The modern world is wonderful in many ways (dentistry is good, cars are reliable,
We can keep in touch from Mexico with our grandmother in Scotland very easily …), though
It is also powerful and tragically aimed at causing a high environmental level of anxiety and depression
low generalized level There are six particular features of modernity that have this
disturbing effect Each one has a potential cure, which we can only do
Collectively when we know more about the disorder in question. Here are them: 1. Meritocracy:
Our societies tell us that everyone is free to succeed if they have talent and energy.
The disadvantage of this seemingly beautiful and liberating idea is that it lacks any
Success is not taken, as in the past, as an accident or misfortune, but as a definitive signal
from a lack of talent or laziness. If those who are on the summit deserve all their event, then
Those in the background should be worth all their failure. A society that considers itself
Meritocracy transforms poverty as a problem with condemnation, and those who have it
failed as wretches in losers. The cure is a strong and culturally supported belief
in two ideas: luck, which says that success depends not only on talent and effort; and the tragedy,
which says good and decent people can fail and merit compassion before they scorn.
2. Individualism: an individualistic society preaches the individual and his achievements
They are all but everyone is susceptible to a special destiny. It’s not the community
what matters; the group is for lost cases. Being “current” is considered a curse.
The result is precisely that most of us end up being, statistically speaking,
associated with a monstrous failure. The cure is a cult of ordinary life and
an appropriate assessment of the silence of pleasures and heroism of the day to day. 3. Secularism: societies
Seculars cease to believe in anything that is greater or beyond themselves. Before,
religions carried out the useful service of keeping our petty and battles of status in perspective.
But now there is nothing that marvels or relativizes humans, whose triumphs and setbacks end
the only thing that matters. A cure would mean using sources of transcendence regularly
to generate a benign and relativistic perspective of our personal pains: music, stars
at night, the vast spaces of the desert or the ocean would give us a lesson of humility of forms
comforting 4. Romanticism: the Romanticism philosophy tells us that each one of us has a person
Very special out there that can make us completely happy. But above all we have to settle for relationships
Moderately bearable with someone who is very pleasant in some ways and quite complicated
in many others. It sounds like a disaster compared to our enormous original hopes.
The care is to realize that we were not wrong: they simply encouraged us to believe in a dream
very improbable Instead of that, we should increase our ambitions towards friendship and love
not sexual 5. The media: the media have immense prestige and a huge place in our lives,
but routinely direct our attention to things that scare, weep, hate and intimidate us,
while we deny the will or any effective personal action opportunity. They usually cater to them
less admirable sides of the human nature without compensating with an exhibition to good intentions,
normal responsibility and decency. In its worst moments, it pushes us subtly towards the mass government. The cure
It would be news that they focus on presenting solutions instead of generating indignation,
that existed for the systemic problems instead of to emphatically emphasize on expiatory bundles and
emblematic monsters, and that they would remind us regularly of the news that we should focus more on
They come from our own lives and direct experiences. 6. Perfectionism: modern societies emphasize
that our mission is to be deeply satisfied, sensible and accomplished. As a result,
We end up hating ourselves, feeling weak and because we have tudat our lives. A cure
It would be a culture that would constantly promote the idea that perfection is not found
at our fingertips; that being slightly (and, sometimes, very) bad of the head is an inevitable part
of the human condition and that what we need above all is good friends with whom we can
Sit down and talk sincerely about our real fears and vulnerabilities. The anguish forces
Psychological in our world are, at the moment, much more powerful and active than cares
necessary We deserve a tender compassion for the price we have to pay for being born in modern times.
But, hopefully, care is now open to us individually and collectively if just
We recognize, with sufficient clarity, the origins of our true sorrows and anxieties.
Did you know that The School of Life is a real place? With classes, events and a store. Visit our web page to learn more.
We can keep in touch from Mexico with our grandmother in Scotland very easily …), though
It is also powerful and tragically aimed at causing a high environmental level of anxiety and depression
low generalized level There are six particular features of modernity that have this
disturbing effect Each one has a potential cure, which we can only do
Collectively when we know more about the disorder in question. Here are them: 1. Meritocracy:
Our societies tell us that everyone is free to succeed if they have talent and energy.
The disadvantage of this seemingly beautiful and liberating idea is that it lacks any
Success is not taken, as in the past, as an accident or misfortune, but as a definitive signal
from a lack of talent or laziness. If those who are on the summit deserve all their event, then
Those in the background should be worth all their failure. A society that considers itself
Meritocracy transforms poverty as a problem with condemnation, and those who have it
failed as wretches in losers. The cure is a strong and culturally supported belief
in two ideas: luck, which says that success depends not only on talent and effort; and the tragedy,
which says good and decent people can fail and merit compassion before they scorn.
2. Individualism: an individualistic society preaches the individual and his achievements
They are all but everyone is susceptible to a special destiny. It’s not the community
what matters; the group is for lost cases. Being “current” is considered a curse.
The result is precisely that most of us end up being, statistically speaking,
associated with a monstrous failure. The cure is a cult of ordinary life and
an appropriate assessment of the silence of pleasures and heroism of the day to day. 3. Secularism: societies
Seculars cease to believe in anything that is greater or beyond themselves. Before,
religions carried out the useful service of keeping our petty and battles of status in perspective.
But now there is nothing that marvels or relativizes humans, whose triumphs and setbacks end
the only thing that matters. A cure would mean using sources of transcendence regularly
to generate a benign and relativistic perspective of our personal pains: music, stars
at night, the vast spaces of the desert or the ocean would give us a lesson of humility of forms
comforting 4. Romanticism: the Romanticism philosophy tells us that each one of us has a person
Very special out there that can make us completely happy. But above all we have to settle for relationships
Moderately bearable with someone who is very pleasant in some ways and quite complicated
in many others. It sounds like a disaster compared to our enormous original hopes.
The care is to realize that we were not wrong: they simply encouraged us to believe in a dream
very improbable Instead of that, we should increase our ambitions towards friendship and love
not sexual 5. The media: the media have immense prestige and a huge place in our lives,
but routinely direct our attention to things that scare, weep, hate and intimidate us,
while we deny the will or any effective personal action opportunity. They usually cater to them
less admirable sides of the human nature without compensating with an exhibition to good intentions,
normal responsibility and decency. In its worst moments, it pushes us subtly towards the mass government. The cure
It would be news that they focus on presenting solutions instead of generating indignation,
that existed for the systemic problems instead of to emphatically emphasize on expiatory bundles and
emblematic monsters, and that they would remind us regularly of the news that we should focus more on
They come from our own lives and direct experiences. 6. Perfectionism: modern societies emphasize
that our mission is to be deeply satisfied, sensible and accomplished. As a result,
We end up hating ourselves, feeling weak and because we have tudat our lives. A cure
It would be a culture that would constantly promote the idea that perfection is not found
at our fingertips; that being slightly (and, sometimes, very) bad of the head is an inevitable part
of the human condition and that what we need above all is good friends with whom we can
Sit down and talk sincerely about our real fears and vulnerabilities. The anguish forces
Psychological in our world are, at the moment, much more powerful and active than cares
necessary We deserve a tender compassion for the price we have to pay for being born in modern times.
But, hopefully, care is now open to us individually and collectively if just
We recognize, with sufficient clarity, the origins of our true sorrows and anxieties.
Did you know that The School of Life is a real place? With classes, events and a store. Visit our web page to learn more.
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