That's an interesting way to put it! If I had said it, it would have been vanity. :P
I was thinking of the sense of individualist anarchists (and Thoreau, perhaps), and of hermits. I don't think vanity would figure into that :) If anything, excessive belief in one's own abilities would make it harder to be self-sufficient, which I think one would have to be to interact with humanity on one's own terms alone.
What I have to add is that such a transformation, from my experience and those related by others, cannot be designed to produce a specific outcome.
Not of an outer design, no, but it might be possible to focus on those parts of oneself that is conducive to dealing with society. If one has a weak point, one might still be able to train it, as it were. If personality doesn't want to give (or one would have to betray one's sense of self and identity to "align"), though, the next follows...
I think it could just as easily produce less alignment, which seems to manifest as asceticism and a hermetic life. More, I can't say that alignment is consistently worthwhile: there are people who would benefit from less inner alignment: for instance, some who unknowingly sacrifice much in order to adapt to humanity, or who demand that all others do the same.
I wouldn't call that realignment, either. If one forces oneself into humanity despite not feeling it as right, there's a tension. If the realignment was proper and actually worked, there would be no (or little) tension, and so it isn't. I agree about the latter, too: some changes to fit society can come with too high a price.
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I was thinking of the sense of individualist anarchists (and Thoreau, perhaps), and of hermits. I don't think vanity would figure into that :) If anything, excessive belief in one's own abilities would make it harder to be self-sufficient, which I think one would have to be to interact with humanity on one's own terms alone.
What I have to add is that such a transformation, from my experience and those related by others, cannot be designed to produce a specific outcome.
Not of an outer design, no, but it might be possible to focus on those parts of oneself that is conducive to dealing with society. If one has a weak point, one might still be able to train it, as it were. If personality doesn't want to give (or one would have to betray one's sense of self and identity to "align"), though, the next follows...
I think it could just as easily produce less alignment, which seems to manifest as asceticism and a hermetic life. More, I can't say that alignment is consistently worthwhile: there are people who would benefit from less inner alignment: for instance, some who unknowingly sacrifice much in order to adapt to humanity, or who demand that all others do the same.
I wouldn't call that realignment, either. If one forces oneself into humanity despite not feeling it as right, there's a tension. If the realignment was proper and actually worked, there would be no (or little) tension, and so it isn't. I agree about the latter, too: some changes to fit society can come with too high a price.