It's quite psychologically liberating to see things this way. I used to think this was a fascinating but gloomy argument, but I'm changing my mind. Thanks for a great piece!
It's quite psychologically liberating to see things this way. I used to think this was a fascinating but gloomy argument, but I'm changing my mind. Thanks for a great piece!
Thanks, Clara. If you don’t mind, could you elaborate on how it has been psychologically liberating for you? I’m always looking for ways to frame these ideas that are less alienating and I’m wondering if you found a more helpful framing I could steal from you. :)
Sorry – that was a bit cryptic from me! I’m certain I’m not saying anything you haven’t already thought of, but I suppose I just meant, first of all, that it opens up a very accessible, clear way of evaluating human behaviour for people who aren’t aware of your field. This could be fun in itself as it suggests there is a whole realm of the unconscious that they may not have considered much before. Secondly, I’d imagine a lot of people feel sceptical of others’ (and their own) motivations and professed ideals much of the time, but lack a framework to justify such feelings. They could end up feeling guilty or lonely about having these thoughts. Your ideas (and those of others in your area) alleviate a lot of that self-blame as it turns out that these intuitions were probably right all along! I think we often kind of suspect of a lot of what you’re saying, but in a vague, unformed way. This helps flesh out all those ideas intellectually and makes them feel less unacceptable. Lastly, as you’ve observed, so much idealism ends up leading to disastrous consequences, so this critique could actually encourage some much needed scepticism. It’s OK and good to be a bit suspicious of ourselves and others – very freeing!
It's quite psychologically liberating to see things this way. I used to think this was a fascinating but gloomy argument, but I'm changing my mind. Thanks for a great piece!
Thanks, Clara. If you don’t mind, could you elaborate on how it has been psychologically liberating for you? I’m always looking for ways to frame these ideas that are less alienating and I’m wondering if you found a more helpful framing I could steal from you. :)
Sorry – that was a bit cryptic from me! I’m certain I’m not saying anything you haven’t already thought of, but I suppose I just meant, first of all, that it opens up a very accessible, clear way of evaluating human behaviour for people who aren’t aware of your field. This could be fun in itself as it suggests there is a whole realm of the unconscious that they may not have considered much before. Secondly, I’d imagine a lot of people feel sceptical of others’ (and their own) motivations and professed ideals much of the time, but lack a framework to justify such feelings. They could end up feeling guilty or lonely about having these thoughts. Your ideas (and those of others in your area) alleviate a lot of that self-blame as it turns out that these intuitions were probably right all along! I think we often kind of suspect of a lot of what you’re saying, but in a vague, unformed way. This helps flesh out all those ideas intellectually and makes them feel less unacceptable. Lastly, as you’ve observed, so much idealism ends up leading to disastrous consequences, so this critique could actually encourage some much needed scepticism. It’s OK and good to be a bit suspicious of ourselves and others – very freeing!
Thank you for this! Very helpful and glad you enjoyed it.