Holy Cross Prof. Releases Book on Importance of Hindsight in Reflection and Moral Life

WORCESTER, Mass. – Mark P. Freeman, professor of psychology and dean of the Class of 2011 at the College of the Holy Cross, has released a new book titled Hindsight: The Promise and Peril of Looking Backward (Oxford University Press, 2010).

In Hindsight Freeman asserts that reviewing the past can serve as a source of insight, understanding and self-knowledge.  He sees hindsight as a process of “narrative reflection” in which the distance separating the past from the present allows individuals to look back and see past experiences in a new light, as episodes in an evolving story.  Freeman contends that “being in the now” and “living in the moment” are important, but it is no less important to pause and look backward to understand experiences that would otherwise escape our attention.

“There’s so much that goes on in our lives that’s difficult to make sense of in the immediate moment,” says Freeman.  “In some cases, we can’t see what’s going on, and in other cases we won’t.  But beyond these instances, there’s the fact that we often don’t understand the meaning and significance of experiences or events until later on, when we can look back and discern their place in our unfolding stories.  In this sense, hindsight is a key aspect of living the examined life.”

The book is already receiving praise.  According to Dan P. McAdams, author of The Redemptive Self: Stories Americans Live By, “Mark Freeman is the rare psychologist with the gift of discerning the philosophical undercurrents and the deep moral significance of everyday behavior and consciousness. In this provocative and personal meditation, Freeman explores the nature of memory, narrative, and time in human lives. His intriguing examples and insights will pull you along as you read; and in hindsight, you will look back on your time with Freeman’s book as a profound intellectual experience.”

Freeman earned his B.A., in psychology, from the State University of New York at Binghamton (now Binghamton University) and his Ph.D., in human development, from the University of Chicago. A member of the Holy Cross faculty since 1986, he served as assistant dean of the College from 1992-96 and associate dean of the College from 1995-2000.  He has also served as the W. Arthur Garrity, Sr. Professor in Human Nature, Ethics and Society.

Freeman’s teaching and research interests include the history and philosophy of psychology, the psychology of the self, narrative psychology, and the psychology of art and creativity.  Recently, he has tried to extend his research in narrative psychology by focusing on the aesthetics and ethical dimensions of narrative, specifically in the context of autobiographies.  His first book, Rewriting the Self: History, Memory, Narrative, received the Alpha Sigma Nu National Book Award in 1994.  His second book, Finding the Muse: A Sociopsychological Inquiry into the Conditions of Artistic Creativity, was named an “outstanding book” by Choice magazine in 1995.  Freeman has also written numerous articles and reviews for a variety of scholarly books and journals.   He is a resident of Worcester, Mass.