I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say that is it really such a bad thing that we are constantly manipulated if at least we know and it are aware of it? For example, I feel like most days in class we joke about how we are manipulated by it and by Dr. J, but look how it has turned out: we are much more conscious and educated then when we came in. In this case, our inherent manipulation has actually been (arguably) a positive thing.
Even in the case of all the family manipulation we have discussed, though sometimes annoying and stressful, makes us work hard and driven. Maybe giving up a little free will is a good thing in the long run. Sometimes not; but I think we should be careful to assume that all manipulation is bad. I think it's absolutely important to realize you are being persuaded or manipulated, but sometimes that is ok.
Sometimes I even choose to ignore my manipulative sources. For example, we are condition to think that organic is good and everything else is bad, but honestly I would rather eat a perfect looking genetically modified (sorry!) apple, then the ones in commons that are mushed and have random black holes when you pick them up (I always get dirty looks when I put them back, but I'm not gonna eat that). I think it's important to recognize choices, whether being influenced or not and make a decision for ones self.
I think if we consciously give up free will, it is still a conscious decision, and therefore utilizing free will. So, deciding to give up free will is impossible. If we purposefully allow ourselves to be manipulated, is it still manipulation? Or are we simply recognizing the presence of these external sources and using them as reasons or excuses for certain behaviors?
ReplyDeleteI agree that these external forces and manipulations are not necessarily bad. We are motivated by our goals (whether we know exactly why those are our goals or not) and by other people. That is how this world works. And like you said, this class has made us really think about our place in it.