Human Composition Along Multiple Dimensions

This was the written part of my application for Boston College. It was rather spontaneous, with very little editing, so it is a bit lacking in coherence, and the transitions are often rather jumpy.

Interpreting the Human Composition Across Several Dimensions

The many fields of science are currently being drawn to a common middle-ground, a place where they converge, interact, and even find themselves defined by each other. This nexus is commonly treated as a holistic view, and is becoming increasingly popular in this era. Physics, chemistry, biology, psychology, statistics - these sciences are inherently related. It has become unavoidable to me to apply this paradigm to psychology and interpret the human psyche in terms of multiple interacting dimensions. It has become my belief that there is no way a human being can experience fulfillment without developing and progressing across these dimensions. And because of the unique relationship between these different dimensions, a lack of growth in one will hinder and obstruct progress in all the others. The purpose of exploring these dimensions is to improve the current state of psychology, which is incomplete.

The longer we spend observing aspects of human psychology, the more numerous the dimensions appear to be. Dimensions sometimes appear to be made up of even more basic and distinguishable dimensions. And as we spend even longer in contemplation and observation, we find that the distinctions between dimensions blur, that characteristics that belong to one inevitably belong to others. But if we find such characteristics, we can treat them as major and direct connections that link the dimensions, creating an impressive latice-like structure. Blurry distinctions imply solid connections.

Several dimensions are more immediately apparent: social, physical/physiological, intellectual, and existential. This is not to suggest that there are only 4 such dimensions. Surely, more can be intuited, and even more surely will different cultures have different expectations and interpretations of the dimensions that constitute human psychology. In this model, deconstruction and reconstruction are necessary; this is how progress is made. And always, there will be a factor that has not been included. We will never cease to split either the material or psychological worlds into smaller and smaller basic atomic elements. This will always leave us with unknowns.

The social dimension is our relationship with other human beings. It is essential to our progress, both externally and internally. The human is a naturally social animal, and is most efficient when s/he is in relation to other humans. Without social relationships, a person can never explore his/her potential to contribute to the world. Neither can a person explore the most intricate and defining characteristics of him/herself without delving into these social relationships. A complete psychology should help a person contribute to society. A human being cannot find fulfillment without contributing to his/her community; volunteer community work is absolutely essential for a person to be fulfilled.

The physical dimension is a neglected aspect within psychology. The human being is meant to be active. Our bodies demand more than passive sedentary lifestyles from us. Psychology must learn to emphasize the importance of physical activity. An inactive body will be unable to deal with the metabolites of stress. Our bodies are a gift, and we have forgotten to appreciate this gift.

A third dimension deals with our approach towards intellectual challenges. Dementia is becoming an ever-increasing problem in our culture. Our expectation of life is to work until a certain age, and retire from both social and intellectual work. Intellectual challenges have been proven to ward off dementia. It is important that we learn to emphasize the maintenance of intellectual pursuits: reading, mathematics, and games that place an intellectual demand.

Existentialism as a psychological dimension is not a philosophy; rather, it is the pursuit of meaning within our existence. Therapy should be capable of helping a person find a purpose in their life, and of finding a meaning to their struggles. A person should be given the opportunity to discover a feeling of purpose – not as an idea or thought, but as a simple feeling. This can be as simple as experiencing the sensation of presence.

The connections between these 4 basic dimensions are immediate and undeniable. Our social relations have an impact upon our feelings of purpose and satisfaction. Physical activity has been proven to develop and create neural connections. Intellectual challenges encourage us to work in groups. There is no mastery of any dimension; that is not the purpose of dissecting our psychology. Instead, there should be always a path of seeking and progress. It is not because a person is not capable of playing a sport that s/he should abandon (and be abandoned from) pursuing physical progress; they will find a different sort of satisfaction from discovering the potential of their individual bodies.

The need to redefine and assess the human across several over-lapping and interacting dimensions is most likely a product of our new way of accessing and sifting through information: the internet. This new approach is apparent in the different sciences – for example, the structural equation modeling of statistics, and the way in which information is organized within scientific disciplines. We no longer absorb information in a linear manner, but recognize major and minor connections that treat each bit of information as a node, and draw all these nodes together. Some of these connections are direct, some indirect, but like the extremely advanced neural pathways that make up our brains, they bring everything together.