Self-discovery and Understanding of World in Against Meat and Praise of Self-deception - Essay Example

Analysis Essay Since the periods in history when Greek philosophers like Plato and Socrates made bold moves to question the understanding of their world in a bid rid the society of fallacies and rumors, man has made significant strides in understanding and improving the world he lives in. Man has literally attempted to make his world more comfortable through philosophy and science. In science, he has made inventions that have improved how he does everything. For instance, the most recent invention is the internet where man people buy, sell and talk to friends at the comfort of his living room. However, even with the improved capacity to conceive build and design sophisticated equipment, tame some of the wildest beasts the earth has ever known and even travel thousands of miles to the moon, man seems not to understand his own functionalities. He seems increasingly confused in understanding the most complex machine evolution has provided; the brain. Although scientists at least have clues on how the brain process information, it has always been a dilemma on how the physical and the tangible aspects of the brain easily connect to aspects such as emotions and how the brain affects our decision making processes. Perhaps the state of chaos and confusion that in most instance human beings conceal behind the mask of ambition, philanthropy, humanity or even religion is better explained by the artistic impressions of artists. The question is whether man has the capacity to find answers on his real self but opts not to, due to fear of what he might discover. Maybe man is just not able to self-discover and will in most instances carefully construct theories in an attempt to hide his ineptness in these matters. Using the “Broken Column” (Self-portrait) by Fridah Kahlo as the yardstick, the paper will conduct an analysis on two texts; “against meat” and “praise of self-deception.” The Self. The texts “Against Meat” and “Praise of Self-deception” have different approaches towards the self with one looking at the self as a complex entity with possibly no hope of ever understanding the self, and the other one advocating for a process that can lead to understanding of the self. The article “Against Meat” by Jonathan Safran is a narration about his battle with commitment of being a vegetarian. Safran begins by outlining the initial concept that was nurtured in him concerning meat and how he experienced difficulties in converting to vegetarianism even after realizing the ills associated with meat. Safran learnt at an early age from his grandmother that there was no kind of food that was bad and that most parts of food were to be eaten. Safran writes that: No foods are bad for you. Sugars are great. Fats are tremendous. The fatter a child is, the fitter it is — especially if it’s a boy. Safran also mentions that his grandmother had endured the 2nd World War surviving barely enough to eat and was even sometimes forced to scavenge for food remnants in dust bins. As a result his grandmother’s obsession with food was particularly due to her past experiences with hunger. Then after that Safran learnt from his father that kicking animals was not good, only for the father to flush a golden fish Safran received as a gift in the toilet. These instances together with the conversation he had with the baby sitter only served to disillusion Safran concerning the ills of eating meat. The disillusionment Safran felt was due to the fact that most people around him ate meat despite believing that eating meat is causing undue distress to animals. Safran admits that the disillusionment had profound impact on his life, that he found himself constantly making excuses to eat meat despite being a vegetarian. Safran proceeds to narrate a life where he hypocritically consoled himself that he had not caused any distress because he had not actually killed but was just consuming what had been killed by another. Eventually Safran manages to reconcile the conflicts in his self and even brings up his children as vegetarians. Kahlo, in the Self Portrait manages to boldly display her pain as she actually felt it without attempting to console herself by hiding her pain. The “Self-Portrait” is devoid of any form of feminine beauty, the body is almost naked and the face ugly. The “Self-Portrait” brings into perspective an aspect of sincerity demonstrated by Safran, when he describes even some feelings that most people might be otherwise embarrassed or unwilling to disclose. Safran admits that “…willfully pushing the questions out of my mind.” On the other hand, David Livingstone Smith outlines that man has always been a master of deception. Smith continues to explain that a person’s deception is a mechanism he uses to manipulate the kind of impression other people have for him. For an individual to be able to deceive effectively, it is important that he does not show any signs of stress that might disclose his deceptions. Therefore, the first step in deceiving is to actually sub-consciously deceive oneself. Smith explain that even philosophers like Freud and Twain confessed that knowing oneself is one of the most difficult undertakings by human beings. Human beings on the other hand will opt to create a concept of the self that they feel comfortable with and then go to great lengths to justify these concepts. Smith gives the example of a woman who will dye her hair just to conceal the grey hair that demonstrates her old age. Instead the woman will even go for