What Zhang Xuefeng is often criticized for is his utilitarianism.
There's a premise to this,
That those of us who are advised by him,
The vast majority live ordinary rational lives.
Or to put it more bluntly,
It's a low-configuration life.
For example, Wang Sicong studying philosophy at UCL,
He would never advise him to choose a major that's easy to find work,
Because he won't have the pressure of finding a job.
His disdain for literature, history, and philosophy,
Including his disdain for art disciplines.
He thinks everyone should just be a stable tool,
Full of instrumental rationality.
Where Zhang Xuefeng is still active,
A friend of mine said about him,
Behind these utilitarian statements,
There are hollow eyes,
Eyes without a soul.
At the time I thought it was very well said,
But I have to admit,
This utilitarianism actually has its helplessness,
Or rather, it has its necessity among his client base.
But this helplessness wasn't caused by Zhang Xuefeng,
Just like in a place where drinking water is universally utilitarian.
If you make bottled water,
You could become the richest person,
But in a normal place, this couldn't happen.
In such normal places,
You can only compete in high technology,
You can only innovate.
But personally,
What impresses me deeply,
Is his disdain for art,
Painting, and similar majors.
But this disdain is easy to understand.
But standing from the perspective of an ordinary child,
An ordinary parent considering this issue,
It's inevitable to carry utilitarian colors,
Everything is based on employment, income, and future as the only standards.
He evaluates majors, schools, and cities with almost only one indicator,
Which is whether it's easy to find a job and make money,
Whether it's stable,
Or unstable.
However,
This disregard for ideals,
Only looking at reality,
Dismissing others,
Talking about passion,
Talking about dreams,
Talking about academic pursuits.
But to put it directly,
We ordinary people don't have the qualifications for these,
Let's survive first.
Put maximizing benefits and minimizing risks first.
Although I can't help but think of Wang Xiaobo's famous passage,
Wang Xiaobo said,
Seeking benefits and avoiding harm is human nature,
But if everyone pursues this commonality,
We'll inevitably crowd into the lower places,
Like pigs crowding together.
This passage is from Wang Xiaobo's essay collection "The Silent Majority",
And the people served by Zhang Xuefeng,
The vast majority of them are the majority in the crowd.
But I think we can be pragmatic,
We can be utilitarian,
But we shouldn't be limited by income and future,
People,
Should always have something not moved by benefits and harm,
Should have some idealism,
Should have some determination to go forward despite thousands of people.
Should have some willingness to charge even knowing I can't win this battle,
Otherwise we really allow our lives,
To only have shrewd calculations of benefits and harm.
Can we accept crowding in mediocrity all our lives?
In our own life philosophy.
Overall,
Or should I choose what I like,
Because in the things we like to get results,
But it's easy to lose the sense of meaning in life.
And this lack of meaning will lead me to not know why I exist.
However,
Those careers easily loved by people,
Those careers full of idealism have very low success rates.
Not many people dare to gamble,
In the end, I might not find myself.
I'm recording this video,
Not to negate pragmatism and utilitarianism.
Although I say some people have trial and error costs,
Most students who find him have no background,
No resources,
No way out.
In this situation,
Not being utilitarian is putting yourself under a dangerous wall.
But when selling bottled water can achieve huge success,
What we need to do is not blame the person selling bottled water.
What we need to do is think,
Why is there only bottled water,
This kind of person should have some.