The "willing suspension of disbelief" is a concept described by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1817 with the publication of his Biographia literaria or biographical sketches of my literary life and opinions. "In this idea originated the plan of the 'Lyrical Ballads'; in which it was agreed, that my endeavours should be directed to persons and characters supernatural, or at least romantic, yet so as to transfer from our inward nature a human interest and a semblance of truth sufficient to procure for these shadows of imagination that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith."
So, rather obviously, the reader or observer of fiction or some otherwise unbelievable creation would, for the sake of the story and its enjoyment, set aside objective judgment and accept things as reasonable and believable. We do not believe that the actor calling himself Hamlet is really killing the actor calling himself Claudius but we accept it for the moment, the entertainment, the education.
This very attitude is become the state of the modern world in its dealing with politics and itself.
A Caucasian woman says she is black. There are no reasons for her statement. She is the child of two Caucasians, her birth certificate confirms it and she looks Caucasian. However, she believes, in her heart of hearts, she is black.
The winner of the Men's Decathlon in the 1976 Olympics says he is a woman named Caitlyn. He looks like a man, he is male on his birth certificate. He has six children by three women. But he believes, in his heart of hearts, he is a woman.
We have entered a world of no constraint. Testing is not taboo, only quaint. A DNA will confirm the woman is Caucasian, will confirm that the man is male. But we are more open-minded than our tests. We now can extend our definitions beyond simple scientific limits. The presence of a Y chromosome does not, indeed, confine a man. There is more--or maybe less--involved.
In the face of the obvious, we will suspend our disbelief.
So, rather obviously, the reader or observer of fiction or some otherwise unbelievable creation would, for the sake of the story and its enjoyment, set aside objective judgment and accept things as reasonable and believable. We do not believe that the actor calling himself Hamlet is really killing the actor calling himself Claudius but we accept it for the moment, the entertainment, the education.
This very attitude is become the state of the modern world in its dealing with politics and itself.
A Caucasian woman says she is black. There are no reasons for her statement. She is the child of two Caucasians, her birth certificate confirms it and she looks Caucasian. However, she believes, in her heart of hearts, she is black.
The winner of the Men's Decathlon in the 1976 Olympics says he is a woman named Caitlyn. He looks like a man, he is male on his birth certificate. He has six children by three women. But he believes, in his heart of hearts, he is a woman.
We have entered a world of no constraint. Testing is not taboo, only quaint. A DNA will confirm the woman is Caucasian, will confirm that the man is male. But we are more open-minded than our tests. We now can extend our definitions beyond simple scientific limits. The presence of a Y chromosome does not, indeed, confine a man. There is more--or maybe less--involved.
In the face of the obvious, we will suspend our disbelief.
No comments:
Post a Comment