From the Baseball to Jesus: Revisiting Social Necessity

    What do we control about our character? What is built in and what is learned? Answers to these questions have been attempted with the concepts of contingency and necessity, respectively referring to that which is dependent on prior factors versus what is a given fact at all times. We can attribute many of our defining personal traits to elements beyond our control that are not actually considered ‘necessary,’ such as ethnicity, height, etc. This definition leaves little room for traits of necessity, however.

    For the sake of extrapolation, I’m going to amend the definition of ‘necessity’ to include things that we are born with, and are out of our personal control. I mean this to include not only physical characteristics, but psychological influences as well. Are we born with the knowledge that the brightness of the sky is caused by a massive ball of gas, millions of miles away? No, but it is a fact we are given early on that we will never have to personally observe or certify by the time we die.

Let’s go further with these non-physical necessities of life for a bit. What about culture, religion? Does a diligent, earnest Mormon missionary ever have a decision to make regarding his faith? How about a Tibetan Buddhist monk, or Islamic extremist? While religious rebirths, rejections and revelations have certainly been prevalent in society for a long time, the fact of the matter is that with almost any culture deeply rooted in religious tradition, those beliefs are passed down indefinitely without being questioned. Certainly that must be an example of social necessity, when an outside force is required to incite substantial change in a generation?

 Source: commoncensus.org

     Wait a second… well, if that’s the case, what else does this definition of necessity apply to? Well, there’s no reason to look further than your favorite sports team (let's bypass college sports for now, my fellow Wolverines). As a New Yorker who’s been met with more than a few livid glares during my visits to Boston, it’s very clear to me that a genuine sense of vitriol has developed around a rivalry started by a sports-feud. A strong enough culture has come to surround this cherished pastime enough that real hatred and violence can result from that passion. This isn’t the kind of conflict where you pick a side based on your values and morals, though. What decides your allegiance is your place of birth.

   There are many other aspects that we consider social preferences, but are actually largely out of our control, as much as we believe them to be. Nationalism, politics, and possibly even things like musical taste are part of this group. The point is this: there is no way to be fully in control of one’s own outlook as long as he or she is raised among any social influence or biased environment. This is because these prejudices are introduced at such a young age that they are ingrained in our perception of everything that comes afterward, and cripples our ability to act or think objectively. Whether or not this is even an argument that should take place under the umbrella of ‘contingency’ vs. ‘necessity’ is uncertain. However, I think it’s a mature step in the development of one’s self-understanding to note that much of their worldview has been lopsided from the start.