The grey cells
“It is the brain, the little grey cells on which one must rely. One must seek the truth within – not without.”
(Hercule Poirot)
“Having gathered these facts, Watson, I smoked several pipes over them, trying to separate those which were crucial from others which were merely incidental.”
(Sherlock Holmes)
► One could be tempted to cite and compare as many quotes from Poirot and Holmes as possible. The first and foremost conclusion could be that Poirot was a rationalist whereas Holmes was an empiricist.
► Ghosts of the past: Alfred Rosenberg and Erich Koch in Kyiv
► However, this may not be so. The two detectives had different modus operandi, and the difference is not only cultural but also epistemological. Agatha Christie construed her main protagonist as a Belgian – not English – detective in a very British context.
► Yet Holmes also sits back and thinks, “smoking several pipes over (the facts)” in an attempt to psychologically distance himself from the basics. Temporal or spatial distance can be very important and distancing oneself from the scene can be a part of optimal decision-making.
► This is why history and geography are the two pillar stones of any social science. The more a person moves away from the immediate phenomena, the more her thinking grows general and abstract.
► Social distancing can also be important. At the very least, an independent mind should be able to differentiate herself from her immediate environment, try to think the way other people might think in a similar situation, consider their arguments and what they mean to them.
► The criticism of Aristotelian aesthetics by Brecht is a case in point. Brecht may have misunderstood the master, and an emotional response can be part of a cognitive process. However, he may have been right in posing catharsis as an inefficient means if we want to explain the work of art. An over-identification with the play can harm understanding. After all, “theater” originally meant “theory”.
► Let’s distance ourselves from the Ukrainian war news – spatial distance – and expect that the passage of time – temporal distance – will allow us to put things, however tragic they may be, into perspective.