Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Herman Tennessen Happiness Is For The Pigs PDF

    Uploaded by

    Constantin Elisei
    127 views18 pages

    Original Title

    Herman-Tennessen-Happiness-is-for-the-Pigs.pdf

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    127 views18 pages

    Herman Tennessen Happiness Is For The Pigs PDF

    Uploaded by

    Constantin Elisei

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 18
    Reprinted From: JOURNAL OF EXISENTIALISH ob. Vit, Noo 26 WENTER, 1966/67 Liska PUBLISHERS, INC HAPPINESS IS FOR THE PIGS: Philosophy versus Psychotherapy Herman Tennessen® Inoduction Ina Danish Encyclopedia, published around the tar ofthe century, 4 highly esteemed seentist wrote sa article on “Flying. Machines” “itis quite obvious," be concluded, “that none of these fantastic ideas shall ever materialize. Everpbody knows that nothing heavier ‘than water ean ever oat in water; by the same token iti logically Impossiie tat anything Reaver than air can every inthe ai.” ‘Aod while he jublandyavved at his uamistakabe conclusion, oe ‘Se is window birds sed through the sky (TI, p.198).** Analo- ‘gous, and similarly ldirous, soit as often been argued, was the ‘Siuation of the dogmatic negativsts who, ual recealy, desied the possibilty of human space wave: the deniers were already on board 4 spaceship, soaring, whiting through am immense, absurdly in- ierent vas il void, totaly vacuous, except for homeopathically sparse excipients of inconsequemial motes of dust and specks of light: al Bindly blank, deadly deat, tigily glaring with sublime pathy ‘This image has now become commonplace (appearing even inthe inaogural speech of a US. president). tis most fequenty employed homiectically: to foser and promote human gregriousess, “We sae all in the same boat" ete. More intriguing, however, seems to Ime a queston, impcy suggested in te metaphor: What wondrous ‘mechanisms have permited Man to remain deluded about bis own ‘cosmic conditions, and, in face of all the evidence to the ontary, Gene for Advanced Studies in Theoretical Psychology, Unive e anced Studies in Thececal Psychology, Univesity inc ofthe peat many Nborapic referees, noon have een ied 182 ‘maintained a basicaly Ptolemaic (i any) “Wettanschauung”? The shortest ino: simplest, explanation offts @ reference 10 the (a) comnitive and (b) empathetic “dsitegiy” of human insgxte (ot) “dsimegratedess” of Man: the ability (a) to hold cognitvely in- compatible views or positions, or (b) 10 prevent knowledge {rom peoetratng “oltional” (te) personality layers and this permiing to remain purely "intllectuat"* One of the, inthis tess, most ‘lective ontolgial and eschatological hebetants, is, cording to Heidegger (1, 1-& 2, sections: 27, 34:38, 71)? Man's kasck for extracting intervals oot of his total term of Being and fillag them ‘with work "and other pastimes, external senssions ("Neuer"), hater and smallilk ("dar Gerede”), ete. This, to setur to the fanalogy,empovers the crew and passengers in the spaceship 10 20 (on, polishing orass and playing bridge, blisflly unaware of thee “cosmic situation” They are all psychologically healthy, content, well adjusted snd accommodated: ontologicaly secure. They have a feeling of intepral selfhood, of personal identity, and of ‘he per- ‘maneney of tangs. They believe in their own coninuits—n being made of good, lasting stuff—and in meaning and order and justice in life and in ‘he universe (eg, Laing, Lil). In the most fortunate ceases, there is 4 good, bealhy unconditional surrender and sub- mission tothe norm of nicety and normalcy ofthe average, square headed, stufshited, sanctimoaious, middleclass North-American church-goer and Bridge player, with his pueudo-inelligent, gua progressive, sinilcultored, pltituinal smalalk. Happy days! ia {his the best of all possible worlds, One doesn’ notice until io tte, In short: Al's well (since nobody notices the end of “al that well") un ene night: the day's work i well done and al the ship's crapulat fois fantcally engulf themselves in 8 deadly serous fame of bridge (il ite time forthe nightcap and the tranquilizer) ‘One of the “cummies,” a champion bras polisher, aufeng from fan acute ease of uncaused