Society & Politics

Generalizations: Are They Any Good?

Generalizations are an important way for people to understand the world they live in. Most generalizations are made with reason and observation. The contemporary person sees generalizations as lazy and unfounded but the opposite is the case. People who acknowledge the legitimacy of generalizations typically assume the existence of exceptions, however people who resist generalizations tend to only see the exceptions as something that disqualifies the generalization.

What is most important if we are to make generalizations is that they are true. The reason why contemporary people discredit generalizations is because so many bad ones have been made. Generalizations like "Men are stupid" These generalizations although they provoke a lot of feelings are patently false.

When we make a generalization is very important that we get to the Truth and once we get there we need to get the proportion of truth right.

Its hard to find images that convey generalizations because generalizations deal with the whole
Its hard to find images that convey generalizations because generalizations deal with the whole


I can say that "farmers wake up early." Most people would agree. Its not only an observation I have made, but others have made, and its a reality that most farmers live in. Its also the reasonable thing for a farmer to do. Now, is there a farmer that wakes up at 1pm? Sure there is, but it makes him a lousy farmer and an exception not the rule. Farmers ought to wake up early.

Another example of a good generalization is "Families consist of a mother, father and children." This is observable, but is it always true? and what is the proportion of the truth? In today's world families aren't so clean cut as they used to be however generalizations are also founded in ideas of what ought to be. Its the ideal which makes this generalizations accurate. The men and women who want to start families generally want to have the idea family. This ideal is more than ideal because its practical. No one would try to start an ideal family by having two fathers and no mother, or two mothers and no father. That wouldn't be idea and it certainly isn't practical.

That looks like a family if I ever saw one!
That looks like a family if I ever saw one!

Perhaps in today's world a generalization like the one mentioned above would seem impractical, but its only because today's world is exceedingly impractical. The previous sentence is a generalization in itself. But is it true? We would need a basis for understanding on what is practical? A quick google search gives me this definition of the word practical :

"(of an idea, plan, or method) likely to succeed or be effective in real circumstances; feasible."

In contemporary society we are trying new methods and new forms for building families. If practicality means if something is likely to succeed, we wouldn't know if the 'New Family', is practical because it hasn't been practiced. Therefor the generalization that most families consist of a Father, Mother, and Children is an accurate one.

So are generalizations any good? generally speaking yes.

I hope this MyTake helped people understand generalizations and why they are made. Feel free to add criticism, conjecture, and chastisement

We have grown too subtle to see things at all; we can only see parts of things. And most of our modern intellectualism only increases the evil, because it does not in any sense assist simplicity. For our disease most modern analysis is bad, because it is analysis. It is cutting things up when what we need most is to put them together.

“The Whole Elephant,” Daily News, February 8, 1908 - G.K. Chesterton

Thanks for reading <3

Generalizations: Are They Any Good?
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