Arquivo de philosophy | Page 113 of 116

Nietzsche and the Impotence of Language

Nietzsche was a critic of language. Wisely realized that it is only able to generalize, simplify the world and falsify the real. Pascal said something similar following the same logic: the essence, or the knowledge, is not liable to be put into words — or seized. For Nietzsche, language is a translation, and our cognitive apparatus gives us nothing but a perspective of reality, that is: we are not able to define the thing itself, and knowledge is a question of interpreting and seeking for master the chaos of appearance. Very well! Then I look around and only see convictions, truths, sensible opinions, grounded interpretations, empirical conclusions, all wrapped in an absolute maniqueism. Caution and doubt today are signs of weakness and lack of erudition. So I recognize my absolute incompatibility with my time and my deep contempt for the people around me.

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Hope: the Holy Hootch

If, by one side, hope is supreme stupidity, “the policy of the poor,” the “weed that eats all the other better plants” — paraphrasing Machado de Assis, — by the other side, hope is virtuous, indispensable, so that, abstaining from it, life easily appears unbearable to us. So, and then? What to decide? What to make of this holy hootch? Drink it or not? Of course, each of us should sip the amount one want most — treating abstinence and gluttony, as always, to point out who the imbeciles are.

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Chinese and Vanity

I have been a neighbor of a Chinese family’s for almost a decade. For this reason, I had the opportunity to meet and talk to more than a dozen of them. And recently, for no apparent reason, I began to articulate: it seems to me — I may well be mistaken… — that the Chinese, as a rule, is less vain than the Westerner. Deepening my investigation, I found that in China there is not, for example, political debate. Oh, look at that! I always thought that a world without political debates would be less rough and that, summarily, every debate of ideas is, rather, a war between vanity. And ordinary Chinese feel no need to see debaters vying for intelligence, proving to the public the wisdom of their own ideas! And ordinary Chinese do not turn on the radio to hear the political commentator say, “I have the best analysis!”, or to hear the economic commentator predict, “Such a measure will fail!”. Ordinary Chinese, it seems to me, makes taking care of their own life; and China, it seems to me, is hardly going to burst into debates, controversies, seeing hatred shed anywhere one looks, with its citizens in a fight, aggressive with each other, almost killing themselves by stupid personal opinions on issues that, not enough the ignorance, they do not keep them the slightest possibility of effective action. For a moment, I find ordinary Chinese superior to the greatest of our scholars.

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Poisonous Ideas

I have some very poisonous ideas, for example, this: I will only reach fullness on the day I cannot say the name of my country’s president. I confess, I have worked hard: I no longer read any news, I have not turned on a television in years, I cannot tell who won the Champions League and other exploits. But I know that fullness, peace of mind and wisdom will only come on the day one ask me: Who have you voted for senator? What do you think of the new bill? What did you think of the new ministerial composition? And for all these I do not answer except with a sarcastic smile on my face.

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