Fighting Against the Misanthropic Demon

(Subcategory on Book-Related Content)

Fighting Against the Misanthropic Demon

Introduction

The creator washed His hands soon after our fall -- John Duran

One of the problematic aspects of solitude is misanthropy, which is hatred for other human beings. I find it to be a problem because it can serve as an obstacle to what I call Solitarus (in my native language: Bdituta), which is the ability to be in love with one's solitude.

A bigger problem regarding the relationship between misanthropy and solitude may be social stigmas. Imagine a group of workers going on a lunch break at the nearest restaurant. All of the group but one individual are sitting together, while the other individual sits on their own on purpose.

Afterwards, the group calls him, humorously, a misanthrope.

Even if such an assumption is made out of humor, sitting on your own at lunch breaks does not necessarily mean you loathe the existence of other people. Yet, such social stigmas are implemented in our consciousness by social evolution; stigmas that disrupt the potential harmony between solitude and company.

Generally, my ideology of Rubinshteinic Individualism is highly against hatred for other people. As such it does not in any way promote hatred or doing harm to other people. In fact, it promotes social harmony and serenity as superior values due to the morality behind it. Because this philosophy is against being evil.

Every one of us carries the will to survive and to endure in the journey of life. Thus, It is sensible, for all of us who didn't give up on life, to have this motive of survival and endure. Endure, for the preservation of collective harmony, in which in turn shall make us some space to feel serenity and peace while alone.

And when we are left alone, we can promote our own health. This logical structure therefore does not find any functions or useful exchanges in the concept and mindset of misanthropy.

The word ‘demon’ is used as a metaphor to describe a problem (in my native language ‘demon’ also means ‘a messenger of sabotage’ or a destroying angel which in this case may be coincidentally relevant).

The Misanthropic Demon

This exploration delves into the relationship between solitude and misanthropy. It distinguishes between constructive solitude (which we will refer to as "solitarus"—a state characterized by love, wisdom, and inner harmony) and misanthropic isolation, a state driven by deep hatred and social disconnection.

While misanthropy itself isn't classified as a mental illness, it fosters societal disharmony and motivates individuals to withdraw not for introspection but to escape expressing their hostility towards humankind.

One key distinction lies between the inclination towards solitude—a potentially innate drive for individual survival and reflection—and a misanthropic mindset. This mindset comprises dysfunctional thoughts, doctrines, and dogmas that alienate individuals from society, not for the value of introspection, but due to hatred, and a desire to escape the perceived societal oppression.

Constructive solitude, or solitarus, is not an escape from reality but a way of life embracing material simplicity, harmonious ambitions, and inner peace. In contrast, hateful isolation serves as an escape, not from objective reality, but from the internal conflict arising from disharmony between the individual and the collective.

Within solitude, two primary, dichotomic archetypes can be observed: the contemplative individual and the reactive individual.

The contemplative type is characterized by love, forgiveness, philosophical inquiry, and serenity. The reactive type, however, is marked by hatred, resentment, and anxiety.

The contemplative seeks inner and outer peace as the path to harmony, love, and wisdom. The misanthropic individual, conversely, often engages in self-destructive patterns of bitterness and melancholy, rather than pursuing harmony.

Therefore, anyone considering seclusion should introspectively examine the dominant aspects of their inner world: the loving and serene, or the hateful and rebellious.

Unfortunately, a lack of understanding regarding the nature of solitude often leads society to misinterpret those who are alone, frequently labeling them as sad or ill, rarely as content. General social consciousness tends towards simplistic, stereotypical and associative thinking when lacking deeper knowledge.

Generations have inherited the biblical notion that "it is not good that the man should be alone," a concept often used not to promote well-being but to maintain a conformist and intellectually limited society that struggles to think beyond its own norms (a sociocentric approach).

