🦋🤖 Robo-Spun by IBF 🦋🤖

>>> 👨‍💻🤖 Cybernetic Feedback 👨‍💻🤖 <<<

The podcast episode “Deep Dive Into Postmodern Alienation” discusses Işık Barış Fidaner’s model of postmodern alienation within capitalism. It compares capitalism to a virus, where consumers are driven by utility (exigency) and desire (enjoyment), leading to compulsive behaviors. Fidaner introduces concepts like “users” and “players” and explores their psychological conflicts, tying this to modern cultural anxieties. The episode also touches on how power dynamics in capitalism perpetuate these issues, and hints at potential solutions through awareness and critical engagement.

Generated by Google’s NotepadLM website given this link:

Postmodern Alienation Model (Dr. Işık Barış Fidaner)

This is part of Numerical Discourses

---

Hey there! Ready to dive into what makes the modern world tick? Let’s do it. Today, we’re going to unpack this thing called the postmodern alienation model. Sounds intense. Who came up with that?

It’s the brainchild of Dr. Işık Barış Fidaner. He’s trying to get at how capitalism really works—not just the economy and stuff, but how it gets inside our heads.

Okay, I’m intrigued. How deep does it go?

Well, he uses this analogy of capitalism being like a virus.

A virus? Okay, how does that work?

Well, think of it this way: if capitalism is the virus, then where do we fit in?

I mean, are we the hosts? The ones getting infected?

Exactly. The model starts with this idea of the consumer, right?

So like all of us just going about our day?

Yeah, just living on autopilot. You know, like, “Is it Friday yet?”

But we don’t stay like that forever, do we?

Not according to Fidaner. He says there are these two forces that shake us out of that autopilot mode. He calls them exigency and enjoyment.

Okay, so need versus want, kind of?

Exigency is more like, you need something that works. Like, “My phone’s dead; I need a charger,” that kind of thing.

Exactly. And enjoyment is like wanting the cool new thing, you know, that “I gotta have it” feeling, even if your old one works just fine.

Exactly. It’s about more than just needing something. It’s about wanting to be seen with it.

Yeah, I get it. And both of those push us toward, well, buying stuff.

Exactly, and this is where it gets really interesting. Fidaner says these unmet needs, whether it’s exigency or enjoyment, they can lead to addiction.

Addiction, huh? So this is like just buying too much stuff?

It’s more than that. He’s talking about any behavior that’s driven by a compulsive need to get that fulfillment.

So it could be like always upgrading your phone or endlessly scrolling through social media?

Exactly. It’s like capitalism kind of needs us to be at least a little bit addicted so we keep consuming, right?

And then, according to his model, that addiction, it kind of transforms us. We go from being passive consumers to being like users or players.

Users and players, okay. I’m really curious now. What’s the difference?

So users, they’re all about utility. Like, they want things to be efficient, make their lives easier. They’re all about “How could this work for me?”

Yeah, and players, on the other hand, they’re all about the enjoyment factor, you know, like the status, the thrill of winning.

Okay, so like in a video game, you’ve got the people who want to top the leaderboard, and then the people who just want to, you know, relax and enjoy the scenery?

Right, right. But I’m guessing it goes deeper than that, right?

Yeah, yeah, definitely. It gets into this whole psychology of success and failure. Fidaner says that neither the user nor the player actually lives in this blissful, addiction-fueled bubble. They both have these internal conflicts.

Oh, so it’s not all fun and games?

Not exactly. So users, in their quest for ultimate utility, they start to feel a sense of abuse, like they’re being used by the very systems they depend on.

So it’s that feeling of just being another cog in the machine?

Yeah, like your value just comes down to how efficiently you can contribute.

Exactly. And then you’ve got the players, always chasing that win, but it can turn into selfishness. They get so focused on winning, they kind of forget about the bigger picture, you know, the fact that these systems, they’re supposed to be collaborative too.

So it’s like they’re both struggling with the downsides of what they want?

Yeah, and Fidaner, he connects all of this to stuff happening in culture.

Like what?

Well, take conspiracy theories, for instance.

Interesting. You’re saying that ties into the whole abuse thing that users feel?

Exactly. Fidaner says the conspirator is like a projection of their anxiety. So the system feels out of control, so they invent an enemy they can actually point a finger at.

Right, it’s easier to blame, like, a person or a group than this big abstract system.

Makes sense. But what about the players? They’re dealing with selfishness, so their anxiety looks different, right?

So instead of blaming someone else, players internalize it. They get caught up in this idea of fate, like nothing they do matters. The game’s rigged.

It’s like that feeling you get sometimes with social media. You put out great content, but it’s all up to the algorithm whether it goes anywhere.

Exactly. And whether it’s paranoia for the user or cynicism for the player, it’s like more fuel for the system.

So it’s like this vicious cycle. Capitalism pushes us to these extremes, and then the ways we react, it just reinforces the whole thing.

Kind of depressing, honestly.

It can feel that way, but this model, it’s more about understanding what’s going on than just being like, “We’re doomed.”

And Fidaner, he doesn’t stop there. He talks about how capitalism tries to deal with these anxieties, or at least make it seem like it is.

Okay, now that’s what I want to hear. Give me some good news. How does it do that?

