24 September

Can you think of a single thing you think, feel or do that is entirely original? I doubt it, humans copy, they imitate, it’s what they do. I think there’s an extension to this, it means that we are always part of a group, the group of like-minded ideas or actions. There are no individuals in the world, the things that define us are collective things. But at the same time, there are no collective things separate to individuals, groups are just collections of individuals. What I think is less seen is that disagreement is a clash of entire ways of living in the world, between groups. If you think smoking dope gives you mental illness, you’re not just having an opinion on a fact, you’re building and sustaining the group of people who agree with you. No idea sits in isolation either, they’re part of an entire framework, a way of living in the world.