Writing as Species-Being
3 days ago
- #Writing
- #Human Connection
- #Alienation
- Writing is fundamentally about relating, which means to bear back experiences, stand in relation to others with reverence, and create connections through sympathy and understanding.
- Writing involves numerous human relationships, including with collaborators, editors, readers, and even imagined or historical figures, fostering community and support.
- A positive relationship with writing reflects and enhances real-life relationships, making writing more intimate and less alienated, focusing on real conditions and people.
- Erich Fromm and Karl Marx discuss alienation versus relatedness, where alienation estranges us from our 'species-being'—our creative, moral essence tied to community—while relatedness fulfills human needs and capacities.
- AI and artificial writing risk alienating us from our need and capacity to relate to others, turning human essence into fetishized objects and stifling authentic expression.
- Human needs and capacities are intertwined; expressing faculties like thinking and feeling through writing fulfills the need for connection, embodying both individuality and shared humanity.
- Embracing the need for others as a strength, not a burden, can guide meaningful living and creative work, resisting alienating labor and consumption.