Sanity's Madness: An Introduction

I am a firm believer in natural selection. Through this logical mechanism, a species can grow and improve, as they develop only those traits and behaviors which help them to a.) not die, and b.) have babies. Thereby, a species can thrive as its weaker links are weeded out. It is for this reason (among others) that I am so utterly mystified by human beings.

Humans do not obey the laws of natural selection—they are able to defy their survival instinct at will. Consider the thrill seekers, jumping off of mountains, out of planes, deliberately putting their lives in jeopardy despite the obvious risk. And for what? An adrenaline rush. Consider those who put dangerous substances into their body for a short term pleasure, numbness, or euphoria. Who, usually well aware of the danger, begin using, no matter the long-term consequences. Consider those who fall into one unhealthy relationship after another, seeking those who may bring them temporary satisfaction or psychological security, at the cost of their safety, freedom, or happiness. Consider those who deliberately end their lives, doing the ultimate in ignoring their inborn survival instinct.

Despite all our purported superiority, we humans seem to fall short on that evolutionary necessity. We are able to flout natural selection and allow our dysfunction to persist in the species, thereby allowing humanity to become increasingly diluted with its own irrationality. So my question is, how on earth are we getting by? How are we surviving our own self-destruction?

Maybe, as a college student, I’ve been exposed to a nonrepresentative sample, but in my experience, people are generally pretty messed up. I believe the individual who is genuinely psychologically healthy is a rare specimen indeed. We all enter the real world laden with years and years of baggage, carrying with us every remotely traumatic experience we ever had to live through. It’s little wonder therapists make bank doing what they do! But the thing to keep in mind is that our issues are what make us interesting. They make us fascinating, freakish creatures of mystery. It is this very freakishness that makes for the best sorts of dialectical exploration. Those late-night conversations in which you may arrive at some personal epiphany about how the world works, or, better, how you work— those can be truly mind-blowing.

Four years into studying psychology has, disappointingly, yielded little of this discussion; it’s usually less a matter of theorizing and more a matter of studying what has already been theorized. For this reason, I’d like this blog to be something of a social experiment: I would like to introduce a topic, give a lengthy spiel on my take on it, and open it up for discussion. I want to be disagreed with. I want to be challenged. I want to engender a deeper understanding in all of us as to what really makes humanity tick. So let’s have a conversation. And maybe we’ll have some fun epiphanies along the way.