It has been quite usual, since the self-styled 'Enlightenment' for Men to look back on previous generations with condescension at the childish misunderstandings and imaginary explanations. But there is nothing from history to compare with the blindness of modern Man - his inability to perceive the obvious - things he can see in front of him; and to deny obvious common sense.
This blindness is very general through society - probably we all exemplify some kinds of blindness, while being immune to others - but there is no doubt that modernity is in a crucial sense about this blindness - modernity is about making Men unable to perceive some things which used to be so clear that they required no emphasis or explanation, but were simply the basis of explanation.
And, as the Enlightenment makes clear, modernity is about assuming that such blindness is a virtue and mark or superiority - to be blind is to be better and wiser.
Most examples of gross blindness are to do with secular Leftism (political correctness) and almost all instances of modern blindness are inculcated by the mass media, or by official channels such as the educational or legal systems - they are about replacing the obvious perceptions and inferences with an abstract interpretation that renders them either invisible or else reverses their meaning.
Examples of blindness include the failure to perceive gross levels of dishonesty in, for example, the workplace, the legal system (nature and application of laws), educational evaluations and examinations; failure to see the gross and intentional ugliness of modern built environments; failure to recognize the wickedness-promoting and sin-denying and insanity-enforcing nature of policies and propaganda in relation to sex and sexuality, marriage and families.
The point is that modernity is now substantially about inculcating and enforcing such blindness - and one inference is that there is a lot more going on in the world than people notice - as can be seen by a comparison of modern writing with older writings. And, when we find discrepancies between the older and current world views, we can be almost certain that it is our current world view which is most at fault, least accurate, most fundamentally misguided.
If we can unveil our eyes and other senses and simply perceive... then a very, very different world comes into sight - a far richer, more meaningful and purposive world; a world capable of engaging us in a way this the mainstream world does not (and is indeed intended to prevent). It is suddenly obvious that most people, most of the time are selectively blind.
The modern world view is an artificially created abstraction compounded of images, interpretations and explanations, asserted imperatives... it is an interlocking whole, a web, that incorporates the mass media (primarily, as the major implicit validator) and also most of politics, law, public administration, modern 'science', 'medicine', 'religion' and indeed the realm of public discourse.
Because it is abstract it is arbitrary, and we are disengaged from it - at may (and does) command and indeed compel our attention; it controls us, it shapes our senses and our actions... but it does not satisfy.
Our participation is an addiction, not a thing with meaning or purpose - and we know this, but cannot break free. Just as so many people cannot break free from sexual relationships they know are pathological - they are trapped by the consequent prospect of loneliness and misery and boredom. So Modern man is addicted to the pathologies of the mass media, fashion, the official abstractions - and his Blindness is the price he pays - and it is this Blindness which keeps him enslaved so he cannot see the escape routes (into meaning purpose and real relationships) which are located all about him...
For all Modern man knows, he is surrounded by nature spirits, gods, angels and elves; by miracles and 'paranormal' phenomena and all manner of remarkable events; and is himself part of a grand and terrible destiny! - as our ancestors perceived.
Surrounded, but self-blinded to them all.
Ironic:
ReplyDeleteThere is no 'fairness' in nature, and likewise, there is no fairness in modern times.
For all the hype about it, fairness is more elusive today than at any other time in the history of mankind.
I refer mostly, of course, to the obvious unfairness towards any normal majority, in favor of fairness towards whatever minority group is currently in the most favor.
So, you could say, that for all its obvious insanity, current society is quite in keeping with nature. A black hole that gobbles itself up, and when it has done so, balance may be restored.
too bad for us, that we likely won't be around to see it. An abject lesson in humility, and for just how little we humans count.