When it all goes to bosch – The lower portion of Hell or life on campus? – Painting by Hieronymus Bosch
“We simply have no organ for knowing, for ‘truth’: we ‘know’ (or believe or imagine) exactly as much as is useful to the human herd, to the species: and even what is here called ‘usefulness’ is finally also just a belief, a fiction.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
Lies to tell the truth—truth to tell lies—lies that breed lies—and truth to reinforce truth. There are at least a thousand different ways to render and/or interpret the prior sentence, and in so doing we can discover much about a person’s values, biases, general and/or specific intelligence/s. Furthermore, some may feel the statement is as good as gold and need not be altered. Legal experts might say it is both ambiguous and vague, but would be perfectly happy to use it in a court case if it could give them an advantage. An academic philosopher on his second mug of ale might say it’s as useless as tits on a bull but his transsexual lover might beg to differ.
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The point of all this, well, that largely depends on the relationship between the reader and writer or the lack there of. Just because someone presents a thesis doesn’t mean that they believe in its objective/s. They could in fact be consciously or unconsciously working contrary to what their professional or personal role happens to be in the matter. One’s makeup can hide a thousand wrinkles as well as their inner motives.
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Sophists give the best lectures at college, just as bull-shitters can take down a regiment on a battle field. The tone and air of confidence in a speech can turn a falsehood into a supposed truth, or make a timid person appear larger than life. Beliefs can take on other notions that eventually become boulders the size of tectonic-plates. Even nations can be built upon layers of erroneous assumptions that eventually turn into a gas that keeps the whole system churning. In God we trust, as the saying goes, but is it really the case, and is it true for you and false for me; can we really place genuine confidence into something that doesn’t exist; yes, no, maybe or neither and/or all of the above.
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Slippery slopes are also conducive for sliding during winter festivities; however, let’s tread carefully so as to avoid getting a snowball upside the head. A minor concussion can cause us to misconstrue our words, which can bring down the best of us. Good God, Nero himself might have been the greatest emperor under Seneca’s tutelage if he were not poisoned early in his career and left with a mild infection that slowly grew into dementia; on the other hand, enemies of all sorts exist around the globe despite our mental health and are just as convinced that their cause and/or conviction remains the just one.
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For instance, seldom do we hear others talk about the injustices performed in the name of suicide prohibition*. How many psychiatrists alone have prescribed medications without taking the time to see if it was causing more harm than good; moreover, they are enamored with the idea that they are doing a greater good if not The Greater Good in society, when in reality they are at best performing a lesser evil. At least they’re pioneering the field of medicine eh, but at what cost to our humanity, our self-esteem, our volition.
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It’s not just so-called sick minded people who are being turned into docile creatures. Try getting a teaching position at a university and you will discover that doors remain closed to those that go contrary to the herd mentality—well reinforced by bitter academics who failed as professors and opted for administrative work instead. Institutes and/or institutions require conformists, whereas free spirits are a stumbling block and detract from the momentum of efficiency. Colleges claim to nurture free thinking but the strictures they uphold prevent it. Regurgitation wins the day and gets the student an A.
* See comment section below for additional perspectives on the harms of suicide prohibition.
