I felt moved to write about why I
write when, as I do from time to time, I was re-reading a collection
of essays by Isaac Asimov. Most of these collections are compilations
of his regular science fact feature from The Magazine of
Fantasy & Science Fiction
(often referred to simply as F&SF,
though that is subject to confusion with a description of a literary
genre), which might be billed as science fact, but often contained
things that took a certain departure from that brief. Each essay
begins, almost invariably, with some anecdote from Asimov's own
experience.
In this case, an
essay on non-conservation of parity in the weak nuclear interaction
(more specifically, the “handedness” of electrons), he explains
his reaction to being accused (as I'm sure I could not be) of firmly
rejecting, never using, poetic language – specifically “cryptic,
glowing, 'charged' phrase[s]”. His explanation for why this is so
(though I am not entirely convinced that it is, particularly in his
fiction) spoke to me quite strongly.
“For one thing, my business and my passion (even in my fiction writing is to explain. Partly it is the missionary instinct that makes me yearn to make my readers see and understand the universe as I see and understand it, so that they may enjoy it as I do. Partly, also, I do it because the effort to put things on paper clearly enough to make the understand, makes it possible for me to understand, too.
“I try to teach because whether or not I succeed in teaching others, I invariably succeed in teaching myself.” Isaac Asimov, “The Left Hand of the Electron”, The Left Hand of the Electron p.27 (Panther, 1976)
I think my love
of writing is quite similar, though I'm not sure that I would include
my fiction writing (none of which has been commercially published) in
that. Well, not all of it. It might be a bit of a current through
some of it… perhaps I'm just incorrigibly didactic. I suppose that
is a flaw sometimes, but as in the case of the Good Doctor, not
always. It's all in how you use it.
It should be
clear to those who read my Quaker writings that I do not seek to make
everyone see and understand the universe – or more particularly the
Divine – in the same way that I see and understand it. I revel in
the variety of experience and conception that we find in the
Religious Society of Friends, never mind the even greater variation
that we see in the world at large. I do, however want as many people
as possible to understand how other people
see and understand the Divine. I am best placed to explain my own
understanding, but I also make some effort to help people have a
better understanding of those I do not share – as in my Quaker
Business Method & Theological Diversity
series, or the Pantheons
and Archetypes series.
Although
educational theory is a passion of mine, and one in which I have
qualifications, I am not a teacher in the usual sense of the word; I
certainly would not be suited to teaching children in a school
environment. But I feel the need to teach, indeed I feel it quite
keenly. Teaching to me, though, is not imparting knowledge. As a
constructivist, I don't believe that there is any effective form of
education based on that idea. Teaching is providing others with the
context needed for them to construct their own knowledge and
understanding.
Like Asimov, in
the act of preparing for writing, and actually doing the writing, I
learn more. I may do research to find out more about what I want to
write about, to check my understanding. I always have to make sure
that my own understanding is clear, as definite as it can be, in
order to express it clearly. Thus my own knowledge construction is
enhanced and refined in the process of my writing.
The future of the
Religious Society of Friends depends, I feel, on our ability to
better understand – to understand what has come before us, where we
are now, who we are and the range of our understandings and
experiences. In this sense, we must all be teachers, and it isn't
enough that we all teach and learn from those that we have personal
contact with. Some of us, hopefully many of us, need to put our
thoughts and ideas out there in such a way that it helps promote that
understanding, that it helps people learn, that it enables others to
construct their own knowledge.
Naturally, as
with any endeavour, some are more suited to this than others. I am
immodest enough to believe that I have something of a facility for
this sort of communication; this is another way in which I resemble
to Good Doctor, along with the fact that I would struggle to explain
how I write well (assuming that I do write well, and feedback
certainly suggests that my writing is at least of a fairly good
quality). But like anything else, there's also the question of
practice.
So I say to you,
if you have the slightest inclination, if you feel you have something
to say: go! Write! Exchange of ideas becoming more free and more
accessible can only enhance the life of the Religious Society of
Friends – provided, as always, that we can continue to deal with
each other with love and understanding.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Did you enjoy this post, or find it interesting, informative or stimulating? Do you want to keep seeing more of these posts? Please consider contributing to my Patreon. More information is available in the post announcing my use of Patreon.
Did you enjoy this post, or find it interesting, informative or stimulating? Do you want to keep seeing more of these posts? Please consider contributing to my Patreon. More information is available in the post announcing my use of Patreon.
