Tag: philosophy

The man who nurtures the ideal of freedom tends to become very bitter, because freedom is never complete and sometimes it only appears in conjunction with a restriction. It is pointless trying to solve the problem: in everything there is the undefined and the determined. Man is free within certain conditions and under certain aspects from which he can never fully free himself. To believe that one day he will finally be able to do so is simply stupid. But there are choices that cannot be given up; there are essential freedoms. Only to these should attention be directed.

Parallel to the feeling that the world demands an individual response to the circumstances imposed on it, there runs, sometimes latent, sometimes manifest, the certainty that the world, in truth, is indifferent: it demands nothing and expects nothing from anyone. This gives rise to an unbearable feeling of helplessness in some people, which leads to inertia and demotivation. The problem is certainly in the world: it is in having it as an arbiter, in wanting to have it as a friend, in demanding rewards from it. It is clear that all this stems from an inner maladjustment. Being indifferent to indifference is not enough, nor does it solve anything; what is enough is to have something stable as the basis of motivation.

The first thing the student should bear in mind when starting to investigate any subject is: everything that has already been affirmed, has already been refuted; everything that has already been praised, has already been criticized; everything that has already been taken as a rule, has already been violated; and for every example of a given theory, a given current, a given style or a given inclination, it is possible to find a contrary example. This is fundamental for the student to be cautious and never open a book expecting an end point. Good learning is stimulating, it encourages more study and not less, it moves rather than paralyzes.

It is crazy that one has gone so far as to say and admit that philosophy is an occupation for those who like “abstract arguments”. This shows just how corrupting universities are. If nothing else, the etymology of the word should be enough to refute the nonsense. But, in truth, the new definition is far more accurate in portraying the modern wave of philosophers, who are much more fond of argument than of knowing. Academic practice has created this new type, denying outsiders the credentials to exercise the old occupation. It must be hard having to take them seriously in exchange for a monthly payment…