u/Specific-Abuza

▲ 4 r/Plato

My interpretation of Socrates' view on the city vs nature (and why I think he was wrong)

In Plato's Phaedrus, Socrates famously says:

"I am a lover of learning, and trees and open country won't teach me anything, whereas men in the city do."

I recently heard an interesting modern rephrasing of this idea: "By staying in one place, you meet different people, but trees are the same everywhere you go." But it made me think: Are trees really the same? If we look at them not just as static green objects, but as living systems, each tree actually carries a unique "experience" and a lesson in adaptation:

The Tree on a Cliff: Exposed to violent winds, it develops deep, resilient roots and a twisted, flexible trunk. It teaches us about endurance and how to bend without breaking under pressure.

The Tree in a Dense Forest: Surrounded by its own kind, it has to grow straight and tall, competing for sunlight while sharing resources through the underground network. It teaches us about social synergy and community competition.

The Tree on a Tropical Beach: Adapting to high tides, sandy soil, and constant salty breezes. It teaches us about flexibility and thriving in changing, unstable environments.

Socrates believed only city dwellers could teach him things because they can speak and argue. But each tree is a living monument to a specific strategy of survival. They don't speak in words, but they teach us how to adapt to our own "climates" and life conditions.

What do you think? Did Socrates miss a massive philosophical layer by ignoring nature, or is human dialogue truly the only source of wisdom?

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u/Specific-Abuza — 1 day ago
▲ 0 r/Nietzsche+1 crossposts

Rethinking the Übermensch: Why Nietzsche's ideals were flawed by his era, and how a grounded psychological model works instead (16M)

Greetings everyone! First of all, this post is heavily connected to Jungian concepts, as I am breaking down a map of psychological balance. Nietzsche's Übermensch is only mentioned here as a popular parallel because it is built on a somewhat similar foundation.

Since the most important part is in the picture, I will break down exactly how this structure works.

Part 1: The Map Structure

  1. The Child (The Axiom of the Beginning)

Everything starts with the Child. We all begin our lives and our exploration of the world from this point. When awareness of the world finally arrives, we start to look around—not as a fragmentation of the mind, but differently. We start walking on our own two feet, playing cards, playing the guitar, or skiing.

  1. The Left Path: Interest

On the left is Interest. Everyone has it—the drive to explore, to manifest oneself in society, and to ask questions. That’s why Interest always starts with the fundamental question: "Why do I live?" A question most of us ask ourselves during our early formative years.

From here, the path splits in two:

Work/Creation.

Dark Interest: This is an impulse that captures us—like the dark psychology of manipulation—simply because it is interesting. This leads to personal goals disconnected from the pure exploration of the world (like the Child's). It's driven by hidden motives: gaining power, finding people's weak spots, or using information to manipulate.

The Failsafe (Mercy): Opposing this dark side is ordinary Mercy. It acts as a safety valve so the water doesn't flow into the wrong pipe, preventing us from falling into the trap of endless fascination with our dark side.

  1. The Right Path: The Absurd

The right arrow leads to the Absurd. We arrive here when we realize the world is foolish and come to the conclusion that existence is inherently absurd. From here, there are also two branches:

Absolute Absurdity (or Cynicism): We reach this state when our mind completely "goes crazy," bringing us close to the archetype of the Jester. We see everything, we understand everything, but we can't do anything about it because we've reached the purest state of awareness. We go mad from the absolute absurdity of how the world is built.

The Failsafes (Faith and Work): The only safety valves here are Faith and Working toward happiness. Faith that things can be good, that good people exist, and if they don't, becoming one yourself to set an example. And Work—building emotional resilience and working toward your own happiness and the happiness of others.

  1. The Center: The Heart (Ideology/Stoicism)

Next is the heart. Ignore that it says "Stoicism"—I wrote that because I was leaning on that philosophy when making this map. But the heart encompasses absolutely any ideology or religion. We can place any belief system there that includes a goal or a monolith: reaching spiritual well-being, standing like a rock in a stormy sea, or elevating oneself to a god (through power, like Nietzsche). This meets us in the real point of every moment we live.

  1. The Real-World Metaphors (The Images)

Two Legs: Two legs are two legs :D... But seriously, if one of our two legs (Interest or Absurdity) is weak, we will limp. We all want to move and stand firmly on the ground. That’s why we must work on both.

The Guitar: The strings represent Interest, which we tune ourselves to achieve the purest clarity. The hollow body of the guitar represents the Absurd—the void that allows us to actually hear the sound.

Cards: It’s a game of cards :D... If we just go with the flow and throw cards randomly, we will understand nothing and lose out of ignorance. If we count the cards, we know what to expect and can actually win.

Skis: Just like two legs :D... Only it hurts more if you fall.

Every image shows slightly different aspects of life, but they all lead to a general understanding that helps us live.

Part 2: The Asymmetric Pendulum

"A human being is a constantly vibrating line," I say.

Looking at the lower part of the diagram, the graph illustrates this moving line as the human experience.

