing some things that are irrational now, then you probably have, at least, subconscious irrational premises that will take significant time to root out . . . until you root them out, you will continue to act on those bad premises, so whatever you decide is the "perfectly rational" solution to your life will not, in fact, be so. Bad premises and habits take time to wear down and change, you can't cut them off all in one go.

I definitely encourage you to work on making incremental changes. Instead of lying on a resume (an immoral act) to try and get the better job you think you want, plan on how you are going to develop your image as a good worker so that you can actually deserve that job. Take on new tasks. Set yourself small, short-term goals that build towards your long-term goals.

That's how I got where I am today (holding a position with the same company for 5 years and being promoted twice) and how I hope to keep improving in the future. I have an opportunity for another promotion coming up, too! And each promotion gives me more money and thus more time to work on my personal development.

[necrovore]

let me make up an example. If a student of Objectivism has spent the last 5 years bumming around and lying to people before he discovered Objectivism, and he realises he needs a better job more aligned with his values, would it make sense to lie on his resume (to hide his 5 years of bumming and instead make up something productive that he did in the last 5 years)? On the one hand he could reason that lying is wrong and in this instance it is fraud. On the other hand he could argue that he is already a liar and that one more lie in order to better himself is worth it because at least he is heading in the right direction and over time will become fully integrated.

This example is very similar to my actual problem so I think it would be a good place to start when answering my question.

Thanks for any advice.

One cannot achieve good by means of evil. I would advise the student of Objectivism to try to get the better job but be honest; consider explaining to the people hiring him that he has turned over a new leaf and no longer believes bumming around is good for him. Of course, he has to do so in such a way as to not appear to be giving a negative appraisal of his current employer.

For your own life, I'd advise you to simply make each decision as best you can given the information that you have. Even doing all that will not cause you to become "a new person overnight," because it may take time for your correct decisions to start having effects. Try to have patience with yourself, with the people around you, and your situation. Success can sometimes be a long time coming, but it is worth it.

Edited February 11, 2007 by necrovore

[aequalsa]

For your own life, I'd advise you to simply make each decision as best you can given the information that you have.

I think that you touched on something here that is key. Decisions have to be made within the context of what you know to be true. So you can't be an altruist, and wake up one mornig and decide, "Today, I am going to be an objectivist!". It is a philosphy you learn about and attempt to integrate into your actions.

So if you had a habit of, say, cheating on women you were in a relationship with, you might read that honesty is a virtue, so then when you are confronted with an oppurtunity, you decide, not do do what you want to do because honesty is generally right. Later as you come to understand the intricacies of the philosophy and relationships, you might start to understand things like, honesty is a contextual value. And the context of this circumstance is more complex the more sex=more happy. You realise that self-esteem is derived from your honesty(virtues) and that great pleasure comes from having a person you value, recognize you as a virtuos person. Then you see the cheating of the relationship as primarily harmful to yourself because you are attempting to derive a sense of self-worth from the evaluation made by someone else, about your virtue, who does not actually know what kind of person you are. Forcing you to live with a now, explicit contradiction. As an implicit feeling, you might be able to evade it, to a certain extent, with an underlacing of anxiety inside. Once you understand the philosophy explicitly however, you consciously know what the consequences are and avoid them at all costs.

This would apply to most of life, where applying the philosophy is begun as an act of integrating the general principles to all of the different contextual concretes which arise in your life. It is a life long process and not an immediate change. There is simply to much to absorb in an afternoon.

[tps_fan]

I think I can add a bit more to the very good advice which has already been offered here. At the risk of sounding like a run-of-the-mill talk show psychologist(!), I think that you need to focus more attention on _how_ you make your evaluations. As goal achievement is the means to happiness, objective values are the ends that a person should pursue. Naturally, when I mention _objective_ values, I wish to make a distinction. You have to focus on acquiring the things which not only help you survive but additionally help you to thrive. For a work-related example, there are certain specific questions which you could work on. How does your current work fit in with your plans for your ideal career? Do you need to get additional resources? Do you have proper home support viz. friends, family, proper food and shelter, etc.? How's your health? Remember that life-improvement is a _derivative_ pursuit that rests on top of a foundation of survival methods.

There are a number of common general false choices that are important to rise above. Choosing between omnipotence and impotence is what the religious types advocate. Also, choosing between the short-term and the long-term misses an important point. Further, obediently following whims versus self-denial is another choice that will undercut a person's self-esteem. The real alternatives involve recognizing one's strengths, having an overall worthwhile life agenda, and developing an adaptive awareness.

A person has to make use of his virtues in order to pursue his most cherished values. As the others have stated, the process is gradual and it requires honesty, but it also requires the willingness and ability to learn and work in a manner that is both managable and challenging.

While Ayn Rand certainly offered great ideas with psychological implications, her life's work was of a different nature. Additionally, I am compelled to mention some Objectivist experts who offer top-notch normative advice. Tara Smith has been writing about applied ethics. Psychologists such as Dr. Ellen Kenner and Dr. Ed Locke have also written about virtue. There are others of note as well, but my point in mentioning Objectivist experts is that they offer information on how to develop better methods for living.

As far as your immediate situation is concerned, anyone here can only ultimately speculate on your specific needs without getting much more personal information from you. I can only say that if I were you, then I would likely keep introspecting with an attention to trying to better clearly understand what would be some of the more desirable and achievable near-term changes that altogether target those personal life areas that seem to be lacking. You have to be willing to narrow your focus and change your priorities so that you can develop a more serious approach. In turn, that also means being more aggressive viz. forcing yourself to study more, and learn how to ask better questions, etc. Jean Moroney has been developing a program in this very respect. She has gone through contemporary research on thinking methods. From that she has been honing those ideas into a more uniformly consistent and self-reinforcing method.

I hope that this gets you thinking _and then_ acting accordingly!

[simonsays]

Thanks everyone for the excellent comments. Much appreciated. I have a lot of thinking to do.