This blog has changed platforms but is being continued on http://thecontemporarypen.wordpress.com
Thank you for continuing to read my posts.
Sincerely,
Tun
Friday 30 January 2015
Friday 23 January 2015
The danger of preservation (Amber Liquid)
The glass is there. Right in front of me. The ice cube that I just dropped in my drink is already slowly melting, fusing itself with the amber liquid inside. Swirling my drink in my hand now, it all becomes so clear: the minute you touch something, it cannot be pure anymore. Everything is exposed to contact from outside, everything is mudded by a myriad of influences. But then purity is not the point. A lesson so hard for humanity to learn that it has eaten away at us for not only decades but millennia. Trying to keep things pure, trying to stay pure, therein lies the crux of everything that is wrong with this world. It is this poisonous cell in our minds that wants perfection at any cost which makes us do horrendous things. Control: so exhilarating... so dangerous. The tempest that stirs in us this most deeply rooted instinct of trying to preserve a world that was never perfect to begin with, that was never worth it to stay intact. The second we will understand that progress as frightening as it may be, may lead to our world as we know it being shattered but will most probably also result in an amelioration rather than a deterioration of what is, we might be able to free ourselves from this maniacal desire to preserve. It is the summum of human frailty that we seek to achieve which is both unachievable and undesirable to a degree which blinds us towards all reason and moderation... Why then does this instinct to strive for the preservation of the status quo drive us so much that we may not even conceive of a change that is positive? It is what drives us to fundamentalism and extremism, it makes us commit acts which, in this perfect world which our mind convinces us exists and which we are trying to protect, would simply be unfathomable. So here's to forgetting about that idolized perfection of ours and embracing imperfection and reality while acknowledging its flaws and seeing its potential for improvement. Here's to letting the ice cube melt in your drink. If we rid ourselves of ends so strong they make us believe every means is justified, we may rid ourselves of one of the cancers which hamper free thought the most.
Monday 19 January 2015
On emancipating the mind
Pledging allegiance to anything other than the human race is a bad idea. Here's why: By accepting something preexisting as the truth and claiming it to fit one's own thinking can only mean one thing - precluding oneself from developing one's own thoughts.
We live in an age where categorisation is our primary occupation. Everything has to fit into a box with prefixed limits. I say we live in an age of categorization, but it is probably true that ordering everything around us into different categories is a preoccupation deeply rooted in our minds because since the beginning of time it has helped us to make sense of this world and to forget the mind-boggling questions that arise the very instant we are uncertain about our place in the universe. And therein lies the rub, because yes, living is easier when one feels a sense of purpose and thinks of oneself as having a certain place in this world but it seems to me a daunting prospect to want to perpetually stay in the same state of mind without the faintest chance of progress in sight.
We need to break free from the shackles we lay upon ourselves by wanting to be part of a certain group whether it may be a school of thought, a religion or a lifestyle. In case one should climb the Mount Olympus of philosophy, it is the task of historians to posthumously define one's amassment of thoughts over the years as belonging to a certain school of thought, but belonging to any should never be the goal of any man who prides himself in his free thinking for in so doing he would preclude himself from deviating from a path he has predefined for himself.
Another crippling blockade of progress and reason is the wish of man to sound coherent. And yet again: what simpler way to sound coherent than to subscribe to an already existing idea and defend it against all reason? A man who cannot change his view after new information is available to him or an error of logic in his thinking has become apparent to him commits an act of betrayal to all reason for he becomes a promoter of the alas far too old tradition of obscurantism. Indeed, complacency is the main reason why people choose to ignore evidence in favour of a belief they already hold.
Many a man or woman may ask him- or herself: Why bother asking myself agonizing questions or hypothesizing when I can just bask in the knowledge (unfortunately people think that is the right term to use for their beliefs) that I am a certain way and that nothing beyond my basic human needs is of any importance to the outcome of my life?!
My answer to this is clear: Because the humility of not knowing everything but the willingness to try as hard as possible with all the information that is available to form solidly founded opinions which remain open to future amendments lends an extra layer of beauty to the perception of this world we have.
Let us therefore not enslave ourselves to conformity or complacency, let us break free from our desire to have an answer for everything without the evidence needed to support that answer! Let us accept not knowing while still striving to understand by the proper means, which are evidence and reason!
We live in an age where categorisation is our primary occupation. Everything has to fit into a box with prefixed limits. I say we live in an age of categorization, but it is probably true that ordering everything around us into different categories is a preoccupation deeply rooted in our minds because since the beginning of time it has helped us to make sense of this world and to forget the mind-boggling questions that arise the very instant we are uncertain about our place in the universe. And therein lies the rub, because yes, living is easier when one feels a sense of purpose and thinks of oneself as having a certain place in this world but it seems to me a daunting prospect to want to perpetually stay in the same state of mind without the faintest chance of progress in sight.
We need to break free from the shackles we lay upon ourselves by wanting to be part of a certain group whether it may be a school of thought, a religion or a lifestyle. In case one should climb the Mount Olympus of philosophy, it is the task of historians to posthumously define one's amassment of thoughts over the years as belonging to a certain school of thought, but belonging to any should never be the goal of any man who prides himself in his free thinking for in so doing he would preclude himself from deviating from a path he has predefined for himself.
Another crippling blockade of progress and reason is the wish of man to sound coherent. And yet again: what simpler way to sound coherent than to subscribe to an already existing idea and defend it against all reason? A man who cannot change his view after new information is available to him or an error of logic in his thinking has become apparent to him commits an act of betrayal to all reason for he becomes a promoter of the alas far too old tradition of obscurantism. Indeed, complacency is the main reason why people choose to ignore evidence in favour of a belief they already hold.
