puravidastudent

On reading William Hazlitt’s 1812 philosophical essay ‘On Living to One’s Self’ recently, it occurred to me that what he had to say over two centuries ago has great relevance within today’s postmodern world.

Hazlitt’s instructive and persuasive article proposes to its readers a way of living that consists entirely of living to one’s self. Hazlitt asserted that by living a detached, contemplative and somewhat secluded lifestyle an individual will experience all the benefits of life, free from the intrusive pressures of society. 

Of course Hazlitt’s piece is not entirely transferable to the world we live in today. He suggested:

‘He who lives wisely to himself and to his own heart, looks at the busy world through the loop-holes of retreat, and does not want to mingle in the fray.’

But in my eyes, one can live wisely while engaging with the world. As an English student I understand how tempting it must be to retreat to a scholastic and literary world and to immerse oneself in books. But as a history student I also understand the importance of cultivating my own opinion through active participation, engagement and debate. Learning about the past becomes null and void if it is reduced purely to reading and accumulation of facts. Lessons from the past must be judged, compared and contrasted with the present in order to enrich our understanding of things as they are. The true mark of a great historian is someone who learns about the past and uses this knowledge for a multiplicity of life lessons. Unlike Hazlitt, who ‘lived in a world of contemplation, not of action’ (his own words) historians take pride in mingling in the fray: in jumping enthusiastically into the debate.

In writing this blog entry I raise issue with Hazlitt by doing exactly what he wrote against: engaging and acting.

Now discontinuities aside, ‘On Living to One’s Self’ is an astounding essay that showed me a different perspective on life and on living. It is a perfect example of the way in which my joint honours degree combines literature and history in a way that forces me to think about the world we live in now. Here is a selection of the best bits from Hazlitt’s work, and why I think they still have things to teach us today.

‘He does not fret himself to death with trying to be what he is not. He relishes an author’s style without thinking of turning author.’

How many times have you heard girls say things along the lines of ‘I wish I had her stomach!’ or ‘I WANT her shoes!’? Hazlitt would be turning in his grave if he knew the envious and destructive nature of youth culture and the media as it is today. We would be a much happier society if we learnt to embrace contentedness: that’s being exactly who we are without feeling the need to adjust to fit in, without the constant assessment of ourselves in light of how we may or may not be perceived. Hazlitt preached the art of detached appreciation: acknowledging what other people have or do without immediately wanting it for ourselves. Being happy cannot be bought: it is a learning process, and it is a skill. There will always be more money, more clothes, more cars, better jobs, better food, better holidays and so on. The true test of living to one’s self is learning to be content with what is enough, and what makes you truly happy. The real test of living to one’s self is learning when to stop.

‘He does not survey the objects of nature as they are in themselves, but looks asquint at them to see whether he cannot make them instruments of his ambition.’

On living to the prerequisite standards of society one’s views of life become increasingly subjected and distorted. We understand, and even care less about those around us and become obsessed with personal gain: ‘what’s in it for me?’

‘There is not a more mean, stupid, dastardly, pitiful, selfish, spiteful, envious, ungrateful animal than the Public. It is the greatest of cowards, for it is afraid of itself.’

As far as this quote goes, it seems not much has changed since 1812. In fact, the state of the public has got worse. Sociologist Alain De Botton contemplated postmodern society: ‘Locked away in our private cocoons, our chief way of imagining what other people are like has become the media’ Instead of actually going outside and living, we sit indoors watching television, scrolling through our mind-numbing Facebook newsfeeds, Twitter updates and Instagram photos, the list (unfortunately) goes on. Social media has become one of the most used and probably least accurate tools for judging other people and the world outside of our own. The public is undeniably afraid of itself because the public is afraid of what the public may or may not say. The only answer left then, if one is to live to one’s self, is learning not to care.

‘The idea of what the public will think prevents the public from ever thinking at all, and acts as a spell on the exercise of private judgment.’

I watched a Derren Brown programme a few months ago that set up a social experiment to test the dynamics of group behavior. It proved that given the chance, while individuals were masked within the muddy waters of group identity, Brown’s audience went so far as wishing pain and suffering upon an unknown individual. To me, this sounds familiar to the audition stages of popular talent contests like X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent. (The latest winner of Britain’s Got Talent was a dog, which doesn’t say much about the caliber of our national standards) A panel of pretentious B-list celebrity judges faces a stage with the ability to facilitate or deny a contestant’s path to fame. The decision-making process is immingled with the seemingly raucous audience who pander to sob stories, contestants who are strikingly old or young, funny contestants and those who they would simply like to crawl into bed with. Unfavourable contestants are mocked, humiliated, chewed up and spat out not only in front of a large crowd but eventually on national Saturday night television. Irrespective of talent these shows are confirmation enough that society is a self-cleansing, self-vindicating machine that as Hazlitt suggested, casts a spell on private judgment because Simon, Louis or Cheryl are there to do that for us.

Given the progression of technology and social media in post-modern society I am unwilling to suggest that Hazlitt’s essay in its entirety is applicable to the world today. Social media and television do have fantastic and astonishing benefits. But I think that to answer the question ‘How do I live to myself in the world today?’ one must consider a moderated Hazlitt. It requires balance and discipline to avoid becoming preoccupied by what society wants and if we aren’t careful, we run the risk of becoming the public’s next self-directed project of uniformity.

*If you enjoyed the impassioned rant against TV talent contests, watch Charlie Brooker’s episode of Black Mirror ’15 Million Merits’, a major inspiration for this blog entry.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/black-mirror/4od#3327867

Tags: Alain De Botton, Charlie Brooker, debate, Derren Brown, English, History, individualism, joint honours, media, perceptions, post-modern society, public, William Hazlitt