8. ALIENATION,
the Road to Despair
"Such is the confusion in the minds of people where genetic needs
are in conflict with socio-cultural conditioning!"
from: http://www.seanet.com/~realistic/idealism.html
A necessity for
reverence is not clearly evident. It is deep in our subconscious. Everything
that is human is evolved. Humans are the most complex, flexible, and adaptable
of all creatures on Earth. All this is the result of a
evolutionary process over a prolonged period beginning before we were human.
Evolution is Nature's way of creating. The longer a psychological relationship
has evolved, the more essential it is to consider.
Such matters that have evolved tend to be subconscious and automatic. People
intellectually may attempt to overrule tendencies of Nature.
Identification
and alienation are antithetical. The identification, humility, and dedication
come with normal essential appraisal of one's worth with respect to the rest of
the ideation. Final evidence of the unity and essential trinity of the idea is
that the absence of any one of these qualities in an adult person can result in
a collapse of an integral personality into a typical syndrome. In this instance
the syndrome consists of a collection of psychological deficiencies that result
in crippling incongruities.
Reverence can be
proven as a need by studying people who lack it. People who have too little, or
no reverence, are progressively bored, nervous, irritable, forgetful,
sleepless, depressed, insecure, impotent, and suicidal. Depression leads to
impotence, and the two may not be separate signs in the syndrome.
Diagnosticians may recognize this syndrome as being special to the
hypothalamus, a very primitive center of the brain.
There is a trap
into which the intelligent social mammal may fall which involves the improper
use of dialectic philosophies in the consideration of human behavior.
Conditioned alienation is usually a sui-genetic
situation in which the subject intellectually conditions himself. If he says to
himself ten times a day, "I am not my brother's keeper. I am not
responsible or concerned for anyone else in this society," he eventually
causes a short circuit in his mental ideation by recruiting neurosynapses
in a by-pass around an inborn need for social responsibilities. This could also
possibly be initiated through punitive relationships disturbing the
identification process during childhood. The individual does not necessarily
become antisocial, but asocial. This conditioned alienation is not to be
confused with a genetic alienation which is an entirely different syndrome
called "schizoid".
Self-conditioned
alienation usually occurs in a sensitive and intelligent young person, though
it can occur in a person of any age, who has incurred a cynical attitude toward
altruism brought about by a dialectic materialistic philosophy which proposes
that altruism and egoism are mutually exclusive. We now know and understand
that such a philosophy is unscientific, but it is still proposed by cynical
intellectuals who are often encountered in schools of higher education. This is
a part of the socialist and communist doctrine, for instance. Under current
conditions of Scientific insight such a philosophy is irresponsible and
culpable.
An individual
unprotected by insight into the evolution of altruism and susceptible to
argumentative influence can be conditioned to an unnatural attitude. An extreme
case would be a terrorist. An interview with a terrorist can usually reveal a
fractured personality with internal contradictory psychology.
The evolution of
altruism begins with a genetic condition within a small family which spreads to
more remote relationships. Self-alienation, then, is an anti-evolutionary trend
in which a personality withdraws from a wider boundary of relationships to a
smaller one. In the extreme, the person retracts his boundaries to within
himself. Physiologically, this requires an artificial neural by-pass around a
ganglion type structure presumably interlaced within the brain. Sometimes the ganglionic structure can become quite isolated. Such a
person can lose all comprehension of identification and bonding.
There are
considerations by perverse liberal materialists concerning the possibility of
denying this dependence on reverence to "free" humanity from it. They
see this as a step in grasping complete self-control for one's self. To attempt
such an action one would have to be oblivious to the fact that one would then
end up with a non-human mammal. The conclusion, consistent with human society,
is that the essence of humanity is reverence. To be human one must be reverent.
That is a real basis for ethics.
