THINKER'S ALMANAC - November 3

What happened to Marie-Olympe de Gouges two years after she wrote ‘The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen’?

Subject:  Women’s Rights - Marie-Olympe de Gouges’ Declaration

Event:  The execution of Marie-Olympe de Gouges, 1793

Woman, wake up! The tocsin of reason is being heard throughout the whole universe. Discover your rights! The powerful empire of nature is no longer surrounded by prejudice, fanaticism, superstition, and lies. -Marie-Olympe de Gouges

A major achievement of the French Revolution occurred on August 26, 1789 when The Declaration of The Rights of Man and of the Citizen was adopted.  This document failed, however, to recognize the equality of women, an important detail that was not overlooked by writer and playwright Marie-Olympe de Gouges.  In response to the Rights of Man, Gouges published The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen in 1791.  Gouges minced no words in her Declaration, saying, “This revolution will only take effect when all women become fully aware of their deplorable condition, and of the rights they have lost in society.”

Gouges challenging the male sex to live up to the ideals of the Revolution and of the Enlightenment. She also challenged conventional views.  She argued that just as nature manifests the harmonious cooperation of the sexes, so too should the laws of the state.  In an incredulous tone, she berates the male sex for his irrationality: 

Bizarre, blind, boated with science and degenerate -- in a century of enlightenment and wisdom -- into the crassest ignorance, he wants to command as a despot a sex which is in full possession of its intellectual faculties.

In words that eerily foreshadow her fate, Gouges demanded the same rights to free speech that men had:  “No one is to be disquieted for his very basic opinions; woman has the right to mount the scaffold; she must equally have the right to mount the rostrum, provided that her demonstrations do not disturb the legally established public order.”

For having the audacity to demand equality and for speaking out, Gouges was silenced.  Arrested in July 1793, she was sent to the guillotine and was executed on November 3, 1793.  Her influence and spirit lived on, inspiring Mary Wolstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman and Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Declaration of Rights and Sentiments, which was signed in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848.  Women in France were granted the right to vote as equal citizens in 1944.

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  How do the long term consequences of Marie-Olympe de Gouges' Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen (1791) compare with Elizabeth Cady Stanton's Declaration of Rights and Sentiments (1848)?

Challenge - Rushmore of Women:  If there were a Mount Rushmore featuring the four most influential women in history, which four women would you select and why?

Sources:  

1-Marie-Olympe de Gouges. The Rights of Woman, 1791.

THINKER'S ALMANAC - November 2

As victorious generals paraded through the streets of Rome, something was whispered in their ears to keep them humble.  What was it?

Subject: Mortality - Memento Mori

Event:  National Write Your Own Epitaph Day

Death smiles at us all, all a man can do is smile back. -Marcus Aurelius

It’s the one universal, the one reality that all must face.  Whether rich or poor, a king or a commoner, we all are mortal.  Everyone dies.  Or, as Jim Morrison said, “No one gets out of here alive.”  There’s an ancient story that comes to mind called “The Appointment in Samarra”:

A merchant in Baghdad sent his servant to the public market. When the servant returned, he approached his master trembling with fear.  “Master” he said, “When I was in the marketplace, I was jostled by a woman in the crowd.  I turned and saw Death looking at me in the face, and she made a threatening gesture towards me.  Please, Master, please allow me to take one of your horses and flee from this city to Samarra so that death will not find me and so that I can avoid my fate.”  The merchant granted his servant’s request, and within minutes the servant was galloping away to Samarra.  Next, the merchant went down to the marketplace and saw Death standing in the crowd.  The Merchant approached Death and asked, “Why did you make a threatening gesture towards my servant?”  Death replied incredulously, “That was not a threatening gesture; it was a start of surprise.  I was astonished to see your servant in Bagdad, because I had an appointment with him today in Samarra.”

Image by Milos Duskic from Pixabay

Some, like the merchant, try to forget or avoid this inevitability; however, there is an ancient tradition of embracing it, not to be morbid but instead to be proactive.

In the Roman tradition it’s known as memento mori, and it’s even on the calendar:  January Third.  In Latin, memento mori translates, “remember that you must die.”  The phrase was put to use in ancient Rome to prevent leaders from falling prey to hubris.  When a Roman general was paraded through the streets after a victorious battle, a slave was strategically placed behind the general in his chariot.  As the general basked in the cheers of the crowd, the slave’s job was to whisper in the general’s ear:  “memento mori” or “Someday you will die” (1).

