I present the latest highly imaginative and complex book authored by philosopher Desh Subba: FEARMORPHOSIS. Again, his core underlying philosophy of “fearism” (that sentient beings are primarily guided by self-preservation impulses, whether such impulses are natural and beneficial or manifest via ignorance and paranoia) underpins and interweaves within his book’s topics. Here he emphasizes how this impulse, coupled with other elements, transforms one’s life. I now summarize each distinct section using my own perspective:
{Part 1—Myth of Sisyphus: ~ORIGIN~ In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the founder and king of Corinth. Hades punished him for cheating death by forcing him to roll a gigantic boulder uphill only for it to roll back down whenever it neared the top, repeating this action for eternity. Although preposterous if meant as literal truth, I see it as grandiose hyperbole. Through that supposition it influenced modern thought. Namely, tasks that are both laborious and futile are therefore labeled Sisyphean.
~MODERN LIFE APPLICATIONS~ A) True Sisyphean situations: These include drug addiction and gambling addiction, since they cause ongoing misery and wasted labor since wages support the vices. They also include endlessly chasing women. That’s because certain men are unable to attract an appropriate female, and through society’s pressure enslave themselves to this millstone, losing time, money, and sanity. Recognizing oneself as a Sisyphus allows escape, whether via aggressive addiction treatment, finding peace in the celibate single life, or other appropriate action.
B) Faux-Sisyphean situations: They include the false notion that normal productive jobs are a complete waste, leading one to choose a life of crime or vagrancy, or to take shortcuts or do sloppy work while tackling projects, resulting in low quality outcomes or failure. Again, realizing the truth and being willing to act upon it solves the problem.}
{Part 2—Panopticons: ~ORIGIN~ A panopticon is a penal institution, whose design originated in the late 18th century. Its architecture consists of a rotunda with a central inspection house having viewing portholes or windows at every critical geometric angle. The purpose was to allow all prisoners therein to be observed by a single security guard. Although impossible for a single watchman to observe all inmates at once or at all times, the inmates cannot know when they’re being watched. Theoretically, it motivates them to act as though they are always watched, effectively compelling them to self-regulate.
~MODERN LIFE APPLICATIONS~ A) Scarecrow panopticons: For example, some people have promoted the nonsense idea that governments spy on citizens through devices such as Siri or Alexa robots and suchlike, resulting in failure to harness useful technology. B) Righteous panopticons: The ever-increasing prevalence of security cameras qualifies, if used to deter crime. And certainly, GOD’s all-seeing EYE trumps every panopticon construct, as He is truly all-observing and perfectly good.
C) Unrighteous panopticons: This includes every imaginable group of people, from immediate family up to everyone on our planet, if their position cannot be backed with objective facts. Conceding to popular opinion or peer pressure is never wise. Quoting Saint Augustine: “Right is right even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it.” Recognizing the difference between these variations leads to wisdom and proper application.}
{Part 3—Scapegoats: ~ORIGIN~ The Hebrew Tanakh contains numerous historical accounts of animal sacrifice (biblical types or foreshadowing). The LORD, in a way that we cannot fully comprehend, decreed that such expedient sacrifices (scapegoats that were sometimes literal goats) were necessary to sanctify unto the purifying of sinful man.
When humanity was fertile enough to receive the supreme antitype, the second person in the godhead was sent to Gaia Earth as a willing scapegoat and ultimate sacrifice which provided cleansing from and forgiveness of all sins, contingent upon choosing to serve the living God. The historical account of this Lord Jesus Christ is documented in the Christian “New Testament.”
~MODERN LIFE APPLICATIONS~ A) Legitimate scapegoats: The only just examples I can conceive of are the aforementioned Bible stories. Embracing their truth is paramount, superseding every worldly concern.
B) Unrighteous scapegoating: This includes anyone who has an obvious difference and whose mistreatment is predicated upon it, whether as an individual (often an autistic man) or as a pariah class (such as the Palestinians or Indian Dalits), for the scapegoater’s real or imagined benefit. This sometimes includes parents assigning perpetual blame to their child in order to redirect their exasperation away from their own self-made marital problems. In attempt to justify warfare and plunder, one country or Allied group will affix an evil moniker to another country or Axis.}
{Part 4:—Capitals: Herein Mr. Subba explains that unfortunately, much of life is dominated by politico-economic concerns since most people deify appetite. Instead of succumbing to the prevailing polarization, he rightly criticizes both binary opposites: Marxism, with its utopia communism, and Capitalism, with its utopia laissez-faireism. For example, Marxist’s lack of any spiritual panopticon, whose theophobia is motivated by the desire for big government to be idolized.
Therefore, everyone would be dependent on a draconian State (most of which history tells us have been malicious), without interference from any ideas of higher authority. Another example is Desh going beyond just acknowledging the existence of some unsavory elements such as crony Capitalism, but spotlighting the existence of vampire Capitalism, and that all forms of Capitalism are very problematic. Perhaps our author will suggest a solution to this dilemma in the future.}
{Part 5:—De-metamorphosis: Here our author extensively references the book Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Therein the main character Gregor Samsa is pressured into acquiring an especially demanding and unpleasant job because his parents and sister do not work, and he feels obligated to support them. Since his worries led him into a semi-Sisyphean situation, closely monitored by family and society, Gregor had become a “fear Sisyphus being watched by panopticons.” Desh emphasizes the fact that men are regularly used as mere commodities without humanity.
Then one day, Gregor’s physique transformed to resemble a giant harmful looking insect. This masking ironically unmasked society’s true motivations. Desh also realizes that instead of seeing this unusual work as merely reflecting the author’s personality, “Kafkaesque needs to be reread from a scapegoat perspective”, he exclaims. That is, people are stupid enough to fail to recognize the true soul beyond their differences, and stupidly marginalize others even if they would benefit from them. Hopefully our author will pinpoint solutions to these problems henceforth.}
I shall expound no further, as to not cancel the element of pleasant surprise, nor to impinge upon Mr. Subba’s exact intentions (at least not purposely or excessively). To help prevent readers from getting lost in a dark forest of opaque profundities, I recommend them familiarizing themselves with mythology and renowned philosophers, both Eastern and Western, and Desh’s touchstone book Philosophy of Fearism, as prerequisites.
*** K C Sunbeam, author and video maker ***
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