preview

Essay on The Individual: Betrayal of The True Self

Decent Essays
As Descartes once said, “ Cogito ergo sum” , which translates I think therefore I am, advocates rationalization implies one's existence.(Stanford Encyclopedia) Historical myths advocate that human race attained existence when they rationally challenged the Divine who created them. One could argue that the whole purpose of existence is to progress through rational thinking . An individual embraces their true self with the help of the intellect. The Divine has bestowed upon the individual the freedom to disobey, go against, and even retaliate against irrational laws and morals. If one does not utilize the freedom of retaliation, an individual betrays their true nature of the self. If an individual gives into societal compliance and…show more content…
Individuals, who spoke intellectually, were condemned from society. In this dignifying act, one could see the validity of truth in the Individual. On the contrary, appeal to majority falsifies the nature of the Individualism and
George, 2

devalues self-reliance. As philosopher Eric Fromm advocates : “Each person turns into a small-or large-cog in this machine. He lives under the illusion of being an individual-while he has turned into a thing. As a result, we observe an increasing lack of adventurousness, individualism,willingness to make decisions and take risks.”(Fromm,331) An Individual is stripped of his human value when one blindly falls in the trap of archaic irrationality. Archaic irrationality can be seen in the book Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl. The book depicts the historical tragedy Hitler elicited on the Jews. The author, being a Jew, was put to work in the concentration camps. His job was to monitor his fellow men get derailed and tortured.(Frankl) One can argue that a true individual would have stepped out of the archaic irrationality and rebelled against the large machine, which in this case, was the government. On the contrary, the citizens and soldiers betrayed their self by carrying out the heinous acts against the Jews. As per this example, Betrayal of self can be affirmed with Fromm's quote “ a person is a small or large cog in a machine.” ( Fromm,331) Society is
Get Access