Talking about the human intellect is not the easiest task, even more so when it comes to the behavioral differences of the isolated individual or present in society. The subject is addressed by the German writer Eckhart Tolle, author of "The Power of Now", which addresses precisely these issues related to individual and collective feelings present within us.
It is necessary to ration what, in fact, mobilizes us internally and what is the result of social relations. Often, the relationship between the two feelings acts in sync, but in some cases, this does not happen and our posture ends up being influenced, even if unconsciously, by collective thinking. For example: a society that has, as values, negative characteristics such as envy, anger, ambition, selfishness, etc., should impact, to different degrees, each of the people present in that universe.
In the same way that this collective ego puts pressure on our personality, so do the others, but each in their own way. Even the same feelings can manifest themselves in different ways in individuals.
In the work “The Awakening of a New Consciousness”, Tolle works precisely on this theme. What if, at a given moment, we realize that our collective behavior works in response to society's desires, but that they are opposed to our individual values? That is, when there is that “falling in” in which we realize that we are privileging pleasing others rather than ourselves.
“A collective ego is often more unconscious than the individuals who make it up. For example, mobs (temporary collective ego entities) are capable of committing atrocities that the person alone would not be able to commit. Occasionally, countries adopt behavior that would be immediately recognized as psychopathic in a person”, explains the author.
Taking an example from everyday life, let's imagine a group of fans committing acts of vandalism in the stands. Most likely, if they were alone or with other people who did not condone this type of behavior, such savagery would not happen. Although not an exact rule, a society that shares positive values ​​will have a better chance of forming worthy men.
Written by Diego Rennan of Team Eu Sem Fronteiras
