As a down-to-earth human I have never really
been into philosophy, but at times a conversation with another human can
inspire me to reach out for a book (titled: “Escape from the helplessness”), I would not read off my own bat.
The author, Tomasz Stawiszyński is a relatively
young (born in 1978) Polish philosopher and author of books and articles as
well as podcasts and radio broadcasts. In the set of essays I have delved into,
he cracks down on cult of everlasting happiness and omnipresent optimism, both
being laid as foundations of late capitalism. But since happiness is not a
continual state and optimism is not the mood humans experience all the time, he
holds forth that the eternal balance between positivism and negativism ought to
be restored.
Historically, as Mr Stawiszyński points out,
death was present in societies. The departure of a community member used to be commemorated
collectively, then the mourning ensued and is some cases lasted for months or
even ages. Mourning and grief were an ordinary element of a human existence and
were lived through in communities which facilitated the process of recovery. As
the author underlines, each human responds in a different way to a loss. A
mourning might last two weeks, or a lifetime and each response fits within the
frames of “normality”.
WHO estimates around 350 people around the
world suffer from depression, which is categorised as an epidemic only because
the disease is not contagious. Individualism, hectic pace of life, bars raised
too high, lack of community support, pursuit of material goods, consumerism, loosening
bonds between humans and several other civilizational changes could have
contributed to the widespread character of the disease. The depression is
several cases might turn out to be a grief not lived through properly. Not denying
the suffering of people afflicted by it, the author claims too many people are
reliant on psychotherapy and antidepressants to cope with their problems whose scale
is too miniscule to call them a depression. I actually also detest when
somebody calls a temporary low mood a depression, since the illness is too
serious to use its name rashly.
From the suffering-related parts of the human
psyche, the author switches into the way the human mind deals with complex phenomena.
When facing the unknown, it tends to seek the most straightforward explanation.
When additionally facing the unthinkable or a black swan, straightforward
answers come up as mind-boggling and give rise to conspiracy theories sprouting. 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Smolensk airplane crash or the COVID-19 pandemic are
the events which had been beyond our imaginations until they happened.
Further on, Mr Stawiszyński touches upon the
role of what I called a noble violence. He argues humans reluctant to commit evil,
but think up absurd excuses to justify it. Take the example of Russian invasion
to Ukraine – the aim of the “special operation” is to “liberate the areas, free
the locals from the fascist government and reinstate peace”. All felonies
committed in the history were at best committed as the lesser of two evils. When
pondering upon the concept, a proverb “the road to hell is paved with good
intentions” springs to mind instantly.
The last chapter makes a reference to the
helplessness mentioned in the book’s title. Helplessness, which is indispensable
element of life, while the contemporary culture intently attempts to find solutions
to all sorts of misery. While in several circumstances humans should just come
to terms with their misery.
The summative closing remarks are the most
precious excerpts of the book, in which the philosopher calls to bring back the
dark side of the human existence. He insists we should summon up strength to face
up to all unpleasant, but inevitable experiences, rather than averting it.
