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The social critic and mathematician Ted Kaczynski said, "The concept of 'mental health' in our society is defined largely by the extent to which an individual b
by starpilot 6y ago
The social critic and mathematician Ted Kaczynski said, "The concept of 'mental health' in our society is defined largely by the extent to which an individual behaves in accord with the needs of the system and does so without showing signs of stress ... Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed, modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect, antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual’s internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable ... Without the entertainment industry the system probably would not have been able to get away with putting as much stress-producing pressure on us as it does."
The entire concept of "boredom" to him is a state of unease brought on by the modern working lifestyle. "Depression" is really a healthy, normal response to horrible conditions that we've adjusted to, like a fish that doesn't realize he's surrounded by water.
- sjtindell 6y agoI agree strongly with this view. People often refer to the lessons we learned putting rats in cages. Cages that contain the things rats really need make them happy. Cages that don’t, make them unhappy. It’s not the rats mentality that needs to change, the cage needs to change or they need a new cage entirely.
- seesawtron 6y agoI like that you reference him solely as social critic and mathematician. I would recommend one should read his manifesto [0] to form their own opinion. Additionally you might also enjoy the Adam Curtis's documentary series [1]. [0] https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Unabomber-Manifesto-1-Industrial-Society-and-Kaczynski/1ac5ae3a279a5833cf83fb320cd77e9010769c63 https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Unabomber-Manifest... [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnPmg0R1M04 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnPmg0R1M04
- ColanR 6y agoIdeas should be evaluated on their own merit, unbiased by anyone's view of their originator.
- lovehashbrowns 6y ago"social critic and mathematician" is very biased
- noarchy 6y agoImagine calling Osama bin Laden merely a "critic of US foreign policy and engineer".