Philosophy

Day 3517, Removing the mystery of understanding.

Daily picture, My thoughts, Revisiting

David Hume wrote in his famous book, “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding,” that our thoughts are based on what we have seen before. Like imagining the golden mountain, it’s made of gold and the mountain we’ve seen before. The book goes much deeper and is considered a key work in philosophy. I don’t do it justice by highlighting this idea out of context, but still, I do.

Have you ever wondered where your thoughts come from? Do they just pop up out of nowhere? Is there something inside you that creates these thoughts from nothing? Where were your current thoughts when you were 5 years old? Do we piece our thoughts together over time? Are we just combining bits of what we’ve collected into our thoughts? Are we like the modern AI, stringing words together because they have fitted together before in our memories?

I think it’s not easy to be an original thinker. No matter what we do, we must use what we’ve learned to develop our own ideas, and only exceptional people can combine their knowledge into something truly original. It’s no coincidence that thinkers like Plato or Aristotle are still studied. They drew such deep conclusions from their experiences that hardly anyone since has matched them; we can at best follow their path and see if we can reach similar conclusions.

Imagine browsing a bookstore or social media. It seems everyone has an opinion, often equating it with that of someone who has dedicated their life to developing their views—someone who has faced all the dead ends and moved on. Climate change is a good example of an issue where many seem to have a clear understanding, even though experts struggle to fully grasp it and find solutions. As if they, the modern opinionated citizen, know the answer without the necessary experience.

We can’t imagine a golden mountain without first having seen a mountain and gold. The opinionated person can dismiss climate change without studying biogeochemical cycles, ecological and agricultural systems, or human-environment interactions. Do they question their dentist or mechanic with the same confidence?

It’s humility we need. I don’t know much about climate change, so I trust the experts—just like I listen to my doctor or trust Hume more than myself when he talks about our mind. 

What a peculiar privilege has this little agitation of the brain which we call ‘thought’.
David Hume

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Day 3515, we are wrong.

Daily picture, My thoughts, Revisiting

It is both easy and difficult for us humans to admit when we are wrong. We often recognize that we are wrong, if we do not already know that, when confronted with opposing truths, but you keep on focusing on every piece of the story supporting your side, even though you know deep down you are mistaken. When you hold on to your story for too long, you will likely lose sight of where your story started and where reality was left behind; you are now lost in your own lie.

Why do we do this? It’s hard to say, but here is a thought. We don’t like to “lose face” when confronted by someone else’s more convincing reasoning. We don’t want to be seen as incompetent after we’ve defended our truth for too long, only to be confronted by damning facts.

Even the wisest people in the world acknowledge that their understanding represents only a small fraction of the vast pool of knowledge available. This echoes the wisdom of Socrates, who famously stated, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” In recognizing that knowing more often reveals how little we actually understand. Not knowing is humanity’s default state, yet we often feel shame at admitting our ignorance. Embracing this uncertainty can open doors to greater wisdom and understanding.

People identify as scientists, Buddhists, religious, capitalists, and cling to many other kinds of truths because our inner truth is weak. Most often, we inherit these truths from our family, immediate surroundings, and the larger culture we live in. Sometimes we feel we make a choice, but one way or another, all these structures and systems are there for us to cling to and use as shields to hide our insecurities.

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Day 3513, cannot grasp.

Daily picture, Quotes

Friedrich Nietzsche

Daybreak
Book IV

219 Deception in self-humiliation. -Through your irrational behaviour you have done your neighbour great harm and destroyed an irrecoverable happiness – and then you subdue your vanity sufficiently to go to him, expose your irrationality to his contempt and believe that after this painful and to you very difficult scene everything has again been put to rights- that your voluntary loss ofhonour compensates for his involuntary loss of happiness: suffused with this feeling you go away uplifted and restored in your virtue. But your neighbour is still as unhappy as he was before, he derives no consolation from the fact that you are irrational and have admitted it, he even remembers the
painful sight ofyou pouring contempt upon yourselfbefore him as a fresh injury for which he has to thank you- but he has no thought of revenge and cannot grasp how you could in any way compensate him. At bottom that scene you performed was performed before yourself and for the sake of yourself: you invited in a witness of it, again for
your own sake and not for his – do not deceive yourself.

Day 3511, Looking against the light.

Daily picture, My thoughts, Revisiting

As human beings, we can easily feel overwhelmed. For example, you might go on a date with someone, and everything seems to click, making it feel as though you’ve known each other for a long time. Then, suddenly, they snap at the waiter. Or consider that new phone you’ve wanted for ages; after setting it up and trying it out, the excitement fades away in just three days, leaving you with just another phone.

Our expectations act like the bright sun, illuminating certain things while casting everything else into shadow, making the good seem overwhelming. That person or item feels so alluring that we desire them so badly, which can cloud our judgment and make it hard to think clearly. This realization can hit us quickly, as it does with the rude date, or it may take a few days, like with the phone.

We all understand this phenomenon; there are plenty of sayings that illustrate it, such as “blinded by love.” This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Approaching any date with the mindset that they are likely flawed, which is often true, isn’t conducive to a pleasant date, a fulfilling love life, or even the potential for building a family—the cornerstone of our existence. In a way, evolution has wired us to be less skeptical when choosing a mate. This skepticism often arises only after time has passed, when good memories are replaced by reality.

While a bit of drama can make life more interesting, the downside of our impulsive behaviors is evident in the unnecessary purchases we make—like the telephone I just bought, which I didn’t even need. This irrational tendency within us fuels our lifestyle and the capitalist system we live in. If we all acted as responsible consumers, our economic system would come to a halt, which poses a problem for those who appreciate it. Personally, I wouldn’t mind finding a more responsible alternative.

The primary concern is the potential destruction of our environment. The excessive production of goods, the energy consumed in that process, and the waste generated. However, for now, we seem blinded by our desires and are unable to see the consequences lurking beneath the surface.

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