It is in my nature that I question everything said....or even proved. In that way I am just like Phoebe Buffet in "Friends"...Do you remember that show where Phoebe doesn't believe in Evolution, which totally freaks Ross out? Well, I do not believe in aliens like Phoebe, but she does have a point when pointing out that scientists have believed in many things throught the history, only to discover later that they were wrong (like when they thought that the atom was the smallest thing on Earth and then when "they opened it up, a whole lot of crap came out" - to quote Phoebs)...
Anyway, if we get back to language.....I read this book the other day about Jung's and Nietshce's theories....And I came across "reason"....It was mentioned on many occasions that reason should often be neglected and instincts followed. My question is, then, what exactly is REASON and how should we not "use" it? Maybe the word is misused. Let's check what the dictionary has to say:
Reason =Anyway, if we get back to language.....I read this book the other day about Jung's and Nietshce's theories....And I came across "reason"....It was mentioned on many occasions that reason should often be neglected and instincts followed. My question is, then, what exactly is REASON and how should we not "use" it? Maybe the word is misused. Let's check what the dictionary has to say:
1. objective, can be fixed by study...; has divine attributes (Plato, Aristotle)
2. subjective, to form concepts (time and space) that are the conditions of experience;
...
Reading about reason, I do not get a clear definition. I don't think there is one. The meaning of reason is, and that I am sure of, closely related to language, logic and consciousness. And precisely because of that, it's even more confusing when it is suggested that we "should turn our reason off" and follow our instincts. I don't understand this. I've always believed reason and instincts are interrelated. I am sure they are. Well, perhaps, reason is more a conscious thing and instinct is more a subconscious thing, and yet, I don't get it how you can simply "turn" one of them off. The problem probably lies in the way the authors convey that bizzare idea. Perhaps they should be more specific, or is it simply that I am incapable of grasping it?...
LANGUAGE itself, and specifically the MEANING of language (on my part - entailing very thoroug and specific definitions) is something to think about carefully.
Now to move to yet another dimension (even though the above one is not even close to being completed...), It's pretty awful when you think about it = we are BORN into set rules of expressing ourselves. And we haven't participated in making of any of these rules...And these set rules FORM our way of thinking. Let's say we feel something that is impossible to express in our language or any language for that matter. How do we get it out? We either look for it with the words/meanings we have at our disposal or we simply forget about it...or it forgets itself and waits somewhere in our subconsciousness - somewhere deep down there, trapped and unable to get to the surface of the self. So, basically, we are UNABLE to develop our true SELF. This really sucks! Now is the time to mention the word "freedom". I am not talking about freedom in the sense of human rights freedom...I am talking about freedom in the sense of having a free spirit, being free in the soul and mind. A long while ago, I read an interview with some Native American tribe, the name of which I cannot remember, and when a certain member of this tribe was asked how it feels to be free, he responded that he does not understand the word. He asked the interviewee to explain the word, and the interviewee found himself dumbfounded. He did not know how to explain the meaning of the word free. Are you surprised? Don't be, because the concept DOESN'T exist. Well, the concept DOES exist, but in reality, it is impossible. You CANNOT be free. And you are NOT FREE. I am not trying to be pessimistic here. Not at all. I am just analyzing the meaning of freedom.
I checked out the entries of the word freedom in several dictionaries. There are numerous definitions of the word. Yes, you can be free in terms of not being locked up. You can be free in terms of not being a slave, et cetera. But, let's have a look at the deeper meaning of being free, a philosophical meaning of the word, if you will.
The following entries of the word FREEDOM are from the online dictionaries (klick on definitions, and the link will take you to the website, where I found the definitions):
1. not determined by anything beyond its own nature or being : choosing or capable of choosing for itself
2. not obstructed, restricted, or impeded
3. exempt from external authority, interference, restriction, etc., as a person or one's will, thought, choice, action, etc.; independent; unrestricted.
4. the power to exercise choice and make decisions without constraint from within or without; autonomy; self-determination.
5. is the right to act according to ones will without being held up by the power of others. From a philosophical point of view, it can be defined as the capacity to determine your own choices.
I believe it is clear, at this point that the word is paradoxical, because one can NEVER be entirely free. You can never "act upon your will without being held up by the power of others or other "things". You are, and always will be dependent on SOMETHING. You will always be dependent on the food and water you need to survive. As I mentioned above, you are born into set rules of expressing yourself. So, you are never really free to express what you want (at this stage we probably aren't even conscious of our "buried" in the subconsciousness thoughts that might not be expressible in our languages). You are never free because you need to pay those bills, look after your house or apartment, use the cell-phone, use the train- and bus schedules, work from 8 to 5, ... you are never REALLY free because you have to LIVE (I am not implying that death is freedom. NO! I am just implying the ridiculousness of the usage of the word. It's paradoxical, in this world we live in, and totally useless. Here the emphasis is NOT on the other physical meanings of freedom, mind you! Freedom from slavery, for example., in which case the word freedom is must!). You have to live according to the set rules. You can't take a bus at ANY time you want. You must take it according to the schedules available. You can't eat once a month, because you would die of hunger. You can't work from 5 p.m. to 12 p.m. because the working hours are from 8 to 5. You can't harvest rye in December, because it grows in autumn. You can't walk on ceilings because of gravitation.
