Category: Aphorisms and Observations
-
The Ubiquity of Ego
It is because of ego that one man speaks. It is because of ego that another refuses to listen. It is because of ego that a third seeks to overcome his ego. And let's not overlook the ego of the one who makes these observations.
-
The Past as Burden
The past is a burden one is free to put down — if others will let us. In this regard as in others, the less fame the better. Others like to keep us in the past, safely categorized, pinned to our deeds. To their ossifying gaze, we are what we were, a fixed essence rather…
-
Serious Conversation
It is best avoided with ordinary folk. Serious conversation about matters beyond the mundane demands effort and people resent being made to work. Besides, ordinary folk do not 'believe in conversation' the way some philosophers do. They don't believe that truth can be attained by dialectical means. They might not believe in truth at all,…
-
The Body’s Graffiti
Tattoos are the graffiti of the human body. And just as the graffiti 'artist' defaces property public and private, the tattoo 'artist' defaces the human body, torturing the skin with needles and injecting it with ugly dyes. When I see yet another tattooed, pierced, tackle-box head, I wonder what this phenomenon means. Some thoughts of…
-
If Everyone Were Like Me . . .
. . . there would be no used bookstores: I keep all my books. So it is a good thing for me that not everyone is like me.
-
Never Buy a Book You Haven’t Read
It's a good maxim. But I hear an objection coming. "If you've already read a book, why do you need to buy it?" Because the only books worth owning are the ones worth reading more than once.
-
Deformation by Experience
Thought aspires to objectivity and universality, but it must struggle against the brute onesidedness of experience. We are so impressed by our particular experiences that argument against them will usually prove unavailing. Our experiences form us and deform us. I once knew a white woman who disliked blacks. I inquired why. She explained that she…
-
Marriage and ‘Settling’
In the end you settle for so-and-so, or else remain single. It is worth remembering that she is also settling for you.
-
Success and Luck
A proper humility demands a frank admission of the role of luck in every success.
-
Liberals and Tolerance
A liberal will tolerate anything – except a conservative.
-
The Confused Have Their Uses
Just as I learn how not to live by observing how some do live, I learn how not to think by observing how some do think. Their confusion is fodder for my clarity.
-
On Grades
Life is hierarchical. It is therefore unjust not to give grades. A school in which all are equal is no preparation for a life in which all are not.
-
Silence and Wholeness
Perusing an old file of juvenilia for blog-fodder, I decided that the contents are mostly too juvenile for reproduction here. But then I came across an aphorism penned in December, 1971 when I was living in the shadow of the medieval Festung or fastness in Salzburg, Austria: Silence is a grating clangor to the unwhole…
-
The Use of the Body
There is such a thing as excessive concern with the body's health and excessive fear of its destruction. The body is to be used — and used up. It is your vehicle here below; it is not you. It is an experience mill, so grind away. If thinking raises blood pressure, am I going to give up…
-
A Boomer and His Experiences
Do you help your neighbor to help your neighbor, or to add the experience of helping your neighbor to your collection of experiences? From an advertisement: "Ever since we invented the first personal shredder, Fellowes has been dedicated to improving every aspect of the shredding experience." The shredding experience? Now we boomers have done all…