The Psychology of Totalitarianism - #50
08/01/22 • 70 min
1 Listener
Isn’t it dangerous to give up rationality as an ideal? This question prompts me to a small reflection, which only due to the seriousness of its subject is not banal.
35,000 children die of hunger every day.
Why doesn’t this upset the masses, while a virus does?
In our rational view of humanity, why don’t we save these young, hungering lives at a much lower cost than those threatened by the coronavirus, without the risk of losing civil liberties, and without the dangers associated with experimental medical interventions? No one panics for a child that is dying on the other side of the world.
This is the inconvenient truth.
The rationality and humanism of the Enlightenment are in many ways a masquerade and a fig leaf. Strip man of this masquerade and you look into the eyes of irrationality; look behind the fig leaf of rationality and you will find the ancient human vices. A rational worldview does not prevent us from giving free rein to irrational thinking. On the contrary, it prevents us from recognizing irrationality. And as such, irrationality takes on grotesque proportions.
On the other hand, one who knows the limits of his intellect usually becomes less arrogant and more humane, more capable of allowing the other to be different.
When his intellect stops shouting, he is able to hear the things of life murmur their own story. He realizes that he is also entitled to his own story. The awareness that no logic is absolute is the prerequisite for mental freedom. The gap in the logic literally opens up a space for our own style and for the desire to create. “I became healthy while creating”— this is how Goethe described his medicine against the ailment that is life.
Perhaps, it might also work against viruses?
In any case, this remedy ensures that we can honor the right to free speech and the right to self-determination without feeling threatened by one another. It encompasses the potential to mitigate anxiety, discomfort, frustration, and aggression, without the need for an enemy.
This is the point at which we no longer need to lose ourselves in the crowd to experience meaning and connectedness, this is the point where the winter of totalitarianism gives way to a new spring of life.
YouTube - https://youtu.be/I-Y4mza2rlA & https://youtu.be/zzDVguEy0O0
Spotify - https://anchor.fm/jsk/episodes/The-Psychology-of-Totalitarianism---50-e1lugnp
Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jonathan-kogan-show/id1519798213?i=1000574594877
References - https://amazon.com/the-psychology-of-totalitarianism
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jsk/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jsk/support ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Isn’t it dangerous to give up rationality as an ideal? This question prompts me to a small reflection, which only due to the seriousness of its subject is not banal.
35,000 children die of hunger every day.
Why doesn’t this upset the masses, while a virus does?
In our rational view of humanity, why don’t we save these young, hungering lives at a much lower cost than those threatened by the coronavirus, without the risk of losing civil liberties, and without the dangers associated with experimental medical interventions? No one panics for a child that is dying on the other side of the world.
This is the inconvenient truth.
The rationality and humanism of the Enlightenment are in many ways a masquerade and a fig leaf. Strip man of this masquerade and you look into the eyes of irrationality; look behind the fig leaf of rationality and you will find the ancient human vices. A rational worldview does not prevent us from giving free rein to irrational thinking. On the contrary, it prevents us from recognizing irrationality. And as such, irrationality takes on grotesque proportions.
On the other hand, one who knows the limits of his intellect usually becomes less arrogant and more humane, more capable of allowing the other to be different.
When his intellect stops shouting, he is able to hear the things of life murmur their own story. He realizes that he is also entitled to his own story. The awareness that no logic is absolute is the prerequisite for mental freedom. The gap in the logic literally opens up a space for our own style and for the desire to create. “I became healthy while creating”— this is how Goethe described his medicine against the ailment that is life.
Perhaps, it might also work against viruses?
In any case, this remedy ensures that we can honor the right to free speech and the right to self-determination without feeling threatened by one another. It encompasses the potential to mitigate anxiety, discomfort, frustration, and aggression, without the need for an enemy.
This is the point at which we no longer need to lose ourselves in the crowd to experience meaning and connectedness, this is the point where the winter of totalitarianism gives way to a new spring of life.
