| Spring Clover |
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So I saw your show the other night and I wanted to contribute somehow, and I thought I'd briefly write some thoughts about it. I think critical optimism is finally a religious question as you stated early on - about faith. The reason I say this is because I feel you can't examine this question without putting it in context, and because all reality is subjective, the real question is on why are we here, who are we, what are we a part of? These are questions that are the roots of both philosophy and religion, and really it is a separate conversation in my view. But because it is a separate conversation, it means that a conversation alone on optimism and pessimism is useless/never-ending. There is no end because there is always a backdoor escape route. What I'm meaning to say is that optimism and pessimism are both in the end perspectives that can only exist and not be separated from a direct relation to a reality (again which is always subjective). It's like talking about good and evil - which is as equally abstract and complex. Because perspectives don't exist without reason or cause and effect if you will, I think it is more relative to speak about interest. I believe life wants to live, and as you said, avoid pain, and you can't go any further so to speak, because that is an essence of life, from large scale to small. All action is done in interest one way or another. Then yes, your last plan on Faith is the only question to talk about. You say this in the beginning, and it is true. If you want to know what to do to jump, you need to just decide for yourself if you are alive for a reason or not. I think it is narrow minded to not consider that the world is bigger than oneself and to not admit that our essence is a part of that. Sorry to give you this jargon, but it comes down to this. I think you could stop there too, because there is no point in debating something so enthusiastically that cannot by definition find an end, because the debate is abstract, because it is based on perspective, which is in the end subjective because life is based on interest. The interest of life is to live, not die, etc. evolution of consciousness. And consciousness is both critical and optimistic, that is the nature of it. p.s. another critical optimistic force is religion, as in root it is myth looking for answers - ignore the dead skin and look at the essence. The pessimist can't read poetry and the optimist dreams. I say all this with salt as I agree when you look at the state of the world, sufferance is painful and it's weight overwhelming. I often feel depressed by it also. But that is the human condition and it grounds us to react. All you can do is recognize that evolution takes time, and death and destruction are part of it. Jump into the dark because you believe in evolution.  |