Some Thoughts about 'Dead Poets Society'

Jill and I just finished watching Dead Poets Society. It was very good. I saw it when it was released in the late 80's, but that was more than twenty years ago, and I had forgotten much of the plot. If you have seen the film recently, then you will know that while the first half is energetic and upbeat, the second half is sad and downbeat, to put it mildly. At any rate, the whole film is serious, even meditative.

I think that DPR presents a remarkably nuanced analysis of some critically important issues that confront all people, including the nature of authenticity, free thought, and the good life. In the first half of the film, Professor Keating, who is played by Robin Williams, encourages his students to think for themselves - to challenge assumptions, to resist societal pressures to conform, and to see that there is more to life than material success. I love this part of the film, and I think that Keating's admonitions to his students ring true for all of us - we must all have the courage to challenge assumptions, to resist societal pressures to conform, and to look beyond material possessions for our ultimate fulfillment. However, the second half of the film presents us with a dark truth - it is dangerous to seek an authentic life. Not everyone is interested in resisting the pressures of society - if they were, there would be no such pressures. Many people in society are threatened by open inquiry, and it can be lonely to challenge the assumptions that frame the lives of others. Moreover, when we take life seriously, we run the risk of misunderstanding it in catastrophic ways. Nonetheless, as the movie makes clear, the unexamined life is not really a life at all. Or, which is perhaps nearer to the truth, it is at best a life half-lived.

To be authentic does not require one to reject everything that one hears. The examined life is not one of blind, thoroughgoing skepticism, nor does it consist in mindless iconoclasm. I think that Plato provides us with an excellent example of an authentic person in Socrates. As Plato presents him, Socrates is willing to question everything, but that does not mean that he refuses to believe whatever he cannot prove. On the contrary, Socrates admits that he is probably incapable of proving anything. At the same time, he does scrutinize his beliefs, and he is willing to give them up when he sees that they lack support or are contradicted by firm evidence. Socrates holds tenaciously to the belief that there are objective moral truths, that we should all dedicate ourselves to the cultivation of virtue, and that the world is governed by a higher power. And Socrates believes - with good reason - that he has evidence for these things. Nonetheless, he is not afraid to scrutinize even these beliefs, which are his most cherished. By doing so, he is not led to abandon his confidence in the truths of morality and the existence of the divine. Rather, his convictions are strengthened, or at least reaffirmed. Sometimes he learns something new. Sometimes he realizes that he knows less than he originally thought he did. But the effort is always worthwhile for him.

One last thing about Socrates - he is not afraid of truth. Socrates's authenticity goes hand-in-hand with intellectual courage. Socrates does not fear that all morality and religion will crumble if we ask the hard questions. Instead, it is only by asking the hard questions that we fully participate in them.

Few people have the opportunity to study religion, morality, or politics during the day. They need to put bread on the table. And no one should think that they must earn a degree in philosophy before they can enjoy an authentic existence. Trust me, many professional philosophers are far from authentic, and you don't need to be able to understand Plato or Kant to lead an examined life. Furthermore, there is nothing wrong with having confidence in one's beliefs. I happen to have a tremendous amount of confidence in the truth of Christianity, and I cannot image anything dislodging it. However, we must be willing to subject our most cherished beliefs to scrutiny from time to time, and we must be willing to revise them when reason and evidence demand it. We also must resist the pressures that society exerts on us to conform. Too many Christians are frightened to ask hard questions about God and the Bible. Actually, many non-Christians are also scared to ask hard questions about God and the Bible, but the questions that they fear tend to differ from those that Christians fear. Most Christians churches that I have encountered want you to subscribe to a long list of doctrines without question. That is unacceptable. But many non-Christians that I have met refuse to learn anything substantial about the faith that they reject. That too is unacceptable.

Of course, matters are no different when it comes to politics. Many leaders in both the political right and the political left command total allegiance. For the political right, it is rarely sufficient to be conservative about a few issues - one must be conservative about all issues. And the same goes for the political left. I am quite conservative about abortion, but I am also about as liberal as one can be about LGBTQ issues. I wish I could say that I feel comfortable in both the conservative and liberal worlds. The truth is, I don't feel comfortable in either. I suspect that many Americans are like me in this regard, and I hear that there are now more independents than Republicans or Democrats in this country; but, Republicans and Democrats still dominate our political system. At any rate, it should go without saying that there is nothing inconsistent in the idea that one might think for oneself while being fully Republican or fully Democratic on a large range of political issues. Authenticity does not consist in what one believes, but the reasons for which one believes it.

We are all subject to societal pressure, and that is not a terrible thing. If you like Taco Bell as the result of being exposed to hundreds of televisions commercials and billboard ads, so be it. It doesn't mean that you haven't been true to yourself. And if you feel that your beliefs line up more or less perfectly with those of one particular church or political party, then to you I say 'mazel tov'. But I doubt that this is so; and, even if it is, you should still exercise patience and grace with those who don't see things quite as you do. And you should continue to question. We must be willing to challenge assumptions, to resist societal pressures to conform, and to look beyond material possessions - far, far beyond them, in fact - in order to find our true fulfillment. We must not be afraid to question, but we must also be prudent. In particular, we should not be reckless or jejune in our thinking. If you doubt the truth or the value of these statements, that is fine. But I would advise you to watch Dead Poets Society carefully and think about these issues again.