Think for yourself: Hesiod's Works and Days and Cognitive Training (original) (raw)

Didactic Poetry: Knowledge, Power, Tradition, eds. L.G. Canevaro and D. O'Rourke (in progress)

Abstract

According to Hesiod’s hierarchy, ‘That man is altogether the best, who thinks of everything himself, considering the things which are then better in the end’ (Op.293-4). Throughout the Works and Days, Hesiod champions intellectual alongside practical self-sufficiency, encouraging his audience to work for their lesson as well as their livelihood. The Works and Days is not just good to think with – it is good for thinking. This chapter applies to the Works and Days a number of tenets of cognitive psychology, to show the poem’s value in terms of cognitive training. In switching between narrative forms, Hesiod challenges our brains to switch between different generic expectations, working us hard at the moments of greatest cognitive processing load. Some of the forms themselves, such as proverbs or riddles, require complex cognitive processes to resolve. Rhetorical showpieces such as Hesiod’s description of woodcutting (Op.414-47) impress an audience in an oral setting as feats of memory, a prized cognitive capacity. In making one point in many ways (at e.g. Op.354-8), Hesiod not only makes his teachings more widely applicable but also provides iterative training. In identifying what one should not do (e.g. Op.722-59), Hesiod effects a form of cognitive behavioural therapy, identifying and challenging dysfunctional thinking. His cyclical teachings lead us out of problem behavioural loops and into recurrent good practice. In presenting analogous problems (Op.106 ‘I’ll tell you another story’) and switching from the general to the specific (e.g. Op.227-37), Hesiod is introducing us to cognitive techniques for problem-solving. Brown 2000:194 defines wisdom as ‘a term used to denote markedly successful problem-solving ability, particularly in personal and social domains, in the face of complexity, subtlety, novelty, and/or uncertainty.’ This chapter explores how Hesiod teaches us wisdom by confronting us with all of these challenges and training us to work through them. It shows that didactic poetry can teach us not only how to behave, but also how to think. In the current pedagogical climate with its focus on ‘novel’ constructivist approaches (Honeck 1997 suggests we use proverbs in education, and Newell/Simon 1972 represent problem-solving as a journey: cf. Op.287-92), it is worth drawing attention to the psychological sophistication already embedded in the archaic wisdom tradition.

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