cosmetic surgery to deceive the world about her fertility while in real sense she is already post-menopause. Smith writes that: A woman applying blush and lipstick, who dyes her hair to eliminate those telltale strands of gray, cannot afford to be fully aware that she is counterfeiting signs of fertility to create a false impression of her reproductive value. In essence, Smith outlines that self-deception has become a self-defense mechanism that assists in hiding the true self and as a strategy to deceive others too. Perhaps the fear human beings harbor for their real selves stimulates the brain to hide the real self in the sub-conscious and employ deception that can be handled much well. Smith’s perception of the self is contrary to the perception of the self as outlined in the self-portrait. Smith attempts to justify his postulation by arguing that self-deception is not some form of perversity, but that it is a mechanism used by human beings to make things bearable. However, after encountering the results of self-discovery as demonstrated by Kahlo one realizes the extent of trauma and pain that one can harbor in the name of deception. Smith argues that self-deception is healthy but looking at the demonstration of feelings by Kahlo, it seems very unhealthy not to actually engage in self-discovery. Deception is similar to the sweet taste of meat as explained by Safran because it only momentarily satisfies the taste buds but in real sense it is destructive. Safran almost entertained self-deception through excuses and avoidance of reality, but the moment he decided to discover his real self he found peace. Self Discovery. Self-discovery should only be worthwhile when it makes human being a better person and a better citizen of the world. From the self-portrait, the general realization is that the process of self-discovery can be accompanied by painful discoveries and revelations that might render an individual vulnerable to the judgmental world. Safran’s process of self-discovery is not accompanied by pain but one still understands the extent of sincerity he demonstrates in his narrative. Safran explains how he attempted self-deception by claiming that when he ate meat he was actually not causing any hurt to the animals, but the fact of the matter is that when he consumed meat he supported those who hurt the animals. He explains that even after getting married, together with his wife, they would always look for excuses just to satisfy their selfish lusts of consuming the meat. However, later Safran realized that there was not much that he could gain from self-deception and as a result he embarked on self-discovery. His education played a major role in exposing Safran to the dangers of meat consumption and how such consumption required the hurting of animals. However, he did not quit meat immediately because he had to deal with his number one enemy; his own self. His self-discovery venture eventually gave him courage not only to adhere to being a vegetarian but also managing to teach the same values to his children. Safran was also able to understand his grandmother. Safran writes that the grandmother refused to eat pork that was offered by a Russian farmer despite the hunger because nothing mattered to her anymore. The state of Safran’s grandmother is comparable to the state of human beings where deception can only stop in an instance of desperation. Smith on the other hand paints a very grim picture with regard to self-discovery. Smith outlines that self-discovery will only unleash pain and further deception to the people that seek after it. Although in most instances pain is inevitable during self-discovery, the story does not actually end there. Self-discovery provides an opportunity for positive progress through the realization, understanding and avoidance of past mistakes. The discoveries made over the years are due to the ability of bold men and women to self-reflect and admit mistakes and move on. Smith argues that self-deception is actually healthy and makes things attainable. However, self-deception is like cancer because it eats an individual from inside. There are people who can actually act but the fact is that nobody can act forever. Although the self-portrait might be a bit disturbing evident from the physical and the psychological trauma the girl endured, there is a feeling of extreme understanding of the self in the portrait. The portrait displays the sincere feelings of the girl with regard to her situation devoid of self-deception. Although there is the possibility of exaggeration, self-discovery is also a process that takes time but begins with the first step of sincerity. Self-discovery is actually a worthwhile undertaking because one does not have to spend most of their time trying to be someone they are not. The self only becomes a maze when human beings continue to harbor fear of discovering it. Self-discovery is a process that might take very long to attain, but with each progress an individual certainly becomes a better person. The alternative which is self-deception is like a momentary relief but that is eventually destructive. Self-deception is neither healthy nor does it make the society a better place. The understanding of the self should be a key emphasis in every individual’s life and vices such as corruption and bad governance will definitely disappear. Works Cited Safran, Jonathan. "The Food Issue: Against Meat." 7 October 2009. The New York Times. 23 February 2012. Web. . Smith, David Livingstone. "In Praise of Self-Deception." 2006. Entelechy. 23 February 2012. Web. . Read More