I would like to take this wonderful blogging opportunity to
expound a little more on the question we all addressed in our presentations
this week. Do ideas or interests carry
more weight? After ruminating on this
topic for the last few days, I think, personally, interests are more important
than ideas overall, specifically on an individual level; however, I don’t necessarily disagree with Goldstein and
Keohane that ideas also move the world and can be used to explain human actions.
The fact that ideas help shape and form our interests is
clear. Ideas are the broad brushstrokes
of life that help people identify their place in the world. But lately, it seems that more and more
people are questioning, if not abandoning these ideas they were socialized into
(as Professor Jackson mentions in his lecture).
Why is this? Since, as Dan
mentions in his blog, there is no scientific theory or mathematical equation to
help us determine the answer, I propose that the human element is a work. Humans have a tendency to e predictably
irrational, not always following the rational path laid out for them (as has
been discussed in my economics class this semester) and this plays into
interest development. As ideas are
influencing individuals, something inside them say, “whoah, wait a second,
what?” and then “is there an alternative?”, “what about x, y, and z?”. And then bam! Interest!
Interests are what move people to action. Because it takes longer to develop an
interest, the interest becomes more deeply rooted, and people tend to feel more
strongly about them. Those limiting
environmental factors Professor Jackson talks about provide stimulating opposition
to really test their preferences. And
thus, I believe that interest are often more important than ideas because in
order to have an interest, one has to put more thought into beliefs and
external circumstances to really search out their answers.
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