On Bitterness and Resentment

The comment section of a recent post over at the Philosophy Smoker ("To Bail, or Not to Bail") has -- as is often the case -- manifested bitterness and resentment over the job market. Although these feelings are understandable and likely even justified (the market is truly brutal), I can't help but feel -- as I often do when reading the Smoker -- that people have no idea just how counterproductive their bitterness is.

As someone who struggled mightily for a time in graduate school, and who still does not have a TT job, I can empathize with these feelings. Indeed, I have some history of lapsing into bitterness and resentment myself. And yet...if I have learned anything from the experience, it is that almost nothing shoots you in the foot more than this. For, you see, bitterness and resentment do not remain hidden inside. No, they ooze out of you like poison.

I was recently told by someone I went to grad school with that I used to look so unhappy walking around the halls of the department. I had no idea it showed! And yet, the more that I think about it, I showed it in all kinda of subtle ways: through frowns, through insecure and defensive ways of responding to well-intentioned feedback, etc. Now, again, perhaps my bitterness was justified. But that's not the point, is it? Justified feelings can be profoundly counterproductive and harmful, and it is now clear to me just how harmful. It is only when I finally set my bitterness and insecurities aside that, voila, people actually came to my aid -- which is what I wanted all along. For let's face it: no one wants to be around someone oozing negative vibes.

Perhaps more to the point, no one wants to hire a miserable clod. Indeed, for all of the discussion that's always devoted to publishing, cover letters, and dossiers, it never ceases to amaze me how little time is spent discussing the obvious, which is that people who are considering hiring you are looking to hire a person -- someone who, if all goes well, is going to be roaming the halls and participating in seminars and meetings for decades; and who, if the wrong person is hired, may prove to be a departmental cancer for years to come. Think about it for a moment. If you were on a hiring committee, and you had many talented candidates to choose from -- which of course is always the case -- who would you hire: the kind, helpful individual or the bitter, self-absorbed prig? Isn't it obvious? Give up your resentment then, justified though it may be. It is not only corrupting your soul, and your behavior from the inside out; it is likely corrupting your career prospects.

Comments

[Jack Gladney]

Thank you for this useful reminder, Marcus. Let me add a few comments that are probably all just echoing what you've said.

I've met lots of intelligent people who have trouble with this: just because something is true doesn't mean it's worth dwelling on and talking about over and over. (Yes, I know some people who've been depressed, but I've also read some blogs.)

Sure, the job market destroys souls. Sure, grad school can be hellish. Sure, PFOs are irritating. Etc. Etc. Etc. But the more we reflect on this sort of stuff, the more likely we are to feel awful or powerless or self-hating.

The truth is: it is often unproductive to think about what is true.

If we've chosen to try to break into the academic marketplace, we need to realize that complaining about it -- right now anyway, when we're still struggling to find a place -- is entirely unproductive at best and possibly self-sabotaging, as Marcus notes.

For some of us, negativity becomes this weird comfort -- a consolation for facing a bad situation. This is a mistake. But growing up and putting childish things away, as Americans usually don't get to until their 30s, means dropping this wet blanket. We need to deal with negativity, or it will eat us.

Enter self-help books, long walks on the beach with someone you love, great literature, or religion. Whatever it takes, we all need to keep in the front of our minds truths that will redirect our anxiety and fear and dissatisfaction, so that we can flourish through adversity. Otherwise, we may be wasting our efforts: if success ever comes, we'll be unable to enjoy it because we won't be the sort of people we want to be.

In my view, the Philosophy Smoker discussions are a festering pool of negativity, and I believe that young philosophers should stay away.

Not unrelated to these issues, I suggest taking a read of this fine and brutally honest article:

http://chronicle.com/article/Not-Quite-Bulletproof/132055/?sid=oh&utm_source=oh&utm_medium=en

That is all for now. I probably won't be able to chime in around here much from now on, but I wish everyone the very best!

[Kyle Whyte]

I agree with the sentiments here. If one has made the choice to enter this job market and line of work, it doesn't make a lot of sense to have a negative, counter-productive attitude. Though, I also feel somewhat uncomfortable saying this because I feel the job market has gotten significantly harder.