Contextualisation - A New Way Of Seeing The World

The world is an extremely complex place to live in, especially now and we, as humans, have a natural yearning to make sense of it, but what if this is hurting more than it’s helping. Enter Contextualisation.

This idea of looking at the world with more context has been renting out a room in my brain for a while now and it has altered the way in which I think, act and speak. I’ve come to realise that the world is a sticky place and that nothing, and I mean nothing is simple. Every idea, political stance, religion, food, drink, item of clothing, company, country, government etc. is not as simple as '“this is wrong and that is right” or “this is good and this is bad.” Our natural train of thought dictates that we think in this manner. But what if you could change this way of being so that you can accept that everything is complicated and you don’t have all the answers and most importantly, no one else does either? The theory of Complexity already exists from a scientific viewpoint but this theory is more from a sociological, psychological and philosophical standpoint.

We, as a species have been trying to make sense of the world we live in since the dawn of humans. To do this, we have created theories and ideas to simplify the world through religion. No one can see and understand everything we see, for instance, if you look at an object, you can see the object sure, but you can’t see where it came from, who else has touched it, it’s inner matter or the molecules that make it. This can be a worrying thought to have; “I actually know next to nothing.” So how do we comfort ourselves and shield ourselves from these facts? Create stories that are easily palatable and understandable so we can cope with the stresses of the world, that’s religion.

Now, I’m not saying religions are purely harmful to us or that eradicating them is the way to solve the world’s problems and end war, that would be the opposite of what I’m trying to explore here. I’ll write an article on religion later which will dive deeper into the how we can view religion for everyone from those that hate the idea of religion to committed religious people. But religion is just one topic. I’m going to uncover a mass of topics that we can view in a more wide ranging and open-minded way so that we can understand each other better and avoid shutting people down for one point of view, i.e. “you’re a Tory so you are scum” or “you’re a snowflake so you’re too fragile.” It’s not that simple. The idea of Contextualising the world is to be a better thinker and listener, not a better speaker.

This will challenge you to at least slightly take a step away from your identity groups (groups you’re attached to, i.e. gender, race, political stance, sexuality) and view ideas with more objectivity and less confirmation bias.

Put simply, we look for information that confirms what we already believe, which is why people on the left will generally read The New York Times and those on the right will generally watch Fox News. This is a problem that will continue to further polarize us in the UK and the US unless we start to view ideas and people with more context and view those we don’t agree with with more empathy and respect.

This way of viewing the world could also aid in your mental health.

Granted, this quote is from an individual with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder however, the point can be attributed to general mental health issues that anyone can develop like anxiety and depression. Those with mental health issues can develop fears surrounding change, chaos and uncontrollable situations, but if we were able to learn to view the world with more context and accept before we develop these issues that the world is very uncontrollable and complex, perhaps we can ease the suffering or avoid it all together.

This is the start of a new article series that will dive into a variety of subjects. It is a companion to my podcast In Context, which allows experts more time to allow them to provide a deeper context in their chosen field, whereas this article series will explore ways you can think with deeper context so that the ideas you hear on TV or from your friends don’t trigger you to react but allows you to listen and think about each idea with an open-mind and to realise that there’s no such thing as a simple idea. It’s not as simple as “All Lives Matter” or “Being Vegan is Better for the Environment” or “Democracy is Best for Everyone” or “Trans Women Aren’t Women” or “That’s Fat Shaming,” these are topics we argue excessively over now but if we were all able to view these with a more open-mind, accept we know very little about these subjects and understand that these are complex issues, not simple ones, maybe we’d become more unified rather than more divided. Hopefully, I’ll be able to cover all these subjects that are polarizing and alienating us so that common ground can be found. If you have any suggestions of topics you’d like me to cover, let me know via social media (links below).

This series will teach you the art of Contextualisation.

Bibliography

Binstock, M., n.d. Obsessed With Control. [online] Adaa.org. Available at: <https://adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/personal-stories/obsessed-control>.

Green, D., 2016. Simple Thinking In A Complex World Is A Recipe For Disaster. [online] The Conversation. Available at: <https://theconversation.com/simple-thinking-in-a-complex-world-is-a-recipe-for-disaster-69718>.

K. Markman, T. Proulx, & M. Linberg (Eds.). The Psychology of Meaning. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation Bias: A Ubiquitous Phenomenon in Many Guises. Review of General Psychology, 2(2), 175–220. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.2.2.175