An illusion, whenever destroyed, gives rise to an insult. This is why pessimism, exterminator of illusions par excellence, was and always will be insulted. A normal person cannot face it without revolt, without feeling assaulted and unjustly despoiled. And he cannot help taxing it not as an unpleasant, but as a criminal. If it cannot be refuted with logic, let it be with violence! Every pessimist has to be aware of the destructive effect of his words and of the reaction that, to a greater or lesser extent, he will naturally provoke. And then he must measure how strong is his need to express himself in the face of the reprisals he will suffer. Rationally, he will probably conclude that the former is unnecessary; but he will be unhappy if he feels obliged to pay in this life the debt he has contracted with the enemies of the multitudes.
Tag: philosophy
The Flame of Vocation
Perhaps it is really impossible to explain to an imbecile indoctrinated in psychoanalysis, who has devoted his entire life to the meanest interests, cultivated the most futile relationships, and has never witnessed a noble act, a courageous act of assumption that goes against what is convenient what this flame is, this active impulse that, once manifested in the spirit, draws a dividing line in the life of the one who experiences it. And it is also inevitable that a subject like the former uses the lens he possesses to judge others’ actions: how else could he do it? So the insult itself is inevitable, and perhaps has to be forgiven because it originates from an involuntary and insurmountable misunderstanding. On one side, we have an unbreakable resolution, a spirit willing to the ultimate consequences and to give up everything for the mission that seems to him the purpose of existence; we have a transformation sometimes so complete that it nullifies any identification with the past. On the other side, we have an ordinary man.
Perhaps Nothing Would Be as Beneficial…
Perhaps nothing would be as beneficial to modern philosophy as inserting literary exercises in the curricula of universities; that is, encouraging aspiring philosophers to write short stories, short poems perhaps, forcing them to transform philosophy into literature. Obviously, such an exercise would be a direct confrontation with what is today considered the only acceptable way to do philosophy. And that is why it would be so beneficial. It is not a matter of selling ideas through art, something abominable, but of clarifying the concrete role of philosophy, that is, inserting it in concrete questions, showing that there is a fundamental connection between it and life, the former not being reduced to a game of abstract constructions, a useless game for those who seek answers to real questions. Without a doubt, this would be a very useful exercise for students.
There Are Veiled Implications in the Personality…
There are veiled implications in the personality of the person who, through philosophy, reaches the rigidity of character of a Socrates, a Seneca, capable of facing their own death with serenity and indifference. The indifference of someone like this, in practice, cannot be understood by those who have not reached it, and this is why the discourse of such wise men tends to hurt. There is something unacceptably and frighteningly unnatural about this attitude, which only solidifies after the annihilation of a human dimension. May it be wisdom to shield oneself from the world, to be unaffected by any of its troubles; but this imperturbable marble, this materialization of passive pessimism, of not acting, not feeling, not wanting, and not suffering, although it achieves a victory of reason over instinct, simultaneously operates a human mutilation, and it is perhaps less painful, for those who cherish him and are around him, that he is never allowed to sing of such a victory.