I found that Lingis’ thoughts on and critiques of typical modern human interaction was something that I have also been grappling with lately. How is it that we in our super modern society are so afraid to just be ourselves and let ourselves shine through our faces and body language?
Lingis roots the problem in the lack of physical closeness with each other and nature, and he anthropomorphizes this by describing the impassive, emotionless face of the despot, judging us. We are afraid to be ourselves since we cannot emotionally connect with the immoveable features of that judge.
This problem has been present in Western society for some time, but it is exacerbated to a degree by technology. We can have whole interactions and conversations without ever meeting a person and seeing their face, and this lack of person to person sharing turns both parties into the impassive, immoveable judge. It has become easy to hide behind our masks, and to never really let ourselves out. Which is what Lingis points out; as a society, we have been taught that emotions are something which always happen on the inside, and are never truly shared. But anyone who has ever been to or been involved in a truly moving concert has felt that communal energy and emotion as we all sing together and make music together in the moment. In today’s world, it is one of the few ways that we feel okay to let down our guard and truly open ourselves again.
Beth Ratay