Dear Editor,
Situated possibly somewhere deep within our internal circuitry is a perennial tendency to be like others – to replicate their behaviour, attitudes, style, etc. When done consciously this way of conducting oneself could be considered copying and should not be confused with its opposite and reciprocal form mirroring. Unlike copying, mirroring requires no conscious effort and is constantly relegated to the realm of the unconscious.
Our perpetual inclination toward this particular human characteristic of imitating has contributed to the preservation of cultures, values, customs, traditions and norms (for good or bad). Continuity of our complexity and different ways and modes of being are somewhat maintained by this propensity to simulate.
As suggestive and suspect as this article is to there being a biological basis for behaviour, it’s not intended to invalidate the role of nurture in imitative human behaviour, consequently hurling the classical argument of nature versus nurture through the window. Both the fields of social and natural sciences have provided abounding theories, explanations and possible causes beyond the scope of this article that certainly aid and enhance our understanding as to why we are creatures infatuated with being other than ourselves.
A credible source and authority on the concept of imitation is the Greek philosopher and thinker Aristotle. Aristotle’s system and train of thought on the idea of imitation bequeathed through the centuries is very much visible in the writings of contemporary thinkers and philosophers, supplying much needed intellectual fodder.
One can reasonably argue that as an idea there isn’t anything inherently wrong with the concept of imitation, it is entirely natural and human which when expounded upon usually invites questions such as: what are the range of human conduct and behaviours that make for effective imitation? What are the consequences that make for a good life? And who gets to decide? How do we go about evaluating, measuring and selecting the actions and habits of others that enhance the quality of our lives when we have been reduced to ideas, concepts, numbers and statistics in the modern political arena.
When the world is reduced to a series of signs and numbers standing in the place of raw flesh and blood, we are then processed through text and concepts that inhibit our ability to display and express our fundamental and shared humanness (the essence of what ought to be imitated).
How do we champion healthy progressive behaviour when there is a lack of moral imagination that makes deeply ethical actions seem like crime. At the heart of the discussion on imitation is not primarily its existence or its internal mechanism but a conscious inventorisation of habits that promote and are conducive to flourishing human behaviors worthy of being emulated.
One approach that can be adopted is that of the proverbial poet’s giant floating eyeball, hovering over Planet Earth covering and observing its physical and human landscapes. No judgements, just the poet’s pure description of what is.
One may begin to see striking similarities between the two scenes, thriving human communities may be conspicuously characterized by particular values, attitudes and habits, while the surrounding physical geography and other forms of life may very well enjoy the values and habits espoused by their human counterparts resulting in a harmonious coexistence.
How did we come to be the kind of people we are? We are not good at knowing who we are or why we are the way we are. We cannot say conclusively if there is a single overarching force dominating our very existence rendering us powerless to self-change. We don’t know whether we are consciously choosing to be the persons we aspire to be or there are forces outside of our control deluding us into believing we are the potters of our wheel. Our lives may very well not be the malleable piece of art we may think we have created and continue to shape.
Empirically through and with the help of the two domains of science: social and natural, we continue to make progress, albeit errors. Ceaselessly we persevere with our inquiries into ways of being that we hope will provide us with the joys, pleasures and purposes for living inclusively. We cannot say definitively if such a project is realisable, but we can choose to continue to hope and strive to bring about behaviours, habits, conduct, values, ethics and norms that move us closer to our shared humanness.
Orlando Patterson
