Hello again,
I apologize for my time away from this blog (as well as my others). Over the past few months I have been extremely pre-occupied. I won't bore you with the details, but lets just say I was only sleeping about 3-4 hours per night. That being said, lets continue with what this blog was meant to do... philosophize!
During my brief stint as a pre-med student (which I am no longer) I began pondering about what necessity does to a person's psyche. One of my Facebook status updates in the past few months stated that "Necessity breeds the monster begotten in us all." I'd like to expand on that concept here. This is a post that has been long overdue for and has been postponed due to previous circumstances. Which, as the case may be, is very fitting, considering what you will read below.
What is Necessity: Two of the definitions found here in Webster's Dictionary depict necessity as "pressure of circumstance" and "physical or moral compulsion." These two are particularly interesting to me as they have several relevant factors to what I was thinking and feeling at the time that I was mulling over the psychological and philosophical implications of necessity.
Physical and Moral Compulsion: Here we will focus on the physical compulsion, though the moral compulsion would fit better in this blog, the physical compulsion is what is most relevant to my circumstances. As some of you may know, I am an personal trainer and competitive athlete. Diet and nutrition play a tremendous role in what I do both as a hobby and for income. A paper that I was working on as a pre-med student (though it was never revised to a final copy) focused on the neurological impact and function of the dietary macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fat). Most of the research centered around the effects that these nutrients have on neurotransmitter production. These neurotransmitters have direct effects on cognition and mood.
Prior to my fall enrollment in August of this year, at my last Jiu Jitsu tournament I weighed about 163 lbs at about 6% body fat. NECESSITY had its way of changing that. As a result of high stress levels and long hours body weight increased to ~170 lbs over the next couple months. This may not seem like a significant change, however, uncorrected is exactly the kind of problem that leads to long term obesity. What was the cause of this? I believe that the stress factor had a lot to do with it. It is not uncommon to hear someone talking about stress eating or emotional eating. This is not (always) an excuse for a lousy diet. Carbohydrates increase the level of Serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is often associated with positive emotions and can have a calming effect on the nervous system. Ever notice how when you're in a foul mood or exceptionally stressed you are not craving a lean steak and green vegetables, but rather a jelly doughnut and chocolate chip cookies? This is a possible explanation as to why.
Given the large amount of stress placed on my psyche via multiple jobs and full time enrollment as as student, the burden placed on my brain was immense. The solution? My body told me to eat things that (in spite of health and physique) would benefit my cognitive state and mood. (The weight gain should not be solely accredited to this, as I was not exercising nearly as much as before due to the time restraints of the previously stated obligations).
Pressure of Circumstance: This is where I really wanted to post in this blog. While the above story is also an example of a circumstance imposing pressure to do something out of the ordinary but out of "necessity", there is another direction I would like to go that better suits the intentions of this blog. I'd like to take a moment and ponder the thesis that I stated in the beginning of this post. "Necessity breeds the monster begotten in us all."
One of the things implied by that statement is that we are all, in a sense, monsters. That is that there is an insatiable, irrational, unpredictable, vulgar and savage creature begotten (born as part of, and not made from) within us. There are philosophers numerous and various that will assure you that human beings are inherently evil, ie: "monstrous", and are anything but "humane." Pessimism of the human condition is not what I am advocating here. However, whatever view you hold of the state of humanity, it would be intolerably ignorant to ignore the "monstrosities" that have shaped and molded bold society and humanity since their inception. It is certain, one must admit, that if humans are not innately monstrous than there is at the very least an innate possibility, perhaps propensity, for humans to act as if they were monsters.
Moving on to the other part of the thesis; does necessity cause this possibility to flourish? By definition it certainly increases this possibility. But there is a specific word used in the thesis, it is not increase, or enhance, or strengthen, but breed. Breeding is a type of artificial selection (to play on Darwin's Natural Selection theory). It is a forced outcome of offspring. With that in mind the ideas of this thesis should come together. Literally the thesis would state; "The pressure of circumstance forcibly propagates the inherent un-human characteristics and potential that is innate to everyone."
In short, the pressure of a particular circumstance may cause a person to act out of character. This is necessity's finest hour. This is where the irrational and emotional override all this is rational and possibly all that is "human." It should be noted that this does not have to be an impulsive situation. Necessity can play over a long period of time. The particular situation I am referring to in my own experience lasted about three months. If an example is needed, here is one that I find appeals to my humanistic side:
It has become common knowledge that smoking cigarettes increases a person's probability to develop cancer. The role of health care providers is to ensure the health and treatment of illness and injury of others. Yet, many doctors and nurses smoke cigarettes. Why? There is an extreme amount of stress associated with working in the healthcare industry. Cigarettes or binge drinking may be poor choices of emotional outlets, but they are crutches (normally used with a negative connotation) and coping mechanisms that provide temporary relief to a burdening situation. One could also use the example of a truck driver taking up the habit of smoking to A) keep him/her awake on long drives and/or B) so that he/she does not have to stop, sacrificing time and money, to eat or sleep
The other part of the thesis that needs to be addressed is the verb usage. I did not say that necessity can or may or will increase the probability of, I stated that it does. That is, the result is certain. I believe that on a long enough time span, our psyche will collapse and give into pressure (of whatever kind). There is simply not enough willpower or cognitive horsepower available to the psyche to sustain a long-term struggle. If that is the case, certain behavioral, social, and cognitive dysfunctions are sure to develop. Hence we subconsciously make a decision (at some point) in a matter of nanoseconds; weighing the benefits/risks of our "crutches" versus the undesirable outcome of whatever pressures we are facing. What is your crutch? Is a drug? Is it psychotherapy? Or is it simply exercise or hobby?
In summary, for better or worse, it seems apparent that necessity does (in fact) breed the monster begotten in us all.
As always,
Thank you for reading.
...and, I do not endorse, profit from, or receive benefits from any of the links provided within this post.
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