Ongoing learning at the feet of the masters
Lesson on the human condition. Learned at great cost, forgotten, then relearned at great cost.
I have been a poor student of the human condition, most of my life. I sleep-walked through much of the endless suffering and confusion, of myself and so many of my brothers and sisters, seemingly content to hide the stains this has left on my soul.
Today I read an article, written within a period of darkness shrouded in historical inaccuracies and half truths. This intellectually honest journey of understanding, during this period, at least to this simple mind, rings true, and, as it seems to be our way, some are in the process of relearning it the hard way.
I will re-post the quoted portion of the article below, as it bears repeating in words so we do not have to keep repeating, and relearning, the lessons the hard way. Before the main quote, I should put in this clarification from the author of the quoted article above:
“(Bonhoeffer) He was not being flippant or sarcastic, and he made it clear that stupidity is not the opposite of native intellect. On the contrary, the events in Germany between 1933 and 1943 had shown him that perfectly intelligent people were, under the pressure of political power and propaganda, rendered stupid—that is, incapable of critical reasoning. As he put it:” -John Leake
Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than wickedness. Evil can be protested against, exposed, and, if necessary, it can be prevented by force. Evil always harbours the germ of self-destruction by inducing at least some uneasiness in people. We are defenseless against stupidity. Nothing can be done to oppose it, neither with protests nor with violence. Reasons cannot prevail. Facts that contradict one’s prejudice simply don’t need to be believed, and when they are inescapable, they can simply be brushed aside as meaningless, isolated cases.
In contrast to evil, the stupid person is completely satisfied with himself. When irritated, he becomes dangerous and may even go on the attack. More caution is therefore required when dealing with the stupid than with the wicked. Never try to convince the stupid with reasons; it’s pointless and dangerous.
To understand how to deal with stupidity, we must try to understand its nature. This much is certain: it is not essentially an intellectual, but a human defect. There are people who are intellectually agile who are stupid, while intellectually inept people may be anything but stupid. We discover this to our surprise in certain situations.
One gets the impression that stupidity is often not an innate defect, but one that emerges under certain circumstances in which people are made stupid or allow themselves to be made stupid. We also observe that isolated and solitary people exhibit this defect less frequently than socializing groups of people. Thus, perhaps stupidity is less a psychological than a sociological problem. It is a special manifestation of the influence of historical circumstances on man—a psychological side effect of certain external conditions.
A closer look reveals that the strong exertion of external power, be it political or religious, strikes a large part of the people with stupidity. Yes, it seems as if this is a sociological-psychological law. The power of some requires the stupidity of others. Under this influence, human abilities suddenly wither or fail, robbing people of their inner independence, which they—more or less unconsciously —renounce to adapt their behaviour to the prevailing situation.
The fact that stupid people are often stubborn should not hide the fact that they are not independent. When talking to him, one feels that one is not dealing with him personally, but with catchphrases, slogans, etc. that have taken possession of him. He is under a spell; he is blinded; he is abused in his own being.
Having become an instrument without an independent will, the fool will also be capable of all evil, and at the same time, unable to recognize it as evil. Here lies the danger of diabolical abuse. Through this, a people can be ruined forever.
But it is also quite clear here that it is not an act of instruction, but only an act of liberation that can overcome stupidity. In doing so, one will have to accept the fact that, in most cases, real inner liberation is only possible after outer liberation has taken place. Until then we will have to refrain from all attempts to convince the stupid. In this state of affairs, we try in vain to know what “the people” actually think.”
The Bible states that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Thus, the inner liberation of man begins by living responsibly before God. Only then may stupidity be overcome.
Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than wickedness. Evil can be protested against, exposed, and, if necessary, it can be prevented by force. Evil always harbours the germ of self-destruction by inducing at least some uneasiness in people. We are defenseless against stupidity. Nothing can be done to oppose it, neither with protests nor with violence. Reasons cannot prevail. Facts that contradict one’s prejudice simply don’t need to be believed, and when they are inescapable, they can simply be brushed aside as meaningless, isolated cases.
In contrast to evil, the stupid person is completely satisfied with himself. When irritated, he becomes dangerous and may even go on the attack. More caution is therefore required when dealing with the stupid than with the wicked. Never try to convince the stupid with reasons; it’s pointless and dangerous.
To understand how to deal with stupidity, we must try to understand its nature. This much is certain: it is not essentially an intellectual, but a human defect. There are people who are intellectually agile who are stupid, while intellectually inept people may be anything but stupid. We discover this to our surprise in certain situations.
One gets the impression that stupidity is often not an innate defect, but one that emerges under certain circumstances in which people are made stupid or allow themselves to be made stupid. We also observe that isolated and solitary people exhibit this defect less frequently than socializing groups of people. Thus, perhaps stupidity is less a psychological than a sociological problem. It is a special manifestation of the influence of historical circumstances on man—a psychological side effect of certain external conditions.
A closer look reveals that the strong exertion of external power, be it political or religious, strikes a large part of the people with stupidity. Yes, it seems as if this is a sociological-psychological law. The power of some requires the stupidity of others. Under this influence, human abilities suddenly wither or fail, robbing people of their inner independence, which they—more or less unconsciously —renounce to adapt their behaviour to the prevailing situation.
The fact that stupid people are often stubborn should not hide the fact that they are not independent. When talking to him, one feels that one is not dealing with him personally, but with catchphrases, slogans, etc. that have taken possession of him. He is under a spell; he is blinded; he is abused in his own being.
Having become an instrument without an independent will, the fool will also be capable of all evil, and at the same time, unable to recognize it as evil. Here lies the danger of diabolical abuse. Through this, a people can be ruined forever.
