tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post9037214556841823188..comments2024-03-04T22:54:13.447+05:30Comments on Remains of the Day: Aphorisms on IntellectUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post-45523459622667565622010-04-26T10:01:26.943+05:302010-04-26T10:01:26.943+05:30Socrates said, "An unexamined life is not wor...Socrates said, "An unexamined life is not worth living." Mark Twain said, "The unexamined life may not be worth living, but the life too closely examined may not be lived at all." And I say, "A life too widely examined may not leave anything to live for."<br /><br />And I say, "A life too widely examined may not leave anything to die for." :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post-32017625382973837272010-04-20T09:20:10.266+05:302010-04-20T09:20:10.266+05:30Of course I can also distract myself, but what a c...Of course I can also distract myself, but what a comical situation. :-) It almost makes me laugh aloud.<br /><br />#Hey but think about it, life is nothing more than a fragile chemical system. On top of it an individual does not exist for almost all or eternity (past and future) except for a small blip. <br /><br />Could the distinguishing feature of this blip i.e. cognition be made this one blip could be better than the infinite death and unconsciousness which is our true nature.Eldudernonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post-92157120821256391062010-04-20T08:12:24.985+05:302010-04-20T08:12:24.985+05:30@Elduderno
You make me smile. :-)
If you can bea...@Elduderno<br /><br />You make me smile. :-)<br /><br /><i>If you can beat this</i><br /><br />That's what people are trying to do. :-) To be happy and distracted so that they can forget about the absurdity of it all.<br /><br />The base state, when you let things be, of a modern human being is ennui and boredom. It requires one to do something rather meaningless (like golf) to feel fulfilled and happy. That is the essence of the tragedy.<br /><br />Of course I can also distract myself, but what a comical situation. :-) It almost makes me laugh aloud.Harmanjit Singhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14714797381673153973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post-72383047722967207342010-04-20T08:05:01.729+05:302010-04-20T08:05:01.729+05:30How about this viewpoint, that death is zero, the ...How about this viewpoint, that death is zero, the absence of all affective states. If you can beat this then life is worth living, can you make at least every moment affect neutral and some affectively positive, if so life is better than death.ElDudernonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post-1479220899541245002010-04-20T06:21:38.211+05:302010-04-20T06:21:38.211+05:30Harman,
Thanks for the clarification. Indeed, I ...Harman,<br /><br />Thanks for the clarification. Indeed, I was mistaking your historical observation of modern progress as a value judgment on man's current condition. Modernity simply makes it easier for distraction, or, using Zapffe's metaphor, for the "flying machine" to stay airborne for longer and longer periods of time.<br /><br />We did, indeed, want this. The question I find to be of the utmost importance, however, is: was it inevitable? The answer to this question will have serious ramifications in regards to one's ethics.<br /><br />-MMS. Hallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07112749045283372233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post-40443947145129058722010-04-20T04:52:08.826+05:302010-04-20T04:52:08.826+05:30@MM:
From the Zapffe essay:
"A very popular...@MM:<br /><br />From the Zapffe essay:<br /><br />"A very popular mode of protection is distraction. One limits attention to the critical bounds by constantly enthralling it with impressions. This is typical even in childhood; without distraction, the child is also insufferable to itself. "Mom, what am I to do." A little English girl visiting her Norwegian aunts came inside from her room, saying: "What happens now?" The nurses attain virtuosity: Look, a doggie! Watch, they are painting the palace! The phenomenon is too familiar to require any further demonstration. Distraction is, for example, the 'high society's' tactic for living. It can be likened to a flying machine- made of heavy material, but embodying a principle that keeps it airborne whenever applying. It must always be in motion, as air only carries it fleetingly. The pilot may grow drowsy and comfortable out of habit, but the crisis is acute as soon as the engine flunks."<br /><br />People are becoming more and more self-sufficient (in that they don't /want/ human company, but only a reflection of themselves in the virtual world). This is indeed what we wanted and we got it. The question is not whether we are "happy now?" but whether this is what we wanted.<br /><br />And I am saying: we did want this. And we got it. The iphone carrying bored adolescent is the Have, the temple-praying one or the one sitting by the river playing with a stick is the Have-not.<br /><br />You may say you want be be the latter, but what does the vast majority want?Harmanjit Singhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14714797381673153973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post-6646705085502392692010-04-20T04:44:38.354+05:302010-04-20T04:44:38.354+05:30Maybe in the end it boils down to the seemingly na...<i>Maybe in the end it boils down to the seemingly naive statement "life is about balance".</i><br /><br />I wholly agree, but what enables that balance? What is the push and pull that keeps one being too blissful and too depressed to disregard the world?