Everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that...

Everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else.

David Foster Wallace

That we do not know what we do not know!

"To know that we know what we know, and that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge."

To be without some of the things you want!

"The human animal, like others, is adapted to a certain amount of struggle for life, and when by means of great wealth Homo sapiens can gratify all his whims without effort, the mere absence of effort from his life removes an essential ingredient of happiness. The man who acquires easily things for which he feels only a very moderate desire concludes that the attainment of desire does not bring happiness. If he is of a philosophic disposition, he concludes that human life is essentially wretched, since the man who has all he wants is still unhappy. He forgets that to be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness."

When the glow of early thought declines..

There’s not a joy the world can give like that it takes away,

When the glow of early thought declines in feeling’s dull decay.

To make life bearable by becoming less alive!

“A man may feel so completely thwarted that he seeks no form of satisfaction, but only distraction and oblivion. He then becomes a devotee of "pleasure". That is to say, he seeks to make life bearable by becoming less alive.”

The ruling ideas!

'The ruling ideas of every age are always the ideas of the ruling class.'
Marx

Interests to defend!

"A political consciousness could be said to arise through the recognition that views held to be a priori truths by important voices in society may in fact be relative and open to investigation. These views may be declaimed with confidence, they may seem to belong to the fabric of existence as much as the trees and the sky, yet they are - a political perspective insists - made up by particular beings with particular practical and psychological interests to defend.

If this relativity is hard to bear in mind, it is because dominant beliefs typically take pains to suggest that they are no more alterable by human hands than the orbit of the sun. They claim to be merely stating the obvious. They are, to use Karl Marx's helpful word, ideological, an ideological statement being defined as one that is engaged in subtly pushing a partial line while pretending to be speaking neutrally."

Art as a discipline offering criticism of life!

"Comics, no less than other artists, hence slip rewardingly into Matthew Arnold's definition of art as a discipline offering criticism of life. Their work strives to amend both the injustices of power and the excesses of our envy towards those higher in the social system. Like tragedy it is motivated by some of what is most regrettable about our condition."

Do I then strive after happiness?

“My suffering and my sympathy for suffering — what does it matter! Do I then strive after happiness? I strive after my work!”
~ Nietzsche - Zarathustra

Life is self-overcoming!

"Life is self-overcoming. You must always see who you are in a particular situation as transcending the ways in which you’ve seen things before. The true individual noble rejects, Nietzsche says, “worship of the state, the tyranny of demagogues and the tyranny of the crowd.” Most of all, they reject worship of their own past selves!"

Timeless truths are just what the doctor ordered!

"Always remember that for the existentialists, when you’re tempted toward thinking that your self has an essential timeless structure, it’s always a sign that some internal weakness in you is gaining expression. Why do people turn to fixed truths about the world and about themselves? Well, change is difficult; it requires adjustment, the constant reshuffling of desires, and the frustration of not satisfying some desires in you that are no longer seen as appropriate. Change is just painful, and for those who, out of weakness, prefer the
security of happiness to being unique individuals (remember, for Nietzsche, these aren’t necessarily correlated!), timeless truths are just what the doctor ordered! Unfortunately, that doctor isn’t concerned with your existential health! Nietzsche, on the other hand, is."

All truth and all value are really functions of a specific context!

"Nietzsche thinks we need to face up to the fact that there are no timeless truths. There is no right structure to things in world or even to you. Instead, all truth and all value are really functions of a specific context (all truth is perspectival) If this is so, there can’t be some “one way” to always look at the world. But that’s what dogma argues!"

I am that which must always overcome itself!

“And this secret spoke Life herself unto me. ‘Behold,’ said she, ‘I am that which must always overcome itself.’”
Nietzsche - Thus Spoke Zarathustra

The need for self-overcoming!

"Noble individuals embrace change not only in the world, but also in their own sense of self. They aren’t afraid to give themselves new goals and purposes when their own unique individuality demands it. Nietzsche calls it the need for self-overcoming. To fail to acknowledge this need is to fall victim to dogma, a belief in the timeless value of one way of organizing the self or of understanding the world. Dogma always stifles individuality by leading you to reject change as an essential part of what you are, and in so doing causes you
to fail to live in accord with the challenges of existentialism."

