Question

Thomas Merton said, "In an age where there is much talk about 'being yourself' I reserve to myself the right to forget about being myself, since in any case there is very little chance of my being anybody else. Rather it seems to me that when one is too intent on 'being himself' he runs the risk of impersonating a shadow." Analyze how both articles prove this to be either accurate or inaccurate. i'm giving 30 points away please help me its due today

Answer 1

Answer: I contend that Thomas' statement is true. According to Thomas Merton, trying to be oneself or authentically oneself is ineffective.

His recommendation for resolving this is for the person to consciously let go of the process. In other words, being oneself is a subconscious process. Because all of our senses are actively and consciously engaged in the process as receptive input mechanisms, it is possible to fall prey to drawing from attitudes, mannerisms, etiquettes, etc. to consciously manage the process.

I would therefore support Thomas' claim as being accurate.

It is unnecessary to say further that being oneself is different from creating oneself. Self-creation is a deliberate process.One would need to deliberately assess, stimulate, amalgamate, accentuate, and escalate one's strengths in order to create oneself and still be authentic.

Since no two people possess the same level of talent, authenticity would be attained if each person concentrated on developing their highest selves. Even if two people had equal aptitude, it is statistically unlikely that they would invest the same amount of effort in improving themselves. As a result, there would still be a disparity in people.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

I would argue that Thomas' quote is accurate.

Explanation

The argument is simply about how to be authentic.

Thomas Merton's quote implies that it is counterproductive to focus on trying to be oneself or authentic.

His solution to this is for the individual to let go of the process consciously. In other words, the process of being oneself happens subconsciously. To consciously manage the process, it is possible to fall victim to drawing from the attitudes, mannerisms, etiquettes, etc because all our senses which are receptive input mechanisms are actively and intentionally involved in the process.

I would therefore argue in favour of the accuracy of Thomas' statement.

Suffice it to add that creating oneself is different from being oneself. The process of self-creation is intentional. To create oneself and still be authentic, one would need to intentionally evaluate, stimulate, amalgamate, accentuate and escalate one's strengths.

Given that no two individuals are equally gifted in the same measure, were each person to focus on creating their highest self, authenticity would be achieved. Even if two individuals were equally gifted, it is statistically improbable for both of them to give equal energy in maximizing their selves. Thus an inequality of persons would still exist in the end.

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