| From my comment: There is nothing more pathetic than seeing someone profusely blame the wrong thing for their depression. I'm wasn't specifically talking about people who casually blame the wrong thing. Maybe I need a stronger word than profusely.... On Darwin's side of the spectrum you have, well, Darwin. On other end of the spectrum you have people coming up with intricate ideas about how minorities are destroying everyone's lives. Even though there is a lot of mental work in carefully choosing their illusory axioms to make the rest of their ideas naturally fall into place, I am very reluctant to call that work productive and I do think that it's pathetic. Of course, the very same mistake was made with this person, who profusely blames the wrong thing, as the person who casually blames the wrong thing: they stopped trying to find the real problem too soon. There are only two words that come to mind: undignified and arrogant. Arrogant that they're questioning the wrong thing and not questioning whether the output of their thought process is precise, and therefore they're not questioning the thought process itself. Perhaps it is questioning that compels people into great, productive work. Depressed or not! Darwin held himself to high standards while he simultaneously, and perpetually, questioned his thoughts and the results of his thoughts. He did this to a point where his thoughts were very precise and congruent with the real world. I do not think it was the depression that compelled him into productivity, but his dignity. Compelled into a productive depression! He couldn’t just shrug off his depression since that would mean ignoring certain issues. Again, this really is only my own speculation, but I don't think depression needs to exist in the amount that it does today. I don't think we're born depressed and very rarely chemically imbalanced. Since so many minds are malfunctioning, these are not problems of the individual but signify a much larger problem: a problem of a malfunctioning thinking on a global scale. It is how people mis-attribute this malfunction that I find pathetic. This "malfunctioning of thinking" expresses itself a lot in life. It accumulates and wears down on people to a point of depression or lethargy. I should also point out that I don’t mean “pathetic” in the sense of “hate.” When it comes down to it, the problem is too complicated to just blame an individual and I can't expect everyone to have this natural dignity that Darwin possessed, or the will to teach it to themselves. I feel more compassionate at the individual's level than ticked off. The reason I’m ranting a little bit is because I take issue with glorifying the wrong thing (not you, but implied in the article). In this case: depression. I hope this makes my thoughts on this clearer. Also, checking out that book. |