We had a problem in differential equations that attempted to describe a formula for the 'tendency'of love between Romoe and Juliet. The property used being the increasing and decreasing quality of liking and how it was associated to that of the latter's likes. I was amused then; it was added spice for an otherwise altogether dry topic (I take full responsibility for that statement/opinion).
ItÂ’s not totally amusing on reflection; it seems to be part of something bigger-our latest obsession with reason. It is easier now to understand how the books like-'why men and women think differently', seem to be bestsellers everywhere. It makes life simpler to know why, once again a concrete hypothetical support to base our life on. We are ready to dismember emotions, to dissect humanity (or the lack of it) we won't stop until it all fits into a clear logical whole. We pursue reason beyond reason at times.
Not to be judgmental of our scientific tendencies, I only wish to be wary of where to stop trying to reason. Perhaps this is not entirely our fault; the economic system supports our reason for reasoning. When profit maximized is the important driving force there is little room for humanitarian or social obligations. What is more alarming is the fact that individual needs are being homogeneous in our drive to satisfy the order of capitalism. At some level the emphasis on individual has narrowed down so much that we are losing focus We are perhaps forgetting the fact that individuals are not separate of the social whole, more importantly they retain their set of emotions and feelings irrespective of the environment they are put in. Individualism and socialism are and will always be complementary. In a way socialism and democracy are but imperative for the existence of each other. But we don't have to wait for society to take it up; we can start a step closer to home. How do we act? Are we entirely logical all the time? If not why should there be a reasonable way through everything? In a world that is bizarre in its composition and dynamism how can things be run purely by reason?
Easier said than done, I tried imagining this axiom enacted in real life. I realized that problems arise when we forget the non existence of any axioms in the first place. These words I am writing now make no sense unless they make you feel the need to know why I write them; you can forget the words and not follow a word of my argument. But if you are wondering why you are still reading them, you have taken the step I was talking about.
ItÂ’s not totally amusing on reflection; it seems to be part of something bigger-our latest obsession with reason. It is easier now to understand how the books like-'why men and women think differently', seem to be bestsellers everywhere. It makes life simpler to know why, once again a concrete hypothetical support to base our life on. We are ready to dismember emotions, to dissect humanity (or the lack of it) we won't stop until it all fits into a clear logical whole. We pursue reason beyond reason at times.
Not to be judgmental of our scientific tendencies, I only wish to be wary of where to stop trying to reason. Perhaps this is not entirely our fault; the economic system supports our reason for reasoning. When profit maximized is the important driving force there is little room for humanitarian or social obligations. What is more alarming is the fact that individual needs are being homogeneous in our drive to satisfy the order of capitalism. At some level the emphasis on individual has narrowed down so much that we are losing focus We are perhaps forgetting the fact that individuals are not separate of the social whole, more importantly they retain their set of emotions and feelings irrespective of the environment they are put in. Individualism and socialism are and will always be complementary. In a way socialism and democracy are but imperative for the existence of each other. But we don't have to wait for society to take it up; we can start a step closer to home. How do we act? Are we entirely logical all the time? If not why should there be a reasonable way through everything? In a world that is bizarre in its composition and dynamism how can things be run purely by reason?
Easier said than done, I tried imagining this axiom enacted in real life. I realized that problems arise when we forget the non existence of any axioms in the first place. These words I am writing now make no sense unless they make you feel the need to know why I write them; you can forget the words and not follow a word of my argument. But if you are wondering why you are still reading them, you have taken the step I was talking about.



7 Comments:
At 1:47 PM,
Naef said…
Wouldn't life have been much more simpler without all this?
Wouldn't it be much better feeling love yourself without others dissecting it for you?
...
Wouldn't it be better if all of us were kids?
At 12:24 AM,
Mitch Trumble and Robert Trumble said…
Letting other to define love, is not how love is define, we see love in poetry or in books but base on that person view what love is suppose to be. Love can only be experience not define, if a person try to define it then they not in love. How can you explain love when it ever changing. Love has to be experience, not define, love is love. just live it.
At 6:16 AM,
Usha said…
One small pointer, though the example i have used is about love. It is only ONE of the MANY things that have been tarnished(if i may say so) by the need to reason. Perhaps one of these days i should write about love shadowing all 'feelings' and 'emotions'!!
At 6:40 AM,
Krishna Iyengar said…
I might have lost the point again this time but....
The obsession with reason is not new and certainly not limited to the western culture that we are so much a part of. Infact in my knowledge, eastern philosophies are based upon pure and unshakeable logic and arguments. There are however certain axioms which dont fall into the category of logic. But as you point out rightly, that is not the final objective. The objective is to know enough of reasoning to transcend it and validate the the axioms for yourselves! There is no other way.
At 7:06 AM,
sherene said…
There is nothing inherently wrong with feeling the need to rationalize everything irrational. There are some interesting insights in some of those quick-fix books you mentioned. It's when people read them and swallow the 'philosophies of life' as described by the author, indiscriminately, that one must pity them, for they probably never can get themselves to feel and think for themselves. Why berate them, it's a choice they make to give up on their own minds and souls.
Btw, you seem to have an interesting conflict going on in your head :)
From your previous post - "why do we excuse ourselves from taking /individual/ responsibility."
vs
"At some level the emphasis on individual has narrowed down so much that we are losing focus"
"Society has always been the premise for ignoring the voice of the individual"
vs
"individuals are not separate of the social whole"
Btw, there's something about this sentence that's nagging me: "individuals are not separate of the social whole, more importantly they retain their set of emotions and feelings irrespective of the environment they are put in." If individuals can retain their set of emotions and feelings irrespective of the environment they are put in, perhaps individuals are separate from the social whole? Or perhaps, the social whole is a sum of the individuals rather than the individual being a fragment of the social whole?
I apololgize if I make absolutely no sense :D I do not think I started off intending to :P
At 10:50 AM,
Usha said…
There is something that i want to say, i do not intend to preach a single idelogy that is to say there is marxism and there is capitalism..but i believe in accepting both for what they are and incorporating their principles subject to my judgement.
As for the artciles, the first one spoke of indiividual responisibity but once again you dont expect me to stick to a single judgement as to who is to be given importance-society versus the individual. We need to realise the importance of circumstance or context. It is again back to where we started, it is not reason or a praticular standard that should govern our thinking, but our own feeling as to what should be given priority. Here as you see i have reconciled both individual responsibility and drawing a line to rationalization( i.e if there was a conflict in the first place).
At 5:22 AM,
Usha said…
wishlist--
you got me wrong on all counts..i do not wish to pick out trends or 'latest obsessions'. i am talking of tendencies of finding axioms that can define or fit situations.general abstractions on how love/emotions or its outcome shd be defined- look around u, in movies, in books, bestsellers, soaps!
i have no issues with introspection- of course we all do, but if the introspection is guided by these generalized rules, it reduced the experience to something lesser.
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