Sample 2 perspectives

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To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard.”

—Allen Ginsberg, WD

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Media And Communicatio ns Society

Media And Communicatios Society

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Contents Faculty Profile: Dr. Newal Osman ........................................................................................................... 4 What causes discontentment? ............................................................................................ 5

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Faculty Profile: Dr. Newal Osman

Can you walk us through your educational background?

A Rather Entertaining Interview Contrary to what you might expect to come out of an interview of a PhD in international History she is surprisingly very lively. Or perhaps the excitement was of her flight next day to Washington D.C. Either way, let us see what she’d like.

What was your childhood like?

What was my childhood like.. I think quite a happy one, slightly nerdy one. It was a very happy one. I think .. a comfortable one, a secure one.

Nice family, no issues in the family thank God for that! A good student, a bit of a bookworm, but that comes with the package I suppose) um.. nice friends! Not over social, not extremely social but.. yea.

Hm… How would you define yourself?

Why would I define myself?

Oh yeah, I did my Olevels from Foundation public school in Karachi and then I went to Lyceum for my Alevels *interviewer gets excited* oh! Did you go to lyceum? Lyceum was great, they were two of the best years of my life. Very nice. After that I went to LUMS. So I went to LUMS for four years as a math majorAnd after your PhD, can you tell us about your career?

Um.. I basically just came back, because the work permits didn’t work out so I came back last March, and I lounged around a little bit and then I started teaching here.

Is this your first experience as a teacher?

This is my first experience as a proper teacher yeah! But before that I was doing consultancy part-time and I was sort of teaching as a TA or an RA or a .. you know.. supervisor for undergrads.

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What causes discontentment?

A perspective presented by Bertrand Russell In the 1930’s Bertrand Russell put forward his thoughts on the question of happiness, in respect of how it might be achieved and enjoyed. He presented his reflections on his book entitled “The Conquest of Happiness”. In the part entitled ‘Causes of Unhappiness’, Russell is concerned with the ordinary day-to-day unhappiness from which most people in civilized countries suffer, and it happens to be the most agonizing because it has no obvious external cause and thus, appears to be inescapable.

Like physical energy, mental or emotional energy is of a limited supply, and its concentrated use on one area of attention results in a depletion of resources available for other interests. Thus, excessive self-absorption saps the energy which could otherwise be directed towards more fruitful and more enjoyable experiences. Russell suggests three examples of self-absorption, which he labels ‘the sinner’, ‘the narcissist’ and ‘the megalomaniac’.

All three are focused almost exclusively on the self, and all three are committed to a world-view which is narrow and distorted and which consequently lead to a feeling of discontentment in a human.

‘The sinner’ is someone who is preoccupied with the idea of sinfulness; he sees everywhere the possibility and temptation to do wrong, and he is in perpetual conflict between his natural impulses and the image of moral perfection he’s striving to fulfil. The attempt at perfection is doomed to failure, and so ‘the sinner’ is a constant disappointment to himself. There is little opportunity for joy in a world which is perceived with such a sense of judgment and such a lack of (self-)compassion and understanding.

The narcissist has an inflated image of himself, his importance, his needs, and his rights. The motive propelling all his pursuits is the desire for admiration. Of course, this desire can never be fully satisfied either, and consequently the narcissist is constantly defeated in his attempts to attain continual praise for his achievements.

Furthermore, because the aim of his activities, at work, in relationships, or in creative pursuits, is the admiration of others, his attention is never really focused on the present moment and its experience. Thus he foregoes any enjoyment or fulfillment which could ensue from a passionate engagement with his chosen activity.

Similarly, ‘the megalomaniac’ is not interested in a positive experience for its own sake, but is instead driven by a desire for power. Yet power is always relative and never stable; its pursuit is never ending, as its momentary attainment is always susceptible to fresh threats. Thus, megalomania also yields unhappiness.

Russell goes on to point out more specific obstacles to happiness. Many of his examples reflect an obsessive concern with the opinions of others. Competition, envy, comparison and resentment tend to dominate the concerns of an individual who sees life as a contest, where every engagement and activity is part of a test in which they constantly judge themselves in terms of success and failure. This attitude occurs in many areas: career, financial conditions and material possessions are often considered symbols of one’s success in life.

However, these aspects of one’s life are not permanently stable; and this is also true with regard to the fortunes of others. Thus, if one situates oneself in relation to others, one discovers that one’s sense of superiority (or inferiority) is built on fragile ground.

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