Comparative Analysis of Two Books: Alone Together and the Rule of St. Benedict

As once argued by Winston Churchill, “We shape our buildings, then they shape us.” the same statement holds a lot of truth when examined in the context of our digital technologies. Digital technology has undoubtedly become our intimacies’ architect. Online, we are constantly faced with myriad moments of temptations. Drawn by the illusion orchestrated by the need for companionship with no unnecessary intimacy demands, our human social behavior and human relationships in the digital age have significantly changed. This is because, on Second Life, we conduct “risk-free” affairs and confuse the scattershot or screenshot postings on social media with authentic communication. To further complicate the matter, we anticipate “sociable robots” that have the potential to achieve the highly sought-after balance between companionship and convenience. This is a manifestation that human social behavior and relationships in the digital age, as articulated in Sherry Turkle’s Alone Together, are beyond their own control but primarily dependent on technology (Turkle, 2011). Curiously, this framework of human experience is reiterated in the Rule of St. Benedict written by Benedict of Nursia, a 6th-century monk, where the human experience of monks living in a community together depends on structures within the Abbey headed by an Abbot, restricting deviation from the rule (Herbermann, 1913).

As the Rule of St. Benedict written for communally living monks under an abbot’s authority stipulates, the spirit of the rule can be underscored in the traditional motto of pray and work (“ora et labora”). This can be summed up in what is articulated by Turkle’s technology promise of letting us do anything with anyone from anywhere. But also has a detrimental effect of draining us as we strive to achieve this frail promise of doing everything everywhere (Turkle, 2011). In the attempts to achieve this promise, the subtle feeling of being depleted and overwhelmed begins to set in as a result of the lives digital technology lures us into living or making possible. This implies that despite the fact that, we may be free to do everything from everywhere, it is inevitable that we shall be prone to feeling lonely anywhere. However, in a surprising twist, it is noted that despite the relentless connection and networking attributed to digital technology, it has also led to a new solitude (Turkle, 2011). This assertion by Turkle in her book Alone Together is echoed in the Rule of St. Benedict, which not only plays an imperative role in providing a moderate path between formulaic institutionalism and individual zeal and ends up dictating each and every move of the monks communally living in an Abbey under the authority of an abbot (Herbermann, 1913).

In Chapter 3 of the Rule of St. Benedict, the definition of humanness is sought in the context of summoning the brothers or monks for counsel. The Abbey’s democratic structure is described by St. Benedict in this chapter, where he reiterates the need for the abbot’s role in calling the entire community together for deliberations when an important decision has to be made. However, the assumed democratic equality in this structure does not go unchallenged, where the part of brothers or monks in the Abbey express their opinions with utmost humility, without a presumption of defending their individual views obstinately (Herbermann, 1913). This indicates that there is the susceptibility of a monk to shift his sense of daily and self-experience through the majority rule way of daily deliberations or, at the least, through the final ruling of the abbot heading the Abbey. Thus, in the Rule of St. Benedict, humanness is dependent upon structures aimed at restricting deviance from the rule, and no particular monk is envisaged to pursue the desires of his or her own heart (Herbermann, 1913).

In comparison, Sherry Turkle's Alone Together curiously reiterates St. Benedict’s Rule of human experience framework. For instance, in Turkle’s scenarios, the human actor has less control over his or her own humanness or individuality (Turkle, 2011). Instead, the human actor is envisaged to gravitate toward the propositions of technology and learn the art of seeing himself or herself as inseparable from the corresponding technological or electronic devices that define and characterize the digital era.

However, it is undoubtedly clear that these scenarios are established by Turkle with concern regarding the subject of study, with a consistent propositioning towards recasting his or her image in a manner perceived acceptable in the technology being used (Turkle, 2011). As such, these structures established in the technology as well as the Abbey, one a virtual reality and the other a lived-in community, play an imperative role in defining or characterizing our humanness or individuality.

In chapter 4 of the Rule of St. Benedict, tools of spiritual craft or good work are listed, leading to the monastery’s enclosure as well as the community’s stability. The listed tools are essentially highlighted as the duties that should be fulfilled by every Christian and primarily Scriptural, either in spirit or in letter (Herbermann, 1913). Benedict’s concerns in the Rule were the needs of monks living communally in a community or an Abbey environment, namely, towards establishing due order, fostering a succinct understanding of the human beings’ relational nature, as well as providing a spiritual father (an abbot). The abbot is crucial in supporting and strengthening the ascetic effort of individuals as well as the spiritual growth that is highly needed to fulfill the human vocation (Herbermann, 1913).

In contrast, Turkle is not only concerned with the online identity problem, but the banalities of electronic interaction seems to upset her the most, considering that there a constraint of our range of expression by our platforms and gadgets (Turkle, 2011). She emphasizes that we are no longer a happy lot but simply a mere semicolon subsequently followed by a parenthesis. Rather than writing wistful letters or cards, we merely embark on editing our Tumblr blogs, and rather than making phone calls, we simply send a text or tweet (Turkle, 2011). These trends have significantly changed how we interact, and we unconsciously acknowledge their convenience without reflecting on their detrimental effects on our social interactions. Furthermore, Turkle notes that there are no signs of these trends abating any time soon, as people are increasingly gravitating towards these technologies that allow them to interact and connect in absentia or inattentive (Turkle, 2011).

Throughout the Rule of St. Benedict, it is undoubtedly evident that it was written as a guide for autonomous communities and individuals to remain self-governing. As a result, the benefits seen to accrue from retaining this unique emphasis on autonomy are varied, including cultivating models of contemplative lifestyles and tightly bonded communities (Herbermann, 1913). Moreover, the perceived detrimental effects of this autonomy comprise geographical isolation from activities of imperative course in adjacent communities. In addition, other perceived disadvantages of the autonomy postulated in the Rule of St. Benedict include lack of mobility as well as inefficiency in the service of others (Herbermann, 1913).

On the other hand, Turkle’s Alone Together, which is based on hundreds of interviews with adults and children, describes unsettling, new relationships between children, parents, lovers, and friends, and new instabilities in our understanding of community and privacy, solitude and intimacy (Turkle, 2011). Through this exploration of human social behavior and relationships on the digital terrain, an emotional dislocation story involving taking risks unknowingly is narrated (Turkle, 2011). But it is also a story that exudes hope, even for places with the greatest levels of digital saturation where people have begun to ask hard questions concerning checks and balances, costs, as well as returning to what is considered sustainable with regards to direct human connection (Turkle, 2011).

References

Herbermann, C. ed. (1913). “Rule of St. Benedict”. Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.

Turkle, S. (2011). Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. New York, NY: Basic Books.