Letter from the principal

Human beings are herd animals, and group identification and solidarity are basic mechanisms of coping. But when individuals in groups stop thinking as individuals, groups veer towards excess. To surrender individuality equates to a surrender of free thought.

In Freud’s famous maxim about the “narcissism of minor differences,” he hypothesized that the degree of animosity between neighboring groups is inversely proportional to the degree of difference between them. Tremendously small differences – so minor or seemingly irrelevant to outsiders – can result in intense hatred between “us” and “them.” The basic problem isn’t simply surplus aggression, but also a lack of reflection.

The true believer is mesmerized by self-proclaimed prophets and embraces magical thinking. Informing someone that something is false often fails to change people’s convictions. People gravitate towards those who share their worldview and reinforce their biases, increasing the likelihood that misleading information will be accepted, and corrective evidence will be rejected.

Fortunately, in an open society, we can compensate for each other’s biases by being able to criticize them, airing disagreements and subjecting dubious assertions to empirical tests. We can replace the rhetoric of ideology with an ethics that respects the autonomy and validity of others’ experiences. This is the remedy for medieval, impenetrable mindlessness, especially when the true believer is on the march.

The goal of education is to instill humility and critical thinking as essential life skills. A real education leads us toward a psychological maturity that counteracts the impulse to simplify and polarize, and to move together towards real solutions. In these uncertain times, that goal offers the most inspiring source of positivity.

On behalf of the CSSW Staff and Board of Directors, we wish you the best in your future endeavors.

 

F. J. Chu
Principal

 

 

 

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A Dichotomy of Control
Some men see things and say “why?
I dream things that never were and say “why not?”
George Bernard Shaw 

 

June 15, 2024

Dear CSSW Families, Staff and Friends,

As we bid farewell to the 2023-24 school year, I am pleased to recognize this year’s graduates as they cross over to the next segment of their educational journey. It is not easy to be a “young adult” these days: our society is complex and confusing, one hears so many disparate voices, and there are so many expectations from others to fulfill.

In these times of anxiety and uncertainty, it is tempting to yearn for principles that can buffer us from daily confusion and threats to our sense of security. Since the exactitude of life changes are inherently unknowable, the best perspective to maintain is one of affirmative skepticism. We don’t know for sure what will happen, but we perpetually integrate all the available data to make sense of what transpires day to day.

The Stoic philosopher Epictetus describes this “dichotomy of control” that emphasizes the distinction between things that are within our control and things that are not. It’s a method of remaining calm when everything else seems chaotic. How do we focus on maintaining control under difficult circumstances so we can manage our emotional responses?

In modern life, stress and anxiety are usually chronic, not episodic. This means we must find a more sustained method of achieving cognitive control. Instead of striving to discover the “truth or the “real self,” we should be ever striving to becoming stronger, wiser, and more fulfilled. We construct ourselves by assembling our experiences, desires, and actions through a continuous act of self-creation, and to never relinquish the fight for intelligent, mature thought.

The world is richer than what we can see, and coincidences are clues to its concealed depths. But let’s take the opposite position — that there’s a careless randomness to life. This thesis emphasizes the iterative nature of experience across time and argues that the outcomes we observe don’t change until we change the story. That is the crucial link between private individual experience, and actual positive changes in the world.

On behalf of the CSSW Board of Directors and Staff, we wish you all the best in your future
endeavors.

F. J. Chu
Principal