I am not sure where the typo is, but I had to look up Junko Furuta.
Wow.. what a horrible ordeal. My words fall short of giving what happened to that young woman any justice.
It is situations like that... it becomes hard for those who loved the victim to move beyond the pain. Such violence leaves the stinger in the wound. If that was one of my daughters.... needless to say my faith would be tested.
I think... this is a case in point as to why we must build this resiliency within ourselves, a form of scaffolding to cope with tragedy. While this is an extreme situation, if one is not at least partially prepared for loss, such an event could cause a person to completely crumble without chance of rehabilitation. With that said, if I were in that situation (being my daughter) I could not guarantee that I would not completely crumble. Just awful.
I would not wish what happened to that young woman on anyone, even the psychopaths who run this world.
There’s evil, and then there’s evil. Stuff like that is just beyond. Lest anyone scoff at those of us who trust what the Bible tell us. That Satan is the prince of this world. I turn to the Book of Job sometimes when confronted with stuff like that.
The typo appears twice. In the first long comment, and then where you replied to it, quoting that person’s spelling “Junko Futura”.
I trained as a copyeditor, so I get compulsive about little details, find myself proofreading restaurant menus :) Sometimes I point things out. But some authors don’t seem to care all that much.
I’d never heard ot that Japanese case and only saw then the typo. I thought it was some kind of sci fi term or something.
Satan is indeed the prince of this world and I agree with stories such as that young woman it is hard to not see its face in it. The book of Job is a good one to turn to, I have often done so myself.
I am glad you point out typos, I often overlook them but they drive me nuts when I notice them. I now see the typo in the first post, a misspelling of her last name. Admittedly I did not look it up the first time through and assumed it was much like the Black Dahlia murder. It is an awful case indeed.
Truly outstanding. It is unfortunate -- and sadly predictable -- that writing of this caliber, of such great value, seems to always attract far fewer readers than it should. There's loads of lesser stuff on Substack, serious subect matter, quite good for what it is, that routinely generates vastly more interest than an essay such as yours. I suspect that is because the crowd-pleasing stuff only goes to a certain depth and no further. Never further. Easy to digest, forget by morning, and move on to the next serving of mind candy.
Thank you for the comments. I am working at becoming a better writer, both in expression and form. I am glad this piece resonated with you. I do think you are right that mind candy is much easier to sell and draw attention to. However, I am fine not having a large audience. I enjoy writing both for myself as well as for posterity for my children. Yet, if what I produce can help even just one person... that is good enough for me. I do not need to have notoriety, nor do I particularly desire it. Plus.. sometimes I enjoy some mind candy as well.
Very good insights. Not as if I revealed some big discovery. Obvious is that what appeals to the crowd is never on a par with “top shelf” stuff — whether food, literature, and you name it. I guess it would be a hell of a monotonous world if everyone valued the same things. And I’m not above dipping into the candy jar on occasion either. Not gonna lie :)
Great article as usual! I do think we've shifted from seeing pain as integral to the human condition to pathologizing it, especially the mental kind--increasingly medicated, doped up on SSRIs or hedonic distraction (I'm not actively denying that chemical imbalances exist, but I do think it's not to this extent)... I find it so refreshing to read existentialist works that point towards some greater meaning of emotional turbulences! A couple thoughts / reflections:
While I sympathize with the "problem of evil" framework, this is just because I think that there are quite a few examples of pain that do not seem conducive to spiritual growth (e.g. the brutal murders of Junko Furuta or Black Dahlia). It's difficult for me to perceive this sordidness as part of a greater plan--but if I believed in an afterlife, perhaps I could see things from this perspective a bit easier.
With that being said, I agree with your greater point. I think the manner in which we *relate* to pain or melancholy can open or close the pathway towards inherent divinity. There can be a problem with romanticizing one's pain, especially once that emotion is familiar to oneself. Of course, one could argue whether it's still pain at that point, but there can be a "comfort in being sad" that's difficult to relinquish in favor of uncertainty. I suppose this goes back to your point about courage in the face of trouble!
From my perspective, it seems to bring one closer to attributing a more transcendent meaning to their existence, to being more in line with eudaimonia. I personally would not have derived many insights from happiness, even if that's a more enjoyable emotion; my "Anodyne Presence" article was born from a fairly neurotic state of mind, but I find it a lot more meaningful than a lot of other things I could've written ("look at the weather" is nice, but not as profound).
Great thought-provoking article, again, sorry for my ramblings!
To begin with, Thank you for reading it as well as your insightful comments!
