Chapter 5 against people

The submissive type stubbornly believes that everyone is "good", but is constantly hit hard by the contrary facts; similarly, a characteristic of the aggressive type: he takes it for granted that everyone is "evil" and refuses to admit that people are not what he thinks like that.In his view, life is a great struggle, and everyone is fighting for the first place.He only admitted, reluctantly and with reservations, that there were a few exceptions. His attitude is sometimes obvious at a glance, but more often it is covered by a layer of politeness, fairness, and friendliness.This appearance may be likened to a concession made by the conspirators for the sake of expediency.In fact, it is a hodgepodge of pretense, real feeling, and neurotic need.One of the neurotic's desires is to convince others that he is a good man; and this desire may be mixed with sincerity, especially if the patient is aware that his dominance is well known.Some of these elements may be indicative of neurotic cravings for tenderness and appreciation that serve aggressive purposes.

The equally obsessive nature of the aggressive patient's needs, which are caused by his anxiety, must be emphasized, since the fear which predominates in the submissive type is neither heard nor seen in him. arrived.To him, everything is, or will become, or at least appear to be, ominous. His need comes from a feeling he has.He feels that life is a battlefield, and only the fittest can survive. As Darwin pointed out, the jungle of the jungle preys on the jungle.In any case, tenacious struggle for self-interest is the first law.From this arises the primary need to control others, and the means by which control is exercised are innumerable.There are direct powers, and there are also indirect dominance by caring for people or making people grateful.His preference for wielding power behind the scenes, and his deliberate means, signaled his conviction that anything could be done with wit or foresight.His control takes the form of innate endowments on the one hand, and conflicting tendencies on the other.If he secretly desires the affection of others, he will also choose indirect means of control.If he tries to wield power from behind the scenes, he can show sadistic tendencies, because that's how he can use others for his own selfish ends.

Along with these needs is the desire to stand out, to be successful, to be famous or to achieve some form of prominence.Struggles for such ends are partly directed towards power, especially in a competitive society where success and prestige only increase power; but these struggles also give the patient a subjective sense of power, because in Outside of himself he finds affirmation, admiration, the fact that he is superior to others. Here, too, as in the submissive type, the focus is not on the self but on the outside, only that the kind of affirmation the patient demands is different.In fact, whether it is the submissive type or the aggressive type, the affirmation needed by both is futile.When people wonder why they are successful or feel insecure, it just proves that they lack psychological common sense; since they have this sense of wonder, it shows that success and prestige are usually judged to some extent.

A strong need to take advantage of others, to overwhelm them with cleverness, to use others to their advantage are all part of the aggressive style.The patient's stance toward any situation or relationship is: what do I get out of it.Whether it's money or a matter of reputation, contacts or an idea, he thinks that way.The patient himself is consciously or semiconsciously convinced that everyone is like this and that it is important to be more thorough than others.He developed a character that was almost the exact opposite of the submissive type.He becomes stubborn, resolute, or gives the appearance of being so.He regards all feelings, his own and those of others, as sentimental.For him, love is also of little importance.This is not to say that he has never loved, but that his main concern is to find a spouse who can arouse his desires and whose own status can be greatly enhanced by his charm, social prestige, or property. improve.He simply doesn't see the need to show concern for other people.If you ask him an old ethical question: there are two people on a raft and only one can live, what should he do? !He never admits that he is afraid, and always does his best to keep it under control.For example, he may force himself to stay in an empty house despite his fear of thieves; he may insist on riding until he overcomes his fear of horses; fear.

Submissive types tend to please, while aggressive types are aggressive at all costs.In disputes with others, he pays attention everywhere with great interest, fighting desperately to prove himself right.Especially when he was forced to have no way out, he showed his true qualities as a hero, often turning defense into offense.Contrary to the psychology of the submissive type who is afraid of winning, the aggressive patient cannot afford to lose, he can only win but not lose.The former blames themselves for everything, while the latter shirks others.The same is that neither has a sense of fault.Submissive patients don't really believe that they are at fault when they blame themselves, but they can't help being driven to blame themselves.Similarly, the aggressive patient is not convinced that others are wrong, he just arbitrarily believes that he is right, because he needs this subjective self-affirmation, just as an army needs a safe position to launch an attack.The easy admission of a fault which he did not have to admit, he thought, revealed not only his stupidity, but his weakness, which was unforgivable.The patient had such a deep sense of reality that he possessed a realism that was consistent with his attitude of having to confront a hostile world.He will never "childishly" ignore the manifestations of others that may hinder his goals, including other people's ambitions, greed, ignorance or other.Since such attributes as his are far more common than politeness and good manners in competing civilizations, he feels justified in doing so, being a realist.In fact, he is as defective as the compliant patient.There is another content in his view of reality, that is, he places great emphasis on strategy and foresight; like an excellent strategist, he carefully estimates his own opportunities, the strength of his opponents, and possible traps anytime and anywhere.Since he often has to think himself the strongest, the best brains, or the most respected man, he always tries to develop his abilities and wits to prove that he is.His tireless work and painstaking efforts may be appreciated by his superiors or show his talents in his own career.However, this preoccupation with work may in some sense be an illusion, since work is to him only a means to an end.He doesn't love what he does, doesn't really enjoy it.This situation is consistent with his efforts to exclude emotion from life.This forced suffocation of emotion has a double effect: on the one hand, it is undoubtedly an expedient for the sake of success, enabling the patient to run smoothly like a well-oiled machine, constantly producing things that bring him benefits. A product of great power and prestige.Here, letting emotion get in the way would only make things worse.Emotional play will obviously only diminish his chances.It can only make him ashamed of those cunnings which he usually employs on the road to success; he may induce him to abandon his ambitions and indulge in the intoxication of nature or art, or make him enamored of friends rather than mere contacts. people who can be used.On the other hand, the suffocation of emotion inevitably leads to a poverty of inner passion, and this poverty must affect his pursuit, that is, it is destined to damage his creativity.

