“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing,” Socrates said. This advice is disturbingly ironic considering that many people view Socrates as the founder of western philosophy.
Socrates’ belief was a product of the society that he lived in. In Ancient Greece, the common belief was that people did not possess creativity, but instead they had a literal “creative spirit” within the walls of any artist, philosopher or musician’s home, that spoke to them.
Therefore, when the person failed, the creative person was not at fault. Rather, their spirits took the blame. This concept of spirit has arisen in ancient culture across the world. In ancient Greece, it was called a “Damon,” and in the Igbo ethnicity residing in common day Nigeria, it was called your “chi.”
In ancient Rome, this “creative spirit” living within the walls of your home was called a “genius.”
In other words, humans have embraced the concept of creative spirits to dispel any liability of failure.
In a recent TED talk, Elizabeth Gilbert explained that “rational humanism” kicked in during the Renaissance. This meant the creative population got all the fame –or all the failure.
Gilbert’s speech speaks to how this ideas has sometimes led creative people to receive a reputation as depressed alcoholics: some artists feel that they continually don’t match up to the world’s standard of creativity.
Oscar Pistorius’ murder of his girlfriend is a similar reminder of this complex issue. I personally remember watching the Olympics, and gaining respect for his courage and stamina.
Although it is unclear of Pistorius’ motives, I believe that it is because we give too much credit to athletes like Pistouris. This makes it easier for them to develop narcissism. When this attitude is fostered, athletes can feel that they are above others — as they are already constantly told so.
Barry Bonds is another example of this. Although he had already reached success within major league baseball, he simply was unable to be the best. Due to his narcissism and inability to accept failure, I think he looked for a coping mechanism. This is similar to the alcoholism associated with many authors and their continuing feelings of hopelessness. Instead of alcohol,Bonds chose steroids.
In a study released by the Michigan Department of Education, it showed that 86 percent of people believed parents’ involvement directly corresponds to the child’s academic achievements.
As students, teachers and members of the Clayton community, we need to restrain ourselves in giving all the credit to one person in any realm of ability, because nothing is ever one person’s complete success. We must remember that obtaining success is a journey that involves parents, teachers, mentors, family, friends and many other conditions of life and environment.
Genius is a collective effort – never an individual journey.