In Praise of Generalities, Hypocrisy, and Vicarious Experience

  In general, most folks think generalities aren’t reliable, hypocrisy is deplorable and vicarious experience is never as good as hands-on experience.

         Wait a minute! Isn’t that first sentence a generality? Yes, it is. Even so, do you think it’s

a reliable statement? I think most people would – another generality.

          Generalities are overviews of whatever is being generalized. Specifics are not useful until they’re recognized as part of a pattern. A pattern of similar, yet, disparate events produces the possibility of predictability. Specifics tell us about one time, one place. and nothing more.

A soldier in the thick of battle will know less about the course of the battle than the General, who is miles away at Command Headquarters.

          There are exceptions to everything. So what? Generalities are generally useful.

Exceptions are not.

          OK. Maybe generalities aren’t so bad, but what can possibly be praiseworthy about hypocrisy?

          Not much. Hypocrites proclaim one thing, while practicing another. There is only one small good in such despicable behavior – The lying. By lying about their behavior, they at least tacitly, acknowledge that they know they’re behaving badly. Wouldn’t it be far worse if they started bragging about their dirty deeds? What kind of example would that set? In this back-handed way hypocrisy affirms the value of honesty.

          Francois de La Rochefoucauld famously said: “Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue”.  It’s not much, but It’s something.

          What could possibly be better than first-hand experience: second-hand experience.

          Second-hand experience - experience at a remove - experience gained from any source other than directly, has many advantages. The most obvious being that it is not necessary to put your fingers in a flame to know that fire will burn you. Generations of numskulls have done all the research for you. Without the benefit of vicarious experiences, like reading, we would all be compelled to repeat failure and success over, and over, endlessly. Vicarious experiences allow us to learn without making long trips, or risking life and limb, and without wasting time on trial and error.

          I once had a conversation with a man who had traveled extensively. He spoke of a trip

he had recently made to England. I asked him if he had visited the city of Bath, particularly the ancient Roman baths that give the city its’ name. He had. We chatted for a while on that topic. After a time, he asked when I had visited England. 

          I told him I had never been there. 

          But I had read about it.

By K. L. Shipley

Website: https://www.eclecticessays