Choice & Context

The Legacy of Aesop

Michael Round

May 25, 2009

Once when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down upon him; this soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big jaws to swallow him.

"Pardon, O King," cried the little Mouse: "forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who knows but what I may be able to do you a turn some of these days?"

The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him, that he lifted up his paw and let him go. Some time after the Lion was caught in a trap, and the hunters who desired to carry him alive to the King, tied him to an Ash tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him on. Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the sad plight in which the Lion was, went up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts.

"Was I not right?" said the little Mouse.  "Little friends can prove great friends!"  After all, "One good turn deserves another!"

You may think that's the end of the story.  It's not.  What became of the Ash tree that overheard this story?

Years later, a Peasant was looking around in the woods, and came upon the Ash tree, now surrounded by many other trees, in the forest.  The old and wise Ash tree asked him what he was looking for.  "A straight piece of wood," said the Peasant, "to mend my axe handle."  All the other trees warned the grand Ash about the pending danger, but the Ash, remembering the story of the Mouse and the Lion, decided "One good turn deserves another", and "Little friends can prove great friends".

Owning the straightest branches, the magnificent Ash dropped one at the feet of the eager Peasant.  The Peasant nailed the Ash branch to his axe blade and began to cut down all the Trees.

The Oak Tree, waiting for the axe to strike, yelled at the Ash:  "YOU FOOL!  Do not help your enemy to hurt you!"

As the Ash Tree watched friend after friend fall helplessly to the ground, he asked himself, "How did it come to this?"  Hadn't he learned, from the story of the Lion and the Mouse, "one good turns deserves another", and "Little friends can prove great friends"?  In doing this, the mouse had HELPED his enemy!  But here he was, about to fall, with the lesson learned, "Do NOT help your enemy to hurt you"!

What is going on here? 

There does seem to be contradictory edicts in the "lessons to be learned" of Aesop.  Here, the conflict might be as follows:

This is but one of many conflicts arising in "general lessons".  For example, the one who "looks before he leaps" is beat to the punch by the person who adheres to the edict "he who hesitates is lost". 

What is going on here?

There's merit, usually, in both claims to "general lessons" or advice, so it must be the case there are times when each are relevant.  What are these times?  What is the context? 

How should I act?  How should I choose?

What are my needs?  In the forest, for example, I should not lend a branch to one in search of an axe handle.  But let's suppose that same Peasant was in search of a branch to build a fire to warm his family?  It always depends on context.

Let's suppose I, as the mouse, came upon a cat tied up.  Would I chew through the ropes binding the cat, knowing the cat will likely pounce on me?  I think not!

Morals to the story?  You bet!  But choice and context!  That's the advice of Aesop!

The Choices We Make

CHOICES and CONTEXTS!  It sounds like the admonition is to become a thinking machine, analyzing everything always!  We know, of course, this is not the case.  Most "choices" we make become so routine we don't even consider them choices.  "Habits" is perhaps an appropriate word.

And life falls into the routine - some variety, of course, but generally decisions and actions falling within a "normal", or "non-chaotic" pattern.

But then something happens.  A new situation, perhaps.  You sell your car to a friend for $5000, but they ask you to write $3500 on the bill so they don't have to pay as much in taxes.  A new situation!  What does one do?

If you're conflicted on what to do, the answer must not be obvious.  What does one do?  Is there a structure to help us out of such un-ordinary situations?

How could we verbalize our internal state of conflict?

On the one hand, you expect to write the bill in the amount of $5000.  Why wouldn't you?  That's the cost, and you've always been honest.

On the other hand, your friend is asking for it to be written in the amount of $3500.  Why?  So he can pay less in taxes.  No harm to you.  Yet you're conflicted.  Why might you do this?  To be a good friend?

Be honest / be a good friend.  What's really going on here between you two?  You want to be a good person.  In order to be a good person, you must be honest.  To be honest means writing the bill for $5000.

However,

on the other hand, to be a good person, you want to be a good friend.  To be a good friend, you want to write the bill for $3500.

Why has your friend put you in this dilemma?  There's maybe a key to how to get out of this dilemma.  Is he a friend?  Friends don't ask friends to be dishonest!

A simple example?  Sure.  But one requiring you to verbalize the things that otherwise go unverbalized.  A structured approach to conflict resolution?  You bet!

Thomas Kuhn and The Concept of Paradigms

Must it take an idea outside our "normal mode of operation" to get us to seek a structured approach to conflict resolution and problem-solving?  What would happen if we took what's ordinarily a "habitual" choice and subjected it to a rigourous process of analysis?

To really see if we can verbalize what the actual choices are - and why we make them?

That is:

Might this be a means to structurally "Think Outside the Box", or, in Thomas Kuhn's terms, arrive at a personal paradigm shift?  That is: