After being interested in the joys or virtues of failure, the philosopher devotes the work to self-confidence and its many facets. And, as often, defends the philosophy of action.
Madame Figaro. – You named your book Self-confidence (1). However, in your opinion, this name is not completely correct. For what ?
Charles Pepin. – Let’s just say it’s very reductive. For me, there are three dimensions of confidence: self-confidence, which is made up of our personal experience, our competence, even our self-esteem; it represents only one-third of the whole. We can add two more elements, which are relational trust, in other words, the quality of connection with others, and mystical trust or faith in the world, which may consist of nature, God, the universe, etc.
Is it possible to be confident in one area and not in others?
True, self-confidence is very “localized”. It is clearly possible to move forward by investing in just one or two of these three areas. But my advice would rather be to use the opposite reasoning and try to develop all three as much as possible. That is, to develop skills and knowledge, to cultivate good relationships by cutting off the toxic ties that hold us back, and to open up to the beauty of the world in all possible ways. If we weave these three threads more often, there is a big risk of balancing the whole thing.
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In your book, you quote psychoanalyst Anne Dufourmantel that there is no such thing as a lack of self-confidence…
In his work Risk appreciationShe explains that she sees patients arrive at her office realizing they lack self-confidence. But as soon as the session begins, he realizes that they don’t really trust others. Sometimes, we just haven’t met the right people, those who will be able to reassure us, surround us, explain us… Lack of self-confidence is basically a lack of confidence in others who have not. gave us confidence, not to put us in a good mood, for example, by giving us responsibilities.
Is not the order of the times rather to seek strength and medicine?
There is this idea that each of us has a diamond in the rough within us that we can always tap into… But I’ll tell you something scary. if we look very closely within ourselves, we will not find this diamond. We will find nothing. That’s what Sartre called nothingness. It can be very dangerous to advise people to focus on this “I”, especially when they are in a crisis of self-esteem. I would rather encourage them to come out of themselves. In this movement towards the outside world is the secret of confidence, which is nourished by confrontation with the unknown, uncertainty. However, self-confidence is the ability to take action in an uncertain world. It’s learning to master.
Confidence is the ability to take action in an uncertain world
Charles Pepin, Philosopher
Sometimes our enthusiasm is dampened by the outside world…
But this outer world is also the elements. A lot of psychological research has shown that when you suffer from low self-esteem or relationship problems, simple contact with nature is enough to get you back on track. Why, when you go to the mountains, the contemplation of the immensity of the landscapes and the height of the peaks suddenly swells you and gives you confidence? American philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson says it very well. sometimes you just need to have the “friendship of the mountains and the sea” to find the feeling of the wind…
(1) Self-confidence, philosophy, by Charles Pépin, (Allary Editions), 176 p., €12.99.
Source: Le Figaro
