Terministic screens are to be understood and why they are so important as it relates to everyday life. What we all see in everyday life is only one view that is guided by many implications based on past experiences and others' experiences as well. How does one break free from this and what does that mean?
Looking at a news event on television, one would think that it is an unbiased and straightforward thing. However, as discussed in class involving the photographs from the Middle East, there is an underlying or even a plain view right in our faces. Seeing an image, you only think about the image itself and what is in it (the content). But, think about why the picture was taken, who's in it, what are the implications. All these things while looking at the photograph or news reel are only what one person perceives, and even so, it is what the photographer perceives or Fox News perceives.
Every event such as this is guided by implications and previous notions which cause every event or object like this to be a filter of what it truly is.
We must recognize what is outside of this and how does that effect the world around us. Race is a monumental example of how the world is viewed. Especially in today's society, there are opinions that have derived from previous stereotypes or opinions which are not really the true way to look at things.
If I am understanding this post correctly (and not just perceiving it through my terministic screen--excuse my Burke humor), than you are advocating for a higher level of thinking? Can we possibly override our terministic screens and the ones that surround the content we come in contact with by asking these questions (that you pose above).
ReplyDeleteI think to some extent it is possible to utilize self-awareness to see something almost accurately, rather than to simply based on our perceptions. However I don't know that it is possible to ever fully get away from our terministic screens, our personalized perception.
I would advocate that it seems easier to see through the terministic screens that are being applied by other forces (in the news example--fox) rather than escape our own biased screens. Having self-awareness and distancing ourselves from our own skewed perspective seems like a daunting task.
Honestly I am not sure if Burke would find it possible or not.
In your post you say that we need to recognize the world outside of our own which is true, but that is easier said than done. It would be helpful if you identified some way of achieving it. You make breaking free from terministic screens seem like it is all a matter of widening our scope to encompass more of the world around us, but is awareness all that it would take to be able to look beyond our own personal terministic screens? Also is this shift toward a broader world view one that is necessary on an individual level or is it needed more broadly or globally?
ReplyDeleteThe detail about the news is very interesting given how much importance we place on entertainment value as a culture. Infotainment is just as important as actual news now. Recently though we have become more aware of how the news is shaped and served to us to evoke certain things rather than just giving us facts. The Brian Williams scandal sparked other inquiries into other people and made the audience more aware of the possible subjectivity in the news and media.