Reflections on the nature of society, some rules in it, and its influence on an individual are deep-rooted in the sociological science. However, regulation appears to an integral part of any community and organization, and each person has to cope with it. The methods are various, and the results depend on a particular personality and moralities. Barry Schwartz expresses his views on this account and draws attention to the negative effect of incentives. His opinion may also be compared to the giants of sociology who are Georg Simmel and George Herbert Mead. This way, the purpose of this paper is to analyze and describe the speech of Barry Schwartz and outline the connection to Georg Simmel and George Hervert Mead’s theories in the context of this issue.
A description of the video
A professor from Swarthmore College, Barry Schwartz, presents his opinion on the topic of ethics in modern society in his speech “Our Loss of Wisdom”. He contrasts the morals and rules and claims that various forms of regulations are not as effective as perceived comprehensively at the moment of hardship and disasters. The professor highlights that the beneficial consequence is only the short term (TED-Ed 2013). The reliance on rules and incentive results in a blasé attitude towards happening and inhibits a person from reacting correctly and wisely to the situation, and occasionally, the regulation does not appear sufficient. Such a system discourages individuals from sticking to moral drives, and Barry Schwartz states that it makes humanity participate in the war on wisdom.
Therefore, the speaker emphasizes the significance of wisdom, especially in present-day developments. In order to support his argument, he mentions Aristotle’s claim, “practical wisdom is the combination of moral will and moral skill” (TED-Ed 2013, 3:45). Barry Schwartz compares a wise person to a jazz musician, who is free to adjust, “a wise person knows when and how to make the exception to every rule and knows how to improvise” (TED-Ed 2013, 3:30). He also draws a specular example for his statements, for instance, observing the list of duties of hospital janitors. It implies such activities as mopping and vacuuming the floor, cleaning toilets, but there is no reference to interaction with human beings. However, janitors participate in supplying patients with high-quality medical care not to a lesser extent.
This way, it is possible to highlight the core ideas of the professor. It is essential to pay more attention to ethics and the moral part of communication between individuals. Incentives and rules are not as beneficial as they are intended, as they result in insufficient reflection on the situation. He supports Barak Obama’s opinion that virtue is an integral part of each activity and the most efficient solution for the majority of situations.
Connections to Georg Simmel’s theories
Georg Simmel is a German scientist, who contributed to the development of sociology significantly. Although his studies were established at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the views of Barry Schwartz have specific connections to his theories and are worth being observed through the German sociologist’s lens. He addresses the topic of individuality and duality in his theories, which can propose a new perspective for the aforementioned issue. According to Georg Simmel, the latter has a significant influence on individuality (Appelrouth and Edles 2016). It can exist and be explained by belonging to a particular group, and maintaining this characteristic depends on the extent of engulfing in it. It should be highlighted that the acceptance of a community result in adjusting to specific rules and incentives. The interaction is impossible without considering this aspect.
In addition, the sociologist claims that there is no self, which can be own. The influence of society is inevitable, and the formation of personality necessarily contains a wide range of aspects, which have been accepted due to social regulation. They may have positive consequences too, for instance, as Georg Simmel mentions, modern societies supply people a possibility to develop their specific talents and interests. However, the researcher highlights the disadvantages too, for instance, the aforementioned fact contributes to declining the human spirit. This way, the nature of belonging to society and rules in it are ambivalent, and that may lead both to the success of an individual or failure.
Connections to George Herbert mead’s theories
Other theories, which belong to an American sociologist George Herbert Mead, can also be applied to the case of the aforementioned video. The scientist reflects on a wide range of topics, such as self-control, mind, society, and self. The mutual influence of an individual covered by them and society can stimulate listeners of Barry Schwartz to reconsider the issue of regulation. George Herbert Mead states that during the conversation a person tends to accept the attitude of the partner, which he imagines, and respond to his or her potential action (Appelrouth and Edles 2016). The base of communication implies shaping the phrases and actions to the imagined responses.
Another sociologist’s view of society addresses the individuality and its limitation. He reckons, “social control, so far from tending to crush out the human individual or to obliterate his self-conscious individuality, is, on the contrary, actually constitutive of and inextricably associated with that individuality” (Appelrouth and Edles 2016, p. 78). This way, it may be concluded that various rules and incentives are intended to determine social interactions in accordance with the potential responses. They are beneficial for protecting personal borders and establishing nonviolent communication between individuals. It is also worth mentioning that there is no evidence in Mead’s theories whether he might have need totally opposed to Barry Schwartz’s statements or not. It is apparent that he supports some forms of regulations, as they result in the mutual development of both individuals and society. They are an obligatory part of the cooperation, and its change may support the progress of humanity.
Conclusion
In summary, all the researchers present persuasive insights into the place of regulation in the life of a person. Although their opinions differ to some extent, the possible solution may exist in the combination of the theories. It is undeniable that rules and incentives guarantee the belonging to the society and the nonviolent behavior of individuals. In addition, they appear to be helpful for achieving specific goals, which may be important to some communities, as they lead to structuring the actions of a huge group of people. However, they relieve the responsibility to elaborate their own correct way to cope with a particular task and stimulate individuals to obey the rules without adjusting to the specialties of situations. Therefore, it is essential both to accept some forms of regulations and reflect on the happening. This way, the level of unconscious obeyance may be minimized.
References
Appelrouth, Scott, and Laura Desfor Edles. 2016. Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory. Los Angeles, Calif.: SAGE.
TED-Ed. 2013. “Our Loss of Wisdom – Barry Schwartz.” You-Tube website. Web.