What Is The Three Sicknesses Of Modernity?

Technology, the advancement of knowledge and productivity through the application of tools, information, and techniques to create an effortless process, has ultimately lead to the declination of our society and our future. In “A Thing Like Me,” Nicholas Carr addresses the development of technology from the day it was created and how it initiated an immediate impact within the lives of humans leading to an unhealthy dependency. Carr establishes how technology, what was intended to be a tool, has become the “pacifier” of our generation. This “pacifier” causes a loss of freedom, not through the laws of the government, but rather with the values of freedom one holds within themselves. This freedom is the individuality that distinguishes each person from the next, and forms a desire for the development of oneself through the experiences of life and the wisdom that is acquired along the way. Technology has blinded man from this pursuit of self-enhancement and with the advancement of technology occurring daily, there is no resolution. Each day people are confined within themselves and the pieces of technology that will continually limit them in their lives. Freedom is more than just a concept of laws instilled by the government, it is the thought process found within each individual person and their “hunger” to become more. With technology, social media was created and immediately immersed within our lives. The society of today has

There is a machine that take people, and makes them into things. It takes passion, creativity and individuality, and strips it away leaving not even a person but thing embraces monotony and conformity. Every person who embraces it, simply becomes a replaceable clogs to eventually be thrown away. They becomes destin for a meaningless life devoid of purpose.This disastrous machine is society. These views are the only way one can live life to the fullest through the views of nonconformity and self reliance while being willing to accept the consequences it entails

Ever since the existence of civilization, a fine boundary exists between human’s self-motivation and the expectation of social mechanism. As society progresses, this boundary is being gradually pushed against the will of individuals and favors the social construct. Unlike how people in the past were often inspired by their individual desires and goals, members of the new generation develop a perception of success that is heavily bounded by society’s expectations. Nonetheless, there are still individuals who are also motivated by their own values and dreams. These people are willing to step outside of the realm of ‘standard success’ and strive for what constitutes as success in their opinion. The following texts- “Project Classroom

“No one knows you better than you know yourself.” This fabled quote implies a sense of of self-awareness for an individual, and in a way, it passively rejects the societal norms and outside judgements towards that individual. However, the world seeks a systematic approach to determining the capability and worth of individuals. This “system,” whether imposed by the government, social norms, or society itself, will always create problems for individuals because of the individuality of each human being. This makes a “perfect model” impossible. The next question is “why?” Why do people depend on validation from such an imperfect system when it only causes problems? Is there any other type of worth that rewards more than “systematic validation”, perhaps capable of connecting to the uniqueness of the individual on a personal level? Worth is more meaningful when determined by the individual rather than by a system because true worth comes from within, as opposed to that of the fickle outside world.

Writing, “The basest lusts are celebrated as forms of identity and self-expression. Progress is defined exclusively by technological and material advancement.” Hedges is prompting for increased awareness of the world around

From the seventeenth century to the late twentieth century there has been a change in society creating a modernist era which saw the ending of feudalism and the devotement of capitalism. (Hudson, 2003:3) This period saw changes in the way individuals lived their lives and viewed the world; there were political changes and systems of punishment. The changes stirred

Despite mankind’s inventiveness and interior capacities for almost every wonderful field of study, it wholly compromises its principles and remains dishonest. More than seven billion people compose humanity’s seemingly intangible collective, each one of whom is an individual with a separate set of principles and identities. However, most of mankind is dedicated to the uniform desire to advance their own interests. Moral compromise and the inherited sense of self-interest have prevented any true harmonic pattern in society, and have caused problems that exist and dominate us at the present time. If society wholly refused to compromise its principles for the sake of self-interest, there would be a major change in our world affairs. However, self-indulgence

Man must be able to take up his ability, time, and knowledge to change the future to the best of his abilities in order to stay clear from the claims of societal values. David Brooks’ article “The Child in the Basement” and Tom Shadyac’s film I Am both basically had the same idea of society. They both claimed that you should always put others before yourself and not focus too much on themselves, but they both had a bit of a twist to it. Brooks shows that sometimes letting people go can really affect their lives, but it 'll make a good cause for a large group. Or how some objects can make some happy, but a human is behind the making of it and it takes them a lot of effort. While Shadyac is all about how in today 's modern society the value and importance of materialistic objects and wealth is reserved to maintain high status and it often makes us forget about the ones who don 't have anything in their lives.

Zygmunt Bauman is the writer and author of consuming life and liquid modernity. He is among the pioneering founders of the post-modernism theory that is characteristic of most theories in sociology and philosophy. The concepts and positions posited by Baunam will be heavily relied upon in the composition of this essay – albeit subject to diverse opinions in analysis and with reliance of critique that is presented from various avenues such as contradictory theories to those of the author. In consuming life, Bauman asserts that consumerism has surpassed the mundane quality of consumption. This means that human advancement has led to the quintessential disorder where consumerism coerces humans into lukewarm and superficial meeting of needs and desires, as opposed to consumption which was individualistic in nature and self-gratifying. Individuality is the opposite of consumerism. Bauman attests that desires and life of worth can be attained only from egoistic search of satisfaction. However, individualistic system and egoism cannot push societies to prosperity and advancement. Insofar as consumerism contorts human culture and introduces dangers of ideology and religion, it is only through consumerism that advances in humanity and advancement that man can utilize ideologies such as capitalism, laissez faire conditions, international trade, diplomacy, and other diverse attributes in transforming human culture.

