Philosophy in our daily life does not seem like a fun thing, and if it could we would keep it away from it. In fact, if we were to think about what we think and how we do it, we wouldn’t last even five minutes. Well then, understanding life through philosophy, in these times, would seem like a phenomenon that is hard to believe. However, there is good news for non-philosophy lovers: We philosophize all the time, just at an inappropriate speed or without an established order or paradigm.
And this is where we start from, in applying philosophy to our daily lives. Within it we can find a quite interesting current for some: structuralism.
Thinking with certain structures and knowing that there are multiple interrelated structures in the world helps to self-criticize our own actions, reflecting on the circumstances in which we make decisions.
The important thing to note about this current is that there is no central element that simply orders the other parts, that is, there is no governing backbone, but rather the system will function as a whole from the interactions of the set of parts.
And although we raise the idea of this particular application, it should be understood that structuralism can manifest itself in different fields and in different sciences, to study various phenomena from this perspective. It is a very useful current that brings useful solutions.
We can focus structuralism on the study of a book, for example, thus obtaining an analysis that would contemplate the different parts of said book, its forms of writing, its semantics and syntax, among other aspects.
What do you need
Beyond the abstract definitions that are presented, the important thing is how to put our structuralist philosophy into practice and, if it really helps to improve interpersonal relationships, make better decisions, achieve personal and/or professional objectives.
To start, it is essential:
- Generate self-awareness of our decisions: looking inward as a lifestyle.
- Understand that we are the consequence of each other’s decisions and our decisions imply decisions in others. That is, we place our decisions before and after another set of decisions.
- Find out if the justification for our behavior comes from reason or simply from our culture: Well, the analysis that is done will depend on it.
Instructions
To bring structuralism to our daily life we must start from a situation that requires making a decision. This can be, for example, helping our sick mother even though we have pending tasks at work.
Then, start doing a structural analysis, asking ourselves questions:
- Is it necessary to make a decision about this or if I leave it as it is, the circumstances will not get worse? It is necessary to ask this question because we will avoid thinking about a situation that, after all, is not relevant or we will not exert significant influence on it.
- Is it a decision for me to make or someone else to make it? It is very common to take charge of the decisions of others. It is not always clear when we should act and when not. It will be a matter of making a deep and necessary analysis.
- Do I know the whole problem or should I ask for help? It would not be correct to make a decision without sufficiently knowing the characteristics of the parts that make up the central problem. It is important to seek help if it is not possible to address it with our current knowledge.
- What decisions can I make that are within my reach? Once we fully understand the problem we are facing, we need to know what possibilities there are to address it. It may be a simple Yes/No, Do/Don’t statement, or it may require some degree of creativity to generate different alternatives.
- For each decision, what assumptions about my values are involved? Something important to take into account here is if I find myself in a situation in which, given my condition or position, I am prone to making mistakes, since the decision requires, for example, coldness, rationality, enthusiasm, intelligence, etc. It does not mean that I cannot make the decision even though I have a limitation, but it is important to know what I can face.
- Are there biases that even though I know there are other optimal decisions, I can’t make them? It is closely related to the previous question, it involves understanding if my values are going to make me make a non-optimal decision from the point of view of the results.
- What external circumstances are influencing my decision? It implies knowing where I stand. It is very typical of structuralism. There are decisions that cannot be made under some circumstances. Situations of economic and political crises, natural disasters, among others, will prevent making good decisions.
- Who will benefit or lose from my decision? How? Starting from the understanding of the situation, I can now predict what will happen when making one decision or another, with some degree of certainty that it can also be part of my objective. That is to say, I can choose a decision that, although it does not produce the expected effects, I am certain of what it will produce.
- What decisions, own or others, can be unleashed after my decision? The decision made will surely imply responses from third parties, which may limit or enhance the effects. It is a matter of making an exhaustive analysis of these possible decisions to know if I am in a beneficial situation or not.
- Once the decision was made, did I get the results I expected to have with it? The structures are dynamic, so the circumstances have changed once the decision you have reached has been made.
Based on the answers to these questions, we will understand how our thinking and that of others is structured, and we will reach a decision that takes into account all the parts of the structure that make up the problem.
In addition, this will open the way to more decisions, and these to more, and thus we will understand that the circle must be closed at some point.
Tips
One question remains to be clarified: the practice of structuralism is carried out daily in our lives. It is a practice that becomes a habit, so it can also hinder our lives. For this reason it is necessary:
- Determine if the decision to be made is worth structuring in the mind, since it is a decision without much impact, it is not worth systematizing the process.
- Knowing how to stop if in reality the decision is not one’s, but another’s, or if it is beyond our understanding.
- Establish a conclusion once the decision has been made, so we will know if it produced the effects we expected.
- Understand that the questions asked do not always have the same answers, because the structures can change over time, which necessarily leads to frequent rethinking.
- Understanding that other people may not share the structuralist idea, so that the reaction to our decisions by third parties will not be generated from the same process, may contain a certain degree of irrationality.
- Even if the decision does not achieve the expected effects, it does not mean that the results cannot be even better. And even if they were not, the learning process is based on error. Therefore, it is difficult to think that the process will not work from the results.
- Other people will not perceive the results in the same way that we do, because their cognitive structures are and develop in a different way.