Superficiality
Encyclopedia
'The principle of superficiality versus depth' has pervaded Western culture since at least the time of Plato
: 'the dialectic of truth and appearance,' as the surface image of the latter 'competes with what Plato designates for us beyond appearance as being the Idea'.
21stC urban parlance speaks of 'a barometer of shallowness...the scale of superficiality'.
sought to convince his debaters to turn from 'a life of superficiality, based on thoughtless acceptance of rhetorical and social convention, to a life of philosophy', focused on the underlying Ideas. For more than two millenia, there was in his wake a general acceptance that 'superficiality is the handmaiden of subjectivism, because both excuse the need for deeper critical thought'. The salon style of the Précieuses
might for a time affect 'a certain superficiality, a mania for treating serious topics lightheartedly'; but the prevailing consensus stood together to condemn for example 'the superficiality and vanity of social chatter' or 'the superficiality of fashion.
Since the mid-twentieth century, deconstruction
has increasingly sought to undo the depth/surface hierarchy - 'ironically recognises that superficiality is as deep as depth...the superficiality of depth'. The result has been to create the demand that 'intellectuals must stop legitimizing the notion that there is some "ultimate truth" behind appearances...in these "postmodern" years'.
s...depth is replaced by surface, or by multiple surfaces'. The process was well under way by the Nineties, 'when surface was depth', and in the new millennium has led to a state of 'hypervisibility...anything and everything is on view'. The result is to create 'the 21st century - the age of exposure' - 'the totalist world where there is a horror of inwardness; everything must be revealed'.
Proponents welcome the postmodern escape from 'immersion in a modern
binarism of surface and depth', permitting one to 'appreciate, perhaps for the first time, the endless potentialities of superficiality'. They view as inherently progressive the 'moment of recognition that breaks with the depths provided by historical time...forcing attention back to the surface activity of consciousness'.
Critics would object that the end-product is a world of 'laws without penalties, events without significance, a sun without shadows' - of surface without depth. They see 'the superficiality of modern culture' as a by-product of the false consciousness of global capitalism: 'we are necessarily bombarded by superficiality - superficial journalism, entertainment, diversions, thoughts and ideas' to preclude the emergence of any alternative.
, in defiance of the postmodern, tend to valorise depth over surface - to aim for 'change from the depths of oneself upwards into the superficies of one's social appearance'. Object relations theory
would 'proceed from surface to depth - analysing defence and resistance before content, ego before id'. Jungians
would highlight at the start of therapy 'the persona-restoring
phase, which is an effort to maintain superficiality' from later stages which would optimally see the client 'moving from artificiality, to deeper emotion, to contained, creative reflection'.
Fritz Perls
by contrast maintained that 'the simplicity of the Gestalt
approach is that we pay attention to the obvious, to the utmost surface. We don't delve into a region which we don't know anything about, into the so-called "unconscious"'. Arguably, at least, it is his position that has fostered the Freud Wars of late modernity
, in which 'the real object of attack - for which Freud is only a stalking-horse - is the very idea that humans have unconscious motivation'. Given a choice of surface or depth - 'Are we to see humans as having depth, layers of meaning which lie beneath the surface of their own understanding? Or are we to take ourselves as transparent to ourselves...to ignore the complexity, depth and darkness of human life?' - the postmodern bias is for superficiality.
considers that in everyday life 'processing is sometimes superficial but at other times goes into great depth': in the first case, people are often 'content with first impressions
and snap judgements, but sometimes we strive to understand others more deeply'. Just as 'in the ordinary course of life we take others at face-value', and use ideal type
s/stereotypes to guide our daily activities, so too groupthink
- 'a superficial reliance on consensus' - can preclude deeper investigation.
'The principle of superficial versus extensive processing operates when we decide how much thought to devote to understanding...we often make snap judgements when the stakes are low but give considerable thought to matters of importance'.
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
: 'the dialectic of truth and appearance,' as the surface image of the latter 'competes with what Plato designates for us beyond appearance as being the Idea'.
