Sabine Ciechanowski
September 18, 2014
ASTU-Luger
In the article, The Role of Interpretative Communities in Remembering and Learning by Farhat Shahzad, different ways of remembering events are discussed. It appropriately states the idea that there are social influences on our perception and memory of these events. According to Shahzad, a community such as family plays an incredibly important role when one is recalling events or understanding meaning in moments.
In most cases we tend to unconsciously base our opinions and ways to approach situations through the metaphorical eyes of our families beliefs and ideals. Not only is ones family (mainly parents or guardians) seen as an authoritarian role in our lives, but compared to the other influential communities Shahzad mentions, one generally has a strong emotional attachment to family, which in my opinion makes them the strongest influence when recalling memories or interpreting historical events.
This theory, directly relates to some of the material I am learning about in my Family Context of Human Development class. In my custom FMST 210 textbook, it acknowledges the three main philosophical roots that relate to human development. The first is, Original Sin (Christianity), which states that all humans are born selfish and stubborn, and can only seek redemption by leading a disciplined and law-abiding life. In this regard, parents following this philosophical root tend to facilitate their child’s struggle to resist immoral acts by correcting their “evil” inborn tendencies. The second philosophical root is, The Blank Slate by the English philosopher John Locke that says children are born a blank slate, and parents can mold them into whatever they want them to be. The third philosophical root is referred to as, Innate Goodness, by the Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. This third root claims that all humans are naturally good and seek out experiences that help them realize their full potential. Parents following this approach believe that children need only nurturing and protection to help them grow.
These roots in relation to the article by Farhat Shahzad made me think about how these philosophical developmental approaches can effect how people witness events or recall memories. How does the way YOU were raised effect the significance or meaning you see in well-known events throughout history?
It is apparent that families play a big role in influencing one’s beliefs, as well as memories. I found the three philosophical roots relating to human development you mentioned very interesting, as it reminded me of a lecture I went to about psychopaths and genetics. The lecture basically talked about how many studies show that some ‘psychopathic’ traits are passed down through genetics. Your blog made me think about whether there is really an uniform understanding concerning morality. Although I would like to believe that humans are born with “Innate Goodness” as Jean-Jacques Rousseau says, I remember reading about a shocking case presented in the book, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell. The recorded event of no one coming to help or even call the police for a young woman who was murdered on her way back to her home, despite the audibility of her multiple cries for help to the nearby apartments. This is called the Bystander Effect, which describes the phenomenon where the presence of a higher number of people decreases the chance of someone helping a person in need of help. An explanation for this is that since the bystanders know there are other bystanders, they expect those others to extend their hands and help, but in the end, everyone ends up expecting someone else to take on the ‘burden’. I find this intriguing because my assumption would be that many, if not everyone, would rush to help the person, or at least call the police. I guess it just shows how complex and dangerous it is to understand and predict the behaviors of humans.
Sabine,
I enjoyed reading your blog post and found it interesting how your textbook classified the three main philosophical roots of human development. However I personally find it hard to agree with any one of those three philosophical roots as humans are very much unique and to categorize every human into one stereotype seems rather far fetched.
I agree that one’s family (specifically parents or guardians) can be seen as one of the most influential communities that affect our perspective as they play key authoritarian roles throughout our childhood and upbringing while harboring a substantial emotional connection to us. With that being said, this idea only works if one is brought up in the so called ‘standard’ family with a Father and Mother. We have to take into consideration different upbringings such as those with single parents, orphans or those who have lost their parents at a young age.
To conclude, the way YOU were raised does significantly change your perspective, remembering and learning although family cannot be seen as the strongest influence as not everyone has the luxury of being brought up by a fully functional family.