Self-Alienation

Modern usage of the term alienation describes a state of social isolation or psychological estrangement with one’s surroundings, which discourages the alienated individual from participating in social events, or in more extreme cases, ever leaving one’s home. A wide variety of factors are thought to contribute to the feeling of alienation, such as lack of personal connection with one’s occupation, reliance on de-humanizing technology, or materialist culture which de-emphasizes spirituality and substantial human connection. These sources can be seen as socially constructed causes of alienation, as they each arise as a result of the nature of a technologically arranged and economically oriented society in which material gain and financial wealth are held to be the chief aims for any action. A more natural form of alienation is one that is not necessarily a product of belonging to a particular society, but rather a feeling experienced as a result of the natural qualities of a specific individual being intensely opposed to those qualities of the multitude. This kind of alienation is mostly identified among the highly gifted in intellectual and artistic capabilities, but also among those who may not possess genius, yet because of a higher than usual degree of awareness and understanding, choose to separate themselves from the masses in order to uphold a different set of values and pursue interests of an obscure or solitary nature. Alienation takes many forms, but one form which is less often considered is the alienation of the self.

Self-alienation is the state of insufficient knowledge of oneself. When an individual does not have a proper understanding of himself, he is alienated from himself. Either his age has limited his experiences through which self-identity can be achieved, or his awareness and understanding is of an insufficient nature for the task, or he lacks the proper capacity for self-reflection and observation, or he is in denial about himself because he performs unsatisfactorily in certain circumstances. This latter case is the most tormenting form of self-alienation, as it means that on some level there is a sense of self-identity, yet this is rejected for the reason that the actions carried out by this self are frustrating and defective. This leads to the great misery of self-hatred, from which arises the most violent inner war with oneself.

To be sure, one is always at war with oneself. To be continuously engaged in conflict with oneself, as an element of the condition of human existence, functions to maintain within the self a quality of striving-to-be. This quality is to be observed in all living beings to a certain degree, yet in the human it operates in accordance with rational capacity which intensifies its motivation. Because of our capacity for abstract and idealistic thought, this is a struggle we can never overcome, since the process of experience is such that we are consistently re-evaluating our position through a succession of maturity levels. Perfection is an unrealizable goal for human beings. And it is exactly this which keeps us striving-to-be, until we are interrupted by cold and indifferent extinguishment.

Self-hatred is simply the recognition that certain important qualities of this particular self are defective in consideration of the manner of life the individual desires. Lack of self-confidence, low opinions of oneself, and frequent episodes of self-pity are common features of this type of personality. This often leads to numerous destructive acts committed in disdain for oneself, as a way of punishing oneself. But this punishment is in vain, as the self is being abused simply for being what it is. On many counts, life is a poor and sad ordeal for all of humanity, but in this instance of self-hatred and self-punishment, it is an even poorer and sadder life. In rare instances, there can be found an individual who recognizes that these defective qualities of the self are nothing more than the individual weaknesses of the self, and rather than punishing the self for these natural weaknesses, this individual learns to love the self to a degree that the particular circumstances that expose the weaknesses of the self are avoided as much as possible. This is the opposite of self-hatred, and means that the self is no longer in alienation.

Self-awareness, which involves recognition of defective qualities of oneself, is the way toward self-discovery. Through careful and honest observation of oneself through the many varied experiences of life, followed by sincere reflection, one comes to know who one is. This requires a kind of honesty with oneself that appears rare among most humans. Lying to oneself about the truths of one’s character, or about some manner of easy elimination of a specific defective quality, is to declare a most violent war upon onself. The only effective way to know oneself is to study all aspects of one’s behavior, including inclinations, thoughts, and responses, each according to particular circumstances. The more intimate one’s acquaintance is with these self-defining aspects, the closer one comes to knowing oneself.

