Recently, a peculiar type has been proliferating:
* Metaphysics experts who have never studied philosophy,
* Quantum instructors that do not know physics,
* People who parade themselves as life coaches / body trainers / cosmic coaches without ever studying sports science, anatomy, or biomechanics…
A two day certificate puts them suddenly next to or even ahead of people who have professionally been in that field for years.
This is then wrapped in a pretty label:
Expert, Master Trainer, Metaphysics Professor, Quantum Consciousness Coach…
The problem is that this behaviour, aside from being ridiculous, is labour theft.
The Certificate Culture: Creating an Identity with a Piece of Paper
Philosophy, physics, sports science, psychology…
Those are the fields.
Being a part of a field entails years of work:
* Dozens of books,
* Hundreds of articles,
* Exams, dissertations, never ending reading,
* Practice, labs, fieldwork, gaining experience in the real world…
And then someone arrives and says:
I have taken a course in metaphysics.
I have a certificate in quantum coaching.
We change your DNA with breathing.
The point is not that people should not learn new things. Everyone of course can attend courses, get training, and be curious.
That’s something valuable.
The trouble is that it starts here:
I’m actually an expert too.
I didn’t attend university, but see, with these certificates I’m better than all of them.
Therefore the certificate is not knowledge itself. It might be a very small stop on the road to knowledge, but it abruptly changes into an identification card.
Psychological Ground: Inferiority Complex + Ego Inflation
The two day expert status is a layer that usually conceals a very complicated psychology below.
It is layered like an onion:
1. Inferiority Complex
* I didn’t study.
* I didn’t finish.
* I didn’t give my years to this.
What these three things make is an inferiority feeling inside of the person,
which is fused with the thought I’m less than them and eventually comes out with the sentence:
Then I’ll become an expert in a short way.
2. Hidden Resentment Toward the Degree Holder
A quiet anger changes imperceptibly into resentment towards people that have devoted years to that area:
As if they know so much…
To keep that anger hidden inside, there is a newly created scenario:
I may not have studied, but I’m better than you.
3. Ego Show
Social media loves to see how well one’s titles can sell:
* When they say Metaphysics Expert, people are more amazed.
* Quantum Consciousness Coach sounds more mysterious.
* Energy Master sounds like the person with the most power.
The point is without even helping to fulfill their inner emptiness, they hide it with a brilliant cover.
What is the result?
* The content is empty,
* The title is overly inflated,
* The ego looks satisfied but the truth is there is still lack and inner emptiness beneath that are boiling.
An Insult to Philosophy, Science, and Real Expertise
Just by saying I’m a metaphysics expert without studying philosophy,
it is, actually, an insult to philosophy.
Simply because metaphysics is not a matter of a couple of days.
It’s a concept that has been talked about for centuries starting from Aristotle through Kant and Heidegger.
By reducing that to a two day certificate one is basically saying:
* Without any training,
* Without ever competing,
* Without even studying sports science, I’m already a world champion.
A real coach studies anatomy, physiology, programming, injury prevention, and performance science for years.
And then comes someone:
I watched some YouTube videos, I took two trainings, I’m the same as you.
No, you are not.
You are not the same.
This arrogance is not only ridiculous, it is a malicious attempt at climbing the ladder by trampling the works of real experts.
Theft of Labour: Saying I’m the Same to Someone Else’s Years
Stealing labour is not only copying someone’s text.
Sometimes it is like:
* One person studies for 10 years,
* Works through hundreds of pages,
* Exams, theses, projects, fieldwork, practice…
* The person gets a degree and continues practicing for years.
After that, someone just comes and says:
I am a trainer too.
I am an expert too.
I am a metaphysician too.
Just how?
Just by having a two day certificate.
The truth is that the message conveys:
Your 10 years and my 2 days have the same value.
That’s exactly the point where the philosophical problem arises.
Because this:
* Disregards the notion of labour,
* Compromises the idea of expertise,
* And slowly but surely, society’s trust in knowledge is declining.
Why are people today so distrustful of scientists, doctors, psychologists, philosophers?
The reason is that on the same screen,
there are also hundreds of people with such labels as:
Metaphysics Expert, Energy Professor, Quantum Coach.
Such Title inflation is one of the major reasons that knowledge loses its seriousness and authenticity.
But I’m Helping People The Classic Defence
Those fake-title holders usually come up with this kind of argument:
But people are happy.
I’m helping, they benefit.
I can help without a degree too.
Philosophically and psychologically speaking, there is a very subtle difference here:
* You might present your own experience, intuition, personal journey.
* You might say My intention is to support people.
* And you could even say I have been taking these courses, and I am learning honestly.
Here the problem of the role theft arises:
I’m not a psychologist, but I do therapy.
I’m not a philosopher, but I’m a metaphysics expert.
I’m not a doctor, but I solve illnesses.
At that point, the issue of wanting to help is no longer there.
What is happening is the stealing of authority and assuming a misleading identity.
To put it simply:
* If you access people’s most sensitive parts,
* If you make statements about mind, body, and soul,
* If you say I’m an expert, then you should also accept the corresponding obligation:
* Be based on solid and true knowledge,
* Be aware of ethical boundaries,
* Recognize your limitations,
* And in case it is necessary, be able to say This is not my field.
Why the Journey Matters, Not the Certificate
Expertise is a journey, not a document.
Your diploma is only the key to the door.
Expertise is walking for years behind that door.
That’s why:
If a person has first studied philosophy for 4 years, and then done 2 years of graduate work, maybe a PhD, if a person has spent 4 years studying sports science, and then got coaching licences and real field experience, and you want to take the same title with a two day course, you need to ask yourself:
Do I really love this field, or do I just love the image that comes with this field?
Because most of the time, what’s loved is:
Not knowledge, but the label, not depth, but looking impressive.
The Bottom Line: Expertise Doesn’t Happen in Two Days
The philosophical and psychological summary is this:
People sometimes try to cover their inferiority complex by joking that
I’m an expert too.
They also do it to inflate their ego when they say,
I didn’t study, but I’m better than them.
Moreover, some people feel better if they ridicule the one with degrees:
They don’t know that much either, actually.
But the truth remains the same:
Expertise does not happen in two days.
Labour does not take shortcuts.
A title comes with a demand for responsibility.
A philosopher, a scientist, a coach, a doctor, a true expert they uphold their title through years.
Not two days.
And indeed:
It is not only ridiculous to pretend that you can take over people who
have devoted years to a field with a two day certificate, but it is also labor
theft of morally problematic form.
We may, therefore, need to beginning stating that:
I’m interested in this field, I’m a beginner, I’ve taken these trainings, but I’m not an expert.
This phrase is much more valuable than the two day fake I’m an expert.
Because it contains honesty and the virtue of knowing oneself.
And real philosophy is precisely this:
When you stop lying to yourself.