Tag: philosophy

Moralism is the first step in an intellectual trajectory that cannot be reduced to moralism. It is necessary for the moralist to go a step further, and go beyond the findings coming from the analysis of the world: he must transform and detach from it if he wants to progress. But it is difficult to concentrate on evolving, overcoming, forgetting, by placing a stone over what once deserved attention; to do so seems like a betrayal of his own nature, a denial of the past, and a devaluation of what the mind has produced. Wrong judgments, however. Intellectual life is justifiable only as long as it moves, and the intellectual only as long as he allows himself to create.

It is only possible to progress spiritually and maintain tranquility when circumstances seem to force the opposite, in the belief that man always has a choice, even if it is given as a psychological reaction or as an inner posture. Contrary to what it may seem at first, determinism does not tranquilize and can only generate anguish towards an uncontrollable future that will fall upon the one who considers it reasonable; therefore, the determinist feels impotent before forces alien to his will. Very different is the feeling of someone who knows that, no matter what happens to him, there will always be the possibility of a response.

It is very difficult not to get carried away by mysticism when it offers us plausible answers to phenomena that otherwise seem to have no explanation. There is, of course, always the simplest option: deny and forget about them. But for those either curious or attracted by a vital need for answers, there is no simple option. At first, it is the eyes open; and then the mind struggling to justify what the eyes see. Here the mysticism, since it is unacceptable to reject both eyes and reason. The hard thing is to see that, in some cases, the mystical solution is only temporarily reassuring…

Life would be fairer if it were possible to plan it, or better yet, if we knew in advance its length. Then it would be infinitely simpler to balance, with intelligence, prudence and daring, detaching once and for all a possible cowardice from the first and an irresponsibility from the second. This is, in any case, a childish dream… and we have to live in the dark, so that the very words prudence and daring often become meaningless when viewed in perspective: I mean, how can we call prudent, for example, someone who saves money on the eve of death? We must, again and again, live in the dark, and this means that our ignorance can simply cancel out the effects of our reason.