People have two choices: they can be social creatures, or they can cease to exist. In this regard, it does not appear to be much of a choice. The social nature of human beings is probably a result of evolution in the sense that nobody can survive without the help of others. Thus, we need one another, and social isolation, like all other harmful states, is painful.
It is likely for this reason that social alienation hurts. Again, it is ingrained in us – because we, as human beings, of necessity rely on each other in order to survive, the emotional pain that we feel when we are alientated from others is a mechanism that attempts to keep us social. We feel pain when we do not socialize – not necessarily a physical pain (although the side effects may become physical), but an emotional one. We reach out to others, form relationships, and this makes us feel better. It is a product of our evolution.
Problems arise when the pain of social alienation is used to mold people, to force them into roles, positions, and identities that do not feel natural or pleasant to them. People take on these roles in a seemingly willful way because they want to avoid the pain of social alienation. But often, what they receive in return is a different type of pain – the pain of the forced and socially constructed identity. Granted, this pain is often less extreme than the pain incurred through social alienation, but it is real nonetheless. It may lead to a different type of alienation – an alienation from oneself. More on this later.
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What would one who is socially alienated do to overcome it? The way you’ve described it, it seems like the American prison system. They put you in ’cause you stick out, then when you fight to stay alive, you have to stay longer.
Our amateur philosopher is confusing social alienation with social isolation. Alienation is a state of mind but isolation is separation from others. It is easy to overcome isolation. Go anywhere, notice people who seem kind or receptive, smile or in some other gentle way acknowledge their presence and they may notice you and acknowledge you as well. To get to a more involved level, join an organization and work for a cause, or volunteer and help those who are lonelier or weaker. Alienation is a tougher nut to crack. To become alienated requires a painful history with people. To restore your trust, start by associating with trustworthy people and go from there. But this is getting too long…
So PSR you see the cause of social alienation as a lack of trust in other people, for fear that they will either attempt to alienate or isolate you… very interesting.
social alienation is a process that can start in childhood , when one is shunned ,stigmatised ,and ignored for having different thoughts and outlooks than ones peer group . illness ,disability , or just not wishing to conform to the supposed “norm ” in the early and formative years can and does mark one out for life . my personal experience is that if one does not think and act like the rest of the sheep in society , is capable of looking trough and beyond all the BS – the “we know better because we are in the majority ” thinking that pervades society – and inability to be ABLE to think outside the box – then you will be very alone for a large part of that life . people EXPECT others to conform to THEIR accepted ideas of how others should behave , think , dress , and respond to any given situation , and those who do not are kept out of the loop . add to this the materialistic nature of society today , like wise those who see materalism for the pathetic culture it is , disregard the need for material possessions ,valuing instead , simple lifestyles ,devoid of debt and thus worry as strange “unachievers ” who can not possibly be of any value to them as friends or in many ways normal .
some of however are relatively happy in this situation , preferring to acknowledge their lack of need to rely on others and their own self sufficiency – OK one can get lonesome at times – but most people have less than a handful of people that they could REALLY rely on in time of need – most “friends ” being at best transitory ,and at worst false users ,who are only your friend for what they can obtain from you
cynical view ?? – no a realistic view from one who has been alienated all his life .