“If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise.”
This aphorism from William Blake, amongst other things, supports the notion that to be playful, without the fear of error, is an important condition for learning.
Innocence and curiosity, rather than foolishness, are the qualities which make possible the astonishing development of children in their early years, but long before they have acquired what Blake might have considered wisdom, they also develop a self awareness which becomes an obstacle to achieving this goal. It is the great tragedy of our education system that it so often consolidates rather than resolves this learning paralysis. Clowning and foolishness are perhaps one way in which, as adults, we try to recover some of what has been lost.
As I observe Donald Trump in his evolving and erratic commentary on the coronavirus crisis, and his extraordinary ability to disregard his pronouncements of the previous day, or hour, or minute, and his readiness to express the truth as he sees it in this moment only, I strain to see any capacity for wisdom that could be the culmination of such foolishness. We can of course hope.
There is something of a vogue in “wackiness” amongst the leaders of the World’s nations at the moment, with President Duarte of the Phillipines an example that goes well beyond clowning into a much darker territory of unpredictable and extreme conduct. Our own Boris Johnson, who I am pleased to see recovering from his brush with the worst that coronavirus has to offer, is an example from the more innocent end of this spectrum. He has often been disparaged as a “clown” and a “buffoon”, but these are titles which, as Mayor of London, he embraced with relish. It is already clear that he does understand the need for a more sober demeanour in this moment of crisis and that he can do passable “gravitas” when called upon, and yet, there has remained a lingering doubt that he actually has gravitas. Perhaps, now as he emerges from the stark world of the ICU, we shall seem something more reflective and more fitting in his public manner.
UK Government special adviser, Dominic Cummings, caused something of a stir when he called for “weirdos and misfits” to apply for jobs in the Government team. “We need some true wild cards, artists, people who never went to university.” Cumming’s description of the type for which he was searching contains both positive and negative elements, but the central idea of an individual unconstrained by convention is clear; a person unafraid of being thought foolish. The risky nature of Cumming’s enterprise was laid bare by the controversy arising from his employment of Andrew Sabiskey, who it emerged had made previous statements linking intelligence to race. Sabiskey resigned.
In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the fool is a character who exists within the inner circle of the court but who is able through comedy and sarcasm to point out the faults of the King. The survival of such a jester depends on their clear lack of ambition to be anything other than who they are.
Those unconstrained by the usual conventions which regulate lives, we call eccentric, but like the fool in King Lear, eccentrics do not in general compete for power. In challenging times, they may have something critical to offer, an ability to point the way out of the maze in which we have all become trapped.
No one suggests however that the fool should be put in charge.
Sources
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jan/02/dominic-cummings-calls-for-weirdos-and-misfits-for-no-10-jobs
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/feb/18/no-10-under-pressure-andrew-sabisky-hired-cummings-race-intelligence
About Stephen Shellard
I am a retired College lecturer, having worked originally in supported programmes but latterly having taught social science subjects, Psychology and Politics, though my degree was in Sociology. I am from Newry in Northern Ireland, but now live in Dumfries in South West Scotland. https://carruchan.wordpress.com/about/
Carruchan
If the fool would persist in his folly …
“If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise.”
This aphorism from William Blake, amongst other things, supports the notion that to be playful, without the fear of error, is an important condition for learning.
Innocence and curiosity, rather than foolishness, are the qualities which make possible the astonishing development of children in their early years, but long before they have acquired what Blake might have considered wisdom, they also develop a self awareness which becomes an obstacle to achieving this goal. It is the great tragedy of our education system that it so often consolidates rather than resolves this learning paralysis. Clowning and foolishness are perhaps one way in which, as adults, we try to recover some of what has been lost.
As I observe Donald Trump in his evolving and erratic commentary on the coronavirus crisis, and his extraordinary ability to disregard his pronouncements of the previous day, or hour, or minute, and his readiness to express the truth as he sees it in this moment only, I strain to see any capacity for wisdom that could be the culmination of such foolishness. We can of course hope.
There is something of a vogue in “wackiness” amongst the leaders of the World’s nations at the moment, with President Duarte of the Phillipines an example that goes well beyond clowning into a much darker territory of unpredictable and extreme conduct. Our own Boris Johnson, who I am pleased to see recovering from his brush with the worst that coronavirus has to offer, is an example from the more innocent end of this spectrum. He has often been disparaged as a “clown” and a “buffoon”, but these are titles which, as Mayor of London, he embraced with relish. It is already clear that he does understand the need for a more sober demeanour in this moment of crisis and that he can do passable “gravitas” when called upon, and yet, there has remained a lingering doubt that he actually has gravitas. Perhaps, now as he emerges from the stark world of the ICU, we shall seem something more reflective and more fitting in his public manner.
UK Government special adviser, Dominic Cummings, caused something of a stir when he called for “weirdos and misfits” to apply for jobs in the Government team. “We need some true wild cards, artists, people who never went to university.” Cumming’s description of the type for which he was searching contains both positive and negative elements, but the central idea of an individual unconstrained by convention is clear; a person unafraid of being thought foolish. The risky nature of Cumming’s enterprise was laid bare by the controversy arising from his employment of Andrew Sabiskey, who it emerged had made previous statements linking intelligence to race. Sabiskey resigned.
In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the fool is a character who exists within the inner circle of the court but who is able through comedy and sarcasm to point out the faults of the King. The survival of such a jester depends on their clear lack of ambition to be anything other than who they are.
Those unconstrained by the usual conventions which regulate lives, we call eccentric, but like the fool in King Lear, eccentrics do not in general compete for power. In challenging times, they may have something critical to offer, an ability to point the way out of the maze in which we have all become trapped.
No one suggests however that the fool should be put in charge.
Sources
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/jan/02/dominic-cummings-calls-for-weirdos-and-misfits-for-no-10-jobs
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/feb/18/no-10-under-pressure-andrew-sabisky-hired-cummings-race-intelligence
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About Stephen Shellard
I am a retired College lecturer, having worked originally in supported programmes but latterly having taught social science subjects, Psychology and Politics, though my degree was in Sociology. I am from Newry in Northern Ireland, but now live in Dumfries in South West Scotland. https://carruchan.wordpress.com/about/