Consequently, the word "solitude" is often associated with negative emotions like depression, sorrow, and despair. However, society often fails to recognize that its own dogmatic and sociocentric education has created these negative associations, even though solitude as a concept is ethically neutral (AKA, can be either good or bad, depending on perception).

I suggest that misanthropy is a product of negative social interaction, not an inherent trait. Individuals are not born with inherent love or hate but learn these through their experiences, both in interaction and self-reflection, thus becoming the individuals that they are (Learned behavior).

The conflict arises when society forcefully promotes philanthropy, yet an individual's mind, shaped by negative social experiences, inclines towards misanthropy. A truly loving and a truly hating individual find it difficult to coexist.

However, even hatred can stem from a perceived rationality—the observation of misery, oppression, and the stifling of individuality within society.

Solitary/Rubinshteinic Individualism, or the philosophy practiced by the Indie-Solitaire, does not originate from misanthropy but from a drive for harmony and a comprehensive understanding of the human and social landscape achieved through contemplation. The Indie-Solitaire acknowledges societal problems and seeks to avoid committing them themselves.

The rugged misanthrope also recognizes these issues but, unlike the Indie-Solitaire, may seek to control and combat the uncontrollable. Their hatred, though potentially rooted in a desire for a broader understanding, becomes corrupted by the human tendency towards destructive and self-serving impulses.

Should their embrace their darkness, they might have no regard for human life, seeing them as pawns to puppeteer under ulterior motives.

Society, focused on maintaining its functions rather than deeper understanding, may label the misanthrope as "psycho," "bad," "distressed," or "cowardly."

Only a minority within society may genuinely contemplate the nature, causes, and potential de-escalation of misanthropy—not merely for social order, objective reality, or goodwill, but for inner and outer peace and the overcoming of disharmonious and imperialistic human drives.

The methodology of Indie-Solitaire aims to address problems not through mental or social escapism but through direct confrontation, adopting a contemplative lifestyle, prioritizing logic, and ultimately transcending the ego through awareness and asceticism.

In a society saturated with distractions that encourage external engagement and the acceptance of supposedly objective beliefs, solitude offers a space to observe, develop critical thinking, and overcome the dominance of purely sensual experience.

Thus, instead of escaping and weakening their ability to cope with internal struggles through over-reliance on others, Solitary Individualism encourages self-confrontation and self-mastery. This seemingly paradoxical conquest of the self allows individuals to evolve and better serve their own needs for mental survival and even prosperity in solitude.

While a sociocentric individual experiencing sadness might pathologize it and seek external dependence as a coping mechanism, the Indie-Solitaire approaches emotions differently. They do not equate feelings with morality but use introspection, akin to meditation, to critically understand the origins of their emotions from a broader perspective.

They constantly analyze themselves, viewing emotions and urges as separate entities to be examined through rationality and criticism, thereby cultivating autonomy in their solitude. This analytical approach applies to all emotions.2

The Indie-Solitaire functions as their own psychologist, sociologist, and philosopher, investigating themselves, society, and existential questions to redefine their understanding. They may choose solitude as the most conducive environment for such intellectual pursuits and self-analysis. This same principle can apply to the emergence of misanthropy.

In summary, misanthropy is not an inherent evil or an inevitable outcome of solitude but rather a social dysfunction arising from problematic interactions that negatively shape individuals and society.

Misanthropy has its own underlying reasons, including rebelliousness, lack of inner peace, the desire to control the uncontrollable, and the adoption of antisocial beliefs, rather than acknowledging society's role in their lives.

Society, however, often views misanthropy as solely a characteristic of depressed and suffering individuals in isolation, overlooking its deeper causes. As such, society often seeks to suppress this phenomenon in the name of its norms, rarely attempting to understand the misanthrope's perspective.

The Indie-Solitaire approach proposes that emotions, including hatred, should not necessarily be repressed but rather understood, analyzed, observed, and contemplated. Solitude can serve as a method for cultivating a rationally-grounded individuality that can accept and ultimately overcome the dominion of these emotions.