depresion, goes 10 lie down for while; he doesa’t hae a dime forthe juke bon the room spanful sated ‘with embarrasing sence, Instanly aad unexpectedly he i stack * Se, for a arity of approaches to this problem cuter: Ca, C4 FR HDA dod, RIT 13 BBD Bo, ROIS, BF 95, Te by an exeeratve cuse of invered serendigty. He suddenly, in un- bearable agony, sees himself os an upholtered pile of bones and Kovekles, with the softer parts shing up in a bag'on the frat side, and his whole lie as a ludicrously bret interlude between embryo and corpse, two repulive earctutes of inself (ZI p. 112). As for this fying fares, this nauseatingly trivial burlesque in a whining colin, and its aimless, whimsial fight though the void: “What is It all about?” The question permeates him with dread and anguish, ‘ith “ontological despa” and “existential frustration” (UI p. 188). “Angsten” (Kietkegnard) constrains ou of aim all his puny, pling ‘ated, and pety ambitions in brass and bridge, and ls hin wih fare and compassion for his fellow wavelles, In other word, be ha become a philosopher, an alienated, nostic “cosmopath," and, 0 ipso, a case fr psychologists and paychoherepiss, some of whom ‘rant to study him and label is "Daseinelse,” others to "uasick™ him a wel ‘This is in a metaphorical nutsbel, the background for the tap- comic encounter of cial psychology and existential philosophy. 2. Why Existential Philosophy? “What isi all about?” Mija (in Brothers Karamazov) felt that ‘hough his question may be absurd and semeles, yet he had to ask jt that, and he had fo ak iti just that way. Socrates claimed that an unexamined lie is not worthy of man, And Arise ssw ‘Man's “proper” goal and “proper” limit in the right exercise of those faculties which are uniquely human. It is commooplace that ‘men, unlike ober living organisms, are net equipped with builtin ‘mechanisms for automatic maintenance af their existence. Man ‘wool perch immediately if be were t0 respond. thin caviunr ‘ment exclusively in tenas of unlearned bidogicaly inherited forms ‘of behaviour. In order to survive at ll, the human being must problem as to what would constitute 2 cure ‘or at east a step in a note “heathy” direction. Freud's patients were largely sufering from heavy hysteria, dramatic paralyzaions, ioe ablity to talk or move. The more advanced countries today have aught up with many Utopian ideals concerning economie poverty land unquestionably piychopath-teating authoritarian Carly struc tures, while at the sae time Beliefs in gods and devils, heaven and hell, angels and immorality have almost vanished. In these countries people sufler less frm sightmarish misery than ffom the more Sule disorders previculy buried by the hush and biuer struggle for existence. The finial psychologists are unexpectedly. con {oned with patients who by all socal criteria are tremendously successful and well adjusted. ‘They ave. justprematurely, at it were—antcipated te dying groan, Wan Mitch's three-day long shriek (72): hat is all about? Thus what once was an obviovely ommendatory endeavor to abolish poverty and ignerace, i slowly raising before us a problem, the severity of which wil inerease Ja ‘correlation with inctete in leisure time and socie-sconomic. and ‘eucatonal “progres.” he, the most humanly flevant question of all: Whar doe it meus 10 be Mon, whar is the Lot of Mankind in cosmos? What once vas an objet of idle contemplation, has re- ‘cently became a concem for economists and theologians, fr scents ‘ad creative arts, pahologts, psvehitsts and educators 2.1. Pia Historica ad Esistentalismum. “The eae: ile cootemplators, the socalled “Ionian phibsopbers fof Natur” were rather nave and optimistic. *. «they wondered ‘originally atthe obvious difcules," says Arstoue® "then advanced ‘znd sated ficulties about the greater mates, e., about he moon tnd the wun and the stars, and then about the genesis of ce whole “Universe.” ‘The ret severe erdcsm sets in with Heraclitus who, as ‘everybody Knows, became rather tightly obsessed by th insight ‘tat everthing change; and some of bis successors even more by ‘he alleged consequences ofthis observation: "Nothing ext!” (in Parmenices’ sense of "ext"), Take for example the oll

    You might also like