Tag: philosophy

Sadness manifests itself, bears fruit, and endures for as long as the state of paralysis resulting from an adverse situation lasts. By taking a step forward, that is, by moving, it is possible to leave it behind. Victory occurs when, shocked by adversity, the spirit decides to act—or rather, to react. It is the individuality manifesting itself, responding to the setback and, therefore, giving a new meaning to the experienced situation, which saddens for as long as it seems mistress of the being.

It would not be fair to compare Hegel to Heidegger. If there are similarities in form, they are limited to form: Heidegger is, in my benevolent days, the unparalleled model of an intellectual swindler. There is nothing impostor-like about Hegel: his defect, to tell the truth, is this German mania for wanting to scrutinize everything down to the last detail, this incapacity for powerful synthesis. It is a pity that The Phenomenology of the Spirit is three times longer than it should be: but there are undoubtedly many pages in it that are worthy of attention.

I go through the opening chapters of The Phenomenology of the Spirit imagining how much fun Hegel must have had while erecting his logical monument. It must really be a fun mental exercise to put all that reasoning together. For my part, however, if I ever set out to construct prose in this way with the intention of publishing it under my name, I promise not to do so without first burning everything I have published.

Conviviality is a wicked lady who forcibly corrupts morals and indoctrinates into vice. The one who coexists buys this lady using his own freedom as currency. He becomes someone worse, for sure. In this, modern psychology is infallible: there is a veiled convivial agreement that implies actions which, if not fulfilled, generate individual and collective discomfort. Moral evolution requires a break from this agreement, because it consists of a reaction to worldly instinct. Virtue, although practiced in the world, can only be conceived in solitude.