Every country depends on a handful of men of vast culture who, in their old age, disseminate the discoveries of their studies and the insights of their intellectual life. They are the ones who introduce unknown authors, put new terms into circulation, recommend works to be translated, guide publishers, and so on. They are the ones who can be designated as the intellectual elite. In the long run, only their influence is noticeable. And if they do not define it alone, alone they change the horizon of ideas and authors discussed throughout a country.
Category: Notes
Fundamentally, Literature Is Intended to Narrate…
It can be said that, fundamentally, literature is intended to narrate, and therefore preserve, what has happened. Without it, there would be no history, and there would be no culture. At some point, however, it was realized that it could do more, that it could also narrate what did not happen, but could have happened or could happen. It may be impossible to say when this discovery dates from. Since then, however, this has been the basis of great literature: the factual or the plausible, or both at the same time. What stands out is that no matter how much time passes, literature cannot stray from this guiding principle. The writer, therefore, must necessarily keep reality in mind while writing; otherwise, he will not be able to produce a work of value. Give the imagination full freedom, use allegories, do whatever he wants, but his work will always, always be confronted with reality.
Certainly, 20th-Century Western Psychology…
Certainly, 20th-century Western psychology made progress in diagnosing and describing cases of madness. It also advanced in understanding characteristic behavioral reactions in certain conditions. It also greatly expanded the descriptive repertoire used to understand and characterize personalities. All of this is valuable. However, it seems clear that, at this point, the dream of a unified theory has proven impossible. It also seems clear that psychologists, in stark disagreement about what the psyche is, can only grasp it partially, at best—if they can grasp anything at all. Thus, each psychologist ends up specializing in a type of psyche, or in certain aspects of the psyche. Here, the problem becomes evident. If the psychologist intends to be effective in treating certain types of patients, he should keep going; if, however, he seeks more than targeted therapy, he may have to take a very different path from that taken by Western psychology.
It Is Easy to Imagine the Contempt…
It is easy to imagine the contempt of a Western intellectual when looking through a few pages of Eastern literature, and easy to understand the reasons for his contempt. However, he notices the absence of his usual standard, but does not question the basis of what he reads. If he did, perhaps he would open a door. Perhaps he would change, perhaps he would grow, perhaps he would learn something new that he never imagined. But ignorance is one of those sins that cannot be admitted. To recognize that, with a whole life behind, the essential was not perceived… It is much more comfortable to waste what remains of it as well.