EXAMPLES OF ALIENATION
This conclusion
has a very practical everyday application. Let me cite three cases in which
each one illustrates a lack of one or more of the features of reverence. The
first two cases were young devout Christians who, on going to college, found
their faith undermined by the sophisticated dialectic materialism of a liberal
college campus. They lost their identity with a supernatural God with only
themselves to fall back on. Thus, the self-alienation and break down of their
psychological integrity. The condition continued until self-readjustment and/or
psychotherapy established another workable reverence.
The Lone Seminary
Youth
This kind of problem of a personality crisis is quite prevalent. I saw several
before I met a young man in his nineteenth year who
came to me with his problem of impotence. He was unmarried and in college. His
problem became evident through the cooperation of a very sympathetic girl
friend. When they first discovered his impotence, she ascribed it to his
inebriation. She made another date in nudity with him after several days of
sobriety and rest, but to no avail.
My knowledge of
the condition led to an early question on suicide. He assured me that he was
writing a "Handbook on Suicide", wherein he was collecting and
discussing various ways of doing it so that a novice (?!) who wished to do it
would not have to suffer a botched job. This is certainly one type of endeavor
in which one cannot gain experience. So, his use of the term "novice"
turned out to be a very bitter type of humor. His insomnia, nervousness, and
depression were close to the surface and were easy to discover. I had gone this
far in our investigation of his case when I confidently launched into a
discussion of alienation due to lack of faith.
To this he
listened with interested attention. In hindsight I recalled the bemused light
in his eye as I went through my act. At the conclusion of our discussion he
agreed that it was all very interesting, but he declared that he was a devout
Catholic, and as a matter of fact, was studying to be a priest. When I had
mentally reviewed the known factors in the case, and recovered from my shock,
we went back to analyzing his case.
He finally summed
up his attitude in the statement that "no one had ever done anything for
him" and he had avowed that he would "never do anything for anybody
else." This manifested his alienation by complete detachment from
humanity. I was momentarily stunned and confused by this new disclosure. He
resolved my confusion by telling me that he wanted to be a librarian in a large
isolated monastery where there were so many monks that he could hide in the
crowd. This was his idea of getting about as far away from humanity as he could
ever get.
The Conceited
Youth
A second case was that of a young man, 24, who had
graduated first in his high school class. He was on the dean's list in law school
with a straight A plus average. He was sent to me
because his father was frightened by his open discussion of suicide. He arrived
early, and after talking to my receptionist, he stood in the open air outside
the office door until his turn came. Then, with handkerchief over mouth and
nose, he passed quickly through my waiting room into the inner office where the
strong odor of antiseptics seemed to reassure him. We did a complete physical
which included an X-ray. It was only after considerable discussion of the
relative merits of X-ray pictures and lethal rays that he allowed one short
exposure. No sharp instruments were allowed near him unless they were certified
to be sterile.
One point in our
discussion of legal ethics led to a discourse on the rights of as yet unconceived children. Yet, the subject of sexual
intercourse was so crass and carnal that it took several seconds for the
patient to think what I was talking about. He had never so much as had the urge
to talk to a girl unless she were knowledgeable and
serious about the law. An examination of well developed scrotal varicoceles precluded any necessity for discussing
masturbation as a guilt problem. Varicoceles have
been ascribed to rigid sexual restraint.
His problem
seemed to revolve around the fact that he was so far advanced and intelligent
that he was afraid that the world was not ready for him. Anyone for whom he had
the slightest respect who did not immediately agree to every point of his
extremely involved ethereal discussions discouraged him and made him think of
killing himself. There was no minute itch, ache, giddiness, and gas that didn't
warrant detailed discussions on his part. I concluded that this case was
perhaps the most pronounced as far as lack of humility was concerned.
The Isolated
Physician
The last case I will cite is of a forty four year old physician and
mathematician, by vocation, who believed there was nothing beyond this life and
he could not tolerate anyone who was so stupid as to believe otherwise. He
viewed all humanity who believed in God and the hereafter with revulsion. He
came to me with the problem of insomnia, but further questioning revealed that
he was depressed, impotent, and contemplated suicide continually.
