When I was in my late teens I read a book called “Twilight Of The Idols” by Friedrich Nietzsche and I remember that it had quite an impact on me. The book is a polemical essay on all the false beliefs and false pretenses that people use to give their lives a hollow “meaning.” So what are these “idols,” as Nietzsche called them?
They are the wayward paths that we trod down in order to blind us to the real truth of our lives. The essence of this idea is that a life not based on nature, a life based on allegiance to some external, invented concept is a false life and that it can never lead to true fulfilment.
Here are 8 examples of common idols that people use to give a surrogate meaning to their often meaningless lives:
1. Religion.
What easier way to solve all the enigmas of life but a pre-made, one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter “solution” to everything? The origins of the universe, epistemology, ethics, politics, nature, the purpose of life, all “solved” in the spiritual version of catalogue shopping and pre-fabricated homes. Just choose your denomination and follow it. Or, perhaps, have your parents choose your denomination for you instead. That way you don’t have to do anything at all. You don’t even have to read the scriptures. Isn’t it great? Sounds tempting.
2. -isms.
Socialism, communism, capitalism, utilitarianism, vegetarianism, humanism, rationalism, marxism, existentialism and many other secular movements fit in this category. It’s a great solution, really. You just dedicate your life to the -ism. Now you have a purpose. Well, it may be a false purpose, but as long as you think it’s a true purpose you don’t notice that so you just keep going.
3. Nationalism.
I mention this -ism separately because it is a special case. Here, you dedicate your life to a false idealization of what your nation is and what it represents and then you feel proud of yourself, thereby eliminating the need to achieve anything yourself. You can live vicariously through the “successes” of your nation, whether it be in war, sporting events or some other ridiculous thing. Then you draw pride from the group and thereby absolve yourself from having to do anything to improve yourself.
And yet, how many nationalists have you seen who love to point out the violent actions of other nations and ignore those of their own? False nationalism separates people and can ultimately become destructive. Taking care of one’s culture, economy and self-defense of are one thing. Self-dentification with the nation as an ideal, is another.
4. Sports.
Here, sports teams separate you from eachother. How ridiculous people can be! They become mindless robots, cheering for laundry. If there’s nothing else to argue about, people will invent something to argue about. Sports can be ok as a hobby, even as a passion. But when sports team allegiance becomes your reason for living, you’re screwed!
5. Political parties.
This one is really insidious. You join a group of people who share common goals (power & money) and who like to dress up their goals in flashy opinions and empty words. Then you work to achieving the goals. Be careful not to disagree with the official party line, however, or you might get kicked out of parliament and lose your gold-plated pension.
Bipartisan-ism? What is that? Well, you support two “different” parties by putting them into your electoral voting rotation, changing your vote periodically according to your own needs. Meanwhile, both parties are financed by the same people and corporations, so, in the end, the joke’s on you!
6. Credentialism.
Here the big ego rears its ugly head. I am better than you because I’m a “…” and you’re merely a “…” I’ve seen this one many times. I’m a doctor, she’s “just” a “nurse.” And so on. Obviously, people who feel the need to attach a label to themselves and then draw false social status from the label and try to impose rheir perceived status on othershave a serious self-esteem deficiency. When you’re okay with yourself, you don’t need stupid labels.
7. Famous people cults.
Is there anything more depraved? Hero-worship expressed through actors or singers as a substitute for living our lives fully and consciously.
8. “Reason.”
This one is also very insidious. Reason is often a scam, a conceptualization, an idol and nothing more. This is because for at least 2500 years now, people have been confusing mental conceptual structures with observations about nature. Much of what is called “reason” today is a form of conceptual reductionism and nothing more. It is sophistry; words dressed up to sound like truths.
An example? The entire history of scientific rationalism and the cartesian-neutonian world-view. Over and over again, “scientific” theorems that were held as universal laws have been proven to be false and misleading.
What is the essence of what I want to say?
That idol-worship is a dead end.
That idol-worship hampers REAL self-development.
That WE have to be the heroes in our own lives and in the lives of others.
That everything else is merely cowardice.
And… that the only way to attain this is to DO it and to LIVE it.
