In the modern world, we have an attitude. We don't see that we have an attitude, and that is the problem. The attitude comes in three flavours: the realist, the spiritual, and the perplexed.The realist everyone will recognize because it is the attitude of those that have attended the great universities, taken social science classes, and survived. The survival, however, means that the graduate has an attitude. The attitude is that man will continue to make progress technologically and this will lead to improvements in society and economies. If the world is to be successful, then people need an education that will enable them to see it as it is. Successful people are people who see the world in all its cause and effect glory.
The attitude of the spiritual person, we think that we will all recognize, but its not that easy. The spiritual attitude is one that holds that our world is not inhabited by physical things alone, but that there are forces and realities that we cannot see, hear or touch that occupy our world alongside of our physical reality. An attitude is adopted when the spiritual thinks that awareness of the spiritual world makes a person somewhat special and above those that do not recognize this world. The attitude is that there is something missing from the person who is not party to the spiritual enlightments offered to the person of the 'way', the spiritual way, a way that is not open to all persons.
The third attitude is that of 'the perplexed' individual, perplexism. Such a modern person regards the realist and the spiritualist as somewhat strange beings. The 'perplexist' thinks that it is normal to be confused and to not take sides with either of the realist or spiritualist camps. This attitude is that there is not enough information to decide on the merits of realism or spiritualism, so it is best to just observe and not take either position. The perplexed attitude is that somehow its not an either or proposition. The real and unreal exist, but the attitude is that it is possible to sit on the sidelines and just understand without commitment. The vast majority of people have the perplexed attitude of modern society. They will sometimes be confused with realists or spiritualists, but their world is a world of 'mugwump.'