" I do think we've shifted from seeing pain as integral to the human condition to pathologizing it, especially the mental kind--increasingly medicated, doped up on SSRIs or hedonic distraction (I'm not actively denying that chemical imbalances exist, but I do think it's not to this extent)"
As my career has progressed over the past 20 years as well as my studies in social anthropology, I have come to the same realization. I think perhaps above all, this understanding has not only helped me understand human engineering, but has given me an appreciation for individual human perception. In general, being over medicated is acting like a band aid for poor mental maturity and development. I have considered writing an essay on this topic, especially after a conversation a few months ago with Apollo.
"While I sympathize with the "problem of evil" framework, this is just because I think that there are quite a few examples of pain that do not seem conducive to spiritual growth (e.g. the brutal murders of Junko Futura or Black Dahlia). It's difficult for me to perceive this sordidness as part of a greater plan--but if I believed in an afterlife, perhaps I could see things from this perspective a bit easier."
I agree. This is a very difficult thing to consider. There are many avenues of pain in life where it gets hard to see how it fits under the "optimal stress" category. While we can think of many human atrocities from serial killers to wars... to personal events (such as the loss of my son) that are hard to reconcile with it being a necessity, over time I have found a way to process them into the same paradigm. After all, it is impossible for us to know all things- so I fall back on my faith.
"With that being said, I agree with your greater point. I think the manner in which we *relate* to pain or melancholy can open or close the pathway towards inherent divinity. There can be a problem with romanticizing one's pain, especially once that emotion is familiar to oneself."
There is indeed a mystery there and I do think it leads to inherent divinity. After all of my experiences, I cannot prove this of course... but it is more of an internal impression I have like a deep seeded instinct.
And yes.. there is a problem with romanticizing one's pain. You saying that reminded me of a smashing pumpkins song "zero" where a lyric says "I'm in love with my sadness"..
Sadness can be intoxicating, so not only can it be like a quicksand we try to avoid... some enjoy being mired in its tentacles. However, hopefully I conveyed in this brief essay that where we want to be is beyond that pain... not stuck in the middle of it. Pain it a catalyst, not a medium in which we should desire to live.
I enjoy your reference to eudaimonia. I agree with Aristotle on this subject. As you mentioned, it is not as simple as "happiness" which can be transient and often superficial... it is a deeper level of content... perhaps even a form of harmonious appreciation for all things. I think I experience that on some days... more frequently though the more I unfold.
I appreciate your ramblings... they are very much enjoyable!
Thank you for reading through my comment and such an exceedingly gracious response!
Regarding the medication aspect, I think Ted Kaczynski was spot-on when he referred to a society that is lulled through anti-depressants in order to mask their unnatural problems. Even in a general sense, hedonistic distraction (and its pursuit) is an exercise in not seeing reality ... it's all part of the soma I mentioned in a previous conversational exchange.
I am truly sorry to hear about the loss of your son ... I admire your courage in the face of such a painful experience, especially in processing it as part of the paradigm you mentioned, as a leap of faith. Your sharing of this now helps me see the problem of evil from outside of my own admittedly limited (and sheltered) perspective, difficult as it may be for me--but most of all, I do hope that you have found some peace of mind amidst a trying time.
Regarding inherent divinity, the way that I see it is that one has to walk *through* pain, rather than around it, as that can help strip away a lot of obsolete ways in which one relates themselves to themselves or the world. When something pierces to someone's core, it can move them, and I think negative emotions tend to have greater immediacy, especially if happiness is experienced in hedonistic terms rather than in terms of eudaimonia.
I *was* thinking of Zero when I wrote my comment, so it's heartening that you responded with a reference to it. I think the struggle with being mired in melancholy is quite pertinent as well, especially with the more creatively inclined (of course, the '90s alt-rock/"grunge" scene is an example of this). Perhaps it's still worth moving away from pain, but *past* it, rather than evading it ... but now I am just reiterating your essay!
Someone pointed out the eudaimonia/hedonia distinction to me when I raised a thought experiment regarding sadness chambers (i.e. would one *choose* to subject themselves to sadness outside of what is already in their life, with the hopes of enlightenment?), and that there is a distinction between the feeling of sadness that moves one away from their status-quo state of mind, vs. the more destructive avenue of feeling. I struggle to articulate it as my thoughts are still somewhat inchoate about this topic...
Typo -- should be "Junko Furuta"
I am not sure where the typo is, but I had to look up Junko Furuta.
Wow.. what a horrible ordeal. My words fall short of giving what happened to that young woman any justice.
It is situations like that... it becomes hard for those who loved the victim to move beyond the pain. Such violence leaves the stinger in the wound. If that was one of my daughters.... needless to say my faith would be tested.
