This article is worthless. In fact, when it comes to discussing people, it is not about denying or belittling human beings or human rights, but about distinguishing what is practical and powerful. Talking about people and rights is ineffective. However, this article did not make me rethink or discover anything. But the concept of the appearance of people is meaningful. We always think that we form a group, but in reality, we only form a group based on our appearance. This article is always talking about the role of people, but it is actually trying to apply power. In short, this article has no value to me, it is just a record of failure.
The Influence of the Appearance of People in a Group#
In individualism, we have discussed what "individual" means, and it gives meaning to everything, just like the origin. However, when we look at other people, we are not observing their inner selves, but their appearance. Individuals are like cells that make up the human body. Although they are composed of individuals, they are already a different existence. On the other hand, the concept of the appearance of people is meaningful when it comes to dealing with group issues.
In individualism, we always break down the value attached to individuals in a group. In the case of the appearance of people, we need to ask ourselves, what is the value, role, and significance of a group? Furthermore, what roles do parents, spouses, children, siblings, neighbors, classmates, friends, colleagues, and strangers play?
Just like the social roles in "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life," if we want to have an impact on a group, we must wear an identity mask. Even if this mask doesn't fit well, we still have to wear it. Because the mask is not created by individuals, nor does it exist for individuals. If I am just a delivery driver, my role in your life is clear - to deliver food from the restaurant to you as a consumer. As for my secret practice of martial arts at home, it has no impact on society. Consumers will not give me a bad or good review because of my secret martial arts practice. And the group does not give me a mask as a martial arts practitioner.
Therefore, individuals do not necessarily have an impact on the group, only the appearance of people has an impact on the group.
The Appearance of People and Objective Individuals#
In my brain, I am constantly practicing martial arts, which is objective. My thoughts change the physical structure of my brain, which is also a form of material activity, even practice. However, this activity currently has no meaning for the group.
A person must be an objective individual, just as a fish lives in water and exists in time and space. The appearance of people belongs to objective individuals, with relatively little connotation. This is because only the appearance interacts with things. Specifically within a group, the appearance of people is an interactive existence with the group. By excluding the interference of essential individuals, the appearance of people can observe the group more clearly.
The Appearance of People is Not Human#
The appearance of people is fundamentally a phenomenon that conforms to the laws of the group. The degree of appearance depends on the perceptual ability of the group. In short, this is the movement within the group. The appearance is a dimension in which this movement occurs.
So, what is the standard for a person? What is the standard for the appearance of people? What is a person for individuals and groups other than themselves?
In fact, there is no standard for a person. A person is just a concept, and the appearance of people does not care about the essence of a person. Within a group, there are no individuals. Your essence is only your role. As long as we believe that you can fulfill this role, you are considered a person.
As an embryo in the womb, do you have will? Can you express your will? Just like an object, an embryo represents only an expectation. When you are born successfully, you start crying and instinctively suckle. You are still just an expectation of society, passively influenced. When you are five or six years old, you finally have enough intelligence, physical ability, and the ability to interact with the group. You start making friends and establishing various social relationships. Suddenly, you have aged enough and returned to the chaos of the self... and then return to nothingness.
You are still remembered by your loved ones, but it has nothing to do with you. Because your impact on the world, on the group, is not determined by your will. This was the case before you were born, and it remains the same after you die. Even if you are a pillar of society, deeply involved in the group, the group can only perceive your appearance.
The Elasticity of the Concept of People#
The appearance of people is just an appearance that can have an impact on the group. We call them people because we believe they are people. However, this is meaningless to the group, and only the appearance is meaningful. But within the group, a person is a concept that has meaning for the group.
The group assigns a primitive mask to all individuals from the beginning. This original mask is the concept of a person. By accepting the identity of a person, we consciously connect ourselves to the group. Embryos, fetuses, and infants are also given the concept of a person. Although they are not fully developed, do not have labor capabilities, and cannot effectively interact with human society, they have the potential to become people. Comatose individuals are also considered people, even though they have no labor capabilities and have almost lost their meaning to the group. However, for the stability of the group, they are still considered people.
Although ruthless, only people with certain roles can be called people. The most important role can be said to be labor. Therefore, according to this standard, adults can be called people. Compared to childhood and old age, your value as a person is relatively less significant to the group. But age is just an expression, and the core of the standard for a person lies in their impact on the group.
However, this idea weakens the stability of the group. Morality still requires us to believe in some kind of stability, to believe that there is something beyond objectivity between people. In the face of increasingly diluted kinship, we have heard of the collapse of rituals and music, and we have also heard expressions such as "no human touch" and "everything is about interests." These are all manifestations of the group seeking new cohesion in the midst of change.
How to Use the Appearance of People#
How do we regulate a person's behavior? Laws regulate through physical punishment, imprisonment, property punishment, conceptual punishment, etc. Any norm or force uses these methods. These are all forms of conceptual punishment, based on what concepts and interests. By depriving these interests through practical means, we can control the reins of fame and fortune.
I don't like to think about problems from an economic perspective because it is not fundamental enough. However, compared to other perspectives, the economic perspective is more focused on the appearance. We always say that people's feelings are not mutually understandable, so what is mutually understandable? The appearance of people.
Therefore, we mainly influence others by controlling their concepts, property, freedom, and bodies. Any true intention, once spoken, is no longer true. Only by initiating a cause that leads to a change in appearance can we obtain results. These results are real results, not conceptual results. They are absolute results, not relative results.
So, when we input what we want to say into this line of thinking, we must immediately convert this statement into a cause that benefits the listener, and then consider the practical impact of this statement.
Some people evaluate others based on good and evil, while this article evaluates based on the appearance of interests, following the old path of human interest theory. In this world of lies and deception, we have been blinded countless times, played with countless times, disciplined countless times, and locked in the shackles of concepts... all because people are too focused on appearance. Everything that can influence us is too focused on appearance, making it too easy to be manipulated. So, it seems that this viewpoint is very evil. We are like crickets on a string, ready to dance passively at any time.
The appearance of people is a tool for me to understand the group. Source of this paragraph