Yesterday’s blog, The complexity bias (12): Why, poses an interesting dilemma: if everything is connected (see my blogs on interconnectedness) then autonomy and control are an illusion. Hence, today’s blog is about the fallacy of control.
Source: “The Fallacy of Control is where you assume an inaccurate amount of control in a situation or in life. You either believe you can control everything or believe you can control nothing.” Note: all markings in quote by LO.
My 2017 blogs, Autonomy – Philosophy as a Belief system and Autonomy (2): Control vs Change, already stated that our assumption of control is rooted in our belief about being autonomous. An example: Brexit was based on the slogan – and belief – of “taking back control“, despite operating in a highly interconnected or globalised world (eg, capital, services, trade, travel).
The Serenity Prayer by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) is a beautiful example about (the fallacy of) control. Note: all markings in the quote below are by LO.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”
We must have some kind of control because else there would be no causality, or cause and effect in Life, Nature or the Universe. There would just be chaos. The Fallacy of Control is about overestimating and/or underestimating our (individual/group) control.
In my view, the biggest contemporary challenges – climate change and Covid-19 – are examples of the fallacy of control. Some developments are beyond human control. Not accepting our lack of control, is a recipe for (economic) disaster. We can only mitigate its worst consequences (eg, relocating cities, vaccinations).
The difference between “in control” and “beyond control” relates to my micro-macro concept. To a large extent, you can control your own life. To some extent, you can control someone else‘s life. You can even control the lives of many people for a (limited) duration of (absolute) power.
Hence, control appears to the inverse of micro and macro: maximum control at a micro level and minimum control at a macro level. Another pyramid or triangle.
Control (2020) by Zoe Wees
artist, lyrics, video, Wiki-1, Wiki-2
I don’t wanna lose control
Nothing I can do anymore
Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless stated otherwise.
0 Comments