Elevated from Heather's LJ
I was helping Heather to prepare for her upcoming move (and offering moral support should we find anything that crawls), and she showed me an old entry from her live journal circa 2003. She, my roommate, and I were taking a course called Identity and Fulfillment. This, my friends, is the kind of review that got all of us into graduate school.
Heather: Alright, it is time to go curl up with my Identity and Fullfillment and Philosophical Roots of Psychology notebooks. Studying for I & F will be a pain in the ass, as it seems the test is going to be very vague. I believe the questions may look something like this: If Kenneth Gergen were a donut and Paul Tillich were a protein bar, which would you eat and why? Kristen will understand this, but I think you can all appreciate a professor whose tests are absolutely ridiculous. I suspect that Kristen, Jess, and I could draw pictures all over the test and still get an A since we carried that damned class all semester.
Me: Clearly, the question is a trick. Although Paul Tillich is currently a protein bar, he still has the power to self-actualize and become something else. He has been limited by his choices up until now which have led to his current being-as-a-protein-bar. Still, he may later choose to become a protein shake, or perhaps a protein POWER bar. Nevertheless, he will never escape the anxiety of knowing that he is a being-towards-being-eaten. He should become Lutheran. Gergen the donut, however, is only a donut because he has been socialized as such. Due to multiphrenia and social saturation, he is no longer sure that he is in fact a donut. His lack of a center is beautifully illustrated by the physical hole which marks the center of his being. He has been overcome by the variety of messages concerning himself. He can no longer distinguish whether he is a yummy snack, or a heart attack inducing fiend. Is he a breakfast food or a study snack? A donut or a glazed pastry? Gergen the donut is confused, and experiences anxiety from his confusion. Yet, this donut CAN escape his anxiety. As soon as he surrenders the notion of a core self, he will be free. To hungry people, he can be a yummy snack, but can flawlessly present himself as a heart attack inducer to those with high blood pressure. He can be eaten whenever people so desire, and answers to both 'donut' AND 'glazed pastry.'The second half of the question can be neatly reduced: is it preferable to consume an anxious Lutheran protein-based food, or a calm sugary sweet? Although Lutherans can be abrasive, it seems unethical to eat one. Additionally, anxious foods may cause indigestion in he-who-eats-him. In conclusion, I would prefer to eat Gergen the donut (or is he a donut?) rather than Tillich the protein bar.
Heather: Alas, I suppose then that by your definition, Gergen would be the happiest (Gergen the donut) in a box with eleven other donuts rather than presented as a single donut? And how would this apply to Tillich? Would it struggle between being tasty like a candy bar or be a more individualistic taste, sacrificing tasting good to be healthy? Oh, the humanity...
Heather: Alright, it is time to go curl up with my Identity and Fullfillment and Philosophical Roots of Psychology notebooks. Studying for I & F will be a pain in the ass, as it seems the test is going to be very vague. I believe the questions may look something like this: If Kenneth Gergen were a donut and Paul Tillich were a protein bar, which would you eat and why? Kristen will understand this, but I think you can all appreciate a professor whose tests are absolutely ridiculous. I suspect that Kristen, Jess, and I could draw pictures all over the test and still get an A since we carried that damned class all semester.
Me: Clearly, the question is a trick. Although Paul Tillich is currently a protein bar, he still has the power to self-actualize and become something else. He has been limited by his choices up until now which have led to his current being-as-a-protein-bar. Still, he may later choose to become a protein shake, or perhaps a protein POWER bar. Nevertheless, he will never escape the anxiety of knowing that he is a being-towards-being-eaten. He should become Lutheran. Gergen the donut, however, is only a donut because he has been socialized as such. Due to multiphrenia and social saturation, he is no longer sure that he is in fact a donut. His lack of a center is beautifully illustrated by the physical hole which marks the center of his being. He has been overcome by the variety of messages concerning himself. He can no longer distinguish whether he is a yummy snack, or a heart attack inducing fiend. Is he a breakfast food or a study snack? A donut or a glazed pastry? Gergen the donut is confused, and experiences anxiety from his confusion. Yet, this donut CAN escape his anxiety. As soon as he surrenders the notion of a core self, he will be free. To hungry people, he can be a yummy snack, but can flawlessly present himself as a heart attack inducer to those with high blood pressure. He can be eaten whenever people so desire, and answers to both 'donut' AND 'glazed pastry.'The second half of the question can be neatly reduced: is it preferable to consume an anxious Lutheran protein-based food, or a calm sugary sweet? Although Lutherans can be abrasive, it seems unethical to eat one. Additionally, anxious foods may cause indigestion in he-who-eats-him. In conclusion, I would prefer to eat Gergen the donut (or is he a donut?) rather than Tillich the protein bar.
Heather: Alas, I suppose then that by your definition, Gergen would be the happiest (Gergen the donut) in a box with eleven other donuts rather than presented as a single donut? And how would this apply to Tillich? Would it struggle between being tasty like a candy bar or be a more individualistic taste, sacrificing tasting good to be healthy? Oh, the humanity...
posted by Wild West Intern @ 1:26 PM
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