difference between the spontaneity of the “transcendentalist” and the behaviorist, a human strategy, aphorism 421

421

Note the difference between the spontaneity of the popular “transcendentalist” and that of the behaviorist.  The one stands “impromptu,” pushing the issue with the best of intentions, but who, with a hand in the clear pond, upsets the sediment and can no longer see into the depths of the matter ... or he makes an attempt at “pure thought” which disdains all “gimmicks” and so waits and waits, cursing the long intervals between revelations.  The other avails himself of every sort of preparation — no matter how petty or ridiculous — and is pulled toward the object.  

*
“But this is not spontaneity!”
...  “Well then, nature is the more accomplished liar.”
“So you then admit to your dishonesty?”

...  “But sir, it was not we who began with the attempt to get beyond nature.  It is only a lie if spontaneity is the escape from nature and not its revelation.”

Popular posts from this blog

A valuable book, A Human Strategy, aphorism 387

387 A valuable book may be torn to pieces without diminishing the human spirit, just so long as the words have already been read and understood.  To feel the loss of the book — at its material destruction, even though one had already digested its contents fully and had aligned oneself toward its overall direction — is evidence that one values the non-human being over human becoming , the static thing over the dynamic process .  In response to the fear of our unknowable future we would rather freeze ourselves into a single stage of growth at the expense of the entire metamorphosis. A Human Strategy ** The Mechanics of Virtue ** Post-Atheism
Read more
A benefactor's Moral Guide: what do you want that will not result in your ultimate dishonor?      ****    Meditation: "How do I get back to where I want to be?"
Read more

A theory of art

Interest is not in what you see. It’s in what you don’t see. It is sensed incompleteness completed reflexively by the spectator. It is a conflict in the otherwise imperceptible feeling that a sensory organ is “inadequate” … a mastery of scratching irritations, an “I” … “the” I. We love art the most when we scratch ourselves with what we view.  Art is valued at the interest that the passion from the incompletes in the work is instantly and successful satisfied by what the lover needs to sense … every time it senses the art.  A Human Strategy ** The Mechanics of Virtue ** Post-Atheism
Read more