Journal Article — The Complexity of Naive Acceptance of Socially Manipulated Beliefs — by Ayan Ahmed

This is a paper about self-evaluation and exploration. I struggle to understand myself in relation to my beliefs and how those beliefs were derived from society, parents and teachers as a whole and not through self reflection and education. I strive to recognize the manipulations I suffer through the hands of others in general and through my own self. Most importantly, I try to appreciate through the readings (or commentaries) of such scholars and philosophers as Freire, Ghazali, Durkheim, and Gurdjieff the nature of society and how individuals become oppressed by abiding with what others have prescribed—hence becoming “beings for others” as opposed to “beings for themselves.” Finally, I try to lay bare the complexity associated with trying to break free from manipulation and habituation and the irony in which one, having realized manipulation and habituation at the conscious level, is still driven subconsciously to embrace those very conditions one was seeking to avoid.