Reflection and Ethics
In today's Skype discussion, we talked about reflection and ethical considerations.
Reflection
Personally, I see reflection as a procedure of autobiography of our soul. These are our personal stories and experiences that make us realise who we are and how we should behave in different situations.
On occasion of Module One and by writing my Areas of Learning essays, I realise how much retrospection on the past and reflection on the present have influenced me and ultimately aided in developing my personality. Looking at myself from another perpective and as a critic of my behaviour, actions and circumstances I portrayed in the past, I see how important self-reflection is in the evolution of my personality, both professionaly and ethicaly.
'The definition of self reflection is the exercising of introspection, coupled with the willingness to learn about yourself, in order to help achieve self awareness.'(Hunter, 2011)
Self-Reflection helps us understand ourselves and brings us to what the ancient Greeks said:
Here is a link of a very interesting article about knowing thyself and introspection:
https://medium.com/swlh/what-does-it-mean-to-know-thyself-9d843526fe22
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals mainly with the question: what human actions are acceptable and correct and which are immoral and wrong. Moral intelligence is the ability to understand good and bad, but also to respect the values of others. It is the finest gift and charisma of the human.
In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle states that ''ethics is the episteme of personal happiness''.
To be honest, I would say that the world of dance is not so ethical. I live and I experience in my daily life as a dancer situations that are not ethical and this saddens me a lot.
The need for promotion and fast climbing to the highlight of success, often brings dancers to behave in such a way to flattening ethics. You see dancers climb the ladder of 'ostensible' success and get roles, without any value or talent because they are favored by other means, such as political and sexual connections and bribes.
Unfortunately, ballet, unlike sports, does not have a score to showcase the best/winner and to show his/her ability and talent and this art very often becomes subjective, both in interpretation and technique in order to favour some personal interests. However, the truth is that everyone has different approach to ethics, but some rules have to be respected and recognised, both in dance and life in general.
This, of course, is not a novelty in the world of dance. If we look back at the past(Imperial Russia, Paris Opera etc.) and to more recent events(Bolshoi, NYCB, sexual harassments, the Me Too Movement and many more), we can undestand how difficult the existence of ethics can be. Bullying and bad competition between dancers are also some examples of immorality and the list could continue more.
Some articles about it:
https://www.history.com/news/sexual-exploitation-was-the-norm-for-19th-century-ballerinas
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/arts/dance/new-york-city-ballet-me-too.html
The world of dance is the miniature of the outside world. Therefore, my conclusion is that moral intelligence is perhaps the most man-centered intelligence of all and certainly one that can contribute to the building of a just and benevolent society in general.
It is not really pleasant to write about it, but I wanted to share this with you on the occasion of the Skype discussion earlier today, because I believe that ethics is the antidote of the loss of hope and can give a feeling of a fairer, fuller and happier life. But I always want to believe that morality and goodness at the end will always prevail.
References:
Hunter, C. (2011). The Art of Self Awareness and Self Reflection. [online] Available at: https://www.theravive.com/today/post/the-art-of-self-awareness-and-self-reflection-0000005.aspx
Reflection
Reflection is a way about learning from experience. It involves looking back at our experiences, whether positive or negative, and then looking forward to future activities and considering how we might do things differently as a result of our reflection.
Personally, I see reflection as a procedure of autobiography of our soul. These are our personal stories and experiences that make us realise who we are and how we should behave in different situations.
On occasion of Module One and by writing my Areas of Learning essays, I realise how much retrospection on the past and reflection on the present have influenced me and ultimately aided in developing my personality. Looking at myself from another perpective and as a critic of my behaviour, actions and circumstances I portrayed in the past, I see how important self-reflection is in the evolution of my personality, both professionaly and ethicaly.
'The definition of self reflection is the exercising of introspection, coupled with the willingness to learn about yourself, in order to help achieve self awareness.'(Hunter, 2011)
Self-Reflection helps us understand ourselves and brings us to what the ancient Greeks said:
'KNOW THYSELF'
https://medium.com/swlh/what-does-it-mean-to-know-thyself-9d843526fe22
Ethics
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals mainly with the question: what human actions are acceptable and correct and which are immoral and wrong. Moral intelligence is the ability to understand good and bad, but also to respect the values of others. It is the finest gift and charisma of the human.
In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle states that ''ethics is the episteme of personal happiness''.
To be honest, I would say that the world of dance is not so ethical. I live and I experience in my daily life as a dancer situations that are not ethical and this saddens me a lot.
The need for promotion and fast climbing to the highlight of success, often brings dancers to behave in such a way to flattening ethics. You see dancers climb the ladder of 'ostensible' success and get roles, without any value or talent because they are favored by other means, such as political and sexual connections and bribes.
A painting by Jean Beraud of ballet dancers in the wings of the opera house, 1889.
Unfortunately, ballet, unlike sports, does not have a score to showcase the best/winner and to show his/her ability and talent and this art very often becomes subjective, both in interpretation and technique in order to favour some personal interests. However, the truth is that everyone has different approach to ethics, but some rules have to be respected and recognised, both in dance and life in general.
This, of course, is not a novelty in the world of dance. If we look back at the past(Imperial Russia, Paris Opera etc.) and to more recent events(Bolshoi, NYCB, sexual harassments, the Me Too Movement and many more), we can undestand how difficult the existence of ethics can be. Bullying and bad competition between dancers are also some examples of immorality and the list could continue more.
Some articles about it:
https://www.history.com/news/sexual-exploitation-was-the-norm-for-19th-century-ballerinas
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/arts/dance/new-york-city-ballet-me-too.html
The world of dance is the miniature of the outside world. Therefore, my conclusion is that moral intelligence is perhaps the most man-centered intelligence of all and certainly one that can contribute to the building of a just and benevolent society in general.
It is not really pleasant to write about it, but I wanted to share this with you on the occasion of the Skype discussion earlier today, because I believe that ethics is the antidote of the loss of hope and can give a feeling of a fairer, fuller and happier life. But I always want to believe that morality and goodness at the end will always prevail.
References:
Hunter, C. (2011). The Art of Self Awareness and Self Reflection. [online] Available at: https://www.theravive.com/today/post/the-art-of-self-awareness-and-self-reflection-0000005.aspx
Thanks for the informative blog Jovanka. I really like the ‘know thyself’ article. I am just making note to look at the article on sexual exploitation tomorrow.
ΑπάντησηΔιαγραφήThanks for info! :)
Thank you Jade! I believe that 'knowing thyself' is the most important thing in our lives. And as Aristotle said: 'Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom'.
ΔιαγραφήGreetings!!!