Yeti Warlord's Note: Originally posted 22 July 2007. From time to time Nest of Wonders will present the very best of my old blog entries (only! not all, I promise) for your reading enjoyment and to preserve it in a more durable web format. Not a word has been altered.
The Highest Wisdom lies not in the obscure, the arcane, the recherché, but in the elementary, the Kindergarten, the first principles we teach to children.
For philosophy lately, I've been reading Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra; here and there also, I've been picking my way through the Existentialist ideas of Jean-Paul Sartre. If there is a fusion between the two, that is pretty much where I stand philosophically. Authenticity over Bad Faith; the focussed power of the Will versus lackadaisical velleity.
For philosophy lately, I've been reading Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra; here and there also, I've been picking my way through the Existentialist ideas of Jean-Paul Sartre. If there is a fusion between the two, that is pretty much where I stand philosophically. Authenticity over Bad Faith; the focussed power of the Will versus lackadaisical velleity.
These are not pedestrian ideas and I'm not suggesting that I am anything other than a student and ardent disciple of the obscure, the arcane, and the recherché. It seems to me that the limitless expansion of these ideas is a worthy and dutiful endeavour of the academic world.
But when it comes down to brass tacks, the purpose of these ideas is to define an ideal life and thereby make people into better versions of themselves. The ultimate expression of this must then be found not in post-doctoral work but in preschool: the care and education of young children, teaching children love by example. First principles.
One of my biggest heroes is Mr Fred Rogers.
This isn't, however, the point where I descend into saccharine platitudes beneath the dignity of these ideas. I will not encourage you to 'look through the eyes of a child,' nor 'believe the children are our future,' nor offer the sugar-coated anti-intellectualism hidden in the notion that "Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarden".
I believe this is a hard world, tough as cold steel and old and sometimes rotten. But I believe in my soul that my Mother Earth, for all this, is a grand dame, a proud good lady. Her most difficult lesson is Love. The pain, the agony, the humiliation it takes to say someone is special just for being who she is, or who he is, is a lesson requiring such courage and dedication that most people just barely succeed, and often fail. I do. A lot of adults stop trying, never having learnt despite years of practice. I hope I never.
It is because this world is so tough that the lesson is so valuable, and must come first. Love.
But when it comes down to brass tacks, the purpose of these ideas is to define an ideal life and thereby make people into better versions of themselves. The ultimate expression of this must then be found not in post-doctoral work but in preschool: the care and education of young children, teaching children love by example. First principles.
One of my biggest heroes is Mr Fred Rogers.
This isn't, however, the point where I descend into saccharine platitudes beneath the dignity of these ideas. I will not encourage you to 'look through the eyes of a child,' nor 'believe the children are our future,' nor offer the sugar-coated anti-intellectualism hidden in the notion that "Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarden".
I believe this is a hard world, tough as cold steel and old and sometimes rotten. But I believe in my soul that my Mother Earth, for all this, is a grand dame, a proud good lady. Her most difficult lesson is Love. The pain, the agony, the humiliation it takes to say someone is special just for being who she is, or who he is, is a lesson requiring such courage and dedication that most people just barely succeed, and often fail. I do. A lot of adults stop trying, never having learnt despite years of practice. I hope I never.
It is because this world is so tough that the lesson is so valuable, and must come first. Love.
No comments:
Post a Comment