13 Comments
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John K. Pitkethly, MA, LMHC's avatar

This article is very well written and true. Apathy is not our normal default mode. It's learned as a defense mechanism against a world that is trying to destroy us while our brains are fully charged with the tasks of physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual self-preservation.

Joel's avatar

Of course it was well written- by AI.

John K. Pitkethly, MA, LMHC's avatar

Do you disagree with the content of the article?

Cathie Campbell's avatar

Balance and intention to connect with people living in one’s community, alongside friends at a distance on screens, is essential.

Dostluk Felsefesi's avatar

Bourgeois morality is partly about adopting a desensitized attitude towards events. This is influenced, perhaps even more by, the objective or objectified conditions of daily life than by the individual's active participation.

Skyler's avatar

I enjoyed this read, out of a genuine curiosity was it written by ai?

Homo Viator's avatar

Survival can become a habit long after the danger has passed.

Sirens on the Rocks's avatar

There’s something so sharp and honest in how this essay describes modern attention and emotional overload…

Simmel feels like he was already describing how we live now. Too much coming at us, too fast, and at some point the system just turns the volume down on everything so we can keep going.

What we call “calm” might not really be calm at all…it might just be us running on low emotional battery, where everything gets flattened, so nothing overwhelms us!

So I keep coming back to this…is our “calm” actually clarity or just emotional fatigue we’ve learned to live with?

Priyanka Bhattacharya's avatar

That's how we cruise on autopilot as default...

Oclabeme's avatar

Esto no ocurrió de la noche a la mañana, básicamente como lo menciona en su artículo, a partir de la industrialización, el mundo como se conoció se transformó. Se pensaba que lograr la evolución tecnológica nos daría la felicidad. Seríamos más funcionales y materialistas ( consumo). Pero se ha pagado el precio.

CanonWiki's avatar

The destabilization is real. But I think there’s a difference between being overwhelmed by the flood and being genuinely touched by it. The goal isn’t to feel everything at full volume - it’s to rebuild enough interior structure that meaning can land without shattering you. This is something I’ve been developing a framework around - when the transmission environment erodes that interior structure, you don’t just feel less. Your entire nervous system can get stuck in a permanent low-grade threat response, braced for impact that never quite arrives.

Ola Vellore's avatar

Can’t believe there’s several genocides taking place in the world that we live in and we’re more concerned about Stanley’s and cars and content creation rather than actual human lives. It is pathetic.

Ola Vellore's avatar

My heart feels so flattened I wonder if I can even cry anymore. Haven’t cried in so long because there’s so much pain.