["Gerascophobia" is derived from the Greek 'geras' (old age) and 'phobos' (fear).]
[The] child is full of a sort of an eager expectancy. The whole world is a weird, strange place, and as a result the child is trying to ‘complete’ all the time. When he sees a bee flying into a flower for the first time, he’s watching with absolute fascination to see what will happen. So he’s placing a mental space, as it were, around it; he knows that act is not complete and he’s waiting to see what happens.
I think the real trouble with us is that the moment we get tired, particularly as we get older, the mind simply closes down and suddenly you see the present moment as self-complete. You feel, in a sense, that ‘there it is: I don’t have to add anything to it at all,’ and we close up that mental space which opens as soon as you set out on holiday. You know how it is, that sort of mental space of expecting something interesting to happen.” – Colin Wilson, “Powers of Mind and Will”
One way I resist “completion” is to remember how ignorant I am. In spite of all my explorations, studies and experiences, there’s still so much left. I’ve met more than a few people who adopt a “completist” orientation to life, and I typically find them rather boring and superficial. In order to have a complexified, “deep” outlook, we might do well to recognize and account for the gaps in our understanding. Every day presents us with at least a few opportunities to engage the world with “absolute fascination”, but we’re often too busy to take the time to bother.
IMO, adopting a “completist” orientation has many negative effects – both on and through the operant. Having adopted this worldview, we allow less opportunity for learning and negate the experience of authentic joy. As a result, we might become sadistic and take pleasure in the “incompletion” of others. Take, for example, the curmudgeon who thinks they know what they need to know and actively seeks conflict with others. How likely is it that such an individual would be able to step outside their persona and learn with humility? As a result, how many learning opportunities might such a person ‘miss’? How might this affect subsequent opportunities for learning?
Disagreement and a “completist” orientation may not be antithetical to learning, but humility may be necessary for maintaining “absolute fascination”.
Additional Rabbit Holes -
Tags: conflict, diatribes, philosophy, progress, Provocations, psychology, quotations
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