Something that modernity has facilitated extraordinarily is the possibility for anyone, through merit and effort alone, to advance and ascend. It is a privilege to note that someone who seriously undertakes a study and achieves prominence in the area to which he dedicates now has a multitude of means to disseminate the knowledge he has gained and, what’s more, to make a living from its dissemination. In other words, in an environment with virtually no limitations, scholars can dedicate themselves to what they are interested in without depending on sponsors. In this respect, there is no denying the beneficial and ostensible emancipatory effect of modernity.
It Is Always Moving When We See…
It is always moving when we see the birth of a spirit that has been displaced, whether in time or space. When we look at him from a distance, we get the feeling of total injustice, of an excessive and unjustified penalty for a crime that was not committed, of a torture that only seems to obstruct him and pull him back. And it is touching to note that a little, a nothing that most people have, would make his existence significantly more pleasant. However, when we analyze his trajectory and look for the motivation for each of his steps, we realize that they are all rooted in this displacement which, deeply felt, generates a discomfort that drives action. It is therefore a productive discomfort that needs to be expressed and acted upon in order to alleviate the feeling; it is a discomfort that, in short, does not allow for accommodation.
It Does Not Seem Possible for This Process…
It does not seem possible for this process of individuation to take place without it being preceded by a crisis, a discomfort in relation to the environment which, for many, stimulates a feeling of identification. In order to perceive oneself, the individual has to differentiate, and this differentiation seems to be evidenced most often in conflict, which leads to an inner anguish yearning for affirmation. If this process, as is generally agreed, drives the expansion of consciousness, stimulating it seems more sensible than repressing it, and repressing it only seems to curb a fundamental stage in the development of the being.
When a New Idea Is Born…
In the arena of thought, when a new idea is born, even if it is just a new guise for an old idea, it is certain that, sooner or later, its antithesis will also emerge and spread with proportional force. The precision of this rule seems to point us to the cyclical nature of human thought: a cycle, however, which is not just a closed circle of repeating events, but, through a movement that seems to move forward and backward, expand and contract, affirm and deny, developing in a series of reasonably predictable stages, increases its own complexity and gives new nuances as time progresses. It is therefore a creative cycle that requires controversy in order to develop.