John Locke (1632-1704), an English philosopher, Oxford Don, and physician, was widely regarded as one of the influential thinkers of the Enlightenment. His theory of the “tabula rasa” led to both the French and American Revolutions.
“Tabula rasa,” Latin for “blank slate,” suggests that individuals are born with minds essentially blank, with the potential to develop in various ways depending on their experiences. This idea challenged the concept of the “divine rights of kings.” It proposed that human development can be significantly influenced by experience.
The rush for methods to perfect mankind began with hope and enthusiasm, embracing one scheme after another. The right education or the right economy or the right government were all panaceas. Hope dampened and enthusiasm weakened. Distractions, big and small, seemed less bothersome if we stayed busy and maintained an ever-increasing pace of life.
Optimistic pursuit of the perfection of mankind, unachievable, was replaced by fear that mankind will be extinguished by the perfection of nuclear rivalry. The fear permeates culture as the odor of tobacco permeates clothing apart from the smoker’s awareness.
The cultural shift from optimism to pessimism manifests itself in two opposing attitudes towards awareness of the emptiness of the self: 1. Narcissism or hyper-selfism verses 2. Altruism or selfless concern for others stemming from earnest efforts to experience righteousness as in becoming right with God.
- Narcissism or Hyper-selfism, aligned with postmodernism, suggests that our world is increasingly perceived through media. It emphasizes personal choices over socially approved roles and highlights how media images can influence behavior. Personal feelings are considered significant as deconstruction questions established values.
Self Magazine was first published in 1979 “to help people live healthier lives.” It reflected the media’s interest in hyper-selfism. In 2022, the magazine went virtually as self.com. In its recent Love section, self.com featured sex toys, sex pillows, vibrators-everything you need to know; sex furniture, and anal lubes. Consistent with its emphasis on hyper-selfism, Love made no reference to devotion to spouse or others.
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) in 1973. This decision came after comparing theories that viewed homosexuality as a mental disorder with those that viewed it as normal. During my psychiatric residency, 1968-1971, homosexuality was diagnosed as a mental disorder.
The power of protests also influenced the DSM diagnostic reclassification of homosexuality. Mass protests stormed the APA meetings until homosexuality or fondness for same sex partner, inarguably hyper-selfism, was removed from the DSM.
Hyper-selfism inevitably leads to a search for meaningful answers to its aching awareness of emptiness. Nothing satisfies. No pleasant sensation is lasting. “Pleasure island” is populated with those seeking emptiness fillers. The epitome of hyper-selfism’s emptiness is intolerance of aloneness without fulfillment.
Enter Gender Regeneration. “There must be more to sex than my self-focus. Perhaps I’ll find security and respect by following my friends’ and counselors’ advice. My brain and genitalia haven’t matured yet, but I can’t wait. These feelings of ambivalence are unbearable.”
Anti-sex drugs, ordered by Courts as punishment of sex offenders, are now used to change the course of nature of hyper-self, immature individuals. Can surgical procedures alter the course of nature as effectively as engineers change the course of the Colorado River? Thus far, no surgical manipulation of the genitalia alters the psyche or soul.
- Altruism or selfless concern for others aligns itself with righteousness as earnest, honest efforts to become right with God. Christians are cautioned not to boast about their efforts to get right with God because God does the calling or provides the interest and motivation to seek Him.
Atheists can be altruistic and many Christians confuse God’s grace or unmerited favor with God’s expectations of unmerited good works.
The starting point is universal but variable and contextual. Mothers and mothering people are the master sculptors of the self. Child psychoanalysts Anna Freud and Melanie Klein believed mothering love led to the sense of the self. With the development of the sense of self, the symbiosis with the mother is followed by the separation and individuation stage which for many is life-long.
At some point, everyone feels a sense of emptiness or inadequacy.
“Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, a long way from home” is a spiritual that captures the pangs of separation and individualization.
“There was a lot of anger and emptiness, so I turned to drugs to fill up the void.” From Los Angeles Times.
Solomon and other spiritual leaders in the Bible advise us to place our trust not in ourselves, but in God:
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23.
“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” Psalms 34:8.
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
We join David in pondering, “what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” Psalm 8:4, ESV. As the ESV Bible footnote explains, “It is astonishing that the God who is great enough to have made the heavens can take notice of mere man; but he goes beyond taking notice: he is mindful of man, he cares for him. God’s grace does not mean remoteness but rather an eye for detail, no matter how small.”
Would we be pessimistic today had Locke written less about the tabula rasa and more about the inanis sui, Latin for the empty self?