Response to specific situations is the clearest representation of an individual character. The extraordinary differences between individual human beings means that, unlike the individual animal whose actions can be taken as representative of its entire species, individual human beings will react differently to the same set of circumstances. The vast array of qualities making up and separating the characters of human beings – bravery, cowardice, strength, weakness, intelligence, ignorance, quick-acting, apprehensive, aggression, passivity – make it near impossible to determine, lacking knowledge of a specific human being’s qualities, how he will act in a given situation. Yet the individual, whose character is defined by certain and unique qualities, will almost always act in the same manner in a given circumstance. Even in those situations wherein the individual reacts in such a way that he is put in a state of disadvantage with himself and with others, to his amazement, he will act the exact same way when similar circumstances are presented to him. To be sure, this will be the case in almost every situation, as long as the individual is in his natural disposition, and is not intentionally attempting to act in a different way, meaning a way that is not in accordance with his nature, and where enough time has passed that his anger and frustration with himself over his response from the previous similar situation has since subsided. Yet again, he will commit the exact same action as before, and, not having sufficient knowledge of himself, will wage war on himself through self-wrath, frustration, and depression. As long as he is not pretending or consciously determined to behave differently, meaning that he is not in his natural state of mind, the individual will find himself acting in the same manner in similar situations, and the only way to avoid acting in ways that put him in poor affairs is for him to avoid, as much as possible, any situations that bring out his weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

A popular opinion in this Age of the Individual is that a fixed, unchanging personality is a myth. The modern idea that anyone can be anything they desire, and can "change" particular qualities of their character for the better is one of the many illusions of an egalitarian democracy. No! The truth of the matter is that we come into this world with an already defined character, the nature of which is a combination of traits inherited from the partners of conception. Our personality then is already determined. It is a thought of the deluded to imagine that one can shape and form their own natural identity to their own liking. Indeed, understanding ourselves is an endless process, but this understanding is a discovery of the already fixed self rather than a shaping or choosing one’s character. The search for personal identity is not like the search for a particular item on the shelf of a department store, where one picks and chooses the one item that best satisfies one’s desires. What an absurd idea! Yet this is exactly what the modern age of individualism would like people to think, especially in the United States, where the notion of equality is at its most destructive to greatness. They like to think that the crack-whore on the street corner can become a philosopher if only she wanted it badly enough and applied herself appropriately. Hopeless utopians! The honest and aware observer of human nature recognizes that the only flexibility one has remains within the framework of the natural character, and anything outside this framework is an absolute impossibility, as it means that one would become someone other than he is, that he would actually become someone else, and this cannot occur. One cannot get beyond the self in this sense, and should someone think that they have achieved this, the honest observer would see that they are only wearing a mask, and all masks fall in moments of truth.

When arranging one’s life, in regards of choosing occupation, residence, acquaintances, and all things that are included in the daily affairs of life, the wise course is always the one taken by he who knows and understands himself. He will arrange his life in such a way that all of its elements are in harmonious accordance with the nature of his character. He knows which capacities he is strong in, and will aim to place himself only in those situations that allow his strengths to manifest. He likewise knows which capacities he is lacking in, and so will aim to avoid, as much as possible, any situation that is a threat to expose his weaknesses. A person like this is never at violent war with the self. Indeed, he will struggle with that inner conflict that is fundamentally natural to humans, namely, the striving-to-be mentioned earlier, in which he is always reaching to become the perfect version of himself, which of course can never be achieved, yet, nevertheless, we cannot give up the struggle. The violent war with the self, which is the worst form of alienation of any manner, whether with self or with others, visits the person who does not have an understanding of his inner nature, and has not come to know himself, or is in denial concerning his individual character in terms of its defining qualities or the possibility of functioning outside the framework of his personality, which means to become another person entirely save for those brief moments of pretending. This person will have a terrible habit of almost always choosing poorly in the decisions of life, and will place himself in situations which humiliate him to his fellow human beings, which then arouses his anger and frustration, and violent war ensues. He does not know what his true strengths and weaknesses are, or he is in utter denial of the true nature of the self. Either he is incapable of proper self-observation and reflection, or he believes in what is impossible, namely, that the self can be shaped according to personal desires. This is self-alienation in its most aggravated form, as it leaves the individual in the most desolate variety of loneliness, a loneliness that haunts him everywhere he goes, and not even his own company can suffice, as he does not know who he really is, and unlike that sweet and meaningful despair that is familiar to the painfully aware, this lonely and wretched self-warring individual finds himself in the awful clutches of that bitter and agonizing form of despair from which no escape or meaning can come, for its host is lost to confusion and terrible anxiety, and thus cannot properly reflect upon himself and the world, and it is this which is the miserable condition of the majority.

8/12/07