A principle may be defined as a comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption which serves as a rule or code of conduct. As well, not always are these rules based on rationality – in accordance with logic and reason.
For example, consider an irrational principle of mine. Generally, I won’t visit the home of someone unless I’m first invited to do so. To unravel this rule, consider the following syllogisms:
Syllogism #1:
Form –
a is b. c is a. Therefore, c is b.
Example –
Unannounced visits are rude. Behaving as though I have an open invitation and surprising friends at their homes is an unannounced visit. Therefore, behaving as though I have an open invitation and surprising friends at their home is rude.
Syllogism #2:
Form –
If p, then q; p; therefore q.
Example –
If it’s rude to conduct unannounced visits, then I shouldn’t show up when not invited. It’s rude to conduct unannounced visits. Therefore, I shouldn’t show up when not invited.
Syllogism #1 establishes a seemingly logical argument for my moral and ethical stance. Here, morals consider what is good or bad, right or wrong, and so on and so forth while ethics – which are based on morals – serve as the rules by which I pledge to live.
Because I believe it’s inappropriate or rude to conduct unannounced visits, as though I have an open invitation to the homes of my friends, I determine that a rule by which I pledge to live relates to not surprising people in such a manner.
Building upon this principled stance, syllogism #2 takes the ethical rule a step further by creating a prescription for my behavior which is based in demandingness. Because I’ve described unannounced visits as rude behavior, I demandingly prescribe that I shouldn’t conduct them.
Noteworthy, these syllogistic foundations aren’t entirely rational. They merely serve as preferences for how I wish to conduct my behavior. As such, they function as preferential heuristics, which one source describes as follows:
A heuristic (/hjʊˈrɪstɪk/; from Ancient Greek εὑρίσκω (heurískō) ‘method of discovery’, or heuristic technique (problem solving, mental shortcut, rule of thumb) is any approach to problem solving that employs a pragmatic method that is not fully optimized, perfected, or rationalized, but is nevertheless “good enough” as an approximation or attribute substitution.
My principles – although not universal heuristics according to which everyone should operate – are good enough standards for my own behavior. Nevertheless, a number of people within my inner circle disagree with my principle.
I’m told things like, “You always have an open invitation.” Moreover, because of my personal principle related to uninvited visits, I’ve requested that others not present themselves to my home when they haven’t been invited.
Here’s where matters can be a bit more challenging for people. What’s to be done when person X’s principle clashes with the principle of person Y? Considering my arbitrary principle, there’s no significant form of self-disturbance arising from the rule I’ve established.
Although I refuse to behave as though I have an open invitation regarding the homes of my friends, they may disagree with my principle and show up to my home unannounced. If this happens, I’ll simply not answer the door.
Person X believes unannounced visits are rude and person Y is free to disagree. Thus, if person Y conducts an uninvited visit to the home of person X and the latter declines to answer a request to enter the home, person Y is also free to consider the response as akin to rude behavior.
Seemingly insignificant principles exemplified herein don’t cause much of a disruption in the lives of my friends or I. Therefore, I’ll highlight a principle one of my former friends had, regarding which her beliefs caused a significant amount of self-disturbance, and thus impacted us.
Nitape’skw, who I’ll refer to as “Cassette,” had a principle regarding the giving of gifts which wasn’t initially verbalized to me. Meat from a hunting expedition was offered, called an “offering,” and I politely declined.
After that, I detected tension in the relationship though Cassette denied my observation. Eventually, truth was revealed and she explained that in the indigenous tribe of which she’s a member offerings are sacred. Therefore, as a principled matter, it’s an insult to refuse them.
Rather than my subjective principle related to unannounced visits serving as a rude form a behavior, rejection of Cassette’s principle was determined to be offensive. The distinction is that the former represents a faux pas while the latter relates to perceived intentional disrespect.
I had no idea what declining an offering meant to Cassette until we used open, honest, and vulnerable communication to resolve the matter. Reflecting further upon this issue, Cassette’s principle wasn’t the first of its kind with which I’ve come into contact.
Growing up with a close friend who emigrated from Mexico, “Caesar,” I was informed that refusing offered food within his home was considered disrespectful. Being that I didn’t want to eat menudo which contained tripe, my principles clashed with Caesar’s.
On one hand, I maintained a principle of personal agency and self-determination whereby I could refuse ingested items as I chose. On the other hand, Caesar retained a principle with which I was inflexibly required to adhere regarding menudo.
In cases such as Cassette and Caesar’s, should cultural principles outweigh one’s personal principle? This is a little more complex than simply sharing space of one’s external environment (home) with others, because the matter concerns violating one’s own internal environment (body) principle.
As is the case with many issues in life, this is a complex systems issue and there aren’t always simplistic answers which can neatly resolve such matters. Problems become far more significant with controversial matters relating to abortion, free speech, gun rights, etc.
Thankfully, the people within my inner circle are willing and able to resolve our principled differences without out much fuss. Therefore, knowing what principles are and how they function is an integral key to unlocking the ability to reduce self-disturbance in this regard.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
Photo credit (edited), fair use
References:
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