The Stoic philosophers embraced memento mori as a reminder of life’s transience and of the importance of making each minute count.  Instead of fearing death, philosophers like Epictetus tried to reframe it, saying, “Death and pain are not frightening, it’s the fear of pain and death we need to fear.”  For centuries, an entire genre of art works has been produced around the memento mori theme, usually depicting a skull and an hourglass (2).

Memento mori is not just for Roman generals or Stoics, however.  After he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003, Apple Founder Steve Jobs gave a moving commencement address at Stanford University, reminding graduates that facing our mortality is no morbid exercise; instead, it is motivating:

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. 

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.  (2)

One sure way to face mortality is to take a walk in a cemetery, perusing the gravestones and reading the epitaphs.  Today, November 2, is the perfect day for such a ruminative stroll because it is National Write Your Own Epitaph Day (3).  It’s a day to remember your mortality but also to consider what words you will leave behind to the living.  How might you distill the wisdom of your life into a single concise aphorism?

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  How did the merchant’s reaction to Death in “Appointment” differ from Steve Job’s attitude towards death, and how does this relate to momento mori?

Challenge - Words To Leave Behind:  Do some research on epitaphs.  Then, carefully craft your own epitaph.

Sources: 

1-Crosby, Daniel. Memento Mori – The Ancient Roman Cure for Overconfidence. 7 Nov. 2013.

2-Jobs, Steve.  Death is Very Likely the Single Best Invention of Life.  The Guardian. 10 Oct. 2011.

3-Nationaltoday.com “Plan Your Epitaph Day – November 2, 2021.”

THINKER'S ALMANAC - November 1

How can metaphors influence a person’s thinking about the stock market?

Subject: Language - Agent Metaphors or Object Metaphors

Event:  Metaphors We Live By published, 1980

Love is friendship set to music.  -Jackson Pollock

Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath.  At night, the ice weasels come. -Matt Groening

In the two quotations above, the idea of love is framed very differently, not just in words but in metaphors.

On this day in 1980, the book Metaphors We Live By was published.  In the book, cognitive linguist George Lakoff and philosophy professor Mark Johnson challenge the reader to view metaphors as much more than just a poetic device.  Instead, the authors argue that metaphors are essential to the way humans think and the way they perceive the world.  To illustrate, one 2007 study looked at language used to describe the stock market.  The metaphors used were identified as either agent metaphors or object metaphors.  Agent metaphors animate the market as a living being, saying, for example, that “the Nasdaq climbed higher” or “The Dow fought its way upward.”  Object metaphors, in contrast, describe the market in terms of inanimate objects or forces, saying, for example, that “the Nasdaq dropped off a cliff.”  More than just linguistic flourishes or vivid imagery, Lakoff and Johnson argue that these metaphors influence our thinking and frame our perceptions.  In the 2007 study, for example, investors who examined market data were more likely to predict a stock would continue to rise if the data was described using agent metaphors -- as in the stock “climbed.”  Object metaphors -- as in the stock “increased” -- did not have this kind of influence (1).

The message here is that language is not simply a method of expressing thoughts; instead, the relationship between language and thought is much more nuanced.  Perhaps the philosopher Burtrand Russell said it best:  “Language serves not only to express thought but to make possible thoughts which could not exist without it.”

Nothing in language is as powerful as metaphor.  As Aristotle said, “It is metaphor above all else that gives clearness, charm, and distinction to style.”  Through the alchemy of metaphor, writers transform ideas into concrete, vivid images that make readers imagine and feel.  When you use figurative language like metaphors and similes, you set the tone and frame the argument. Positive imagery makes your reader feel and imagine good emotions; negative imagery makes your reader feel and imagine negative emotions.

Image by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay

Shake the dust off a tired idea; use a metaphor or simile to polish it up and make it look and sound brave and brand new. 

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  How do agent metaphors differ from object metaphors, why does this distinction matter?

Challenge - Metaphors Be With You:  Generate a list of abstract ideas, such as greed, trust, or ambition.  Then, do a search for some quotations on one of your abstract ideas.  Look for quotations that use metaphors to bring the abstract ideas to life with concrete, showing images.  For example, the American lawyer and orator Robert G. Ingersoll said, “Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind.” Select your favorite metaphor and explain how the metaphor makes the abstract idea more concrete.

Sources:  

1-O’Mahony, Proinsias.  “Market Metaphors Can Lead Investors Astray.”  Irish Times 20 Sept. 2016. 

THINKER'S ALMANAC: October 31

What insights about human nature were revealed by a study of Halloween trick-or-treaters?

Subject:  Human Nature - Candy Study

Event:  Halloween

Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Most social science experiments are conducted in university laboratories, but one classic study from the 1970s was conducted in a suburban neighborhood.

