Hi

from Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder

"Are you sitting comfortably, Sophie?  Because it is central to the rest of this course that you fully understand the difference between sophists and philosophers.  The Sophists took money for their more or less hairsplitting expoundings, and sophists of this kind have come and gone from time immemorial.  I am referring to all the schoolmasters and self-opinionated know-it-alls who are satisfied with what little they know, or who boast of knowing a whole lot about subjects they haven't the faintest notion of...A real philosopher, Sophie, is a completely different kettle of fish - the direct opposite, in fact.  A philosopher knows that in reality he knows very little.  That is why he constantly strives to achieve true insight.  Socrates was one of these rare people.  He knew that he knew nothing about life and about the world.  And now comes the most important part: it troubled him that he knew so little...

To be precise: Mankind is faced with a number of difficult questions that we have no satisfactory answer to.  So now two possibilities present themselves: We can either fool ourselves and the rest of the world by pretending that we know all there is to know, or we can shut our eyes to the central issues once and for all and abandon all progress.  In this sense, humanity is divided.  People are, generally speaking, either dead certain or totally indifferent...

Socrates was neither certain nor indifferent.  All he knew was that he knew nothing...so he became someone who does not give up but tirelessly pursues his quest for truth."

***
Is it more exhuasting to know it all or wrestle for truth?  Is it a more peaceful life to do nothing or to engage with truth?

Another tune from Alison Krauss, from the Cold Mountain soundtrack. (Click at bottom of post)

Well, I recall his parting words.
Must I accept his fate?
Or take myself far from this place?
I thought I heard a black bell toll.
A little bird did sing.
Man has no choice when he wants everything.

We'll rise above the scarlet tide
That trickles down through the mountain
And separates the widow from the bride

Man goes beyond his own decision
Gets caught up in the mechanism
Of swindlers who act like kings
And brokers who break everything.
The dark of night was swiftly fading
Close to the dawn of day.
Why would I want him just to lose him again?

We'll rise above the scarlet tide
That trickles down through the mountain
And separates the widow from the bride.


My favorite lines in this song are: Man goes beyond his own decision, gets caught up in the mechanism of swindlers who act like kings and brokers who break everything.

I have mulled upon this song for almost a year, and I've approached this post numerous times in the last few weeks.  It evokes so much emotion for me because of my experiences in the last few years that I have been unable to find "the bottom line" regarding how this song speaks to me.  Today, the thread of "truth" arose out of my inner turmoil.

Man has a tendency to disregard his intuition, his personal compass guiding him to health and wholeness, for the sake of the mentality of a group/cause/or other individuals.  The ramifications of this are damaging and can be tragic.

I cannot elaborate yet.