Monday, January 2

Every Time I Find the Meaning of Life, They Change It.

I have just read “Every Time I Find the Meaning of Life, They Change It, by philosopher Daniel Klein, an erudite writer who takes one effortlessly through a thoughtful but light-hearted stroll of his so called ‘pithiest’ notes, scribbled down when studying philosophy at College. The genesis of his book was the re-discovery of these old notes, which had remained dormant for over 40 years and initially shocked him by their youthful naivety.
 
But the youthful thoughts reignited an interest in what had motivated him to make notes, so he decided to write a fresh narrative. The scope covers philosophers from the enduring wisdom of the ancients, to the existentialists and post-modernists, but the quotes and supporting narrative are all guaranteed to get you thinking, But I must confess, thinking, like singing and reading is becoming more of my favourite pastime in life, since a crook back curtails me getting out on the golf course and doing battle with the little white ball when you can’t ever think of anything else. But I like the idea the journey being more important than the destination, just as Klein leaves us with more questions than answers.  

One example is from the Roman Emperor and Philosopher Marcus Aurelius “Do every act of your life as though it were the very last act of your life”. 
 
But another question he does not pose is "Can we have faith without doubt? 
Even the word faith, in modernity, conjures up the notion of a "blind faith" as opposed to one , conditional to our conscious perceptions and or experiences. For faith, by necessity, arises from our doubts to savior a hope and hopefully in the process shuns arrogance and intolerance.
 

6 comments:

Gary said...

I can relate to the pleasure of just thinking, although I probably do it when I should be working at least sometime. I've been reading Epictetus lately, and realizing how much his views fit me. One of his precepts which I've been practicing is, "Never suppress a generous impulse".

susan said...

I'm sorry to learn you have a bad back, Lindsay, as I'm sure it's been your experience to entertain some of your best ideas while out on the links.

Faith without doubt is an interesting question. I believe that when we have reached the limits of what can be proven as empiracally true (and there's really a lot less of that than people imagine), then what faith brings to our lives is a sense of meaning and joyful peace.

Lindsay Byrnes said...

Hi Gary,
Epictetus – one of the best of the stoics. I love the quote, "Never suppress a generous impulse".
Best wishes.

Lindsay Byrnes said...

Hi Susan,
Very well said “ I believe that when we have reached the limits of what can be proven as empirically true (and there's really a lot less of that than people imagine), then what faith brings to our lives is a sense of meaning and joyful peace.
Best wishes.

Rachael Byrnes said...

Happy Birthday Dad, just taking a look at your blog and noticed this article. That book sounds like a good read! I also can relate to the feeling of just thinking and going through philosophical questions. I like "do every act as if it were your last" better than "live each day as if it is your last" the latter I haven't found it workable in terms of marrying the long term and short term goals. Short term gratification would always win but given that we might like to make sensible choices for the long term we can still experience each act within the day as if it was our last. Nice. I also think it's interesting that people associate faith with blind faith. I can relate to choosing faith not because of burring my head in the sand but because it's the most logical to me. No sure if that what you mean but that's what I'm getting out of it. :)

Lindsay Byrnes said...

Hi Rachael
Well said !!
best wishes