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Manhattan, New York City, |
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Jean-Marc Gulliet: Paper for NYU's MindBodyMedia, Summer 2001
The Biological, the Cultural, and the Unavoidable* "It is easier, and ultimately better, to go along with the crowd than to separate." I considered this statement for a while, pondering the weight that each word has by itself and relatively to the others. Meanwhile, my mind was like a metronome, going from one side of the argument to the other, oscillating from full agreement to complete disagreement. I was incapable of taking a stand. Eventually, having read repeatedly the assertion, enlightenment took the place of confusion. Believing in free will and its power, I disagree, perhaps not with the statement itself, but definitely with its assumption. I cannot accept that everyone, exercising his free will and his common sense, can choose to follow masses, even if it is an error. Usually, one can find at least one exception to any rule, but in this case, the main rule being to follow, finding just a few examples of anti-conformism did not help or comfort me. Thinking about how life is given, and how, as human beings, we are taught acceptable behaviors in society, I revised my definition of anti-conformism. I finally conclude that even if one wants to be different from the masses, one cannot avoid conforming to other conventions. Anti-conformism, by definition, cannot be something other than another manifestation of conformity. On page 283, Erich Fromm's essay "The Need to Conform" mentions that an infant has the urge to be close to his or her mother. Numerous studies in developmental psychology have shown the importance of a successful early bonding between the infant and his or her caregiver. Not only is this true for human beings but also for all the other mammals. To find exceptions to this rule, one must look at other species. For example, a starfish produces thousands of eggs released in water before maturity; then, without additional care, the immature fish must finish developing by themselves. These examples illustrate the importance of the genetic heritage that influence the way human and animal behaves in regards to their offspring. The relationship between the newborns and their mothers vary greatly according to their species' genes. Mammals have only few offspring and the gestation takes a relatively long time. On the other hand, fish have a lot of offspring, and the gestation is fast. An evolutionary psychologist, thus, would explain behavior differences as different strategies to secure species' survival. For mammals, especially for humans, what we call love is a means that Nature has devised to be sure that parents will take care of their offspring, maximizing, by this way, their chances to reach sexual maturity. A radically different strategy has been chosen for species such as fish. For them, Nature has emphasized numerousness. Consequently, we are genetically programmed to take care of our babies. Conversely, infants are genetically programmed to look for closeness with their parents. One can agree or disagree with the explanation of love from the evolutionary point of view. Nevertheless, in the realm of genetics, Nature decides how we have to behave; Nature establishes the rules of conformity. Another aspect of conformity usually discussed is its cultural part. Throughout centuries, man has developed his own set of rules about how to behave socially. These systems are part of human culture and diverge according to each civilization. They tend to channel biological behaviors into acceptable social behaviors. However, given a specific situation, what constitutes the right behavior within one social group is not necessarily the right behavior within another society. For example, the expectation and the way to have a date are different in America from those in Italy. Another example of social conformity, pointed out by Erich Fromm, is the need to be politically correct. One's behaviors, thoughts, opinions -- to name a few -- must not be rejected by one's peers. To feel comfortable with the others, one has to conform and to follow what is considered politically correct. For example, if one belongs to a political party, one will digress from the strict line of thinking only to those extreme positions that are accepted by one's peers. Critics about new policies, as well as jokes about political leaders, are well self-regulated by the global consensus of what constitutes an acceptable "deviant" behavior. In the realm of culture, dissidence might be just a synonym of conformity. If on the one hand, humankind is slave of its genetic heritage, and, on the other hand, it aspires only to follow traditions, how can we define anti-conformism? Anti-conformism might be the latest expression of an individual's free will against the compelling urge of conformity from nurture and culture. Anti-conformism expresses individual choices, individual decisions. Furthermore, for an individual, anti-conformism might be the latest territory of freedom; a blessed land where one can be oneself in its uniqueness. In opposition to collective decisions, taken consciously or unconsciously according to a common framework of thinking, an anti-conformist pretends that he or she is different from the mass because he or she is free to opt for different positions. What characterizes these positions is originality and genuineness. Contrary to the supposed prefabricated opinions of the masses, which dispense people of the burden of thinking; anti-conformist thoughts are a realm of authenticity and innovation. Anti-conformists pretend to see what the others do not see, to understand what the others do not understand. This is anti-conformity, which might be only illusion. Given how we have defined what anti-conformism is -- an expression of the individual against the masses -- we can see that being anti-conformist means necessarily belonging to a minority. In other words, if a majority of people agrees on something, therefore, this common belief shared by a larger group becomes culturally conforming. Anti-conformity belongs necessarily to minorities. However, so far we have considered the terms majority and minority in their absolute significance. We have now to consider the relativity of these concepts. What one can define as minority is dependent of what serves as reference to define the larger group. For example, the dominant religion in France is Catholicism. In this context, Protestantism is anti-conformist. However, Catholicism and Protestantism, seeing from a Middle-East perspective, are the same thing: Christianity, which does not conform to Islam. * Originally, I wrote this essay during a previous course, Intensive Writing Spring 2001 |
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