The purpose of the study was to gain some insight into human nature, specifically the honesty of trick-or-treaters as they collected candy on Halloween night.

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Each time a child came to the door, a research assistant greeted them, pointed out a candy bowl sitting on a table, and instructed the child to help themselves to a single piece of candy.   The researcher then told the child that she had a chore to complete and left the room.  Unbeknownst to the trick-or-treaters, another researcher was watching through a small peephole and recording which children followed directions and which children let greed overtake them.  The results from eighteen different households on Halloween night revealed that 33.7% of children took more than a single piece of candy.

The researchers then added one new wrinkle to the experiment:  a mirror.  The mirror was strategically placed next to the candy bowl so that any child approaching the bowl would see his or her reflection.  With the mirror present, candy theft was reduced to only 8.8 percent (1).

In another variation of the study, research assistants asked half the children their names before telling the kids to take one candy and then leaving them alone in the room.  The other half of the kids were not asked their names.  As you might guess, the kids who remained anonymous took more candy than those who volunteered their names.

One conclusion we might make from these studies is that if we want to influence people’s behavior, we should make them identifiable, helping them to both literally and figuratively reflect on what they are doing (2).

For another Halloween social science study involving trick-or-treaters, see Thinker’s Almanac - April 24

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:   How did the candy experiment illustrate the concept of deindividuation?

Challenge - Who Are You: Halloween is a great day to reflect on who we truly are.  Whether or not we literally put on a mask, we are always dealing with issues of identity.  Do some research on quotations about “identity.”  When you find one that gives you true insight, write it down and explain why it is meaningful to you.

Sources:

1-Goldstein, Noah J., Steve J. Martin, and Robert B. Cialdini.  Yes:  50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive. New York:  Free Press, 2008.

2-Waxman, Olivia B. “What Trick-or-Treating Teaches Us About Human Nature.” Time magazine 28 Oct. 2015.

THINKER'S ALMANAC - October 30

How might you argue that the most important of all your years of formal education is kindergarten?

Subject:  Personal Philosophy - Credo

Event:  All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, 1989.

Live by this credo: have a little laugh at life and look around you for happiness instead of sadness. Laughter has always brought me out of unhappy situations. -Red Skelton

On this day in 1989, Robert Fulghum published his book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.  The book, which stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for almost two years, is a collection of short essays, subtitled “Uncommon Thoughts on Common Things.”

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Fulghum grew up in Waco, Texas, and before he began writing full time, he was a Unitarian minister and an art and philosophy teacher.

The first essay in Fulghum’s book, called “Credo,” explains the origin of his book’s title.  Fulghum recalls that each spring throughout his life he would sit down and write a personal credo, a list of statements of personal belief.  This list evolved over the years with statements that were sometimes comical, sometimes bland, sometimes cynical, and sometimes over-complicated.  The final version of his credo came to him, however, when he realized that true meaning in life did not need to be complicated.  In fact, he already knew what he needed to know; he had learned it a long time ago in kindergarten. The basic rules he learned like “Share everything,” “Play fair,” and “Clear up your own mess” served him throughout life (1).

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten has spawned numerous imitations, spinoffs, and parodies based on television shows, movies, books, etc.  These imitations adopt Fulghum’s title and list as their template, beginning with “All I Really Need to Know I Learned From ______,” followed by a list of principles based on the source of inspiration.

For example:

All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Watching Star Trek

All I Really Need to Know I Learned from My Dog

All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Fairy Tales

A further adaptation narrows the learning a bit to a single specific area, as in:

All I Really Need to Know about ___________ I Learned from ___________

One example of this kind of spinoff is a book, published in 2014 by Paul Oyer, Everything I Ever Needed to Know about Economics I Learned from Online Dating.

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  What are some possible credos you might take from two separate sources that have influenced you?

Challenge:  Create Your Credo:  How would you finish the following titles, and what principles would you include in your personal credo?  “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in/from ______.”  And “All I Really Need to Know about ___________ I Learned in/from ___________.”

Create your own spin-off of Fulghum’s credo.  Brainstorm some ideas based on books, movies, television shows, the internet, or some other aspect of life that you know well.  Once you have selected a single focus, generate a list of principles that spring from your selected area.  Your list may contain serious insights or humorous insights.  (Common Core Writing 2 – Expository)

ALSO ON THIS DAY:

October 30, 1938:  Listeners throughout the U.S. mistake a radio production of H.G. Wells’ novel The War of the Worlds for an actual alien invasion.

Sources:

1-Fulghum, Robert. All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. New York:  Ballantine Books, 1989.