Other Things Worthy of Your Time
Untitled Thoughts on Philosophy
5/23/04
There is understanding, and then there is truth. There is only one truth.
Philosophy is the belief in asking questions, even if they have no definite answers. It’s a very futile approach to life, but also the very most any man can do. It’s just proof of man’s futility anyway: the summit of man’s knowledge is a knowledge that’s altogether unsure and incomplete. Surety is not only flawed, but nonexistent.
Socrates realized the only thing he know for sure was that he knew nothing, after being declared the wisest man in the world. He came to this conclusion because he knew that all of his knowledge was based on his experience, and from learning things that other men had shown him. If he was the wisest man, yet only knew as much as lesser men than himself did, then he really didn’t—and couldn’t—know anything.
When Socrates asked a question, he knew that the answer depended on the perception and understanding of whoever he asked. The best answer he could come to then, was the common belief shared by everyone on the matter.
It’s necessary to realize ignorance, but tragic to accept it. We are stupid, so there’s no harm in acting like it. Why give up thinking and understanding because there’s an eventual limit to it? If this was the proper approach, why not just give up living? We’re teaching the act of being humble as the state of being to achieve, because it’s the truth. But people are then, as always, leaning on their own understanding and accepting a level of ignorance much lesser than that ultimate level that is complete human potential: knowing all you possibly can, even when it’s always going to be incomplete.
Understand by learning, but realize by thinking for yourself. That was the offering of Plato.
“Symposium” by Plato – The nature of love.
“The Apology” by Plato – Socrates’ speech and justification for his life at his trial.
Everything physical has an ethereal meaning outside of its mere being.
It is not being that is constant and ever existent but the state of being itself—reality. Everything in reality ceases to exist besides existence itself.
Utter control isn’t the answer, as people will always be independent by nature, and leaning towards the urge to resist. The only way anything can be achieved is if every individual singularly understands and embraces it for themselves.
We can achieve potential greatness while still remaining humble, as humbleness and futility are absolute anyway, regardless of whether or not you seek to break free of human circumstance and fail, or realize the eventual failure but still work towards it.
The ultimate success achieving the ultimate failure.
According to Aristotle, there are four parts to all things: the mere essence of it—the basic physical composition, the creation of it—the process or effort put forth into making it what it currently is, the perception of it—what it is known to be, and the understanding and meaning of it—the ‘why?’.
All physical existence exists because atoms come together to create that which exists. So, if a human and his body, heart, mind, experience, and knowledge is merely because of the certain combination of atoms that come together, after that person dies and those atoms disperse, wouldn’t it be possible for those atoms of experience and knowledge to, by chance, find each other again in an eternally existing universe?
Blah anyway, I still believe in a severed existence between body and mind. The mind will find something more when the body dies, and I’m still quite hoping and looking forward to the whole Pearly Gates theory.
NOTES
This was a Life as Written entry.