The aggressive patient gives the impression that he is free from repression, that he can openly express his wishes, give orders, lose his temper, and defend himself.But in fact, his depression is no less than that of the submissive type.His particular repressions, which do not strike us as repressions, are not primarily attributable to our civilized institutions; without selfishness, etc.; he may even think that selfless pleasure is nothing but a waste of time. He feels powerful, honest, and realistic.Of course, he's not wrong if we see things his way.From his own starting point, his self-assessment is entirely logical; for he sees ruthlessness as strength, indifference to others as honesty, and pursuit of one's goals at all costs as reality.He considered himself honest for another reason: he slyly exposed the hypocrisy of those around him.He thinks that the enthusiasm for the cause, the heart of charity, etc. are all disguises.Moreover, it is not difficult for him to expose the true face of those "public spirits" or "religious virtues".His values ​​are based on the law of the jungle.Might is truth, to hell with love and forgiveness.People are wolves.

Aggressive patients tend to reject not only genuine sympathy and friendliness, but also variants of these two qualities: submission and fawning.This has its own subjective logic, but we can't conclude that he doesn't know the truth from the fake; when he encounters a character that is really friendly and powerful, he can recognize and pay respect.The problem is that he decides that being too discerning in this area is doing him more harm than good.Both attitudes he rejected were, he felt, uncertain ventures in the struggle for existence. So why is he so resolute in abandoning the tender side of human nature?Why should he be disgusted by the emotional behavior of others?Why did he sniff like that when someone showed sympathy he didn't think should be had?The behavior of such a patient is like a person who rejects beggars because he cannot bear to see their plight.Indeed, he might have spoken ill of beggars.He would give nothing and show undue malice.These reactions are unique to him.These reactions are readily observed by the analyzing physician during treatment, especially when the aggressive tendencies are moderated.In fact, he has ambivalent feelings about the gentleness of others.He despises others for it, but at the same time he likes it because it enables him to pursue his own goals without scruple.But why does he still often feel attracted to him by the Submissive, just as the Submissive is often attracted to him?The reason why he reacted so violently was driven by an inner need to overcome his own tender feelings.For the aggressive patient, "gentleness" means not only genuine tenderness, compassion, etc., but also all that is implied by the submissive patient's needs, feelings, and norms.Still taking the beggar as an example, the aggressive patient still feels moved by the true feelings in his heart, wants to agree to the beggar's begging, and feels that he should extend his hand to help.But at the same time, he also felt a stronger need to get rid of all these thoughts, so in the end, he not only refused to give alms, but also hurt each other with harsh words.

The submissive type hopes to integrate different powers into love, while the aggressive type wants to integrate their own fame.Fame, which not only made possible the self-affirmation he sought, but also offered him the temptation to gain the favor of others so that he could feel good about them himself.Since fame seems to be the solution to conflict, he pursues it like a traveler who sees a vision of a spring in the desert. The inner logic of his thinking is that any sympathy, any obligation to be a good person, any compromise, is in contradiction to the whole way of life he pursues, and will only shake the foundation of his beliefs.The emergence of these opposing tendencies forced him to face his own basic conflicts, thus smashing the situation he carefully designed-unity.The net result is that the repression of the milder tendencies necessarily strengthens the aggressive tendencies and makes them more compulsive.

The two types already discussed represent opposite extremes.But neither is free to choose its own form from beginning to end; these forms are compulsive, inflexible, and determined by inner needs.None of them have a middle ground in which to stand. So far we have seen that the two sides of the basic conflict manifest themselves as overwhelmingly dominant in two different types.Now there is a man in whom these two opposing attitudes and values ​​are evenly matched.It is obvious that such a person would be relentlessly driven by two forces in opposite directions at the same time, which he simply cannot bear.So in fact he will be divided and completely paralyzed the whole mental activity.He will inevitably try to get rid of the pressure in a certain area, and the result will either fall into the first type or the second type.This is one of his ways of resolving conflicts.

Contrary to Jung's view, two things in conflict cannot form a harmonious whole.