Before the Enlightenment, human life was transcendent. The self was porous and vulnerable to spiritual forces, both good and evil. Don’t go into the forest, the elders would tell us, for evil spirits lurk there. Then we got too bright to believe that stuff. After the Enlightenment, our deepest concern slowly shifted from the transcendent to individual experience. Now, the enemy isn’t a spiritual force that threatens me from outside of myself. The enemy is now what threatens my individual authenticity. It opposes my sense of self. It doesn’t align with my desire to shape my identity and make personal meaning.
The enemy of authenticity
The enemy of authenticity
The enemy of authenticity
Before the Enlightenment, human life was transcendent. The self was porous and vulnerable to spiritual forces, both good and evil. Don’t go into the forest, the elders would tell us, for evil spirits lurk there. Then we got too bright to believe that stuff. After the Enlightenment, our deepest concern slowly shifted from the transcendent to individual experience. Now, the enemy isn’t a spiritual force that threatens me from outside of myself. The enemy is now what threatens my individual authenticity. It opposes my sense of self. It doesn’t align with my desire to shape my identity and make personal meaning.