CS Joseph Coach Jay discusses fences and white horses metaphorically in the INFJ Coffehouse
CS Joseph Coach Jay discusses fences and white horses metaphorically in the INFJ Coffehouse
Transcript:
Everyone, welcome to this CSJ podcast, the INFJ coffee house. I’m your host, Jay. Coach. Jay.
I’m getting started this morning. You know, we thought about using Cora, question on Quora today from Brianna. What’s the personality of a person? Who is an E INFJ? For W five dash 478 SX slash SP, choleric sanguine slo II I have no idea. And I really don’t care.
I mean, to it’s not that difficult, you know, perceiving, judging. It’s not that difficult. And one of these days, I’m going to come across a core question that is going to invigorate me excite me and I do. Don’t get me wrong, just not today.
I can’t do it. I just can’t do that. You know, you, you have your type. You settle on it.
Sure. We want to get it right. We said spend so much time thinking about tight. People take tests over and over and over a question.
They’re tight. As like, it’s not that difficult. It’s not that difficult. Find your tie settle on it.
That’s a foundation build from there. That’s what it’s all about. So I started listening to some Tori Amos de Bourgh. Eames, I love Tori Amos.
She’s an INFP. She’s an idealist. She’s classically trained musician. was accepted on Fuller’s full scholarship into the Peabody Institute of John Hopkins at the age of five.
Okay. And our music or lyrics, which she writes are so are based on sexuality, politics, religion. Very meaningful, who doesn’t what INFJ does not love that? Seriously. In particular, I’m listening to the song I’ve been playing a little bit too much this morning is winter.
A lot of you may be familiar with it. And you know, just reading some lyrics does not in any way do it justice. But it really is, as I was listening to it. It really is.
It’s well, it’s obviously a father talking to his daughter. But it’s also at least in my view, and I’m Granted I’m a little bit biased, but I think it’s an it’s an EN TP talking to an INFJ got relationship. So, the lyrics, when you’re going to make up your mind, when are you going to love you as much as I do. Because things are going to change so fast.
All the white horses are still in bed. I mean, that’s some powerful stuff. If you think about it. very abstract, but very powerful.
So check it out winter by Tori Amos. And but it is about change. That’s why I mentioned this particular tune. I wanted to talk about change a little bit.
There’s a lot of changes in the air. Change is what is constant and you know, we we it’s in our politics, it’s in our culture. It’s in our pop culture it’s in, even in our religion. And, you know, we we, as I’ve said in the past, we, in prior lectures, we judge we judge previous generations by the standards of our own.
And I think, you know, you could say that’s the definition of woke right there at least in its in its current how it’s currently defined, not as it was originally defined. But yeah, well, being woke, to me, is a sign of. Well, it’s the epitome of ignorance and selfishness. I mean, it’s it’s elitism.
I want to talk about Chesterton’s fence as a concept. So Chesterton’s fence Chesterton, GK Chesterton, philosopher late 1800s, early 1900s, maybe not as well known as some of his contemporaries. At least for me, I was not as aware of him as some others, but but Chesterton’s fence. So the point about Chesterton’s fence what, you know, his point is, you look at any kind of an institution or system.
And he described it as a he just said, well, let’s just say it’s a fence, okay? When it comes to make a change, or reform, you know, people take a look at the fence, right? And they say, why is this fence here? We don’t need it. Let’s rip it out. So Chester, GK Chesterton’s point is well, okay? You don’t see the point. So you think let’s rip it out? Because it serves no purpose.
But which first order thinking, by the way, but he says, Do not ask yourself why the fence was put there in the first place? Or do you just think that the people who put that put the fence there originally were just bumbling fools and didn’t know what they were doing? And just saw a spot and said, Oh, let’s put a fence there for no reason. Is that how you think? Or do you take the time and the effort? Because it requires both? To go back? And try to understand why was the fence put there? Under what circumstances was the fence put there? Do I fully understand or do you fully understand all the ramifications of removing the fence now you you see maybe some immediate circumstances or you may see some immediate results or consequences that you want to achieve by removing the fence by reforming the institution but do you see all of the consequences of you take the time to study out all the potentialities so I’m reminded you know, I’m reminded of a trip I took several years ago to Ireland and I love Ireland is beautiful. My ancestors were Irish. And as you go through the country roads in Ireland the roads tend to be very narrow, little bigger, maybe then single lane but not much bigger.
And on all sides are surrounded by stone. Well, we could call them fences. They’re essentially stone walls, stone stacked on top each other maybe knee high that keep sheep pandan or farmlet farmland, you know divided by different owners whatnot. It’s quite common.
And so someone would come up and say you know these stones are heavy. They’re not very, they’re not very efficient. Why don’t we just put in wood fences? Well, if you’ve been to Ireland, the weather can be pretty rough. And not only is there a lack of wood, generally as compared to say, here in the Deep South, but it’s going to deteriorate much quickly.
So stone makes a lot of sense. So the pounding winds off the ocean. And the rain stone makes. So the point is, stone is up there for a reason.
Just because where you’re from your centric perspective is, comes from a different point of view, doesn’t mean you’re right. And if you haven’t taken the time, to understand why the stone walls are up there, instead of wood fencing, then you’re gonna get a lot of unintended consequences. And that’s the point of Chesterton’s fence. So essentially, you know, don’t jump into reforms, or to change things or to judge other people.
Until you understand why things are the way they are in the first place. generations before we’re not bumbling fools, I would argue that in many respects, you’re probably more intelligent than we are. But things change times change, people change situations change. So we have to adapt.
But it does bring to mind. You know, those who don’t remember the past are doomed to repeat it. I think that’s in line with Chesterton’s fence. I think, you know, it’s it’s the whole idea of idealism hitting reality.
Sure, idealism has its place. But reality pragmatism tempers that idealism. So it’s not that we don’t want change or reform. But it’s two bits being informed about about why things are the way they are originally.
It’s accurate, accurately, accurately assessing consequences. It’s perception before judgment. And you could argue that it’s pragmatism in its highest form, in its most noble form. Because pragmatism is what it pragmatism is.
I know we define it generally what works. But it is validating a philosophy or a concept or a model, in terms of its success as a practical application. So, you know, we have all these dreams, all these white horses, as Tori Amos’s. And we need those.
The knowledge not all of them are practically applicable. Not all of them would be successful in a real world setting, right? That’s what the pragmatists do. The pragmatists filter through those ideals and help find the ones that will make sense and could be successful least in my view, that’s why I look at pragmatists do another thing to and I think the the Type grid is laid out perfectly to illustrate this because if you think of the Type grid and the, you know, on the, on the far left hand column, you have the Guardians, right, the traditionalists, we’re gonna call them the reactionaries. And then on the far right column, we have the idealist so we’ve already been talking about the revolutionaries.
And yet in the middle, between those two columns, we have the pragmatists, the pregnat pragmatists not only temper the the idealists, but they also go to To the Guardians, the revolution I’m sorry the reactionaries who are who view change as anathema so what we need to change we have to change in order to thrive as a as a as a race. In order to survive as a race we have to change and adapt and so the pragmatists fill in and move and moderate the extremes of being reactionary and being revolutionary. So So yeah, change, change, things are gonna change fast. We’re seeing that now and are you ready for that change? Be part of the change and if you are part of the change be responsible and be knowledgeable and understand how we got to where we are now.
Before we go, ripping apart our institutions and those very things that bring stability to our society Gosh, little heavy today maybe. Coffee House supposed to be light? Anyway. Maybe next time we’ll get to a Korra comment or question. I want to answer your way appreciate you by your strong passion can get in the cave you
