Solitude in itself is far from evil. What is bad about it is the absence of good company and good examples, which are so often decisive in an education. It is true that, to a certain extent, it takes an inclination to endure it willingly; but even for those who have it, it cannot be underestimated how much they lose by not being able to surround themselves with influences that would naturally, inevitably make them better. In more extreme cases, this absence produces regrettable results.
Tag: philosophy
At Least One Lesson Can Be Learned…
At least one lesson can be learned from skeptics: clinging passionately to a belief is almost always foolish; the best thing is always serenity, in the face of doubts and certainties. To cling is often to close oneself off, adding to the belief a feeling that time amplifies, to the point where, at the slightest setback, a violent reaction is displayed. At the end, not knowledge, even if it is present, but only emotion manifests itself.
The Man Who Needs to Understand Reality…
The man who needs to understand reality and understand himself in order to make an attempt at integration will be a stranger. And he will feel more like a stranger the more he understands about reality and himself, the more he becomes convinced that what he knows is too little, and that he cannot accept reality just because it is. At the same time, he will be attacked from all directions because of his incapacity for passive adaptation, and will end up stigmatized for being what he is. He will therefore face great and unique difficulties because he cannot get rid of his predisposition. Only with luck will the world seem less than hostile to him. And despite all this, and despite how much he faces and how much he suffers, his unhappiness will only be guaranteed and complete if he fails to do his duty.
More Striking Than This Permanent Need…
More striking than this permanent need for guidance, so characteristic of philosophers, which leads them to an investigation that only ends with death, is the fact that many, as soon as they undertake it, are satisfied with the answers they find and quietly stop investigating. In other words: knowledge, which, as is well known, the more it grows, the more it opens up the unknown, and therefore the more it raises questions, the more it instigates study, the more it broadens the field of investigation, does not have a similar effect on some minds. It is very difficult not to resort to a predisposition to justify it, and to validate Ortega y Gasset’s observation that a philosopher is simply the one who cannot be anything else.