Am I sane... or, am I crazy?
Susanna I'm ambivalent. In fact that's my new favorite word.
Dr. Wick: Do you know what that means, ambivalence?
Susanna: I don't care.
Dr. Wick: If it's your favorite word, I would've thought you would...
Susanna: It *means* I don't care. That's what it means.
Dr. Wick: On the contrary, Susanna. Ambivalence suggests strong feelings... in opposition. The prefix, as in "ambidextrous," means "both." The rest of it, in Latin, means "vigor." The word suggests that you are torn... between two opposing courses of action.
Susanna: Will I stay or will I go?
Dr. Wick: Am I sane... or, am I crazy?
Susanna: Those aren't courses of action.
Dr. Wick: They can be, dear - for some.
Susanna: Well, then - it's the wrong word.
Dr. Wick: No. I think it's perfect.
ambivalence: a state of having emotions, thoughts, or actions in contradiction with each other; mixed feelings. ie: love/hate.
-an underlying emotional attitude in which co-existing contradictory impulses derive from a common source and are thus interdependent.
- a person's everyday 'mixed feelings' may easily be based on a quite realistic assessment of the imperfect, inconsistent or self-contradictory nature of the thing being considered.
- an unwillingness to commit oneself to a definite answer, position, or conclusion in thought, either because a definite stance is deliberately avoided or evaded, or because sufficient grounds (logical or exponential evidence) warranting a definite stance are lacking.
The main problem with ambivalence is that it provides no clear guide or orientation for action and leadership; it is an uncertainty which incapacitates choices and decisions.
Dr. Wick: Do you know what that means, ambivalence?
Susanna: I don't care.
Dr. Wick: If it's your favorite word, I would've thought you would...
Susanna: It *means* I don't care. That's what it means.
Dr. Wick: On the contrary, Susanna. Ambivalence suggests strong feelings... in opposition. The prefix, as in "ambidextrous," means "both." The rest of it, in Latin, means "vigor." The word suggests that you are torn... between two opposing courses of action.
Susanna: Will I stay or will I go?
Dr. Wick: Am I sane... or, am I crazy?
Susanna: Those aren't courses of action.
Dr. Wick: They can be, dear - for some.
Susanna: Well, then - it's the wrong word.
Dr. Wick: No. I think it's perfect.
ambivalence: a state of having emotions, thoughts, or actions in contradiction with each other; mixed feelings. ie: love/hate.
-an underlying emotional attitude in which co-existing contradictory impulses derive from a common source and are thus interdependent.
- a person's everyday 'mixed feelings' may easily be based on a quite realistic assessment of the imperfect, inconsistent or self-contradictory nature of the thing being considered.
- an unwillingness to commit oneself to a definite answer, position, or conclusion in thought, either because a definite stance is deliberately avoided or evaded, or because sufficient grounds (logical or exponential evidence) warranting a definite stance are lacking.
The main problem with ambivalence is that it provides no clear guide or orientation for action and leadership; it is an uncertainty which incapacitates choices and decisions.