Failure and the narrative of life

     For my final project, I did chapter 4: failure in Kieran Setiya’s “Life is Hard”. This chapter is less about failure and more about the broader vision of one’s life. Setiya takes issue with the popular tendency in philosophy to view one’s life as a linear narrative (Dr. Eunil David Cho explores this idea further in this article: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/2/71?utm). Setiya argues that viewing life this way simultaneously opens the door to failure and makes one more inclined to view their life in terms of success or failure. Setiya claims that philosophers who fall into this school of thinking believe you should try to see your life as a cohesive and linear character arc, however, almost no one’s life progresses that neatly. He quotes Joe Moran and states “To call any life a failure, or a success, is to miss the infinite granularity, the inexhaustible miscellany of all lives. . . A life can’t really succeed or fail at all; it can only be lived.” To me, this presupposes that one who views their life as a story also views that story in terms of success or failure. However, a story does not need to be viewed in those terms. I would argue that any good story is not as black and white as success or failure and contains more nuance. In comic books, for example, the heroes usually beat the villains but from the Silver Age on it comes at a heavy price. Batman beats Bane but loses Alfred in the process  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLOBUMkefaA). Superman saves the world, but an entire city is destroyed. Spider-man protects New York but can’t maintain a relationship or a job as a result. Stories are not always told or viewed in terms of success or failure and, to be honest, I have never seen someone make the claim that they are.  

 

Setiya then explains the concepts of telic and atelic activity. A telic activity is one that is in a state of either incompletion or completion and one whose value lies in its completion. For example, if you are building a house, you have not built that house. An atelic activity is one which does not aim at its completion or a final state. For example, if you are talking with friends, the value lies in that act of talking not in the completion of the conversation. This article: https://medium.com/swlh/telic-vs-atelic-activities-and-the-meaning-of-life-abf5ac035599 goes more in-depth on telic vs atelic activity and reinforces Setiya’s notion that we can get more fulfillment out of life by focusing more on the atelic aspects of our lives. He goes on to say that he interprets Bhagavad Gita’s quote “motive should never be in the fruits of action” to mean “do not invest in the completion of telic activities” and that if one values only the process, one will still act but “fulfillment and frustration will be the same.”. Setiyah clarifies that he believes outcomes matter, but we place too much emphasis on those outcomes.  

 

Setiya concludes this chapter by discussing how the capitalist nature of this country facilitated the emergence and perseverance of the notion that a person could not only fail but be a failure themself. The individualist nature of capitalist society dictates that one’s wealth is tied to their value and ability as a person and not to social or economic circumstances. For more on the subject of capitalism and its effects on self-worth as well as its promotion of individualism (while, almost paradoxically, damaging the “self), you can read https://www.thesomatichub.com/blog/the-paradox-of-individualism-capitalism-and-the-self-at-odds and https://emmacaterine.medium.com/capitalist-individuality-distorts-collective-identity-b9134253743e 

 

 

Answers to my Questions: 

1. Do you tend to view your life as a narrative? If so, how does this help or harm your self-perception? 

Often, but not always, I view my life as a narrative. From the time we are born, we’re told stories and narratives. With the way they are drilled into us, it would be difficult not to see parallels between your own life and fictional stories, especially considering these stories draw influence from reality. I don’t believe this view has much of an effect on my self-perception, but it does affect me in other ways. Viewing my life as a narrative brings a sort of comfort. In a narrative, things happen for a reason. Each event drives the story toward its necessary conclusion. This makes it easier to accept the setbacks, mistakes, and painful things that happen. Viewing my life as a narrative also encourages growth. In most stories I engage with, the protagonist gets stronger and more powerful as the stories progress as they work hard and learn from their mistakes. If I were to remain stagnant and not get stronger, smarter, wiser, kinder, and better each day, no one would care to engage with my story.  

 

 

2. Outside of personal happiness, do you think society as a whole would benefit from a complete shift to focus more on processes and the act of doing than on the results?  

 

I believe certain aspects of society would benefit from this shift and some aspects would be harmed. Visual art, music, architecture, theater, movies, and most other fields that involve creating would benefit greatly. Most crafts are better when focusing on the act of creation rather than the goal of having created, therefore the fruits of creation will be better and have more love put into them. On the other hand, I think certain fields will fall behind (though in my opinion some of these fields should be forgotten about). Weapon innovation would slow because often people only work for defense companies for the money. Many fewer people would get into politics because the act of writing policy or campaigning is worth nothing without the goal the pundit sets out to achieve. Of course, a balance between telic and atelic activity and thinking is necessary. No society would last with a complete focus on one or the other however I do think individuals in America should take the time to enjoy the atelic a bit more than we do.