Many a man or woman may ask him- or herself: Why bother asking myself agonizing questions or hypothesizing when I can just bask in the knowledge (unfortunately people think that is the right term to use for their beliefs) that I am a certain way and that nothing beyond my basic human needs is of any importance to the outcome of my life?!
My answer to this is clear: Because the humility of not knowing everything but the willingness to try as hard as possible with all the information that is available to form solidly founded opinions which remain open to future amendments lends an extra layer of beauty to the perception of this world we have.
Let us therefore not enslave ourselves to conformity or complacency, let us break free from our desire to have an answer for everything without the evidence needed to support that answer! Let us accept not knowing while still striving to understand by the proper means, which are evidence and reason!
Sunday 11 January 2015
After a couple of days of horror in France, here is to values we forgot!
It is exam time in France. Students should not think of anything but revising their notes from the past semester. Yet, it is hard to concentrate in Paris right now.
The past days have shown the presence of hatred rooted so deep in certain people's minds that it must make one pause to reflect upon what we stand for in what so many a citizen with a bad memory likes to call the "civilized west". Mind you, we have had our share of atrocities and barbarism here in the west and pointing fingers now at certain cultures seems ill-fitting given the history of this continent.
However, Europe and with it all of its like-minded countries (I am thinking here foremost but not exclusively of all of North America, most of South America, Australia and New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc.) has undergone an evolution of philosophy and values within the past 300 years that could not be greater.
We found ourselves now upon values that we hold to be necessary in order to give each individual the possibility to develop in whatever way he sees fit and to reach his potential. We no longer see opposition and differences of opinion as a threat, but as a chance. We applaud the culture of dispute for in the confrontation of ideas we see the path to new, exhilarating ideas that may shape the future for the better. We have learned that criticism of however great an idea is almost always justified and improvement almost always possible. No single person holds the truth alone, but in letting individuals develop their talents and in letting them think for themselves, we foster a society that compliments each other, where everyone can do what they love and thus excel in the most. We believe that in the end all of society profits from this distribution of roles that everyone has to find for themselves.
At the moment, we are fighting a war like none other before. No territory is off limits, attacks can be years apart, danger is somehow always imminent, the enemy is not a certain government but rather an idea, or the negation thereof. After the horrible events that were 9/11, the world we live in has changed considerably. The term a "turning point in history" therefore seems completely justified. Security has all of a sudden become our main concern, although security from what exactly, no one seems to know. Controls in airports have been increased, security cameras are being installed in public areas, privacy is trampled upon in the name of security. In my opinion, this has been exactly the thing we should not have done. Fear-mongering is the trade of terrorists, their name itself suggest that what they want to evoke in us is terror. Letting this fear get to us and decimating our own liberties in the name of security means the victory is theirs.
I therefore strongly urge everybody to carry on as they have done. Not pre-Paris, but even pre-9/11. Changing your ways because some people incapable of embracing cultural diversity and the multitude of opinions in this world commit acts of terror, helps these people achieve their goals. The minute you think twice about saying what you want to say, the minute you hesitate to go somewhere out of fear, our values are under attack.
I would therefore like to conclude with Benjamin Franklin who stated: "He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither."
My sincere condolences to all victims of terror, hatred, racism, sexism and bigotry.
Let's defend our values in the only way we can: by expressing ourselves freely no matter what anyone else thinks of us!
The past days have shown the presence of hatred rooted so deep in certain people's minds that it must make one pause to reflect upon what we stand for in what so many a citizen with a bad memory likes to call the "civilized west". Mind you, we have had our share of atrocities and barbarism here in the west and pointing fingers now at certain cultures seems ill-fitting given the history of this continent.
However, Europe and with it all of its like-minded countries (I am thinking here foremost but not exclusively of all of North America, most of South America, Australia and New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc.) has undergone an evolution of philosophy and values within the past 300 years that could not be greater.
We found ourselves now upon values that we hold to be necessary in order to give each individual the possibility to develop in whatever way he sees fit and to reach his potential. We no longer see opposition and differences of opinion as a threat, but as a chance. We applaud the culture of dispute for in the confrontation of ideas we see the path to new, exhilarating ideas that may shape the future for the better. We have learned that criticism of however great an idea is almost always justified and improvement almost always possible. No single person holds the truth alone, but in letting individuals develop their talents and in letting them think for themselves, we foster a society that compliments each other, where everyone can do what they love and thus excel in the most. We believe that in the end all of society profits from this distribution of roles that everyone has to find for themselves.
At the moment, we are fighting a war like none other before. No territory is off limits, attacks can be years apart, danger is somehow always imminent, the enemy is not a certain government but rather an idea, or the negation thereof. After the horrible events that were 9/11, the world we live in has changed considerably. The term a "turning point in history" therefore seems completely justified. Security has all of a sudden become our main concern, although security from what exactly, no one seems to know. Controls in airports have been increased, security cameras are being installed in public areas, privacy is trampled upon in the name of security. In my opinion, this has been exactly the thing we should not have done. Fear-mongering is the trade of terrorists, their name itself suggest that what they want to evoke in us is terror. Letting this fear get to us and decimating our own liberties in the name of security means the victory is theirs.
I therefore strongly urge everybody to carry on as they have done. Not pre-Paris, but even pre-9/11. Changing your ways because some people incapable of embracing cultural diversity and the multitude of opinions in this world commit acts of terror, helps these people achieve their goals. The minute you think twice about saying what you want to say, the minute you hesitate to go somewhere out of fear, our values are under attack.
I would therefore like to conclude with Benjamin Franklin who stated: "He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither."
My sincere condolences to all victims of terror, hatred, racism, sexism and bigotry.
Let's defend our values in the only way we can: by expressing ourselves freely no matter what anyone else thinks of us!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)