It is curious how modern psychology, by taking away man’s autonomy, painting him as submissive to this monster created by Freud,—the “unconscious,”—has ended up devaluing his own mind, the opposite of what one might expect. Even Jung, who so distinctly perceived the individual character of human psychology, seems to slip into some false notions of modern psychology. He claims, with some prudent caveats, that nothing influences our conduct so little as ideas. And here we return, once again, to the insulting comparison of this “our”. What “our”? Unquestionably, different men make different uses of the minds they possess. One does not have to be a philosopher to have a “philosophy of life”; and what is this but the practical result of the individual’s ideas, concepts and judgments? How can the practical consequences of reasoning be denied to the man of value? How can we continue with this infamous contention that all morality is a strictly collective construction? If ideas really influence man so little, one can only conclude that this man, specifically, is inferior.
Category: Notes
The Great Genius Most Often Lives Hindered
I believe it was Carpeaux who noted that the great genius most often lives hindered by circumstances. And even if he does not want to, even if he resists, a force seems to set him in motion, prohibiting unproductive inertia. Thus we have the most common profile: an individual neither poor, nor rich; neither totally deprived of means, nor blessed with too many facilities. He takes action; he does it because he needs to, because he feels pulsating a desire and a need to surpass himself, to elevate himself, which is nothing more than a flat refusal of his actual conditions. From this, he acquires an unbreakable motivation, ready to go to the ultimate consequences to achieve what he has set out to do. He adapts as best he can to the momentary hindrances and goes forward, always forward. Then, all this complex set of circumstances that Pessoa talks about, especially those of the environment, makes his spirit exceptionally vigorous, so that he is finally benefited by the necessary—as Pessoa also notes—”minimal episodes of luck”. It is a very interesting phenomenon, and one that makes one think…
Just as Machado’s Irony…
Just as Machado’s irony, badly imitated—and so imitated—is irritating, so is this simulated lightness in poetry, this simplicity that pretends to be profound, this delicacy that, when it is not the authentic expression of a temperament, is annoying. In short: Drummond and Bandeira. Perhaps the greatest curse of success is its offspring, that is, the imitators. How embarrassing is the technique when exposed without the original varnish! And to see all these cheap copies proliferating, making ridiculous the very creativity that engendered it… Directly, it is true, the originals are not tarnished; however, it is difficult to say that any artist would rejoice in forgeries. There remain antidotes, and none seems more potent than inserting absurd, repulsive eccentricities into one’s own art, which no imitator will have the courage to appropriate.
The Development of Personality, by Carl Jung
Jung is truly admirable! The effort he undertook in trying to integrate the irrational elements of the human psyche into his analytical psychology, aware of the criticism he would receive from the scientific community, is worthy of the highest appreciation. Jung not only refused to deny or hide what he saw, but he sincerely sought explanations for extremely intricate problems, exposing them even if groping in the dark. The vision of “personality” that he expounds in this paper, translated as The development of personality, shows an acuity very rare in children of academia, and affronts the notion that man is limited to a biological-social construction. Personality cannot be taught or generalized, does not manifest spontaneously, and consists of an act of courage against herd behavior. It is a badge, a destiny and a curse. It is a conscious and individual deliberation, which requires a commitment to oneself and is never given out of necessity. It is, therefore, a choice, with unbearable consequences for the majority, and which completely changes the behavioral paradigm of the one who makes it. Jung, perhaps the greatest of modern psychiatrists, was especially great for not settling into the comfort of psychology textbooks and not giving in to the delusional postulate that the human mind obeys a universal functioning.