Critical article review
Charlottesville: The signature of our time – David Whyte
Summary
In this article, instigated by the occurrences at Charlotteville – David Whyte presents two viewpoints which initially seem to be in contradiction to each other but which co-exist – those of despair and hope. He talks about despair within the framework of the social, psychological, technological and environmental situation globally. He then goes on to discuss hope by comparing positive aspects of the world as it is now, compared to in the past.
Having set the scene for a duality of opposites in the world, he suggest that humankind has the ability to rise above the despair/hope duality to survive into the next century. He submits that one of the problems we as humans have had is our propensity to control by giving names to things and thereby imposing a certain amount of objectification or dismissal on them. The act of naming is described as being evil. He proposes that humankind’s survival depends not on “diminishing otherness”and this can be accomplished through a process of “unnaming”.
In the last part of the article, Mr Whyte turns his attention to the situation in the United States and suggests that the principles espoused by the American constitution are not reflected in reality. He continues with the discussion by drawing parallels with the uncertainties and immaturity of adolescence and, like the rest of the world, an amount of maturity is needed. We can rise above a biological predisposition for certain preferences. The time is now!
Psychological concepts discussed
| Concept | Discussion |
| despair | Despair because of the state the world is in |
| hope | Hope because things are improving and there is still the possibility to improve further |
| fear | Fear is mentioned together wwith prejudice as part of the despair of the world |
| prejudice | Related to the naming of differences |
| power | In the wrong , immature hands – can widen the gap between hope and despair in a negative way |
| Self-knowledge | What is required in this day and age |
| courage | What is needed to change the world from one of prejudice and fear |
| generosity | Part of the current world that contributes to hope |
| instinct | That which needs to be overcome to change the world |
| immaturity | Mr Whyte draws parallels with the immaturity of adolescence when discussing America and the rest of the world, indicating that maturity is needed |
| Self-delusion | Referring to the US not realising that its constitution is not as all-encompassing that it supposed |
| hatred | Life makes it easy to hate |
Related Psychological Concepts
The article had strong positive psychology overtones in that it projected the idea that people could change their instinctual negative reactions to ‘otherness’ as well as acquire self-knowledge. He twice mentions scientific evidence which points towards a positivist approach but is not borne out by the rest of the content of his article except where he discusses biological instincts which refers to the instinct theory of motivation. Developmental psychology is reflected in the references to adolescence.
Reflection
A beautifully written article (I wish I could write like that). It was not as negative as Ms. McIntyre’s article and was ‘gentler’ for want of a better word. I like the idea of “unnaming” that he suggest. It resonates with my view that people should not look at differences but rather similarities. By seeing how similar people are with you, you can more easily understand and accept them and see their humanity.
Letter to Mr Whyte
Dear Mr Whyte
Your article was beautifully written and very moving. I appreciated the positive and hopeful tone you set for the future of humankind but think giving more practical examples of how humankind might survive the current predicament they find themselves in. Having said that your statement that naming differences aggravates those differences and I fully agree with you that unnaming might be a solution to the discrimination we currently find in the world.
Kind regards
Christine Bothma