Through mass production of people, individualism is lost. In Brave New World, all of the people are products of mass production. “Racks upon racks of numbered test tubes.” [5] is the only way to describe them

In today’s society, the rich get richer and the poorer get poorer. Why is it that our “land of opportunity” society is so filled with so much inequality? The poor are often the ones with losses. According to Joseph E. Stiglitz, the author of “ Rent Seeking And The Making Of An Unequal Society”, individuals of society are made to believe that: “The poor, in this land of opportunity, have only themselves to blame.” Millions of individuals in our society are losing jobs daily, but the one percent of the top class is not losing their jobs. As a result of this inequality, an egocentric and a society filled with inequality has formed. In Robert Thurman’s essay, “Wisdom”, Thurman claims that a society filled with inequality is formed as a result of giving importance to the self. However this claim can be falsified by comparing it to the text by Martha Stout, “When I Woke up Tuesday Morning, It Was Friday”. In Martha Stout ‘s text her patient, Julia is extremely successful. Along with her successes Julia does not give much importance to her self. Julia often disassociates from reality is unsure of her self, so she cannot give much importance to her self. Considering this it is accurate to hypothesize that our society filled with inequality is not resulting from individuals giving importance to the self. However , it can be justified to blame the top one percent for the inequality in our nation. The selfish behavior

Radical individualism, as Myers calls it, is part of the reason why this paradox exist. It draws focuses on egotistical attitudes and self interests, and focuses away from social responsibility and moral obligations. Myers discusses about how the American people, as America becomes more wealthy, are less content with their lives. Comparing to several decades ago, Myers points out that society has changed a lot. He talks about how fortunate Americans are due to the comfortable lifestyle they currently have. Americans have become so materialistic that their economic growth does not contribute to their social and moral

Born in 1 BCE, Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Stoic philosopher whose writings cover a vast range of topics concerning the human experience. The public’s conception of stoicism as a school of philosophy predominantly focused on “embracing misfortune without complaint” is somewhat distorted from the actual beliefs its outstanding figures held. Seneca’s approach to ethics caught my interest, after thinking over his arguments, I found myself agreeing with much of what he had to say, that is if I interpreted it correctly. I believe the principles espoused by the stoics to be particularly relevant over the past century. The 1920’s is often associated as an age of materialism, an unsustainable time-period inundated with mass-consumption and fixated on pleasure. Perhaps it is not as extreme as then nowadays, I would not know for I was not alive; however, it feels like we are in a similar climate. Everyone wants the newest products, the new iPhone that comes out every year, that new pair of shoes, that new videogame system, that new watch, or that new house, etc. Although we have yet to reach the world described by Aldous Huxley in that of the literary classic “Brave New World,” which depicts a society constructed upon drowning in excess consumption of sex and soma, where John, the savage, is perceived as a lunatic for his quaint habits of being virtuous. More interesting, is the growing desire to be happy, this is shown by the increasing amounts of literature and social science

According to Max Weber (2017), instrumental-rational social action is boiled out of necessity to achieve a goal. We all endeavor to achieve a result for every ounce of effort we put into actionable course. We do something to achieve a result commensurate to what we put into it. One may go to medical school to become a doctor, because he or she likes to save life and at the same time earn top dollar that is attached to become a doctor, and to be able to achieve that a college degree is required. The modern society is engrossed with the ideology of the instrumental rational social action because of her desire for efficiency and effectiveness, we seek for ways to help streamline things therefore making it sufficiently convenient.

As of the moment, most of us seem to have problems with the modern life and its fast-pace flow. Technically, almost all individuals try to come up with an understanding of how to become independent and strong individuals capable of surviving and continuing on with existence. For some of us, there are times wherein someone would wish for a super power or means in order to make life easier and more bearable. This concern might be somewhat unrealistic but this is the reality. Almost everyone wants to have a life that is convenient and far more reliable. Life has never been easy even before the olden times. There exists a heavy burden and weight placed on the shoulder of each individual which has been carried from the historical heritage of human existence along with the external cultures and motivations that influenced it. This is the reality that most of us face today. No matter how many people try to run away from it, it is the reality which most of us needs to accept and live on. This antagonism posts a significant and impacting concern particularly on the fact that conflicts and modern issues are primitive or inherent circumstances which had integrated with life 's existence prematurely. After the eighteenth century when most of the parts of the world became dependent and liberated, the on-growing concerns regarding politics, religion, morality, values and economics had directly shifted and influenced the flow of life particularly the natural virtue of human beings