  1. The Absolute Zero

The center line represents the absolute emotional zero—the baseline coordinate from which we begin our existence. It is crucial to note that remaining at this emotional zero is impossible, as it would mean the system's power supply has been completely shut down. Even when a person dies, they do not stay at zero; they remain fixed at the exact level they occupied at the moment of death.

The plus (+x) and minus (-x) lines represent individual boundaries. Every person has their own limits, though it is currently impossible to measure them precisely due to a lack of proper equipment.

The Plus (+x): This encompasses all "positive" emotions a person can experience. It is impossible to definitively describe the point of maximum satisfaction, because what even constitutes ultimate satisfaction? The positive side can often act like rose-colored glasses, carrying its own blind spots.

The Minus (-x): This captures all "negative" sensations. However, these are fundamentally directed toward a sharper, brutal clarity—raw reality and the confrontation with the world's absurdity. In a way, the minus represents a realistic, or even overly realistic, perception of life.

  1. The Negative Extremum and Recovery

Any person can reach the negative extremum—the state of deep depression. Within this dark space, an individual discovers unique, expanded capacities and insights—often uncovered through the painful process of "hitting a wall" during their crisis.

However, it is entirely possible to emerge from this state. It requires accepting actual realities and relying on external support systems—be it loved ones or professional specialists. This process is painful, but it is entirely worth it to return the system to its natural state of oscillation.

  1. The Pendulum and Enantiodromia

The psychological pendulum primarily swings from plus to minus, because the core function of this mechanism is to pull you back to harsh reality. When everything is going exceptionally well, you become flooded with energy. Due to this accumulated energy and the momentum of the pendulum, you fly right past the absolute zero mark straight into the negative zone, dropping back into reality.

For example: Imagine you are playing a game and winning. The moment you tell yourself, "I’ve definitely won, I am the king of this game," you are instantly and brutally dropped back to reality, where you suddenly begin to lose.

  1. The Pressure Relief Valve

To explain how this energy accumulates, I am introducing the concept of the Pressure Relief Valve. When this valve overflows, it forces a reversal in order to balance you back toward the absolute zero baseline.

This valve fills up from almost imperceptible things in daily routine or casual conversations. It can fill up incredibly fast if you interact with someone who has already "burst"—someone who is actively venting their accumulated pressure and discharging their energy into the real world around them.

u/Specific-Abuza — 3 days ago
▲ 0 r/Jung

What can be said about Hans Landa from Inglourious Basterds (2009) through Jungian terminology?

Hey everyone! I’ve been fascinated by Hans Landa’s character and wanted to analyze his psychology through a Jungian lens.

I noticed an interesting detail that really stands out: during almost every interrogation scene, the camera captures his face for just a few seconds where he stares blankly, looking completely into nowhere. To me, it feels like that's the exact moment his carefully crafted Persona slips, or when he fully taps into his Shadow and hunter instincts.

How would you break down his character using Jungian concepts (Persona, Shadow, Trickster, Logos/Eros)? I would love to hear your thoughts on this, especially regarding that specific blank stare detail!

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u/Specific-Abuza — 4 days ago
▲ 1 r/Jung

Rethinking Jungian types: Why I think the "Dam and Filter" model makes more sense (16M)

Hey everyone. I’ve been diving deep into Jung lately, but something about static psychological types just didn’t sit right with me. To me, a human is a constant process, not a fixed label. So I came up with an alternative model, and I’d love to get some thoughts on it. I call it the Dam and the Flow.

Think of all incoming reality—everything we see, hear, taste, touch, and smell—as a massive, non-stop flow of clean water. This water isn't our psyche; it’s just the environment.

Our psyche is the Dam. It’s a dynamic cognitive system built from our genetics, parental background, and personal unconscious. It doesn't stop the senses like a border guard, but it completely dictates how we process that water. And the main rule of this dam is that it wears out and needs maintenance.

We aren't born with a ready-made psyche. Around 8 months old, a baby starts laying the first bricks, realizing they can actually affect the world. But during childhood, the dam is mostly built by our parents and society. It's new, it's fine, and adults control the water pressure.

The real chaos starts during puberty. The water pressure spikes like crazy because of hormones and social reality. You suddenly look at your internal dam and realize: "Wait, I didn't build this. My parents' filters can't handle my water." The structure cracks, which leads to that classic identity crisis or depression. Since you can't just turn off the flow of life to rebuild the dam cleanly, you have to patch it up on the fly. This is usually when teens blast into subcultures or intense creativity—it’s just desperate patching under pressure.

By the time people hit a midlife crisis, the dam gets clogged with silt—old traumas, buried emotions, and unresolved issues. The water stagnates, and life starts looking completely gray. In a static Jungian system, you'd just collapse under the weight of a diagnosis. But in a filter model, this is just a sign for a major overhaul. It’s a moment to pause, clear out the blockages, throw away the rotten parts, and upgrade your filters using actual adult experience.

Honestly, looking at the psyche as a dynamic engineering project rather than a life sentence makes so much more sense to me. We have to learn to regulate this flow, accumulate energy, but also open the floodgates sometimes so we don't just detonate from repressed emotions.

What do you guys think? Does this hold up compared to traditional Jungian typing?

I'm going to keep developing this theory.

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u/Specific-Abuza — 6 days ago