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FUNKbrs
Blood just gushing out the motherfucker, and here I am with an electrical cord trying to tie off the damn artery. You ever be laying by the side of the road covered in another man's blood talking to the cops and your girlfriend breaks up with you? I have.

FUNK brs @FUNKbrs

Age 42, Male

Misery Merchant

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The Quest for Solitude: the failure of modern humanism.

Posted by FUNKbrs - February 27th, 2008


Modern humanism is the basice belief in the human good, the idea that all humans are born as things of positive social and moral value, and only exposure to negative external elements causes corruption in the individual. This belief is predicated upon a logical scientific history in which humans are basically a type of animal evolved from other animals throughout a period of time that makes a single human lifetime inconsequential. Furthermore, it commonly assumes on faith that human cooperation can overcome any obstacle and presents itself as a message of hope.

Why then does humanity seem to be seeking isolation? Most major advances in popular consumer technology seem mindlessly devoted to separating people from one another physcially and emotionally. A deeper look at pre-history reveals the most prosperous time for individual humans to be the ice-age, when human populations were much lower, competition for resources was almost non-existent and social disputes were easily solved by creating separate camps. Technology such as cell phones, computers, and cars encapsulate individuals and filter their interactions into ice-age microcosms, tiny underpopulated worlds of limited social interraction where we can feel more comfortable. In a world of six billion people and infinite connectivity, people still only have the same handful of trusted friends and family members they had in the ice-age. The reason for this seems to be that humans are naturally limited in their mental capacity to deal with the stress of social interraction. In short, that humans are not naturally social or benevolent at all, and that altruism is at best a limited tribal phenomenon.

In comes a theology that admits to the existence of intrinsic human flaw. Human beings are insufficient to the task of living in civilization and need laws to maintain stability. We inherently seek not unity, but division. We seek not a mass orgy of human congregation, but single intimate interractions. our competitive nature which we inherit from our genetic origin of mammalian animals incompatible with large scale civilization, which requires individuals to work and act as one like ants or bees. In those insects, unquestioning faith in authority is a necessary trait for the survival of the hive. In a fallible human world, however, such faith in flawed humans only leads to death and war.

In the spirit of the preservation of human intellectualism, individuality, and nature, we have turned as a society that uses birth control to prevent this overcrowding, this being considered an improvement on the older techniques of war and slavery. Even our best and brightest advocate merely sitting back and waiting for our elders to die while we make no more children, increasing the world space for our own individual lives in opposition to natural selection by inheritance from dead generations.

In this, we see the line where the animal ends and the human begins. Animals have no care for any individual, although some mammals, being closer to humans genetically, share this trait. to be human, then, is to struggle agains the animal nature, to suppress instinct, to admit that the natural inclination is not a moral one, and those so-called people who fail to do so are not worthy of the name "human" but are rather animal infiltrators into the human race.

Her in this conflict we discover the reason for human mental disorder: people who put their own animal needs and feelings above logical reason. The animal nature is stronger in some people than others, and there is no shame in having an unchosen corrupt nature as long as every effort is made to fight it.

Here, then, is the quest for solitude. Why do humans form suburban communities? Why do those with the means always buy large, isolated country homes? If humanism is true, the rich would want to be surrounded by as many "good" people as possible, not all alone on a giant estate. The answer is that solitude allows the animal nature to be indulged. It removes the stress of social compliance. It is freedom, liberty, and power. It gives the creative mind room to function, to indulge in trial and experimentation.

How do we provide this solitude? There is a short list of answers: Outerspace exploration, extraspace creation, and innerspace development.

Outerspace exploration is an obvious answer. While the planet earth is finite, space is desolate and vast, with the power of stars uncounted to fulfill the dreams of men, provided such men have the technology to harness it. Space colonies, however, are prohibitively expensive in a world where animistic competition creates unnecessary shortages resulting in the starvation of millions.

Extraspace creation, which is a fancy way of saying "Internet" creates eheral or "videogame" space such as what is found in various MMORPGs and FPS online games, where human interaction is liimited to a party or team that is a single isolated unit. This solution is only an illusion and a way of escaping real-life.

Innerspace development is the oldest solution to this problem, generally associated with eastern philosophy and budhism, with hypnotic overtones. Through medtiation, the mind creates space within itself to deal with animistic self-conflict and escape external stress. These meditative techniques have been in use for thousands of years under various names.

Of the three solutions, only innerspace development is free and available to all people regardless of economic status. It needs only education by word of mouth to spread relief throughout the human tribe, thus making it unprofitable in the animistic competition equation. Those deeply invested in this selfdestruction therefore hate it, and have successfully sabotaged it in popular culture.


Comments

Nice text! I was going to say that the animal x human part was a bit exaggerated, but after I thought about it for a while, I think you're right. And the sad thing is, the animal part is winning!
So, do you meditate?
I used to do the Quan-In method, but I didn't have the discipline to go on... :(

I try to be a purist about meditation. I start with simple breathing exercises and allowing the back end of my mind to take over control of my basic survival functions in order to free my reasoning centers for self exploration.

Well, that and I smoke a lot of pot.