Compatibility And Personal Baselines
What is experienced by an individual as right, good, natural, as a basic value or a personal need is often very different from what the majority of the social environment does or expects. The individual's baseline is not congruent with the surrounding social environment's baseline. Instead there are two baselines, the personal baseline and the normative baseline. Deviance is considered and perceived in comparison to what is accepted as the baseline. Two baselines define two deviances.
It is important
What is experienced by an individual as right, good, natural, as a basic value or a personal need is often very different from what the majority of the social environment does or expects. The individual's baseline is not congruent with the surrounding social environment's baseline. Instead there are two baselines, the personal baseline and the normative baseline. Deviance is considered and perceived in comparison to what is accepted as the baseline. Two baselines define two deviances.
It is important
- to be aware of one's own true personal baseline and to accept it as a choice and not as deviant from what society demands or expects as the norm.
- to focus on being independent and accepting one's position, instead of being bothered with defending oneself against the norm.
- to live according to the true baseline and not submitting to the mainstream baseline against the own inclinations.
People, whose true personal baseline differs from society's baseline, can be in two different incongruent situations:
- They feel deviant and attempt to become, what they are not.
- They are not aware of having externally submitted to what is not their true self, of which they are oblivious or in denial.
Example 1:
- Congruent situation 1: According to the skeptical baseline, nothing is true, because someone else claims it to be true. Evidence and information can help to estimate the probability. Skeptics consider all believing as a deviance from rationality.
- Congruent situation 2: In a christian society, the existence of a deity is not doubted, believers feel good because of their belief, which is agreed upon as the baseline and norm, and atheists are considered to be deviant.
- Incongruent situation 1. People, who have been disappointed by some tragic event and have lost their belief grieving for having lost it. For them, the baseline still is believing, and they experience themselves as deviant.
- Incongruent situation 2. People taking the belief in a deity for granted without it being of any personal meaning to them. They would never expect anything from the deity. They are atheists before getting aware of it.
Example 2:
- Congruent situation 1: According to the childfree baseline, it is good to be without children. Children make life miserable. For childfree people, breeding is a deviation from their baseline.
- Congruent situation 2: In average society, breeding is the norm, breeders follow their inclination, childfree or childless people are considered as being in a state of deviance.
- Incongruent situation 1. People wishing to have children but having none accept breeding as the baseline and they feel as if they were deviant.
- Incongruent situation 2. People postpone breeding due to the lack of a true wish are not aware of this.
Compatibility with a partner means compatible personal baselines based in the situation of congruence.
- Absolute baselines are dichotomous. One is either an atheist or one is not.
- Onesided baselines. While there is a minimal education to be equals, there is no maximum education.
- Fuzzy baselines. The baseline like the one of sharing all and being mutually the most important person in the world is fuzzy, there is no general definition for all couples. Every couple needs to find an agreement of the meaning of this baseline due to limitations by differences in taste and in job requirements.
A situation, where the baseline only appears compatible, because for one it is congruent, but not for the other, will cause disruption in a relationship.
