They settle like the pearl that would refuse to bind itself to the rest of the speech, these words which slide on the window of thought, like small drops of rain which would resist the amalgamation. “Humility” is that sparkling word of the week, distinct from all others read and heard so far. Why this word?
Because it seems to me both the one that our time sorely lacks, the one necessary for the establishment of any intergenerational exchange and, above all, the one to which many of our psychopathological symptoms invite us. The philosopher and psychiatrist Karl Jaspers, a contemporary of the philosopher Heidegger and more or less eclipsed in history by the latter, spoke of “borderline situations”. For him, these situations at the edge of the bearable, which arise in our lives (illness, anxiety, loss and other symptoms), offer humans an opportunity to experience another relationship with existence and, possibly, to enter into a more authentic relationship with himself.
In psychoanalytic thought, not only is anxiety inevitable in the so-called “normal” human development, but it only constitutes a “gateway” to a world of hidden meanings.
Recognizing the unconscious, in itself, is already showing humility. “No, we are not completely in control of our thoughts, our reactions, our destiny. Something always escapes us. “
No wonder then, if we see the culture of surpassing oneself, of developing one’s full potential and of success at all costs, that existential questions and more psychoanalytic approaches are less popular than “self-control” techniques, of “management of our emotions” and “optimal communication”. We are looking for quick solutions. We do not tolerate the silence of the shrink well. They say “get rid of me, please”.
Not everywhere, not everyone, of course.
These days, in addition to reading you about the possible meanings of the suffering of youth, I am continuing to meet with groups of teachers who are thinking about “how to teach” in 2021.
In different higher education institutions, I have this privilege of sitting with teachers who, with humility, display the challenges encountered with young people for whom the anguish is such that it completely hinders learning.
With performance anxiety at the top of the list, mental health issues are explored in a different way, at least I hope so. That is to say that here too, instead of providing tools, instead of providing the guide to repackage the questions raised by these symptoms as quickly as possible, we take the time it takes to deconstruct our presuppositions, to feel the discomforts that emerge, to look at what may lie “under” the symptoms, to analyze the culture in which these symptoms unfold. This often results in magnificent awareness, lively and stimulating exchanges on the sociological, political, philosophical and psychological aspects of the phenomenon. Ultimately, it can emerge from it the construction of a new ethical and habitable posture which will be personal to each teacher.
What I appreciate about these exchanges is that they allow me to stay in this place where generations must learn to exchange, where the risks of tension are always very real, but where the possibilities of deconstructing the useless. and forging something new are also strongly present.
Humility is the first invited in these moments, since we must take note of our powerlessness, of our biases, but above all, of our participation in a culture that we also denounce, but in which we nevertheless accept to throw the youth, in “training it for the real world”, for industry, for the realities of the job market.
Could it be, then, that this generation, vulnerability in hand, is showing us that our performance-oriented systems have really reached their limits?
Suffering as an act of resistance. Suffering as a vast borderline situation, in a culture that might have done enough damage. What do you think ?
Call for stories
This month, tell me how you hear, receive or even experience youth, their sufferings and their requests. Yours, past or present, that of your children or even that your parents are unable to grasp. [email protected]