Style over Substance

Style over substance?

What is more important to you, how people see you or, what and who you are? This is of course a bit of a trick question; because we don’t really know how people see us. Indeed, our personalities are multi faceted by necessity. Taking myself for example, I am father, husband, friend, brother, son, uncle and who knows what else. all of these require me to access different facets of my personality. at any given time

"O wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as ithers see us!" (Robert Burns).

How do you dress? What do you post on social media? What matters to you? What is the impression you want to leave people through your use of social media? Personally, looking at what you ate for dinner doesn’t really do it for me. Although I do enjoy seeing people having fun.

I do also enjoy the educational content that is available and becoming more and more accessible. I’ve learned more about autism via YouTube then I did via my psychology degree. I don’t think social media is bad, or is responsible for what I believe is societies leaning to style over substance, it can be benevolent in that it gives us all the freedom to express ourselves. But what I do find interesting is how we choose to express ourselves. I absolutely value some people sharing their experiences publicly thus enabling us to learn from others through their, often very difficult, experiences.

I recently read a very powerful post on a social media site. "people, if you do something for charity, do it because you care, not so you can put it on facebook".

Image is tainted. Indicates style over substance. Reputation is actually more complex. Focus on actions as basis for reputation.

I think we are being educated to think looks are more important than content through media, social media, politics, celebrities, films etc… A friend once asked me; does life replicate art, or does art replicate life? It is one of the great philosophical debates. If we were to decide that life replicates art, does that mean that presenting something in an attractive way makes it more right? Just because something is attractive does not make it right.

“My friend, I am not what I seem. Seeming is but a garment I wear — a care-woven garment that protects me from thy questionings and thee from my negligence. The “I” in me, my friend, dwells in the house of silence, and therein it shall remain for ever more, unperceived, unapproachable.” (Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet).

Dress well. Speak well. Use props, pictures and powerpoint. Use panache, verve, flair and elegance. Wow the crowds with your style and they may not notice that your content is not so hot. Use elaborate language that sounds good and fills up the space you have, covering the fact that you may actually have very little to say.

Style over substance is a logical fallacy, which occurs when someone bases their argument on compelling language, obfuscation, and various terms of art, instead of legitimate logical analyses. The fallacy works in two ways; It can propose an idea using style rather than substance, or it can reject an idea by attacking its style and presentation rather than its information content. But surely what matters is the content of the argument — the substance.

When the arguer embellishes the argument with compelling language or rhetoric, and/or visual aesthetics. This comes in many forms as described below. “If it sounds good or looks good, it must be right!” Marketing is a whole industry based upon this idea. The objective of advertising isn’t always about telling us what is available but sometimes it’s selling us what we neither need or want.

I love the saying that ‘A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.’

In this case, it might be used to imply that a team is no better than the least productive member of that team which is just not true. But if the chain is only as strong as its weakest link, then the chain is equally as strong as its strongest link? Very often the ‘weakest links’ fade away into the background and the strong players lead the team. Or better still, the team will bond around the weakest link and build or encourage a greater contribution.

I cannot help thinking about politics when the subject of style over substance comes up. Well, politics and gossip magazines, same thing really.

How often have we thought that a politician’s speech was style over substance. They didn’t make very good points, but it sounded good. Passion in all the right places.

"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit."

—W.C. Fields

Across the pond the rise of John F Kennedy famously changed the way the game of politics was played out in America. His presidential campaign marked a step away from the traditional focus on matters of pure policy towards a focus on personality, publicity stunts, fashion and then - and only then - on political issues. We in the UK then followed suit and in my opinion, we still do just that.

If people like you, then they will bond with you and will be unwilling to criticise what you say, or even think ill of you , to do otherwise would cause cognitive dissonance.

“When a political leader spends more time worrying about who he should associate himself rather than the policies he should be enacting, it is ultimately the people that lose out. Look at today's dissatisfaction with political parties. Politicians have always linked themselves with popular people for support but the problem today is that this is all politicians seem to focus on. Is Britain following American politics in its focus on personality and style over substantial policy change?" (Sarah Aston).

Let's face it, in today's current climate we need politicians who are empathetic, educated, experienced and know what they are talking about. I'd far rather talk to them about their political outcomes and plans, how their actions have benefited the people they are in office to serve, than their holidays, parties or publicity stunts.

“Lies are sufficient to breed opinion, and opinion brings on substance”. (Francis Bacon).

I ask you again. What matters to you? How people see you or, what and who you are. After all, words will always come easy. We are defined by what we do!