He almost did not
tell me of all this because he looked down on me with disdain. He manifested
alienation and arrogance in contrast to identification and humility. He did not
carry through his death wish because he felt a responsibility to his wife's
three children by another marriage. He had faith in nothing. He did not believe
in anything he could not see and understand. He relied entirely on himself. My
analysis of the case was that he had neither identification nor humility which
led to his alienation. His dedication to his family and the industry for which
he worked as a company physician was life saving.
Case Summaries
The impotence in all these cases was probably due to
the extreme depression. This may be a fail-safe mechanism to prevent
reproduction in an unwholesome environment. Reproduction would be contraproductive where there is no hope. I am sure you do
not miss the contradictions in these cases:
Why would a man
looking forward to being a monk be worried about impotence? Why would a man
contemplating suicide be anxious about antiseptics? Why would a man who did not
identify with humanity live only for an estranged wife and her boys, and an
impersonal industry?
The Grand
Experiment
From sometime
after the communist takeover in Czechoslovakia, and lasting for about fifteen years, the government embarked on a new method of raising their children in
the state run orphanages. Caretakers were purposely scheduled on
rotating shifts so the children, even the infants, were never exposed to the
same person for any length of time. The children's care was kept on strict
schedules, equal for all. The children were not allowed to have any personal
possessions. All toys had to be shared equally. All this was dutifully recorded
on film. This designed disbursement of individuality was considered to be the
ideal upbringing for a new generation of the communist society.
By the time the
children had reached their teenage years, they were lethargic, had nervous
twitches, and were irritable and depressed. The perpetrators of this concept
made a documentary film about this to warn others not to repeat it. In the
final scenes they showed fifty or sixty youngsters between twelve and seventeen
years of age eating in a cafeteria. They were all mysteriously rocking back and
forth, forward and back, as they spooned the food from their plates. Such is
the confusion in the minds of people where genetic needs are in conflict with sociocultural conditioning.
Therapy
The therapy of this condition, for at least the first
three cases above, is strictly psychological. The first step is to determine if
the patient wants to get well. If the patient does not want to get well,
attempts at therapy will not get anywhere. The second step is to reverse the
patient's attitude toward the world with respect to identification, humility,
and dedication. It is not easy. One must remember that the patient's
misdirection is usually very set. The psychological discussions must be strong,
in depth, and prolonged. The patient is in a solitary deep hole, and it takes
digging to get him out. One can start with a review of their religious training
and attitudes. Bizarre devil worship religions, common among these patients,
must be interdicted.
Alienated
patients almost always have difficulty with the meanings of the word
"identification". After all, that is at the center of their problem.
They simply cannot grasp the significance of the definition. The therapist must
be prepared and willing to spend time on that subject with multiple examples of
meanings.
In a discussion
of the common subjects of patriotism and allegiance, prevalent ideas of war and
defense must be countered with thoughts of oneness of society, public service,
and social consciousness. Alienated people have no idea of the positive
feelings that go along with these attitudes. The feeling of humility without a
feeling of expandability and worthlessness must be worked through with the
patient. Dedication without thoughts of self-sacrifice, but rather thoughts of
constructive work and accomplishment in a social atmosphere must be drilled and
emphasized. Finally, and most important, must be the experience of deep
unselfish love. Hopefully, the patient marries into this. Love is a primary,
basic, intimate feeling toward one's society, surely beginning with one's
spouse.
A trick used in
the therapy of these cases is to cause the patient to raise a puppy. Dogs are
usually recommended over cats because they are more dependent on their masters.
