Simplism analogy

In my backyard I once have a creeper on the back fence. Unfortunately, it was a noxious weed that without the use of a highly toxic poison to kill it, I could hardly root out. Some time ago, I succeeded, but whilst it flourished, I derived a useful analogy on simplism.

M Scott Peck talks about simplism. "Everywhere we turn, the evidence is astounding. Simplistic thinking has become so pandemic in society that it is considered normal and conventional wisdom". (Scott Peck 1999, p.33)

In many ways, simplism is like this weed:

1. it looks pretty from a distance and on one level simplism might even seem to work
2. it is hard to root out and simplism is very difficult to "develop out of"
3. eventually it kills its host by suffocation and so too does simplism
4. it pulls down everything in the vicinity and simplism can pull down friends and family as well
5. it starts off with one root and then puts down extra roots as it spreads and simplism starts on one issue and then eventually informs all others
6. when you root it out you disturb the topsoil and developing out of simplism often interupts other aspects of our life
7. it extended into every area of the garden and simplism creeps into all areas of our life
8. the creeper hid many things and simplism can obscure many realities

We should make every attempt to reject the apparant and parsimonious appeal of simplism.

As Jung states 'every problem, therefore, brings the possibility of a widening of consciousness, but also the necessity of saying goodbye to childlike unconsciousness and trust in nature...and as a matter of fact it is in this light that we first look upon every problem that forces us to greater consciousness and separates us even further from the paradise of unconscious childhood. (Jung 1969e, pp. 388-389). And consequently, 'there is no birth of consciousness without pain'. (Jung 1954, p. 193)


Sources:

Jung, C. G. 1954, The Development of Personality, Bollingen Series, vol. 17, trans. Baynes, H. G., Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.

Jung, C. G. 1969e, The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche, Bollingen Series XX, vol. 8, McGuire, W. (ed), trans. Hull, R. F. C., Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.

Scott Peck, M., 1999, The Road Less Travelled and Beyond, Rider & Co, New York