<br /><br />That is ... not surprisingly ... the human condition. :-)<br /><br />The philosophies of bliss are denials of the human condition. But of course.Harmanjit Singhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14714797381673153973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post-61338311793602313022010-04-20T04:36:03.477+05:302010-04-20T04:36:03.477+05:30You seem to have have gone from a philosophy of ab...You seem to have have gone from a philosophy of absolute bliss to absolute despair. Maybe in the end it boils down to the seemingly naive statement "life is about balance".Pankajhttp://pankajunk.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post-8052609226356791212010-04-20T04:35:24.621+05:302010-04-20T04:35:24.621+05:30How do you define progress here? It seems to me th...<i>How do you define progress here? It seems to me that the techno-addicted younger generation are merely using modern tools available for, what Zapffe would call, distraction. How is this technology-obsessed busyness progressive over any other form of busyness that mankind has used throughout the centuries to subdue the horrors of conscienceness? Repeating history is hardly progressive, don't you think?</i><br /><br />Modernity is the progression of our life and pleasures to be more autonomous than communal. In that sense, it is indeed progress to not depend on anybody and play with one's gadgets to fill up one's time and to thereby feel pleasantly distracted. I am not saying that I like this kind of progress (progress here is not a value judgment, but a historical trajectory of the intellect), but that today's generation is the most autonomous and bereft of tradition. They don't /believe/ in anything.<br /><br />The further progress will be to not need gadgets as well but to pipe the distraction and pleasures right into the brain.<br /><br />Now you may say that that is an unhealthy state, and I will agree with you.<br /><br />What else is technology for, except to make us more autonomous and less dependent on others? To give us more choice and power and control?Harmanjit Singhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14714797381673153973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post-10107929722529569702010-04-20T01:21:09.394+05:302010-04-20T01:21:09.394+05:30"I may also suggest to you the first part of ..."I may also suggest to you the first part of "Man's search for meaning" by Victor Frankl. It contains the rather insightful quote by Nietzsche: "He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how."<br /><br /><br />'Man's search for meaning' is a great reading. And it only supports my belief (meaning if you may call it) that the attitude and the basic human emotions add more meaning to our lives than other things. We need food for our brain (intellectual examination) but the food for body and food for mind are equally important.<br /><br /><br />"To be asking the question whether one's meaning of life is valid is an invitation to alienation. :-)"<br /><br />It is not a question to validate one's meaning of life but to sense whether 'others' see any meaning in 'their' lives on similar lines. <br /><br />But seems that you do agree with me in a style that looks more like disagreement :-)itsmenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post-14191447312260604772010-04-19T23:50:44.394+05:302010-04-19T23:50:44.394+05:30Harman,
I'm really enjoying your recent outpu...Harman,<br /><br />I'm really enjoying your recent output. I'm looking forward to your follow-up on this one.<br /><br />You wrote: "Despite all the gadgets, the modern intellect has no leisure. The older generation derides it, but it is a sign of progress..."<br /><br />How do you define progress here? It seems to me that the techno-addicted younger generation are merely using modern tools available for, what Zapffe would call, distraction. How is this technology-obsessed busyness progressive over any other form of busyness that mankind has used throughout the centuries to subdue the horrors of conscienceness? Repeating history is hardly progressive, don't you think?<br /><br />-MMS. Hallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07112749045283372233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post-77295712146212193322010-04-19T14:18:00.437+05:302010-04-19T14:18:00.437+05:30What are your thoughts on the purpose of life base...<i>What are your thoughts on the purpose of life based on attachment to the loved ones and the relationships keeping a man occupied (if not satisfied) so there is some meaning in life to solve the mysteries of bonds as well along with the mysteries of the whole universe.</i><br /><br />If you have understood the article, you wouldn't be asking this question. To be asking the question whether one's meaning of life is valid is an invitation to alienation. :-)<br /><br />Regarding the "balance" between intellect and emotions, that is precisely the balance between revolution and tradition.<br /><br />I may also suggest to you the first part of "Man's search for meaning" by Victor Frankl. It contains the rather insightful quote by Nietzsche: "He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how."Harmanjit Singhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14714797381673153973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post-72566659130721733362010-04-19T13:57:43.054+05:302010-04-19T13:57:43.054+05:30"I am suggesting, faith in Something (it need..."I am suggesting, faith in Something (it need not be God (tm)) may be what holds a person's life together. If there is no overarching context, then a contextual misfortune such as divorce, loss of a loved one, loss of house/job, can make one bereft of a reason to live and hence suicidal"<br /><br />Agree with this part. <br />What are your thoughts on the purpose of life based on attachment to the loved ones and the relationships keeping a man occupied (if not satisfied) so there is some meaning in life to solve the mysteries of bonds as well along with the mysteries of the whole universe.