The fact that orientalism has become fashionable in the West in the last century and, as is to be expected of fashions, has corrupted the virtues of its object, has not changed the fact that, for the Westerner, the Orient can be extremely instructive and even enchanting. Because, despite the fashions, the contrasts remain and, despite the fashions, the lessons remain. This positive side, more than ever, must be emphasized; perhaps it must even be admitted that, thanks to fashion, there are now a number of translations that would have been unthinkable two centuries ago. Ancient wisdom has the advantage of solidity: it can be distorted as much as one likes, but the texts remain as they are.
The Historian of Philosophy Can Very Well…
The historian of philosophy can very well trace the course of currents of thought over the decades, identifying trends here and there, and see them as shaping the results that he identifies. In doing so, one has a view perhaps not of the evolution of thought, but of the origin of ideas, of what kind of stimulus encourages them and what kind of stimulus they respond to. This is certainly beneficial; however, the historical panorama is insufficient for the intellectual to be able to claim to be the master of such developments. In order to do this, he needs to experience the process from the inside, take on the ideas put forward as his own and let them take the path they want within him. This may not be possible for all philosophical problems, but especially for the most current ones, this exercise usually leads to very different conclusions from those that spring up with an air of immediate consecration.
Psychological States
It’s curious how the mind, despite not knowing the limits to the intensity with which it experiences its states, can hardly reconstitute them accurately. It is much easier to recall acts committed, even if these have generated less intense psychological effects, or even none at all. This seems to show that psychological states only make a mark insofar as they induce some real action; and it is this, after all, that makes them recallable. A very useful precept can be drawn from this: when we want a state of mind to last, we have to act under its influence; when we want to forget it, we just have to entrust its dissipation to inaction.
When One Really Matures…
When one really matures, as time subtracts, as responsibility increases and the past acquires weight and volume, one also acquires the ability to detach oneself from accessories until, finally, life becomes simpler. This process, however, depends on the ability to understand and see oneself proportionally in the panorama of existence, something that naturally results in a fair sizing up, without exaggeration or too much modesty, of what one can and should do.