I think... this is a case in point as to why we must build this resiliency within ourselves, a form of scaffolding to cope with tragedy. While this is an extreme situation, if one is not at least partially prepared for loss, such an event could cause a person to completely crumble without chance of rehabilitation. With that said, if I were in that situation (being my daughter) I could not guarantee that I would not completely crumble. Just awful.
I would not wish what happened to that young woman on anyone, even the psychopaths who run this world.
There’s evil, and then there’s evil. Stuff like that is just beyond. Lest anyone scoff at those of us who trust what the Bible tell us. That Satan is the prince of this world. I turn to the Book of Job sometimes when confronted with stuff like that.
The typo appears twice. In the first long comment, and then where you replied to it, quoting that person’s spelling “Junko Futura”.
I trained as a copyeditor, so I get compulsive about little details, find myself proofreading restaurant menus :) Sometimes I point things out. But some authors don’t seem to care all that much.
I’d never heard ot that Japanese case and only saw then the typo. I thought it was some kind of sci fi term or something.
Satan is indeed the prince of this world and I agree with stories such as that young woman it is hard to not see its face in it. The book of Job is a good one to turn to, I have often done so myself.
I am glad you point out typos, I often overlook them but they drive me nuts when I notice them. I now see the typo in the first post, a misspelling of her last name. Admittedly I did not look it up the first time through and assumed it was much like the Black Dahlia murder. It is an awful case indeed.
Sorry! It's a case I hadn't searched up for a while, so I misremembered the spelling ... but now it's driving me insane, thank you :P
Echo: https://childrenofjob.substack.com/p/god-vs-evil
That looks like an interesting read. I will dive into it over the next fee days as time permits. Thank you for sharing it with me
Human birth itself inflicts great pain. It's not as if we were not warned :)
Truly outstanding. It is unfortunate -- and sadly predictable -- that writing of this caliber, of such great value, seems to always attract far fewer readers than it should. There's loads of lesser stuff on Substack, serious subect matter, quite good for what it is, that routinely generates vastly more interest than an essay such as yours. I suspect that is because the crowd-pleasing stuff only goes to a certain depth and no further. Never further. Easy to digest, forget by morning, and move on to the next serving of mind candy.
Thank you for the comments. I am working at becoming a better writer, both in expression and form. I am glad this piece resonated with you. I do think you are right that mind candy is much easier to sell and draw attention to. However, I am fine not having a large audience. I enjoy writing both for myself as well as for posterity for my children. Yet, if what I produce can help even just one person... that is good enough for me. I do not need to have notoriety, nor do I particularly desire it. Plus.. sometimes I enjoy some mind candy as well.
Very good insights. Not as if I revealed some big discovery. Obvious is that what appeals to the crowd is never on a par with “top shelf” stuff — whether food, literature, and you name it. I guess it would be a hell of a monotonous world if everyone valued the same things. And I’m not above dipping into the candy jar on occasion either. Not gonna lie :)
Indeed, if we were all the same we would have no contrast from which to judge. Plus... it would be a boring world lol.
Great article as usual! I do think we've shifted from seeing pain as integral to the human condition to pathologizing it, especially the mental kind--increasingly medicated, doped up on SSRIs or hedonic distraction (I'm not actively denying that chemical imbalances exist, but I do think it's not to this extent)... I find it so refreshing to read existentialist works that point towards some greater meaning of emotional turbulences! A couple thoughts / reflections:
While I sympathize with the "problem of evil" framework, this is just because I think that there are quite a few examples of pain that do not seem conducive to spiritual growth (e.g. the brutal murders of Junko Furuta or Black Dahlia). It's difficult for me to perceive this sordidness as part of a greater plan--but if I believed in an afterlife, perhaps I could see things from this perspective a bit easier.
With that being said, I agree with your greater point. I think the manner in which we *relate* to pain or melancholy can open or close the pathway towards inherent divinity. There can be a problem with romanticizing one's pain, especially once that emotion is familiar to oneself. Of course, one could argue whether it's still pain at that point, but there can be a "comfort in being sad" that's difficult to relinquish in favor of uncertainty. I suppose this goes back to your point about courage in the face of trouble!
From my perspective, it seems to bring one closer to attributing a more transcendent meaning to their existence, to being more in line with eudaimonia. I personally would not have derived many insights from happiness, even if that's a more enjoyable emotion; my "Anodyne Presence" article was born from a fairly neurotic state of mind, but I find it a lot more meaningful than a lot of other things I could've written ("look at the weather" is nice, but not as profound).
