Judge a book by its cover. Appearances alone tell us a lot about a person. On top of that, kindly consider what a person has to go through dressing themselves up. Yes, we all care about how we look and appearances do create a point of view. I’m not saying everyone spends minutes and hours in front of the mirror and contemplating which outfit looks best, there are those of us who like doing that and those who put on whatever is thrown in their face and are just as comfortable. It just is like that.
Come to think of it, I think ‘covers’ are the perfect supplements in analysing a person. Just as we are capable of hiding our physical flaws and staging looks, we deceive even more through what we say and how we act. Don't we all do things and say things because we want to be seen and heard that way? To say you don’t form an opinion about a person on meeting them is to say that you just do not have any opinion of your own; you could instead try not to form a strong one (and not shove it in everyone’s face) and be open to wrong conclusions. Because it always ends with “I never thought she/he was such a person” or “I always knew she/he was like that”. We are always right, even when we think we are wrong, we are right in thinking that we are wrong.
No matter what, we always look at people in a way that is convenient for us, negatively or positively. We use our judgements to justify ourselves. So make a judgement or don’t make a judgement, it does not change the person or the thing (even if it does only remotely) it only affects you.
Well, there may be differing views but this is how I think it works.
Everyone is judgmental and if everyone accepts that, then we can look at things more objectively by taking our own subjectivity into thought (and we will all live happily ever after!).
Oh! But make sure you...
Oh! But make sure you...
Thuziak tha tak a ni e.
ReplyDeleteWhat a... WOW, this is what i used to ask myself often and try not to judge other with their looks and appearance! I was wrong, perhaps! often. As in a same way, what we wear is how we look and what we really are,, they said :) before you pinpoint and passed a lewd marks on others, look urself, closely... yeah closely
ReplyDeleteBut the question is, my lady - what is subjectivity? Is it nothing but the result of the objective world that you see before you, as you through empirical means internalize them? You say the visual input infers on the individual the same subjective impression that a conversation would. I disagree. Speech in itself is unique to us as human beings, with cognitive thought and reasoning. Sure - verbal output is not impervious to deceit, one may speak of lies as often as he or she wants. And if one person is caught exhibiting such dubious behaviour, they are judged by the mind as having done the same. However, with someone's appearance, it does not warrant such a discourse. You may observe, "He/she looked completely different the other day", but that does not impart on your mind a feeling that that person has cheated you, by wearing something different the other day. If that person had told you something different the other day than what he/she is now telling you today, you would feel cheated no doubt. A liar you would say. Hence the conviction, the weight of knowledge you gain from a person's verbal discourse is more valuable than mere visual input. Looks can be very deceiving - and exactly because they are deceiving, should you not judge someone by their looks! It is very easy to put on different clothing, but to acquire the verbal tenacity not your own and that of a different person, would take quite a great deal more of effort! So which would be the more logical point of judgement - verbal input or visual? I would definitely say verbal. Fashion trends change with the season, while ideas expressed in writing and through the word of mouth remain.. for much longer! Society frowns upon people who not by necessity, appear the same constantly or wear the same clothes all the time. Hence many people experiment, and change their appearance for this reason alone. However, their verbal disposition more or less remains the same. So if you were to judge by the cover alone, people would appear feeble-minded and inconsistent at best (here your observation would inherently be flawed). If you were to dig deeper and try to dig out their verbal disposition, you would be able to form a clearer picture of who they are. Like a friend of mine once said, words matter. After all, they are what feelings sound like! Do understand I am making generalisations here. I acknowledge there are exceptions. So after having said all that, I would, though you have made an elegant argument in the contrary, that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover :-)
ReplyDelete"Never judge a book by its cover, instead flip it over and you will see the description of the book." :-)
ReplyDelete@ TS: thank you :)
ReplyDelete@David: Yes,in some way, I guess we all judge people from their appearances, though we tend to deny it. Its innate.
@Andy: I am rambling away, like most students facing project deadlines, any deviation I take from academics then, becomes incomprehensible. Anyhow, if I may use the Bible verse "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" to explain myself further. We tend to analyze and criticize people by putting them in our shoes and not ourselves in their shoes and many who blindly climb on the bandwagon. It is easy to be so consumed by prejudices that one is not even aware of it. What I am trying to say here is that being judgemental is inherent, so we might as well - instead of treating it as a vice - learn to improve upon it.
I decided to plead to judge a book by its cover only because I am sick and tired of people ranting about how the youth today dress. [My attempt at sarcasm was a big fail :(]
On a lighter note, I highly doubt if you would stick to your argument when it comes to dealings with an attractive girl (or woman).
@Alejandro: best advice ever!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete@Puipuii: I'd posted a really long comment in reply (longer than the previous post), where I basically went on about my philosophical difference to the idea that you have put forward here. After thinking about it, though, I thought better of the it and removed it. Mainly because I appreciate your skill in writing and in particular framing an argument, and how you've taken something like a common maxim and turned it round :-) Once again, you got some serious chops there with your writing :-)
ReplyDeleteSo, with that, I would still beg to differ on your appeal to judge a book by it's cover (and it's wider philosophical connotations). And as for certain things you've mentioned:
1. I don't believe you can 'improve' on being judgemental. It would appear to go against the very connotation of the term 'improve'.
2. I don't think prejudice is an inherent concept. In fact, I don't think that anything is inherent to the human condition. Here I subscribe to the Empirical school of thought in philosophy I guess.
3. About the analogy of the attractive lady: If I were to come across such a lady, I would admire her beauty and would immediately want to know her better - who she is, where she came from, what she does, how I can get in touch with her! In essence, I would be admiring a cover for it's beauty as a cover and among covers. My appreciation for the cover would lead me to know more of the book itself (whether it is indeed as good as the cover, or not), and hence does not point at all to me judging the book by it's cover.
Anyways, that's it. You have to forgive me - I think Political Philosophy has driven me nuts I'm afraid :-D No more arguing from me! The bottom line is, you write well. I truly do admire your writing. Cheers!
Thank you Andy. [But I don't understand the logic behind the removal of your previous comment :)] It is entertaining and enjoyable to challenge commonly accepted notions and given perceptions, to clear those doubts at the back of your mind.
ReplyDeleteIf this discussion is to end, I would add that improving on being judgemental is just a matter of widening your horizon - put yourself in other people's shoe and how we choose to acknowledge it. And would you have desired to learn more about the said cover if it were not pleasing to the eye at all?
Wait a minute.. Puipuii right? Do I know you? Have we met?
ReplyDeleteAnd I see you admire the works of Alex Noriega as well :-D
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't think we have. (But you're my FB friend. Haha).
ReplyDeleteSNOTM is the shit! :)
I knew it! :-D I should've recognised you earlier! My bad. Although an anonymous blog isn't much to go by :-D
ReplyDelete:) Anonymous how?
ReplyDeleteDoes that mean you know me then?
Yes. I don't know you personally... but yes I do know you :-)
ReplyDelete*ainch* :D
ReplyDeleteWeinch!! ka hrethiam ta mai.. :-P
ReplyDeleteI still ramble na ah sawn ka comment thei tawh miahlo :-(
ReplyDelete