<br /><br />"but he doesn't realize technology is the application of intellect, what can be done about the intellect? It will reinvent the wheel and the spaceship and then wonder "why?"<br /><br />Agree with this as well and feel that the intellectual mind will stay busy in wondering and reinventing. But at the same time, only intellect will not drive the need to live, emotions also play a part and the intellect and emotions go hand in hand and make life meaningful. An intellectual mind will exhaust itself if it doesn't let it flow on and off in the sea of normal human emotions/drives. (The love-making example that you have provided makes sense here). Relationships are more basic and real-life experiences than playing golf for example.<br />Similarly a person will go mad if only letting himself flow in emotions and not allowing himself to challenge his brain or use his intellect.<br />So when there is that balance, life may 'seem' to be meaningful even without an overarching faith in something. <br />But these are my thoughts and I am relatively a simple human being (one out of the vast majority) and dont know how well they apply to intellectuals :-)!itsmenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post-86455587984858890092010-04-19T06:27:04.294+05:302010-04-19T06:27:04.294+05:30@itsme
I would question the statement that beleiv...@itsme<br /><br /><i>I would question the statement that beleiving in God has something to do with the meaning of life. </i><br /><br />"God" is that overarching meaning of life that is beyond the grasp of intellect. Contextual meanings, in the examples you provide, can sustain you if you don't question them. In the end, I am suggesting, faith in Something (it need not be God (tm)) may be what holds a person's life together. If there is no overarching context, then a contextual misfortune such as divorce, loss of a loved one, loss of house/job, can make one bereft of a reason to live and hence suicidal.<br /><br /><i>That invention may not be new gadgets, but may be a discovery of another way of life.</i><br /><br />Short of a 2001-esque journey to the stars which reveals our cosmic purpose in a grand way (which is a fantasy), I don't see much hope of that. What is the cosmic purpose of ants on an anthill? I believe Zapffe is not far off the mark when he says that an overdeveloped intellect is like the counterproductive antlers of a deer, which can lead to little else but extinction as a species.<br /><br />Somebody suggests that I should play Golf. I.e., to invent a goal.<br /><br />I recommend to you paras 39 and 40 of the Unabomber's manifesto ( http://cyber.eserver.org/unabom.txt ). He rails against technology, and suggests burning of books, but he doesn't realize technology is the application of intellect, what can be done about the intellect? It will reinvent the wheel and the spaceship and then wonder "why?"Harmanjit Singhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14714797381673153973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post-35245765510911039792010-04-19T01:14:27.261+05:302010-04-19T01:14:27.261+05:30harman
I enjoyed reading this and the questions r...harman<br /><br />I enjoyed reading this and the questions raised by you. A few things that I want to say:<br /><br />1. I would question the statement that beleiving in God has something to do with the meaning of life. <br />I think these two are unrelated. A vast majority of beleivers are unaware of the meaning of thier life and what they are living for. Being an atheist and having known others without that belief in God, i have known that there is still a lot of meaning in one's life which is highly contextualized. <br />Let's talk about what people live for in a layman's language. For example, meaning of life for a small businessman may be his vision of growth of his business. For a homely woman it could be the dream to see her children prosperous and happy. For an intellectual, it could be publishing his books on philosophy etc.<br />So I see the God and meaning of life independent of each other.<br /><br />2. Having said that, i guess the larger question that you raised is that in this age of intellect where people (like you!) are examining and questioning life and its meaning, is that examination yielding hollowness and negativety about life? <br />Look at it this way. Children are curious in nature. they question things and thats how they learn and grow. Similarly, human minds are curious. They question things, challenge beleifs and invent new things to replace the old. Thats how human minds grow over the years. So if today, some intellectuals are quetioning very basic things about life, it may take the human mind to next level of growth. Maybe the conclusion will be to let go of conventional beleifs and conventional ways of entertainment etc, but thats not where the examination will end, eventually there will be invention or discovery, to replace what is not fulfilling by what is fulfilling for the intellectual mind. That invention may not be new gadgets, but may be a discovery of another way of life.<br /><br />Wat say?itsmenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7037385.post-40616507219855176372010-04-18T18:48:47.962+05:302010-04-18T18:48:47.962+05:30Harman,
One of the most important rules of Hollyw...Harman,<br /><br />One of the most important rules of Hollywood screenwriting is that the protagonist should always be active. He should have a goal, something to accomplish. This desire propels the film forward, and engages the audience. Without this, there would be no story, no film.<br /><br />Reading between the lines, Hollywood has given movie-goers a safe philosophy for life. The ultimate cliche.<br /><br />-MMS. Hallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07112749045283372233noreply@blogger.com