So, that Native American was ignorant about the word, and rightfully so. The word doesn't exist in his world, because the concept doesn't. And there is nothing wrong with that. I don't know why we invented it in the first place. Maybe under the pretense that it can make our lives easier. Maybe because we've created too many burdens for ourselves. We like to think we are free. It gives us comfort....One could go on and on about WHY we have the words FREE and FREEDOM in our world....But for now, I shall wrap this discussion up.
ta ta
T.
2. subjective, to form concepts (time and space) that are the conditions of experience;
...
Reading about reason, I do not get a clear definition. I don't think there is one. The meaning of reason is, and that I am sure of, closely related to language, logic and consciousness. And precisely because of that, it's even more confusing when it is suggested that we "should turn our reason off" and follow our instincts. I don't understand this. I've always believed reason and instincts are interrelated. I am sure they are. Well, perhaps, reason is more a conscious thing and instinct is more a subconscious thing, and yet, I don't get it how you can simply "turn" one of them off. The problem probably lies in the way the authors convey that bizzare idea. Perhaps they should be more specific, or is it simply that I am incapable of grasping it?...
LANGUAGE itself, and specifically the MEANING of language (on my part - entailing very thoroug and specific definitions) is something to think about carefully.
Now to move to yet another dimension (even though the above one is not even close to being completed...), It's pretty awful when you think about it = we are BORN into set rules of expressing ourselves. And we haven't participated in making of any of these rules...And these set rules FORM our way of thinking. Let's say we feel something that is impossible to express in our language or any language for that matter. How do we get it out? We either look for it with the words/meanings we have at our disposal or we simply forget about it...or it forgets itself and waits somewhere in our subconsciousness - somewhere deep down there, trapped and unable to get to the surface of the self. So, basically, we are UNABLE to develop our true SELF. This really sucks! Now is the time to mention the word "freedom". I am not talking about freedom in the sense of human rights freedom...I am talking about freedom in the sense of having a free spirit, being free in the soul and mind. A long while ago, I read an interview with some Native American tribe, the name of which I cannot remember, and when a certain member of this tribe was asked how it feels to be free, he responded that he does not understand the word. He asked the interviewee to explain the word, and the interviewee found himself dumbfounded. He did not know how to explain the meaning of the word free. Are you surprised? Don't be, because the concept DOESN'T exist. Well, the concept DOES exist, but in reality, it is impossible. You CANNOT be free. And you are NOT FREE. I am not trying to be pessimistic here. Not at all. I am just analyzing the meaning of freedom.
I checked out the entries of the word freedom in several dictionaries. There are numerous definitions of the word. Yes, you can be free in terms of not being locked up. You can be free in terms of not being a slave, et cetera. But, let's have a look at the deeper meaning of being free, a philosophical meaning of the word, if you will.
The following entries of the word FREEDOM are from the online dictionaries (klick on definitions, and the link will take you to the website, where I found the definitions):
1. not determined by anything beyond its own nature or being : choosing or capable of choosing for itself
2. not obstructed, restricted, or impeded
3. exempt from external authority, interference, restriction, etc., as a person or one's will, thought, choice, action, etc.; independent; unrestricted.
4. the power to exercise choice and make decisions without constraint from within or without; autonomy; self-determination.
5. is the right to act according to ones will without being held up by the power of others. From a philosophical point of view, it can be defined as the capacity to determine your own choices.
I believe it is clear, at this point that the word is paradoxical, because one can NEVER be entirely free. You can never "act upon your will without being held up by the power of others or other "things". You are, and always will be dependent on SOMETHING. You will always be dependent on the food and water you need to survive. As I mentioned above, you are born into set rules of expressing yourself. So, you are never really free to express what you want (at this stage we probably aren't even conscious of our "buried" in the subconsciousness thoughts that might not be expressible in our languages). You are never free because you need to pay those bills, look after your house or apartment, use the cell-phone, use the train- and bus schedules, work from 8 to 5, ... you are never REALLY free because you have to LIVE (I am not implying that death is freedom. NO! I am just implying the ridiculousness of the usage of the word. It's paradoxical, in this world we live in, and totally useless. Here the emphasis is NOT on the other physical meanings of freedom, mind you! Freedom from slavery, for example., in which case the word freedom is must!). You have to live according to the set rules. You can't take a bus at ANY time you want. You must take it according to the schedules available. You can't eat once a month, because you would die of hunger. You can't work from 5 p.m. to 12 p.m. because the working hours are from 8 to 5. You can't harvest rye in December, because it grows in autumn. You can't walk on ceilings because of gravitation.
So, that Native American was ignorant about the word, and rightfully so. The word doesn't exist in his world, because the concept doesn't. And there is nothing wrong with that. I don't know why we invented it in the first place. Maybe under the pretense that it can make our lives easier. Maybe because we've created too many burdens for ourselves. We like to think we are free. It gives us comfort....One could go on and on about WHY we have the words FREE and FREEDOM in our world....But for now, I shall wrap this discussion up.
ta ta
T.
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