fghasdfkl Just as with the rest of his sections, Jensen makes some powerful assertions in chapters 7 through. The interesting thing is that for the first time that I can remember, he brings Jesus into the debate. Chapter 7, "Claims of Virtue" opens with a discussion of Jesus. The 8th chapter brings the reader back to the fact that we are intrinsically good. Finally, the 9th chapter "Breaking Out" makes the most bold claim so far in the book; that the reason for our worlds turmoil is not our selfishness. I will touch on all three of these chapters.
In Chapter 7, Jensen portrays church in a kind of negative light. He says it simply unites an unruly group of people and gives them a moral code that they should have developed themselves. Rape is the example given: the church says rape is wrong so we don't rape. Instead, we should be making conscious unhampered decision ourselves. This brings us once again back to the idea that there is communication between animals and various species that helps us all to cooperate and consequently succeed. The communication and cooperation breaks down when we lie to ourselves. Deforestation happens when and individuals to himself about the consequences, in light of the fact that it will be extremely beneficial financially. The chapter closes on another surprising attack on Christianity and religion. What spirituality boils down to that we believe what we are supposed or pressed to believe, when in actuality we should be developing our own beleifs.
Chapter 8 opens with a reference to Jensen's childhood experience with stars. He comments that "the message from the stars...that cruelty we take for granted is not natural...sustains me to this day. The subsequent points that he makes are in regard to the conventions of school. The terminology he uses is pretty stinging: " schol last thirteen years [because] it takes that long to sufficiently break a child's will". He believes that the primary function of school is not to educated, but to subdue the minds of young people and lead them away from experience. Jensen continues on with examples of how individuals across the world are subdued and controlled. Nazis controlled Jews by presenting them with choices that gave the allusion that they were controlling their own destiny. Later, the topic of interspecies communication is addressed: Jensen put a group of rodents out of their homes and in return they defecated on his sink. The chapter finally closes on an ominous note: "we can distance ourselves from the world of experience, sense, and emotion, or we can die."
The last chapter in this reading, "Breaking Out" first addresses the topic of selfishness. Jensen claims that "we would be better off if we were to act in our own best interest." This seems like a contradictory notion to everything we've ever been taught, but Jensen provides solid support: we have destroyed the world and done so under the guise that we were acting out of self-interest. Wrong, he says, we have simply been coercing others into doing what we want them to do. The truth is that exploiting others is not in our best interest and is thus not selfish. Other points made in this chapter include the fact that trauma lasts a very long time, if communicated with correctly animals can be utilized for our selfish needs, and that economics is the the horrific study of exploitation and blood.
Essentially, this portion of reading from a "A Language Older Than Time" says the same thing over three chapters: we shouldn't believe things that we are told to believe. Chapter seven addresses this topic by talking about god; we shouldn't not rape because Jesus says so, we should not rape because we have developed a set of morals that says its wrong. Chapter eight addresses this topic by talking about the injustices of school and other atrocities; we are subdued, controlled, and manipulated by those with more power. Chapter nine addresses this topic by refuting the common conception that the world has been ruined by selfishness; in fact, most of the injustices we participate in have no benefit to us at all.
As always, the classroom connections are endless to Jensen's work, but the most relevant on that I see is to Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self Reliance". In this piece of literature, Emerson addresses three topics that are extremely relevant to Jensen's discussion: independent thought, non-conformity, and variance. Here's an example of their the application. Jensen vehemently attacks school saying that it subdues the mind and promotes conformity. Emerson is on the exact same page, condemning those blindly believe and refuse to think for themselves. Emerson also talks about conforming to the norm can be detrimental to ones health and success. That is undoubtedly true when it comes to the idea of selfishness being the route of all evil. This idea is a commonly accepted them, and yet intrinsically wrong. We need to break away from such things.
Ultimately what I will take from this excerpt is that I need to think for myself. Both Jensen and those that can be referenced in support of his arguments are adamant in their view that conclusions, mindsets, and lifestyles need to come from within. Jensen first highlights this by condemning religion; he feels as if it stunts free thinking. He then continues on to highlight the ways in which school and society repress original thoughts and promote conformism. I don't know if I completely buy into the fact that religion and school are stunting our growth, but I definitely see what Jensen is going for. He is pointing out that their are societal conventions pushing us towards ends that we have not chosen for ourselves. As a result, I intend to be infinitely more aware of the ends that I am being pushed towards. I will no longer blindly follow what my superiors have laid out for me. I will be critical, questioning, and original to ensure that the best possible path is always the one that I am on.
Questions:
I am quite confused about this concept of selfishness? Could Jensen clarify a little better?
What are the positives of religion? Is Jensen religious? Is there something wrong with the fact that religion instills good morals from day one?
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