 |
|
Rod Dreher on 'ressentiment' - blaming white males to avoid
Posted on: September 2, 2019 at 20:48:14 CT
JeffB MU
Posts:
72867
Member For:
21.62 yrs
Level:
User
M.O.B. Votes:
0
examining one's one potential shortcomings.
Ressentiment As Religion
By ROD DREHER • August 27, 2019, 4:22 PM
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/ressentiment-as-religion-identity-politics/
Here’s the definition of the word ressentiment — the French version of the word “resentment,” but one that has a particular meaning in philosophical and political discourse:
In philosophy and psychology it is a concept that was of particular interest to the existentialist philosophers. According to the existentialists, ressentiment is a sense of hostility directed toward an object which one identifies as the cause of one’s frustration, that is, an assignment of blame for one’s frustration. The sense of weakness or inferiority complex and perhaps even jealousy in the face of the “cause” generates a rejecting/justifying value system, or morality, which attacks or denies the perceived source of one’s frustration. This value system is then used as a means of justifying one’s own weaknesses by identifying the source of envy as objectively inferior, serving as a defense mechanism that prevents the resentful individual from addressing and overcoming their insecurities and flaws. The ego creates an enemy in order to insulate itself from culpability.
I’ve been thinking about this concept this morning, after reading some of the comments on my post yesterday on “Moralistic Therapeutic Med School.”In that post, I wrote about the move in medical schools to take down and relocate photographs of distinguished alumni, including Nobel Prize winners, and past leaders of the schools, because those people are overwhelmingly white males. I said this is a racist, sexist attempt to rewrite history to bring it more in line with contemporary left-wing political ideology, which is based on soothing emotional distress in women and people of color. The idea is that being reminded of white male achievement does violence to non-whites and non-males.
Dr. Jeffrey Flier, a past dean of Harvard Medical School, protested very mildly against this kind of thing on his Twitter account. How mildly? Dr. Flier featured a photo of a hospital auditorium that used to have photos of past medical luminaries — white men — that have now been taken down. His comment on it was simply: “Connecting to a glorious past. Now all gone. Hope everyone is happy. I’m not.” ...
Ressentiment As Religion
By ROD DREHER • August 27, 2019, 4:22 PM
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/ressentiment-as-religion-identity-politics/
Here’s the definition of the word ressentiment — the French version of the word “resentment,” but one that has a particular meaning in philosophical and political discourse:
In philosophy and psychology it is a concept that was of particular interest to the existentialist philosophers. According to the existentialists, ressentiment is a sense of hostility directed toward an object which one identifies as the cause of one’s frustration, that is, an assignment of blame for one’s frustration. The sense of weakness or inferiority complex and perhaps even jealousy in the face of the “cause” generates a rejecting/justifying value system, or morality, which attacks or denies the perceived source of one’s frustration. This value system is then used as a means of justifying one’s own weaknesses by identifying the source of envy as objectively inferior, serving as a defense mechanism that prevents the resentful individual from addressing and overcoming their insecurities and flaws. The ego creates an enemy in order to insulate itself from culpability.
I’ve been thinking about this concept this morning, after reading some of the comments on my post yesterday on “Moralistic Therapeutic Med School.”In that post, I wrote about the move in medical schools to take down and relocate photographs of distinguished alumni, including Nobel Prize winners, and past leaders of the schools, because those people are overwhelmingly white males. I said this is a racist, sexist attempt to rewrite history to bring it more in line with contemporary left-wing political ideology, which is based on soothing emotional distress in women and people of color. The idea is that being reminded of white male achievement does violence to non-whites and non-males.
Dr. Jeffrey Flier, a past dean of Harvard Medical School, protested very mildly against this kind of thing on his Twitter account. How mildly? Dr. Flier featured a photo of a hospital auditorium that used to have photos of past medical luminaries — white men — that have now been taken down. His comment on it was simply: “Connecting to a glorious past. Now all gone. Hope everyone is happy. I’m not.” ...
Please explain why this message is being reported.
MESSAGE THREAD
Rod Dreher on 'ressentiment' - blaming white males to avoid - JeffB MU - 9/2 20:48:14