I wonder if the only essential difference between Homo sapiens and other life forms is that some human societies promote the idea that we are uniquely different, and thus uniquely special. Once this is accepted without question, the conceit that we are separate from nature follows, resulting in an ever-growing cascade of insanities.
I also suspect (and agree), having lived with dogs, played with dolphins, watched videos of birds doing stunningly 'smart' and self-aware things, that it is the NATURE of our self-reflection capacity, or consciousness, not the existence of a consciousness, that puts us in a different (negative?) light.
Thanks again for sharing his wisdom. As an apprecitor of Fromm you have prompted me to deeper reflection this morning and with thanks to the attached questions.
Ideas that generally promote life and flourishing are good. Those that are anti-life are bad. This seemingly simplistic heuristic has helped me separate many ideas and philosophies along with their proponents worthy of emulation vs. those to be avoided.
Regarding sanity vs. caring about injustices question you posed, it’s very very contextual. Obviously we need to remain sane yet also be courageous.
So yes we should care, but in the modern west we have gone mad with imagined injustices of every ilk to the point that we’ve traded it for any likeness of agency. You see the irony?
We’re so perpetually aggrieved that we couldn’t possibly admit to our own power or agency let alone help others… it’s become more important to claim victimhood in the pursuit of power instead.
I used to think that only primates, including people, and birds used tools. And then I realized I was wrong: octopi, ants, probably more. So maybe what distinguishes us is the ability to make books and bicycles.
The hermeneutical circle is constituted by the fact that it is only within the presuppositions of a meaningful framework that we can make sense of a given truth and it is only by the applicability of the truth in question that we can justify the choice of a particular framework.
At the risk of sounding obtuse, introspection is like a triangle; there are several kinds and each have their points but contrary to popular belief they all contain the right angle – it’s simply a matter of degree. ~ Aphorisms, Apothegms, and Axioms. Endeavors Heroic.
1. I think taking occasional breaks from the news is healthy. It’s important to know what’s going on, and also you can learn about what’s going on by being connected to other people.
I find it important to distinguish news from reality. News are selective stories with strong biases and varying degrees of factfulness. News highlight some aspects of reality, but ignore or even distort many others. I balanced diet of news helps me stay sane, eg with allsides.com.
You didn't quote it here, but it's amazing how relevant 'Escape from Freedom' is in our time, so many decades later.
“They were more free, but they were more alone.”
“The frightened individual seeks for somebody or something to tie his self to; he cannot bear to be his own individual self any longer, and he tries frantically to get rid of it and to feel security again by the elimination of this burden: the self.”
“It seems that nothing is more difficult for the average man to bear than the feeling of not being identified with a larger group.”
“Man does not suffer so much from poverty today as he suffers from the fact that he has become a cog in a large machine, an automaton, that his life has become empty and lost its meaning.”
“An individual may be alone in a physical sense for many years and yet he may be related to ideas, values, or at least social patterns that give him a feeling of communion and "belonging." On the other hand, he may live among people and yet be overcome with an utter feeling of isolation, the outcome of which, if it transcends a certain limit, is the state of insanity which schizophrenic disturbances present.”
I wonder if the only essential difference between Homo sapiens and other life forms is that some human societies promote the idea that we are uniquely different, and thus uniquely special. Once this is accepted without question, the conceit that we are separate from nature follows, resulting in an ever-growing cascade of insanities.
I also suspect (and agree), having lived with dogs, played with dolphins, watched videos of birds doing stunningly 'smart' and self-aware things, that it is the NATURE of our self-reflection capacity, or consciousness, not the existence of a consciousness, that puts us in a different (negative?) light.
Thanks again for sharing his wisdom. As an apprecitor of Fromm you have prompted me to deeper reflection this morning and with thanks to the attached questions.
Sanity starts with facing reality as it is, however unjust or absurd it may appear.
Ideas that generally promote life and flourishing are good. Those that are anti-life are bad. This seemingly simplistic heuristic has helped me separate many ideas and philosophies along with their proponents worthy of emulation vs. those to be avoided.
Regarding sanity vs. caring about injustices question you posed, it’s very very contextual. Obviously we need to remain sane yet also be courageous.
So yes we should care, but in the modern west we have gone mad with imagined injustices of every ilk to the point that we’ve traded it for any likeness of agency. You see the irony?
We’re so perpetually aggrieved that we couldn’t possibly admit to our own power or agency let alone help others… it’s become more important to claim victimhood in the pursuit of power instead.
Quotes 1 and 4 =💯%. Thanks for sharing💞
I used to think that only primates, including people, and birds used tools. And then I realized I was wrong: octopi, ants, probably more. So maybe what distinguishes us is the ability to make books and bicycles.
An answer to question number two:
The hermeneutical circle is constituted by the fact that it is only within the presuppositions of a meaningful framework that we can make sense of a given truth and it is only by the applicability of the truth in question that we can justify the choice of a particular framework.
From this circle there is no escape.
square the circle and think out of the box!
;)
At the risk of sounding obtuse, introspection is like a triangle; there are several kinds and each have their points but contrary to popular belief they all contain the right angle – it’s simply a matter of degree. ~ Aphorisms, Apothegms, and Axioms. Endeavors Heroic.
a cute angle; minimal risk of being obtuse, seems to me
;)
1. I think taking occasional breaks from the news is healthy. It’s important to know what’s going on, and also you can learn about what’s going on by being connected to other people.
I find it important to distinguish news from reality. News are selective stories with strong biases and varying degrees of factfulness. News highlight some aspects of reality, but ignore or even distort many others. I balanced diet of news helps me stay sane, eg with allsides.com.
You didn't quote it here, but it's amazing how relevant 'Escape from Freedom' is in our time, so many decades later.
“They were more free, but they were more alone.”
“The frightened individual seeks for somebody or something to tie his self to; he cannot bear to be his own individual self any longer, and he tries frantically to get rid of it and to feel security again by the elimination of this burden: the self.”
“It seems that nothing is more difficult for the average man to bear than the feeling of not being identified with a larger group.”
“Man does not suffer so much from poverty today as he suffers from the fact that he has become a cog in a large machine, an automaton, that his life has become empty and lost its meaning.”
“An individual may be alone in a physical sense for many years and yet he may be related to ideas, values, or at least social patterns that give him a feeling of communion and "belonging." On the other hand, he may live among people and yet be overcome with an utter feeling of isolation, the outcome of which, if it transcends a certain limit, is the state of insanity which schizophrenic disturbances present.”