The trick seems to work because the love and charity for another creature once
reawakened can rapidly spread to other creatures, especially humans. This trick
will not work with genetic alienation, the "schizoid" personality,
because in those cases the ganglionic mechanism for
altruism is absent. Also, the sense of guilt is absent. In all of these respects
one must emphasize feeling. The concepts must be more than cold intellectual
ideas. The emotions and body must be discretely motivated into giving,
forgiveness, and mortality.
Best yet is the
idea of prevention. The child can be daily drilled in prayer, religion,
concerned philosophy, altruism, allegiance, love of fellow man and forgiveness.
The participation and study of self-defense and team sports can be emphasized
as defenses of society and unity. The handshake after a game must signify friendship
and continued mutual respect. After all, we are still of the same society,
working together sharing success in life.
It is now over
twenty five years since I have seen any of those three cases, though I have
heard about them through the relatives who stayed behind. They did not committed suicide. The two boys we discussed finished
school, got married, and live in distant cities. The physician retired and
moved to a foreign country, and never improved while I knew him. I never saw a
follow-up on the Czechoslovakian youth.
Self-alienation,
caused by a philosophical conditioning, occurs in a person who is searching for
an identity and may be led astray in a search for uniqueness which tends to
distinguish them from, rather than identify him with, the social group.
The Intellectual
Youth
A high intellectual capability and talent tend to
naturally separate and alienate people from their society. These unique
capabilities should lead to a unique contribution to a social fabric rather
than a uniqueness that relegates the individual to an aside. It is difficult to
find a social group consisting of rare, capable people with whom they can
identify. In school, fast classes and accelerated advancement to high school,
college, and graduate courses help. This naturally separates the more capable
into consistent groupings. Yet, the higher one goes, there is an added
difficulty. There is specialization in the individual's field which again
separates the highly capable into splinter groups.
The alienation we
have been discussing is an extreme of an intellectual drift in a continuum. In
other words there is no specific point in the drift where we can say that the
patient has reached an abnormal condition. In other conditions, by contrast,
the switch from normal to abnormal is sudden and sharp. I have known
schizophrenics to change radically over night. One day they were normal in all
respects and the next day they were definitely psychotic.
LESSON OF REVERENCE
This is a Scientific basis
for an ethical consideration. If you will, we could state categorically:
Thou shalt identify with
one: God, Humanity, or Nature, or the three together as a trinity which are
greater than thou art, and to them thou shalt
dedicate thyself!
Such
contradictory ideas of minimal and profound affects of marijuana in the
surgeon's mind are distant from his own mental survival. In ordinary
conversations there is no ready evidence of contradictory ideas. Once the
person sees the contradiction, he may make an adjustment to eliminate it. He
will at least tag the ideas and put them in limbo until he can verify his
references and reconcile them. In the alienated and other split personalities
these inconsistencies cause no strain, when juxtaposed. The contradictions are
obvious to outsiders, but ignored by the patient.
Ayn Rand
There is a rather large segment of modern society which is frustrated with the
failure of their altruistic endeavors. This is perhaps due to a lack of
patience, wrong approach, or just plain simple resistance to change in the
social group they are trying to help. Ayn Rand, with
her philosophical novels, has preyed on this thwarted group with her central
cynical theme of the futility of altruism. It is paradoxical that, through her
own messianic complex with her large congregation of converts, she, herself,
has escaped alienation. Here is a clear cut example of where a quick-witted but
unknowing person can lead others to a dangerous state of mind. Ayn Rand's dialectic materialism, which is founded in
logic, is extravagantly dangerous, and can only be indulged in safely by those
who do not take it too seriously.
The type of
mental state we find in alienation can be intellectual, where the individual
follows a logic not grounded in reverence. Alienation can also be initiated in
a developmental flaw, where the individual is conditioned from an early age to
avoid identification. This leads to an intellectual conditioning which
disconnects the susceptible from his social group. Logic is basically
contradictory. Science is basically consistent. If one follows a logical course
in life, one must be extremely careful not to land in a cul
de sac. Alienation can be a logical cul de sac that
is debilitating.