Various experiences have armed me with a critique of contemporary society. For example studying anthropology. I sometimes write my own essays and critiques drawn from my own wide reading.
Lots of people are making similar or overlapping critiques. It sometimes gets a bit confused. I sometimes wonder if another degree would help me clarify or confuse things further?
A recent podcast I listened to about how the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual in American psychiatry is put together made me doubt whether social sciences could be trusted at all. Even hard sciences have a question mark with the idea of the observer affecting the observed. Yet on a certain level some of our technologies seem to work along the lines of classical or Newtonian physics.
I think the idea of working in academia is to push back the frontiers of knowledge. It can also alienate us further from an ordinary understanding of life. Also isn’t there lots of research that simply is never acted upon. Or research which is contested heavily, such as Marxist economics.
Do I have the resources to do more study? At this stage in life I ought to be earning money. Yet plenty of people combine work and study. Also do I have the energy?
I have a lot of ideas but I find few people around me are on the same page, Maybe its still worth spinning my wheels?
Right now I am really doubting the supposed scientific nature of anthropology. Is it anymore than travellers tales? Scientism is not everything either.
I feel interested in systems theory but I really have no-one to discuss such things with. Only if I pay money to do a course can I find people to discuss theses things and even then its often not satisfying.
I enjoyed reading this note, Liam. It is an interesting set of thoughts, throwing out different but connected ideas to get yourself thinking, but the post also gives the reader things to think about as well. They and you can pick up on the ones that they like or are interested in. Thanks.