The aftermath of our Flanagan-fueled Atheism and Philosophy discussion concerning Nelson Goodman's Space and Meaning spilled over into the liberal libations flowing during happy hour at our designated meaningful space called the Boulevard. As usual, several table discussions turned a critical eye towards religion, and all the debates seemed cordial, lively, and intellectually stimulating.
One thing I have learned from a recent article is that, apparently, I've been doing it wrong, and should be taking my cues from the Ivy League. Sheer confidence in speech is evidently more important than facts or evidence. The headline in a recent AlterNet article reads as such: Why Do Some Americans Speak So Confidently When They Have No Idea What They Are Talking About.
The subheading reads: Harvard calls "leadership" speaking with conviction even when you don't mean it.
Here's an excerpt from the article:
The Harvard Business School information session on how to be a good class participant instructs, “Speak with conviction. Even if you believe something only 55 percent, say it as if you believe it 100 percent,” Susan Cain reported in her bestselling bookQuiet. At HBS, Cain noticed, “If a student talks often and forcefully, then he’s a player; if he doesn’t, he’s on the margins.”
Cain observed that the men at HBS “look like people who expect to be in charge.... I have the feeling that if you asked one of them for driving directions, he’d greet you with a can-do smile and throw himself into the task of helping you to your destination — whether or not he knew the way.”
HBS alumni include George W. Bush, class of 1975, as well as:
- Jamie Dimon, 1982, CEO and chairman of JP Morgan Chase
- Grover Norquist, 1981, president of Americans for Tax Reform
- Henry Paulson, 1970, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, former CEO of Goldman Sachs
- Mitt Romney, 1975, former governor of Massachusetts, co-founder of Bain Capital
- Jeffrey Skilling, 1979, former CEO of Enron, convicted of securities fraud and insider trading
Cain observed that the men at HBS “look like people who expect to be in charge.... I have the feeling that if you asked one of them for driving directions, he’d greet you with a can-do smile and throw himself into the task of helping you to your destination — whether or not he knew the way.”
HBS alumni include George W. Bush, class of 1975, as well as:
- Jamie Dimon, 1982, CEO and chairman of JP Morgan Chase
- Grover Norquist, 1981, president of Americans for Tax Reform
- Henry Paulson, 1970, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, former CEO of Goldman Sachs
- Mitt Romney, 1975, former governor of Massachusetts, co-founder of Bain Capital
- Jeffrey Skilling, 1979, former CEO of Enron, convicted of securities fraud and insider trading
For some apparent reason, this article reminded me of religion. Why you ask? I'll share: there's not one shred of evidence for any of the thousands of gods trotted out since the beginning of recorded history. None. Nil. Nix. Zero. Zilch. History shows that society soon will grow tired of the present gods and likely invent new kinder, gentler ones.
For me, religion is like the men at Harvard Business School: It's a man (it's always a man) sporting a confident can-do smile while giving someone driving directions to a place that--not only he doesn't know how to get to--but doesn't even exist.
The trick, according to HBS, is to speak with conviction. They forgot to mention that one should try to keep a straight face too.
What is it about business philosophy that makes it unsurprising to me that they reject nuance? I mean, sure, most businesspeople are good, caring, moral, ethical, loving people genuinely out to provide for their families and/or provide a legitimate service to the world. But the business mindset is just absurd to me so often. I can't bear to think of everything in those terms, which say "Speak with conviction. Even if you believe something only 55 percent, say it as if you believe it 100 percent." I can't buy that, if you'll pardon the pun.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as I see Mitt Romney on the list, and by proxy I see Bain Capital on the list, I cannot resist this tirade:
Bain Capital destroys industries. They did it by turning ClearChannel into the only viable form in the radio business, and god knows they did it by turning Guitar Center into the monstrosity that it is today, having laid waste completely to the B&M music retail industry. And I can't think of Guitar Center without thinking about this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDF_8-21SUQ
As for the connection to religion, I have so many reasons why I simply must agree--certainly not the least of which is how, from an insider's perspective, religions are so often run exactly like a business.
So many churches are just blatantly selling themselves, just blatantly grabbing greedily at the guts of the God-fearing and demanding ungodly denominations of dinero for great salvation from eternal damnation.
Isn't Jesus supposed to come in and start flipping over some fucking tables at this point?
FQ: What does "HBS" really abbreviate? What would Harry Frankfurt say?
ReplyDeleteAnswer: https://athens.indymedia.org/local/webcast/uploads/frankfurt__harry_-_on_bullshit.pdf
Ha! Acronymic humor notwithstanding, Frankfurt's exposition of correctness v. sincerity focuses the light of reality on the epistemological foundations of faith-based knowledge and sincerely held beliefs. HBS (pre-reappropriation) takes Bullshit ™ to a completely different level. Now I feel compelled to test this theory.
ReplyDeleteSo, during the next few weeks of class, I may spout out random, sincere ontological statements (the term "proposition" carries a connotation that the statement is conditional, and that undermines certainty) about things that I declare to be extant--e.g., "Monads are real, the Form of the Good exists, Allah is great, Jesus saves, etc.
I'm going to make these statements with the confidence, countenance, and posture of a Harvard Business School grad. The test will be if the class finds my statements more believable, or if the statements just come off like Ron Burgundy in Anchor Man.
Then again, I'm not sure if Harry Frankfurt would notice any discernible difference between the two.
It's still worth a try. BIGFOOT EXISTS!!!!!!!! (See what I did there with all-caps and the exclamation marks. It's a start.)
Not only that, HE LOVES YOU!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhere do I apply for my honorary MBA?
It seems we could print one out onto the next available roll of paper.
DeleteHaha! Wonderful post. There is something to be said about rhetorical confidence. We live in a debate culture, and debate teaches you that all sides are reducible to an equal value, and that one need only to select a side and show rhetorical prowess to expound truth. It's a crude pragmatism.
ReplyDeleteI meet those types of people everyday. So much for walking softly and carrying a big stick.
ReplyDeleteYou gotta love the vacuous-driving-directions analogy. That summed it up for me.
ReplyDeleteI think there's a balance between being confident in your position without being assured of it 100% (which is necessary to do in everyday life), and masking your real concerns and reservations with rhetorical confidence, which is what the OP seems to encourage. I personally find it very hard to dialogue with people when they can simply play the skeptic ("Well, how do you know THAT? And THAT?") without contributing any positive arguments for their own position. That leaves me doing all of the heavy-lifting, all to no avail when it's pointed out that I have 90-95% certainty on the issue (If we're honest with ourselves, most of our knowledge-claims at most fall in this range) and am required to prove that remaining 5-10% RIGHT THEN, or the 90-95% becomes moot.
ReplyDeleteAs well, Dean, I am curious as to what you would consider a "shred of evidence" for any god(s)/goddess(es) in history. An example of a realistic historical find would be helpful.