On the Weaponization of "Ego"
There are a plethora of philosophically rooted, abstract words that people frequently use, but do not know the true meaning of. It is important that we concretely understand the true meaning and essence of these words, since they carry such moral weight. These words are commonplace, but mean something slightly or radically different depending on the person or circumstance. For people to communicate effectively, words must be universally understood and defined. How many conflicts, failures, and confusions arise purely out of a lack of understanding of what another person is feeling or thinking? Even worse, what harm do you cause yourself, what clarity of thought do you sacrifice if you cannot put into words what you are experiencing.
The word to be defined now is ‘ego.’ Before presenting the real definition of ‘ego,’ it is important to understand the ways in which ‘ego’ is misused and weaponized.
I often hear those who use psychedelic drugs describe how using these substances helped them “strip down their ego.” Ask them to describe what that means, and you’ll get a 10 minute ramble which basically amounts to, “I now know how to empathize with people.” I have heard a version of the following general story from many people, “I was a defensive, rude, lost, asshole who thought I knew everything and that I was better than everyone else, and when I did these drugs, I just felt more connected to everything and everyone. After the experience, I’m way more humble and relaxed, I can relate to people way more. It totally stripped me of my ego.” On its face this sounds great. These people had disordered personalities, and taking this substance fixed it. This is simply too good to be true. True personal development takes time and effort. Years of self reflection, journaling, and moral development cannot be speed-ran overnight with a dose of psilocybin.
When I was living in Toledo, I met a German man at a climbing gym. We were discussing the beta for a climb when he began telling me about his experience using these substances, along with some sort of therapeutic “free dance.” He said that these two practices “healed his inner child.” This was ironic, considering his son was at the gym as well. It was clear his son did not want to be there, and felt alone. His father, instead of seeing these emotions as I did, ignored his son's apathy toward the activity, and told him to keep climbing. After this, he continued to tell me about HIS inner child. This is a pattern I see in people who use drugs as a replacement for true self-reflection and development. They improve in some specific area of life, and they “feel” better, but key areas of their life are still disordered. To increase in virtue, and therefore happiness, you need to have a specific set of principles. Living by said principles will result in progress in every aspect of your life (parenthood, romance, friendship, business, etc). There are nuances, but this is generally true. When you ask a principled, virtuous person how they arrived at where they are in life, they can describe it in great detail, with intention. Whereas a person who takes short cuts can only provide vague platitudes that leave you confused, as they themselves are confused.
When the ego is “stripped” by short cuts, the root issue has not been solved. That being a lack of reason and honesty in the person’s life. What you are left with is someone who is still unprincipled and insecure, but just a little more inoffensive and easier to get along with. Egoists have strong beliefs, but lack clarifying arguments, ie. a good reason to believe what they believe. When these beliefs are taken from them (through things like psychedelics or social pressure), and principles are not given in their place, what you are left with is a spineless relativist. Someone who has no strong beliefs at all, except that of “tolerance.” The spineless relativist recoils at his past arrogance, and is now dedicated to being empathetic and open minded. These dispositions are not wrong in and of themselves, but when someone has no principles and an open mind, they are left like a man stranded in the middle of the ocean. The egoist and the spineless relativist are two sides of the same coin, in that their attitudes stem from a lack of reason, clarity, and real healing.
The most common incorrect use of ‘ego’ takes place when an insecure, baseless person encounters someone of clarity and self-respect. A person with clarity, while having an open mind, asserts a concrete definition of “right” and “wrong.” This “anti-relativist” attitude strikes at the conscience of the baseless person. How do they protect themselves from reality? They appeal to the sense of morality that the person of clarity has, by accusing them of having a “huge ego.” They say something equivalent to, “Who are you to think you know everything? You don't know that person's life or their experiences! How can you judge them? You’re obviously biased. You need to let go of your ego.” This obvious strawman seeks to spawn insecurity and shame in the clarified person when they have asserted anything outside the beliefs deemed socially acceptable. That is what is so vile about this accusation. Its purpose is to defang those who have the ability to think freely, not through rational argument, but through shame. It not only implies that a belief is wrong, but that it is wrong to even believe with any sort of consequence.
More than anyone else, this accusation is leveled at free thinking, white, straight, morally-minded men. This demographic has been viciously targeted by the ruling (((elites))), because this demographic is the most prone to expelling lies and seeking truth. They are the most principled, creative, intuitive, reasonable, and universal people. The world is structured to instill shame, despair, and insecurity in this group. The word ‘ego’ is simply one tool of thousands used to complete this demonic task.
The key to cutting through these sophistic accusations is not pride, it’s not armouring yourself against all feedback, and it’s not developing your own flavor of narcissistic ideology. It is to know and live in reality. The true definition of ego is:
‘The attitude that arises when one’s view of self is not in line with reality, often referring to an over-inflated view of self’
When someone is confronted with the ‘ego’ accusation, the only question to be asked is, “Does my estimation of self deviate from reality?” Are you making absolute truth claims without knowing the logic behind them? If so, that is ‘ego.’ If not, it likely that you are rather confident in your beliefs, which is:
‘The attitude that arises when one’s view of self is in line with reality, especially when that view includes admirable qualities and a pursuit of these’
This simple definition may seem only that, simple, but for myself, this definition ended a 3 year quandary that asked what it meant to be confident and how to become it. Is confidence your posture? Is it a delusion? Is it an act? Is it an outfit or job? Is it a physique? No, confidence is knowing who you are, paired with striving for what you know is good. Beneath that is humility and a dedication to reason. When you stray from these, you enter a state of ego, arrogance, and vanity. True confidence, that which is founded in reason, is unbreakable. What if a confident person is proven wrong? No issue, a confident person lives knowing that he may be wrong. A simple readjustment in thought is made, maybe some self-reflection or study is done, and they continue as they did before. This state of being is the bedrock for happiness and healthy, resilient relationships. Confidence lies in the methodology, not in the results. Vanity and ego breed rot and resentment, because eventually everyone sees through them. Confidence, reason, and humility, have nothing to hide.
On the other side of confidence are standards. This is what losers resent and what the malicious rulers of our society fear. They fear strong, capable, confident men with defined standards. Why? Because that is who will resist them with the most ferocity. To have a vision and a grand mission requires confidence. Confidence is needed to flesh out an idea, test it, build it, and impose it on the world. If you are docile, inoffensive, or endlessly accepting, you are no threat to anyone at all. You are also of no real benefit to anyone at all. You are, in practice, nothing at all.
It is essential to your happiness that you do not have an ego, that your identity is not rooted in vanity or lies. But also essential to your happiness, arguably moreso, is knowing who you are and what is good. There is a class of people who seek to rob you of your passion, standards, and clarity. It is healthy to approach these people with respect and even curiosity, but do not let their accusations of ‘ego’ remove you from yourself. Put in the time and the sweat to know who you are and what you believe. Confidence, not ego, is on the other side of that.
By: Samuel Pinkelman 8/5/25
