I think that you make a good point - that the observation of life can get in the way of living it. On the other hand, there is Socrates' point - I think it was Socrates' - that the unexamined life is not worth living. So I think there must be a way of balancing all this. The journals people like Thoreau and Emerson kept seemed almost to enhance their lives. And I do think that the more citizens doing their own observing, recording and thinking, the better. Relying on "professionals" can prove so unreliable.
I appreciate the point. I would propose that "examination" in real time may hardly be examination at all, however -- and that instantaneous digital recording (am I even getting sentimental for "waiting for the film to come back? Hardly!) is also not, necessarily, the ideal mediium for reflection!
Well, what do you think of my argument, Frank? I'd be interested in hearing.
ReplyDeleteI think that you make a good point - that the observation of life can get in the way of living it. On the other hand, there is Socrates' point - I think it was Socrates' - that the unexamined life is not worth living. So I think there must be a way of balancing all this. The journals people like Thoreau and Emerson kept seemed almost to enhance their lives. And I do think that the more citizens doing their own observing, recording and thinking, the better. Relying on "professionals" can prove so unreliable.
ReplyDeleteAristotle.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the point. I would propose that "examination" in real time may hardly be examination at all, however -- and that instantaneous digital recording (am I even getting sentimental for "waiting for the film to come back? Hardly!) is also not, necessarily, the ideal mediium for reflection!
ReplyDeleteThanks for responding!