What do you think would be the ideal role model in a healthy society? Do you think there is a void in society of that kind of ideal people? Also, existential crisis from a Nietzschean point of view.

submitted by HibikiBlack from (self.C_S_T)

Personally since I was little I've always had to struggle to find answers to these kind of questions. We are always taught that we should just conform to what other people consider just but because of this I a lot of people don't have time to reflect about the things that truly matter. Nietzsche talked about the importance of seeing the problems in society in order to not be fooled by things like morality. I think modern societies give way too much importance and attention to celebrities and politicians and promote an hedonist life style way too much like for a meaninful authority figure to show up. If we check what history shows us, our goverments with all of their flaws have made us a lot less violent so there must be some kind of figure that balances the desires of the common people. I'm not saying all hedonism is bad but I do believe that some kind of middle path must be found when it comes to that kind of things.

As I grew up I did and I still make myself a lot of questions about the meaning of morality and justice, but at the end of the day a good part of that curiosity came from myself, the only thing my teachers ever told me, like I said before, was to blindly conform. There was such a huge emptiness in me that I started getting familiar with a lot of superhero figures from many types of media. My favorite shows as a kid were Hulk, Spider-man, Power Rangers and that kind of shows and as I grew more I became an anime fan. I'm sure that this lack of ideal figures is common because I know a lot of young adults that did the same thing I did. To me, philosophers should have the greatest authority of any other figure in society since they see many of these problems and they look for ethical solutions. My advice is to reflect about many different things everyday just like the stoics.

I think that with how chaotic things really are, modern societies are suffering the existential crisis Nietzsche warned us about, which is the reason why he created his ideal of the Übermensch. Personally, although I do believe that extreme selfishness is neccesary for success, I also believe that living in a healthy society one can be proud of is of great importance because we are social beings and we need to be recognized by others.

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Maybe the ideal role model shows up more than we think, but we just don't observe close enough to see. He's the one who picks up that small piece of trash in the hall, or talks with elderly people who find themselves alone, or donates an hour a week to play with dogs at the humane society. He/she exists in small acts. I think it's hard for one person to embody the selflessness, bravery, and intellect (among other qualities) required to be a “superhero,” as well as the charisma needed to get people's attention. The way society exists now, a person would also need more time and money than the average person can set aside for such activities and still survive, so it's almost impossible for that person to exist and the public be aware of him/her. We need to look harder, and do the little things (they can add up big).

Media has portrayed some role models with so much flash and perfection. Has it made us numb to the fact that the good stuff is around us? Has it made things appear that, to be “that person” is unattainable? I hope we don't have to all be beautiful, rich, and exceptional to be better; maybe therein lies the problem.