Living like a human being requires doing seemingly pointless activities.

In recent years, I have been chatting with many people one after another, and I have found that everyone has a sense of collective anxiety - where is my value?

Whether you are an engineer who graduated from a prestigious school or is booming in a big factory,

Or an entertainment practitioner who travels to large-scale events every day and knows many celebrities;

Or they are training instructors who have made a lot of money in the education industry.

They have one common characteristic:

The academic and career choices are in line with social expectations, and the income is considerable;

However, I am incredibly anxious and cannot find the meaning of continuing to live and work.

They are particularly troubled by:

If you wait a few more years and can't buy a house, why don't you return to your hometown?

The salary is okay, but there has yet to be a breakthrough. Do you want to try a new job?

No matter what they choose, they cannot relieve the pain.

That is because their choices are full of "instrumental rationality."

The Pain of Instrumental Reason: Dehumanization.

The philosopher Weber described "instrumental rationality" this way:

When people act, they only focus on practical purposes and pure efficiency while ignoring the spiritual value of the person himself.

Teacher Wan Wei Gang once wrote a case:

Assuming that Mexican porn practitioners are rational economists, how should they make choices——

If clients are required to wear condoms, the income will be less, but it will be safer;

If you don't wear it, you can increase your revenue.

The problem with the latter is that it increases the risk of HIV among sex workers.

But the result of rational analysis is:

Among the population, very few people carry HIV, and the chance of transmitting the virus during a single sexual encounter is also relatively low.

Even if they get sick as a result, after calculation, the "benefits" brought by sex workers for every year of life lost is as much as $50,000.

After calculation, he believes that it is irrational to choose to wear a condom:

Sex workers should not refuse generous rewards for a fraction of a percent of disease risk.

From a "rational" perspective, I really can't refute it.

But as a human being, my simple thoughts are just three words: inhumane.

This contradiction is the same as the life choices we are facing now.

When a person relies too much on instrumental rationality, he forgets his humanity.

The final result is often:

People will feel that the choices they make are optimal, but at the same time, they are very painful.

That is the pain of being "dehumanized."

For example, when some young people enter a large factory, they do not necessarily want to do program development or games;

Many people are staring at the "income that exceeds that of peers" and a "gold-plated certificate from a major company."

It doesn't matter what I think or the pain in my skin, eyes, lumbar spine, or shoulders.

Because now that I have such an opportunity at my age, this kind of reward is the highest and most cost-effective I can get.

Jack Ma once said internet companies are a blessing for young people willing to sacrifice their youth for massive income.

These are all processes of "dehumanization".

But it also reflects many people's true thoughts and accurately portrays today's workplace.

With the support of instrumental rationality, many people are convinced that they are making the "best choice";

Then, prioritize ignoring the emotional feelings, self-worth, etc., that "cannot be exchanged for money."

If things happen like this, people will either explode or become exhausted in continuous mental neglect.

Of course, this isn't entirely a personal choice.

Many times, it is the external environment that wants to shape a person in this way, and the individual completes the shaping in such an environment.

The so-called optimal solution is also a calculation or conspiracy.

Instrumental rationality, not smart

Whether it is a business or a person, the original intention of choosing instrumental rationality is to obtain maximum benefits.

But unfortunately, in the long run, this does not "earn".

Instrumental rationality suits the increasingly expanding capital society- everything can be monetized and efficient.

But it often falls into a dilemma like capitalism: short-sightedness.

You should focus more on short-term gains and consider the impact on long-term sustainable growth.

Let me tell you two stories first.

Ford produced a car in the 1970s with a fatal design flaw that would increase driver mortality in car accidents.

But after discovering the problem, the first thing managers did was not to recall the vehicles comprehensively but to find an actuary to calculate:

Is the cost of a claim higher if someone is killed, or is the cost of a recall higher?

Recalls cost more.

So they decided not to recall and saved a lot of money then.

But ultimately, the truth came out - Ford lost the most essential thing: customer trust.

Moreover, This scandalous incident was documented in textbooks, garnering worldwide attention.

Not just businesses but individuals as well.

A friend of mine has worked in the education industry for many years.

However, he didn't like this job and always wanted to be a professional screenwriter.

But if he changed industries now, he would lose his director-level treatment. He could not accept the sudden drop in salary and status, so he has not altered industries for a long time.

As a result, as time passed, he no longer had the motivation to climb up, and his salary had stayed the same for a long time.

Moreover, because he often struggled with whether to leave his job and had intense inner conflicts, he always passively consumed and overheated under pressure and spent a lot of savings on medical treatment.

Only a little money was saved, and what was left was workplace burnout and physical illness.

