Quote:
Originally Posted by boagie  eternalstudent 
I am a fraid I have pulled a frightful error, in trying to respond to your post to that Byron quote, first my response came up under your name and then when I tried to remove it, I am fraid I deleted the entire post. I am new at this you might have gathered, at anyrate you have my apology, I fear that post is in cyberspace somewhere. If your interested, here is the intended response to your post.
Jim G, 
The quote it is true has the individual in mind, when you speak of biological extensions/ scaffolding, forming culture you are speaking of the benifits to humanity in general, not really personal/ as of the individual. I would think however that an individual would have difficutly living life through an entirely secondary means--as often prisoners do. All in all I think Byron did pretty good for a brief oneliner. If you expect a oneliner to express an entire philosophy, you will often be disappointed. Again my apology!!! |
Boagie,
As to your deleting my post regarding your Byron quote: as the kids today say, "whatever".
As to your dichotomy between benefits to humanity in general versus benefits to the individual: that was not at all my intent. I'm sorry that either you misread me or I misled you. I definitely believe that the "internal mental scaffolds" of reflective, philosophical analysis bring individual benefits; eudaimonia, as the Greeks would say. They certainly do have significant social benefits; but as one gets on in life, as one matures, one is better able to appreciate the personal satisfaction of thinking deeply about one's life and times, one's memories, the relationships and events that one has observed and experienced. Some of the truths are quite fatal, certainly; others are clumsy and embarrassing. But still others reflect the "sweetness and light" of Matthew Arnold's cultural appreciation.
Yes, youth probably should be left mostly to first-hand experience and relationships, as you refer to. Education, like youth itself, goes mostly unappreciated by youth, perhaps with good reason. But as one matures, as one's body loses its vitality, as one experiences disappointments in many relationships, first-hand experience becomes increasingly less feasible, less valuable, and also less novel. Been there, done that. The raw, sweet juice of youthful experience ages into the fine wine of a reflective adulthood, with its bitter edge. This is, very much, "personal / as of the individual".
Finally:
"If you expect a oneliner to express an entire philosophy, you will often be disappointed." Most interesting. I wanted to submit that one-liner to your "bits of wisdom" thread, where you solicited one-liners. But you did say that you were looking for original thoughts, not good lines authored by another. Still, that's an interesting line, even though it most likely expresses but a partial philosophy; it inherently leaves something out. Somewhat like the liar's paradox, perhaps?
Jim G.
08-12-2008, 05:42 PM
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