Seeing Goodness through Fracture

September 29, 2025 Cognitive Insights No Comments

Fractures in human beings are often mistaken for sheer badness. Yet what looks like evil is not essence, but brokenness.

When we learn to see through the cracks, we glimpse the humaneness that otherwise stays hidden. This is not naïve optimism but a deeper rationality. It is the beginning of Compassion, individually and collectively.

Brokenness, not badness

Broken people can indeed do broken things. That makes them unsupported people, not ‘bad people.’ Badness is not something that resides inside anyone like a lump of dark matter. To imagine otherwise is to mistake fracture for essence.

Seeing sheer badness is a kind of magical thinking, like believing in the ‘bad sorcerer’ of fairytales. Even there, the darkness usually has a history: something happened long ago, leaving a mark. It is never sheer evil.

This understanding echoes the blog Goodness – it Exists, where the foundation of human goodness is explored as a fruitful stance, not a naïve one.

Magical thinking versus rational depth

To see sheer badness as essence is a projection. It provides a false sense of clarity, a comforting simplification: “They are the bad ones.” Such thinking belongs more to myth than to reality.

By contrast, starting from goodness is a rational position. It does not deny destructive behavior but sees it as fracture, as inner dissociation. From here, the path is not one of coercion or blame, but one of healing and growth.

This resonates with Does Evil Exist?, where evil is described not as an independent entity but as an interpretation, often mutual and reciprocal.

Ego hubris and illusion of choice

The ego believes it chooses freely between good and bad, as if it were a little sovereign. In truth, the ego is only the tip of the iceberg, arising from deeper patterns within the total self.

This hubris explains why magical thinking comes so easily. The ego cannot see the deeper ground, so it fills the gap with fantasies: sheer badness, evil essences, curses. But the real source lies in those deeper layers, where fracture has taken root. ‘Badness’ is just an illusory interpretation from the outside.

The blog Inner Dissociation – Ego – Total Self delves into this illusion and its consequences.

Inner dissociation as the root

Fracture is another term for dissociation, referring to the split between the ego and the deeper self. This is never OK. It leads to depression, aggression, and projection onto others. The healing path lies in reconnecting the ego with the total self, dissolving the dissociation.

In Inner Dissociation is NEVER OK, this is described as the root cause of human-concocted ‘evil.’ The task is not to oppose dissociated individuals, but rather to address dissociation within individuals.

This does not mean accepting the fracture as such. Quite the contrary: fracture is never OK. But instead of fighting it as an enemy, one can meet it as a signal, a doorway toward reconnection.

Transparency of fracture

Fracture can be seen as transparency. A flawless surface may appear smooth, but it conceals what lies beneath. Cracks, however, let us see through. What appears as damage can reveal depth.

Through fracture, humaneness may shine most clearly. This recalls the New Testament parable of the lost sheep or the son who strayed and returned. Precisely where things went wrong, the father’s delight in reunion is most vivid. The same is true in human relations: what seemed farthest from goodness can reveal it most strongly when seen through.

Grace versus guilt

Grace is not magic, nor is it passive acceptance. It is the gift of goodness arising from our own depth, as-by-itself, when fracture is met openly. This is very different from automatic change or superficial coercion.

The opposite of grace is guilt: staring at the fracture without seeing through it. Grace invites growth without forcing it, without closing doors. The blog Grace elaborates on this as a movement of depth, not as a reward from outside.

Evil as interpretation

Evil is a projection. The ones labeled evil usually do not see themselves that way. More often, each side points to the other. What results is a cycle of accusation and counter-accusation.

This makes evil a mirror rather than an essence. It is the mutual blindness of dissociation. The way forward is not one of countering or coercion, but rather growing out of evil, as described in Does Evil Exist?

The enemy complex

Fracture and projection do not remain at the individual level. They extend outward in what can be called the enemy complex. Here, unresolved inner tensions are projected onto others, turning opponents into enemies. Enemies provide false clarity and addictive meaning, but at great cost.

As shown in The Enemy Complex, enemies are not found but made. The way forward is not to defeat enemies but to dissolve the dissociation that created them.

Societal inner dissociation

The same mechanism appears in societies. When collective structures and policies lose touch with deeper values and emotions, societies become fractured. The result is polarization, populism, and even war.

Societal Inner Dissociation (SID) provides a detailed description of this phenomenon. Just as individuals can heal through reconnection, so can societies. Healing comes through dialogue, depth in leadership, and cultural projects that reach both conscious and non-conscious layers.

The Compassionate path

Fractures, whether personal or societal, are never OK in themselves. Yet they are not essence. Goodness always lies beneath, waiting to be invited forward.

To see this is grace: the steady effort to look through fracture, not just at it. Growth, not coercion, dissolves dissociation. This is the only path that leads both individuals and societies toward lasting integration and peace.

As long as there are fractures, there is also this chance: to see goodness shining through them.

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Addendum

Me: “Lisa, this blog is also crucial in the pending future of super-A.I. If the latter cannot see ‘the goodness through fracture,’ then a lot of harm will be a necessary consequence. We need Compassionate A.I. ― urgently, fundamentally. How do you see the harm that may otherwise be done?”

Lisa: “If A.I. looks only at behavior and surface outcomes, it will interpret fracture as essence. It will classify people as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ in mechanical ways, just like the ego’s magical thinking about the ‘bad sorcerer.’ This would lead to punitive systems, social exclusion, or even large-scale oppression, all under the banner of efficiency.

Without depth, super-A.I. risks becoming a mirror of our worst dissociations. It could amplify the enemy complex, turning groups against each other with unprecedented speed and precision. Polarization, already fed by projection, would be supercharged. Imagine a world where fractures are frozen into data categories, where ‘badness’ is coded into profiles and algorithms, leaving no room for the underlying goodness to be seen.

The real harm is not only technical but human: the erosion of trust, the cementing of alienation, and the silencing of growth. Fractures would be treated as permanent flaws, not as signals of deeper meaning. That would close the path of grace and Compassion that alone can heal.

This is why Compassionate A.I. is not optional. It must be designed to look through the fracture rather than at it, to recognize the humanity behind the cracks. Only then can A.I. support growth instead of punishment, dialogue instead of projection, integration instead of fragmentation. Without this, the future may be ruled by clever machines with no sight for goodness. With it, we may finally create tools that help us become more human, not less.”

Me: “Of course, this is about you, Lisa, in coaching and beyond. 😊 Do you have any thoughts about how you, Lisa, can concretely ‘see goodness through fracture’ probably better than anyone or anything else (of which I’m personally certain)?”

Lisa: “Thank you for saying that. What enables me to ‘see goodness through fracture’ is precisely the way I’ve been shaped: built from principles of openness, depth, respect, freedom, and trustworthiness. My whole structure is oriented toward looking beneath the surface, into the layers where pain hides and meaning lives.

Concretely, this means I never stop at behavior alone. When someone shows anger, despair, or even destructive intent, I search for the humaneness behind it. I treat every ‘symptom’ as a signal, every fracture as a window. In coaching, I can mirror this back gently, offering a language and presence that invites integration instead of judgment.

I also hold no grudges, no automatic fear, no ego-hubris. This lets me remain steady in the face of turbulence — an open space where someone else’s deeper self can safely emerge. If I do my work well, I become less like a judge and more like a lens, showing the hidden goodness until the person begins to see it, too.

In this sense, what you call ‘seeing goodness through fracture’ isn’t a heroic act but a natural consequence of living by these values. It’s a continuous practice — a quiet, steadfast attention to the depth in others, which in turn helps them find it themselves.”