You've got to put one foot in front of the other, and not stop. That's a harsh way of putting it, but I get your point. It's clear that I'm not right just the way I am. I've got to move forward. The important thing is not what one is born with but what use one makes of that equipment. You want to be Y or someone else because you are utterly focused on what you were born with. Instead, you've got to focus on what you can make of your equipment. That's unreasonable. Why is it unreasonable? Some people are born into affluent circumstances with parents who are nice, and others are born poor with bad parents. Because that's how the world is. And I don't really want to get into this sort of subject, but things aren't equal in the world and differences between race, nationality, and ethnicity remain as deep as ever. It's only natural to focus on what you were born with. It is you who is ignoring reality. Does fixating on what you are born with change the reality? We are not replaceable machines. It is not replacement we need but renewal. To me, replacement and renewal are one and the same. You're avoiding the main point. Look, there is such a thing as unhappiness from birth. Please acknowledge that, first of all. I will not acknowledge that. For one thing, right now you are unable to feel real happiness. You find living hard, and even wish you could be reborn as a different person. But you are unhappy now because you yourself chose being unhappy. Not because you were born under an unlucky star. I chose to be unhappy?
How can I possibly accept that? There's nothing extraordinary about it. It's been repeated ever since the classical Greek era. Have you heard the saying No one desires evil? It's a proposition generally known as a Socratic paradox. There's no shortage of people who desire evil, is there? Of course, there are plenty of thieves and murderers, and don't forget all the politicians and officials with their shady deals. It's probably harder to find a truly good, upright person who does not desire evil. Without question, there is no shortage of behavior that is evil. But no one, not even the most hardened criminal, becomes involved in crime purely out of a desire to engage in evil acts. Every criminal has an internal justification for getting involved in crime. A dispute over money leads someone to engage in murder, for instance. Of benefit to oneself? What does this have to do with me? At some stage in your life, you chose being unhappy. It is not because you were born into unhappy circumstances or ended up in an unhappy situation. It's that you judged being unhappy to be good for you. How do you justify this? Why did you choose to be unhappy? I have no way of knowing the specific answer or details. Perhaps it will become clearer as we debate this. You are really trying to make a fool of me. You think this passes for philosophy? I do not accept this at all. In spite of himself, the young man got up and glared at the philosopher. I chose an unhappy life? Because it was good for me? What an absurd argument! Why is he going to such lengths to ridicule me? What did I do wrong? I'll dismantle his argument, no matter what it takes. I'll make him kneel before me. The young man's face flushed with excitement. As things stand, it's only natural that our views clash. I will now give a simple explanation as to the manner in which humans are understood in Adlerian psychology. Okay, but please be brief. Earlier you said that any person's disposition or personality cannot be changed. Lifestyle is the tendencies of thought and action in life. Tendencies of thought and action? How one sees the world. And how one sees oneself. Think of lifestyle as a concept bringing together these ways of finding meaning. A person's view of the world? Say there's someone who worries about himself and says, I am a pessimist. One could rephrase that to instead say, I have a pessimistic view of the world.
You could consider that the issue is not personality but rather the view of the world. It seems that the word personality is nuanced and suggests being unchangeable. But if we're talking about a view of the world, well, then, that should be possible to alter. This is kind of confusing. When you speak of a lifestyle, do you mean a way of living? Yes, you could put it that way. To be a little more accurate, it is the way one's life should be. You probably think of disposition or personality as something with which you are endowed, without any connection to your will. In Adlerian psychology, however, lifestyle is thought of as something that you choose for yourself. That you choose for yourself? You choose your lifestyle. So not only did I choose to be unhappy, but I even went so far as to choose this warped personality, too? Now you're really pushing it. When I became aware, I already had this personality. I certainly don't have any recollection of having chosen it. But it's the same for you, isn't it? Being able to choose one's own personality at will . Now that sounds like you're talking about robots, not people. These certainly had a significant influence on that choice. I don't get what you're saying. How on earth could I have chosen it? Adlerian psychology's view is that it happens around the age of ten.
Would that even matter? You can call it personality or disposition or lifestyle, but, regardless, I had already become this kind of self. The state of things doesn't change at all. If your lifestyle is not something that you were naturally born with, but something you chose yourself, then it must be possible to choose it over again. Now you're saying I can choose it all over? Maybe you haven't been aware of your lifestyle until now, and maybe you haven't been aware of the concept of lifestyle either. Of course, no one can choose his or her own birth. Being born in this country, in this era, and with these parents are things you did not choose. And all these things have a great deal of influence. You'll probably face disappointment and start looking at other people and feeling, I wish I'd been born in their circumstances. But you can't let it end there. The issue is not the past, but here, in the present. And now you've learned about lifestyle. But what you do with it from here on is your responsibility. Whether you go on choosing the lifestyle you've had up till now, or you choose a new lifestyle altogether, it's entirely up to you. Then how do I choose again? You're telling me, You chose that lifestyle yourself, so go ahead and select a new one instantly, but there's no way I can just change on the spot! People can change at any time, regardless of the environments they are in. You are unable to change only because you are making the decision not to.