The Hedgehog's Dilemma Doesn't Exist

[Voyager1]

Throughout the show, the Hedgehog’s Dilemma is shown as a repeating theme, in layman’s terms, “The closer two hedgehogs become, the more the chances of hurting each other.” Some say it’s better to interact with people at the risk of being rejected than to live your life in loneliness. But what if it was the other way around?

Some people’s self esteem is built around interacting with people, feeling if they aren’t able to be sociable or social butterflies, that they are seen as inadequate human beings as we are often described as social creatures. But why choose to place yourself around people who you are sure will end up hurting you? If you were surrounded by a group, let's say, people who gossip, and mainly live off hearsay, and are easily prone to superstition.

The feeling of human connection doesn’t always garner harm, or rejection. Shinji was almost certain that by rejecting Instrumentality that Asuka would turn him away once again like she always has, and took that chance anyway. And in a surprising, albeit lackluster twist, she caresses his cheek. A sign of affection as ambiguous as her previous advances.

As such, Dr. Nerdlove once said in an interview, “The Hedgehog’s dilemma is only an illusion, one which people often give themselves to deem themselves unworthy of love.” And I can’t help but begin to wonder, is this true? To assume the risk of being rejected by embracing the potential for human connection is somewhat of a fatalistic point of view.

I would argue that there are in fact problems you CAN run away from, and don't need to feel any less manly or cowardly for doing so. Besides, would you try and fix a problem that couldn’t be solved? Philosophy has always sought to fix problems of beliefs, some of which lead to nowhere. As such, I believe the Hedgehog’s Dilemma leads to nowhere, but is rather circular logic, a problem that cannot be solved. The more you think about the dilemma, the more mental power it has over you.

Robin Williams once said, "I thought the worst thing was being alone. But it's being with people who make you feel lonely." I believe this quote applies to the dilemma.

Although the Hedgehog's Dilemma is mainly about finding warmth and comfort from another person at the risk of being hurt by their "quills", there really are some relationships that aren't worth keeping for the sake of seeking their warmth, knowing full well they'll end up hurting you again. Some people are better off left behind, and some relationships need to be let go of, in order to grow, to move forward.

Some say it's cowardly for people to run away from their problems instead of facing them, but just as their are some problems that cannot be fixed, riddles that cannot be solved, some people cannot be changed. Gendo won't change for Shinji no matter how hard he tries; it's a Dilemma not worth pursuing.

If someone were in an abusive relationship, would it be better to try and seek their warmth at the risk of being hurt by their "quills", or to leave them behind in search of a better life?

Shinji kept coming back to Gendo to feel his warmth, his validation, in the hopes he'd be appreciated, and treated like a son. But every he did it was in vain, Gendo was already gone; he had forsaken his humanity.

Gendo, while isolating himself from the rest of humanity as a Commander, he was also afraid of being alone, so much so he dedicated the rest of his life to forwarding the Human Instrumentality Project; even if it meant breaking the laws of reality. This isn’t just a dilemma, it’s a double edged sword. He was willing to isolate himself from humanity to become one with humanity; a paradox.

There are some problems in the world that cannot be solved, such as Gendo trying to reunite with his wife; Yui with whatever supersolenoid scientific methods he carried with as much desperation and cold calculation as he could. As such, we ultimately cannot solve human conflict, so long as individualism exists, conflict is inevitable. What matters is how we handle it.

Gendo, much like Shinji, used the Hedgehog’s dilemma as an excuse to keep himself from interacting with others, as he felt himself unworthy of affection in the absence of Yui. He was also willing to project it onto Shinji and exploit his son's own dilemma for his own personal gain. And as long as Shinji felt the need to feel his father's warmth, he would remain a mental slave to him.

So in Thrice Upon a Time, Shinji managed to overcome this predicament by realizing that he never truly needed Gendo's warmth to feel needed, which if you think about it is EXACTLY why Gendo showed him an injured Rei in the first installment; to guilt Shinji into thinking he was needed, that he was the only one who could truly pilot Unit 01 without anyone ever realizing Rei was a clone of many.

Gendo was able to solidify within Shinji a constant need of validation to prove himself worthy of affection and appreciation so long as he was needed to act as a pilot. “I mustn't run away” is not a one-size-fits-all belief, neither for that matter is it an inherently cowardly. In fact, I would argue that Anno’s Modus Operandi is a flawed philosophy in of itself in the world of Evangelion.

SEELE they never needed a pilot; but rather, a scapegoat, a catalyst, a perfect specimen for the Third Impact, one whose mind they could break down completely, a “hero” for the public eye.

Once the illusion was broken, so was Shinji's sense of purpose, direction, and validation, which all the more important why it was a good thing he was taken to Village-3 to recuperate and regain this feeling from another source; his own sense of worth as a human being.

And when Shinji did manage to find an emotionally healthy relationship with someone; what became of his own Hedgehog's Dilemma? Did it cease to function?

No philosophy is absolute, neither for that matter is the Hedgehog’s Dilemma, a belief which I believe is only as strong as the people who believe in it.