Gandhi 1

As I begin reading our first assignment in Gandhi, I have to say that perhaps a little background on the situation that is being discussed would be helpful. I have never really researched or discussed any of Gandhi's work before and I'm a little lost as to why he's writing this work. Example - at first I wasn't quite sure what "Home Rule" was...However, this was clarified with "All our countrymen appear to be pining for National Independence." pg 5

Another question - who is the "reader"? I assume that Gandhi is the "editor", but the reader, at least so far, has not been identified. Is it Gandhi asking himself questions that will open for his prepared answers? Or is it someone entirely different actually asking these questions as an interview?

Stream of Consciousness

I've begun to notice that Nietzsche writes sometimes in a bit of a stream of consciousness style. Different parts seem to jump out at me...I wonder if he did any re-writes or any editing or just wrote as he would talk in a conversation.

pg 143 - "'Consequently' I hope I shall be granted this 'consequently'; at any rate, I don't want to bother to prove it."

pg 153 - "No! Don't come to me with science when I ask for the natural antagonist of the ascetic ideal..."

pg 155 - "No! this 'modern science' - let us face this fact! - is the best ally the ascetic ideal has at present..."

I wish Nietzsche could have been filmed while writing this. I can see him getting really flustered and upset as he writes furiously about those horrendous ascetic priests.

Mechanical Activity - The Blessing of Work

Alright. With this passage, I completely agree and understand what Nietzsche is pointing out. These essays are all over the place and I agree sometimes and completely disagree other times.

Passage on page 134, Section 18 " It is beyond doubt that this regimen alleviates an existence of suffering...human consciousness is small!"

It is completely true. At least for me, when I'm upset...I focus on something entirely different. I work away my problems. I bake away my problems. I run away my problems. It's so hard to face them and struggle with them. It's so much easier just to ignore them and bury oneself in something else. And all kinds of behaviors stem from this concept - obsessive eating, over-exercising, focus on minute detail, overworking, hurting yourself - all these things make you think of something else. These activities force you to pay attention to something else.

It's like with little children. If they're whining and crying about something...pull out something sparkly or new or fun to play with: something to distract them...and they completely forget about whatever they were upset about. Works every time.

Sickness

I'm not really sure that I agree with what Nietzsche's saying about sick people. Actually, I'm pretty sure that it's way too extreme and doesn't really make any sense and isn't at all logical.

"The sick woman spares nothing, living or dead; she will dig up the most deeply buried things." pg 123.

I think Nietzsche goes a little too far with the "hell hath no fury like a scorned woman" piece here.

The part about how sick people "crave to be hangmen." pg 123. Whoa. I really don't believe that sick people - in my head I'm thinking sick people with an actual bodily illness, not a mentally ill person - are "ready to...make one pay." I really don't understand why he thinks this.

This entire passage is a lot more accessible...but the theory that he is trying to demonstrate is a little extreme. I can't seem to be able to formulate some way to try and refute his theory...but I know that something just doesn't make sense.

What is the Third Something?

Nietzsche shows on page 96 that he is, in fact, NOT advocating nihilism. He tries to show that this "man of the future" will get out of the trap that society has caught the rest of us in. It's a very contradictory passage. He seems to advocate nihilism in the beginning of the essay, but now, he makes it clear that he is not.

The last sentence of Chapter 24: "This man of the future, who will redeem us not only from the hitherto reigning ideal but also from that which was bound to grow out of it, the great nausea, the will to nothingness, nihilism; this bell-stroke of noon and of the great decision that liberates the will again and restores its goal to the earth and his hope to man; this Antichrist and antinihilist; this victor over God and nothingness - he must come one day. -

This is a pretty intense assertion. It's a little confusing. What is this man going to be able to do? How will he "liberate the will"? What will give him that power/ability? Who is it going to be?

The last bit:"he must come one day," sounds rather prophetic and messiah-ish. Who is this man of the future and what is he advocating?

