Here are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs:<\/p>\n
When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful
\nA miracle, oh, it was beautiful, magical
\nAnd all the birds in the trees, well they’d be singing so happily
\nOh, joyfully, oh, playfully watching me
\nBut then they sent me away to teach me how to be sensible
\nLogical, oh, responsible, practical
\nAnd then they showed me a world where I could be so dependable
\nOh, clinical, oh, intellectual, cynical <\/p>\nThere are times when all the world’s asleep
\nThe questions run too deep
\nFor such a simple man
\nWon’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned?
\nI know it sounds absurd
\nPlease tell me who I am <\/p>\nI said, now, watch what you say, they’ll be calling you a radical
\nA liberal, oh, fanatical, criminal
\nOh, won’t you sign up your name?
\nWe’d like to feel you’re acceptable
\nRespectable, oh, presentable, a vegetable <\/p>\nOh, take, take, take it, yeah
\nBut at night, when all the world’s asleep
\nThe questions run so deep For such a simple man
\nWon’t you please (oh, won’t you tell me)
\nPlease tell me what we’ve learned? (Can you hear me?)<\/p><\/blockquote>\nChatGPT says: Yes\u2014this song (The Logical Song by Supertramp) is almost a textbook illustration of the porous vs. buffered identity tension Charles Taylor describes.<\/p>\n
Porous Identity in Childhood<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful \/ A miracle, oh, it was beautiful, magical\u2026\u201d
\nThat\u2019s the porous self: open to wonder, to the transcendent, to the sense of meaning radiating from nature, community, song. The child experiences life as permeated with joy and significance.<\/p>\nBuffered Identity in Adulthood<\/p>\n
\u201cBut then they sent me away to teach me how to be sensible \/ Logical, oh, responsible, practical\u2026\u201d
\nThat\u2019s the buffered self being constructed: rational, autonomous, bounded, no longer porous to outside enchantment. The adult identity is closed off\u2014clinical, cynical, intellectual\u2014protected from mystery but also cut off from connection.<\/p>\nThe Ache of the Transition<\/p>\n
\u201cThe questions run too deep \/ For such a simple man \/ Please tell me who I am.\u201d
\nHere\u2019s the crisis: the buffered self can function (responsible, respectable) but struggles with meaning. The deeper questions leak back in at night, when the buffered defenses quiet down. The song is haunted by the porous longing that can\u2019t be fully shut out.<\/p>\nThe Social Pressure<\/p>\n
\u201cWatch what you say, they\u2019ll be calling you a radical\u2026 respectable, presentable, a vegetable.\u201d
\nThis captures how society polices the buffered self: don\u2019t be porous, don\u2019t question too much, conform to roles that keep you bounded and acceptable.<\/p>\nSo yes: the song is almost an allegory of Taylor\u2019s framework. Childhood = porous openness; adulthood = buffered closure; midlife = the pain of remembering porosity and not knowing how to integrate it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs: When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful A miracle, oh, it was beautiful, magical And all the birds in the trees, well they’d be singing so … Continue reading