“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” – Aristotle (384-322 BC)
Illustration by Martha Rich- Your Inner Critic is a Big Jerk, Danielle Kyrsa, 2016
In her book, The Year of Magical Thinking (Didion 2005) Joan Didion writes of grief. The grief of the loss of her husband and her daughter. I haven’t read the book but the idea of it and her ability to articulate the personal experience fascinates me. I don’t want to belittle the pain of grief that Didion writes of by co-opting the term for my own purposes but I feel like in our current climate of polarization and extreme views that we are in a state ‘magical thinking’. That is thinking magically and not critically. The echo chamber created by algorithms’ that dictate our daily online intake feed has created a feeling of security in our opinions and the company of like-minded people. But it is not reality. This magical thinking is a powerful virtual construct that gives us the illusion of knowledge without actually possessing it. Even people who would consider themselves in possession of an educated mind seem to be losing what Aristotle says as the ability to ” entertain thought without accepting it”. (Aristotle 384-322 BC) We take everything as wrote if it confirms our world view. The strong societal and political divisions within single countries proves this. I know that have been swept up in this tide of magical thinking. I also feel as an artist I can be guilty of it as well, whether it be time management or an over ambitious reach. Working commercially for so many years has also led to lazy habits of creating derivative work as opposed to works of thoughtful originality. Infusing the creative process with critical thinking can be a challenge because the leap that needs to be made in order to create and to continue to grow as an artist requires a kind of blind faith. That said the inability for critical self-analysis as well as the analysis of our influences and the world around us is crucial for us to keep moving forward from that initial blind faith to something deeper and more robust. The ability to entertain others critical perspectives on our work is also the path to growth. The faculty to filter those opinions is power to accept what is constructive and ignore what is not. This is particularly true in a world where individual artists can market and promote their work worldwide at the touch of a button. For myself I need to work on thinking critically and not negatively. The reflective practice of my MA studies will help me to do this as I need to pause before I act, react or express my critical thought. Feedback from tutors has already helped me to think more critically. As a teacher myself being on the receiving end of feedback has been a breath of fresh air for me. As an artist who has just completed an epic long project and had to face the personal and public aftermath of its completion I feel like I have more life experience to understand the benefits of approaching creative problems critically.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aristotle (384-322 BC) [Online] Available at: https://philosiblog.com/2012/03/07/ [Accessed November 4 2018]
Didion, J. (2005) The Year of Magical Thinking Knopf: New York
ILLUSTRATION
Martha Rich (2016) Your Inner Critic is a Big Jerk Danielle Kyrsa Chronicle Books: San Francisco