Why is dance beautiful? Answer: because it is unfree motion, because the whole profound meaning of dance lies precisely in absolute, esthetic subordination, in ideal unfreedom. And if it is true that our forebears abandoned themselves to dance at the most exalted moments of their lives (religious mysteries, military parades), it means only one thing: the instinct of unfreedom is organically inherent in man from time immemorial – Yevgeny Zamyatin in We
The quote above is from the book We which is billed as the first future dystopian novel (though there are actually some other contenders). The book explores the dichotomy between individual and group; at one end extolling the virtue of what it calls anti-freedom and at the other extreme showing the horror of losing one’s individuality. The question that occurred to me while reading the book was: Is anti-freedom truly the answer to unhappiness as the main character R extols? Some recent studies have shown a potentially causal relationship between death of brain cells and depression. This goes a long way to explain not just the debilitating sadness that is the hallmark of depression but to also explain the decreased senses of smell and taste experienced by depressed persons. When the brain experiences chronic stress, it shuts down trophic factor proteins. These proteins are responsible for creating new brain cells. "The mental illness occurs when these stress mechanisms in the brain spiral out of control," says Dr Duman, professor at Yale. The brain shuts down new cell creation and begins to atrophy. [1]
There is one theory that says our huge array of choices causes our chronic stress. (I just made myself nauseated squinting through an old list of links to find the psych study suggesting this and didn’t find it – no links for you lovely people today) Think about this anecdotally:
- How many people do you know who bounce around careers? One moment they’re in IT; the next year they’re working in forestry. Are they happy? Or is the repeated decision making bringing them down?
- How long did it take you to pick a major? Are you sure it was the right choice? How much anguish did you go through or are you going through now over that choice?
- What about those people you know in your life who have plans for what they’re going to be doing for the next 10 years? Are they happier because all of their choices are easily made?
The BBC posted a webpage last week inviting visitors to relate their most expensive mistake: What is your costliest mistake? There is a lot of sadness expressed in these entries over wrong choices. There are quite a few entries of “my first marriage.” If all of those people didn’t have a choice, would they have been so unhappy? Or would they accept life as it is presented to them?
Love choices seem to exact the highest emotional toll on people. But the concept of romantic love in Western culture is relatively new. It wasn’t until the 12th century in Europe that romantic love was seen as anything other than a weakness and character flaw. Today, romantic love is the basis of relationships and marriages. Instead of marrying for compatibility or stability, most marry because they are in love (the exception being those who still have their marriages arranged but these numbers are dwindling). The choice involved in marriage, therefore, is emotionally trying.
There is more information available now than one person can digest. Numerous scientific studies exist on health and diet, mental health and happiness. Imagine, now, a world in which scientific knowledge instead of personal choice governed our lives. Imagine never feeling regret over doing the wrong thing. In the book quoted above, We, R sees one of the secret police closely watching him and feels relief - feels that the man is his guardian angel keeping him from doing wrong.
Ten years ago, I took one of those career tests that said I would be good at/happiest doing investigative work. I actually pursued schooling in Criminal Justice, thinking I would become a detective. The tech boom happened and I realized I could make more money immediately than I would after 10 years as a detective so I jumped at the chance and quit school. I am currently doing investigative type work after 10 years of bouncing around careers. Imagine if we lived in a society that had placed me in the correct schooling and career to begin with based on good testing. (In this instance, the test should have also made note of my love of huge amounts of data and my ability to distinguish differences based on minute details to place me where I am today)
Imagine also a world that makes our marriage choices for us based on what would actually make a good marriage. Instead of determining when you are ready for children on your own, a system for determining this based on your physical and emotional states. A society that tested your body and determined the best diet and exercise for you rather than having to chase down studies and books only to test through trial and error. What about a world that knows when your body and brain are ready for retirement, whether it is sooner or later than others around you.
But who would control the control system? We’ve already seen the failure of a single-party system. Our technology is not yet at a level that could handle such a large system of anti-freedom. I guess we'll just have to muddle through, doing the best we can. Alas.
[1] http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/07/06/head_fake
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