Perfect Information Versus Denial
Economists believe that when a human being makes a choice, they will make the decision that leads to the greatest utility. They will do this provided they have perfect information to make that choice. Of course, people do not have perfect information. Still, in general, the better the information, the better the decision.
In the first act of Hamlet, Polonius (originally played by Shakespeare himself) gives his son a great deal of advice. He tells him to listen to people, to keep his friends close and to stay out of fights. He tells him to be familiar, yet not vulgar, and to shy away from borrowing and lending. Ultimately, though, he recommends this:
This above all; to thine own self be true:
And it must follow, as the Night the Day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
To Polonius, and perhaps Shakespeare, the most important thing in the world is to be honest to oneself and, in turn, to be honest to everyone else.
Who’s there?
This starts the play. It is also its subject. Hamlet and Claudius, spend the five acts lying to everyone and themselves about everything. Hamlet pretends to be crazy in hopes to reveal Claudius’ murder. A cloud of chaos and misunderstanding emerges resulting in lamentable murders and suicides.
What is amazing about Hamlet is that he lies so often to himself. Hamlet has several opportunities to kill Claudius, but makes up excuse after excuse to avoid doing so. Had Hamlet been honest with himself, he could have killed Claudius early and survived. Or, if Hamlet had been honest with himself, he could have embraced the fact that he did not want to kill Claudius and, again, survived.
Hamlet, by lying to himself, created misinformation that affected him decisions. The decisions ended up being very poor.
Like Hamlet, the world is filled with people who lie to themselves about the situation they exist in with regard to their job, their relationships and their life. This delusion is meant to create happiness and tranquility, but it must interfere with one’s ability to make choices. Reality is resilient and delusions often threaten to breaking down. People work hard to continue the delusion and escape reality with diversions. Bad decisions continue on until a bloody fifth act (i.e. nervous breakdown, midlife crisis).
In the first act of Hamlet, Polonius (originally played by Shakespeare himself) gives his son a great deal of advice. He tells him to listen to people, to keep his friends close and to stay out of fights. He tells him to be familiar, yet not vulgar, and to shy away from borrowing and lending. Ultimately, though, he recommends this:
This above all; to thine own self be true:
And it must follow, as the Night the Day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
To Polonius, and perhaps Shakespeare, the most important thing in the world is to be honest to oneself and, in turn, to be honest to everyone else.
Who’s there?
This starts the play. It is also its subject. Hamlet and Claudius, spend the five acts lying to everyone and themselves about everything. Hamlet pretends to be crazy in hopes to reveal Claudius’ murder. A cloud of chaos and misunderstanding emerges resulting in lamentable murders and suicides.
What is amazing about Hamlet is that he lies so often to himself. Hamlet has several opportunities to kill Claudius, but makes up excuse after excuse to avoid doing so. Had Hamlet been honest with himself, he could have killed Claudius early and survived. Or, if Hamlet had been honest with himself, he could have embraced the fact that he did not want to kill Claudius and, again, survived.
Hamlet, by lying to himself, created misinformation that affected him decisions. The decisions ended up being very poor.
Like Hamlet, the world is filled with people who lie to themselves about the situation they exist in with regard to their job, their relationships and their life. This delusion is meant to create happiness and tranquility, but it must interfere with one’s ability to make choices. Reality is resilient and delusions often threaten to breaking down. People work hard to continue the delusion and escape reality with diversions. Bad decisions continue on until a bloody fifth act (i.e. nervous breakdown, midlife crisis).
posted by American Dilettante at
2:19 PM
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