On Acceptance

Nowadays, there are a number of ailments that harass and harangue our population:  plague, war, famine, bad government, depression, poverty...the list could continue for pages.  There are two afflictions, however, that are among the most bizarre to beset humans.  These two illnesses produce entirely different and seemingly contrary complications for the human life, and affect almost every member of the human population world-wide, often with the apparent effect of dividing the species.  Despite the dichotomy that derives from the disease, however, there remains the curious fact that the characteristic symptoms of each sickness seem to surface from the presence of a particular point:  acceptance.  

When I speak of acceptance, I am speaking of it in the broad sense.  That is to say, the reception and approval of some thing, be it an event, idea, person, place, you name it.  It is the very thing that lies at the heart of all of our understandings, all of our perceptions, and all of our judgments.  This fact is what makes acceptance so ubiquitous and so potentially deadly for, as with most things in life, acceptance should be taken with care and balance:  too much or too little can be fatal.

The maladies that follow from exposure to acceptance, as you may or may not have guessed from my writing so far, are apathy, in which the human accepts all things unquestioningly, and obsession, in which the human rejects points with would-be dogma for the sake of finding the "true truth".  The former is often called "Sheeple Syndrome," whilst the latter has come to be known as the "Philosopher's Disease".  Let us examine the two infirmities.

Sheeple Syndrome is characterized by a seemingly radical acceptance of any and all events and ideas entering a subject's life so long as they fit within a preset paradigm that has also been enculturated and accepted by the subject.  This inevitably leads to a disinterest in critical thinking or reflection upon pre-established and accepted principles that govern one's life, ultimately devolving into complete apathy toward the world.  Additionally, those afflicted with SS tend to group together in a flock or herd-like mentality, seemingly operating on some sort of hive-mind dynamic.  SS is believed to be the single foremost cause of the U.S. Republican party's rise to power.  Common symptoms include group-think, lack of personal opinion, mass conformity, an inability to think critically (in worst cases, all analytical ability is lost), and a tendency to go out on Friday nights while getting totally smashed with "your boyz" only to return to your apartment for further partying and numerous awkward and embarrassing situations that may or may not end up on Failblog.

The Philosopher's Disease, on the other hand, is caused by what appears to be an aversion or allergy to acceptance.  Although harmless enough in its incubation phase, which usually accompanies a reading of Socrates's / Plato's comments on how the unexamined life is not worth living, PD can kick into high gear if one is exposed to Descartes's Meditations (particularly the "Cogito Argument") and is not supplied with a significant source of mental grounding to balance out the radical skepticism that may follow.  This, in turn, leads to the subject developing an obsessive need to critically evaluate any and all ideas he or she comes into contact with, including those already possessed.  Such a condition, if left unchecked, will lead to an inability to accept anything without sufficient valid, sound argumentation (which, in the most critical stages of PD, is impossible to supply).  At its worst, PD can result in paranoid solipsism that will utterly ruin a person's work, relationships, and destroy any ability to simply enjoy life.

Both SS and PD can be absolutely devastating complications for both the sufferer and loved ones of the sufferer (who inevitably suffer themselves).  SS makes it impossible for one to live a genuinely thinking, feeling life; PD makes it impossible for one to genuinely live such a life with connection to anything that may or may not be real (at best, it will be unverified contingency).  SS and PD are two of the most dangerous viruses in the world today and, although not always fatal, should be watched with great scrutiny to protect the health of the human population.

Fortunately, there is hope for those who already suffer from either disease.  Education and stimulation are both practical and effective treatments for SS, and the earlier they are administered the better the chances of recovery.  PD can be assuaged simply by pointing out to sufferers that there are infinitely complex solutions to problems of causality in Existence and, accordingly, it is impossible for the human mind to run all possible scenarios; inevitably, we must sometimes simply accept things if we are to carry on.  This is an argument the sufferer will (hopefully) comprehend.

Most of us suffer from these diseases from time to time and, as with most diseases, they do come in varying intensities.  Usually we carry the germs of both around in us, and sometimes one flares up when acceptance is presented and pounds on us for a while.  A healthy body is able to return to homeostasis, but not all bodies are equally capable of reaching the harmonious state.  We need to be ever vigilant of apathy and obsession, meaning we need to accept acceptance for what it is.