Philosophy Final Paper

Are you afraid of the dark?

The article by Mr. Deresiewcz seems to indicate a want for solidarity in this rapid fire lifestyle and culture that we live in today. His main thesis extends a wish and even a longing for people to go forth and be at peace with being alone. Maybe not forever or all the time, but for a certain amount of their lives, they should be able to just be. Not be texting, not be emailing, not be Facebook chatting; just be. Be able to stand alone and reflect on oneself, whatever that reflection might be. People are thought to be afraid of looking inwards for the fear of the darkness of being alone. He does not appear to just come out and say, “I want people to reflect by themselves.” However, the overall theme and examples he brings up, leads us to believe that he feels let down by the current status quo regarding this subject. His argument might read along the lines of; discovering oneself by being alone is important and has value. In order to find one’s true self, one must find a way to become disconnected from society in an ever more connecting world.

The author brings up many points to back his conclusion. One is of the religious tone, where you cannot hear God between the chattering of the public around you. He mentions Buddhists and monks praying and concentrating by themselves in silence. I know that some forms of meditation require you to be alone but many forms of Buddhism have spiritual chants and group harmony that serves the same religious purpose. Not to the extent some of the alone Buddhists have reached, such as Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov whose body does not decay (although seemingly more to the fact they doused him with sand. Itiglov was rumored to reach nirvana when he passed and his body was left in the meditation pose because of it in the mid to late 20th century. But as the author focuses on the modern day, so to must we. Religion is coming into a different light for most of the world then it did centuries ago. It is adapting...