It is truly amazing how the years, which seem like nothing, which pass imperceptibly, disfigure reality to a point where there is not a single remnant left of what once was. So close one century to the other, and sometimes so disparate as to be unrecognizable. Anyone who makes a thorough analysis of the customs of past eras will be amazed, to the same extent as if someone from the past could catch a glimpse of the future. In both cases, a mixture of strangeness, repulsion, incomprehension and astonishment. Astonishment because, in theory, the human species has always consisted of men. However, for sociology, it is possible to describe men from different times as distinct species.
Category: Notes
Mastery in an Occupation Is Conditioned to the Starting Point
Nietzsche said somewhere that mastery in an occupation is conditioned to the individual’s starting point, more specifically, to how much he receives as a legacy. So for the son desirous of eminence, it is recommended that he follow in his father’s footsteps. There is a good deal of truth in this; but, as always, the exceptions are more curious than the rule. What a wonderful sense of the irony of fate in placing a Nietzsche as the son of a Protestant pastor! and a Cioran, growing up the son of a priest! From these and other examples we note that eminence, besides the enhancement of the legacy, also accepts violent rupture as a starting point.
To Be Normal…
To be normal, absolutely normal, one must first go to a psychologist. Only he is capable of putting a lost soul on the path to normality. Next, one must live in such a way as to spend at least half of one’s useful time working. Every day, one must expose oneself to the salutary radiation of a television. Remedies for anxiety, depression, and cholesterol should complement a diet centered on industrialized products. Social injustices should inspire the deepest indignation, and the State should be obeyed regardless of the circumstances. Next to the pillow, a self-help book. And the mind repeating the mantra: “I can”.
Psychology Ended Up Sinking…
Although they can be related, antipathy to socialization and social inability are completely different things. Introversion does not necessarily imply shyness or inhibition. Many psychologists fall into this error, and those who do not, err in judging the former to be a personality disorder—therefore, something which must be corrected. Psychology ended up sinking because it did not define, from the beginning, the scope of its work. It gave in to the charms of novelty and invaded other terrains—terrains whose complexity is beyond its means of analysis. It proceeded in this way, classifying behavioral patterns as if they were always the result of a stupid formula, as if the man had no capacity to judge and choose. Worse than that: without noticing, it established a supposedly universal scale of values to be used as a reference for what is or is not normal. Thus, it erected a human model devoid of individuality—a model, therefore, extremely superficial.