Session 7 ('Virtual') - Face and Politeness (9 October 2009)

To be honest I found it a bit difficult to distinguish between the different types of maxims at first (tact, generosity, approbation, modesty, agreement, sympathy), but quickly realised that it was because, despite the ‘official’ linguistic differences, they all have the common, fundamental quality of undervaluing or denigrating the speaker, and elevating or 'empowering' the receiver. Since I like to play Devil’s Advocate (i.e. am a big jerk), I then wondered cynically: is that basic quality the core of all social interaction, and is it, paradoxically, only valued because most of us are highly self-centred beings? After all, a ‘nice’ or ‘wonderful’ person (as viewed by others) is almost always one who ‘gives of him/herself’, ‘always thinks of others’, ‘is not afraid to laugh at him/herself’, [insert further 20 000 clichés here]. In other words, a person who ‘weakens’ him/herself to make others ‘stronger’, something that would appeal to our basic survival instinct. If every single person were as humble, generous and self-sacrificing as that, what would happen? Would human progress grind to a halt since everyone would be giving and receiving equally, thus maintaining a comfortable equilibrium? Would such values cease to be so highly admired since everyone had them, thus leading to the valuing of ‘negative’ traits like selfishness, individualism, egotism, vanity, megalomania etc. (since they do have positive aspects, after all)? Although we probably don’t need to worry about such things since hell will freeze over before the above scenario occurs (in fact, there won’t be a need for hell at all if it does).

Seem to have gone off on a little tangent, so to make this relevant: I think all the other blogs on this course are Miraculous Masterpieces, evidence of the Divine Will on Earth, while this one is but a miserable, insipid attempt at imitating their coruscating perfection. How’s that for approbation and modesty?