5 Ideas about Solitude

1: From Solitude Springs Self through Thought

A person can only have thoughts consciously in solitude — when we are paying full attention to another thing or person we can not have a thought occur to us, as the moment attention is pulled away from the interior boundary of the mind and directed towards something in the external world, so that we are no longer thinking but observing something. But in thinking we are continually defining ourself by making judgements about phenomena — those judgements are part of our sense of self, that is, what we believe. In solitude, individuality is gained through thoughts springing from inward focus.

2: Solitude as a way to gain Freedom

In being alone, a person gains the freedom to pursue any desire they wish, for when a person is alone they are free of responsibility to others, there is no obligation or moral imperative, for all morality exists in relation to others. There is no one telling you what to do, for instance (one of the best things about solitude). However, the Will of a human is unhappy with solitude, instead preferring action which it manifests in us by giving us desires and impulses. By not acting on our impulses though, we retain our solitude because when you act on a impulse, it means you are uncomfortable with yourself and must resolve that by doing something. For example, person who is on their computer is not alone, they are enjoying the simulation of company (which is less fulfilling than offline social interaction but they are still enjoying a fraction of companionship). They have given up solitude for an action.

So the inaction and inertia of unstimulated solitude is naturally uncomfortable for a person. There is not a more classic example of this inability to be content with solitude then whenever a person gets a moment to themselves, they immediately reach for a book, their phone, someone to talk (to ‘fill the silence’ with words if with another) to in order to fill the time. The discomfort they associate with being alone with their thoughts has become so extreme they cannot even spend an extra moment without external stimulation. They reject the pleasure of the present moment for the stimulation of an idea captured in time that lies on a screen or page. As Schopenhauer says, too much external focus causes a lack of individuality through refusing to think for yourself.

3: Attention is a form of light submission

There is a certain submission involved with the giving of attention to the external world, meaning autonomy is relinquished and suddenly instead of being in control, you become subjugated by the thing that you are doing. You are not alone, but in the company of a phenomena, which exerts its power, ranging from softly to tyrannical, over a human, reducing what was once an indivudal in solitude to a slave in labour to the pleasure gained by some external thing.

In both the book and the film version of Fight Club, Tyler Durden says “the things you own, end up owning you.” The freedom had in a state of un-stimulation is lost and instead the individual relinquishes control of themselves in favour of the external. Instead of looking inward at yourself so that you can do some self-examination, you focus your attention on other things. Of course in life it is good that you escape your mind and act in the world, but excessive attention paid to exterior things in my view leads to a situation like Plato’s Cave. In examining the essence of oneself and one’s consciousness, that is how you escape from morosely watching the movements of the shadows in the cave.

4: Solitude as a retreat to extend life

Montaigne suggests:

“We must reserve a back-shop all our own, entirely free, in which to establish our real liberty and our principal retreat and solitude.”

Particularly interest is the notion of a ‘principal retreat’ — Montaigne was a soldier before he was a scholar and puts solitude in terms of finding respite from the conflict and the anxieties that figure in our relationships with the external world. In retreating from the external stimulation of people and things, we gain autonomy and thus complete power over ourselves and are relieved of distractions that unnecessarily speed up the process of life.

Without solitude, life passes by in an instant, and thus the phrase “life is short” becomes true. But Seneca provides the proof that this is not the case, with his claim that “life is long if you know how to use it”. With contemplation within in solitude, the perception of time slows down and far more can be had out of life and existence than otherwise would be the case.

5: Self-Sufficiency from Solitude

An Epicurean maxim relates self-sufficiency to freedom:

“The most important consequence of self-sufficiency is freedom.”

In solitude and being alone, we become content with the company of ourselves. We understand that ourself is just as worthy of attention as external stimulus and thus become self-sufficient — ourselves are sufficient subjects for our attention.

Rejecting solitude is to reject self-sufficiency in a sense, as you reject yourself as a companion and become dependent on something in the external world which is never fully in your power to control. If we are dependent, then we cannot be fully self-sufficient. The loss of self-sufficiency is thus the loss of freedom.