House fellow Tamar Kushnir started her discussion on free will in the most unique way. She said, “Sit in silence. What did you notice?” I guess I had never just sat and observed in that way, as we live in a very hustle-and-bustle society. It is rare that I even have time to just sit by myself, let alone watch the actions of others. Her thought provoking question truly opened the dialogue for the night.
I had never really considered free will and its role in everyday life. I always assumed that it was simply a concept of personal choice. I never considered the societal pressure that exists in this concept. She brought my attention to this as she asked us to sit in silence and raise our hand whenever we felt like it. It took a while for someone to finally be the first to do so, and others easily followed. I chose to not follow suit, and I sat merely observing others.
I think it is also interesting to consider this in the scope of age. Professor Kushnir studies this concept in children. Her studies conclude that when children are asked if they have to do something, such as eat ice cream, children less than four-years-of-age will respond with a passionate yes. Older children recognize that we have a choice. Is this a result of the same societal pressure found when we were asked to raise our hands? Or, is it a result of serious cognitive growth?
Sounds like Professor Kushnir had some very interesting insights about human behavior.
Wow, that’s a pretty interesting point you made about whether or not societal pressures actually result in changing someone’s willingness to answer a question.
I agree about the mindblowing realization that we do have the free will to do what we want. Because of societal norms and pressures, we are often deterred from what being our “own person” and doing our “own thing.”