But it is also quite clear here that it is not an act of instruction, but only an act of liberation that can overcome stupidity. In doing so, one will have to accept the fact that, in most cases, real inner liberation is only possible after outer liberation has taken place. Until then we will have to refrain from all attempts to convince the stupid. In this state of affairs, we try in vain to know what “the people” actually think.”
The Bible states that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Thus, the inner liberation of man begins by living responsibly before God. Only then may stupidity be overcome.
Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than wickedness. Evil can be protested against, exposed, and, if necessary, it can be prevented by force. Evil always harbours the germ of self-destruction by inducing at least some uneasiness in people. We are defenseless against stupidity. Nothing can be done to oppose it, neither with protests nor with violence. Reasons cannot prevail. Facts that contradict one’s prejudice simply don’t need to be believed, and when they are inescapable, they can simply be brushed aside as meaningless, isolated cases.
In contrast to evil, the stupid person is completely satisfied with himself. When irritated, he becomes dangerous and may even go on the attack. More caution is therefore required when dealing with the stupid than with the wicked. Never try to convince the stupid with reasons; it’s pointless and dangerous.
To understand how to deal with stupidity, we must try to understand its nature. This much is certain: it is not essentially an intellectual, but a human defect. There are people who are intellectually agile who are stupid, while intellectually inept people may be anything but stupid. We discover this to our surprise in certain situations.
One gets the impression that stupidity is often not an innate defect, but one that emerges under certain circumstances in which people are made stupid or allow themselves to be made stupid. We also observe that isolated and solitary people exhibit this defect less frequently than socializing groups of people. Thus, perhaps stupidity is less a psychological than a sociological problem. It is a special manifestation of the influence of historical circumstances on man—a psychological side effect of certain external conditions.
A closer look reveals that the strong exertion of external power, be it political or religious, strikes a large part of the people with stupidity. Yes, it seems as if this is a sociological-psychological law. The power of some requires the stupidity of others. Under this influence, human abilities suddenly wither or fail, robbing people of their inner independence, which they—more or less unconsciously —renounce to adapt their behaviour to the prevailing situation.
The fact that stupid people are often stubborn should not hide the fact that they are not independent. When talking to him, one feels that one is not dealing with him personally, but with catchphrases, slogans, etc. that have taken possession of him. He is under a spell; he is blinded; he is abused in his own being.
Having become an instrument without an independent will, the fool will also be capable of all evil, and at the same time, unable to recognize it as evil. Here lies the danger of diabolical abuse. Through this, a people can be ruined forever.
But it is also quite clear here that it is not an act of instruction, but only an act of liberation that can overcome stupidity. In doing so, one will have to accept the fact that, in most cases, real inner liberation is only possible after outer liberation has taken place. Until then we will have to refrain from all attempts to convince the stupid. In this state of affairs, we try in vain to know what “the people” actually think.”
The Bible states that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Thus, the inner liberation of man begins by living responsibly before God. Only then may stupidity be overcome.
4 (1951), Lutheran pastor and member of the German resistance
This analysis is reminiscent of ideas that have been brought to the fore in the last few confusing years, on how our society were reduced into a state of mass stupidity. I am referring to the analysis of “Mass Formation Psychosis” by Professor Mattias Desmet. In his analysis he states the condition in which we, as a society, become susceptible to what in the article above calls stupidity. The conditions Professor Mattias Desmet puts forth, that propels society towards massive abdication of critical thinking, are:n
Lack of social bond,
People experience life as meaningless or senseless,
Free floating anxiety and free floating psychological discontent,
Free floating frustration and aggression.”
These seem to hit close to home. Regardless of the exact mechanism, the result in this case is abnegation of personal choice, the rejection of any attempt to understand what is going on, the rise of tyrants, the marginalization of “the others”, the consideration of punishment for “the others”. Similar to the darkness that inspired the analysis, of Paster Bonhoeffer Deitrich above, is here again, making us susceptible to mass stupidity.
In his last paragraph, he talks about the fear of “God” as a route towards wisdom. I think a more general way to think about this is in terms of humility. Humility, is a quality that give us the ability to be aware that, there is a greater truth, a larger force and fuller inclusion that we are aware yet unaware of. To me (and I stress this is a personal and current view) this is the sentiment that gave rise to the wording of the fear of “God”. Anyone who has stood in a clear night sky and had the good fortune to look up and see the awesome expanse above might have felt the speck of existence we currently participate in is much less than the whole. It is awesome indeed. For our ancestors who look up, the flutter of their hearts, the standing on end of the hairs on their arms, the tightening of their scalp may indeed be similar to fear, if it were not for the sense of wonder that is simultaneously and seamlessly interwoven in those moments.
Regardless of ones beliefs, this analysis should be a warning, to be humble, to accept the limit of our reach. Without humility, all paths are away from wisdom. I am not equating wisdom with knowledge. However, without humility, and in turn wisdom (to some degree), we/I tend to think we have it all worked out, or, even worse to think others have worked it out for us. Without humility we stop questioning ourselves, we stop questioning those who tell us they have the answer. In the “twilight zone” world we live in, I/we often forget the words from the mouths of great scientists and thinkers, that warn us of this dangerous assumption of ultimate knowledge:
“Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts.”
Richard Feynman
“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
Let’s not think that humility is an indication of weakness, it should be solid ground from which we find our next step. Steps out of a morass of imposed confusion, masquerading as “truth”. Humility is the motive force that drives us to see a more complete picture. I accept, for now, we are not constructed to understand everything, but, we are constructed to make choices. To relinquish that choice, is the path to slavery, at the hands of other limited beings. Choose who you follow, choose to make as much sense you can of this world, choose to take the harder path, if you see it leading you closer to the “Truth”. Choice is the corner stone of freedom, and in the end it is all we really have.