Image And Reality

This is a spin-off from the AdmittedStudentsSalesDay topic, where this point came up (Quote by Eben Moglen).

The image of who you might be becoming is more important than the reality. You will become something you can envision rather than something you want to be.

Patrick explained, if I understood him correctly, that this image is some sort of self-hypnotizing mechanism. Given that we’re in this big prestigious law school, we have delusions of grandeur which we must uphold; whereas if we went to a smaller, more down to earth university, we might actually end up doing what we want. At the same time, this image might be empowering and can spurn us to work harder and hold ourselves to a higher standard.

The way I see this explained is in terms of frames. Every person has a certain frame with which they view the world; it is shaped by who we are, what we believe in, our experiences and ‘ignorances’ and our views of what is and is not ethical. No two people’s frames are the same.

The frame is like our ‘map’ of reality, the illusion of where things are, what causes which effects, who the good guys and the bad guys are. Objectivity is out the window at this point.

Obviously people can be wrong though, the earth is not flat for example, although in some people’s frame it might be. This has detrimental effects. Conversely, the frame can be illusory in a positive sense. If we see ourselves as honest, ethical persons, we will act in accordance with this frame. If we see ourselves as funny, personable and confident people, we will end up acting this way. If we see ourselves as the subservient class, we will act accordingly – this is the Pygmalion effect, see also Kenneth Clark. It can be very useful. If you want to emulate a person’s qualities, try to slip into their skin, see the world as they would, try to think as they would.

Interestingly, a stronger frame will overpower a weaker frame. This happens whenever you tell a joke and it bombs. Why? You did not have the same frame as the person who told the original joke. Similarly, every religious leader has an enormously strong frame in believing the paradoxes religion is based on; as every salesman knows, ‘You must believe your own bullshit’. This is charisma. A strong frame of reality supported with evidence and experience and deeply grounded in the person, unshakable.

Coming back to Columbia Law School, societies and places have frames too. A comedian or a rock star is on a stage, elevated talking, singing, while the audience watches and listens. Consider the social semiotics: courtrooms, churches and lecture halls are built to privilege certain roles: giving the judge, priest or lecturer the strongest frame possible. Columbia’s frame is: ‘We are Ivy League. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile’, as well as ‘you will work hard, earn good grades, and make a lot of money’. Another common societal frame is: ‘If you do not get a marriage, mortgage and 2.2 children by the age of 35, there’s something wrong with you’.

The empowering frame can be explained this way too. By simple association with a law school, group, nationality, ethnicity, ideology, religion or brand of clothing we subscribe to certain beliefs and behaviors such as workaholicism, support or disdain for ideas, courage, coolness, etc. ‘Columbia alumnus make 100k minimum’, ‘this… is un-American’, ‘the few, the proud, the brave, the Marines’. Note that a societal frame can have very positive influences – pledges and support to democracy, basic human rights or honesty – as well as negative influences, such as racism.

What would be the best frame to have? What frame should law school have? And most of all, if this is all true, what is the actual role and meaning of reality? It is in this interplay of illusion and reality, both which influence one another, where the term ‘realism’ both meets its logical and semantic end and is ultimately, and ironically, an odd way to describe a realistic view of the world.

This also harks back to ‘the 25 million dollar question’ in someone’s paper (apologies, I forgot whose, please insert name), which I would rephrase as ‘If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do?’ Henry Ford put it similarly – ‘Whatever you think you can or cannot do – you’re right.’

-- TheodorBruening - 28 Mar 2009