Great thought-provoking article, again, sorry for my ramblings!
Edit: typo
To begin with, Thank you for reading it as well as your insightful comments!
" I do think we've shifted from seeing pain as integral to the human condition to pathologizing it, especially the mental kind--increasingly medicated, doped up on SSRIs or hedonic distraction (I'm not actively denying that chemical imbalances exist, but I do think it's not to this extent)"
As my career has progressed over the past 20 years as well as my studies in social anthropology, I have come to the same realization. I think perhaps above all, this understanding has not only helped me understand human engineering, but has given me an appreciation for individual human perception. In general, being over medicated is acting like a band aid for poor mental maturity and development. I have considered writing an essay on this topic, especially after a conversation a few months ago with Apollo.
"While I sympathize with the "problem of evil" framework, this is just because I think that there are quite a few examples of pain that do not seem conducive to spiritual growth (e.g. the brutal murders of Junko Futura or Black Dahlia). It's difficult for me to perceive this sordidness as part of a greater plan--but if I believed in an afterlife, perhaps I could see things from this perspective a bit easier."
I agree. This is a very difficult thing to consider. There are many avenues of pain in life where it gets hard to see how it fits under the "optimal stress" category. While we can think of many human atrocities from serial killers to wars... to personal events (such as the loss of my son) that are hard to reconcile with it being a necessity, over time I have found a way to process them into the same paradigm. After all, it is impossible for us to know all things- so I fall back on my faith.
"With that being said, I agree with your greater point. I think the manner in which we *relate* to pain or melancholy can open or close the pathway towards inherent divinity. There can be a problem with romanticizing one's pain, especially once that emotion is familiar to oneself."
There is indeed a mystery there and I do think it leads to inherent divinity. After all of my experiences, I cannot prove this of course... but it is more of an internal impression I have like a deep seeded instinct.
And yes.. there is a problem with romanticizing one's pain. You saying that reminded me of a smashing pumpkins song "zero" where a lyric says "I'm in love with my sadness"..
Sadness can be intoxicating, so not only can it be like a quicksand we try to avoid... some enjoy being mired in its tentacles. However, hopefully I conveyed in this brief essay that where we want to be is beyond that pain... not stuck in the middle of it. Pain it a catalyst, not a medium in which we should desire to live.
I enjoy your reference to eudaimonia. I agree with Aristotle on this subject. As you mentioned, it is not as simple as "happiness" which can be transient and often superficial... it is a deeper level of content... perhaps even a form of harmonious appreciation for all things. I think I experience that on some days... more frequently though the more I unfold.
I appreciate your ramblings... they are very much enjoyable!
Thank you for reading through my comment and such an exceedingly gracious response!
Regarding the medication aspect, I think Ted Kaczynski was spot-on when he referred to a society that is lulled through anti-depressants in order to mask their unnatural problems. Even in a general sense, hedonistic distraction (and its pursuit) is an exercise in not seeing reality ... it's all part of the soma I mentioned in a previous conversational exchange.
I am truly sorry to hear about the loss of your son ... I admire your courage in the face of such a painful experience, especially in processing it as part of the paradigm you mentioned, as a leap of faith. Your sharing of this now helps me see the problem of evil from outside of my own admittedly limited (and sheltered) perspective, difficult as it may be for me--but most of all, I do hope that you have found some peace of mind amidst a trying time.
Regarding inherent divinity, the way that I see it is that one has to walk *through* pain, rather than around it, as that can help strip away a lot of obsolete ways in which one relates themselves to themselves or the world. When something pierces to someone's core, it can move them, and I think negative emotions tend to have greater immediacy, especially if happiness is experienced in hedonistic terms rather than in terms of eudaimonia.
I *was* thinking of Zero when I wrote my comment, so it's heartening that you responded with a reference to it. I think the struggle with being mired in melancholy is quite pertinent as well, especially with the more creatively inclined (of course, the '90s alt-rock/"grunge" scene is an example of this). Perhaps it's still worth moving away from pain, but *past* it, rather than evading it ... but now I am just reiterating your essay!
Someone pointed out the eudaimonia/hedonia distinction to me when I raised a thought experiment regarding sadness chambers (i.e. would one *choose* to subject themselves to sadness outside of what is already in their life, with the hopes of enlightenment?), and that there is a distinction between the feeling of sadness that moves one away from their status-quo state of mind, vs. the more destructive avenue of feeling. I struggle to articulate it as my thoughts are still somewhat inchoate about this topic...
I am on the other side of that grief, thank you for your words.
Funny, I spoke of synchronicity and we both conjure Zero..