The Modern Mind

This is the modern creed: “Whatever is right for you, is right.” It is heard everywhere. Any would be philosopher is ready to rattle it off and any average citizen is prepared to repeat this flattering evaluation of his own judgment. It’s too bad the statement is either meaningless or false.

As it stands it is a tautology, saying right is right or A is A. But what is usually meant is that whatever seems right for you, is actually right for you. This is very often wrong, but the modern mind loves to believe it.

We moderns are aware of how our senses deceive us and how we ought to be skeptical about attempts to force a world view on us, but when we get an impression about our inner self, we cherish it as a part of our identity and get offended if anyone dares to be skeptical about our perception.

We doubt religion and government and even scientists may be wrong, but we refuse to doubt our own feelings. We just “like” it; one click, no discussion and no reflection.

In the absence of a universal church and an official state ideology, we are left alone and think we are doing splendidly because we cling onto that last fixed point: ourselves. It’s only curious that we still feel depressed and lack self-confidence…

What if you don’t know what is right for yourself? What if you are as likely to be wrong about the impression of yourself as of the impression of anything else? What if what you think is right for you, is wrong for you?

“Know thyself,” was an ancient creed and it implied that the path to that knowledge would mean hard work. The modern mind has taken a shortcut and thinks it knows already.

How we enjoy deceiving ourselves…