You have to recognize that some things aren’t great!

"You may feel that this viewpoint is a bit rough or judgmental. Well, frankly, it is. If you feel that it’s not quite right — that no one should see anyone as beneath him — Nietzsche would say that the slave in you is talking and taking control of your perspective. You need to take control of that impulse before it takes control of you! Face it: Greatness is exemplary; it’s individual. If you want to dare to be great, you have to recognize that some things aren’t great; instead, they’re weak or lowly. If you can’t handle that kind of judgmental
heat, get out of the kitchen, Nietzsche says! Perhaps slave life would be more comfortable for you."

Could you endure solitude?

"Living nobly isn’t easy to do. It requires a willingness to stand alone and apart from the crowd. Could you endure solitude? Can you create your own meaning and purpose, even if they depart from everything you’ve been told is right and good? Most people will claim they do this all the time. But how many of them are really in self-deception? How much of an individual are you, in actuality? How much about you is mere reflection of the masses around you? How much in control of you are they?"

To give style to one’s character!

"Nietzsche thinks of self-mastery as a kind of art. He says, “Only one thing is needful; to give style to one’s character — a great and rare art!” In a sense, when you strive to be an individual, you are at the same time the artist and the mound of clay. You fashion yourself into a sculpture. You look at the desires that compose you (the clay) and decide what goal or aim you want to posit for your life (what shape you want this clay to take on). This self-formation requires choice. You have to decide that the clay should take on some particular shape as opposed to some other. The self-as-artist then imposes upon his desires a sense of style by making them conform to that self-chosen shape. Of course, by style Nietzsche doesn’t mean the imposition of some contemporary style or fad, but a notion of style as expressive of one’s individual creative and aesthetic nature."

Unifying those warring desires!

"To understand the importance that choice can play in being an individual, you need to understand that each desire, or component of the self, is a different way of seeing the world. As a result, all your desires are always in competition. This recognition leads to the importance of choice: Being a self requires unifying those warring desires under a central purpose or meaning. So being a self requires mastering yourself by giving your desires a common direction."

Individuality requires making fundamental life choices!

"Existentialism stresses the importance of existing as an individual and so emphasizes that individuality requires making fundamental life choices about the kind of life you find meaningful. So even if the self truly is a collection of desires, you need to learn to structure those desires so that they express your choice of life direction."

More compassionate view of our common humanity!

“Despite our attachment to the notion of free will, most of us know that disorders of the brain can trump the best intentions of the mind. This shift in understanding represents progress toward a deeper, more consistent, and more compassionate view of our common humanity—and we should note that this is progress away from religious metaphysics. Few concepts have offered greater scope for human cruelty than the idea of an immortal soul that stands independent of all material influences, ranging from genes to economic systems. Within a religious framework, a belief in free will supports the notion of sin—which seems to justify not only harsh punishment in this life but eternal punishment in the next. And yet, ironically, one of the fears attending our progress in science is that a more complete understanding of ourselves will dehumanize us.”

I don’t know why I did it, but it’s the sort of thing I tend to do!

"Many people believe that this problem of regress is a false one. Certain compatibilists insist that freedom of will is synonymous with the idea that one could have thought or acted differently. However, to say that I could have done otherwise is merely to think the thought “I could have done otherwise” after doing whatever I in fact did. This is an empty affirmation. It confuses hope for the future with an honest account of the past. What I will do next, and why, remains, at bottom, a mystery—one that is fully determined by the prior state of the universe and the laws of nature (including the contributions of chance). To declare my “freedom” is tantamount to saying, “I don’t know why I did it, but it’s the sort of thing I tend to do, and I don’t mind doing it.”"

...but you cannot decide what you will decide to do.

"You are not in control of your mind—because you, as a conscious agent, are only part of your mind, living at the mercy of other parts. You can do what you decide to do—but you cannot decide what you will decide to do."

Thoughts simply arise unauthored!

"Thoughts simply arise unauthored and yet author our actions."
~ Sam Harris