Remember those needs we were talking about? The whole utility versus enjoyment thing? Fidaner says capitalism tries to fulfill those by matching up what he calls “authorities” with “bodies.”

Authorities and bodies. That’s kind of vague.

Okay, think of it like this: authorities, they provide the means to some end. And the body, they provide the labor to actually get there.

Like a worker and their company?

Okay, so the company offers a paycheck—that’s the utility—and the worker puts in the work.

Exactly. But you’ll notice I said “matching,” not like “uniting” or something. It’s not really a partnership where everybody wins.

So more like both sides are just trying to get what they need, but the system itself usually favors the one with the power?

Exactly. It’s less about everyone being happy and more about, you know, maximizing profit like capitalism always does, even if it means keeping us hooked on this addiction-anxiety roller coaster.

Right. And here’s the thing about this whole authority-body thing: it doesn’t stay abstract. It turns into, like, these measurable units—the building blocks of what Fidaner calls modern life.

Okay, now you’ve lost me. Measurable units? Like what?

I mean, think about it: work contracts, your salary, how productive you are at your job. Even the way we keep track of likes and shares online.

You’re saying it’s all about data points turning us into numbers?

Exactly. Because once you’ve got it all as data, well, it’s easier to control. Like you said, turning us into cogs in the machine.

So we’ve got consumers becoming users and players, each with their own hang-ups. They try to get their needs met, but it all boils down to being a sign on a spreadsheet.

What’s the way out? Are we just stuck?

Well, that’s the million-dollar question, right? And to answer it, we’ve got to dig even deeper. Fidaner talks about these forces, will and system, that are, like, running the whole show.

Will and system? I’m not sure I’m following.

Okay, remember those anxieties we were talking about? The user’s paranoia and the player’s cynicism? What if, instead of getting rid of the system, what if those anxieties were dealt with from inside it?

I guess they’d disappear?

Not exactly. They change. See, when the user starts to feel like they’ve actually got some power, like they can make their own choices, that conspirator—it doesn’t vanish, it becomes will.

Okay, I think I get it. So it’s not about shadowy figures anymore. It’s like they’re part of making the rules now.

Exactly. And on the player side, when they find something that makes them feel like they really belong, like they have a purpose, well, fate turns into system.

So instead of feeling random and chaotic, it feels like they’ve got a part to play in something bigger?

Exactly. But here’s the really wild part: will and system, they’re connected. See, will comes from our desire to, like, make our mark on the world. And that desire, it needs a body to act through, whether that’s literal or metaphorical.

So you’re saying just by wanting to shape the world, it kind of forces us to become part of it?

Right. And then there’s system, which is all about order and rules. And that, well, it naturally leads to needing some kind of authority to enforce those rules.

This is getting kind of deep. So you’ve got these four things—will, system, authority, body—all feeding into each other.

And around and around we go. It’s a lot to take in, right? But Fidaner, he gave us one last piece of the puzzle, one that might help us make sense of it all.

Oh, don’t leave me hanging. What is it?

So who is this mysterious figure, the one who can untangle all of this will and system stuff? He calls this figure “the developer.”

The developer? Like, are we talking about software engineers now? People in Silicon Valley?

It’s a little broader than that. In Fidaner’s model, the developer is anyone who really gets these systems—like, they see the code, you know, the mechanics behind everything we want and do.

So it’s not what you do, it’s how

you see the world?

Exactly. They might be coders, sure, but they could also be artists or entrepreneurs, even activists. The important thing is that they can analyze the system, maybe even mess with it a little. They’re not just playing the game; they understand the rules.

Okay, now that sounds kind of empowering. Are you saying there’s hope that we’re not all stuck as consumers, users, or players forever?

Well, that’s the big question, isn’t it? You see, the developer, with all this knowledge, they’ve got a choice to make.

What choice?

About what to do with what they know. Do they use what they know to make the system even stronger, or do they try to build something different, something better?

So it’s like they’re in the Matrix. They could unplug, or they could become the new architect?

Exactly. And here’s the thing: it’s not just the developers who have this choice. It’s all of us.

You’re saying even if we don’t think of ourselves as tech people, we’re still part of this?

Yeah. We can be more aware of what we’re buying, why we’re buying it. We can question the algorithms, the corporations, anything that makes money off our anxieties. We can choose to connect with each other in ways that don’t just reinforce the system.

So it’s not about escaping the system because that’s impossible, right?

Right. It’s more like navigating it with our eyes open, pushing back where we can, maybe even finding ways to change it for the better.

That’s a good point. It’s not about being powerless. It’s about being aware of the power dynamics at play.

Exactly. And that’s what Fidaner’s model is all about. It’s not supposed to make you feel hopeless; it’s supposed to give you tools to understand what’s really going on.

This has been a really interesting deep dive. We went from, like, what makes us buy stuff to cultural anxieties, to these big abstract models, and then back down to what we can actually do in our own lives.

Absolutely. And if any of this got you thinking, you should definitely check out Dr. Fidaner’s work. He goes even deeper into all of this.

It’s definitely given us all a lot to think about, and that’s what we’re all about here on The Deep Dive. Looking below the surface, asking the tough questions, and hopefully coming out of it a little bit wiser on the other side.

Until next time, keep those brains buzzing, and we’ll see you in the next Deep Dive.