3. “The Real Reason”

A very simple distinction exists in civic life, but which is often overlooked or misunderstood.  This is the distinction between things that are to be regarded as ends in themselves; and things that are to be valued instrumentally.  A human being is an end unto himself.  A block of wood is a means to an end.  In this aspect our civilisation is plagued by what might be called failures of the moment.  There are obvious instances of this plague.  I mean, instances of when the present moment fails to be alive.  For example we say, “The real reason why …”  Thus, “The real reason why A is attracted to B is hormonal.”   There is reason’s foundation, we think: in the objective world.  (Another way of putting this would be to say that we think that this is where the idea of home is to be instituted: that this sort of factuality is the rock that human existence needs to be built on.)  It instrumentalises the person.  A point is reached at which the person ceases to be understood, or fails to be perceived, as an end in themselves.  “The real reason why …” (Ultimately, “The reason why we are the master race is …”) “The real reason why women get married is to be looked after by their husbands.  Really, a form of legalised prostitution.”

Tags: Home, Nazism, Prostitution, Reason