YouTube - https://youtu.be/I-Y4mza2rlA & https://youtu.be/zzDVguEy0O0
Spotify - https://anchor.fm/jsk/episodes/The-Psychology-of-Totalitarianism---50-e1lugnp
Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jonathan-kogan-show/id1519798213?i=1000574594877
References - https://amazon.com/the-psychology-of-totalitarianism
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jsk/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jsk/support ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Previous Episode
The Mainstream Media: Who Trusts Them? - #49
1 RecommendationsMainstream Media Trust at RECORD LOW: What does this mean?
The confidence in the “mainstream media” in two facets of the news media -- newspapers and television news — has fallen to an all-time low. Just 16% of U.S. adults now say they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in newspapers and 11% in television news. Each of these have decreased 5% since just one year prior.
Multiple Gallup “polls” of everyday citizens view of the news media show a growing distrust. Gallup has found near-record-low trust in the media to report the news fully, accurately and fairly, and few Americans rated newspaper and television reporters as highly ethical in Gallup's annual honesty and ethics of professions poll.
Although trust in the media in the U.S. has been quite low for many years, confidence ratings for mainstream media newspapers and TV news have never been as low as they currently are. These datapoints suggest that the mainstream media has lost their footing in society, which opens up a massive opportunity for independent media creators.
People don’t know where to go for their news, and because of this mistake by the establishment media, independent creators now have a chance to attract millions of consumers by gaining trust, reliability, and sharing information in an entertaining way.
YouTube - https://youtu.be/777Vzli6PXQ
Podcast - https://anchor.fm/jsk/episodes/The-Mainstream-Media-Who-Trusts-Them----49-e1ls9ks
References - https://elink.io/p/mainstream-media-9c115e9
Substack - https://ownershipeconomy.substack.com/p/mainstream-media
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jsk/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jsk/support ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★Next Episode
Why can't we all just get along? My radical proposal for peace. - #51
1 RecommendationsI have a crazy proposal. Ready for it? Whether you are or not, I’m going to spill the beans...
How about we accept everyone for their differences, whether that be for their opinions, physical traits, or anything in-between — all humans accept all humans! Is that so radical?! I guess I just don’t understand (if you believe it is).
I was raised to respect others for their opinions, regardless of what they were. That people have different journeys in life and those journeys breed different perspectives. Then those perspectives shape each person’s worldview, and no matter how that view is positioned, it cannot be right or wrong. It is simply the result of your experiences.
Let’s be honest: it’s 2022. It should not matter what color your skin is, what gender you, or what your political affiliation is because those are just an additional layer of worthless labels to further divide us as a society. For the 99.9% of humans out there who just want to live their lives happy and free, they do not care where you “stand” in society. You be kind to me and I’ll be kind to you. It truly is that basic.
This isn’t my best podcast, but it’s real. Authentic. Something we seem to lack in society when it is most important. You and I may disagree most of the time, however, you are a human in the same way I am a human and it’s in both of our ‘selfish’ self-interests to respect one another. Why? Because being good to others actually brings you greater returns than spewing hatred. No matter what your personal goals are, putting love before hate will always bring you closer to achieving them. That’s an objective truth.
Hopefully, this unplanned “rant” brings some perspective on how I feel about it. More importantly, I hope it brings you perspective on how other people have different perspectives (but it doesn’t make anyone good or bad).
What you do is who you are.
Next time you get upset over what someone else says, try and turn that negative energy into a positive one and say something nice in return. If you try that, I bet you will feel better about yourself and have a much better day. I dare you: try it. See what happens. I mean, what do you have to lose? If I’m wrong, then go back to spreading hate in this world (you can always return to your old actions!). Somehow I believe you won’t because your life will be unequivocally better.
I could be wrong, but that’s my hypothesis. And I am entitled to my own hypothesis whether you like it or not!
YouTube - https://youtu.be/zzDVguEy0O0
Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-cant-we-all-just-get-along-my-radical-proposal
Spotify Podcasts - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4ioNVnY268R2knPiApXMZN
--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jsk/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jsk/support ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★If you like this episode you’ll love
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