This year, the education industry has completely collapsed. I thought the opportunity finally came, but he was discouraged, and his enthusiasm for creation has long since been lost.

When people reach middle age, they have no fulcrum in their hearts and are in constant pain.

Such examples are not uncommon.

In the short term, choosing the path of instrumental rationality is very profitable, which has quick results, low risks, and can measure the results.

But in the long run, it is limited by time, era conditions, and personal motivation, which will cause us to lose something sustainable development.

Topics such as human nature, love, the body, and deep relationships are essential aspects of life.

At the same time, instrumental rationality is likely to lead us to a path of "homogenization," which may even lead to substitution.

Because what it gives you is often the "standard answer."

But this answer is not unique to "you." Everyone can get the same result based on the same analysis.

That is why many people can't see their value.

Because your life has "nothing to do with you."

Only by transcending the limitations brought about by instrumental rationality can we focus on decades of life and thoroughly think about: How do "I" want to live this life?

Value rationality: What kind of people do we want to be?

Weber also mentioned another concept: "value rationality."

Meaning: Reflect on the tragedy caused by people's excessive instrumental rationality in modernization and put human subjectivity and particularity back into an important position.

People are ends, not means.

To live fully, we must unconditionally affirm the value of things like our hobbies, feelings, social relationships, and the call of destiny.

Unthinkingly using instrumental rationality to make choices is a denial of these values.

Teacher Robert talked about two concepts: one is economic choice, and the other is psychological choice.

Economic choice, like "instrumental rationality," focuses on immediate benefits.

As for "psychological choice," it focuses on the choice itself.

The question is, what is my motivation behind each choice?

What kind of self do I want to nurture through my choices?

My postdoctoral supervisor once shared his experience in the middle school entrance examination with us.

When he was in junior high school, his family's financial situation was average; This could be characterized as being constricting.

At that time, his best choice was to study in a regular technical secondary school because he could find a job directly after graduation and have a stable income.

Another option is to continue high school and go to college.

But at that time, it took work to get into high school and college. If you didn't pass, you would have to find a job, which was a significant risk.

From a "rational" perspective, choosing a regular technical secondary school will bring you all the benefits without any harm.

However, Teacher Wu observed the people around him and found their work and life boring.

He didn't want to live such a life, so he chose to take the high school entrance examination.

As a result, this "not so good" choice at the time gave him more possibilities in life, changing the direction of his life.

In fact, such "insisting on one's own will" is not uncommon in today's society.

More and more people can make their own "psychological choices" from the perspective of "value rationality."

Some people studied design but gave up joining a big company and instead stayed at home for many years, making felt toys and conducting auctions at home and abroad;

There is a plasterer who dreams of being a hero. He has practiced excellent swordsmanship for many years and gained a lot of attention and praise;

There are couples born in the 1990s who gave up their million-dollar annual salary and returned to their hometown to start a video business to have time to grow up with their children.

People are inherently individualized.

We all stand in different positions. If we follow our development perspective, we can develop many unique life trajectories.

As society has developed, many people no longer care about fundamental life issues such as food and clothing but are just doing things to "make a living."

Besides money, interests, work fulfillment, social relationships, and contributions to society are all valuable to us.

We have room to think from the perspective of instrumental rationality to the standpoint of value rationality.

Who do I want to be?

How should I live my life to be worthy of myself?

Maybe we need some "heterogeneity."

If I had to give one piece of advice to people who are thinking in instrumental rationality, I would say:

We need some "heterogeneity".

The so-called "heterogeneity" is to find the differences between yourself and others and develop your voice.

For example, our identity, career, interests, personal achievements, etc., on these things, we build some unique social relationships.

We can think about it:

Besides making money, what else do we want to do?

How can we participate in social life?

Take me for example.

I'm writing in a coffee shop now, not necessarily for royalties;

But in a working environment that has remained the same for ten years, I urgently need fresh social relationships and connections with others.

Later, I discovered that some of my ideas also wanted to be heard.

So, use words to connect with millions of strangers.

The writer is my heterogeneous social relationship.

Some people choose to volunteer;

Some people choose to become video authors of character interviews and talk to practitioners from all walks of life;

Some people choose to do handicrafts and make them to the level of works of art;

Some become musicians at Station B and integrate with young people in the barrage.

Most of them work part-time. After all, they still need a tedious job to make a living.

But these amateur hobbies and careers make them "heterogeneous" people.

That is a resistance to instrumental rational social life.

Throughout our lives, what makes us feel that we have found the power of life is our account balance, hobbies, inner feelings, sense of mission, and other things.

The question is whether we will establish them unconditionally and use unique labels to define our lives.