Movement in the Aether

An analysis of a person's behaviors and especially speech can expose the position of their perceived locus of control

. The locus of control refers to the belief a person holds in regards to their own ability to manipulate their experience of reality. The two extremes of this scale are external and internal. An external locus of control attributes the causes and outcomes of events to something without oneself, whether that be a god, destiny, or other people. An internal locus of control is a conviction of high self-efficacy. Therefore, an external locus of control is inversely proportional to self-efficacy, or the confidence in one's own competency in achieving a task.

As a proponent of moderation, the author detects damaging deficits within either extreme. An external locus of control can lead a being into the behavior of learned helplessness when negative events occur, where one simply "lies down and takes what is coming." When a positive event occurs, one may give credit where credit is not due, instead of increasing one's self-efficacy. In this view, life is lived entirely too passively as one assumes the role of the victim. An internal locus of control motivates one to attempt to express oneself within existence, but can also lead to "not knowing when to give up." The fundamental attribution error often occurs here, where one places too much emphasis on the disposition of the actor and not enough emphasis on the situation. Some things truly are out of a person's control, and the inability to recognize this can stem from an extreme internal locus of control.

The discussion of the proper placement of the locus of control within oneself is as split as the argument of determinism and free-will. In these broad philosophical inquiries that have yet to be adequately addressed, it is not the seemingly unknowable truth that matters, but the effect in which the belief of truth creates. In any discourse featuring binary dichotomies, the middle path of non-extremism can usually offer an overlooked wisdom. In the experience and current view of the author that the proper placement lies somewhere betwixt the opposing poles. In an admitted tangent, the author finds it important to make choices in regards to beliefs while holding the right to revise these beliefs at any time. The choice should be made that best supports an increase in the subjective conditions of the individual's life, and when this ceases, a revision should be applied. Here the author will share his tentative conviction.

There is an old adage that states "God helps those who help themselves." God could be replaced with any concept, and whatever the individual chooses to occupy that space is irrelevant. The importance is the implication of occupancy. This statement claims the locus of control is shared between the extremes. In this thread of thought, there is a plan, but within this plan there is a free-will to move within some parameters. Something constantly nudges us in a specific direction as the parameters converge, and in hindsight a pattern emerges. If the occupant exists, it isn't about fulfilling our every fantasy. It is about beating us down and forcing us to refine our fantasies and then supporting us in fulfilling our new, more auspicious ideals. It's a usage of the external world to lead to an enhancement of the internal conditions of our lives so that we are capable of improving the external circumstances ourselves. Then the occupant works in aligning the planets, so to say, to champion our more cultured cause.

It is this view that some of humanity's greatest thinkers have upheld. Richard Alpert, known as Ram Dass to many, terms this "Fierce Grace." It is the refining of the ore into a sword capable of cutting through to reality. Lao Tzu, in his Treatise on Response and Retribution says, "Curses and blessings do not come through the gates, but man himself invites their arrival." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe states, "Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth - that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too." These opinions coincide on one sure point: by his own merit does a man navigate his destiny.

Movement in the Aether

By: Jared Hobbs

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