Sorgedrager D B
C.-G.-Jung-Institut, Küsnacht.
Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol. 1993 Nov;43(11):372-7.
"Being strange" as opposed to "being oneself" is part of the thinking in all cultures. Belonging to a given culture is actually defined by ones identity and by "being oneself". Both concepts--"being oneself" or "being strange"--are rational and related constructs. Whatever they are confronted with, for most human beings it is self-evident to differentiate between subject and object, between "being oneself" or "being strange". This explains why thinking often occurs in opposites or polarities, as an either/or. All "being strange" has its origins in one's own self. "Being strange" becomes most obvious when persons, gestalt or cultures strongly deviate from one's own familiar situation. It is part of man's disposition to be cautious, suspicious of and at distance from everything considered strange and different. That explains his xenophobia feelings and actions. Behind this attitude we can always discover one's wish to preserve the familiar beliefs--combined with an uneasiness to give up one's thinking and behaviour that is proven and routine. It is only by reflecting on our own culture and our own inheritance that we have the possibility to come to terms with our own ethnic identity and foreign behavioral patterns. If we do not try to understand other cultures while keeping our own cultural identity, tensions and violent conflicts will inevitably result.
与“做自己”相对的“表现怪异”是所有文化思维的一部分。归属于特定文化实际上是由个人身份和“做自己”来定义的。“做自己”和“表现怪异”这两个概念都是合理且相关的结构。无论面对什么，对大多数人来说，区分主体和客体、区分“做自己”还是“表现怪异”是不言而喻的。这就解释了为什么思维常常以对立或两极化的形式出现，即非此即彼。所有的“表现怪异”都源于自身。当人、整体或文化与自己熟悉的情况有很大偏差时，“表现怪异”就会变得最为明显。对被视为陌生和不同的一切保持谨慎、怀疑并与之保持距离，这是人类性情的一部分。这就解释了他的仇外情绪和行为。在这种态度背后，我们总能发现一个人希望保留熟悉的信仰——同时又对放弃经过验证且惯常的思维和行为感到不安。只有通过反思我们自己的文化和传承，我们才有机会认同自己的民族身份并理解外来的行为模式。如果我们在保持自身文化身份的同时不试图去理解其他文化，紧张局势和暴力冲突将不可避免地产生。
