It is late afternoon. I am walking in a local park. People are walking around, lovers sitting under trees, whispering words of endearment and children’s laughter can be heard in the distance. I walk up to a man sitting on a bench reading a newspaper. I take out my gun and shoot him. Dead.
I am laying in a ditch in Germany. The year is 1941. It is cold the wind is howling and my fingers are numb. A German appears from the bushes, rifle in his hand. I take out my gun and shoot him. Dead.
If we strip away social context, the actions are exactly the same: “I take out my gun and I shoot him. Dead.”
Now if we agree that context gives social actions value, we can be sure that actions are open for interpretation. Therefore any action has the “potential” of numerous negative and positive values depending on the context.
What does this mean to us? Well, if actions’ value are determined by the context we give it, we can change the perceived value of an action from negative to positive, merely by changing the context we view it in. This for example has big implications for psychology (changing the perspective of negative people) and problem solving (changing the context opens up new possibilities).
No Comments