21stC urban parlance speaks of 'a barometer of shallowness...the scale of superficiality'.
Historical sketch
SocratesSocrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
sought to convince his debaters to turn from 'a life of superficiality, based on thoughtless acceptance of rhetorical and social convention, to a life of philosophy', focused on the underlying Ideas. For more than two millenia, there was in his wake a general acceptance that 'superficiality is the handmaiden of subjectivism, because both excuse the need for deeper critical thought'. The salon style of the Précieuses
Précieuses
The French literary style called préciosité arose in the 17th century from the lively conversations and playful word games of les précieuses , the witty and educated intellectual ladies who frequented the salon of Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet; her Chambre bleue offered a...
might for a time affect 'a certain superficiality, a mania for treating serious topics lightheartedly'; but the prevailing consensus stood together to condemn for example 'the superficiality and vanity of social chatter' or 'the superficiality of fashion.
Since the mid-twentieth century, deconstruction
Deconstruction
Deconstruction is a term introduced by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in his 1967 book Of Grammatology. Although he carefully avoided defining the term directly, he sought to apply Martin Heidegger's concept of Destruktion or Abbau, to textual reading...
has increasingly sought to undo the depth/surface hierarchy - 'ironically recognises that superficiality is as deep as depth...the superficiality of depth'. The result has been to create the demand that 'intellectuals must stop legitimizing the notion that there is some "ultimate truth" behind appearances...in these "postmodern" years'.
Postmodernism
As 'one fundamental feature of all the postmodernismPostmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
s...depth is replaced by surface, or by multiple surfaces'. The process was well under way by the Nineties, 'when surface was depth', and in the new millennium has led to a state of 'hypervisibility...anything and everything is on view'. The result is to create 'the 21st century - the age of exposure' - 'the totalist world where there is a horror of inwardness; everything must be revealed'.
Proponents welcome the postmodern escape from 'immersion in a modern
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
binarism of surface and depth', permitting one to 'appreciate, perhaps for the first time, the endless potentialities of superficiality'. They view as inherently progressive the 'moment of recognition that breaks with the depths provided by historical time...forcing attention back to the surface activity of consciousness'.
Critics would object that the end-product is a world of 'laws without penalties, events without significance, a sun without shadows' - of surface without depth. They see 'the superficiality of modern culture' as a by-product of the false consciousness of global capitalism: 'we are necessarily bombarded by superficiality - superficial journalism, entertainment, diversions, thoughts and ideas' to preclude the emergence of any alternative.
Therapy
Almost all the depth psychologiesDepth psychology
Historically, depth psychology, from a German term , was coined by Eugen Bleuler to refer to psychoanalytic approaches to therapy and research that take the unconscious into account. The term has come to refer to the ongoing development of theories and therapies pioneered by Pierre Janet, William...
, in defiance of the postmodern, tend to valorise depth over surface - to aim for 'change from the depths of oneself upwards into the superficies of one's social appearance'. Object relations theory
Object relations theory
Object relations theory is a psychodynamic theory within psychoanalytic psychology. The theory describes the process of developing a mind as one grows in relation to others in the environment....
would 'proceed from surface to depth - analysing defence and resistance before content, ego before id'. Jungians
Jung
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist, an influential thinker and the founder of analytical psychology.Jung may also refer to:* Jung * JUNG, Java Universal Network/Graph Framework-See also:...
would highlight at the start of therapy 'the persona-restoring
Persona (psychology)
The Persona, for Jung, was the social face the individual presented to the world - 'a kind of mask, designed on the one hand to make a definite impression upon others, and on the other to conceal the true nature of the individual'....
phase, which is an effort to maintain superficiality' from later stages which would optimally see the client 'moving from artificiality, to deeper emotion, to contained, creative reflection'.
