Arthur Schopenhauer observed that 'reality is created by the act of willing', from which he means: it is the stubborn indifference of the world to my intention, the world's reluctance to submit to my will, that rebounds in the perception of the world as 'real' - what we desire comes back to us as a harsh glare of reality; constraining, limiting and disobedient.
Feeling free from constraint, free to act on one's wishes, means reaching a balance between the wishes, the imagination and the ability to act: one feels free in so far as the imagination is not greater than one's actual desires, while neither of the two reaches beyond the ability to act.
A balance may therefore be established and kept unimpaired in two different ways: either by cutting down and limiting the desires or else by expanding one's ability to act. Once the balance is achieved, and as long as it stays intact, 'liberation' is a meaningless slogan, for we achieve however fleetingly a sense of harmony - but in time this moment (which we may call happiness) passes and without knowing it things fall away and we lack motivational force.
Just thought I'd share that as something to think about.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
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God knows what reality is. Discuss. External physical liberation and internal psychological liberation is it real or purely a play of syntax. Wittkenstein spoke of reality being nothing but a game of words. Einstein stated that due to the nature of light we see everything not in the present but in the past. So liberation is how we interact with words and light. Hmmmm
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