Sea Animals

"The situation that faced the sea animals when they were compelled to become land animals or perish was the same as that which faced these semi-animals, well adapted to the wilderness, to war, to prowling, to adventure: suddenly all their instincts were disvalued and "suspended." From now on they had to walk on their feet and "bear themselves" whereas hitherto they had been borne by the water: a dreadful heaviness lay upon them." pg 84

I really like this quote. It's very sad. Nietzsche has evoked emotion - the "dreadful heaviness." It is very effective in describing the negative effects of society upon the instinct of humans.

Nietzsche 2 - Sudden Occurence or Gradual

I found the passage on page 84 and 85 very interesting. At first, I thought that Nietzsche was trying to go against Darwin. Instead of supporting gradual adaptation in response to a change in environment, it seemed like Nietzsche was supporting a sudden, instantaneous change. But then again, it seems sudden to the individual; the change seems sudden because records of the first civilization appear quite suddenly and out of the blue.

BUT. For some reason I was reminded of this article that I'd read a while ago - Now, as opposed to when Nietzsche wrote these essays, there is research and archaeological findings on Lucy, a preserved Stone Age human. Lucy was found to have a bone disease that advanced slowly and gradually over time and induced a lot of pain and suffering.

However, Lucy lived with this disease for an extremely extended period of time, which went against the idea that humans during this time period were isolationist and didn't really associate with one another. Scientists concluded that Lucy must have been cared for by another human in order for her to live as long as she did with such a disease.

So, perhaps Nietzsche is wrong. Perhaps, as Lucy demonstrates, the beginnings of society started sooner than he thought and advanced more gradually.

Favorite part of Nietzche

I never thought I'd actually have a favorite part of Nietzche...but...the part that I like most is this:

"The most convincing example of the latter is the German word schlecht (bad) itself: which is identical with schlicht (plain, simple) - compare with schlechtweg (plainly), schlechterdings (simply)..." page 28.

I never thought to think about how words relate to one another. The origins of words and their roots is fascinating. I never thought of that.

One point for Nietzche. But only one.

Nietzche 1

I'm not really sure what's going on in this book. The first reading was so confusing. I couldn't tell what the book was actually going to be about. What was he trying to explain??

It was almost comical how pompous and self-absorbed this Nietzche is. My favorite part is his explanation of how it's not his fault if the reader doesn't understand what he's trying to say.

"If this book is incomprehensible to anyone and jars on his ears, the fault, is not necessarily mine. It is clear enough, assuming, as I do assume, that one has read my earlier writings and has not spared some trouble in doing so: for they are, indeed, not easy to penetrate." page 22

Well, Nietzche. I don't know what you're trying to say. And I don't believe that it's because I have not read all your other books. Perhaps if you'd actually explain properly what you're trying to say, without all the flowery, unnecessary language, I'd understand.

Thinking like Lao Tzu

I tried today to relax and empty my mind. But I couldn't do it. I tried to make my mind blank. But I just couldn't do it. It was so hard. Meditating is hard.

In my yoga class, there's a meditation period after the session. And I can usually come close to emptying my mind. Mostly because I'm so tired and the music is very soothing.

Maybe music helps. But then again, that's not really emptying your mind because your mind is responding to the notes of the music.

Emptiness is certainly hard to achieve. Perhaps even impossible.

Darwin

While I was studying for the midterm, I read back over some of Darwin's key points. While reading the sexual selection part of Darwin's argument, I remembered something that I'd watched over the summer.

I love this clip. It's hilarious.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EL3ErKWV9g0

Sitting Quietly. Pretending to be Darwin

So. Today I am sitting quietly outside. Pretending to be Darwin. I'm trying to observe and analyze everything I see that interests me. I'm mostly looking at leaves falling and tried to observe any patterns in the way that different leaves from different species of trees fell. Perhaps they twist in those patterns for a reason. I wonder if I just discovered something profound...that leaves of different trees are formed specifically to weave different patterns in the air as they fall.

There is a lonely squirrel puttering around. He/She seems really idle at first glance - fretting back and forth between two trees, but I bet there are tons of things running through his/her head. I wonder what animals feel and think and experience. Is it the same as we feel and think and experience?

This is nice. It's a beautiful day to be outside thinking.