Chpt 4: Just Another Victim Of The Ambient Morality

If anything has defined the recent political and cultural age, it’s the rise in seemingly self destructive ideologies, and the collapse of pragmaticism and critical thinking. We seem to have developed in certain parts of society, in large groups of people, a thought process unbound by traditional structures but susceptible to the swap of shifting ideas. Are the free-thinking principles of modern liberal intellectualism the result of nihilism or just a complete lack of true intellectual foundation?

“He is the rootless man, discontinuous with a past that Nihilism has destroyed, the raw material of every demagogue’s dream; the “free-thinker” and skeptic, closed only to the truth but “open” to each new intellectual fashion because he himself has no intellectual foundation”

Seraphim Rose

A Rootless Existence

A rootless person, as described in the above quote is someone detached from the connection to a stable past. This disconnection may seem liberating, offering a freedom in forging a unique and individual identity in a chaotic world. Throwing off the traditional constraints and forging ahead in building something for themselves. However, it is also the process where you expose yourself to vulnerability. In exposing yourself to ideologues and demagogues willing to take that vulnerability and exploit it for their own aims.

Charismatic leaders of new-wave movements exploit the emptiness left by severing the connections to the past. They provide the rootless person with a new sense of belonging and purpose in their life. The rootless are malleable in their search for community and affinity with the like minded. This becomes even more prevalent and poignant in a world full of uncertainty and doubt, and the comfort of belonging is often traded for the pull of uncharted territories. What greater lure than rejecting the conformism and conservatism of the past and driving ahead towards an uncertain but exciting future with a group of like minded peers?

The Nihilistic Undertow

Nihilism, with its rejection of fundamental aspects of human existence and inherent meaning, plays a crucial role in shaping the rootless mind. In destroying the established values and societal norms of previous, perhaps more conservative generations, it leaves a void. It must be accepted that it does indeed pave the way for a liberated exploration of new ideas. In this way, the rootless can embrace the process of discovery and accept it as an invitation to construct new personal meaning for themselves.

This same void, however, can become a breeding ground for cynicism and self-destructive tendencies. Some might consider the modern liberal movement prevalent in todays society as amoral at best, nihilistic at worst; a consistent levelling down of both aesthetic and moral standards. The modern liberal drive is one of expressive individualism, yet, at the same time, oppressive conformism to the ideologues of the movement. Given that the rootless are drawn to ideologies that provide temporary gratification, or instant validation from their peers, it is only logical that such momentary pleasure enhances the disconnectedness simply because it is fleeting and baseless. In the pursuit of new intellectual horizons the rootless become swallowed in hedonistic experiences that either elevate temporarily or engulf them entirely.

Liberal institutions cease to be liberal as soon as they are attained: later on, there are no worse and no more thorough injurers of freedom than liberal institutions. Their effects are known well enough: they undermine the will to power; they level mountain and valley, and call that morality; they make men small, cowardly, and hedonistic.

Nietzsche

Between Trends and Truths

The temptation of declaring yourself a free-thinker, of embracing skepticism, and the rejection of previous dogmas, is the basis of the rootless existence. Being open to new ideas and the latest intellectual fashion is like picking out a new jacket for the fall season – a willingness to embrace change and novelty, but easily discarded as fashions change. This adaptability does indeed allow for engagement with new and evolving thought movements, encouraging innovative perspectives, but leaving them susceptible to a mental dilemma. An emotionally driven attachment that allows them to become swept up in the ever shifting currents of popular thought. But without a philosophical grounding they risk becoming eternally lost in the realm of ideas, but lacking the ability to differentiate between trends and truths.

The lack of a solid intellectual foundation renders the rootless ill-equipped to critically assess the value and longevity of novel ideas. Indeed, it is these novel ideas that create the continued dissatisfaction with the world they live in.

Conclusion

In a world of constant turmoil and change, the rootless embody both the promise and the peril of intellectual freedom. The original quote at the header of this article portrays a figure in disconnect from their past and without a true compass to guide them forward.

The path forward for them must be re-balanced; embrace openness to new ideas but ensure that there is an adherence to fundamental principles of critical thought. Without it, they will be lost in a never ending, rootless experience, subject to the whims of ideologues and the push and pull of thought trends.