Apathy
It seems to be a common state of human beings to be rather apathetic to the people, events, and concerns around them. As rational creatures, we have the potential for such greatness: writing or sculpting beauty that is discussed throughout history, building temples that stand for centuries, founding organizations that improve the lives of thousands or millions of individuals. Yet often we find difficulty getting out of bed, studying for a test, or even running an errand.
Towards Otherness
Humans, just like plants and animals, have a drive for self preservation. When a flower is deprived of an essential resource, it opens its bloom in order to ultimately spread its seeds as widely as possible. There is no care for whether it is an invasive species, or why its resources are depleted. When a venomous animal is threatened, there is no questioning the needs of the other—they strike. We tend not to have the same threats in society as nature’s harsh terrain, yet our instincts give us the same compulsion: to act in self preservation. Heroes are the exception, who commonly have reputations of putting themselves in danger, even with the possibility of death, in order to uphold a common good. But their greatness is discussed as rather an exception to the rule.
This self centeredness impulse can be universally applied to our thinking. We are concerned with wars if they affect us. The news and conversations about invasions around the world increase the closer our homeland is to the borders of the conflict. Votes regarding issues of public policy show trends that radically change between generations. The older generation wants to leave the greater unions the country subscribes to, the younger generation wants stricter laws to regulate environmental interventions. We tend to care about what affects us directly.
Towards Life
We are finite beings, with limited energy, hours, and years. So we must decide how we want to spend our focus, in pursuit of what makes us fulfilled, happy, or otherwise. It is possible for individuals to exercise and to train their mind and their emotions, like muscles, to build endurance. This is intentional, long term, and difficult work that develops slowly over time. Psychology has many studies focused on understanding how to better reach goals, and apps are available to “gamify” daily language or exercise commitments. Yet those who take on too much at one time without building endurance, like new year’s resolutions, quickly discover responsibility fatigue and naturally fall back into the sustainable energy expenditure they can manage. To care takes devotion. With the capacity to care limited by our practical resources, we consciously or unconsciously prioritize what matters most, what is most immediate, or what societal expectations have pressured us to put first. We use language like “I must” or “I have to” when referring to commitments considered essential, non negotiable. Other activities might be on our to-do list, but might be fulfilled or forgotten based on whether they are immediate with deadlines, routine or consciously remembered, have tangible connection to ourselves, and carry guilt, reward, or consequences.
Towards Existence
We can easily be content because the status quo seems fine, it takes effort to change, change is scary, we are lazy, we are overwhelmed with maintaining the status quo, or we forget that we are rational creatures. It is easy to fall into patterns that tread water. Like lotus eaters, we indulge in the daily grind, the activities that we consider our reward for the efforts of the day, food and drink, or just routine. Maybe we consider growth as difficult, something that we had to suffer during school days, but now, not worth the effort. We also prefer solid grounding, to have the next career lined up before we quit a bad job, to be certain of our choice before we take a leap. Maybe our circumstances are a nice excuse because it already takes much effort, from our perspective, to maintain where we already are.
The remedy is to have what the ancient Greeks referred to as telos: a purpose, meaning, end goal. The Greeks did not believe in the immortality of the soul, so the way to live eternally was to accomplish a legacy so great that generations spoke or read about you for future millennia. The Christians believe in life after death, where the soul lives on in eternal reward that must be earned in this life. Good thoughts and good deeds lead to a good life here and the promise of a good afterlife. In both examples, something external offers a greatness to strive for in order to overcome apathetic tendencies. As rational creatures, finding a telos is the work of philosophical dialogue, which only happens once we overcome our contentment to merely survive and decide to thrive.