Fritz Perls
Fritz Perls
Friedrich Salomon Perls , better known as Fritz Perls, was a noted German-born psychiatrist and psychotherapist of Jewish descent....
by contrast maintained that 'the simplicity of the Gestalt
Gestalt therapy
Gestalt therapy is an existential/experiential form of psychotherapy that emphasizes personal responsibility, and that focuses upon the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist-client relationship, the environmental and social contexts of a person's life, and the self-regulating...
approach is that we pay attention to the obvious, to the utmost surface. We don't delve into a region which we don't know anything about, into the so-called "unconscious"'. Arguably, at least, it is his position that has fostered the Freud Wars of late modernity
Late modernity
Late modernity is a term that has been used to describe the condition or state of some highly developed present day societies...
, in which 'the real object of attack - for which Freud is only a stalking-horse - is the very idea that humans have unconscious motivation'. Given a choice of surface or depth - 'Are we to see humans as having depth, layers of meaning which lie beneath the surface of their own understanding? Or are we to take ourselves as transparent to ourselves...to ignore the complexity, depth and darkness of human life?' - the postmodern bias is for superficiality.
Social processing
Social psychologySocial psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
considers that in everyday life 'processing is sometimes superficial but at other times goes into great depth': in the first case, people are often 'content with first impressions
First impression (psychology)
In psychology, a first impression is the event when one person first encounters another person and forms a mental image of that person. It can sometimes form an accurate representation of the person, depending on the observer and the person being observed....
and snap judgements, but sometimes we strive to understand others more deeply'. Just as 'in the ordinary course of life we take others at face-value', and use ideal type
Ideal type
Ideal type , also known as pure type, is a typological term most closely associated with antipositivist sociologist Max Weber . For Weber, the conduct of social science depends upon the construction of hypothetical concepts in the abstract...
s/stereotypes to guide our daily activities, so too groupthink
Groupthink
Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within groups of people. It is the mode of thinking that happens when the desire for harmony in a decision-making group overrides a realistic appraisal of alternatives. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without...
- 'a superficial reliance on consensus' - can preclude deeper investigation.
'The principle of superficial versus extensive processing operates when we decide how much thought to devote to understanding...we often make snap judgements when the stakes are low but give considerable thought to matters of importance'.
In the media
- Entertainer Bill HicksBill HicksWilliam Melvin "Bill" Hicks was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material largely consisted of general discussions about society, religion, politics, philosophy, and personal issues. Hicks' material was often controversial and steeped in dark comedy...
often criticized consumerismConsumerismConsumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
, superficiality, mediocrity, and banality within the media and popular culturePopular culturePopular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
, describing them as oppressive tools of the ruling class, meant to "keep people stupid and apathetic." - Aldous Huxley'sAldous HuxleyAldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
novel After Many a SummerAfter Many a SummerAfter Many a Summer is a novel by Aldous Huxley that tells the story of a Hollywood millionaire who fears his impending death; it was published in the United States as After Many a Summer Dies the Swan...
is his examination of American culture, particularly what he saw as its narcissismNarcissismNarcissism is a term with a wide range of meanings, depending on whether it is used to describe a central concept of psychoanalytic theory, a mental illness, a social or cultural problem, or simply a personality trait...
, superficiality, and obsession with youth.
See also
Further reading
- William HazlittWilliam HazlittWilliam Hazlitt was an English writer, remembered for his humanistic essays and literary criticism, and as a grammarian and philosopher. He is now considered one of the great critics and essayists of the English language, placed in the company of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. Yet his work is...
, "On Depth and Superficiality" in Selected Essays of William Hazlitt (2004) - Herbert MarcuseHerbert MarcuseHerbert Marcuse was a German Jewish philosopher, sociologist and political theorist, associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory...
, One-Dimensional Man (1964) - Remington NormanRemington NormanRemington Norman is a wine merchant and author who has written books on Burgundy and Rhone style wine. In 1984 he became a Master of wine. He is a two time winner of the Andre Simon Prize.-Biography:...
Sense & Semblance: An Anatomy of Superficiality in Modern Society (2007). Founthill. ISBN 9780955517600 - Sir Richard Winn Livingstone Superficiality in education 1957